The Doctor swaggered into the TARDIS with a smile on his face - the biggest smile. He'd done it again.
December 24th, 2038: planet Earth had been in need of saving, just as it always had, and he'd saved it, just as he always had.
The Autons had been invading (not just London - the whole world) and he'd defeated them with a rubber band, a television remote and a mince pie of all things! And to top it all off, it had snowed. And it wasn't ash from disintegrating spaceships, or an excitation in the atmosphere; it had actually snowed.
He was on top of the world, and as he danced around the console pushing buttons and pulling levers, something dawned on him. He was in the mood for Christmas. He was really in the mood for Christmas. He wanted the chestnuts, the Yule log, the ding dong merrily on high!; everything.
But then something else dawned on him.
He was all alone.
The Doctor had a whole room in the TARDIS dedicated to Christmas. It was a big room too, containing forests of trees, seas of decorations and even the odd sleigh or two. But none of it was any use to him if he was on his own. After all, he couldn't pull a cracker by himself, he couldn't kiss nobody under the mistletoe and he couldn't sing a solo to Christmas songs he didn't know the words to.
Suddenly the console room seemed that bit more spacious.
There was always the thought, he supposed, of giving one of his companions a buzz. Then again, maybe not. After all, they all had someone else.
Rose had her Doctor, but she was out of reach anyway.
Martha had her husband and a whole life to be getting on with.
Jack had his team and he had people to protect.
Sarah Jane had her son and a whole life of her own.
And Donna… well, Donna had her mother and grandfather, but she didn't have her memories.
Donna...The Doctor recalled what she'd said to him long ago.
He needed someone.
Maybe he didn't just need someone to stop him, though.
He recalled what he himself had said oh so long ago.
He needed someone's hand to hold.
He continued to stab at buttons on the console, the enthusiasm he had been brimming with just moments before seemingly having subsided, as the grind of ancient engines began to sound.
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Well, that's the first chapter. A bit short, I know, but I'll be updating it soon, hopefully!