Finding Neverland

by RainingCoffee

Mabel was fairly certain she had done nothing to deserve this. All she wanted to do was figure out how she got to the hospital, and to possibly stop running about everywhere. She keeps pulling her stitches and it's really starting to hurt. (This is a jumping around the Doctor's timeline fic. OC/3rd Doctor-13th Doctor)

17. Halfway out of the dark(A Christm Carol)

Okay guys, it's been a crazy long time since I updated. I don't have any excuses for you guys this time. I've missed my deadlines more often than not, so I won't make any future promises. But I will say this, I will always finish a fic, even it it takes a long time.

These past months have been a crazy whirlwind. I finished spring semester back in May, but I also started working so I could pay the bills while I wasn't in school. My job has been scheduling me for a crazy amount of hours (It's a luxury cruse liner fleet, that does river cruises so it's kind of crazy hours regardless). For example, last week I worked three doubles, and two normal days. On my days off I didn't really have the motivation to write anything.

My job wasn't the only thing stopping me from writing. I started to only be able to write. I couldn't read any other fanfic's without breaking them down into individual sentences instead of just enjoying the story. I got into writing because I wanted a story that I hadn't read before, not to stop enjoying reading fanfics altogether.

I'm fine now, but my break helped me be able to do that.

But I'm back now. Like I said, no promises on when I'm going to update next, because I still have to update Tilted to the Left at some point before a new chapter comes out on this.

Speaking of this story, if you've seen the chapter count, you'll know that this story has only two chapters left. I seem to be incapable of writing a chapter under 10,000 words now, and this story has gotten pretty massive as a result, so I'm breaking up Mabel's story into different installments. This installment will be over in two chapters but there will be another story to follow. I have several loosely planned. And I also have an inkling to write about Mabel's years without the Doctor, when she was with Amy in Leadworth. But, that's all in the future.

Enjoy this chapter! It's a whopping 20,000 words. Also, sex happens.

-RainingCoffee

---

I stay for a few weeks without jumping. It's nice, and it allows me to get to know this version of the Doctor better. I've never been able to spend any extended amount of time with this him before.

This Doctor is cheeky. He's always ready with a quip about something here, or a quip about something there. Even though he's one of the older Doctor's I've met, he comes off as being very young. It doesn't help that this face is pretty, either.

Not that I'm complaining about him being pretty.

"What are you thinking about over there?" The Doctor asks, startling me out of my thoughts.

I flush instantly, turning my attention back to the book in front of me. "Nothing."

He leans over from his chair, teasing smile firmly in place. "Why Mabel, that's quite the blush for nothing."

My flush deepens, but I refuse to let him get to me. "Shut up."

He reaches over, clasping my hand in his before pressing a kiss to it. "Not a chance."

I roll my eyes, annoyed that I can't help blushing around this man. "You enjoy making me blush way too much."

"Consider it payback." The Doctor murmurs, amusement brushing up against my mind.

Humming, I think that over. "I so rarely see you blush, it'll be interesting to see what you are talking about."

He huffs out a breath of air. "And you'll enjoy it just as much, if not more, than I enjoy making you blush."

Our lives are such circular things, how many events had happened because of something he had started from my point of view, but from his point of view I had started? I twine our fingers together, squeezing gently.

The Doctor's brow furrows in confusion, and a hint of concern. "Mabel?"

"You know the longer I spend with a version of you the harder it is to leave." I manage, sending him a brave smile.

"Braveheart Mabel." He murmurs, pulling me into a hug.

I close my eyes so I don't have to see him disappear, but it doesn't stop me from knowing the second I leave. My heads twinges in pain again, but I'm willing to bet this is going to be normal now.

The next area coalesces around me, I can hear the sounds of the Tardis console room, though my vision still hasn't caught up. My connection with this Doctor slots into place neatly. The relief it brings is second only to the feeling of joy brushing up against my barrier from my partner.

My vision has returned by the time pounding footsteps heralds his arrival. The beautiful orange glow and glass floor already told me which version of my future husband I had jumped to, so I'm not surprised by the floppy hair and bow tie that greets me as he rounds the corner.

"Hello sweetheart." I smile at him.

The Doctor pads over to give me a kiss, a brilliant smile forming on his face when he pulls back. "Oh Mabel, it's been a while since I've seen you."

Frowning, I tilt my head at him in confusion. "This me, or just me?"

"Just you." He murmurs, pulling me into a hug.

"I'm sorry." I say, patting him back. "How long has it been? Or it that spoilers?"

I get hit with a wave of his embarrassment as he tries to smother his face in my shoulder. He mumbles something, but I can't make out what he's saying.

"Try that again." Pulling back to look at him, I arch an eyebrow.

The Doctor grumbles, but allows me to see his face. His ears are bright red. "I said it's been two weeks."

Biting back a laugh, I make a noise of sympathy. "Well I'm here now, so..ah..don't worry about it?"

"Shush you. No laughing at me." He mutters.

"I'm not laughing at you." I reply, but my twitching lips are probably a dead giveaway.

The Doctor rolls his eyes. "Yes, because that isn't your amusement I'm getting through the connection. Must be a ghost then."

"Sorry, Sorry." I mumble, smothering my own face in his shoulder in an attempt to hide my smile. "I was just expecting you to tell me it's been much longer."

"I'm not used to being without you for long periods of time anymore." The Doctor admits reluctantly as he smoothes a hand down my hair. "It's been centuries since that's happened for me."

"And two weeks is a long time?" I tease, pulling back to look at him.

He doesn't answer, not verbally at least, but he does lean down to kiss the smirk off my face. It's not something I'm going to complain about.

I'm enjoying the kiss when the Doctor's hand comes up and strokes a firm line down the side of my neck. My reaction is visceral, a startled moan rising up in response to the pull of heat at my center.

The Doctor swallows my moan, using it as leverage to deepen our kiss. His hands drop down to my hips and he encourages me to jump. I do, and suddenly I'm sitting on top of the console at the perfect height for him to step into the cradle of my hips.

I would have happily continued, but the Tardis flashes a mauve light at me. Frowning, I tug on the Doctor's jacket. He pulls away to take it off, and while the view is much better that wasn't the point. "No, hun, look." I tell him, placing a hand against his cheek and directing his vision towards the light. Though I can't help but slide my other hand under his right suspender, coping a feel so to speak.

He heaves a sigh, body sagging against mine.

"I'm going to assume that's not good." I murmur, trying to ignore the way my body wants to arch into his heat.

The Doctor brushes a thumb across my nipple, which is visible even through my sports bra and shirt. "Yes." He responds, disappointed. "Why do companions always get into trouble?"

I make a noise of annoyance as his thumb makes another swipe across said nipple. "Stop that." Great, now I'm turned on and frustrated.

His lips tick up into a cheeky little smile, even as his thumb makes third pass. I level him with what I hope is an incredibly unimpressed look, though my resulting shiver as he makes a forth pass probably makes it useless.

Grabbing his hand to stop it, I narrow my eyes at him. "Flashing light, companions in danger."

"Hmm, yes." The Doctor murmurs. His hand slides around my neck, thumb digging into the hollow there, making me lose my train of thought. My thought focus on the hand at my breast and the wet heat of his mouth against mine.

He pulls away, but I make a noise of confusion, of want, arching my body towards his for more contact.

The Doctor's eye's go dark at the sight, a murmur of appreciation rising to his lips even as he shakes his head. "Can't right now, companions in danger."

"What?" I frown, trying to concentrate.

"Oh, look at that." The Doctor exclaims, darting to the other side of the console. "A mauve light! That's not good."

I blink at him. "You-"

"There's no time for this Mabel, the Ponds are in trouble." He states. Maybe I would have believed him if his side of the connection wasn't humming with mischief.

It finally clicks, what he's just done. "Are you serious?"

The Doctor's lips twitch, a hint of a smile breaking through his stoic expression.

"I can't believe you just did that!" My incredulity turns to amusement, and before I know it I'm laughing.

My good mood last until the rotor skips. The Doctor frowns, pressing a couple of buttons before trying again. Same reaction.

"What's the matter?" I move to stand beside him, watching as his frown grows. There is a stream of Gallifreyan trailing across the monitor, for all the good it does me.

"I can't get a lock on." The Doctor mutters. "There's to much interference, the Tardis can't land."

I frown now, trying to understand. "…which would be where Amy and Rory are located?"

He sends me a confused look, before realization blooms across his face. "Oh, you wouldn't know, would you? We gave them a week long cruise on a luxury starliner for their honeymoon."

"Honeymoon? They finally got married?" I light up, leaning against his arm.

"Yes, Mabel." The Doctor sends me an indulgent look. "Now focus. Companions in danger, not able to land."

Shaking my head to clear it, I hum in understanding. "What's interfering?"

He presses a few more buttons, watching the information flow past. "It seems to be a storm, the ship got caught in the gravity of the planet and now it can't escape the storm."

I hum, contemplative. "And the storm is interfering with our ability to land on the ship, but what about the planet? Can we land on the planet?"

A few more buttons are pressed. "Yes, that should be possible. Just let me-" He cuts himself off, running over to the keyboard and typing something in before rushing back. "Just had to send a message before we landed. Didn't want the Ponds to think we'd forgotten about them."

The Tardis starts to materialize, and though it's choppier than usual, the sequence finishes like normal.

Slipping his jacket back on, the Doctor is halfway to the door before he stops abruptly and starts rummaging through his pockets.

I raise an eyebrow at the display. "What are you looking for?"

"This!" He exclaims, pulling my sonic screwdriver from his pocket.

"Ohh." I'm breathe, excited. Well, excited until I remember that I didn't get the sonic linearly for him a long time in his future. "Wait, how did you get that?"

The Doctor rolls his eyes even as he all but shoves the screwdriver into my hand. "You have a bad habit of leaving things in your pockets when it's time to throw them in the wash. I've started to just hand it off to whatever version of you I see next that doesn't have one."

Huh, and judging by the faint differences I can see he does more than retrieve it from my clothing. Or maybe I do something with it, who knows. I shake off those thoughts, smiling over at him even as we walk through the door onto the planet. "Thanks h-Woah."

"Woah is right." The Doctor murmurs. He's looking at the same thing I am, a stream of light spiraling up into the sky coming from the top of the building we had materialized on.

I'm scanning the roof for..i don't even know at this point when the Doctor turns around and grins at me like a little boy.

"It's Christmas." He states, his whole face lighting up in excitement.

"Okay." I respond, drawing the word out in my confusion.

"It's Christmas, and there's a building with a beam of light shooting out of the top of it into the clouds." The Doctor reiterates. "It's Christmas, and the building with a beam of light shooting out of it into the sky controlling the clouds has a chimney."

To my credit, I understand what he's trying to say immediately. "Seriously? You're not Santa Claus."

His expression falls into a pout. "But Mabel, it'd be fun!"

"I never said you couldn't do it." I tell him, voice dry, as I cross my arms. "Just know you're going to get incredibly ashy."

The Doctor seems to take that as permission, because it only takes him a few seconds to cross the rooftop to get to the chimney. Rolling my eyes, I head over to the ladder that I noticed when we first came out onto the roof.

A quick glance shows that the Doctor has already made his way down the chimney, radiating far more glee than he probably should be at the moment, so I hurry my pace. It takes me a few minutes to figure out how to get inside, but a judicious use of my sonic gives me an opening through the window.

The chimney was located near the back corner of the building, so I head down the stairs. I know I'm heading in the right direction when I'm able to hear the Doctor's voice, rambling on about something as usual.

"- Christmas, Frank Sinatra's hunting lodge, 1952. See him at the back with the blonde? Albert Einstein. The three of us together. Brrm. Watch out. Okay? Keep the faith. Stay off the naughty list."

I push open the large doors directly in front of me, catching the attention of everyone in the room. The Doctor is there, of course, but there is also an old man dressed in nice clothing. There is another man, with his two children and an older woman all standing next to one another. A family unit, maybe? I'm guessing at this point. And to top it all off there is a tall cylinder with what looks to be a woman inside.

"You're late!" The Doctor calls out.

I tsk at him. "Just because I didn't go down the chimney with you doesn't mean I'm late." Crossing the room, I try wiping off some of the soot that's managed to get on his jacket. He puts up with my ministrations with a fond look of patience. "I told you that you were going to get sooty, and this jacket is always so difficult to wash too."

"And just who are you?" The old man demands.

"Mabel." I answer him, distracted. There is a corner of the room that has all sorts of flashing lights on some sort of repurposed organ, half hidden by curtains. "Now that looks promising."

"Doesn't it?" The Doctor asks rhetorically, rushing over to get a better look at the device. "Now, what's this then? I love this. A big flashy lighty thing. That's what brought me here. Big flashy lighty things have got me written all over them." There is a spinny chair in front of the device which the Doctor decides to sit down in, spinning around to give the old man a not so pleasant smile. "Now, this big flashy lighty thing is connected to the spire in your dome, yeah? And it controls the sky. Well, technically it controls the clouds, which technically aren't clouds at all. Well, they're clouds of tiny particles of ice. Ice clouds. Love that."

"Ice clouds, and frozen people." I point at the woman in the cylinder. "Who's she?"

"Nobody important." The old man dismisses me.

The Doctor gets up from his chair, moving to stand in front of the cylinder himself before he turns to give the old man a neutral look. Well it's a neutral look, but I have an inside connection to his head so I can tell that he's not exactly the happiest person right now. "Nobody important. Blimey, that's amazing. Do you know, in nine hundred years of time and space, I've never met anyone who wasn't important before."

I ignore his posturing, not interested in small talk at the moment. "Are you sure this controls the ice clouds?"

The Doctor nods, rushing back over to the console and pushing buttons as he does so. "I'd eat my hat if it isn't. Er, if I had a hat. I'll eat someone's hat. Not someone who's using their hat. I don't want to shock a nun, or something." His irritation starts to spill over into the connection. "Sorry, rambling, because, because this isn't working!"

The old man has a look on his face, like he doesn't quite believe what's happening. "The controls are isomorphic. One to one. They respond only to me."

Scoffing, the Doctor turns to give him a look of disbelief. "Oh, you fibber. Isomorphic. There's no such thing."

Walking forward, the old man reaches around the Doctor, powering down the machine. He waits a beat before powering it back up and giving the Doctor a look that very clearly says 'There.'

The Doctor presses the same button and nothing happens. The irritation very quickly turns to frustration as he tries a few more buttons and still nothing happens. He pulls his screwdriver out, scanning first the control and then the old man.

"These controls are isomorphic." The Doctor states, turning to look at me. Just a hint of embarrassment sneaks through.

With a bit of effort, I don't call him out on it.

"The skies of this entire world are mine." The old man says, looking like he's grown bored with the conversation. "My family tamed them, and now I own them."

"Tamed the sky? What does that mean?" The Doctor asks, his focus sharpening.

The old man rolls his eyes, turning his back on the Doctor and walking away from the machine. "It means I'm Kazran Sardick. How can you possibly not know who I am?"

There is a spike in the Doctor's temper, which probably contributes to his response of, "Well, just easily bored, I suppose."

"Regardless, we need your help." I chime in, confused at his uncharacteristic irritation. I'm not exactly sure what happened before I got here to make the Doctor react like this, but it's strange. I'm worried about Amy and Rory as well, but now isn't the time for confrontation.

Kazran brushes me off once again. "Make an appointment."

"There are four thousand and three people in a spaceship trapped in your cloud belt." The Doctor tells Kazran, voice serious. "Without your help, they're going to die."

"Yes." Kazran nods, not a care on his face.

"You can stop that from happening." I narrow my eyes at him.

"I know, but I'm not going to." Kazran tells me, flippant. "Bye, bye. Bored now. Chuck."

His servants come over and grab us by the arms. The Doctor breaks their hold easily, going to stand by the chair Kazran has taken a seat in.

"Ooo, look at you, looking all tough now." Kazran scoffs, dismissive.

"There are four thousand and three people I won't allow to die tonight. Do you know where that puts you?" The Doctor tilts his head to the side.

Kazran looks up, not impressed. "Where?"

The Doctor's voice is soft when he responds, as if the words aren't completely serious. "Four thousand and four."

"Was that a sort of threat-y thing?" Kazran asks, shaking his hand back and forth. It's clear he's not listening properly.

Helped on by the Doctor's own irritation and frustration, my own temper flares. "That's not a threat Kazran Sardick. It's a promise."

"And remember, whatever happens tonight, remember you brought it on yourself." The Doctor murmurs.

"Yeah, yeah, right. Get him out of here." Kazran orders, and my restrainers tug me along. The family being bustled out as well. "And next time, try and find me some funny poor people."

The boy shakes off the person holding him, grabbing a piece of coal and pelting the back of Kazran's head with it. I see Kazran get up, rushing the boy, and before I know it the person who had been holding me is on the floor. I'm also several feet away from where I started, staring at the hand the Kazran raised to hit the boy.

He hadn't gone through with the strike.

People are protesting, Kazran is snarling something to his servants. They continue pulling the family away, but the Doctor and I are left alone now.

"What?" Kazran asks, defensive now. "What do you want?"

"A simple life." The Doctor replies simply, the liar, before taking a step towards Kazran. "But you didn't hit the boy."

"Well, I will next time." Kazran spits, raising his voice like the family can still hear him.

I shake my head. "No, I don't think you will." Looking around, I take in how bare this place is. It's Christmas, but there isn't any decorations. The place is desolate and lonely. "Kazran Sardick, this is a rather large house for one person."

"Of course." The Doctor breathes out. "The chairs. Stupid me, the chairs."

"The chairs?" Kazran asks, looking seconds away from kicking us out.

"There's a portrait on the wall behind me. Looks like you, but it's too old, so it's your father. All the chairs are angled away from it. Daddy's been dead for twenty years, but you still can't get comfortable where he can see you." The Doctor explains. "There's a Christmas tree in the painting, but none in this house, on Christmas Eve. You're scared of him, and you're scared of being like him, and good for you, you're not like him, not really. Do you know why?" He finishes, taking a step towards Kazran.

Kazran looks taken aback. When he speaks, his voice is soft, childlike. "Why?"

The Doctor looks at him. Just looks. "Because you didn't hit the boy. Merry Christmas, Mister Sardick."

"I despise Christmas." Kazran snarls, breaking the moment.

"You shouldn't." The Doctor replies, taking a step towards the door. I follow him. "It's very you."

Kazran shakes his head, looking confused again. His mood swings are giving me vertigo. "It's what? What do you mean?"

The Doctor doesn't respond and neither do I. I follow him from the room, hoping he has a plan.

"You do have a plan, right?" I ask as soon as we are out of earshot.

"Yes, of course I have a plan." He answers, far to quickly. I send him a look. "Well, it's sort of a plan. I'm working on it."

I send him another look. "This plan of yours doesn't happen to be wait until I come up with a plan, would it?"

"Er, no." The Doctor replies, entirely unconvincing.

Well that's just great. Hmm, though it does make my head start racing with ideas. "I don't have anything for that yet, but we should probably contact Amy and Rory and let them know what's going on."

He hums in agreement, rummaging around in his pockets before throwing whatever he found in them to me. It's a phone, well maybe it's a phone. It sort of looks like one.

The Doctor sends me a hint of his amusement, even though he's still rummaging around in his pockets. "Just put it up to your ear and think."

I do as he says, and a ringtone greets me. It only rings for a few seconds before Amy's stressed voice comes over the receiver.

'Doctor!" She calls, tone sharp.

"Not quite, It's Mabel." I reply, not able to control the twitch of my lips into a half smile. She sounds so annoyed with him right now.

Amy lets out what sounds to be a breath of relief? 'Oh thank god, it's so very good to hear your voice Mabel. Have you figured out a way to get us off this thing yet?'

"No, not yet. But we did find the machine that controls the clouds." I tell her, trying to keep the negative emotions out of my voice.

'That's good, why haven't you turned it off yet?' She asks, clearly annoyed.

"Well." I frown, not able to help myself. "The controls on the machine only answer to one person, and he's not cooperating."

Amy sighs. 'Was the Doctor being extra charming?'

"Only in reaction to Kazran's sour attitude." I tell her, unable to control the smile hovering around my lips with the addition of the Doctor's insulted 'OI!' coming from behind me.

I watch as the family that had been in the room with us earlier comes up to the Doctor, thanking him.

"So anyways, that's what we've got so far. Sorry I couldn't give you more." The man is shaking the Doctor's hand now, and for some reason the Doctor is feeling as confused as I've ever felt him be.

'Don't apologize, at least you don't sugar coat it.' Amy mutters. 'If I would have been on the phone with the Doctor we would have just spent an extra minute where he tried to walk around the issue instead of addressing it.'

My answering laugh is interrupted when the Doctor grabs my arm and pulls me towards a streetlight. "Hey! What're you doing?"

"Mabel, look." He breathes out, a brilliant smile forming on his face. "Fish in the fog."

"What ar-oh, wow." I look up at the little fish in awe. "Now that's not something you see everyday."

'Mabel, please focus.' Amy's voice is back to being stressed, so I do my best to pay attention. 'The Captain says we've got less than an hour.'

"Now, why would people be frightened of you tiny little fellows? Look at you, sweet little fishy-wishies." The Doctor coos, before abruptly pulling back. "Mind you, fish in the fog, so the cloud cover. Ooo." He leans in so Amy will be able to hear him. "Careful up there."

'Oh great, thanks, Doctor, because there was a real danger we were all going to nod off. We've got less than an hour!' Amy snaps.

The Doctor takes the phone from me, frowning. "I know Amy."

Speakers that I hadn't known were there crackle and then start crooning out a carol.

'Doctor?' Amy asks, voice almost inaudible now that I'm not holding the receiver up to my ear. 'How are you getting us off here?'

"Oh, just give me a minute. Can't use the Tardis, because it can't lock on. So, that ship needs to land. But it can't land unless a very bad man suddenly decides to turn nice just in time for Christmas Day." The Doctor reiterates.

Amy says something, but the music is so loud I can't hear what she's saying anymore.

The Doctor replies, distracted. "A Christmas carol."

Something in what he just said resonates with me. "Wait, what?"

"It's a Christmas carol." He says again, flicking confused eyes in my direction.

Amy says something again, and this time when the doctor says it, there's some oomph behind it. "A Christmas carol!"

Wait.

No, it can't be that easy.

"Kazran Sardick." The Doctor breathes, starting to smile. "Merry Christmas, Kazran Sardick."

"No, we are not doing that." I tell him.

"Why not? It would work." He shoots back, pout already forming.

I shake my head at him. "It could work, emphasis on could. Besides all that, I thought there were rules? Even if we do Christmas Carol him, he would have had to be the grumpy old man he is in the first place for us to have thought about going back to change him."

"Er." The Doctor scratches his head. "Just don't think about it too hard?"

Giving him my most unimpressed look, I wait.

He fidgets, looking uncomfortable. "Okay, it has a lot to do with wibbly, wobbily stuff."

"So, basically it'll work but we shouldn't do it all the time?" I offer, not exactly willing to let him off the hook but throwing an olive branch nonetheless.

"Yes!" The Doctor looks relieved. "We will remember because we were already part of established events, and he'll remember both lives. The only thing we need to do is change him enough that he'd be willing to turn off the machine and presto." He waves his fingers around, feeling smug.

I sigh, not feeling his enthusiasm. "Is this really the best way to fix this? I don't feel right just up and leaving when Amy and Rory are trapped up there."

He leans in, emotions losing the false enthusiasm and settling into something more solemn. "You heard how stubborn he was, doing it like this might just be for the best. And this way we will have time to gather more information on how the cloud system works." One of his fingers comes up and taps against his lip as he works through what he wants to say. "In the end, we might not even need to use Kazran Sardick to turn off the machine if I get enough data."

There is logic in his explanation, but- "I still don't like it."

"I promise, that we will do everything in our power to save our wayward companions." The Doctor tells me, voice gentle.

Closing my eyes against the sincerity in his voice, I incline my head in agreement. "Okay. Let's go change this man's entire life to suit our own needs."

He grumbles as I turn on my heels, padding after me as I make my way back into the mansion. "When you put it that way it makes it seem worse somehow."

Pausing my steps for him to catch up to me, I thread our hands together and give him an indulgent look. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Yes, I didn't think you would." The Doctor says, a supremely unimpressed look on his face.

It's almost enough to make me crack a real smile in return but I resist the urge.

"Alright troublemaker," he murmurs, tugging on my hand. "Let's get to the Tardis."

I stick my tongue out at him, getting a tongue in return and before I know it we are giggling in a side alley behind a shady mansion belonging to a guy who is going to let all those people die because he feels like it.

The last thought is a sobering one.

"Yeah." The Doctor murmurs, the laughter fading from his face as well.

Time to get to work.

xxxx

It doesn't take long to find an entry point. A scan for anything useful highlights an old computer/recording device. The device isn't compatible with our projector, but the Doctor does something clever with a paperclip and his screwdriver, somehow getting it to work.

A peek at the footage shows Kazran as a child. I guess it'd be easier to influence him then, especially if we have footage to show off the changes.

Then, all that's left is to set it up.

Kazran Sardick is asleep in that cold, lonely room, making it easy to slip in the necessary equipment. I pull out my sonic, a short pulse all that's needed to turn the machine on, and then we wait.

Well, the Doctor pulls me into a corner behind Kazran to wait, but it's the same difference.

A recording of little Kazran flickers to life. It's in black and white and white, covering most of the far wall, doorway included.

'Hello, my name is Kazran Sardick. I'm twelve and a half, and this is my bedroom.' The boy on screen shifts in excitement, looking at the window behind him before turning back to the camera and leaning in. 'This is my top secret special project. For my eyes only. Merry Christmas.'

'Kazran!' An angry male voice calls from off screen.

Little Kazran immediately recoils, sitting back in his seat and looking at his desk in dread.

Kazran Sardick, the man sleeping in the chair in front of us, jolts upright in his chair, wide awake.

A man comes in, clearly Kazran's father. 'Kazran, what are you doing?' He growls, coming over to the boy and looking straight into the camera. Sardick, the grown man, climbs out of his chair and backs up as far away from the film as he can. 'What are you doing? I've warned you before about this, you stupid, ignorant, ridiculous child.'

Oh no.

I hadn't watched the whole thing.

All I had done was make sure it had a Kazran around the right age for us to make any sort of changes, but I hadn't thought to watch the whole thing.

'I was just going to make a film of the fish.' Little Kazran tells his father, not quite looking him in the eye.

'The fish are dangerous.' Kazran's father growls.

Kazran looks up, making eye contact for the first time since the man came in. 'I just want to see them.'

'Don't be stupid.' The man scoffs. 'You're far too young.'

Kazran hesitates, looking as if he knows he shouldn't continue but he decides to anyways. 'Everyone at school's seen the fish.'

The man looks away, off at something in the bedroom. It looks as if he's grown bored with the conversation. 'That's enough. You'll be singing to them next, like gypsies.'

'The singing works.' Kazran tells him, his whole face lighting up. 'I've seen it. The fish like the singing.'

'What does it matter what fish like?' The man narrows his eyes at Kazran.

Kazran doesn't seem to see the danger anymore. He's too excited by talk of the fish. 'People say we don't have to be afraid of the fish. They're not really interested in us.'

'You don't listen to people. You listen to me.' The man snarls, angry, his arm raising up in preparation.

Fingers curl around my arm, holding me in place, but I don't really notice them, to focused on the screen.

The man follows through with his strike, in a way that the Kazran Sardick of the future hadn't been able to and something in me goes cold. Despite the shitbag of a man he seems to have become, that there on the screen is still just a child.

'I'm sorry father.' Little Kazran sobs, putting his head down on his arms.

The Doctor brushes our shoulders together, probably in a show of comfort, but I take a step away from him.

I don't want to be comforted right now. Right now, I want to go teach that man a lesson.

'This is my house.' Kazran's father states. 'While you're under my roof, you'll obey my instructions. I don't care what you-'

The Doctor moves, touching the Kazran Sardick if the present's shoulder. "It's okay, it's okay."

He jumps, looking at the two of us like he's never seen us. "What have you done? What is this?"

"We found it on an old drive." The Doctor explains. "Sorry about the picture quality. Had to recover the data using quantum enfolding and a paperclip."

Sardick moves with purpose to the bells in the corner.

The Doctor is unconcerned, picking up a newspaper and sitting down in the only chair in the room. "Oh, I wouldn't bother calling your servants. They quit. Apparently, they won the lottery at exactly the same time, which is a bit lucky when you think about it."

"There isn't a lottery." Sardick states, expression souring even further.

"Yeah, that's why it's a bit lucky now isn't it?" I speak up, my smile sharp enough to cut.

On the screen behind us, the recording is still going.

'There's a fog warning tonight. You keep these windows closed, understand? Closed.' Sardick's father warns him.

Sardick looks back and forth between us. "Who are the both of you?"

The Doctor jumps up from the chair, stepping up to Sardick until their faces are uncomfortably close. "Tonight, well, we're the ghost of Christmas past."

'Mrs Mantovani will be looking after you tonight.' Sardick's father continues. 'You stay here till she comes. Do you understand? Do you understand?'

"Did you ever get to see a fish, back then, when you were a kid?" The Doctor asks, finally moving away.

"What does that matter to you?" Sardick shakes his head tiredly.

"It mattered to you, at one point." I murmur, watching his expression.

Sardick falters for a second, before bringing his mask around him like a shield. "I cried all night, and I learned life's most invaluable lesson."

The Doctor steps around Sardick to better look at the projector. "Ah. Which is?"

"Nobody comes." Sardick says bitterly. "Get out! Get out of my house!"

"You know, at first I wasn't to sure about this." I tell Sardick, even as the Doctor and I back up towards the door. "But after seeing that video, now we have a real reason to act."

"What are you talking about?" Sardick spits, starting to advance on us.

The Doctor opens the door behind us, whipping around the corner to enter the Tardis which we had moved for this very reason.

I, on the other hand, can't help but put in one last remark. "A crying child is always a reason to act. We're going back, Kazran Sardick, back to help the you the needed it the most." And in the process, hopefully help our friends.

Poking his head back around the corner, the Doctor gives Sardick a bright smile. "Just keep watching!"

And then we are in the Tardis, the ship making its way back to the child in the video. Though there is a pit stop to take care of the nanny situation, we promptly materialize outside Kazran's window on the balcony.

The Doctor pushes the window open, smirking at the recording device. "See? Back."

Oh how I wish I could see what the look on future Kazran Sardicks's face is at this moment.

"Who are you?" Kazran asks, wiping the tears from his face in a hurry.

"Hi. I'm the Doctor, this is Mabel." The Doctor explains, rushing forward to start jumping on the bed. "We're your new babysitters."

I wave at little Kazran, entering the room with less energy than the Doctor.

Kazran clearly doesn't know what to do with two strangers in his bedroom, looking between us in bewilderment. "But, where's Mrs. Mantovani?"

"Ah, she won the lottery." I offer, giving the Doctor a look until he stops jumping on the bed. He huffs, sitting down with his legs hanging off the side instead.

"There isn't any lottery." Kazran states with confidence.

"I know." The Doctor looks up from his sulk, smiling at the boy. "What a woman."

Kazran frowns, clearly not buying our story. It's a wonder he's not called for help yet. "If you're my babysitters, why did you climb in the window?"

"Because if we were climbing out of the window, we'd be going in the wrong direction." The Doctor points at Kazran, voice gaining an edge. "Pay attention."

"But Mrs Mantovani's always my babysitter." Kazran tells the Doctor, leaning away from the finger in his face.

"Thing change Kazran Sardick." I murmur, looking directly into the recording device. "I think you'll be experiencing them by now."

The Doctor leans over until his face is right in the camera. "See? Christmas past."

Kazran gives the both of us a look, as if he thinks we are not all there. "Who are you talking to?"

"You." The Doctor replies, still close to the camera. "Now, your past is going to change. That means your memories will too. Bit scary, but you'll get the hang of it."

"I don't understand." Kazran tells us.

The Doctor leans back away from the camera, patting little Kazran on the head while giving him a smile. "I'll bet you don't. I wish I could see your face."

Kazran pulls away, disgruntled.

"Right then, your bedroom." The Doctor claps in feigned delight, going to sit on the bed once again. "Great. Let's see. You're twelve years old, so we'll stay away from under the bed." He gets up, rushing over to the closet on the other side of the room. "Cupboard! Big cupboard. I love a cupboard."

The Doctor opens the closet, pausing with his head inside. "Do you know, there's a thing called a face spider. It's just like a tiny baby's head with spider legs, and it's specifically evolved to scuttle up the backs of bedroom cupboards-"

I cough loudly, interrupting his speech. Kazran leans back in alarm.

He turns to grimace at me. "Which, yeah, I probably shouldn't have mentioned. Right. So. What are we going to do? Eat crisps and talk about girls? I've never actually done that, but I bet it's easy." The Doctor waves his hands around. "Girls? Yeah?"

"Are you sure you're married?" I ask him, annoyed with the fake enthusiasm among other things.

The Doctor smirks at me, a 180 from his previous behavior. "Spoilers dear."

"Are you really babysitters?" Kazran finally comes out and asks.

"I used to take care of several children, I have practice at this." I tell him.

"And I think you'll find I'm universally recognized as a mature and responsible adult." The Doctor continues, pulling out his psychic paper and brandishing it in front of Kazran.

Kazran frowns at the paper. "It's just a lot of wavy lines."

The Doctor pulls it back to examine it, a frown of his own at whatever he sees. "Yeah, it's shorted out. Finally, a lie too big." He puts the paper back into his pocket, kneeling down next to the boy. "Okay, no, not really a babysitter, but it's Christmas Eve. You don't want a real one. You want us."

"Why?" Kazran shakes his head. "What's so special about the two of you?"

"Nothing." I shrug as the boy focusses on me. "But I bet we're a lot better than Mrs. Mantovani could ever be."

Kazran makes a face like he hasn't decided yet, but he doesn't get a chance to say anything about it. The Doctor has already moved on, frowning at the fog outside of the window we used to enter the room. "Fish in the fog. Fish in the clouds." He turns around, focusing on the boy. The light from outside, coupled with the fog gives his face an eerie glow. "How do people ever get bored? How did boredom even get invented?"

For the first time, Kazran gets up out of his chair, walking towards us. "My dad's invented a machine to control the cloud belt. Tame the sky, he says. The fish'll be able to come down, but only when we let them. We can charge whatever we like."

"Yeah, we've seen your dad's machine." I say, not able to keep all the bitterness out of my voice. The Doctor places a calming hand on my shoulder and I take a deep breath in response.

"What?" Kazran scoffs, missing our interaction. "You can't have."

"Tame the sky. Human beings." The Doctor shakes his head. "You always manage to find the boring alternative, don't you?" He focusses on the boy. "You want to see one? A fish. We can do that. We can see a fish."

Kazran looks pleased for a brief second, before his expression flickers into a reluctant disappointment. "Aren't you going to tell me it's dangerous?"

"Dangerous?" The Doctor scoffs. "Come on, we're boys. And you know what boys say in the face of danger."

"What?" Kazran asks, confused with the rapid conversation shifts.

The Doctor looks over at me, and I get a flash of his mischief. "Mummy."

I roll my eyes. "Anyways, any ideas on how to see a fish. Do we just wait?"

"Hmm, I have a better idea than wait." The Doctor murmurs. He then proceeds to set up his screwdriver as a sort of lure. It even has a piece of string connected to it, so we will know if any fish are 'biting' so to speak.

The only downside is that our hiding spot is in the closet. It's cramped, but manageable. Sort of.

"Are there any face spiders in here?" Kazran whispers, huddled between the two of us.

"No, I think we're safe for tonight." I murmur back, giving the Doctor another dirty look.

The Doctor grimaces again, finger on the end of the string, waiting for any sign of a fish out in the main room. "Sorry. Anyways, why are you interested in the fish?"

Kazran hugs his knees to his chest. "Because they're scary."

"Good answer." The Doctor murmurs.

"What kind of tie is that?" Kazran redirects the conversation. I lean forward a bit to see him pointing at the Doctor's bowtie.

The Doctor straightens it with his free hand. "A cool one."

Kazran tilts his head in confusion. "Why is it cool?"

It isn't, not really. But it is very Doctorish, and that's cool I suppose. I can feel an epic ramble coming on, so I interrupt it before it can get started. "Kazran, why are you really interested in the fish?"

The boy ducks his head. "My school. During the last fog belt, the nets broke and there was an attack. Loads of them. A whole shoal. No one was hurt, but it was the most fish ever seen below the mountains."

The Doctor tilts his head in Kazran's direction. "Were you scared?"

The boy shakes his head. "I wasn't there. I was off sick."

"Ooo, lucky you." The Doctor states, his face turning concerned when Kazran just ducks his head again. "Not lucky?"

"It's all anyone ever talks about now. The day the fish came. Everyone's got a story." Kazran tells us, voice sad.

"But not you." I finish for him.

The Doctor looks towards the recording device, pensive. "I see."

Kazran looks up from his legs, clearly wanting to change the subject. "Why are you recording this?"

The line wrapped around the Doctor's finger moves, jerking his hand back a bit. Looks like we finally have a bite, and a story for Kazran to tell.

"Do you pay attention at school, Kazran?" The Doctor asks.

"Sorry, what?" Kazran frowns up at him.

The Doctor gives him a look, nodding to the string that's still jerking sporadically. "Because you're not paying attention now."

Kazran goes to say something, but the Doctor puts his free hand up to his lips, shushing the boy. He falls obediently silent, but his excitement is evident. When the Doctor goes to open the closet, it seems he can't help himself though. "Doctor, are you sure?" Kazran whispers.

"Trust me." He looks at Kazran, radiating confidence.

"Okay." Kazran mutter, looking disheartened.

"Oi." The Doctor says, tilting his head as Kazran focusses on him once again. "Eyes on the tie. Look at me. I wear it and I don't care. Just, trust me."

The boy lights up, expression opening. It's clear that whatever preconceived notion Kazran might have had before, he's willing to put trust in the man before him.

The Doctor eyes flicker over to me a hint of a smirk touching his face, before directing his attention to the recorder. "That's why it's cool."

Heh.

What a ridiculous man.

Carefully opening the closet door, he makes his way outside of the room. I pull Kazran back a bit, concerned about having him so close to the door in question.

"Hello, fishy. Let's see. Interesting. Crystalline fog, eh?" The Doctor's voice carries through the door easily. "Maybe carrying a tiny electrical charge. Is that how you fly, little fishy?"

"What's going on?" Kazran leans into me, looking intently at the door.

"It sounds like there is a fish out there." I raise my voice slightly. "What do you think sweetheart, is it good to come out?"

"Just stay there a moment." Is his distracted reply. "So, little fellow, what do you eat?"

I'm shaking my head regretfully at Kazran, about to tell him to wait for a minute when a surge of alarm jolts through our connection. "Doctor?"

"What's the matter?" Kazran ask me.

"Er." The Doctor hesitates.

"Somethings happened, but I don't think it was a good thing." I tell Kazran, before directing my attention back to the door. "I'm coming out!"

"No, no. Maybe just wait there for a moment." The Doctor replies hastily, his caution and fear a reminder that something is going wrong.

I frown at the door.

"Is there a big fish out there?" Kazran asks, leaning closer to the door.

The Doctor rushes into the cupboard, closing the door behind himself and bracing for the impact that rocks the door right after it closes.

Kazran looks confused, and a little alarmed. "What's happening?"

"Well, concentrating on the plusses, you've definitely got a story of your own now." The Doctor braces as something hits the door again. "Also, I got a good look at the fish, and I think I understand how the fog works, which is going to help me land a spaceship in the future and save a lot of lives."

He hesitates then, grimacing in my direction. "And, I should get some interesting readings off my sonic screwdriver when I get it back from the shark in Kazran's bedroom."

"There's a shark in my bedroom?" – "There's a shark in his bedroom?!"

"Oh fine, focus on that part!" The Doctor huffs, wilting under our combined looks.

There's another bang on the door, and then quiet.

"Has it gone?" Kazran's eyes flicker between the two of us and I have to stop him from leaning closer to the door once again. "What's it doing?"

The Doctor grimaces, taking a step away from the door. "What do you call it if you don't have any feet, and you're taking a run-up?"

The words have barely left his mouth when they seem to register, and he throws his body against ours, pushing us as far back into the closet as is possible.

The shark smashes through the door and for one heart stopping moment, I think that's it. No more, we're done for. This is how it ends, in a child's bedroom closet eaten by a shark.

But that doesn't seem to happen. The Shark is struggling, arching this way and that way but it's not getting any closer to us.

"It's going to eat us. It's going to eat us. It's going to eat us." Kazran keeps panicking as books from the top of the closet fall down on top of us. "Is it going to eat us?"

"Well, maybe we're going to eat it, but I don't like the odds. It's stuck, though. Let's see. Tiny shark brain. If I had my screwdriver, I could probably send a pulse and stun it." The Doctor rambles.

"Well, where's your screwdriver?" Kazran demands, voice this close to cracking.

"Well-" The Doctor drags out. "Concentrating on the plusses, within reach. You know, there's a real chance the way it's wedged in the doorway is keeping its mouth open."

"Oh, you absolutely ridiculous man!" I can't help but bite out, annoyed with him for even thinking about putting his arm in the shark's mouth.

He gives me one of those 'you got any better ideas' looks that I've come to recognize.

I give him my best, 'you're a moron' look in response. "Yes, as a matter of fact I do have a better idea."

Pulling out the screwdriver that the Doctor gave me less than an hour ago, I point it at the shark and ignore the look of comprehension that crosses the Doctors face.

Sleep

And it somehow, miraculously, works. The shark immediately goes limp in the doorway.

Kazran lets out a breath, sagging against the back of the closet in relief. I can't blame him, I kind of feel like doing the same thing myself.

"That was rather anticlimactic." The Doctor mutters into the silence.

I'm immediately annoyed again. "Yeah, but it was better than putting your hand in a shark's mouth and hoping it doesn't bite you."

He scowls at me. "The way it was stuck in the doorway was keeping its mouth open, I would have been fine."

"You have no way of knowing if it actually was or not." I roll my eyes at him, annoyance fading away even as the argument continues.

"Yes I do." The Doctor says with confidence.

"Oh?" I ask, wanting to see where this is going. "How?"

"Well-" He blusters, puffing himself up. "I just do!"

Kazran giggles, breaking the moment and drawing our attention to him. "You two are silly."

The Doctor raises his eyes back to mine, lips twitching. "Silly huh? I think you might be right about that."

I can't help but smile back at him. Then, I bustle everyone up off the floor. Kazran comes first, then the Doctor who brushes a kiss against the corner of my mouth in thanks.

"Okay." I shake my arms out, considering the shark in the doorway. "Let's hope this thing doesn't wake up while we're moving it out of the way."

"Stand back a bit Kazran." The Doctor instructs, which Kazran does. And then we proceed to have one of the strangest experiences of my life.

The shark is heavy, but not overwhelmingly so with the two of us carrying it, and we manage to move it to the balcony that we arrived on in the first place.

The Doctor does indeed stick his hand in the shark's mouth, to my unending displeasure, but he manages to retrieve his sonic, though he's only successful with half of it. I guess the shark bit it in two?

"What's the big fishy done to you? Swallowed half of you, that's what." The Doctor grouses, pacing back and forth, smacking his screwdriver off of his hand. "Half a screwdriver, what use is that? Bad, big fishy."

Kazran kneels next to the shark, a concerned look on his face. "I think-I think she's dying."

Judging by the labored breathing, I'd say he was right. I kneel down next to the shark next to him, placing a hand on his back. Kazran leans into the touch and the scent of salt tinges the air.

"I'd say you were right." The Doctor replies, voice gentle. He kneels next to us on the other side of the shark. "I doubt they can survive long outside the cloud belt."

"Can't we get it back up there?" Kazran asks, sniffing. "We were just going to stun it. I didn't want to kill it."

"She was trying to eat you." The Doctor tries justifying, but even as he says it I can feel that he doesn't mean it.

Kazran shakes his head, looking up at the Doctor for the first time since he came over to us. There are tears on his face. "She was hungry."

My arm slides around the boys' shoulders, tugging him closer to my body. He clings to my hand, making me go focused in a way I've only experienced a few times in my life. I flick my eyes up to the Doctor, who's already looking at me with a look not unlike my own. "There isn't anything we can do?"

"I could take her back up there, but she'd never survive the trip." The Doctor states. But he's still looking at me like he's waiting for something. "We need a fully functioning life-support."

Kazran perks up. "You mean like an icebox? Okay."

"Okay?" I reiterate, standing up when Kazran does.

"Yeah, I know where we can get one of those." Kazran tells us, already climbing back through the window to his bedroom.

"Kazran!" I call after him, trying to keep my voice down, even as the Doctor and I try to keep up. "Where are you going to get an icebox?"

Kazran gestures down the stairs impatiently. "Hurry, you said we don't have much time."

I have to give him that one. The Doctor brushes his arm against mine as we follow the boy down the stairs, sending me his affection. I glance at him confused, but all I get is a bright smile in return.

What a weirdo.

Entering the same room as the one we'd seen in the future, I take in the huge tree that's dominating the space. The Doctor runs over, delighted by the difference but Kazran pays us no mind, instead going over to a lantern on the wall and lighting it before making his way down a back staircase.

There is a vault at the bottom of the staircase, and a fine layer of frost over everything to complement it.

"What is this?" The Doctor asks, peering in through the window at whatever is in the room.

Kazran strains to turn the wheel on the door, but it doesn't move. "The surplus population. That's what my Dad calls it."

I move to help him, but the door remains stubbornly shut.

"Oh, it's not turning." Kazran huffs, voice breathless. "Oh, why won't it turn?"

"Ah." The Doctor looks up from the keypad next to the door, one that I hadn't noticed until he went over. "I'm going to need your sonic, dear."

Pulling it from my pocket, I toss it over. He only fumbles for it twice, and I get a dirty look for my amusement at his expense, but then we are in business.

The wheel turns as soon as the Doctor uses his sonic on the keypad, revealing the room inside.

"The surplus population." I murmur, taking in the room. "People, frozen people."

The room extends out in front of us, rows upon rows of the same pod as earlier. There must be hundreds of people down here.

Kazran takes off down one of the rows, and we both hurry to follow. As we walk, fish scatter away from our legs.

"Ah, there's fish down here too." The Doctor looks intrigued, my sonic humming to life as he scans the surroundings.

Kazran nods. "Yeah, but only tiny ones. The house is built on a fog lake, that's how Dad freezes the people. They're all full, but we could borrow one." He pauses in front of a seemingly random pod. "Yeah, this one."

But it might not be so random after all. This is the same woman that was in the pod several decades in the future.

"Hello again." The Doctor murmurs. I suppose we are on the same wavelength on this one.

"You know her?" Kazran looks between the pod and the Doctor, clearly confused.

Glancing over at me, the Doctor quirks an eyebrow. "Why her?"

I shrug. "She's probably important."

Kazran reaches forward, hitting a button on the side of the pod. "She won't mind. She loves the fish."

A hologram pops up in front of the pod, showing the person inside. "My name is Abigail Pettigrew, and I'm very grateful for Mister Sardick's kindness. My father-"

"She starts to talk about the fish in a minute." Kazran talks over her. He's very excited about the fish, it seems Kazran has a one track mind. The Doctor wanders off down the row a bit, looking into other people's pods.

"-But I would not allow it." Abigail continues. "I could not have chosen this path were it not for the compassion and generosity of the great philanthropist and patron of the poor, Mister Elliot Sardick. But I'm also surrounded by the fish, the beautiful, iridescent, magical fish."

"Why are these people here?" I hear the Doctor murmur, almost to faint to hear. It's clear he's asking it to himself. The next time he speaks his voice is much higher, high enough for even Kazran to hear him. "What's all this for?"

Kazran turns from the pod in the direction the Doctor is in. There is a strange mixture of shame and guilt in his expression. "My dad lends money. He always takes a family member as, he calls it security."

All these people in here are basically currency. That's a cheery thought.

"Hard man to love, your dad." The Doctor replies, turning to look at us. "But I suppose you know that."

Kazran ducks his head, pressing a few more buttons on the pod. Abigail's hologram disappears, and a light turns on, illuminating her face instead.

A beeping noise, kind of like sonar resounds through the room in the direction of the Doctor.

"What was that?" I ask him.

He pulls the bottom half of his screwdriver out of his pocket, giving it a peculiar look. "Just my half a screwdriver trying to repair itself. It's signaling the other half."

An answering beep comes from somewhere else in the room.

"The other half's inside the shark." Kazran states, looking up at me.

"Yeah?" The Doctor agrees. "Sounds like she's woken up. Okay, so it's homing on the screwdriver."

There is no warning other than the sound as the shark rears up out of the fog in front of us. The Doctor dodges to the right, while I grab Kazran and dodge to the left.

The tail of the shark gives us a solid smack on it's way past, and I do my best to cushion the fall. The fin trails down the corridor, the rest of the shark being covered by the fog.

Kazran tries to run, in the absolute wrong direction, but I hold him back and pull him further up the row instead. The sonar ping starts circling, never quite far away but never quite close enough to us to cause my heart rate to jump again.

There are no screams of pain, or of fear, so I'm going to assume my wayward partner had the good sense to listen as I was doing.

And then there was singing.

Someone was singing, with an absolutely gorgeous voice, some sort of opera song.

I peer out around the corner to see Abigail, kneeling next to the shark. The animal is docile, patiently sitting there while Abigail strokes its side.

Tugging on Kazran's arm, I direct him out to see this miracle.

He inhales, a sharp sound, but there is a good amount of awe in his expression, so I let him approach.

Abigail looks up at us, rueful, even as she continues singing.

The Doctor stumbles out from between two of the cryo tubes. Reaching out with a hand, curl my fingers around his, leaning my head against his shoulder. It's a beautiful song. And it's a beautiful setting, almost ephemeral with the fog and ice everywhere.

The Doctor hums, content, before he clears his throat. "It's not really the singing, that makes them docile like that."

"Yes, it is." Kazran insists, still focused on Abigail.

"Nah." The Doctor shakes his head.

The boy sends him a brief dirty look. "The fish love the singing. It's true."

"Nah. The notes resonate in the ice crystals, causing a delta wave pattern in the fog." The Doctor explains, ruining the magic. I reach over and pinch him. "Ow!"

"Shut up, then." Kazran mutters, expression growing more annoyed the longer the Doctor talks.

"Of course." The Doctor breathes. "That's how the machine controls the cloud belt. The clouds are ice crystals. If you vibrate the crystals at exactly the right frequency, you could align them into-" This time I dig my elbow into his ribs. "-ow! Why do you keep doing that?"

"Be clever later, let Kazran enjoy the singing." I scold, shooting him a look.

He gapes at me for a second, before his expression turns to something sweet. Squeezing my hand, the Doctor nods. "Yes, dear."

The Doctor even manages to be still for almost a full minute before he starts fidgeting. I knock our shoulders together, fond. "Why don't you go grab the Tardis?"

He lights us, sending a grateful look in my direction. "Be back in a mo!"

The Doctor's foot has just turned the corner when the sound of the Tardis materializing fills the room.

He wasn't kidding about the back in a moment, was he?

Abigail's eyes widen, but her voice doesn't waver. Kazran, on the other hand, gapes at the site of the box materializing.

"This is the Tardis, you saw it earlier. It's our transport." I wink at the two, smiling as Kazran turns his look of awe to me.

The Doctor bursts out of the door, manic energy firmly in place. "Alright! Hope you didn't miss me, it was only a moment. Anyways, let's get this shark in the cryo pod."

The two of us maneuver the shark into the container, though we quickly find that unless we turn the cryo chamber on it's side, the shark isn't going to go in properly.

Once the shark is inside though, it's easy work to pick up the chamber to move it through the doors of the Tardis. She helpfully fudges the width of her doors just a bit so we can actually fit the chamber inside.

Kazran and Abigail crowd the doorway, gaping around at the interior. "It's bigger on the inside!"

I smile over at them, feeling the Doctor come to stand behind me. "Welcome to our home."

"It's called the Tardis." The Doctor continues, his own smile plain in his voice. "It can travel through space and time. And it's ours."

Abigail shakes her head in disbelief, delight still on her face. "This is incredible."

I gesture for the two of them to come inside fully. They do, but they have the kind of look that most people get on their faces the first time they see the inside of the Tardis. That sort of awed, disbelief that slowly turns to delighted acceptance.

Closing the door, I turn to smile at the Doctor.

He smiles back, clapping his hands to get Abigail and Kazran's attention. "Right, now we're ready."

"To take the shark back?" Kazran asks, his one track mind still focused on the shark.

The Doctor looks over a Kazran from under his lashes, typing on the typewriter before pulling the dematerialization lever. "Exactly!"

Kazran clings onto Abigail's as the floor shakes. I'm so used to it at this point that I absentmindedly reach over and use the door as a stabilizer.

The shaking subsides and the Doctor bows in my direction. "And this is just the transport, if you want to be impressed, take a look out there. That's where incredible lives."

I take the cue, opening the door and watching their faces light up with awe.

"All the fish." Abigail murmurs, coming up to the door.

Kazran shuffles forward as well. "Wow."

Moving out of the doorway to give them a better view, I lean back into the Doctor who has come up behind me. "Impressive."

He laughs, matching the quiet of my voice. "I try."

Oh, he so does. The Doctor is basically fifty percent dramatics. Though I can't really say anything, I'm starting to see the fun in it.

Clapping my hands to get everyone's attention, I nod back at the cryo chamber. "Alright, let's get this shark back where it belongs."

The Doctor gestures for Abigail and Kazran to move aside. Abigail goes without protest, but Kazran takes a little convincing. In the end, Abigail has to pull him away from the doorway.

Once everyone is clear, I press the door mechanism on the side of the cryo chamber. As soon as the door is open, the shark immediately takes off towards the door.

"Hey." Kazran rushes for the door as soon as the shark leaves, watching it swim through the clouds. "Look at her go."

I smile at him indulgently, before turning my attention back to the cryo chamber. There, clear as day, are a set of numbers on the front of the chamber.

008

"Abigail, what's this number mean." I ask her.

"It pertains to me, madam, not the fish." Abigail tells me, leaving Kazran near the door as she walks closer to the both the Doctor and I.

I tilt me head in confusion. "Okay, but how?"

Abigail turns to the Doctor, a frown fliting over her face. "You are a doctor, you say? Are you one of mine?"

The Doctor frowns at her in return. "Do you need a doctor?"

Before she can respond a microwave dings near the console. The Doctor spins around, going over and pressing a few buttons. "Ah. Sorry. Time's up, kids."

Kazran sighs dramatically. "Why?"

The Doctor gives the boy his best smile. "It's nearly Christmas Day."

That cheers Kazran up slightly, and the Doctor continues piloting us back to the mansion. But, while the Doctor might have temporarily ignored Abigail's words, I couldn't. Something was rubbing me the wrong way about this whole situation.

What did the number 8 have anything to do with Abigail herself?

We land once again, and my questions are put on the back burner as we move the cryo chamber back into it's original position.

Abigail steps back into the ice box, smiling at us. "If you should ever visit again-"

"Well, you know, if we're ever in the neighborhood." The Doctor offers, polite.

"They come every Christmas Eve." Kazran tells her.

"No we don't." I cut in, confused as to how he got that impression.

Kazran shakes his head. "They do. Every time. I promise."

The Doctor looks between Abigail and Kazran, panicked. "No, we really don't."

Kazran closes the door before we can say anything else, the cryo process already starting.

"Oi!" I turn around, glaring at the boy slightly. "Why'd you go and tell her that we come every Christmas?"

"Well." Kazran ducks his head, not meeting my eyes. "I just thought that you could come visit sometimes."

The Doctor sighs, his reluctant fondness pressing up against my barriers. Yeah, that's about how I feel as well. He kneels down next to the boy, forcing him to meet the Doctor's eyes. "Kazran, you can't just promise that other people will do something without talking to them about it first."

Kazran kicks at the floor with one of his feet, disappointment spreading across his face. "Sorry."

I place a hand on Kazran's shoulder. "That being said, I think we might be able to stop by next Christmas eve."

The Doctor sends me a questioning look. I shrug in response, not entirely sure what I'm doing, but my gut tells me that it won't do any harm.

"Really?" Kazran asks, looking up at me in burgeoning hope.

"Yep!" The Doctor rises to his feet. "Now off to bed with you."

Kazran runs off, looking back at us several times before he turns the corner to the door. Hopefully he gets to his room without running into anyone.

"So we're going to come back next Christmas, hm?" The Doctor raises an eyebrow at me.

I shrug, just like I'd done before. "I couldn't really say no to that face, and this will give us a chance to influence him more. One visit might not be enough to really change anything."

He looks at me for a second, eyes seeing straight through to the center of me. "You never could resist the call of a child in need."

Frowning at him, I raise an eyebrow in question.

"There are some things that stay the same, no matter how you change through the years." The Doctor says, waving his hand as if to ward off my questions.

And so we jump to the next Christmas eve. I even find several Santa hats for us to wear in celebration. Kazran's face is full of surprise when we show up, as if he thought we wouldn't come. Maybe the Doctor was right about the child in need thing, because my heart melts at the sight.

That Christmas, the Doctor rigs up a sleigh and somehow gets the same shark to come down so we can use it as our reindeer.

It isn't until after our adventure, when Abigail goes back into the cryo chamber, that I finally start getting some insight into what's really going on with Abigail.

I watch the Doctor dart towards the Tardis, excited as a child on Christmas can be, and while I'm feeling the spirit of the holiday as well, there is something I need to check out before I join him for the next Christmas.

A quick peek at the side of Abigail's container confirms my suspicion. It says 7 now, when it had said 8 before.

Why would an individual give themselves up for life on ice and be somewhat happy about it?

When it didn't matter that they wouldn't be able to live the rest of their own life.

7 days huh.

Looks like we'd have to make these the best 7 days of her life.

The next Christmas we go to Japan and the one after that we visit Egypt, then the Himalayas.

Every time we unfreeze Abigail, she has a smile ready for us. I really hope my theory isn't correct, it'll be sad to see such a strong spirit brought to rest. Kazran ages as well, snapshots of his life. From the boy we first met to a teenager.

The fifth time we visit Kazran on Christmas Eve, Abigail has a request. She wants to spend this Christmas with her family. What can we do but oblige.

Abigail doesn't go inside though, not at first. She stands in front of the window, looking at what's going on inside. The Doctor, Kazran and I stand a respectful distance away.

"Abigail's crying." Kazran leans in, whispering. He has that look men get when they see a crying female, as if the world is ending and they don't know what to do.

The Doctor nods. "Yes."

Kazran looks even more panicked. "When girls are crying, are you supposed to talk to them?"

The Doctor sends me a panicked glance of his own. "Er- well, I suppose that depends."

I roll my eyes. "Yes, go talk to her. But if she gets angry with you then back off and let her cry herself out."

Kazran takes a deep breath, squares his shoulders like he's marching into battle, and walks right up to Abigail.

"That's good advice." The Doctor muses from beside me. "To bad it only works half of the time."

"Woman are creatures of mystery, causing confusion anywhere they go." I tease, lips twitching at the look this causes.

"You don't have to tell me that, I learned that centuries ago." The Doctor murmurs, pressing a kiss to the side of my head. "Now let's go make this a happy Christmas."

And we do. Abigail's sister pulls out the food and we feast. It's not lavish, but it's clear the family has more than enough good cheer and love to make up for that. And honestly, I prefer it this way.

Plus, I can't help but notice the fact the Kazran and Abigail are holding hands under the table.

Merry Christmas indeed.

That night is the night where things change for the two of them. When we drop Abigail off at her cryo chamber, she asks for some alone time with Kazran.

The Doctor goes to mess it up, not picking up on the social cues, but I pull him away before that can happen. Though there is a little hiccup with Kazran. The Doctor gives him a little man to man advice, and we are off.

The next Christmas we try to pack in as much as we can, the Statue of Liberty, Sydney Opera House, Empire State Building, and the Eiffel tower.

After that, it's time for a more lowkey adventure. The Doctor throws out a couple of ideas, and I pick the one that sounds the most interesting.

"Hollywood huh?" I muse, thinking about it. "I've never been."

The Doctor nods. "Hollywood it is then."

And that's that. I go to change, mischievousness blooming at the sight of the dress the Tardis has lying on the bed for me. "Playing matchmaker girl?"

She hums, feeling smug.

By the time I find my way back to the console room, I've showered and primped, ready for the day. The Doctor has also changed into a suit with a white jacket and black bowtie. The combination of which is really quite striking.

"You sure clean up well." I murmur, enjoying the way his eyes light up at the sight of me.

The Doctor smirks, grabbing my hand and twirling me around so my dress, a Marlyn Monroe knockoff, flares out at the bottom. "You look extra gorgeous today dear."

I blush, not able to help my response.

"And I don't think I'll ever get tired of causing one of these." He continues, fingers coming up to brush against the flush of color on my cheeks.

"Oh, stop it." I scold, blush darkening.

The Doctor hums. "Make me."

Grabbing him by his bowtie tails, I reel him in for a kiss. The kiss starts out demanding, a bit of teeth and a bit of tongue. After a few seconds of that, I gentle it to something a bit more casual. His amusement is evident, as well as his enjoyment of the kiss.

Pulling back, I enjoy the look of disappointment that crosses his face the split second before he tries to reel me in for a second kiss.

I don't pull away, even when he goes for a third, and a forth kiss. But- "Don't we have a Christmas to take Kazran and Abigail to?" I murmur, catching his hands as the Doctor reaches for the straps of my dress.

"Christmas?" The Doctor tilts his head, confusion clear in his face. "We have a time machine, dear, we can pick them up for Christmas at any time."

A smirk crosses my face, even as I lean back against the console and pull the materialization lever. "Oh? But it looks like we're going to pick them up now."

His eyes light up, mischief present in the slant of his mouth. "Payback for earlier, I presume?"

Clever man. "I'm sure I don't have any idea of what you're talking about."

"Somehow I thought you'd say that." The Doctor's anticipation hums through me. "Are you sure you're ready, minx?"

Am I ready? Probably not, but that's not going to stop me. I bring my hand up to the Doctors face, rubbing my thumb against the corner of his mouth where a spot of my lipstick had smudged, watching as his eyes dilate in response. "Oh Doctor, are you sure you're ready?"

A knock sounds on the front door before he can respond, Kazran popping his head in and beaming at the sight of us. "You're right on time!"

"Yep!" I reply, turning away from the Doctor and heading instead of Kazran, all the while ignoring the way the Doctor watches me as I go. The boy has turned into a handsome teenager, and I can't help but fuss over his crooked bowtie, straightening it.

Kazran puts up with it in good spirits, too excited to be annoyed. Though he does roll his eyes when I go to fix his waistcoat. "I'm fine Mabel, now let's go wake Abigail up."

I grin up at him about to respond, but the Doctor cuts in before I have a chance to, coming up behind me and placing a hand at the center of my back. "Why don't you go wake Abigail up, and then bring her here, hm?"

Kazran grins back at us, rushing out of the room without saying anything, clearly excited to see Abigail again.

The Doctor's breath feathers against my ear as he leans in. "Kazran has turned into a fine young man, don't you think?"

Once I get my instinctive shiver under control, I nod in agreement. "He has. Though I have to say I'm sort of sad to be seeing him grow up so fast."

It's snapshots of time, one minute Kazran was a child and now he stands here, taller than me, as a young adult. One who dresses up to impress a girl. My lips twitch into a smile. Go Kazran.

The Doctor huff, hand pressing harder against my back. There is a sort of bittersweet happiness bleeding over from his side of the connection. "Children always grow up faster than we want them to." I turn, concerned, but the Doctor waves me off. "Don't mind me, I'm just being a nostalgic old man."

Kazran and Abigail come back through the doors, laughing, and the Doctor immediately puts his mask back up. His manic energy and beaming smile a perfect façade, only I can feel the pang of longing that's undercutting everything.

I don't confront him about it, even though I very badly want to, instead I just send him my support and the knowledge that I'm here if he needs anything.

The bittersweet feeling dissipates some and the next loop around the console the Doctor makes, he sends me a genuine smile.

"Hollywood! 1952!" The Doctor exclaims. "If you're looking for a party, there's no better place to go."

And what a party it turns out to be.

While Kazran and Abigail quickly disappear into the rabble, the Doctor pulls me over to a live performance with Frank Sinatra.

Sinatra's voice is like something from a fairytale, one of those old songs you listen to when you want shared nostalgia. It isn't long before people break off into pairs and start swaying along to the cadence.

The Doctor grabs my hands, placing them in the proper positions before he pulls me into a dance. It's not one I'm familiar with, or one anyone in the area is familiar with judging by the glances, but I don't mind. He guides me through the steps, his own steps assured in a way that this regeneration is normally lacking.

In fact, the whole dance is very similar to a tease. Each movement of his hand against mine is amplified, every time he pulls me close sends a familiar heat throughout my body.

This dance, I suddenly realize, is a seduction. And one that the Doctor isn't immune to. His elevated heartsrate and dilatated eyes evidence that the intimacy of the moment isn't lost on him.

Anticipation shoots through me. I wonder just how long we are going to push this before it boils over?

The Doctor smirks, smug and cocky. His thumb strokes over my pulse. "Still think you're up for it?"

I smile back at him, my teeth bared in challenge. He dips me, and I take the opportunity to stroke the back of his neck while using the excuse of holding on. "Oh sweetheart, don't underestimate me."

The moment hangs there. I become aware of the fact that the music has ended, and we are the center of attention, but I can't bring myself to care.

The Doctor slowly brings me out of my dip, eyes dark and intent. "Oh, I very rarely underestimate you these days. Looking forward to the reminder of why I shouldn't." He ends the dance with a kiss to my hand, bowing over it like he's a Victorian gentleman.

The crowd cheers, another song starts up, and they flood the dance floor. Some of them even incorporating the same dance routine the Doctor and I just showcased, well their best rendition of it anyways.

I, on the other hand, keep my attention firmly on the Doctor. He still has a hold of my hand and I use that to pull him in for a second dance.

We dance, and we dance. Our feet moving in time to the beat while our minds brush up against one another with promise.

My body is humming, arousal and anticipation a heady mixture. Every place our bodies touch is alight with pleasure. At this point, even the feathering of his breath against my face is a reminder of what's to come.

When the tension boils over, it happens in unison. One moment we are twirling around the clearing and the next our feet change course at the same time. The new path leads us away from the crowd and into an area behind the mansion that's dark enough to give the illusion of privacy.

That illusion is all that matters. As soon as we are far enough into the darkness, I pin the Doctor up against the wall and pull him into a kiss. It's a kiss that I easily lose myself in.

I honestly don't know how long we stand there, enjoying the moment, but by the time I sink to my knees in front of him the Doctor is more than ready for me. His arousal is an insistent bulge against the fabric of his suit, and I enjoy his moan of relief when my fingers make short work of the fastenings of his trousers.

"Mabel." The Doctor murmurs, breathy and reverent. His hand reaches out and cups the back of my head.

I hum, encouraging, even as I pull his briefs down and free his erection.

The Doctor huffs out a breath, fingers spasming against the back of my head in a way that tells me his control is fraying.

Good.

I want that control to be shattered by the end of this.

Licking my hand, I grip the base of his arousal and go in slow. The Doctor makes a shaky sound, head pressing back against the wall he's leaning against. My tongue swirls around his glans and I revel in the sound it produces.

Keeping the motion up, I wait until his hips start to make small aborted thrusts, before straightening my head and swallowing in one slow motion.

The Doctor's hips jolt forward, the motion sharp, while his hand tightens on the back of my head, holding me in place. It helps me overcome my instinctive urge to pull back. This isn't something I've done in a long while.

A stream of Gallifreyan pours from the Doctor's lips, and while I don't understand the words themselves the context is very clear.

I hum, resulting in another aborted thrust, before the Doctor seems to get with the program. He circles his hips, a shuddering moan making its way to my ears. It doesn't take long, before he's at the edge. The both of us have been teasing each other for some time.

The Doctor's hand tightens against the back of my head again, fingers tugging at the hair there, resulting in a bolt of heat traveling directly to my center. His urgency hits me, and I moan in response. The Doctor's hips judder, a muffled groan leaving his mouth as his release finds him. I continue to suck softly until I feel the resonation of discomfort form his side of the connection, pulling away to rest my head against his hip.

Our connection is humming. Ready to pull us into a loop of pleasure at any moment, but I resist. I can feel him resisting as well. This is no place to lose control like that and we both know it.

My own arousal is pulsing in time to my heart beat, but it's easy to ignore when I can feel his euphoria over his own orgasm. Or, well, not so much ignore as stoke. I reach down, fingers finding their way under my dress and into my own wetness.

The Doctor's chest vibrates, a growl if there ever was one. But this time, instead of stopping like I had with his older self, I just look up at him in challenge.

His eyes darken, pupils so dilated that his eyes are nearly black. The Doctor tugs me up by his grip in my hair, sliding my fingers away from my heat and into his mouth.

It shouldn't be arousing to watch him do that, but it is. A punched out little moan leaves my throat as his tongue swirls along my fingertips.

The Doctor let's my fingers slide free, turning so that I'm the one pinned to the wall. His fingers find my center even as his mouth finds my ear. "So wet for me Mabel, no matter the body. It's like you were made for me."

That voice, like honey and silk, serves only to drive my arousal higher. His fingers thrust into my heat , his thumb stroking my button of pleasure and the only thing I can do in response is arch into the contact.

I was already close, just by bringing the Doctor off, and it doesn't take long till I'm clenching around his fingers. The Doctor swallows my gasp when the tension boils over, prolonging the experience for as long as he can.

But I eventually come down from my high, leaning against his body, which is still pinning me to the wall.

"…I can't believe we just did that out in the open where anyone could see us." I murmur, my own voice sounding shocked even to my ears.

He laughs, retrieving his fingers and once again using his tongue to clean them. It's still arousing, a tendril of interest flickers to life but I push it back reluctantly.

"Yes." The Doctor smiles, rueful. "Unfortunately, we don't have the time for another round. Kids to take care of."

Yeah.

The two of us straighten ourselves up, the Doctor tucking himself back into his pants and me attempting to fix my hair. He helpfully procures a mirror from his suit jacket, which allows me to do a much better job of fixing my appearance than hoping everything is fine would.

I do, however, decide to not tell the Doctor about a smudge of lipstick near the corner of his mouth.

The Doctor narrows his eyes at me. "What?"

My lips twitch, fighting a smile. Handing the mirror back, I give him an innocent look.

"Yeah, that stopped working on me a long time ago." He grouses, though it seems as if he decides not to push because he drops it. "Be mysterious if you want," the Doctor says, waggling a finger at me, "-but I will find out!"

The two of us are descent now, so I slip my arm through his and direct him back towards the actual party. "And it will be so very funny for me when you do."

And it really is.

We eventually stumble across Abigail and Kazran, though they are uncharacteristically quiet when we do, and the four of us head back to the Tardis where we each disperse to change out of the night's outfit and back into our own more normal apparel.

The Doctor heads into the bathroom, but I linger in the wardrobe waiting for-

Yep, there's the squawk I was anticipating.

Rapid footsteps to the door of the closet, and then the Doctor's annoyed face comes into view. "Seriously?"

The lipstick stain is still there, stark red against his skin. "Yep."

He rolls his eyes, grumbling even more as he retreats back into the bathroom.

I can't hold it in anymore, my laughter spilling into the room. His mood lightens, that I can feel, but his grumbling increases.

Ha, can't pretend to be annoyed when I have an inside look to your emotions.

Taking a quick shower to wash the stickiness from between my legs, I throw my hair up into a messy pony tail before settling on a casual sweater and pair of Christmas leggings. They have snowflakes on them and the Doctor lights up when he sees them.

"I know right?" I can't help but gush in response. "I just found them in the back of the closet." Lifting up a leg, I wiggle it invitingly. "Feel how soft they are!"

The Doctor reaches out and strokes the fabric, humming. "Anharian cotton, well not exactly cotton, their version of cotton."

"Well whatever type of material it is, I hope we bought as much as we were able to." I murmur, still enjoying the way the cotton shifts across my skin.

"Don't worry about that." He rolls his eyes. "We bought more than enough."

Good to know.

"Anyways, let's go drop the kids off." I say, waiting for him to start down the hall before following him.

He hums. "Yep, and then on to the next Christmas!"

Which just may be our last Christmas with Abigail, who's cryo chamber had continued to count down after each thawing. I'd also hazard a guess that Abigail had finally told Kazran something, going by how quiet the two of them had been when we came back onto the Tardis.

The Doctor charts a course back to when we first picked the two of them up this year, darting after them with all the energy of a 5 year old as they leave the Tardis.

"Good night, Abigail." Kazran murmurs as Abigail goes back into her pod.

Abigail smiles, her eyes focused on Kazran and no one else. "Good night, Kazran."

Kazran closes the cryo chamber, initiating the freezing process. By the time he steps back, his face is worryingly blank.

"There we go. Another day, another Christmas Eve." The Doctor claps his hands together. "We'll see you in a minute, eh?" I elbow him. "Er-I mean a year."

Kazran's mask wavers, just the tiniest bit, before I see his chin firm. "Doctor? Listen, why don't we leave it?"

"Sorry, leave what?" The Doctor frowns.

"Oh, you know, this. Every Christmas Eve." Kazran states, gesturing at the Tardis. "It's getting a bit old."

A pang of hurt resonates through our connection. The Doctor gapes at Kazran. "Old?"

"Well, Christmas is for kids, isn't it?" Kazran continues, running with the excuse he's chosen. Even as he speaks, his hands are busy unfastening his bow tie. The meaning of the gesture isn't lost on me. "I've got some work with my dad now. I'm going to focus on that. Get that cloud belt under control."

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" I cut in, already knowing what it is Kazran is going to say.

Sure enough, Kazran nods. "It'll be better this way."

The Doctor clears his throat. "I hadn't realized that we were boring you."

"Times change Doctor." Kazran leans back on his heels. "It's not your fault."

The boy who we've watched grow up over the course of the last few days gives us a nod of goodbye, turns on his heel and start to walk down the aisle.

"Not as much as I'd hoped." The Doctor murmurs, low enough that Kazran probably couldn't hear him. The next bit, he does raise his voice for. "Kazran."

Kazran pauses, turning around. There is a mulish expression on his face.

The Doctor walks over to him, grabbing his half of the sonic from his pocket and offering it to the boy. "I'll be needing a new one, anyway. What the hell. Merry Christmas. And if you ever need me, just activate it. We'll hear you."

"I won't need you." Kazran insists, voice hard. "Either of you."

Even though I have my suspicions as to why he's doing this his words still send a jolt of hurt through me. Why can't children stay in that golden age where they trust without being jaded with it?

"What's happened?" The Doctor asks, clearly taken aback by Kazran's response. "What are you not telling me? "

Kazran shakes his head, turning and walking away again.

"What about Abigail?" The Doctor tries.

Kazran gestures around at the cryo pods, not even looking back at us. "I know where to find her."

"Yeah." I murmur. It had been easy to forget why we were doing this in the first place when we had been jumping from Christmas to Christmas, but this was a stark reminder of the man Kazran would grow up to be.

The Doctor puts an arm around my shoulder, tugging me into his side.

I look up at him. "Now what?"

He grimaces. "We keep trying. It's not like we can let all of those people die. Speaking of, any ideas?"

My mind races. My sonic wouldn't work, that was clear with how he had been unable to shift it with his own sonic earlier. There was Abigail's singing but- "It's a long shot, but remember how Abigail's song made the shark docile and you were saying something about the resonation of the ice crystals in the clouds?"

"Yes." The Doctor tilts his head, I can feel his mind racing. "Maybe if we get everyone on the ship to sing it will cause the ice crystals to vibrate at exactly the right frequency. The clouds would unlock and let the ship through."

He's not confident that it will though, that much I can tell. "It's worth a shot, I suppose."

We head back to the Tardis and the Doctor inputs coordinates, sending us off to the future.

"Ah, hold on. Can you give me a minute?" The Doctor asks, uncharacteristically serious. "There's something I need to check first."

I frown at him, confused. "Okay, yeah. Sure."

Whatever he does only takes a few minutes, before he comes back to the Tardis, a frown of his own carved into his face.

"What's wrong?" I ask him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He pats the hand, but shakes his head. "Nothing, it was a long shot anyway." Heading over to the console, the Doctor inputs new coordinates.

This time we do go to the future, and Amy isn't pleased that we haven't found a way to fix this yet.

'What do you mean you weren't able to change his mind?' She hisses over her communication device.

The Doctor takes the device from me, putting it up to his own ear. "We were trying to do it in a kind way, change his past so he became the kind of person who would help today. But something went wrong."

Amy sighs. 'Now what?'

"We found a woman, her singing was able to resonate the ice crystals in the clouds. If everyone on the ship sings it might be enough to unlock the clouds." He continues, the frown on his face telling me he still doesn't think it's going to work.

'You don't sound confident about that.' Amy states. I can almost hear her eyes narrowing over the phone. 'Where's Mabel?'

I lean closer to the phone. "I'm here Amy."

'When the singing doesn't work, I want to talk to this man.' Is all she says to me, her voice firm.

Despite the situation, despite the sinking feeling that's been growing in my stomach, I can't keep my lips from twitching up at her declaration. I've known this girl since she was seven years old. Just look at how she's grown. "You got it."

Amy hangs up, and I'm left there with the Doctor giving me a look out of the corner of his eyes.

"What?" I shift, uncomfortable.

A smile curves his lips, a slow growing one, but a smile nonetheless. "I forget sometimes, the history the two of you have."

I frown at him. Yes, there is history between Amy and I, but he said it with a strange sort of inflection. As if there was another word he wanted to say, but he couldn't find it. "What are you talking about?"

"You two ar δ." The Doctor frowns. "It's not something that translates well…But plainly put it means that she may not be the child of your blood but she's a child of your heart."

Oh that. "Well I certainly had more of a hand in raising her then her aunt did." And the longer both Amy and Rory spent up on the ship with us here in the present unable to do anything the more tense I could feel my shoulders getting.

The Doctor places a hand on my shoulder. "We'll figure something out."

Yeah.

"Have the clouds unlocked yet?" I ask him, gesturing to the console.

He pads over to the console obligingly, clicking a few things on the typewriter. I don't need the shake of his head to realize that it's not working, the sinking feeling is plain as day from his side of the connection.

To emphasize the point, the communicator chirps.

I bring it up to my ear, already having an idea of what Amy is going to say. "You didn't manage to change his mind did you?"

'No.' Amy admits. 'And the singing hasn't worked either.'

The Doctor takes the communicator, asking Amy about figures off of the onboard computer from the starship.

Using the privacy, I take a moment to consider out options. The nice way didn't work, the singing didn't work, and neither did Amy's brash personality.

I missed Kazran, the child who trusted us to do what was best. The boy who loved Christmas and who only wanted to see the fish.

He would be disgusted with how his future self-

The Doctor cuts himself off, eyes immediately flicking to mine. I can hear Amy asking him what's wrong but he ignores her.

"We tried it the nice way, and we tried it the practical way." I murmur, and if it were anyone else I would be baring my teeth, but it's not necessary here. He can already feel how my emotions are coalescing into something confident and dangerous. "Now we cheat, more than we did before."

He doesn't scold me, or say it's impossible, the Doctor just tilts his head in question.

For that reason, I elaborate. "We've done ghost of Christmas past, and ghost of Christmas present. I think it's time to do ghost of Christmas future."

"Kazran is set in his ways now, I don't know how much that would help." The Doctor states, which isn't a no, but it's a good thing that wasn't what I was suggesting.

"I wasn't talking about the man he is now." I watch as the Doctor tries to figure out I'm going with this. You can see his brain working. "I meant let's show Kazran the boy who's he's going to become in the future."

His eyes widen, mouth parting at my words. It takes a few seconds, a few seconds where I stare him down, but the Doctor eventually nods. "That..just might work." He brings the communicator up to his ear again, cutting Amy off. "Talk to Kazran again, I need you to keep his attention on you until we get there. In fact, if you can, show him what's going on up there."

'Good.' Amy sighs in relief. 'That's your 'I have a plan' voice.'

"Yes, now do as I say." The Doctor tells her, hanging up before she can say anything else. His eyes flick back over to me. "This might work, but it might make things worse. We've already meddled more than we should have in his life."

I know that, but… "Doctor, it's Amy and Rory."

He sighs, leaning his head against mine. "Yes, and that's the exact reason why I'm going along with it."

We need to move now, time is of the essence, but I stay pressed against his skin for a few more seconds. "Thank you."

The Doctor whirls away, any signs of misgiving hidden now.

xxxx

When we get to our location, a young Kazran greets us with a smile. "It's not even Christmas yet!"

"I know, but something very important is happening right now in the future." I tell him, kneeling down to his level. "And you need to see it."

Kazran frowns, eyes flicking between the two of us. "The future? What do you mean the future?"

I gesture to the blue box behind us. "The Tardis can move in time as well as space. Didn't we mention that last time?"

"A bit." The boy smiles. "So where are we going?"

"The future." The Doctor puts a hand on his shoulder. "More specifically, your future. I'm not going to lie Kazran, it's not going to be pleasant."

"But you want me to see it anyways?" Kazran clarifies, confused eyes flicking between the two of us.

I nod. "Yes, there is something going on there. And our hope is that you seeing it will stop it from ever happening."

The boy firms his chin, the bravery that I'd come to see in him making an appearance now. "Well then, what are we waiting for?"

The Tardis chimes when the three of us enter, but she either is unable to bring herself to scold us or she really doesn't mind because I don't get anything else from her.

Frowning, I exchange a look with the Doctor. He shakes his head minutely.

Okay.

The Doctor flies us back to the present with only a minute and a half time difference. He even takes extra care to put her on silent, which he never does.

A glance at the monitor shows us in the cryo room, our usual spot. Sardick is there, next to Abigail's cryo pod and so is Amy's hologram.

'-at's Abigail?' She's in the process of asking.

'I would never have known her if those two hadn't changed the course of my whole life to suit their own needs.' Sardick states, not taking his eyes away from the pod.

Amy's mouth twitches in confusion. 'Well, that's good, isn't it?'

Sardick's lip rises in disgust. 'No.'

"What's going on? Why is he in front of Abigail's pod?" Kazran asks, drowning out what Amy says in response. The Doctor draws the boy away, starting to explain the whole situation, while I refocus on the conversation.

'Oh, yes.' Sardick answers, hand coming up to touch the pod. 'Any time at all. Any time I choose.'

'Then why don't you?' Amy prompts.

'This is what the Doctor and Mabel did to me. Abigail was ill when she went into the ice. On the point of death.' Sardick explains, confirming my suspicions. That's why there was a number on her pod. 'I suppose the rest in the ice helped her. But she's used up her time. All those Christmas Eves with me. I could release her any time I want, and she would live a single day.' He turns from the pod, voice rising out of the gentle cadence he had been using and into something more hostile. 'So tell me, Ghost of Christmas Present, how do I choose which day?'

Amy hadn't expected that, I can tell by the way she shuffles back and forth before she answers. 'I'm sorry. I really am. I'm very, very sorry.' She hesitates, but not for long, and the next thing out of her mouth goes for the jugular. 'But you know what? She's got more time left than I have. More than anyone on this ship.'

'Good.' Sardick spits.

'Rory, widen the beam.' Amy instructs, narrowing her eyes at Sardick.

Her hologram disappears, but I'm going to assume that by doing that they overlay Sardick's perception with what's on the ship instead of the room he's in going by how he looks around in confusion. His next words confirm that theory. 'How did I get here?'

The Doctor sonics the receiver that we've been using for communication and the continued conversation fills the room.

'You didn't.' Amy states, her tone knowing. 'It's your turn to be the hologram. Since you're going to let a lot of people die, I thought you might like to see where it's all going to happen.'

Sardick dismisses that, looking around. 'The singing. What is it? I don't understand.'

'It's the Doctor's idea. The harmonies resonate in the ice crystals, that's why the fish like it. He thought maybe it would stabilize the ship.' Rory tells Sardick, his own personal brand of 'fuck you' coming through nicely in his tone. 'But it isn't working. It's not powerful enough.'

'Why are they still singing, then?' Sardick asks, turning to look at something else.

'Because we haven't told them.' An unfamiliar voice cuts in. 'Sir, I understand you have a machine that controls this cloud layer. If you can release us from it, we still have time to make a landing. Nobody has to die.'

Sardick scoffs. 'Everybody has to die.'

Kazran says something to the Doctor, who shushes him, but it's enough for me to lose the thread of the conversation for a second.

I gesture for the two of them to stay here, leaving the Tardis door open a crack, before stepping outside. I can see Sardick in person now, staring off at something only he can see. I circle around, putting him between the me and the Tardis. This way I keep his attention on me, while keeping an eye on what is happening on the ship.

"-as good as any other." Sardick raises an insolent eyebrow. "How do you choose?"

'Mabel?" Amy asks through the communicator.

Going to the element of surprise huh. Good one. "Yes Amy."

'Are you hearing this?' She continues.

"It's coming through loud and clear." I murmur, lowering the receiver.

Sardick whirls around wildly. "She's here? Where is she?" They must reverse what they had done to show him the ship, because Sardick's eyes suddenly focus on me. "Mabel?"

I incline my head in greeting. "Hello Kazran."

"You-" He starts, cutting himself off before he can say anything else.

"I'm sorry about Abigail." I say, before he can do anything else. "While I had some suspicions, I didn't know exactly what the numbers were for."

Sardick huffs bitterly. "All my life, I've been called heartless. My other life, my real life, the one you rewrote. Now look at me."

And look at him I do. He's become a bitter old man and it's heartbreaking. "There's an old saying, better to have loved and lost than to have not loved at all."

"Oh, try it. You try it." Sardick spits, so very angry. "Why are you here?"

"Kazran Sardick. You've seen the past, and you've definitely seen the present." I look him straight in the eyes. "Now it's time for you to see the future."

"Fine." Sardick gestures wildly. "Do it. Show me. I'll die cold, alone and afraid. Of course I will. We all do. What difference does showing me make?" He moves, walking until he's less than a foot away from me. "Do you know why I'm going to let those people die? It's not a plan. I don't get anything from it. It's just that I don't care."

He tilts his head to the side, the words deliberately cruel. It's takes an effort to not let them get to me as he continues. "I'm not like you. I don't even want to be like you. I don't and never, ever will care."

The Doctor nudges me mentally, our plan coming together.

"Oh Kazran, I don't believe that at all." I murmur, eyes catching sight of both the child Kazran once used to be and my partner. The Doctor has a gentle hand on Kazran's shoulder, but his eyes are hard.

"Then show me the future." Sardick scoffs, so sure of his stance that he's pretending to give me a choice. "Prove me wrong."

"I am showing it to you. You're seeing it right now." I look away from the man and turn my attention to the boy. "I told you we had something important to show you. This is the man you become in the future. Is this someone who you'd be proud to have become?"

Kazran takes a few shaky steps forward, clearly frightened but still brave in the face of it. He examines his future self. "Dad?"

Sardick lurches forward, hand raised as if to hit the boy. The only reason I don't move is because he didn't hit the boy earlier. And, if I'm being honest, a little bit of hope that the boy who loved fish is still in there somewhere.

My hope, it seems, isn't misplaced. Sardick's hand lingers there for several seconds, the hit not landing, before something in the man seems to break. He crumbles, pulling his younger self into a hug. "I'm sorry." Sardick apologizes, tears in his voice. Kazran is also crying, but he leans into the hug nonetheless. "I'm so, so sorry. It's okay, don't be frightened. I'm, I'm so, so, so-"

"Kazran. We don't have much time." The Doctor cuts in, interrupting the touching scene. He's right though. There isn't much time at all.

"The people." Sardick states, looking horrified. "All those people, I was just going to let them die."

"Yes, but now you won't." I interrupt before he can fully get into it, shooing everyone towards the staircase. "Time to freak out about life choices later, save people now."

Everyone hurries up the stairs, except the Doctor who needs a moment to let Amy and Rory know that we've found a solution and to anticipate being able to land soon.

The only problem is, when we get up to the cloud control console Sardick isn't able to turn it off. Buttons beep, but the machine stays on. We can't even budge the frequency.

"Why haven't you turned it off yet?" The Doctor asks, rushing into the room.

"It's not working." Sardick mutters, pressing a switch for the fourth time. "The controls, they won't respond."

The Doctor scoffs. "Of course they will. They're isomorphic. They're tuned to your brainwaves. They'll only respond to you."

"They won't respond." Sardick insists.

"That doesn't make sense. " The Doctor murmurs, pressing a few buttons of his own. "That's ridiculous. Why wouldn't?" He pauses, eyes closing. A sense of dread brushes over my mind from his.

"What's wrong?" I ask him immediately.

The Doctor opens his eyes, focusing on me. "Oh Mabel. All of that, and for what? God, we're so stupid."

"What's wrong?" Sardick asks, eyes flicking between us. "Tell me, what is it?"

"It's you." The Doctor tells him. "We've changed you too much. The machine doesn't recognize you anymore."

"It was tuned to his wavelengths before." I try, but even as I'm saying it I know that he's right.

Sardick nods. "She's right, my father programmed it."

"No, your father would never have programmed it for the man you are now." The Doctor shakes his head, taking a few steps back.

"Then what do we do?" Sardick asks, back straightening.

"Er." The Doctor hesitates. "Er, I don't know. I really don't know."

Kazran gestures at the machine. "There must be something."

"This." Sardick states, pulling the half of screwdriver that the Doctor gave him so many years ago from his pocket. "You can use this. I kept it, see?"

"What, half a screwdriver?" The Doctor scoffs, turning to pace. Something stops him though, and I think I might be cluing into it too.

"Half of a screwdriver." I smile as the Doctor turns around to look at me, his own face reflecting mine. "With the other half in a shark, who's probably still up there."

"The other half up in the sky in a big old shark, right in the heart of the cloud layer." The Doctor agrees, voice coming faster as his plan coalesces. "If we use your aerial to boost the signal, set up a resonation pattern between the two halves. Ooo, come on, that would work. My screwdriver, coolest bit of kit on this planet. Coolest two bits. It could do it."

Sardick frowns, confused. "Do what?"

"Well, my screwdriver is still trying to repair. It's signaling itself. We use the signal, but we send something else." The Doctor explains, his energy fading.

"The singing. Abigail's singing." I state, catching on.

The Doctor nods. "Yes. And I'm so sorry Kazran, I truly am."

Sardick's face goes tense and he protests the entire way down to the cryo room. "-Could you do this? Think about it, Doctor. One last day with your beloved. Which day would you choose?"

The Doctor glances over at me. "The past is always the past, and the future is always uncertain. If I only had a day left with the person I loved, I would choose now."

Oh Doctor. I brush our shoulders together, sending him affection. He smiles halfheartedly at me, but the darkness I can feel inside of him lingers behind his eyes.

Sardick scowls. I guess he didn't expect that answer. But it seems as if we've changed him enough as a person that he's still willing to let her be woken up.

The process begins, Abigail's face being illuminated.

"Her voice resonates perfectly with the ice crystals." The Doctor muses. "It calmed the shark. It should calm the sky too."

"One last day." Sardick murmurs, turning towards us. "You can choose, but I don't know how I can choose. Which day is the best day?"

"Christmas. Christmas Day." Abigail states, closing the door to her pod. I had been so focused on Sardick that I hadn't even noticed the process finishing. "Look at you. You're so old now. I think you waited a bit too long, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry." Sardick says, hand coming up to cup Abigail's cheek.

"Hoarding my days, like an old miser." She teases, smiling.

Sardick shakes his head, expression crumbling. "But if you leave the ice now-"

"We've had so many Christmas Eves, Kazran." Abigail interrupts, her voice gentle but firm. "I think it's time for Christmas Day."

"Yes." He murmurs, helpless in the face of her words.

It's easy to tell that Sardick would still do anything for Abigail, even after all these years.

I take a step towards them, getting both of their attention. "Before the Christmas day, there's something we need you to do."

"There is a spaceship with four thousand and three people trapped in the cloud layer right now." The Doctor continues, our goals the same in this. "And the machine used to control the clouds is useless."

Abigail inclines her head. "I can calm the fish, but I cannot calm the sky. My voice has never been able to do that."

The Doctor bustles us all into the Tardis. "That much is true. But. With one half of my screwdriver down here, and the other half still stuck in a shark in the middle of the cloud layer, I should be able to beam your voice directly into the clouds themselves."

"The clouds will unlock, which will let the ship land." I finish for him, letting him pilot us into a better position. Said position ends up being on the street in front of Sardick's mansion.

Frowning, I barely have time to look back at the Tardis before the Doctor bursts out of the doors, a long cable in his arms. A little bit of tinkering later and he's managed to hook up the bottom of his screwdriver, using the Tardis to amplify the signal.

"This is much easier than it could have been if you didn't bring your sonic." The Doctor mumbles, said screwdriver held between his teeth as he twists the last wires together.

"You should thank yourself." I tell him, voice wry, holding out a hand to help him up.

One last buzz from the sonic later and he accepts that hand. His energy is all encompassing, spilling over to me. It's making me jittery.

I follow the Doctor out of the Tardis as he bounds up to Kazran and Abigail. "Ready?"

Abigail smiles, starting to sing. She focusses on Sardick, her eyes for him only.

"Well?" Sardick demands, turning to us. "Well?"

The Doctor hesitates, fiddling with the wires around the half of the screwdriver Abigail is singing into. "Well, the singing resonates in the crystals. It's feeding back and forth between the two halves of the screwdriver. Now, one song, filling the sky. The crystals will align and I'll feed in a controlled phase loop, and the clouds will unlock."

Kazran, the child, frowns. He looks confused. "What does that mean, unlock? What happens when a cloud unlocks?"

"The clouds have been acting as a kind of barrier, not letting anything out of them after it had been trapped there." I explain. "The singing should calm them enough to let the spaceship land, saving all those people."

"Exactly." The Doctor leans around me to smile at the boy. "And, you're going to see something that hasn't happened in this town for a very long time now."

And it's working, Abigail's singing is actually calming the clouds as we speak. The tension in my back lessens, anxiety pulling back in the face of another miracle. The Doctor turns his smile to me, linking our hands together. "Better?" He asks, voice barely audible.

I nod, pushing affection and gratefulness in his direction.

The Doctor's smile takes on a boyish edge. "And look Mabel, it's snow on Christmas." And sure enough, he's right about that too.

I love when there's snow on Christmas day.

My expression is appropriately soppy, I'm sure, because Kazran makes a face at our side.

"Are you guys going to kiss again?" He asks with all the disgust of a boy who hasn't hit puberty.

I laugh softly, mindful of Sardick and Abigail beside us. Not that they have eyes for anyone else right now, but still. "Hmm, I don't know Doctor. Are we going to kiss?"

The Doctor's eyes crinkle at the corners, amusement echoing through our connection. And he does indeed kiss me.

Kazran makes a noise of disgust.

Pulling back from the kiss, I enjoy the zing of mischief I can feel from my partner. It's the little things in life that make it enjoyable, y'know?

"Alright." The Doctor murmurs, placing a hand on Kazran's shoulder. "Time to go."

One more trip in the Tardis put's Kazran back in his appropriate time, and then we are back in the present to pick Amy and Rory up.

In the time we've been gone, which at most was twenty minutes, the ground has been completely covered with the snow. The Doctor has fun with it, rushing around and making snowman's. I, on the other hand, just sit down on a bench and enjoy the moment.

It only takes another 5 minutes before the Ponds catch up with us.

"Mabel!" "Mabel." Two separate voices catch my attention. I'm on my feet with my arms thrown around them faster than I actually comprehend moving.

Amy and Rory hug me in return, a sort of desperation in the movement. "It's okay now." I murmur, trying to remove the tension from their backs.

Amy nods. "Yeah, I knew it would be." She smiles absentmindedly. "I believed in you."

I ruffle her hair, doing the same thing to Rory, ignoring their sounds of disgruntlement.

"I had something to do with it too!" The Doctor cuts in, his head popping in over my shoulder.

"Yeah, but out of the two of you, she's the one who's most dependable." Rory responds, a smirk hovering around his lips.

The Doctor rears back, playfully offended. "Oi! I'll have you know that I can be dependable." A frown flits across his face. "Why are you two wearing that?"

For the first time I notice the fact that Amy is wearing a police woman Halloween costume while Rory is wearing a Roman warrior outfit.

"Er, kind of lost our luggage." Rory tries, looking uncomfortable. Even Amy shuffles her feet. "Kind of crash landed?"

"Yeah, but why are you dressed like that at all?" The Doctor continues.

Honeymoon.

Weird outfits.

It's my turn to make a face. I'm not ready to think about Amy having sex with Rory.

Amy looks around, completely ignoring the question like the clever girl she is. "Yeah, they really love their snowmen around here, don't they? I've counted about twenty."

The Doctor's face lights up, one of those big gaping smiles coming to his face. "Yeah, I've been busy."

"Yeah." Amy laughs, her face softening. She pulls him into a hug. "Yeah, you have. Thank you."

"Anytime, Amelia Pond." The Doctor murmurs. His eyes flicker over to Rory. "And you, Rory Williams."

Rory nods in acceptance. "So, got anymore honeymoon ideas?"

"I think we've had more than enough excitement for the night." I interject before the Doctor can open his mouth. I can feel the babble that's about to begin. "Why don't we think of something tomorrow, after some food and sleep."

"Now that." Rory states, shifting towards the door. "Sound like a fantastic idea."

The three of us watch him enter the Tardis. Once he's inside, Amy turns towards us. "Are you two okay?"

"Of course we're okay." The Doctor replies, eyeing her. "You?"

"Of course." Amy hesitates, watching us closely. "It'll be their last day together, won't it?"

I nod. "Yes. But they get to spend it together, and that's more than most people get."

She sighs, shifting in the cold. "I wish we could have done something different."

"Everything has got to end some time, otherwise nothing would ever get started." The Doctor offers, a hint of his complicated emotions brushing up against mine. "This might be the last time they will be able to spend together, but it will be that much more precious because of it."

"Yeah." Amy murmurs, shaking her head, then turning to enter the Tardis herself.

The Doctor and I are the only ones out here now, in the snow.

"Halfway out of the dark," the Doctor murmurs. "Merry Christmas Kazran Sardick."

I take his hand, linking our fingers and leaning against his side. He doesn't look at me, but a hint of a smile touches his lips and his fingers tighten around mine.

The snows continues to fall around us, blanketing the world with muffled noise. It creates a sort of fairy tale effect. The day is saved, everything is fine now.

But everything is not fine. There was still one person who was going to die today.

I do, however, believe that Abigail was more than content to have used her last day like this. Saving the lives of all those people, and then running off to have one last Christmas with the man she'd grown to care for.

Merry Christmas indeed.

"Merry Christmas Doctor." I murmur, resting my head on his shoulder.

The Doctor presses a kiss to the top of my head, the same bittersweet emotions in my heart reflected back to me from him. "Merry Christmas Mabel."

---

Sketchtheunicorn: Midnight is one of those understated episodes. As you stated, the most horrifying thing about this episode was that the Doctor was helpless. I really loved the portrayal that Tennant did in this episode though, and the way it was filmed was beautiful. Thank you for your kind words!

Rosealyn:: I love this train of thought, it's something that I've mulled over quite a lot actually. It's true, without their situations being what they are, the Doctor and Mabel might have never gotten together. But they are this way, and they did get together. It brings a sort of clarity to their relationship as it is in the present. A circular kind of logic. Mabel fell in love with the Doctor because he treated her like he has loved her for a long, long time. Ultimately, the Doctor falls for Mabel for the very same reason. The only difference is this happens at different points in their lives for both of them. It's something that I might explore in more detail, far in the future.

Spazzy13: Time totttttts. Yes! I'm so happy that some people picked up on that.

Deathb4beauty: Yesss, possible kid hints. I felt so happy writing those. And I'm glad you felt the emotional rawness of it, I was trying my hardest to bring that into focus enough to come across in the writing. It's hard sometimes to do that without it feeling forced.

Drmsqnc: -heart-

Rose1414: Thank you for your kind words!