I know it's a short chapter, but I wanted to end it on a positive note and really start off on the next adventure after.
As the others wandered back to Jackie Tyler's flat, the grim mood from the spaceship exploding started to fade away and they began to talk and even laugh about some of the events over the past couple of hours. Ms. Hudson started to discuss Christmas dinner and Jackie chimed in as well with Rose, Mickey, John, Mycroft, Lestrade, Molly, Anthea and even Sherlock adding in their own suggestions.
As they passed by the TARDIS, the Doctor slipped out of the crowd, with Rose, Sherlock, and John in particular noticing. "Doctor, where are you going?" Rose asked, concerned.
"I need to just grab two, three, maybe even four things from the TARDIS. I'll be back soon." The Doctor said, smiling at them as he jogged off towards the TARDIS.
"Wait for me!" Sherlock cried, running after him.
Rose and John might have followed, but Jackie and Ms. Hudson pulled them along despite their protests, wanting some help. Sherlock entered the TARDIS just a few steps behind the Doctor, who glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Can't quite get rid of you, can I?" The Doctor remarked.
"Where are you going?" Sherlock asked.
"The wardrobe room." The Doctor replied.
"You're going to pick out an outfit?" Sherlock's eyes boggled at the prospect. "Can I come with you? To give you a second opinion?"
"Okay, but definitely not into the dressing room." The Doctor wagged a finger at him before he headed off.
Sherlock followed. "I know, boundaries. John is always reminding me of that before we start snogging. But anyway, this is an important step, I know, whenever you choose an outfit that you might wind up wearing for the rest of your regeneration. Do you always go to the wardrobe room?"
"No, only a couple of times before. Sometimes I just pick something off of the shelf wherever I wind up. But I don't think Jackie would have many good options for me." The Doctor turned around, showing off his bathrobe and jammies as they entered the wardrobe room. "See? I mean, could you imagine me running around like this for the rest of my life? Doesn't bear thinking about," He shuddered, turning to the shelves as he started browsing through them.
"Could be worse." Sherlock said, settling down into a chair and marveling at the large, labyrinthine wardrobe room. "I mean, jammies and a bathrobe are somewhat comfortable and relaxed. But they definitely don't exude an air of authority and might not be suitable for travel in all weather and terrain."
"Exude an air of authority?" The Doctor shook his head. "Definitely not for me. I would rather be comfortable and relaxed and nonthreatening."
"I know, but sometimes your posture is more commanding than not. Even wearing a bathrobe and jammies, you certainly looked authoritative like a general." Sherlock said.
"Definitely not for me." The Doctor insisted, glancing through the shelves.
"Not the leopard. Scottish might be okay. Definitely not the Hawaiian." Sherlock insisted.
"I like the floral pattern." The Doctor said, looking down at the floor and picking up a red velvet or silk Italian suit from the 1700s with gold braiding. "What do you think of this? Does it suit me?" He asked, modeling it a little.
"I've seen it somewhere before. Maybe that Casanova guy?" Sherlock said.
"Ah, right, yeah." The Doctor said, reluctantly setting it to the side. "He was fun."
"Um, Doctor…" Sherlock said, trying to be as delicate as he possibly could be. "My brother, he's investigating the Moriarty matter as thoroughly as he possibly can."
"That's good. We definitely need to find out more about that."
"Right. And he was considering what happened to him, and how he was hypnotized…do you think the Master could possibly be involved with that?"
"No." The Doctor said, as quiet and still as he possibly could be, staring at his reflection.
"It's just that you said you recognized the style or handiwork of the hypnosis, but then you denied it. And Mycroft said it's the exact sort of tactic that the Master used several times during your UNIT time and after-"
"No, it's not the Master. He's gone, dead and gone like all the rest of the Time Lords except for me." The Doctor said, grim.
"All right, if you say so." Sherlock sighed. "And you don't have any clue as to who else it might have been?"
"No, sorry." The Doctor said, relaxing slightly, but still avoiding looking at Sherlock as he shoved his head back into the racks.
"Right, thanks." Sherlock said, wishing the Doctor would be more forward with him. He pondered some things as the Doctor continued to peruse. "Do you think we did the right thing with Harriet Jones?"
"I think so. There was no excuse for what she did when the Sycorax had surrendered honorably and peacefully after their champion had been defeated. Ruffles?" The Doctor asked.
"Definitely not ruffles. Yes, but did she understand that?" Sherlock asked as the Doctor paused to stare at something. "What she had seen of the Sycorax and what they had done must have frightened her as well. How close she and the others came to surrendering when the Sycorax didn't have the control they claimed to have."
Sherlock turned his head and stared at the brown pinstripe suit the Doctor had just pulled off of the shelves. "I like that." Sherlock said.
"Me too." The Doctor looked up and snatched a long brown coat off of another shelf.
"There you go!" Sherlock cried as the Doctor grinned, examining his outfit.
"I guess, but I was there to help her out eventually." The Doctor cried as he ran off with his outfit to change. "She should have seen that I would come around. I'm a time traveler, I'm always around. She just didn't know where or when to look for me." The Doctor slammed the dressing room door shut.
"That's a long-term view she just didn't have at that point, thinking ahead." Sherlock said as he waited.
"Well, now that message won't spread." The Doctor, muffled, said behind the door. "The invaders will just keep coming, believing Earth to be a primitive, defenseless planet without anything to offer them in terms of enlightenment and culture. Typical human short-sightedness, ruining your chances for peace, success, and progress." The Doctor muttered. "She should have trusted me."
"Sometimes it's hard to trust others. She didn't know you that well." Sherlock said as the Doctor opened the dressing room door and stepped out, modeling his brown pinstripe suit and long brown coat.
Sherlock gasped, swallowing his breath. "That suits you, more than I can say." Sherlock said.
"Do you really think so?" The Doctor asked, checking his reflection. "Not too much like your outfit?"
"Yep. Anyway, she was going to be Prime Minister for Britain's Golden Age, right? But you changed that future, didn't you?" Sherlock asked.
"Not exactly. Time is flexible in some small areas, in some ways." The Doctor grinned and bared his teeth, rubbing his tongue over them like he was checking out his molars. "It can make allowances for certain exigencies, if there was a fairly good reason why time should change, and it was necessary from my viewpoint."
"What was your viewpoint?" Sherlock asked, slightly fascinated.
"I could see a change in Harriet Jones and her policies, a shift that might lead Britain down a different road from the Golden Age that I had heard about." The Doctor nodded, satisfied with his look. "A darker future that could crush the chances of Britain and the rest of the world joining the cosmos, becoming a greater part of existence with billions of other planets. So I had to stop her before it was too late, before that Golden Age might be lost."
The Doctor walked off, glancing back at a stunned Sherlock, still sitting on his chair. "Come along, Sherlock." The Doctor said.
"So you shifted it around a little bit, adjusted it so that Harriet Jones's reign would end sooner than expected? How risky is that?" Sherlock asked, getting up and joining the Doctor as they walked out of the wardrobe room.
"A little, considering that I don't know what will happen at this point, what will fill in the gap of Harriet Jones's reign." The Doctor said as they walked down the TARDIS corridors. "But I had to do it to save her as well, if there was a chance that she could be great again. Change back to the Harriet Jones I knew she was."
"Hmm. Well, I hope it was the right decision in the end." Sherlock remarked as they walked into the console room, which was a little worse for wear. "I'm glad that you are here, Doctor."
"Thanks. I'm glad that you're all here as well." The Doctor grinned at him before walking to the phonebox doors. "Let's go rejoin the others."
"Okay." Sherlock said as they left the TARDIS. "Though it is going to be a mess up there with Ms. Hudson and Jackie baking, Mycroft and Lestrade are probably snogging, Mickey and Rose causing trouble…"
The Doctor laughed and said, "Come on, admit it, you love it, though. Despite how antisocial or above it all you might appear."
As they crossed the courtyard, Sherlock glanced at the Doctor. "All right, it might be enjoyable at times, but it's such a mess. And Christmastime this year, after such a big alien invasion that threatened the world…can it still be good?"
"Of course. And it's not unusual." The Doctor said. "Every Christmas is an invasion of friends, family, loved ones, near and dear ones, neighbors, strangers and even deadly enemies at times. It's filled with laughter, joy, shouting, crying, arguing, food, fun, games and more."
"Never thought of it that way before." Sherlock said as they climbed up the stairs.
"You can't stop Christmas from being celebrated, just like you can't stop the world even if something goes horribly wrong." The Doctor told him. "Even when terrible, tragic things happen and everything is a mess, and people have gone crazy, enough to make you angry, you still treat others with respect, kindness, and forgiveness. That is what the season is all about." The Doctor reflected as they walked towards Jackie's flat. "The joy we share and the love it brings, no matter how schmaltzy, camp, or melodramatic it might all be."
"Thanks, Doctor." Sherlock smiled at him and they entered Jackie's flat with Rose grinning up at the Doctor in his new outfit and John rushing over to give Sherlock a hug.
That evening they celebrated Christmas in style with crackers and paper crowns, turkey, and even Christmas carols. At one point, everyone clamored for Sherlock to play Christmas music on his violin.
"All right, all right!" Sherlock cried as he grabbed his instrument. "You'll have to excuse me, though. I've been listening to the radio for far too long and this song got stuck in my head."
He started playing the instrumental music on his violin and, in a gravelly voice, sang, "When I woke up today and the world seemed a restless place, it could have been that way for me." The others listened, somewhat awestruck that Sherlock had decided to play this. "Then I wandered around and I thought of your face that Christmas looking back at me."
John grinned and started singing along, "I wish today was just like every other day." And then the others joined in. "Cause today has been the best day. Everything I ever dreamed."
Sherlock's voice caught in his throat somewhat, listening to the others, but he kept going. "Then I started to walk, pretty soon I will run. And I'll be running back to you." He smiled at John. "Because I followed my star, and that's what you are. I've had a merry time with you."
Rose and the Doctor were holding hands, grinning at each ohter as they all sang the last verse. "I wish today was just like every other day."
Then they all started laughing, whooping, cheering and clapping as Sherlock, hiding a blush, put his instrument away. They listened to Harriet Jones's speech on television and then trooped outside to watch the ashes fall from the Sycorax spaceship like snow. Yet they marveled at the stars beyond with the Doctor, Rose, Sherlock and John planning their next trip.
"Course, it's going to take me a few days, maybe even a couple of weeks, to repair everything on the TARDIS." The Doctor said as they walked back to Jackie's flat. "Might want to do some redecorating as well."
"That'll give us some time to go back to the flat and work on the backlog of cases waiting for us, won't it?" John said, glancing at Sherlock.
"Yes, I suppose." Sherlock sighed. "Hope it's not exceptionally boring."
"Oh, my boys are coming home! Excellent news." Ms. Hudson said.
"Hasn't been the same in the morgue without you." Molly smiled.
"Shall I set up some appointments?" Anthea asked.
"Good to hear. I might have some leads on Moriarty I want you all to take a look at." Mycroft remarked.
"Back to the old grindstone." Lestrade grinned.
"Ha, ha, very funny." Sherlock said.
"Harriet Jones is gone-on, Harriet Jones is gone-on, Harriet Jones is gone!" The Master and Moriarty sang in a conga tune, their bottoms sashaying as they danced around the room.
"Enough with that tune!" Lucy Saxon groaned, nursing a hangover as she drank some more whisky straight.
"Oh, shut up, why shouldn't we celebrate?" Moriarty hissed at her.
"It's getting annoying." Lucy Saxon glared back at him, icy stares interlocked with each other. But she fidgeted first and looked away with Moriarty evilly grinning at her.
"We've finally got a straight shot at Downing Street and the prime minsistership without Harriet Jones in the way!" The Master practically crowed. "This calls for a celebration!"
"To Mycroft Holmes, for shooting down his own protégé!" Moriarty laughed as he snatched the bottle of whisky away from Lucy, toasted, and drank it down.
"Hey! Get your own bottle!" Lucy shouted at him.
"Calm down, my dear, no need to get hysterical." The Master tried to soothe her with an additional glare at Moriarty. "Let's all play nice and respect each other's boundaries."
"Fine. It's cheap whisky anyway." Moriarty said, tossing the bottle back at Lucy.
Lucy caught it before it hit her. "You're the cheapskate." She muttered at Moriarty's back before she drank again.
Moriarty stiffened and curled his fists, but the Master shook his head at him. So Moriarty backed down, calming himself and relaxed before he went off to get another bottle.
"Why do you suppose the Doctor let him get away with it?" Moriarty asked. "Isn't she supposed to be some big-shot prime minister, according to history?"
The Master smiled. "The Doctor's anger got the best of him this time around. I figured something like that might happen when he saw her order Torchwood to shoot them down."
"A toast to Torchwood and the Sycorax!" Moriarty said, drinking champagne now. "Good thing they came like they were supposed to. I thought they would never get here on time."
"The Sycorax are an honorable sort, mostly. They always try to stick to their agreements. I thought it would be a good touch for them to arrive during Christmas and cause a mass panic to destabilize the government." The Master said.
"Yeah, but that whole thing with the roof and blood control. I wish they would have jumped." Moriarty shook his head.
"You were the one that suggested the blood control." The Master remarked. "I thought there were better ways of hypnosis."
"Too obvious, though. We don't want to put the Doctor on his guard for you, too, do we?" Moriarty said.
"No, too soon for that." The Master said. "The Archangel network is not strong enough to hide close scrutiny and we still have to establish firm ties here. We can't possibly win an election for prime minister yet, though it should be close."
"How long do you think it will take?" Moriarty asked.
"It might take a couple of months, possibly a year before any temporary government that Mycroft Holmes sets up starts to fall apart. And then the next election, Harold Saxon is going to win by a landslide. I guarantee it." The Master grinned.
"Do you think the Doctor suspects anything after what happened with Mycroft?" Moriarty asked.
"Possibly, but he'll deny it without any hard evidence." The Master grinned. "You know, Mycroft did guide Harriet, so while he was under my influence, Harriet Jones was indirectly trained by me."
"That's certainly true." Moriarty said. "Perhaps to the point where she would choose to shoot down the alien spacecraft, instead of going with a more peaceful solution."
"Good way of destroying evidence. How's your smuggling operation?" The Master asked Moriarty.
"Fine enough now. Though with Sherlock back, I think he's going to be sniffing around a little more." Moriarty said.
"Damn shame." The Master said.
A couple of weeks later, Sherlock and John said good-bye to Ms. Hudson once more with some last-minute instructions and payment for taking care of their flat in their absence. They had already said good-bye to Mycroft, Lestrade, Molly and everyone else. With all of their luggage, they took a taxi to the Powell Estate and headed to the courtyard where the TARDIS waited.
Rose was already there, saying good-bye to her mum and Mickey, and she smiled as the boys joined them. "Off on another whirlwind adventure?" She remarked.
"Naturally." Sherlock said, grinning as he and John greeted and waved farewell to Mickey and Jackie, too.
John grimaced slightly, partly wanting to stay at home in London, and get cozier with Sherlock like an ordinary couple. But then again, if their ordinary life together was going to be as 'adventurous' as their time with the Doctor, with all of the mysteries that Sherlock had to solve, then they might as well go traveling in the TARDIS.
It couldn't be worse or more dangerous than some of the scrapes he and Sherlock had just gotten into, right? And at least the whole time and space travel aspect of it appealed to him as well, though Sherlock got the biggest kick out of it.
They entered the TARDIS and greeted the Doctor, who asked how John and Sherlock fared.
"We had a couple of rough cases, but at least we're okay." John sighed. "Not everyone came out of it alive, but we're fine."
"Poor Sarah, though." Sherlock said, turning to John. "You had to disappoint her, didn't you?"
"Shut up. I didn't mean to make her think…I just wanted to be nice and thank her for helping me out at work." John said.
"Should have told her I was coming along as well." Sherlock said.
"I said a friend…I should have said boyfriend." John sighed.
"Yep." Sherlock added.
Rose and the Doctor burst out laughing with John glaring at them and then Sherlock joined in the laughter as John rolled his eyes. At that point, wiping tears of mirth out of his eyes, the Doctor set the TARDIS in motion and they were off once more with Rose and Sherlock whooping for joy and John joining in, laughing.
Originally, I was going to have the Doctor reading and checking out books in the TARDIS library to help Sherlock and John break that Blind Banker book cipher. But then going back over that episode, I realized the Doctor's help really wouldn't have been necessary when solving the cipher didn't require looking through all of the books that had ever been published, but only the books in those two flats. Still a fun thought.