The Christmas Invasion III

Callie stepped forward so she was in front of all the humans and the TARDIS. Her hands shook, but she balled them into fists to keep her bravery.

"Callie, get back, they'll kill you!" Harriet grabbed her wrist, but she pulled it from her grasp.

"I'll be fine," she told them, not believing it for a second.

"The golden girl with the clever blue box," The leader of the Sycorax proclaimed, his gravelly voice irritating to Callie's ears. Vaguely, she heard Harriet's assistant repeating, translating the words for everyone else. "She shall speak for your planet."

"Okay," she said, projecting her voice. "I'd like to know who I'm bartering with."

"I am Shurando of the Sycorax," the leader bellowed. "You are a puny human girl who will surrender your planet, or they will die."

"Now, see, I'm not sure that's a great idea," Callie said. She was faking her confidence, acting nonchalant and blasé. "You see, I happen to know for a fact that, by order of the Shadow Proclamation, Earth is a level five planet. You can't invade us— we're not advanced enough."

"Well, actually—" Harriet started. Callie glared at her to shut her up.

Turning back to Shurando, she continued, "Do you really want Judoon on your ass? You want to deal with the whole host of the Shadow Proclamation for a pathetic little planet like this? Seems like a shit choice to me." She put her hands on her hips, hoping to convey power and confidence. In reality, she felt like a child playing Superman.

Shurando burst into laughter, and the rest of his people followed. Callie faltered, feeling wholly inadequate.

"You think we Sycorax are afraid of Judoon? Pah! We spit on Judoon!" He chortled. "We do not abide by the petty Shadow Proclamation, though it is surprising that a human girl knows of such dealings."

"Not quite human," Callie corrected. Not that her connection to the Time Vortex could really do much for her right then.

Stall them.

The voice was soft and unfamiliar, and it pierced her brain like a knife. Callie fought not to flinch, to bend in half from the pain. She hid it as well as she could and continued to speak.

"I've been to the edge of the universe," she announced for all to hear. "I've looked into the abyss and kept it at bay! I've defeated whole hosts of Weeping Angels and Murtaxans! Me and my blue box— we protect this planet. So you should leave now, or I will have to force you."

Sure, she was fibbing a little, fudging the truth when the Doctor had done so much more than she. But they didn't need to know that. She just needed some time.

"We Sycorax, we stride in darkness," Shurando said gravely. "You are but a wailing child, so at home in your light— you wouldn't stand a chance."

Callie tipped her chin up. "You think an awful lot of yourself," she noted.

Shurando snarled and held his hand over the button. "Don't force my hand," he warned. Callie scoffed.

"What— you think I actually believe you can kill all those people down there? With what, that blood control?" She laughed, ignoring the protests she heard behind her. "Come on, both you and I know you can't actually make them jump."

"You want to bet?"

"If you really could, you would have done it already," she pointed out.

"It was a mercy, giving your people the chance to surrender," Shurando bellowed. "We will gut your world! Enslave your people!"

Slowly, the assistant translating tapered off.

"Hold on," he said, "that's English."

"He's talking English," Harriet gasped.

Shurando bared his teeth in discontent. "I would never dirty my tongue with your primitive bile! I speak only Sycoraxic!"

"It's the TARDIS," Callie stated, backing up a couple steps. "It's translating for you all."

"But that means…" Rose said. Almost as one, they all turned to look at the TARDIS. The doors flung open, revealing the Doctor in his dressing gown. He beamed at them all.

"Did you miss me?"

Shurando cracked his whip, which crackled with electricity. The Doctor, completely unfazed, caught the end and yanked it straight out of his hand.

"You could have someone's eye out with that," he chided.

"How dare you!" Shurando bellowed. The Doctor waltzed his way in, brushing off various attempts of attack like it was nothing. Callie swallowed, a little in awe as he moved. He finally pulled a giant club from one of the Sycoraxan's hands and broke it over his knee.

"You all, just wait! I'm busy." He made it over to the group behind Callie, smiling as if he were just meeting old friends on any given day. "Mickey, Rose, hello! And Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North! Blimey, it's like This is Your Life. What a day. But—"

He turned until he spotted Callie, far away from the rest. His grin became impossibly big. She couldn't help but smile back, running over to him. He enveloped her into a hug.

"Callie, thank god," he murmured into her hair. He pulled back and kissed her quickly. "Tea! That's all I needed, a good cup of tea. Superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin— just the thing for healing synapses."

Callie blinked, a little in shock over the kiss as he released her and faced the rest. He seemed brimming with energy, but something was more important.

To Rose, he asked, "Now, be honest. How do I look?"

Rose balked. "Er, different."

"Good different or bad different?"

"Just… different."

The Doctor frowned. "Callie, am I ugly this regeneration?"

Callie snorted, practically keeling over as she laughed. She almost forgot where they were (almost forgot that he just kissed her), she was so delightfully shocked. "No, not at all," she managed to gasp out. "Rose is still just unsure about the whole new face thing."

"Right, well," he said, making a face. "Am I ginger, at least?"

Callie shook her head ruefully.

"No, I wanted to be ginger!" He whined. "I've never been ginger. And you lot— fat lot of good you were, giving up on me!"

"Rude!" Callie said, reaching over and slapping his side (just as she'd done with Eleven many times already). Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rose relax at what must have been a familiar gesture.

"Oh, is that the sort of man I am now?" The Doctor asked, put out. "Rude and not ginger?"

Harriet, having watched this interaction in shocked silence, shook her head. "I'm sorry, who is this?"

"I'm the Doctor."

"He's the Doctor," Rose echoed.

"But what happened to my Doctor?" Harriet asked. "Or is it a title that's just passed on?"

"I'm him," the Doctor explained. "I'm literally him. Same man, new face. Well, new everything."

Callie smiled. "Same software, different case."

The Doctor looked at her, eyebrows furrowed. "You say that every time."

"Well, it's true every time, isn't it?"

The Doctor started to ask Harriet about the election, but Shurando spoke, overpowering them in volume.

"If I might interrupt?" He asked impatiently. The Doctor nodded, grabbing Callie's hand as he turned to face the Sycorax. Callie hissed, pulling her hand from his grasp. Cuts from the spinning Christmas tree and the scrapes and glass from the sonic wave left her hands battered and in pain.

"Are you alright?" The Doctor asked. She shook her head, cradling both hands to her chest.

"I'm fine, just deal with them, please."

"Yes, sorry," the Doctor turned to finally face Shurando. "Hello, big fellow."

"Who exactly are you?" Shurando demanded. "I demand to know who you are!"

"I don't know!" The Doctor shouted, mimicking him. "See, here's the thing. I'm the Doctor, but beyond that— I just don't know. I literally do uotknow who I am; it's all untested." He went on to list various traits he could be in this new regeneration, wandering through the Sycorax until he ended up next to the button controlling the humans below.

"And how am I going to react when I see this— a great, big, threatening button?" He mused. "Which must not be pressed under any circumstances, am I right? Let me guess, it's some sort of control matrix."

"It's blood control!" Callie called to him. "They're trying to make the humans think they can use it to kill them— all the people with that blood type, I think."

"Oh, blimey!" the Doctor snorted. "Well, haven't seen blood control in years. Ah well." He slammed his hand down on the button as all the humans cried out a resounding, "No!"

Callie dug into her bag, pulling out her phone. Just as she was about to make a call, her phone lit up.

"Jack!" Callie said in greeting.

"Jack's okay?" Rose asked. "But the button— that should have killed them."

"Blood control is basically hypnosis," Callie said, listening to Jack ask where they were. "Your survival instinct is too strong to override— can't make them kill themselves."

"Look at you, so smart," the Doctor practically purred. Callie flushed deeply and stepped back to talk to Jack. She leaned against the TARDIS.

"What the hell is going on?" Jack was asking.

"The Sycorax used a human blood to control everyone with that blood type," she explained in a murmur. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as the Doctor and Shurando went back and forth about the ethics of blood control. "We ended up on their ship. Just— just wait by the apartment. I don't think we'll be much longer."

She watched as the Doctor pulled out sword out of one of the Sycoraxans' sheaths, demanding a duel in exchange for the planet.

"I gotta go, the Doctor's about to swordfight," she said, hanging up without listening to Jack's squawks.

She put her phone away just as the duel began. Shurando and the other Sycorax were so sure of his victory, laughing each and every time the Doctor was blocked or pushed backwards. The Doctor hit a wall and, almost maniacally, grinned.

"Into the daylight, then," he said, hitting a button on the wall. A door jutted open behind him, leading him and Shurando out onto a ledge. Everyone rushed out to watch, Mickey running just a bit too far.

"Stay back!" The Doctor shouted, holding out a hand to stop him. "Invalidate the challenge and he wins the planet.'

Shurando sliced the Doctor's hand clean off. Callie watched in horror as it, along with the sword it was holding, fell down into the depths of London below.

"That's such a low blow," she said to Rose.

"YAY SYCORAX!" Shurando bellowed in glee.

"You cut my hand off," the Doctor said in disbelief. A wry little laugh. "And now I know the sort of man I am. I'm lucky. Because, quite by chance, I'm still within the first fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle. Which means, I've got just enough residual cellular energy to do this."

Before their very eyes, a new hand grew in its place, fingers wiggling in hello. Rose gasped, a little grossed out.

"Witchcraft," Shurando accused.

"Time Lord," the Doctor corrected. Rose was quick to steal another sword and throw it to the Doctor with a shout. Quickly, and without much effort on the Doctor's part, he was able to disarm Shurando and hold his sword under his neck.

"I win," he said firmly.

Rose and Mickey cheered, jeering at the Sycorax as they flew off, never to return. Callie stumbled a little from the teleport, but watched them go with unease.

"My Doctor," Harriet said warmly. The two of them hugged. "Absolutely the same man."

They spoke another moment of other alien species out there. Callie walked over to the assistant.

"What's your name?" She asked lightly. He gave her a nod.

"Alex, ma'am." He paused. "Good job up there. You were very brave."

She waved a hand dismissively. "I didn't do much. The Doctor did it all, really. He always saves the day."

Just then, Jackie came stumbling out of the TARDIS. By the look on the Doctor's face, he hadn't even realized she was in there. Rose and Mickey ran to her side, telling her how her tea was what saved the world.

"Torchwood is going to call in a moment," Callie said to Alex in a low moment. He opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "Don't ask how I know. You have to tell them not to fire."

"That's not really your decision to make," Harriet said coldly, having overhead.

"And it's your decision to kill an entire species?" Callie demanded. "To commit genocide?"

"You and the Doctor— you're not always here," Harriet said calmly, firm in her decision. "I'll do what I must."

Alex's phone rang. Impulsively, Callie snatched it out of his hands and bolted for the TARDIS, Harriet and Alex screaming behind her.

Fortunately, the Doctor was quick to jump between them, blocking Harriet and Alex for the precious seconds it took Callie to get inside the spaceship and shut the door behind her. She flipped the phone open.

"Hello?" She asked, adopting a fake British accent. "Gwen Cooper, Torchwood Three speaking."

"Gwen Cooper from Torchwood Three?" said a very posh voice on the other end. "I was calling the prime minister's assistant, Alex Jameson."

"Yes, he asked me to pick up after our bout with the Sycorax," Callie said calmly, her accent slipping a tad. "How may I help?"

"We have our weapons ready, ma'am. The prime minister needs only to give the word."

Silently, Callie counted to five. "She says to hold your fire. There has been a development."

Bracing herself for the pain, Callie thought, Are they gone yet? The Sycorax?

Two more minutes until they're out of the solar system, the Doctor responded. Callie cringed in pain.

"What development, Ms. Cooper?"

"She is parlaying with experts," Callie said, struggling to keep the accent in place.

"Soon it will be too late—"

"I'm just telling you what she said— hold your fire." Callie said sternly.

The Torchwood woman on the other end faltered. "Right. It seems they're out of range, anyway. I hope the prime minister knows what she's doing."

"I hope so, too." Callie flipped the phone shut, ending the call. She sighed, and exited the TARDIS.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Harriet demanded wildly, a storm of a woman. She got right into Callie's face, but Callie did not back down.

"I just saved an entire race of people! People who had surrendered and left," she said fiercely. "What about you? Willing to murder them all? What kind of leader are you?"

The Doctor pushed Harriet back, inserting himself between the two of them.

"Britain's Golden Age," he sneered. "Seems I gave them the wrong warning. I should've told them to run as fast as they can— run and hide because the monsters are coming. The human race."

"I was doing it on their behalf," Harriet insisted.

"You're lucky Callie stopped you. An entire race, dead on your hands. I wouldn't have been half as kind, had I been the one to stop you."

Harriet raised her eyebrows. "What does that make you, Doctor? Another alien threat?"

"Don't you even start—" Callie snapped, but the Doctor put up his hand.

"Don't challenge me, Harriet Jones. I am a completely new man," he told her ominously. "I could bring down your government with a single word."

Harriet scoffed. "You're the most remarkable man I've ever met, but I don't think you'r quite capable of that."

"You're right. Not a single word. Just six." Staring at Harriet, he walked around her, whispered something into Alex's ear, and walked off. Harriet started to go frantic over what the Doctor could have possibly said, ignoring the rest of them as they followed suit. Callie dropped Alex's phone on the ground.

In the distance, they saw Jack coming around the corner, his long coat billowing behind him. Callie hurried to catch up with the rest of them, looping her arm around the Doctor's.

Callie sat in the captain's chair in the console room, a pair of tweezers in hand. Jackie was working on Christmas dinner, with Jack as her sous chef. He'd insisted— he wanted to see exactly what a twenty-first century Christmas dinner looked like, and compare it to the ones he'd had as a child. Rose and Mickey were— somewhere on their own. Vaguely, Callie wondered if they were still together in this universe. If Mickey traveling with them had saved their relationship, the way it would with Rory and Amy in the future.

Callie had successfully pulled all the glass out of her left palm, leaving it stinging and bleeding slightly. But the right hand was proving more difficult, as she had to use her non-dominant hand to dig for the shards.

"You alright?" the Doctor asked from behind her. She looked, and saw he had on his brown suit and trench coat.

"Looking good," she said lightly. She shook her head and raised her hands to show him what she was doing. "I'm just trying to clean up my hands. They've taken quite a beating today."

"Let me," he said softly. He came around the chair and knelt in front of her, gently taking the tweezers and getting to work. Callie's face flushed— something about this felt so… so intimate. And it made her think of that kiss on the Sycorax ship.

It was quiet a moment as he dug out the glass. It was a nice silence, though. Companionable, with the air of people who were very comfortable around each other. And she was— Callie found that, even a little flustered by the intimacy of everything, she was utterly comfortable right then.

"So, you seemed to hold down the fort well while I was out," he commented after a long moment. Callie snorted a little.

"Not really," she said. "It was all falling to pieces for the most part, until the very end."

"Nah, I'm sure you were amazing," he said softly. He looked up at her, his brown eyes full of— something. Love? Adoration?

She needed to stop kidding herself.

"Yeah, maybe," she said. "Maybe I'll get better with experience."

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "I mean— this is still so new to me. I've only been traveling like this— with you— for a few days. I'm learning what to do, but it's kind of hard when everyone expects me to know more than I do."

The Doctor's fingers stilled as he processed this. "A few days?" He echoed. Callie nodded. She squinted her eyes, trying to do the math.

"Three days, I think?" She counted. "Well, two sleeps, anyway. So basically three days."

"Oh." The Doctor's voice was almost blank.

"Which— I wanted to ask. On the Sycorax's ship, you kind of— I mean, you kissed me." Her cheeks burned, but fortunately his gaze was resolutely on her right hand. "I was just wondering…"

"Post-regeneration," he said by way of explanation. "It can make you extra affectionate. Sorry if it made you uncomfortable."

"Oh, uh, no. It's fine," she mumbled, feeling oddly like something had deflated inside her.

"There you are," he declared, pocketing the tweezers and sweeping up the small pile of glass next to Callie on the chair. "All better. Some antiseptic on it and you'll be good as new."

"Thanks," she said.

Something about the way he just sort of shut down after he found out she barely knew him… it upset her. He shot her a smile, though.

"Ready for Christmas dinner?"

"You go on ahead," she said. "I want to change real quick."

By the time she was changed into a cozy, oversized sweater and fresh leggings, everyone was gathered around the table and waiting for her. The Doctor had seemingly convinced Jack he was still the same person, as they sat side by side and were joking with each other.

For a brief moment, Callie felt like she was intruding on their moment. The five of them— Jackie overhead, hauling food onto the table; Rose, already wearing a pink paper crown; Mickey, cracking a joke that made Rose snort milk through her nose; Jack, shoving the Doctor over something he said; the Doctor, howling with laughter without abandon.

"Callie! Come on, hurry up," Jackie said gleefully. "You can help carve the turkey."

"I've never done that before, but I can try," she said gratefully, beaming. She took her place at the table between Rose and the Doctor, and accepted the giant carving knife from Jackie.

Christmas night wore on, and not once did Callie think about how she was having Christmas without her family. She was having too much fun, eating way too much food and playing with Christmas crackers for the first time. (Mickey couldn't believe they weren't a thing in America!) Later, she would feel guilty for having not thought of her family at all. But for now, she was just so very happy.

The night grew late and they all migrated to the living room, which had been cleaned up after the Christmas tree incident. Jackie apologized for only having presents for Mickey and Rose, but it was still fun to watch them open them. The Christmas magic was in the air.

Just as Jackie had turned on the TV, selecting an old Christmas movie for them to watch, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Callie said, pushing herself up off the couch. She was closest to the door, anyway.

She opened the door to see a young man— a boy, really, a teenager— standing there, holding a gift bag.

"I'm supposed to deliver this," he said quickly, his accent thick and northern. He held it out for Callie to take.

"Who's it for?"

"Callie Foster. That's you, right?" he asked. "She said I would know when I saw you— and it's got to be you."

"I am Callie," she said. She took the bag. Behind her, she heard Rose ask who it was. "Thanks. Um, who's it from?"

The boy shrugged. "She didn't say. Just gave me twenty pounds to drop it off. Happy Christmas!" He walked off with a wave, clearly ready to get back to his Christmas night with family or friends.

Callie shut the door, eyeing the gift bag in her hands. She walked back into the living room.

"What's that?" the Doctor asked. He was sporting a red paper crown and was currently sprawled over the far side of the couch.

"A present for me, I guess?" Callie responded. "The kid didn't know who it was from, though."

"That's weird," Jack said. "Is there no note?"

"I don't see one," she replied, sitting back down on the couch.

"Well, aren't you going to open it?" Mickey asked.

"Alright, alright," she said, waving him off. The mystery tugged at her, but she pulled the tissue paper out of the bag. Inside was a large frame. As she pulled it out, a piece of paper fluttered to the ground by her feet.

"Whoa," Callie breathed. It was a hand-painted piece of artwork, the paint lifting off the page at points. It was vaguely impressionist, but clearly a painting of her. Her long hair was golden and wild around her head, the backdrop a dark blue to contrast. White flecks littered the background, obviously representing stars.

"There's writing on the back," the Doctor pointed out. Callie flipped it over, hearing the "oohs" as the others saw the painting.

"1889, Van Gogh," she read. Her jaw dropped. She flipped the painting around to examine it again. "No fucking way!"

"There's a note," Rose announced, picking up the picture from the floor. "'Hope your Christmases get better, and the adventures never stop. Kiss, kiss, kiss.' And then the number thirteen, That's weird, isn't it?"

"What?" Callie asked. She set the painting back in the bag. "Can I see that?"

Sure enough, there was the number thirteen by way of signature, though Rose didn't seem to understand what that meant. But suddenly, Callie knew, and she couldn't help but smile.

"What?" the Doctor asked, seeing her grin. She shook her head.

"It's just a great present," she answered. Quickly, she ran to the door and flung it open. "Thank you!" She shouted, hoping Thirteen was somewhere within hearing distance. If not, Ten had just heard her, so she'd just thanked him years and years in advance.

She sighed, staring out as snow began to fall. "And merry Christmas to you, too."

A/N: I don't know about you guys, but this chapter gives me a super cozy Christmas feeling! I'm so happy with how it turned out.

I'm currently working on the next adventure and honestly, I'm having trouble with it. So if you could drop me a review letting me know what you think of this chapter, it would make me so happy! And if you have any episodes you would like to see in the future, please let me know!