The Christmas Invasion I

Callie stumbled straight into a pair of strong arms. Instinctively, she clung to them and put her full weight on the person. She fell face-first into their chest, and she groaned as the dizziness and stabbing pain faded. God, she hoped she got used to jumping soon. She was tired of the nausea and awful pain. Honestly, she was already tired of jumping in general.

It took her a second to regain her balance, and even then her knees were still wobbly. She stood upright, muttering an apology to whoever had caught her. Gold still flooded her vision, and she rubbed the Vortex out of her eyes. A cold chill hung in the air, seeping through her clothes and making her shiver. Once the light abated, she saw her breath crystallize in front of her lips, floating into the air above.

"Oh great, first we've got a box appearing out of thin air, and now a girl falls out of the sky, too?!"

Callie's head snapped up, eyes wide as she faced the one and only Jackie Tyler. Rose's mom, and one of Callie's favorite recurring characters in the show. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped (just a little).

Jackie Tyler was gaping at her, and Callie couldn't blame her. How weird was it to see someone literally appear out of thin air? No amount of aliens could brace you for something like that, she was sure.

In her shock, Callie stumbled back a little. She almost fell, but was caught yet again by a pair of strong arms.

"Whoa, easy there, Cal," said a smooth voice, oddly devoid of a British accent. That was when Callie realized she was in the arms of one Captain Jack Harkness.

"Wh—"

"Oh, thank god you're here," Rose exclaimed from Callie's other side. She looped her arm around Callie's as Jack finally steadied her and released her. Callie blinked, her gaze snapping from the large group of people she'd jumped in the middle of.

Rose Tyler— the actual Rose Tyler, Bad Wolf and parallel universe-jumping badass. Captain Jack Harkness— young, suave, and dripping with charm. Jackie Tyler— dressed in her usual tracksuit and gaping at Callie like she was a zoo exhibit. And Mickey Smith— who was currently struggling to hold up an unconscious Doctor.

"What the fuck did I just jump into?" Callie asked sharply. She hurried over to Mickey and the Doctor. "Is the Doctor okay?"

"I don't know," Mickey answered, shifting the Doctor's dead weight uncomfortably. "He just fell out of the TARDIS like this." Callie brushed some of the Doctor's hair— soft and brown and floppy— from his brow.

"How can that be the Doctor?" Jackie asked, looking between them all. "That's a completely different man!"

"Wait," Callie said, head snapping up. She took in the group she was with once more. "Something isn't right."

"There's a lot not right!" Rose said, half-shouting. She was close to tears. "He just— there was all this yellow light and he exploded and now he— he—"

"Not what I meant, but okay," Callie said. She realized they were all waiting for her to do something— to guide them, or explain the Doctor's regeneration. Without the Doctor conscious, she was next in command. Resolutely, she said, "We need to get him inside and warmed up. I can explain what's going on with him after. And then I have a lot of questions."

"Right, it's bloody freezing," Jackie muttered. "Get inside, I'll get the kettle going."

"Jack, can you…" Callie didn't have to finish her request, as Jack hurried to help Mickey get the Doctor up the stairs and into the Tylers' apartment. Callie and Rose followed behind, arms looped together. Rose was crying silently, and by the time they made it inside Callie realized how upset they all were.

Jackie was just freaking out about the seeing the TARDIS and Callie materialize out of thin air for the first time, though having something to keep her hands busy seemed to calm her. Mickey was frowning as he lugged the Doctor into the bed (he and Jack changed him out of Nine's leather jacket and jumper, leaving him in a white pajama set). Callie could see his hands shake. Jack— well, Jack was smiling and acting as charming as ever, but his smile was brittle and clearly just trying to bring up the mood in the room. And of course, Rose clung to her and cried.

"He's gone, isn't he?" she asked tearfully. Callie could practically hear everyone else hold their breath for her response. "The Doctor's gone and someone else took his place."

"Hey— no! Of course not," she said fiercely, stopping Rose in her tracks in the hallway. "That's still him— he's still the Doctor. His face may be different, but he's the same person underneath. I know all of his faces, and he's always the same person."

"But how did he change?" Mickey asked. Callie rubbed her eyes, feeling wholly unequipped for this conversation. Dropping in halfway through an event was really terrible.

"Okay, um, first I need to get my bearings," she said. The four of them crammed themselves into Rose's old bedroom. Callie sat on the bed next to the Doctor, Jack sat on her side by his feet. Rose hung by the door, and Mickey leaned against the dresser. As Callie spoke, Jackie brought in a tray of tea for them all.

"Okay, so— Daleks, right? There was the horde of Daleks in the future," she started. Rose nodded, sniffing.

"On Satellite Five," she said. "You were there, too. A different you. You left right after he— he changed."

Callie blinked. "Oh. Weird, thinking about a future me there." It was really weird to think that a different version of herself had been there, though she supposed it was nice to know she would be there for Nine's regeneration.

"Future you?" Jackie asked. "How do you know it's you in the future?"

"Mum, I told you," Rose said, accepting her mug of tea, "Callie jumps around the Doctor's life out of order."

"And I mean, I haven't done it yet, so it has to be in the future," Callie said. "Besides, this is my first time meeting you all."

You could have heard a pin drop as they all stared at her. Rose's face screwed up as she fought a new wave of tears. Jack rubbed his face, hiding it from view. Callie coughed awkwardly.

"Okay, so Future Me, the Doctor, Jack, and Rose were on Satellite Five," she said, plowing ahead.

"I was there, too," Mickey said.

"Spoilers!" Jack called out from behind his hands as Callie said, "What?"

"What? You thought I was too chicken to face Daleks?" Mickey asked, offended. Callie looked down at the sleeping Doctor, questions swimming in her brain.

"This is all wrong," she muttered. "How can everything be so different?"

"What do you mean, different?" Jack asked. He nudged her foot gently, trying to comfort her.

"I— I know where we are," Callie said, trying to make sense of this all. "I know what happens next. And I thought I knew what just happened, but this isn't the same now. Jack— you shouldn't even be here."

"What?" Jack asked, clearly hurt.

"Not in a 'I don't want you here' kind of way!" Callie said quickly, waving a hand in front of her. "I just mean— in the show, you weren't here in this episode. You died on Satellite Five, and then the Bad Wolf brought you back to life, but the Doctor didn't know and you got left behind. You used your vortex manipulator but landed in the wrong century." She may have left a few details out and fudged the truth some, but at least Jack looked less upset.

"And Mickey— you weren't on Satellite Five at all in the show," she continued. She stared up at him. "Are you— do you travel with the Doctor? In the TARDIS, I mean."

"Yeah, for a while now," Mickey said roughly. He was not taking this conversation well.

"How long?"

"Are we allowed to tell you, if you don't already know?" Rose cut in. She gripped her mug like someone was going to rip it from her, and the tea sloshed a little onto her hands. "Isn't that spoilers?"

"Well, he's not awake to yell at you for it," Callie joked, but no one so much as smiled. "Right, well… I guess you're right. But just— that's different, too. In the show, Mickey didn't start traveling in the TARDIS until after all this."

"So what does that all mean?" Jack asked. Callie shrugged.

"My knowledge isn't going to help as much, since so much is already different," she said, "and I don't know as much about Satellite Five as I thought. But I can still explain the regeneration, maybe that will make you all feel better."

Callie tried to answer as many questions as she could about Time Lords and regeneration, but she had the sinking feeling that they didn't really believe anything she said. She really shouldn't have mentioned that she didn't know them yet— they clearly took it to mean that she didn't know anything at all.

"But how do you know?" Mickey asked finally. "That it's still him, I mean."

Callie looked down at the Doctor, sleeping peacefully.

"Like I said, I know all his faces," she answered. "I've met this face multiple times already. He's just as much the Doctor as the version you knew. Same software, different case."

"So what happens next?" Rose asked. Her mug was half-empty and cold, but she still clutched it tight. Anything to ground her. Callie shrugged.

"Christmas, right? We can do Christmas while we wait for him to finish his regeneration cycle, and then off we go again." She paused. "If you guys want."

If this were still the show, Callie would have assumed that of course they would want to continue traveling in the TARDIS. But whatever happened on Satellite Five must have been a hell of a lot worse than in the show— the three of them looked so shaken and off-kilter that she had no idea what they might do.

No one answered her, but it was answer enough.

From his place in bed, the Doctor exhaled loudly. A thin trail of golden regeneration energy slipped through his lips and out the open window above him.

"Well," Jack said, a touch too loud, "I think we all need a change of scenery. It's Christmas, right? I've never seen a twenty-first century Christmas before." He patted Mickey on the shoulder hard. "You guys should show me how it's done."

It seemed to be exactly what Rose and Mickey needed. Something to take their minds off the Doctor and Callie. With tight smiles on their faces, they agreed to get changed and meet outside in ten minutes. Rose dug some of her old clothes out of the dresser in the bedroom, and went into the bathroom to change.

"You coming, Callie?" Jack asked from the doorway. Callie looked up, surprised at the offer. Jack tried to smile at her, but it looked more like a grimace. With a sinking feeling, she realized that it wasn't just the Doctor's new face that was putting him— and possibly the others— on edge. It was her and her unfamiliarity, as well. She was new and different, too.

"I, uh, I think you guys will have more fun without me," she said finally. Faking a laugh and nodding towards the sleeping Doctor, she added, "Plus, someone needs to keep an eye on him, right?"

Jack paused a touch too long. "Right."

Through the window, Callie watched as the three of them set off into the city. Jack had his arm looped around Rose's, and Mickey was holding onto her other hand. She couldn't see their faces, but she imagined smiles slowly growing on their faces as they relaxed. Their postures loosened the further they got away from Powell Estate. From the Doctor— and Callie.

Callie gave herself one minute to feel sorry for herself before shaking her head. Blinking back fatigue, she left the Doctor's makeshift bedroom and ventured into the living room with Jackie. Jackie was sat on the couch, the news playing on the TV in front of her.

"Prim Minister," a reporter on the TV cried, "what about those calling the Guinevere One Space Probe a waste of money?"

"Harriet Jones," Callie murmured. On screen, Harriet vehemently disagreed with the reporter, claiming the space probe was a sign of "this country's limitless ambition".

"Oh, right. You were there with them, weren't you?" Jackie said, looking up at her. She waved to the couch next to her. "Don't be shy, take a seat."

Callie sank into the couch. It was fairly cushy, just a little lumpy, and reminded her of home. "Thanks." She didn't mention that she hadn't done Aliens of London yet. Perhaps reminding everyone how young and inexperienced she was wasn't the best idea right now.

"It's not your fault everything's going crazy," Jackie said in reply. She nodded to the TV. "So, Harriet Jones. How far she's come, yeah?"

"She's Prime Minister now, right?" Callie asked. Jackie nodded, sipping her tea. "Huh, she's supposed to usher in Britain's Golden Age, I think."

"Well," Jackie said with a laugh, "we could definitely use one of those!"

Jackie plucked the phone from the pile of magazines on the coffee table as it started to ring. Her face brightened. "Oh, it's Beverly!" She pushed herself off the couch, mouthed a quick sorry to Callie, and began chattering away on the phone. For a moment, she reminded Callie so much of her own mother that it hurt.

Everything had happened so fast. In the end, it had only been a few days since Callie had fallen into this universe, though it already felt like weeks. With a sigh, she rubbed her eyes. She hadn't had a chance to sleep after the Byzantium and she was really starting to feel it. Maybe a nap would do her some good…

Harriet Jones continued to talk on the TV, but her voice faded into faint mumbles as Callie curled up on the couch and drifted off. Distantly, she heard the doorbell ring, but she was out cold before Jackie even made it to the door.

"What the hell are those things?!" Mickey cried as the three of them piled into the taxi. Jack dug around in his pockets and cursed.

"I left my blaster in the TARDIS," he said.

"I don't know," Rose said, fumbling with her phone. "But think about it— they were after us. Just us."

"But there's nothing special about us," Mickey pointed out. Jack huffed.

"Speak for yourself!"

"What if it's not us they're after?" Rose suggested, pressing the phone to her ear. She squeezed her eyes shut, hands shaking. "Come on, Callie, pick up!"

Callie roused a little when she heard her phone ringing. She moaned softly, shifted in her sleep, but didn't get up. The phone, she decided, was so far away in the other room. Anyone calling could leave a message. It was so warm on the couch, under the knitted blanket. So cozy. A phone call could wait.

She turned over, burying her face in the throw pillow on the couch. Jackie chatted away on the landline, her voice acting almost like a lullaby as it soothed Callie back to sleep.

Callie jumped when the door to the apartment slammed open. Blearily, she rubbed at her eyes. Jack was inside first, Mickey and Rose close behind.

"Callie, something's after us," Jack said quickly, hurrying to the couch. Groggily, Callie flung the blanket aside— Jackie must have placed it on her while she slept— and stood.

"What?"

"There were these— these Santas in the market," Rose started.

"Their instruments blew fire!" Mickey added.

"What's going on?" Jackie asked, holding the phone away from her mouth. "I'm trying to talk to Bev!"

Rose gawked at her in exasperation. She snatched the phone from Jackie and pressed the END CALL button. "Bev will have to wait. It's not safe here— there's something after us. Well, after them." She looked at Callie pointedly.

"Not me," Callie said, her brain finally catching up. "The Doctor. They can sense his regeneration energy and they want to feed on it."

"Well, we're obviously not safe here," Jack said. "Where can we go?"

"My mate, Stan, could probably put us up," Mickey suggested with a single clap of his hands. "I can ring him now."

"That's only two blocks away," Rose disagreed. To Jackie, "What about Mo? Where's she living now?"

"Or we could just go into the TARDIS," Callie suggested. Everyone stopped and looked at her. She shrunk a little under their gazes. "I mean, there's nowhere safer."

"That's a good point," Jack said, nodding. "We can hole up inside the TARDIS and— is that a new tree?"

As one, they all turned to look at the Christmas tree in the corner.

"Oh, shit," Callie muttered as she realized what was about to happen. What she could have stopped if she'd been awake.

"I thought you lot bought it," Jackie said.

"How could it have been us?" Rose asked sharply. "We've been out."

"I don't know— you lot went shopping, there was a ring at the door, and there it was!"

"Into the TARDIS now!" Callie snapped. She started to herd them out the door when the tree started to spin, an ominous version of Jingle Bells playing from somewhere unseen. "Don't just stand there— move!"

Jackie grabbed Rose and pulled her out the door. Frantically, Callie, dashed into the bedroom to try to get the Doctor up.

"Can you stop it?" Jack asked her from the other side of the bed. Mickey, she could see, was using one of Jackie's kitchen chairs to hold the spinning tree back. Callie shook her head, but then her gaze landed on her bag.

"Get Mickey and the Doctor into the TARDIS," she ordered. She snatched up her bag and pulled her phone out. Fingers shaking, she pulled up the sonic screwdriver app. She ran into the living room, shoved Mickey behind her, and pointed her phone at the tree.

The tree spun so fast that Callie's hair whipped around her, blinding her slightly. Still, she managed to press and hold the button on the phone. The sonic screwdriver app trilled loudly, but nothing happened. The tree came close enough to slice at her hands.

"Fuck, what setting do I use?" She shouted to no one, stumbling back. An arm slithered around her waist, yanking her back and into the bedroom once more. The Doctor, looking powerful even in a dressing gown, held his own screwdriver up and sonicked the tree.

The tree exploded with a loud pop, leaving the apartment in utter disarray.

"Remote control," the Doctor mused. "But who's controlling it?"

Callie didn't have time to catch her breath. The Doctor grabbed her hand— the one not holding her phone— and pulled her outside. Mickey and Jack ran behind them. Jackie and Rose, it seemed, had stopped on the stairway. Callie soon saw why.

The three alien Santas stood menacingly in the parking lot below, watching them.

"That's them," Rose told them all. She looked relieved to see the Doctor up and moving, different face and all. "The ones from the shops."

"What are they?" Mickey asked breathlessly.

Without answering, the Doctor raised his sonic so it was pointed at the Santa in the middle— the one hold the remote control. Slowly, in unison, the Santas backed away. A moment later, they were beamed back to their ship.

"They're gone?" Jack asked in shock.

Mickey laughed. "What kind of rubbish were they? I mean, no offense, but there's not so bad if a sonic screwdriver's going to scare them off."

"Pilot fish," the Doctor said softly. He pulled Callie closer to his side.

"What?" Rose asked, looking from the Doctor to Callie.

"They're just pilot fish," Callie explained. "They're not the real threat."

"Gah!" The Doctor folded in a full-bodied flinch, stumbling back and into the wall with a painfully loud thud. His face screwed up in pain, golden energy falling from his lips in waves.

"What's wrong with him?" Rose asked. She and Callie knelt by the Doctor's sides.

"Whoever— you woke him up too soon," Callie said. She wasn't sure if it had been Mickey or Jack, but it really didn't matter. "He's not finished yet."

"I'm still bursting with regeneration energy," the Doctor said. A large swatch of energy choked him for a minute before being expelled. "See? The pilot fish could smell it a million miles away. So, they eliminate the defense— you lot— and then carry me off."

"As if I'd let them," Callie muttered. The Doctor tried to grin, but he was in too much pain. He pushed himself off the wall, but a new wave of pain had him stumbling through their arms and into the railing on the opposite side.

"My head," he moaned. "I'm having a neuron implosion! I need—"

"What do you need?" Jackie cried desperately, hands flailing as she tried in vain to help.

"I need—"

"Painkillers?"

"I need—"

They went back and forth, Jackie trying to guess whatever it was the Doctor needed. Callie wracked her brain, trying to remember if the episode ever actually stated what might help the Doctor. Gah, there were too many episodes to remember! How was she supposed to keep them all straight in her brain?

"I need you to shut up!" The Doctor shouted tightly. Jackie made a face.

"Oh, well, hasn't changed that much, has he?" She asked, offended.

"Brain collapsing," he said harshly, effectively shutting her up. He dug in his dressing gown pocket—likely for his screwdriver— but produced an apple instead. He tossed it aside. "The pilot fish— they mean that something— agh! Something is coming."

Just like that, the Doctor collapsed once more. Jack caught him swiftly, keeping him from bashing his face on the concrete.

"What do we do?" Rose asked, panicked. Callie tried to act calm, but her hands and voice shook against her will.

"He's going to be okay," she said more certainly than she felt. "He's still within twelve hours of regenerating— his brain's not actually going to explode. The regeneration energy will stop it. We just need to keep him safe and warm until he's done."

"Should we still go to the TARDIS?" Jack asked.

"Will the pilot fish come back?" Mickey cut in. Callie shook her head at them both.

"The pilot fish are too afraid of the Sycorax, I think," she said. "And they know the Doctor's not the easy prey they thought he was. They won't be back."

"So what do we do?"

Callie hated being the one to call the shots. She wondered, vaguely, if the Doctor ever felt the same— hating how everyone always looked at him to lead.

"We'll take him back inside the flat," she decided. "We need to keep an eye on the TV anyway. That's how we'll know the Sycorax are here."

"Sycorax?" Rose asked nervously.

"Nothing we can't handle," Callie told her lightly. "Come on, let's get back inside."

A/N: Halloween's over now, so that means it's not too early for a Christmas episode, right? :p

Also, I would love to hear your thoughts/opinions/theories about Jack and Mickey in this episode!