A/N: I know the 12 Days of Christmas are meant to start after Christmas, but there's a thing on a TV channel around Halloween that is the 13 Nights of Halloween that begin before Halloween as a countdown, imagine it's the same thing here, a countdown to Christmas instead :) Cheers!

~8~

12 Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...A Vortex Manipulator.

"Riv!" a voice shouted as River Song wandered down the halls of Luna University. It was almost Christmas, the university decked out in all sorts of holiday themes and decorations, just a little less than a fortnight left, twelve days. She had gotten all her shopping done, just had to wrap her gifts for LJ and a few for his parents and Baby-him.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Listen," he said quickly, digging in his bag, "I've got to get to my exam, but mum sent a gift, I just wanted to give it to you."

"Thanks," she smiled, taking the gift, the small green wrapped present with a red bow, and looking up at LJ when he just stood there, "You're going to be late."

It was the first of his last winter exams. They'd be graduating next spring.

"Yeah, thanks, never would have guessed that," he replied sarcastically, "I'm not going till you open it."

"But it's not Christmas yet," she countered.

"I know, but in the TARDIS it sort of already is and mum really wants to know if you like it, so if you could hurry it up just a bit..."

She sighed and opened the gift, pulling out a small white box. She frowned, opening it, before her eyes widened, spotting a handmade Vortex Manipulator. Just what she'd been dying to get her hands on for years.

"Oh my God," she breathed.

"Brilliant!" LJ cheered, before turning to dash off, "I'll let mum know you like it. Gotta go!"

River laughed as he rushed off, putting the VM back in her box carefully and placing it in her bag.

~8~

On the second day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Two Sonic Screwdrivers.

"Guess what," LJ beamed as he plopped down before River as she sat in the library, studying.

"What?" she whispered, not glancing up.

He rolled his eyes and slid a small narrow box over to her, on top of her notes, keeping her from studying, "From dad."

River looked at him, "And let me guess, it's Christmas for them so you want me to open it now too."

"Yep," he grinned.

She shook her head but opened the TARDIS blue box with the little white bow on it. She laughed, seeing two sonic screwdrivers sitting there, very ordinary ones, but ones she knew LJ was dying to experiment on...

She picked one up, handing it to him, he'd destroyed his last sonic trying to upgrade it and had been moping for the last month about it.

"Thanks!" he grinned, taking the offered sonic, the little blue light on it lighting up as he flashed River.

She laughed, flashing her red tipped one at him.

"Quiet!" the librarian hissed, "This is a library!"

They looked at each other and burst out in tiny, silent, chuckles.

~8~

On the third day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Three Little Sontarans.

"What now?" River asked as LJ met up with her outside her exam.

"From Mini-Me," he held out a flat, rectangular, wrapped parcel in white.

She rolled her eyes but had to smile, she really wanted to meet baby-him one day. He must have been adorable. An adorable, drooling mess of a baby. She pulled the paper off, laughing as she saw a child's storybook, 'The Three Little Sontarans.'

"Dad used to read me books like that," he nodded, "Thought you might enjoy it too."

She smiled, "You mean he read it, or did he just flip through it for you?"

LJ laughed, "No, he read it. We CAN read at a normal pace you know."

She snorted. Right...

LJ just loved showing off.

~8~

On the fourth day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Four Tubes of Hallucinogenic Lipstick.

"You're kidding me," River remarked as LJ grinned, holding out a small box to her. She'd just opened it to see four tubes of lipstick, hallucinogenic lipstick, "You really think I go around kissing that many people that I'd need four tubes?"

He snorted, "River you've kissed so many people you've burned through six tubes of regular lipstick already."

Her eyes narrowed, "I WEAR lipstick," she countered, "Wearing it is not the same as wearing it out via kissing!" she whacked him on the arm with the small box.

He just laughed, the spirit of Christmas already working away, he couldn't be mad at Christmas, "Well…just imagine all the things we could get into if you DID need all those tubes!"

And then she smacked him on the back of the head.

~8~

On the fifth day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Five Festive Fezzes.

"I'm not wearing that," River remarked as she opened the box before her to see a fez lying there.

"Come on Riv!" LJ pouted, "We're all wearing them!"

She sighed, looking at the bow-tie wearing Doctor, Evy, and Baby-LJ, before her, on a monitor. Evy had hacked into the computer system of the school, wanting to 'pop in' to say Merry Christmas even though they weren't actually popping in and it wasn't actually Christmas yet, the Doctor had got the timing a bit off when he'd helped her.

The three of them were each wearing a fez, as was LJ, and now they were waiting for her to wear one as well.

She sighed, it was for Christmas, and Baby LJ was waving his arms excitedly, tugging at the tassel of his own fez, Evy trying desperately to keep the miniature fez on her son's head. She picked hers up and put it on her head.

"Merry Christmas!" the Doctor cheered.

~8~

On the sixth day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Six Fish Fingers and Custard.

"I'm not eating that," River grimaced as LJ held out a small bowl of custard, six fish fingers sticking out of them.

"Oh come on Riv," he grinned, "Dad sent them specially for you!" he wiggled the bowl before her, "He somehow found out that you'd never had fish fingers and custard before and…"

River's eyes narrowed, "He just…found out did it?"

"Yep."

"All on his own?"

"Yep."

"Mysteriously?"

"Yep."

"From you."

"Yep…no!" his eyes widened as she smirked, she'd gotten better at that, tricking him into confessing things. He sighed, "Alright, alright, so…I might have mentioned it in passing…"

He'd called his father up as soon as he'd found out.

"Look, it's a really great treat," he shook his head, holding it out to her again, "Just give it a try."

"No."

"Please?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"It's disgusting J!"

"Ah," he grinned, "But how do you know if you've never tried it?"

She rolled her eyes, knowing he'd use that argument till it was beaten to death before continuing to use it even after. She sighed, grabbing a fish finger, dipped in the custard, and took a bite. She chewed it for a moment before nearly gagging and turning to spit it out into a napkin as LJ sniggered.

"There," she crossed her arms, "I tried it. You can eat the rest."

"Nah," he shook his head, setting the bowl down.

"Why not?" her eyes narrowed.

He shrugged, "Tried it once, it was disgusting," he stuck out his tongue.

River's jaw tensed, and he'd made her eat it?

"J…"

"Yes Riv?"

"Run."

LJ's eyes widened and he took off, an angry River chasing after him.

~8~

On the seventh day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Seven Keys to Doomsday.

"Another gift from Mini-Me," LJ called, handing her another rectangular object.

She laughed, pulling the silver wrapping off it, she rather liked Baby-LJ's gifts, they were…surprisingly thoughtful for a baby. Every book she was given of his gave her another look into what he'd been like as a baby, how he'd been raised, the stories he knew.

She laughed, "'The Seven Keys to Doomsday?' That was a bedtime story?" she raised an eyebrow at him, "Rather dark isn't it?"

He scoffed, "Oh and a Huntsman cutting a wolf's stomach open after said wolf ate a human is so much better?"

She rolled her eyes, widening a bit as she saw another title above it, "Snow White? 'Snow White and the Seven Keys to Doomsday?'"

He smirked, "Where do you think the Brothers Grimm got all their ideas from?"

She blinked, "You're not telling me that they were adapting Time Lord fairytales for humans?"

"No," he laughed, "But, sitting round a campfire, some stories do come up, they're exchanged…"

"The Doctor?" she asked, wanting to know. It was always fascinating to learn just how much of a hand that man had had in shaping human existence.

"Actually, mum," he smirked, "Dad wasn't too pleased when Jacob hit on her…"

River laughed, recalling various tales of how quite a few men had taken to making their affection for LJ's mother known…much to the ire of his father.

She looked down at the book again, she really couldn't wait to actually meet Baby-LJ one day.

~8~

On the eighth day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Eight Dissertation Sources.

"And who's this from?" River asked as she sat on her bed, eating some dinner with LJ as the boy brought some food over along with a slightly large box, wrapped in brown paper with pink polka dots.

"Me," he told her, "But…I think you might want to open it now. Knowing you, you'll really want to have the extra days to take a look through."

She frowned, confused, but put her food aside to open the present. She pulled the lid off, looking in to see eight books on their sides, their spines up for her to see them. Her eyes widened, her hearts racing as she saw the titles, knowing that there had to be a reason LJ was giving her those particular books.

She pulled one out, flipping open to the table of contents, her eyes widening, seeing reference to the Doctor in a chapter title, flipping to that page, skimming it. She did the same with the other books, all of them specifically referencing the Doctor at a key point in history, by name.

"Oh my God…" she breathed, staring up at him, her eyes wide, "J…"

He shrugged, "He's my dad, I know what he gets up to, the people he's met. Some of them wrote about him," he tapped the book in her hand, "I figured this could help with your dissertation, I know you needed a few more sources…"

"Thank you!" she shouted, half-throwing herself at him, tackling him off the edge of her bed where he'd sat and onto the floor, hugging him in thanks as he 'oof'ed and laughed, happy he'd made her so happy.

~8~

On the ninth day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Nine Bags of Jelly Babies.

"Oh my God!" River cheered, tearing a bag open and popping the morsel within into her mouth, chewing happily.

LJ laughed, "I take it you like it?"

"Of course," she beamed, "You know I love Jelly Babies!" she popped another one into her mouth.

He'd given her a little gift bag, which she'd dug through, only to pull out nine small bags of Jelly Babies, her favorite treat.

"Thank you!" she tossed one at him, laughing as he caught it in his mouth.

He chewed, laughing as well, he'd wanted to get her something sweet…she'd need it when she saw the gift his father had gotten her.

Oh boy…

~8~

On the tenth day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Ten Bow-Ties.

River blinked as she pulled out ten bow-ties from the box LJ had given her, a gift from his father.

LJ rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah…sorry about that."

That was all that had to be said.

~8~

On the eleventh day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Eleven Different Doctors.

"Got something in from mum," LJ remarked as he dropped a flat envelope before River at breakfast, Christmas Eve Eve, the 23rd of December.

She bit her toast, holding it in her mouth as she picked up the envelope, sliding a finger across the top to open it. She reached in, pulling out a lovely folder-like item. She frowned, opening it, before looking at LJ in confusion, "Who're they?" she asked, turning the folder so he could see it was like a small book, full of 11 different sketches of some man. The only one she recognized was the Doctor she'd met when the parents had come to visit.

LJ grinned, looking at the men softly, "They're dad."

"No they're not."

He shook his head, "Remember, we can regenerate? Change our faces?"

Her eyes widened as she snatched the booklet back, flipping through the pages, they weren't in any particular order, there were old men mixed with younger men, tall men with short...but they were all the same man apparently.

He laughed, "Imagine that, 11 different Doctors, for Christmas."

River sighed, "Now I just need 11 different Evys to go with it."

LJ laughed, sipping his tea, "Maybe for your birthday."

~8~

On the twelfth day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Twelve Jammie Dodgers.

"I'm telling you he doesn't exist," River remarked dryly as LJ scooped some of the cookies he'd just made off the cooling tray, a mound of Jammie Dodgers already sorted and finished.

"Yes he does, and his name is Jeff," LJ countered, "I've met Father Christmas personally Riv."

River rolled her eyes at that, there were times she wasn't sure if he was making things up or not, "And you think putting Jammie Dodgers out will make him visit, like a beacon or something."

"Oh, no," he scrunched his face, "We're not making the cookies for him. He prefers chocolate chip anyway."

She blinked, confused, "Then who are we making them for?"

He put twelve on a plate, handing them to her to keep, before taking the rest and placing it before a makeshift fireplace in the wall of her dorm room, "You'll see," he stepped back, eyeing his watch, "Only a few seconds before Christmas," he grinned, quietly counting down the time as she munched on a Jammie Dodger.

And then, just as it hit midnight, Christmas day, the familiar old wheezing sounded.

River smiled when the bright blue box appeared before them, though she frowned a moment later, there was something...different...about it.

"Remember how you asked to meet MY parents," LJ remarked, heading over to knock on the TARDIS door, "Well...Merry Christmas Riv."

The doors to the TARDIS opened and two very different Time Lords stepped out.

"Merry Christmas indeed," River breathed, touched that she got to see that little bit of the future LJ always kept from her, HIS parents.

The twelfth Doctor and Evy.

A very Merry Christmas it was.

A/N: No idea who the next Doctor/Evy would be or when they'd be appearing (hopefully not for some time lol) so I kept it a little vague. I hope you liked this chapter. The next one will be posted on New Years Eve and will be the start of the non-sequenced chapters. This story began counting up, 1 to 12, and now we'll just get random adventures of their time together. I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed DW won't be aired till April, I have quite a few adventures I want LJ and River to be out on but I can't post them till after TATM where we find out something about their adventures in particular that I don't want to spoil till I post that chapter, so we'll probably get a few more University chapters and so on, maybe an adventure or two of when LJ was in the background of River's adventures with the Doctor and Amy. We'll see :)

But yay, Christmas special airs today! So excited to meet Clara :) And...speaking of Christmas...

Suprise! Christmas gift announcement! Today I will give you...

A new chapter of Recollections.

TWO drabbles for Sneak Peeks (the second to be posted in a few hours).

And! The Woman, for my Sherlock story (Holmes Is Where the Heart Is).

AND! A surprise Supernatural chapter tagged onto the end of 'Heaven!'

So many chapters! I hope you enjoy them.

Happy Holidays!