I wanted to do a little story with Steven and Sara and somehow decided to make it related to Christmas. Sorry about the unseasonal story, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyways!
Sara sipped at her champagne, enjoying the bubbles that popped on her tongue. Although she couldn't remember ever liking the taste before, she certainly enjoyed it now. She drained her glass in only a few seconds.
The Doctor chuckled, took her glass, and poured some more. "There you are, my dear, drink up. Yes, that's right."
"Thanks, Doctor," Sara smiled.
"Hey, Doc, can I –"
A cold look from the older man sent Steven backpedalling.
"Doctor," he corrected himself, "can I have another glass?"
The Doctor's pout turned into a grin as he obliged. "I can't remember the last time I celebrated Christmas. I'm happy to get the chance again; I've missed it."
Sara looked puzzled. "You can't remember?"
"When time is relative, one can tend to forget things. By Earth's measure of time, my last two Christmases were spent battling Daleks." He stared at his glass for a moment and shrugged. "But if I do remember correctly, the TARDIS has a room with a nice, warm fireplace. That'll certainly put us in the Christmas spirit, hmm?"
Steven and Sara followed the Doctor down one of the TARDIS hallways. Sara tried to ask about what was behind several of the doors they passed, but Steven told her it was helpless, much to the Doctor's amusement.
"I couldn't tell you about some of these rooms, you know," the Doctor said.
"Yet you've been travelling in this machine for how long?" Sara asked, incredulous.
"He can't even control where it lands," Steven said.
The Doctor scoffed and waved his hand. "Now this room should be somewhere around –" he trailed off and opened a door to the left. "Yes, here it is!"
The room was so different from the rest of the TARDIS that Steven and Sara were taken aback. The dark green walls were a great contrast to the sterile white walls that they were used to seeing. A warm brown sofa and recliner sat in front of a blazing fire. On either side of the fireplace, two bookshelves stood, stacked with tomes, some with titles that Sara and Steven couldn't read.
The Doctor stepped inside and looked around. He faced a corner of the room and smiled. "Why, Barbara was right."
Sara looked to Steven for an explanation, but he was as confused as she was. They stepped into the room and saw what the Doctor was so pleased with.
A Christmas tree, at least ten feet tall, stood tucked into the corner. Its white lights illuminated what the fire did not. Dozens of ornaments of different shapes and colors decorated the tree. Each one reflected the lights, making the entire tree look as if it was lit up.
"Oh, Doctor, it's beautiful!" Sara moved closer to the tree for a better look.
"It certainly is, isn't it? The TARDIS decorated it," the Doctor said.
"The TARDIS, did you say?" Steven said, not understanding.
"Yes, I never knew it had such a talent for trimming trees." The Doctor chuckled and moved forward to inspect.
Steven was confused. "How did the TARDIS decorate the tree?"
The Doctor carefully lifted an ornament and examined it. "For a while now, I've suspected that this ship is more than just a machine."
"You didn't decorate the tree years ago and just forget about it?" Steven asked, skeptical.
"Oh, no, dear boy. I am just as surprised as you are, you know."
A high-pitched hiccough brought the two men's attention to Sara. She gave a small smile and sheepishly finished the rest of her champagne.
The Doctor replaced the ornament and lifted the bottle. "Allow me," he offered, pouring more of the fizzy liquid into Sara's glass. "There you are. Now, I think I shall enjoy this gift of fire the ship has left us." He placed the bottle on an end table next to the sofa before claiming the recliner. He happily sighed as he sat and closed his eyes.
Sara followed his lead and took the sofa seat closest to him. Crossing one leg over the other, she leaned back and, perhaps for the first time in a long while, relaxed.
As he swirled the drink in his glass, Steven thought about how strange the pair looked: the Doctor in his long coat and Sara in her uniform. Relaxed, but somehow still formal. Steven decided he could at least get rid of his tie. He pulled it off and placed it next to the champagne bottle before sitting by Sara.
Once Steven had made himself comfy, he said, "This is nice, Doctor."
"Hmm?" the Doctor didn't bother to open his eyes. "Yes, whatever you say," he mumbled. It was only a matter of seconds before he drifted off to sleep.
Sara was headed the same route, but Steven found himself restless. He bounced his leg and glanced around the room, unsure of what to do. The crackling fire seemed deafening in the stillness of the small room. When he couldn't take the silence any longer, Steven said, "Didn't expect to spend Christmas in a time machine, did you?"
Surprised by the sudden noise, Sara jumped. She confusedly looked around the room before realizing that Steven had been the one who had spoken. "No, I didn't think I'd find myself here," she said, rubbing her eyes.
She still made Steven feel uneasy, even though they were joined together against the Daleks. If he wanted to be more comfortable, he figured he'd have to talk to her. Scratching at a spot on his chin, he asked, "How do you usually spend Christmas?"
"With my –" Sara cut herself off. Steven watched her fight some kind of conflict in her mind. Sighing, she said, "With Bret."
"Oh, Sara, I'm sorry."
"Not right now," Sara said, waving one hand and rubbing her forehead with the other. She reached for her glass and drained the remaining champagne. When she saw there was no more left in the bottle, she sighed and said, "What about you?"
Steven gave a wry smile. "This is the first time I'm spending Christmas with people in two years. I had no way of knowing when it was here."
"Two years?" Sara repeated, stunned. "Where were you?"
"On Mechanus. I crash-landed there when I got caught in some crossfire. The Mechanoids found me and kept me in their city to show off."
"The city of Mechanus was destroyed hundreds of years ago; the planet's nothing but jungle now." Sara said skeptically.
"I know that, I was there when the Daleks destroyed it. The Doctor and some friends of his got me out, so here I am now."
"So here you are," Sara nodded, "spending Christmas inside an old man's time machine."
"It's better than last year."
They sank into a thoughtful silence, thinking of holidays that had passed. Steven finished the rest of his glass and was also disappointed to find the bottle empty. He stared at it for a moment before getting up from the couch and walking to the bookshelf to the left of the fireplace. He hummed a tune as he walked and pulled open the top drawer of the bookcase.
Sara watched him open each drawer before moving to the other bookshelf. He pulled open the first drawer and said, "Yes, here we are." He lifted a bottle from the drawer and held it under his arm. After digging around some more, he found a corkscrew. Soon, he had the bottle open and had filled his and Sara's glass.
"What is it?" Sara asked, examining the dark red liquid.
"Dunno," Steven shrugged. He sipped out of his glass and read the label on the bottle. "It's in a different language."
To his surprise, Sara began to laugh. She tried to stop, but only made herself laugh more. Steven tried to take another drink, but couldn't help but join in with Sara. "Just what is so funny?" he managed to say.
"I have no idea!" Sara threw her head back and laughed harder.
A loud snore silenced both Sara and Steven. The Doctor suddenly sat up in his chair, glaring at both of them. "I'd thank the two of you to keep it down."
"Yes, Doctor," Sara hurried to apologize. It didn't help her any, though. She covered her mouth and doubled over with laughter. Luckily for her, the Doctor had already started to drift back off to sleep.
Steven tried to shush her, but she was out of his control. She buried her face into his shoulder to reduce the noise. Eventually, he felt her giggles subside. However, she allowed her head to remain resting on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I don't know what came over me."
A smile crept on Steven's lips. He didn't know how to respond to a trained Space Security Service agent's fit of laughter. Instead, he kept quiet and watched the glowing fire. The oranges and yellows held his attention. He hadn't realized that he was falling asleep until Sara shifted slightly and said his name softly. He drowsily made some kind of noise in response. "What was that song you were humming a little bit ago?" Sara asked.
"Song?" Steven muttered, his eyelids drooping again.
"When you found the bottle."
The notes came to his mind and he hummed a few bars. "That one?" he asked.
"Yes, that was it. What is it?"
"Oh, it's just an old Christmas song. 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.'"
"It sounds familiar."
"It's pretty well known."
Sara smirked. "From your time?" she asked.
"Definitely not," Steven scoffed. "It was classical when I was a kid."
"Sing it."
"W-what?" Steven stuttered. She sat up and looked at him expectantly. To his horror, Steven realized she wasn't joking. She actually wanted him to sing. "I'll wake up the Doctor," he said, folding his arms.
"Come on, it doesn't have to be loud," Sara persisted, her gray eyes boring into his brown ones.
When he couldn't hold her gaze, he looked at the sleeping Doctor. "Fine, but you can't laugh."
Sara took a drink, waiting expectantly.
With a deep breath, Steven began to sing softly. He tried to keep quiet, giving his voice an airy sound. "Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light."
"You sound fine. What were you so worried about?"
He didn't stop to answer. The bittersweet tune, although low, drowned out the noise of the fire. Steven stared into the hearth, unwilling to look at Sara. He missed her half-hearted attempts to stay awake. Nor did he see the Doctor slowly stir from his sleep to listen.
"Someday soon we all will be together, if the fates allow. Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow."
As Steven took a breath for the last line of the song, the Doctor finished it for him. "So have yourself a merry little Christmas now."
"You know that song, Doc?"
The Doctor shushed him, ignoring the nickname. "Quiet down, boy. You'll wake Sara up."
Steven was too tired to argue. He watched the fire flicker until he, too, had fallen asleep.
"I suppose we should head off to –" the Doctor began to say. He noticed that both of his companions were now sleeping. "This is also nice," he decided. "Yes, we can stay here for a while."
Thanks for reading! ^_^