It was Thursday night, time to call my father. It was a ritual of ours every week. We had a pleasant conversation and I reminded him that I would be there to pick him up for Christmas Eve. I decided to have him stay with me overnight and we would celebrate Christmas all day before I took him back to the nursing home.
"Is your friend coming for Christmas?" my dad asked.
"What friend?" I asked in return not knowing who he was talking about.
"That tall fella from last year, with the gray hair and Scottish accent," he told me.
"Oh, the Doctor," I said trying not to sound too anxious.
I had been wondering when the Doctor would return for our adventure this year. Last year, he had taken me back to 1799 to witness Christmas and the chaos of the turn of the century. I remember when the calendar changed from 1999 to 2000. People were afraid the end of the world was coming. It was no different back then. There were the skeptics and the true believers.
Christmas was like that as well. There were the skeptics and the true believers about the Christmas spirit. I was a skeptic. I had never witnessed a Christmas miracle. I never got what I really wanted for Christmas. It made me think that no one really listened to me.
As I held my phone in my hand reminiscing, I finally answered my father. "I don't know, Dad. I haven't seen him in a while."
"Oh, I see," my dad replied. "Well, I'll see you in a couple of weeks. Don't work too hard. Have some fun. Volunteer somewhere for a change."
"If I have time, Dad. I'll see you soon."
"Alright, hon. Bye."
"Bye, Dad."
After that conversation, another week went by and no sign of the Doctor. I was beginning to lose hope that he would ever return. I stared at the one picture I took of him on my phone. There were so many questions I never got to ask him about himself. Now, it looked like I never would.
That Saturday, I was at home decorating my Christmas tree. It was fake, of course, because I couldn't be bothered with taking care of a real tree. It was one of the few decorations I had in my house. Christmas had lost all it's meaning and was too commercialized for me. I was just hanging an ornament my father had given me that was hand carved by my great-grandfather when there was a knock at the door. I thought perhaps it was a delivery person with my father's gift I had ordered online. I went to the door and peaked through the peep sight.
There he was, standing there in his red velvet suit looking like a skinny St. Nicholas without a beard, or hat. I had to admit, he looked rather dashing. I stood on the other side of the door in an old sweatshirt and jeans trying to decide whether to open the door or not, based solely on my attire. I opened the door anyway.
"Hello," he said when I opened the door. I hesitated to respond. He was finally here.
"I'm the Doctor," he said. I guess he was hoping I would remember. I did.
"I know who you are. I wasn't sure I would see you again," I finally replied.
"I don't remember setting a date. I did say Christmas though. This is Christmas?" He looked around at the other houses in my neighborhood. Only a few were decorated for the season. Christmas was losing meaning for a lot of people, not just me. I only had a wreath on my door.
"You're a week early for Christmas day, but it is the holiday season."
"Oh, good. I was afraid I'd missed it. Sometimes the Tardis is . . . fickle and likes to choose her own destinations."
That made me smile. "Come in," I said and stood back to allow him entrance.
He came in and looked around my living room. I saw him observing my half decorated tree. The Doctor was near as tall as my tree. I also noticed he held a small gift wrapped box behind his back.
"Please, have seat," I offered.
"No, thank you. We won't be staying long. We have somewhere to be," he said. Then he thrust the gift towards me. "Merry Christmas."
"For me?" I asked stupidly. "I mean, I wasn't expecting anything. Hold on."
I ran to the office. There was a small pile of five gifts. All were for my father except one. I snatched a gift wrapped in silver with a blue bow on it. I wasn't sure Gallifreyans celebrated Christmas so I wrapped it in colors that I felt suited him. Once the package was in hand, I hurried back to the Doctor who was hanging ornaments on my tree now.
"Having fun?" I asked.
"Actually, yes," he said with a smile.
He brushed his hands off and picked up the gift off of the coffee table. Again, he handed it to me and I handed him the gift I was giving him.
"You shouldn't have," he said quietly.
I shrugged my shoulders.
"Open yours first," I insisted. He did. Inside, was a long leather pouch. He looked at it peculiarly. "It's a sonic screwdriver holder. I hope it fits. I didn't have dimensions."
He laughed. Taking out his sonic screwdriver, he placed it inside the holder. It fit perfectly.
"I've never had a holder for it. This is wonderful. Thank you," he said putting it into the pocket inside his jacket. "Now yours."
I opened the small package with its green wrapping and red bow. Inside was a ring box. I looked at him uneasily then pried the box open. Sitting on a black velvet pillow was a white gold ring with an emerald cut sapphire. I happen to love sapphires. I was never into yellow gold either. I usually wore white gold or silver. The ring was gorgeous! I was speechless.
"Well, put it on," the Doctor coaxed. "I thought it would remind you of your trips on the Tardis. It's Tardis shaped."
"Trips? I've been on one trip," I said taking the ring off the pillow. I was about to put it on my right hand when I remembered I wore a ring my father gave me on that hand. I hesitated putting it on.
"Today we are adding another trip. Here, let me," he said taking the ring from me. As he put it on my ring finger of my left hand I flinched. "What?"
"People will think it is an engagement ring," I said.
"I wear a ring on my left hand from my home planet. Has nothing to do with my marital status. You explain to the people who know you what it means, just as I have to you. To those who don't know you, it makes them wonder who's the lucky person," he explained with a smile. He slipped the ring on my finger. "There. Fits perfectly."
I admired it for a moment. It was a lovely ring and beautified my hand. I barely uttered, "Thank you."
After the gift exchange, despite telling me we had somewhere to be, the Doctor insisted that we finish decorating the tree. I was grateful for the assistance. He did a rather wonderful job. The ornaments were spread nicely around the tree, there was no clumping, and he hung the heavier ones on sturdy branches.
Then, he told me to get my coat.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"It's a surprise. First, we are going to pick up your father," he said.
"But...," I began.
"No buts," he said pushing me out the door.
We took the Tardis as it was quicker than my car and dad's nursing home was an hour away. I told the Doctor he was going to have to explain himself and the Tardis to my father if we could get him out at all. There was a procedure to get a patient out for the day. He brushed it off and said he would get Dad out one way or another. All I could picture was us breaking my father out like he was in a prison.
When we arrived, I walked up to the reception desk in the foyer of my father's nursing home with the Doctor beside me. Sheila, the receptionist, looked up as we approached. I could see her eyebrows raise when she saw the Doctor. I rarely brought someone with me to see my father.
"Hi. I was wondering if it would be possible to take my dad out for the day. I know I didn't call ahead of time, but I was hoping you could make an exception?" I inquired as I got to the counter.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Bellamy, you know the rules. Mr. Bellamy needs to be seen by a doctor and given the okay to go out. Besides, I wasn't expecting you until next week," Sheila answered.
"I know. I know. I'll still be picking him up next week. It's just something came up and I really want my dad to be a part of it, " I said leaning on the counter. "Is there a possibility one of the doctors can examine my dad quickly? Or just let it slide? He was was just out a couple of weeks ago."
Sheila let out a heavy sigh and I knew it wasn't good. "I'm sorry, Mary. There is only a skeleton crew in house for the weekend and they are swamped with other things going on."
I sighed myself. This was a bust. I let my arms slide off the counter to my sides and nodded. "Thanks anyway, Sheila."
I turned away from the counter and started walking towards the door, but the Doctor grabbed my hand.
"If I may, could you look on your list under Dr. and Mrs. Smith," the Doctor chimed in.
"What?" I said looking up and over at him. He gave me a wink. I quickly looked down at the ring on my finger. Awkwardly, I turned around to face Sheila again with a bewildered smirk on my face. She looked just as perplexed as I felt as she gazed back and forth between the Doctor and me.
"Go on," the Doctor insisted. He flashed Sheila one of his boyish smiles. I could see a slight blush form on her brown cheeks as she consulted the list of those who had permission to leave the premises.
As Sheila looked through the list, I pulled the Doctor aside. "What are you doing?" I whispered.
"Getting your dad out for the day."
"By pretending we're married?" I asked in hushed shock disbelief.
"It was the only way I could make the arrangements," he whispered to me. "When I called, they said only family members could make the arrangements. So I told them I was your . . . husband."
"I don't know whether to kick you, or kiss you," I whispered closely to his ear. He moved to eye me with curiosity and I gave him a death glare. We were precariously close.
"Here it is!" the receptionist said with excitement. We quickly put a bit of distance between us as Sheila looked up. "I just need to see documentation."
The Doctor whipped out his psychic paper as he stepped back up to the counter and showed it to her.
"I guess congratulations are in order, Dr. and Mrs. Smith. I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"It's quite alright. We're still getting used to it as well," the Doctor said putting the leather wallet back in his pocket.
"I knew something was different about you, Mary. You look different. You look happy," she mentioned pleasantly.
"Thank you, Sheila," I said stiffly. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fake marriage idea.
She then said, "Your father should be ready for you. You can go right to his room." I nodded. The Doctor took my hand and I led him towards the corridor to the left.
As we walked to my father's room, I smacked the Doctor's arm with my gloves I had taken out of my pocket.
"Ow! What was that for?" he said nursing his arm.
"For not informing me of your plan ahead of time," I seethed at him. "This could have been a lot less awkward if you had said something to me."
"You would have gone along with it? I thought you were against marriage?" he asked.
"I'm not against it. Marriage has never been a priority. I've had other things to do," I answered. The hall smelled like tapioca pudding and muscle relaxing cream.
"That sounds like an excuse."
"It's not an excuse."
The Doctor stopped and stared at me forcing me to stop as well. There was a distant beeping of a monitor mingled with the murmur of televisions set up and down the hall.
"What?" I asked as I came to a halt. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at me. I knew that look. It was the look my father gave me when he knew I was lying. "Alright. I never found the right person. The men I have been with were either needy or controlling. I've always wanted someone to work beside me."
"Truth?"
"Truth," I said with a sigh. "I gave up a long time ago and decided alone was better than misery."
"Being alone can be miserable." The Doctor's gaze was distant.
My own eyes were focused on something down the hall and said, "Sometimes." I continued to walk.
It wasn't too much further down the hall to my father's room. When we walked in, he was dressed in layers which made him look extra paunchy in his wheelchair with his coat on and a blanket over his legs. The look on his round face was unexpected. I thought he would be happy to have an extra weekend out, but the appearance of anger was to the contrary.
"When were you going to tell me?" he blurted out before I could even say 'hello'.
"It was a last minute thing, Dad. I didn't know it was going to happen until the Doctor suggested it," I returned.
"It was him? It was his idea? So it's him?" my father said heatedly.
"Yes," I answered confused as to why my dad was upset.
"Why wasn't I invite?" he asked crossing his arms over his chest.
"There was no invitation needed. We're just taking you out," the Doctor chimed in, sounding perplexed as I felt.
My father let out a loud, "Ha!"
"Dad!"
"You think I'm talking about going out today. I'm talking about you getting married. I had to find out from my doctor that my daughter's husband called to make arrangements. My daughter's husband!" he said testily. "When did this happen? I just saw you two Saturdays ago. You had to have eloped! Did you go to Vegas or the courthouse?" he rambled.
"Whoa! Dad!" I said as I rushed over and knelt down next to him. I looked over at the Doctor and told him to shut the door. Once it was closed, I said, "I didn't get married. The Doctor lied to get you out. I don't like it much but he's really good at it. I didn't know the Doctor was coming. He arranged all this, so he could take the both of us on an adventure."
"An adventure?" my dad asked looking like he just got off a Tilt-A-Whirl.
"Yes," I told him, "Maybe the Doctor should explain who he is exactly."
"What do you mean? Who is he?" my father asked.
Last year, my father met the Doctor very briefly. Neither the Doctor nor I told him who the Doctor was or what he does. Now, it was going to be necessary that my dad knew who the Doctor was, especially when he saw the TARDIS. At first Dad, Tom is his name, didn't think we would all fit in the blue box. When I wheeled him in, he was pleasantly surprised and immediately said it looked like a spaceship on the inside. The Doctor told him he was correct. Then he proceeded to tell him that he was an alien.
"Then why do you look . . .," Tom began, "Eh, never mind. You probably get asked that all the time. I'm sure there is a logical reason to it. Alright, what planet are you from?"
The Doctor explained where he was from and what the TARDIS could do. My father looked genuinely impressed.
"And you traveled with him last year?" Tom asked me.
"Yeah, Dad. We went back in time. It was amazing," I answered.
"With a complete stranger and alien to boot," he said.
"There is a bit more to it than that," I said. I never told my father how I ended up on the TARDIS. It was then I had to tell him about my adventure I had last year.
Once Dad had a handle on the situation, the only thing left to do was to start our adventure for this year. Dad asked if the Doctor needed any help around the console. The Doctor stopped and looked over at my father with intrigue. He explained that the console was meant for six people to operate. He had been doing it alone for a very long time, with occasional assistance from a woman named River and other companions. The Doctor set us up in front of two consoles apiece. Then he gave us specific instructions. I had the honor of pressing down the dematerialization lever.
Dad and I weren't sure of our destination, but it was already exciting to be able to drive the ship that was getting us there. Not everyone could boast that they drove an alien spaceship through time and space.
When the TARDIS stopped its wheezing, the Doctor gestured towards the door. I wheeled my father over to it. After opening the door I pushed him through it. I didn't recognize where we were. It was definitely different. We had to be on another planet. There were purple rocks jutting out of the pink grass.
"We're on another planet," I said to my dad.
"Are you sure?" he asked. "Maybe he just had some of his buddies paint up a scene and push this box around to make like it moved."
"Ah, we have a skeptic," the Doctor said following us out of the Tardis.
"I'm not a skeptic," Tom returned. "I'm just making sure you're not pulling the wool over my daughter's eyes."
"Dad, look around. The scenery goes on for miles. There is no way that is a backdrop," I said pointing out the horizon. I had to shade my eyes from the two suns beating down.
"Tom, touch the tall grass," the Doctor suggested.
I wheeled him closer to a tuft of tall pink grass. My father looked a little apprehensive at first but slowly he reached out his hand and lightly touched the grass. There was no breeze, yet the grass shivered on its own then shrunk to half its height.
My dad's eyes twinkled with amazement. I smiled. Then he got serious again.
"Hmm," he muttered and crossed his arms over his chest.
My eyes went from my disbelieving father over to the Doctor. When I caught his eye, I merely shrugged my shoulders. Usually my dad was more inquisitive than this.
The Doctor said he knew of a structure on the other side of a ridge. I mentioned it would be rough to push my father in the wheelchair over the terrain. Then he pointed to an area behind the Tardis I hadn't seen. There was a road, a paved road. It was made with the same purple stone sticking out of the ground.
It was a lovely little cottage. The people there knew the Doctor. The people, I mean aliens with lilac skin smooth as a dolphin, two legs with feet that had soft pads but looked similar to an elephant, bodies that were thick at the bottom but elongated to a thin neck and oval shaped heads. Their eyes were friendly looking. They spoke to us telepathically. They were a gentle race and very welcoming. We had a wonderful time; it was like visiting old friends.
Sooner than expected, it was time to go. We went back towards the TARDIS.
When we came over the ridge, there was a group of people clad in red with golden emblems on their shoulders surrounding the blue box.
"Who are they, Doctor?" I asked.
"My people, Gallifreyans," he answered flatly.
As we approached, a woman with dark skin in red armor with a high flared collar up around her head with swirly emblems on each shoulder and trimmed in gold stepped forward and gave a nod towards the Doctor.
"How did you find me, General?" he asked her.
"We have our ways," she answered. "You know what happens now, Doctor."
"I'm arrested," he returned.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. You need to come with us immediately. Please come quietly or we'll be forced to do drastic measures. Don't worry, we'll make sure they get home safely."
"I don't understand? Why is he being arrested?" I asked the General.
"He has broken several time laws. One, in particular, is causing more harm than good. The end of time is shortening, coming closer to the present time, because he decided that one of his companion's life was more important than time itself."
I looked over at the Doctor. I remember him telling me about the woman he had to lie to so she wouldn't travel with him. It must have been her. I deduced that this man in front of me must have the biggest heart if he was willing to destroy time for someone he cared about. He looked at me and shrugged his shoulders.
"It was nice meeting you, Mary and Tom. I'm afraid our journey has ended. They'll take you home," the Doctor said giving a nod to the General.
"What will happen to you?" I asked.
"He'll be put on trial and then an appropriate consequence will be decided upon," the General explained.
"I didn't ask you," I said heatedly towards the General.
I turned back to the Doctor. "What will happen to you, Doctor?" I had a strange feeling he could read my thoughts. I could see him trying not to smile. I was right.
"Oh, I don't know," he said casually. "I think I'll be alright, because I'll be home for Christmas."
"You can count on me," I responded.
My dad looked at us strangely.
"Please have snow and mistletoe," he continued. An image flashed in my head of ice and a vial of what looked like poison.
"And presents on the tree!" my dad exclaimed. He must have gotten the message too.
We all laughed, but the General and the others didn't look amused.
"That's enough. Time to go, Doctor," the General stated.
"Right," the Doctor said. He turned around and bumped into my dad's chair. "Terribly sorry."
The Doctor patted my father on the back and then went with the General. They got into a metallic capsule looking thing. Was that a TARDIS too? I liked the Doctor's much better.
"Please, come with us. We'll use the Doctor's Tardis to take you back," one of the soldiers said.
I nodded and wheeled my father into the TARDIS. Inside, the soldiers, six of them, surrounded the console. They asked where and when we were from. I gave them the information. That was it. My adventures with the Doctor were over.
My father started to roll towards the corridor.
"Where are you going?" I whispered to him as I came up behind him.
"You got the message," he said.
"Yes, but I don't understand what it means," I said.
"I don't either but I think we need to find those things," he said. "Before we get off the Tardis."
"Where are you two going?" a soldier said taking a step away from the console.
"Bathroom," we said in unison. The soldier stared at us, but nodded.
We quickly made it into the corridor. Being stuck on the TARDIS for two months had its advantages. I knew where to go to get the poison. The Doctor had a room with vials and vials of potions, poisons, and antidotes. He had another room full of viruses, diseases, and cures. I went for the potions and poisons room.
"You know where to go?" my father asked as I ran down the hallway.
"Yep," I answered.
I tried hard to remember the vial he had shown me. It had a golden liquid in it, almost the color of honey. I had a strong feeling it didn't taste like honey. Then again, maybe it did? The effects certainly would not be like honey.
"How did you know where to go?" my father asked as I wheeled him into a room with cabinets full of vials.
"Think of the lyrics. Mistletoe. It's poisonous if you eat the berries. I found this room when I was traveling by myself last year. It's full of poisons. Here, you look in these cabinets. Don't bother with those over there. Those are antidotes," I said as I parked him in front of a few low cabinets.
I went for the higher cabinets. I pulled out every honey colored vial I could put my hands on. My father did the same thing. On a counter, we spread them out.
"How do we know which one it is?" I asked. My father shook his head.
I started looking at the labels. I could briefly see they were written in a different language but as I focused on the it turned to English. The one I was holding said 'viper venom.' I continued to read them all.
"What species is he?" my father asked out of the blue. I was trying to figure out how to pronounce what was written on the next vial and failing.
"Uh, Gallifreyan. Time Lord. Why?" I asked as I glanced over at him. He held up a vial. "What is that?"
"Drazard blood. Says here it renders Gallifreyans immobile," he said reading the label.
"Anything about humans?" I asked. He read and shook his head. "Okay, we have one. Now, we just need the other item. To me, in the vision it looked like ice. Thinking about the lyrics he was referring to snow."
"I don't think it was ice," my father said. "Think about it. Why would ice be helpful in his situation? He said it himself, Gallifreyans are the 'oldest and most mighty race in the universe.' I don't see how ice can bring down a Gallifreyan. Now, diamond on the other hand might."
"That's it! Diamond!" I said excitedly. "But the piece he showed up us was extremely large. Where are we going to find something like that?"
"You know this TARDIS better than me. You tell me," my father said to me.
I began to think where I would hide a diamond that big. In a volt in my bedroom, I thought. Why not? I wheeled my father out of the potion and poison room and back towards the way we came. He kept shifting in his chair. I assumed it was jitters and excitement. Then he reached behind himself.
"What the . . .," he said as he pulled something from behind his back. "What is . . . this is the Doctor's sonic screwdriver."
What was the sonic doing there? Then I thought back, the Doctor had bumped into my dad before being arrested. He must have purposely dropped it there.
"Hang onto it, Dad. I think we're going to need it," I said as I ran faster to the Doctor's bedroom.
By this time, it had been a while for us to be using the bathroom. The soldiers sent one of them to find us. He caught sight of us just as we were approaching the Doctor's bedroom. I cursed loudly, but made it into the bedroom before the soldier did.
"The sonic, Dad! Sonic the door!" I yelled wheeling him around to face it. He did just in time.
On the other side, the soldier pounded on the door screaming for us to open it. I ignored the banging and immediately started searching in drawers, behind paintings and photos on the walls. There was no hidden compartment in the wall or anything. I even looked in his nightstand. There was nothing. The only places to look were the bookshelves. What was the old saying? "The pen is mightier than the sword," or some such, I recited in my head. I rushed over to the bookshelf and starting searching titles.
"What?" my dad said excitedly trying to wheel himself over to me.
"Diamond, diamond, diamond," I repeated under my breath.
"What about it?" he asked.
"HERE!" I screamed.
I had found it. The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope, it said on the spine. I pulled it from the shelf and all the books around it. There behind the books was a small hidden door. I opened it. Sure enough, inside was the large diamond, as big as a Rubix Cube™. I pulled it out.
"Wow, that's a big diamond," he said.
"What the hell are we supposed to do with it?" I asked.
"I don't know about that, but I think I know what to do with the blood," my dad said. "Tuck the diamond beside me and hold out your hands."
I did as my dad said. He then he poured a bit of the honey colored blood on my hands. It wasn't as sticky as honey, but definitely the consistency of blood.
"Rub your hands together like you're putting on lotion," he said.
Then I got it. I did as he said. We went back over to the door. He looked up at me. I nodded. He sonicked the door and it came open. I was standing right there with my hands out.
"What the . . . what is that?" the Gallifreyan soldier asked.
"Drazard blood," I told him. He immediately backed away.
"Stay away from me with that," he said with wide eyes.
"Fine. Give him your weapon," I demanded. The soldier handed my father the weapon. "Now, wheel my father back to the console room," I said.
When we approached the console room, there was another soldier in the hall.
"Where have you been? We're ready to take off," she said. Then she surveyed the scene. "What's going on here?"
"Drazard blood," the soldier pushing my father said. The woman soldier stopped and took a few steps back.
"Stay away," she said.
"Put the gun down," I told her. She did. "Move."
We all entered the console room.
It didn't take much persuading after I knocked out one of the soldiers with the Drazard blood to get them to take us where the Doctor was being held.
We landed just outside his cell. By the time we exited the TARDIS, his face was pressed up against the window of his cell door. He was smiling.
"Did you bring it?" he asked as my father and I approached the cell door.
"Yes," I said, "but I don't think we're going to need it," I said it as I held up my hands.
"Oh!" he said backing away from the little window a bit, "You found the Drazard's blood too. Excellent. Just don't touch me with it."
I held my hands out to the guard by his cell who had already backed up. "Let him out."
"Yes, ma'am," the burly man said. He unlocked the door and the Doctor stepped out.
"Where is it?" the Doctor asked keeping his distance from me.
"Dad has it," I told him.
"Good. Right," he said but he didn't seem cheerful even though we had just freed him. "It's time to set things straight."
"What are you talking about?" I asked as he took hold of the handles on my father's wheelchair and wheeled him away from the Tardis down the corridor.
"Come one, Bloody Mary, you'll see," he said as he pushed my father and I trailed behind him as I looked at my hands after his remark.
We ended up in a room with a large table in the middle and chairs sitting around it. It looked like a board room but I gathered it was much more than that. The General was there in her regality. Some of them had more subdued outfits of cotton or thereabouts but with the same color scheme.
"Do you have it?" the woman said that I had seen before.
"No," the Doctor said. The General glared at him. "He does."
The Doctor indicated my father. Everyone in the room stared at my father. Dad looked scared for a moment then realized what the Doctor meant. He pulled out the large diamond from under the blanket. The woman looked at it curiously as she approached and then she scowled.
"Is this a joke?" she asked.
"No. I mean, yes. Just a bit of irony," he said.
"It will take us ages to get into that," she seethed.
"Yes, I know," the Doctor said with a smirk. "Good luck."
The Doctor turned around but I was there with my hands at the ready. His eyes popped wide and he stared at me. The look I returned was treacherous.
"What's this? Mutiny?" he asked with disdain in his eyes.
"I don't want the end of the universe to come tomorrow, Doctor," I said calmly. "Open it for them. I know you can. You might be that vile to them, but you're not that despicable to yourself. If the contents are that important, you would make sure you could easily access them. Open it."
"You don't even know what's inside," he said. "Instead of saving the universe, it could end it now."
"Then tell me what's inside? If you're own people are willing to arrest you to stop the destruction of time, it must be important. I highly doubt they want the end of the universe to happen tomorrow. Do you, Doctor? Because that is what will happen if they have to chip away at that diamond. It will take ages and the end of the universe will come tomorrow."
I was angry with him.
The Doctor glared at me and then his gaze melted away to sadness. He looked over at my father and then back to me. I'm not sure what was going through his mind or if it was something I said, but he turned around and took the cube of diamond from the General. Taking out his sonic screwdriver he changed the settings, held it against his finger and zapped it. When he pulled his finger away, a drop of blood blossomed on it. He swiped the finger with the blood across the top of the cube. Then, like a brick puzzle, it began to disassemble itself. Tiny diamond bricks parted and moved to the side remaining attached as a whole but opening to a small cavern inside where a vial sat. He took the vial out.
"What is that, Doctor?" I asked with my hands still held up ready to touch him in case he tried to bolt out the door with it. "You still haven't told me."
"The Gallifreyans can track every TARDIS, except two. Mine, and Clara's," he started to explain.
"The woman you lied to last year?" I questioned for clarity.
"Yes," the Doctor answered. "When I was in the diner, which was really a TARDIS she had stolen, I took a piece of it, a chip. It's the only way to track her. I've been following her all year, secretly, but I remembered my promise to you."
The Doctor then turned to the General and said, "I will hand this over on one condition."
"Go ahead," she said.
"How did you find me?" he asked.
"We couldn't trust your enemies to turn you over, not before trying to kill you. If they had managed to succeed we would have been looking at extermination within a few years," the General explained. "Instead, we asked your friends to assist us. When you landed on Belvereen, your friend, Amosaist, gave us a call. I'm sorry, Doctor, but even your friends don't want to see the end of the universe before its time."
The Doctor was very quiet. Then he extended his hand to the General to give her the chip. She took it with a small smile.
"Thank you, Doctor," the General said. Then she asked, "Do you want to see . . . ?"
"No," he answered shortly before she could finish the question.
The room suddenly became very quiet. The General and everyone else but the Doctor, my dad, and myself, left the room. I assumed it was to track down Clara as soon as possible. I finally lowered my hands. The look of heartbreak on his face was more than enough to tell me that there was more to the story about Clara but I wasn't going to ask. He had seen her die once. He wouldn't do it a second time. I wanted to hug him, to tell him that the hurt won't be a constant all the time, but only when memories crept in to remind him of those precious moments with the one he loved. I think what hurt the most in that moment, was not seeing the Doctor heartbroken, but knowing I had never experienced that kind of love and devotion.
Finally, the Doctor spoke, "I'll take you home."
When we finally got to my dad's nursing home, I was cleaned up (no more blood on my hands), Dad was asking if we really did go to another planet and save the end of the universe, but the Doctor remained quiet. He said a few things here and there to reassure my father that what took place actually did, but I could tell the outcome was not what he wanted.
While we were dropping off my father, the Doctor hung by the doorway of my father's room while I helped my dad take off his coat and blanket. My dad pulled me down to whisper in my ear. I nodded to my father.
"I had the same idea," I whispered back.
Then it was my turn to be dropped off. Again, the Doctor wasn't his usual talkative self as he walked me to my door. I unlocked it and turned around just as the Doctor was about to turn back to his TARDIS.
"Doctor, would you like to come in for a cup of tea?" I asked trying to get him to stay, to be with someone during his grief.
"No, thank you. I really should be going," he said with a weak smile, then turned away from me.
"Doctor, what you did today was very brave," I said, my voice cracking with emotion. He stopped walking but didn't turn around. "I know I could never do it. You sacrificed someone you loved for the greater good. I can only imagine how that is tearing you apart inside. I want to thank you, on behalf of all the universe, thank you for sparing us."
By the time I finished, tears were falling down my cheeks. The Doctor remained motionless. I figured he was too emotionally distraught to say anything. I just wanted to let him know that what he did mattered and there were people who still loved him because of it.
The Doctor then took a step. I ran to him and gave him a hug.
"Please, come for Christmas," I told him as I let go. "My father and I would love to have you."
The Doctor didn't verbally answer me. He hummed I'll Be Home For Christmas as he walked towards the TARDIS. I took that as a 'yes.'