The Doctor had always loved Christmas and it only got better when he first child was born. There was nothing that could spoil his first Christmas as a father, nor his second or his third… Or was there? After all, there was always drama when two particular women were under the same roof and a little thing like Christmas wouldn't stop that, would it?
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Pt. I)
Their daughter's first Christmas was something the Doctor knew he would never forget. She was eight months old at the time, too young to remember the day herself but old enough to allow him and Clara to make some of the best memories possible. After all, it was the first Christmas where the person at the centre of attention wasn't each other. Instead it was their little girl.
The day had begun early, not that he had minded. Milly had woken up at 5:30 in the morning, eager for her bottle. The Doctor, who must have been lying awake in anticipation for almost an hour, was straight up and into the nursery. The smile from his wriggling little girl in the cot was the only Christmas present he needed.
"Hello Merry." he cooed, his grin wide as he lifted the little girl out of the cot, "Merry Christmas baby."
For a few moments he just stood there, grinning and whispering sweet nothings to the little baby held in his hands. She was as light as a feather, gurgling happily as the Doctor repeatedly kissed her soft head before leaving her bedroom and heading down the stairs.
When he reached the bottom of the stairs and turned into the living room, lightly bouncing the little girl on his hip, he reached for a remote sat upon one of the pillows on the sofa. He clicked all four buttons on the device, watching the heavily decorated room light up before him. He loved Christmas and by the way Milly was watching the now-flashing decorations around her, he was sure she would grow to love it too.
He gasped loudly, capturing the little girl's attention.
"It's Christmas, Merry." he smiled, the little girl soon copying, "It really is."
Through the smile, he could see her beginning to get a little grizzly. He didn't blame her really, she was hungry. Making his way into the kitchen, he flicked on the kettle to boil the water already inside.
Milly grumbled so he started singing to her, dancing around the kitchen to keep her occupied until he could heat up the final bottle from yesterday's set. Leanne had almost crucified Clara when learning of her re-heating Milly's milk in order to feed her. She'd even had the audacity to call her a bad mother. That had been enough to push him over the edge. Had she forgotten that she used to reheat his, James and Chris' bottles when they were babies? It hadn't done any of them any harm. It hadn't harmed Jenny either. Rose had always reheated her bottles as a baby. In fact, it was her who had advised Clara to always make up the six bottles in the morning and keep them in the fridge throughout the day. That way, there would always be one available for feeding, especially one for next morning.
By the time the bottle was warmed and ready, the milk tested against his skin for good measure, Milly happily took it in his arms. For a few moments, the Doctor just watched her, treasuring the few precious moments. He had been lucky to get the day off but his boss had an unwritten rule when planning the rotas for his staff over Christmas and New Year. He always tried to ensure that those with families, especially young children, got Christmas Day off providing they worked New Year's Day. That worked for him.
With his chin holding the bottle in place with Milly over one arm, he got to work on preparing that day's bottles. Ever since becoming a parent, his ability to multitask had certainly developed. Even as a surgeon, he didn't seem to multitask as much as he did when with his little Merry.
He'd somehow managed to prepare all the bottles and put them into the fridge just as Milly finished the remainders of her bottle.
He grinned as he put the bottle on the side. "Oh, who's a good girl?" he cooed.
Within minutes of beginning to burp her, the Doctor heard soft steps coming down the stairs. Milly was done by that point, allowing him to instantly pop his head out of the kitchen door.
"Clara!" his smile was bright as she stifled a yawn.
He pulled her into his free side and kissed her briefly. "Merry Christmas darling."
She smiled warmly against his lips. "Merry Christmas." she returned, sighing softly as his nose nuzzled against hers, "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"Was just about to." he promised, brushing her lips again.
"Uh-hm." she rolled back her shoulders as he turned to return to the kitchen, "Ah, ah…" she objected, "My turn."
He turned back around and grinned as he saw her reaching for the baby, the baby whose eyes were glued to her mother. The Doctor had no objection in handing her over, watching lovingly as he saw Clara's eyes light up the moment Milly was in her arms. She was absolute, one hundred percent made to be a mother.
"Merry, Merry Christmas baby girl." softly holding the little girl a few inches above her tilted head.
She brought her down to a flurry of kisses, the action making the little girl squeal in delight.
"Are we gonna see Granddad, Uncle James and Aunty Rose later?" Clara whispered against the little girl's skin, the sight making the Doctor's heart flutter, "Yeah… Are we?"
That Christmas had certainly been one of the Doctor's favourites up until that point, probably because Leanne hadn't been in the picture. That piece of luck had fallen due to her winning a free holiday to the Caribbean Islands for Christmas and New Year. Out of everything, that was certainly his best Christmas present. He felt awful for feeling that way but he knew that having her and Clara in the same room would have been a recipe for disaster. It always was.
"Merry Christmas!" the two blondes on the doorway exclaimed.
Clara was the one at the door, immediately hugging the six year old who pounced on her.
"Merry Christmas, Aunty Clara!"
She had no time to answer before Jenny let her go and ran into the living room to her Uncle and baby cousin. Smiling, Clara turned to the couple at the door.
"Come on in." she ushered them in, receiving a hug from Rose and a peck on the cheek from her brother-in-law.
"Merry Christmas." he closed the door for her, "Did Santa bring you everything you wanted?"
Clara sighed, letting him go into the living room before her.
"Leanne still out of the country?" she wondered.
James nodded, a smirk teasing the side of his mouth. "Yes." he answered.
Clara shrugged her shoulders. "Then yes." she brushed passed him, going over to help Rose and Jenny slide all of the Christmas presents under the tree. They were getting opened after dinner.
At the same time, the Doctor crossed the room to greet his big brother.
"James." he grinned, handing the baby in his arms to his spikey-haired brother, "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas." he returned, having a few moments with Milly, "And how's my favourite niece doing?"
Watching as the little girl reached for the collar on his brown pinstriped suit, James grinned almost goofily.
"I remember when Jen was this small." he commented, sighing as he played with the baby in his arms, "I can't wait to go through it all again…"
Just then, the little girl started blowing raspberries at him, making both her Uncle and Father both laugh. James began copying the little girl every time she paused until the pair of them were almost in a little battle.
"See?" he cooed to her, "I can do it just as good as you. Yes I can."
Rose was knelt next to the tree, her eyes rolling which only made Clara smile more.
"I cannot believe he's trying to compete with a baby…" her voice was uncharacteristically posh for a few moments before she actually burst out laughing at the fact that he stumbled back after getting showered by little Milly's latest raspberry.
"I think Mills won." Clara laughed with her, the two women sharing a smirk between one another.
The Doctor just watched on as his James stopped, frowning towards his niece but with a smile which made the said frown look more ridiculous that threatening.
"Alright, you win." James sighed, kissing the little girl's nose before looking up at the Doctor, "I never won against Jenny either."
The Doctor grinned. "Yeah, but did you really want to?"
James shook his head. "Nah." he sighed, soon finding himself looking between his baby brother and Clara. "Hang on, if you two are in here… then who's cooking?"
He pointed over his shoulder to emphasise his point. He was sure he could hear someone in there.
Clara smiled as she slowly stood up. "My Dad." Speak of the devil.
James turned to face the kitchen door just as the figure stood in the doorway, a tea towel in hand as he dried something he couldn't quite make out.
"Dave!" James exclaimed, his goofy grin returning, "Merry Christmas!"
By the time dinner came, the only sound that could be heard was the music playing in the background when they actually ate. However, then came the Smith boys' favourite part: the Christmas crackers.
With a partially-ripped red hat sat crookedly on his head, James grinned at the little snip of paper between his fingers.
"What says 'Oh Oh Oh?'" he read.
No-one said a thing, they just waited for the inevitable.
"Santa walking backwards!"
The two Smith boys laughed, Rose's head dropped while Dave actually dared a smile.
"God." Rose sighed, "That's terrible!"
Jenny, who sat between her Mum and Dad, just looked confused.
"I don't get it." she pouted.
That was Rose's highlight which made her laugh. It was proof that Jenny hadn't inherited her Dad's awful sense of humour.
The little girl reached for her own cracker, grinning as she leant over the table to Dave. He took it willingly, pretending to struggle pulling the piece of shiny red cardboard so when it ripped, the little girl won. Good thing too since the hat inside was a soft pink.
"Oh…" Rose moaned as the others begun pulling crackers between them, "I wanted the pink one."
Jenny looked around, her hair flicking in a way which would have made hair advertisers proud. Her bold eyes met her mother's and she smiled, passing the small folded piece of tissue paper to her Mum.
"Here you go, Mummy." Jenny offered.
Rose felt her smile grow and the back of her throat actually tingled. Her little girl had always had such a kind heart, especially for someone so young, and it always made her burst with pride.
"Oh no, honey." she shook her head to reinforce her statement.
"But it's Christmas, Mummy." she looked up at her, "I want you to be happy."
"I am happy, honey." she promised, "Tell ya what." she grabbed her cracker, "Pull this with me and let me have hat inside and you can have the joke and the toy."
Jenny's teeth began to show. "Even if you win the cracker?"
"Even then."
They all sat at the table with hats on their heads watching the little girl pull the cracker with Rose. James soon joined in, aiding Jenny with pulling the cracker. Meanwhile, the Doctor excused himself silently from the table in order to head over to the fridge and grab one of the awaiting bottles. He needed to heat it up since Clara was nearing the end of feeding the little girl in her highchair. After all, they knew that soon she'd be in need of her bottle before her afternoon nap.
"What did the sea say to Santa?" Jenny read the joke from the cracker proudly, happy since the said cracker had given her Mum a hot pink hat.
She looked towards Clara who shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know." she grinned at the little girl.
"Nothing!" Jenny told them all excitedly, "It just waved!"
The entire room broke out in laughter, laughter from Clara and Rose being mostly for Jenny's benefit. However, they were both pretty sure the laughter from their husbands was genuine.
Clara wiped Milly's face with a bit of a battle, nothing new, just as she felt the Doctor leant down to kiss the top of her head between the rims of her green crown. He then released Milly from her high chair and lifted her up, smiling as her little red tartan dress bunched up in his hand.
As he begun to feed her her bottle, James began to stand, quickly halted by Dave who rose to his feet.
"Don't you dare." he warned, "I'll clear up."
James adamantly shook his head and stood up. "No way, Mr Ozzie Oswald." he looked towards Dave, "You helped prepare dinner. I'm cleaning up."
Jenny jumped up off her chair. "Daddy, can I help?" she asked rapidly, making the others smile. They all knew she was eager to tidy up so they could go and open the rest of the presents under the tree.
"Yeah, course you can." he smiled, extending his hand out to Jenny before pointing at Dave with his other, "You, sit."
Dave only laughed to himself. He remembered similar Christmases in his past where he and Clara had cleaned up after Ellie had made dinner all morning. Who was he to deny James and Jenny the same opportunities?
With the washing up done and Milly settled in her pram by the living room window, it came to the part Jenny had been waiting for all day.
"Present time!" she cried, racing into the living room and sitting eagerly by the tree.
They all grinned as they entered the room and sat down. Rose and Clara took the large sofa opposite the door which led to the stairs, both curling their legs up and leaning on their armrests. James took the floor directly in front of Rose, Dave took the armchair with its back to the kitchen door while the Doctor next to Jenny by the tree.
It was his job to get out the presents from under the tree while Jenny was his little helper who delivered each present to the designated person. Easy.
It only took a good half an hour to dish out all the presents. While all the adults had piles of about three each and then some combined presents, e.g. for each couple, Jenny's pile seemed to tower. That settled it. She was opening hers last.
The Doctor moved over on the floor and sat in front of Clara, watching on as Dave was given permission from Jenny to open his presents first. The entire present-opening for all of them was going to take a while, and they were going to need a lot of black bin liners for all of the wrapping paper!
It was when all the presents were opened and the Doctor began offering drinks that Rose dropped the biggest shock of the day.
"Actually, James and I do have one other present we'd like to share." she took a deep breath as James gave her had a quick squeeze.
The Doctor and Clara were intrigued, their smiles already growing when they saw Jenny beginning to grin wildly.
"We're having another baby." Rose announced.
While the Doctor's jaw dropped, Clara's face just split to sport a massive grin. She immediately leant across the sofa and pulled the blonde into a hug.
"Oh, congratulations!" she cried into Rose's hair before pulling back, "I'm so happy for you!"
Rose did blush a little, her smile stuck on her face. "Thanks."
"When are you due?" Clara wondered.
"June." she answered.
Clara grinned wildly, soon turning to the little girl sat on the floor.
"You're gonna be a big sister!"
Jenny smiled wildly, hopping up onto her feet. "I know."
"Are you excited?" Clara asked, receiving a massive nod from the little girl who made her way over to join her Aunty and Mummy on the sofa.
Meanwhile, the Doctor pushed himself up off the floor, James following as his feet were starting to go numb.
"Congratulations, big brother." he grinned, ultimately hugging it out with him.
James, Rose and Jenny left the house not long after eleven o'clock that night, very happy to say they'd all had a great Christmas Day. Jenny was long asleep and therefore being carried by her Mum to the car. That meant James had drawn the short straw. He had to carry the two massive bags of Jenny's presents which Rose and Clara had spent almost fifteen minutes packing earlier that night.
With them gone, Dave also excused himself, going upstairs to the guestroom in which he was staying until he travelled back home to Blackpool the day after Boxing Day. It was only mere moments after that that Milly's final bottle was ready, hopefully meaning she'd sleep then throughout the night. If she had her last bottle between 10 and 11 at night, they usually managed to go through until five the next morning, six if they were lucky.
Clara took both Milly and her bottle upstairs to feed her while the Doctor had a quick tidy-up of the kitchen and turned off all of the Christmas lights for the night. He then followed his wife by heading upstairs, ensuring the house alarm was active for downstairs before slipping into his bedroom.
Clara was on the bed, softly rocking Milly while singing gently to her. It was always the best combination when getting their little girl to sleep.
"She gone?" the Doctor didn't dare speak above a whisper.
Clara nodded tiredly, smiling gently when she felt him take the baby from her. With her fast asleep in his arms, he slipped out of their room. The small silence allowed Clara's to fall back on the headboard. She sighed to herself, her ears aware of the baby monitor in Milly's room being turned on when the one on her bedside table sound.
The Doctor soon quietly slipped back into their room, gently closing the door behind him. Kicking his shoes off, he quietly moved around to her side of the bed and sat down, the sudden dip making her slowly open her eyes.
The Doctor smiled tiredly at her, leaning forward and stealing a soft kiss.
"You need to get changed." he whispered, only earning a tired moan from his wife, "Come on." he whispered.
Clara somehow pushed herself up, smiling softly as the Doctor assisted her by unzipping her dress at the back. She then managed to start slipping out of her dress and into her nightdress, allowing the Doctor to also get changed.
When they finally did manage to slip under the covers, both were just as relieved as each other. Clara sighed, snuggling into the Doctor's light embrace where he kissed her hairline.
"Had a good day, darling?" his voice was soft.
Clara nodded, her smile large enough for him to feel against his skin.
"What time are you working tomorrow?" she was fast falling asleep. He could tell.
"Not 'til one." he explained, kissing her one more time, "Night, night, my Clara… Merry Christmas."
Milly's second Christmas was the one where Clara had drawn the short straw and ended up having the pleasure of having Leanne come into her home. James and Rose had tried, really tried, to get her to come over to their house but she was having none of it. Not even the appeal of joining them for baby Sarah Jane's first Christmas was enough to tempt her.
Clara was in the kitchen, refusing to move from the moment she heard the doorbell sound. The Doctor, who had been stood at in the kitchen doorway alternating between watching Clara and Milly playing on the living room floor, saw her noticeably tense. The day was going to be no Christmas present for her.
Sighing as Clara didn't even turn to look at him, the Doctor began to small trek over the messy living room to reach the front door. Milly's presents off Santa which had been opened that morning were dotted all over the floor, the hyperactive 20 month old toddler constantly switching between toys every few seconds.
The bell rung again, the Doctor actually rolling his eyes. His mother had been an impatient woman. Rolling his shoulders back, he opened the door and put on his best smile.
"Hello, Mum."
"Oh, John!" the woman on the doorstep greeted, pulling his face down to hers with her wrinkling hands.
The Doctor rolled his eyes again, allowing her to greet him with her typical two kisses. When she pulled away, only then did she move far enough away from the door to allow him to close it.
"Wow, John." she commented, looking around the messy living room at all of the decorations, "It looks good."
The Doctor stood in the doorway, waiting for the inevitable. Leanne McCrimmon was never that nice. She always had to throw a downgrading comment somewhere or another into a conversation and considering she was only one room away from his wife, he'd have been a fool not to think that she'd somehow drag her into it.
She stood in the centre of the room slowly pivoting, her eyes examining every detail they could reach. He just stood there with his tongue pushing against his cheek, waiting for her next move.
"I don't like the stockings though." she pointing towards the items hanging in front of the faux fireplace to the right of the doorway the Doctor was still stood in, "How is it fair that Clara's is bigger than both yours and Amelia's?"
The Doctor rolled his eyes yet again. There she was, always finding a way to criticise Clara. No wonder she'd opted to stay in the kitchen.
"For goodness sake, Leanne." the Doctor huffed, lifting up the said little girl who had toddled over to him, "Mine and Clara's stockings are exactly the same size." he frowned as his mother raised her eyebrow, "And her name's Milly."
Leanne sighed. "Amelia was so much better." she sighed, smiling at the rather timid little girl in her son's arms, "I still can't believe you let her talk you into calling her Milly instead."
The Doctor felt himself gulp. "Mother, enough." he demanded, soft but enough to show he meant it, "Its Christmas. Please, just for today, enough with making every little thing Clara's fault."
Leanne, dressed in her pink blazer jacket and black skirt, stood for a few moments before allowing her shoulders to drop.
"Fine…" she relented, holding her arms out to Milly, "Hello beautiful!"
Slightly reluctantly, the Doctor allowed Leanne to take Milly from his arms. He could tell immediately she was a little uncertain going over to her grandmother, unsurprising since she wasn't used to seeing her.
The Doctor watched her like a hawk before slowly moving towards the kitchen door, actually smiling when he saw Clara appear in the doorway. He would have spoken but he was unsure what to say, especially when he caught her biting her lip. It actually made him shudder. He hated how Leanne could make her so nervous. Clara was never nervous.
If Leanne had noticed her, she didn't acknowledge. She was more focused on the little girl she was bouncing up and down at her side.
"Did Santa come to you?" she cooed, her smile something which the Doctor hadn't seen since he was in a child. Actually, he was sure she never smiled like that even when he was a child. "Did he? Did he come?"
Milly was still a little wary but she did begin to smile, nodding slowly at her grandmother.
"Yay!" Leanne smiled, turning and only then letting her eyes fall upon her daughter-in-law.
Her smile ultimately dropped, earning herself a firm warning stare from her youngest son.
She sighed deeply. "Clara." the word tasting like poison on her tongue.
Clara seemed to share the discomfort Leanne was showing.
"Leanne." she looked down, hoping for a moment she could suddenly conjure up an acceptable excuse to return to cooking the dinner. God how she hated feeling so uncomfortable in her own house… and her husband wasn't helping. He just stood there, acting as useful as a hole in the head.
Leanne swiftly looked away, turning to begin tickling the little girl. The Doctor used that opportunity to grip his wife's hand, completely missing the way Leanne had made Milly giggle.
"No. No. No." Milly laugher, her grin wide.
Leanne laughed along with her before she suddenly stopped and gasped, her eyes running over the presents under the tree in the corner of the room.
"Oh dear, Milly." Leanne pouted at the one year old, "Has nasty Mummy not let you open all of your Christmas presents?"
Leanne sat on the sofa nearest the tree, Milly sat on her lap facing her.
"Now that won't do, will it?" Milly listened intensely but didn't understand a word.
"Mother!" the Doctor cried, "What did I just say?!"
Clara stood there, her anger rising by the moment. She didn't want to be angry. It was Christmas for goodness sake!
"There are still unopened presents…" she tried to justify to which Clara snapped.
"There's a reason for that, Leanne!"
Even Milly jumped, her eyes wide.
"In this house, the presents from Santa are opened in the morning and the rest left under the tree are opened after dinner as a family." her tone was harsh.
Leanne's frown was deep. "She's one!" she cried, looking towards Milly to emphasise her point, "Why should she have to wait to open her presents?!"
"Because that's how it works in this house!" she cried.
Leanne's glare was cold. "And why exactly do you make all the rules?" her tone bitter, "Doesn't John get a say at all?"
"Mother…" he warned.
Clara was really trying to hold her tongue, something she was failing miserably.
"No!" Leanne shouted, "I never made you boys wait all day until you could open your presents so why the hell should Milly have to?!"
Clara actually stomped her foot. "If you don't like it, get out!" she screamed.
Milly immediately burst into tears, covering her eyes as the water soaked her red cheeks.
Clara immediately felt her cheeks burn, her throat stinging. "Oh God, Milly…" she gasped.
Her heart sank but before she even had the chance to move even a step closer to her daughter, Leanne pulled the toddler into her arms, soothingly rubbing the back of her head. The look she shot towards Clara was deadly enough to make her freeze on the spot.
"Now look what you've done!" she spat through her gritted teeth, whispering sweet nothing's into the little girl's ear.
Clara released a shaky, broken breath. It felt as though all the air had been kicked out of her lungs. With her legs like lead, she somehow retreated into the kitchen, every sob from Milly eating deeper into her heart.
"Clara…" the Doctor barely spoke, his hand brushing hers as she moved away.
Within seconds, Clara was hunched over the sink, grateful the noise from the cooker hood was loud enough to drown out Milly and Leanne. She dreaded to even dare think what Leanne was now saying about her to her daughter.
"Clara?" the Doctor repeated, having appeared not too far behind her.
She immediately straightened, looking towards the window long enough to run her two fingers under her eyes to prevent any offending tears falling. She spun on her heels, not daring to look directly at her husband. She needed to make it through the day.
"Right!" she sprang into action, grabbing a lukewarm bottle from the counter nearest the kettle, "Mills needs her bottle." she handed it to him, "Go and give it to her, will ya?"
The rest of morning seemed to go oddly smoothly but the Doctor hated every moment of it. Milly, who was napping on a cushion near to the fireplace, had been very clingy to him since Clara's outburst at Leanne. Leanne had been ignoring her earlier promise and had been moaning and criticising Clara as best she could, thinking he was actually paying attention and as for Clara, she's kept herself busy preparing dinner. He'd hardly seen her.
He used the opportunity of James calling Leanne to wish Merry Christmas to slip into the kitchen. For once, he was more than grateful his brother had his phone switched on so he could receive the needed SOS. Christmas Day certainly wasn't running as smoothly as he'd hoped. On the other hand, the anticipated drama had certainly reared its ugly head.
When dinner came around, it was silent all barring the music playing in the background. Not even WHAM! or Band Aid were working their usual Christmas magic and when the time came, the crackers remained unopened.
Clara jumped at the chance to go to Milly when they heard her stirring from her nap. Anything to get away from her mother-in-law was the best present in her eyes.
Milly was rubbing her eyes as she walked into the living room, clutching her little white kitten under her arm. When she saw Clara, her face did crumple but that seemed to ease when she smiled gently down at her.
"Hello baby." she sighed, dropping down to sit on the floor next to her daughter.
"Mummy." Milly muttered, clutching her kitten tighter when Clara began soothingly rubbing her head.
"I'm so sorry, baby." she sighed, leaning down to plant a flurry of kisses, "Mummy's very, very sorry she made you sad earlier."
Milly yawned, looking up at her Mum.
"Can I have a cuddle?" Clara asked hopefully, actually trembling in fear her little girl wouldn't want to hug her. Then again, after her scaring her the way she had, part of her wouldn't have blamed her.
She felt a tsunami of relief wash over her as the little girl clambered up and climbed into her arms, her little arms wrapping tightly around her neck. After a few moments, Milly snuggled into Clara's hair, smiling when she felt her begin to rub the back of her head.
"Presents!"
Clara immediately laughed, pulling Milly back far enough so she met her face. Her little smile only made her do the same things.
"You wanna open your presents?" she grinned as Milly nodded, "Yeah?"
She stood, Milly still sat in her arms. "Tidy up table. Then open presents." she promised, "Okay?"
"Yay!" Milly clapped, leaning to kiss her Mum's awaiting lips.
"Good girl!"
Clara had ended up doing all the washing up, not that she minded. With Milly happy again, a large portion of the day's tension melted away. It wasn't going to be easy but she wasn't going to let Leanne being in her home ruin her day.
Placing the final glass onto the drainer, Clara sighed. Finally.
Happily throwing the dishcloth into the empty bowl, Clara dried her hands and turned on her heels. She had only one objective: watch her little girl open the rest of her Christmas presents. However, that objective seemed particularly pointless when she came to a stop in the kitchen doorway, the exact same moment the Doctor entered the living room through the other door.
They both froze in place, their jaws dropping.
"Mum!" the Doctor cried. He'd only left her alone for two minutes to fetch the camera.
Clara felt her heart drop yet again and stomach grow hollow due to what she was seeing.
"Leanne! What are you doing?!" her question was desperate as she looked down at her oblivious little girl, happily opening her fourth present in Leanne's lap.
Leanne turned to Clara, acting as if what she asked was one of the strangest questions she'd ever heard.
"Milly wanted to open her presents." she explained innocently as she helped the little girl rip the paper.
Clara began to feel breathless again and as expected, the sting at the back of her throat returned.
"Mum, you were supposed to wait for me and Clara!" the Doctor was surprisingly calm despite the fact he was livid. He knew she'd only done it for Clara's benefit.
"I couldn't let her wait any longer." Leanne smiled at Milly when she held up the contents of the present she'd just finished unwrapping, "Oh, wow!"
Clara stepped into the living room, her fists clenched so tight the muscles in her arm were actually crying out for mercy.
"Leanne, didn't you think that maybe we wanted to see her open her presents?" she somehow managed to ask without her voice faltering.
Leanne rolled her eyes. "Oh, get over yourself!" she demanded,
"Its her first Christmas where she could open her own presents." Clara really did want to scream but she didn't want a repeat performance from earlier, "I wanted to see her do so… That's why we open them together as a family after dinner!"
As Clara's voice rose, so did Leanne, physically. Now standing, reaching the same height as Clara, the tightness of her eyes was certainly noticeable.
"Well, maybe Milly didn't want you watching her open her presents!" Leanne's tone was evil, "Why would she want you breathing down her neck every two seconds?"
"I am her mother!" Clara was livid.
"And that's why I pity her. She could do so much better!"
It was now the Doctor's turn to snap. Enough was enough!
"Mum!"
However, Clara had just stopped. Completely and utterly frozen. Those words had honestly felt like a pint of salt being poured into an open wound. Painful didn't even cover how much it had hurt.
"How dare you…" the Doctor's eyes were dark but Clara hadn't noticed.
"Leave it, Doctor." Clara sniffed, her voice barely audible but enough to interrupt him, "Just forget it."
She brushed quickly past her husband, very much aware that she needed to get out of there. The air in the room had become too thick, it was suffocating.
The Doctor caught her hand as she reached the doorway to upstairs.
"Clara…" he tried to object.
His frown was obvious but it was due to such an array of emotions, he couldn't work it out: confusion, concern, anger, frustration. You name it, he felt it.
Milly sat on the floor, watching her parents with uncertainty.
"Clara, please…" he tried again to no avail.
She carelessly waved her free hand. She'd completely and utterly given up. She couldn't take any more, no more drama, no more Leanne. It turns out the lady in pink had won and for the first time ever, she didn't care.
"No, just forget it." she repeated a little louder, "You three open your presents. I… I can't do this anymore."
Leanne smirk did appear. "Typical!" she hissed, "See John? I told you she was no good."
The Doctor simply ignored her, his gaze not leaving his wife.
"Clara." he was sterner, "Come on…"
"No!" she physically cried that time, her emotions exploding as she reached her limit, "No more!"
She violently pulled her hand away. "You three have a very Merry fucking Christmas!"
And with that she ran up the stairs, not daring to say or do anything more.
The Doctor stood there, speechless.
He felt his eyes water and he let his two calloused hands roughly rub his forehead and through his hair. It was his fault… He knew he should have been more insistent, told Leanne she couldn't come. He'd known right from the beginning, her and Clara in the same room was never going to end well, not even at Christmas.
"Oh Milly. Isn't it so much better now that Moody Mummy's gone?" he heard Leanne say, each word making muscles clench just that little bit harder.
The Doctor turned dangerously slow on his heels, his eyes tight when he saw her grinning wildly at his daughter now in her arms.
"Now we can have a lovely Christmas Day, just the three of us." she laughed at the confused toddler, "No more drama. No more nasty Mummy!"
The Doctor only stood there for a few moments but that in itself was dangerous. Just looking at her was adding to his irradiating anger and the fact that Leanne hadn't looked up yet only made it worse. She obviously knew she pushed it a step too far.
"Get out." he stately flatly, his voice oddly calm.
It was then and only then that Leanne looked up, a mixture of a pout and confused frown gracing her face.
"I'm sorry…?" she laughed lightly.
The Doctor slowly approached. "I said: Get. Out." his sentence was broken but it was as clear as day as he came to a stop before her.
Leanne's eyes were wide and she dared not to object as the Doctor took Milly out of her arms. She was going whether she liked it or not.
"You can't be serious…" she trailed off as he remained silent. His look said it all. "John!" she objected, "Its Christmas Day!"
The Doctor didn't bat an eyelid. "Well, it's a shame you couldn't remember that."
The fact she'd taken offence had absolutely no effect on him.
"I asked you to do one thing, Leanne." he was clear, "One thing… And you couldn't do it. You couldn't even try."
Leanne scoffed. "Oh, John, come on!" she cried. Now she was the desperate one.
He simply shook his head. "You know where the door is." he remained cool, "Now get out."
She didn't even manage to speak before his look silenced her. He may have thought her look at Clara had been cold but that was noting in comparison to what she was now receiving.
"Get. Out!" he demanded, backing her towards the front door.
She barely managed to grab her bag and blazer from off the sofa before he had her at the front door. Bouncing the little girl on his hip, he'd have been lying if he had said he wasn't glad to see her open the door.
"You'll regret this, John." she sighed, slipping her blazer on just a car pulled up outside.
The Doctor sighed, briefly looking down at Milly before back at her.
"No." he actually allowed himself to smile, "I know I won't."
Leanne remained still for a few more moments, her final attempt to break through to him.
"You not welcome here, Leanne." he had calmed considerably but the point still stood, "Now go."
She turned away in a huff, her pink shoes hitting the ground harshly as she tried to find her car keys in her bag. The Doctor didn't even bother watching further, instead he turned to face the family who, despite only just getting out of their car, had witnessed the entire scene.
James, hands in his pockets, smiled falsely.
"Had a good day, baby brother?" he sincerely wondered.
The Doctor sighed, smiling lazily in response. At that moment, he was glad to hear Leanne's car start up. That meant she was going.
Rose exited their car and then proceeded to get the newest addition in the family out of her car seat, sharing the exact moment with Leanne driving away.
James frowned softly when he saw his little brother smile at that. Something had clearly happened.
"It's much better now, thanks." the Doctor sighed, ushering the group towards the door, "Come on in."
Rose smiled softly, carefully carrying the six month old baby in her arms as well as greeting Milly as she stepped through the front door.
"Looks like we got 'ere just in time." she commented as James helped Jenny carry in the Christmas presents.
When they all got into the living room and the Doctor had closed the door, Rose couldn't help but frown.
"Where's Clara?" she wondered aloud.
The Doctor sighed. "Yeah, about that…" he trailed off momentarily, following them in and placing Milly on the floor with a soft kiss on her head, "You wouldn't mind making yourselves at home and watching Merry for a little bit, would ya?"
Rose sighed as the Doctor rose to his feet, James tapping his brother's shoulder reassuringly as he headed towards the kitchen. They weren't stupid enough to ask what had happened but they understood.
"Course not." James answered, "I'll go do the drinks drinks! Rose, what d'ya want?"
Rose smiled softly, quickly turning to face the Doctor who was just about head of the room.
"G&T's available?" she queried.
The Doctor smiled softly. "Always for you, Rose."
The blonde grinned, turning towards the kitchen which her husband had already disappeared into.
"G&T!" she requested loudly, something James was already half way in preparing.
Despite the lively atmosphere now building in the downstairs of the Smith household, the upstairs was a different story. In the master bedroom, now all cried out, Clara lay face down on her bed. Of all things she could say, she only had three words in mind: Worst. Christmas. Ever.
She didn't really hear anything but she was aware of her bedroom door opening, something which made her scrunch her face and bury it into the quilt beneath her. She gulped as she felt the bed dip next to her.
"Clara…" she felt her husband's hand come to brush the back of her head.
She squirmed away, sniffing against her white pillow which likely was now stained black from her eye make-up.
"Go away, Doctor…" her voice was weak, "Please." she added.
The Doctor sighed, absolutely refusing to do so and shuffling himself closer. He couldn't believe just how bad he'd allowed the day to get.
"She's gone, Clara." he whispered, leaning against her ear softly, "She really, really is."
He softly kissed her hair before pulling away, sighing while she gulped. It was only then that she finally brought herself to turn her head enough to see his face.
His hand reaching out for hers. When she gripped it, he smiled.
"I'm so sorry." he looked down and bit his lip, "I should have been more insistent with her." his thumb stroked the back of her hand, "Told her she couldn't come today."
Clara shook her head, using her other hand to rub her eyes. She was really trying to not cry again but she wasn't sure whether she would manage.
"No." she managed to say, "I…"
She rubbed her cheek with her cardigan sleeve to catch the escaping tears.
"I should have tried harder." she admitted.
That made the Doctor frown. "No, you shouldn't have." he was adamant, "You did nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing wrong."
Clara sighed shakily, wetting her drying lips.
"She's always pushing it way too far…" he sighed, bringing his hand to her face and rubbing her cheek with his thumb, "And the worst thing is, I knew that… and I still let her come."
Their eyes met for a moment, making her lip quiver.
"What kind of husband does that make me?" he asked mostly to himself, "Every time you're forced together, she always does something to you… Although, I've never seen her get to you quite as much as she has today…"
It was as Clara looked away from him that his heart began to beat just that little bit harder. Something wasn't right…
His frown intensified, not that she noticed. "Clara?" he probed lightly. Her silence only concerned him further, "Clara, what's going on?
She just shook her head. "It's nothing." she insisted just a little too quickly for his liking.
Now he really was concerned.
"Darling…?" he tried to draw out a response.
Still not looking at him, she actually moved herself. Effectively flipping over from on her front, she pushed herself up the bed to sit against the headboard, her hands landing in her lap.
The Doctor watched intensely as she began to nervously fiddle with her fingertips.
"Look." he sighed softly, "I know it hasn't been a great Christmas but…"
"It's not that." she interrupted, her teeth noticeably scraping over her bottom lip.
He took her hands, their eyes meeting. "Then what?"
The silence which followed only made him shuffle closer. He may not have spoken any further but his eyes were enough for her to hear.
Clara took a breath, lightly shrugging a single shoulder.
"I– I'm… I'm pregnant, Doctor." she confessed, aware her husband's eyes had widened rather considerably.
He didn't speak but the silence was something she could deal with no longer.
"I-IwasgonnatellyouaftergettingthroughtodaywithLeannebut…"
Her rush of words were silence by his lips meeting hers, his hand resting on her hip. All the bottled up emotion still coursing through her veins was released through her tears, tears which mingled with his. She sincerely hoped that was because he was happy.
Parting their lips but keeping their faces incredibly close, the Doctor brought his hand up to rest on her cheek. It was at that moment she noticed him smiling.
"Best Christmas present ever." he pecked her lips again, happy to finally see her smiling with him.
Clara agreed, laughing slightly before her expression turned a little more serious.
"Just know this Doctor." she began, easily capturing his attention, "She is never coming into this house for Christmas again. I don't care that she's your mother. It's not happening."
He nodded immediately. "I second it, third it, fourth it, hundredth it, thousandth it." he babbled, "Never again, I swear."
Clara nodded slowly, sharing a final kiss with her husband before he gave her a little bit more space.
As the moments pass and her tears came to a resounding stop, Clara roughly shook her head, her hands coming up to cover her face.
"God, I must look a mess." she whispered.
The Doctor simply shook his head, his hand finding its way to cup her cheek.
"You always look beautiful to me." he declared.
Clara immediately giggled, shoving his hand away playfully.
"Oh, you stupid boy." she rubbed her eyes before looking towards him, genuinely smiling for a few moments, "Merry Christmas, Doctor."
He smiled back. "Merry Christmas, Clara."
She watched on, feeling the massive pressure of the day fade into nothingness. Perhaps the rest of the day would now be much more pleasant than it had been.
"James and Rose are here." the Doctor suddenly announced, "Come back downstairs. Come say hello."
Clara sighed, softly rubbing her arm.
"You can have a cuddle with baby Sarah Jane…" he teased, tempting her, "Besides, Rose is on the gin. She may need someone else to hold her soon."
Clara genuinely laughed again, brushing her loose locks with her hand.
"Sounds good to me."