CHAPTER II: ALONE
London sagged under the weight of late December snow. Only The Doctor could enjoy it even if his feet disappeared into mounds of white powder. These blanketed roads reminded him of the Moon, not that he had ever visited. Another Time Lord had, though, and spent the rest of his life jumping like an astronaut. The Doctor, in more ordinary circumstances, needed only fear drenched converses and potential pneumonia- no reason for ingratitude.
But his smile faded a little.
Well-wishers with ruddy cheeks, wrapped in fur, mumbled seasons greetings as they floated from shop to shop. Yawning grey buildings, also splashed in white by the hand of a careless painter, had enough space for baubles, tinsel, cracked angels, stars, and holly. In fact, one sprig scratched his cheek as he rushed past Thornton's, wondering where on earth he could find a bar of chocolate. Normal people liked chocolate.
Yes, normal people...
Cars crawled along the roads, huffing in rage. Some drivers had resorted to pushing their vehicles rather than driving. How long since he had last driven a car? A year- two? He had forgotten the feeling of a steering wheel between his hands.
But what was the point imagining the feeling of driving when he had nowhere to go?
His heart sank.
As a distraction, he paused to examine a sprig of fir outside Clinton's. He had seen a similar species on Gallifrey a few years ago, even thicker than this. To see London now, one would have marvelled that any trees existed anymore. From the little he knew about normal people, trees were as essential to Christmas as... well, anything. The never-ending shopping complexes couldn't sway in the breeze and their splotched bricks seemed weaker than a trunk. Birds often flew smack bang into their windows- thump! Another pigeon fell lifeless into a snowy grave.
But this was London, and anyone ought to feel at home here. If they weren't called out to the furthest reaches of time and space on a whim, that is. If they had friends, family. If...
The Doctor stopped now, his smile gone.
How strange that on the happiest of days, the man with more power than anyone else here could feel so utterly alone.