A/N: Alex's outfit for this chapter can be found on my Tumblr, under the name 'darksideofparis'.
Alex slumped down in one of the console room chairs, eyes focused on her book as the Doctor sat under the console in his little swing, working on parts of the TARDIS that probably didn't need to be fixed.
"'. . .and almost sucked a corn kernel down my throat. After Dune whacked me on the back and stopped my coughing, I pointed to a shimmering square of light hanging in the atmosphere. It was as tall as the ceiling and at least ten feet wide. . .'"
"Wrong!" the Doctor objected, looking up at her through the glass floor.
"Hush!" Alex scolded. "Now, continuing on."
"'Holy. . . It's like a blanket made of water or something. And I can see it really, really clearly.'
"'That's one of the benefits of duronium. The way it interacts with your body chemistry helps you locate veils—'"
"Wrong!" the Doctor protested again.
"Will you stop interrupting?" Alex asked, though she was more amused than anything. She turned the book over to look at the cover; Hourglass by Myra McEntire. She had started reading the book aloud at the Doctor's request about an hour ago and he'd been loudly interrupting and protesting at the book's description of time travel ever since.
"I can't help it! That book is completely and totally wrong! No human, even if they possessed time traveling abilities and duronium – which doesn't even exist, by the way – could travel through a veil. They would disintegrate!"
"That's why this is science-fiction, Doctor," Alex laughed. "And no one else knows about this stuff, so how would they know the stuff in the book wasn't real?"
There was what sounded like some mutterings from the Doctor before a final, "Oh, shut it you! Keep reading."
Alex giggled but obliged. It had been like this for the past two weeks, ever since they left Sarah Jane's attic and began traveling the universe again, just the two of them, no one else. This thought was both exciting and nerve-wracking for so many reasons.
They had grown closer during their trips, though that was a given. Surprisingly, each of their trips so far had been nice, peaceful ones. The Doctor had taken her to a fantastic party thrown by the royal family on some planet in the 59th century. They had danced all night long, their arms and eyes never leaving each-other for more than a few seconds. Their next stop had been a visit to the building of the Great Pyramids in Egypt. As it turned out, those people claiming the Egyptians had help from aliens weren't all that far off. The Doctor had concocted some kind of gizmo that made dragging the stones up the pyramid a heck of a lot easier. From there on out, they had been to a whirlwind of places, so many that Alex had asked if they could take a free day so they could relax and recharge from all these adventures. The Doctor was so wrapped around her finger, he'd said yes without any hesitation.
Of course, being alone and so close together, even in a space as big as the TARDIS, was pretty crazy. Alex was constantly aware of his presence, even when she was in her room fast asleep while he was off doing God-knows-what. Her heart thudded constantly, and a continuous stream of adrenaline ran through her veins. Her dreams of him were becoming more vivid and intense. Her diary entries were reaching the point where the scribbling's Mr. and Mrs. started to appear. The time she spent without him, whether she was showering or drying her hair or just reading a book in the library, was becoming unbearable.
Naturally, none of this was making the realization about her being in love with him any easier.
Alex sighed. She loved spending alone-time with the Doctor, but with the way things were progressing, it was becoming too much for her. It was so much easier when Amy and Rory were here. The Ponds were everywhere, flittering from their room to the library to the console room to the kitchen and elsewhere. It was hard to concentrate on romance and the nerves that come along with it when they were around.
Which reminded her. . . "Hey, Doc?" Alex called, interrupting her reading. "When are we going to pick Amy and Rory up? It's been two weeks."
The Doctor looked up at her through the glass floor. Truthfully, he had kind of forgotten about Amy and Rory. Alex was there and it was kind of hard to think about anything else when she was with him, especially when she was the only companion with him. He liked Amy and Rory, don't get him wrong, but he liked having only Alex with him just a teensy bit more. Okay, a lot more. And because of that, picking up the Ponds was the furthest thing from his mind.
He was about to answer with something like 'Oh, don't worry, Ally, we'll see them soon' and then launch into a long story that would guarantee to distract her, when a sudden bonging rang out. It was the TARDIS Cloister Bell.
Quick as a wink, the Doctor jumped out of his harness and ran up the stairs to the console. As Alex looked around bewilderedly, the Doctor dragged the monitor hanging over the console over to him. A message was displayed on it, in big important all caps. DISTRESS SIGNAL RECEIVED.
"What is it?" Alex demanded over the incessant bonging.
"Distress signal!" the Doctor told her as he ran over to the typewriter on the console and typed a bunch of instructions into it. He pulled the monitor over and his face paled. "It's Amy and Rory!"
"What?!" Alex screeched, running up to him to see the signal.
The Doctor leaned closer to the screen in an effort to listen to the signal. However, the bonging of the Cloister Bell was a little distracting. Without moving his eyes away from the screen, he reached out and flicked a nearby switch. The bells went silent, the beeping of the distress signal filling the empty space.
"What's it say?" Alex murmured.
The Doctor shushed her and pressed his ear to the screen. "Ship crashing . . . please help us . . . come along, raggedy Doctor."
"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Alex exclaimed. "We have to help them!"
The Doctor immediately jumped into action, rushing around the console like crazy while Alex hastened to grab onto the railing. "Right! First things first, we have to get to the ship!" He typed in some coordinates, along with a message for Amy, before throwing a lever and zooming them off.
The TARDIS thrashed around violently when they arrived outside the ship. Lightning bolts rang down on the time machine and they were tossed around by the storm. The Doctor and Alex clung to the console and railing respectively, as the Doctor tried to get the TARDIS to land on the ship, but he was unable to get a good lock on the structure, what with it crashing and all.
"We can't land there!" he shouted to Alex as he ran around the console. "The ship's crashing and the TARDIS can't get a good lock on it. But we can do something else."
"And what would that be?" Alex questioned, nearly getting knocked off her feet as the TARDIS took a sudden and sharp left turn.
"That storm outside isn't natural! We're in a cloud belt and someone's controlling it!" The Doctor typed a bunch of commands into the typewriter and a moment later, something popped up on the monitor. He pulled it over and beamed. "Oh, thank you, dear!" he called to the time-ship. "You're marvelous!"
The TARDIS hummed delightedly while Alex tried not to feel jealous of a sentient time machine. Honestly, this jealousy trait of hers was getting out of hand.
A moment later, they landed. The Doctor bounded down the stairs, Alex hot on his heels. Opening the door, they found themselves on the roof of a large Victorian manor, the gray, storming sky above them. Also on the roof was a large spire that towered over them. An energy beam was shooting out of it and disappearing into the clouds.
Alex stared at it. "What is it?" she breathed.
"A way to control the cloud layer," the Doctor answered. "Someone's controlling it, and that same person is putting the Ponds and everyone on that ship in danger." He looked around for a way to get down into the house, finally spotting a chimney on one side of the roof. His face lit into a grin. There was a chimney . . . and it was Christmas. . .
Alex noticed his maniac grinning and followed his gaze over to the chimney. She frowned. "Oh no!" she declared, shaking her head. "I know exactly what you're thinking and if you think I'm doing it, you're out of your bleeding mind!"
"Oh, come on, Ally," the Doctor smirked. "Live a little. Besides, it'll be fun!"
Alex shook her head. Fun, indeed.
~Living the Life of Ally~
"Look, petal, we already have a surplus population!" an old man snapped into the phone. He, a few of his servants, and a family dressed in rags were currently in his dark and dreary study/command center, the command center everyone was trying to get him to shut down. The frown already on the man's face intensified as the person on the other line started to object. "No more people allowed on this planet!" the man barked. "I don't make the rules."
Right at that moment, some soot fell down the chimney, unnoticed by all except for the little boy in the family.
"Oh no, hang on, I do!" With that, the man hung up the phone. He turned to the family. "Right, you lot," he sneered. "Poor, begging people. Off home and pray for a miracle."
But right then, a large amount of soot fell into the fireplace. It extinguished the fire and caused a bunch of embers and ash to tumble out onto the floor. Following this was none other than the Doctor, completely drenched in soot. As the Doctor coughed and got to his feet, another round of soot fell as Alex landed in the fireplace on her butt, covered head to toe in soot.
She glared at the Doctor as she got up. "Follow me down the chimney, he said!" she cried, marching over to the Doctor, a fierce glare on her face and fire in her eyes. "It'll be fun, he said! Well, I'll tell you something right now, mister! It was NOT fun! In fact, it was a big, disgusting, bloody shi—"
"Kid in the room!" the Doctor hissed, nodding to the young boy before Alex could say the rather vulgar 'shitfest'.
Alex looked over at the young boy and the vulgar word died on her lips. "Right. . . Well, better explain what we're doing here then."
The Doctor nodded. "Ah. Yes. Blimey." He turned to address the group. "Sorry! Christmas Eve on a rooftop. Saw a chimney, my whole brain just went, 'What the hell'!"
What the hell, indeed, Alex thought, brushing more soot off her jacket and jeans.
She watched as the Doctor went over to the family. The family, all dressed in tattered and faded clothing, consisted of the young boy, a young girl around his age, an older man that was probably the children's father, and an elderly woman who was most likely the children's grandmother. "Don't worry, fat fellow will be doing the rounds later," the Doctor said to the children. "We're just scoping out the general chimney-ness." He moved back over to the chimney and leaned against it. "Yes. Nice size, good traction. . ." He trailed off as the chimney burned his hand and he jumped back. "Big tick!"
"There was a fire roaring in there, genius," Alex said, rolling her eyes.
"Fat fellow?" the dad in the family repeated before the Doctor could try to retort.
"Father Christmas," the Doctor said, "Santa Claus or, as I've always known him, Jeff."
The young boy shook his head in protest. "There's no such person as Father Christmas!"
"Oh, yeah?" the Doctor challenged, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a black and white photograph. He held it out to the boy while Alex hurried over to get a look at it. The picture showed the Doctor, someone who appeared to be Frank Sinatra, Santa Claus . . . er, Jeff, and another guy with crazy white hair. "Me and Father 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."
Alex gaped up at him. "You mean he really exists? You really know Santa?!"
The Doctor grinned at her. "Impressed, Ally?"
"Immensely," Alex beamed. Then her smile soured as something occurred to her. "Tell your friend he owes me a Barbie Dream House from when I was nine." Actually, Santa owed her a LOT of Christmas presents. The holidays with Carla weren't exactly festive. Far from it. Her idea of Christmas was getting drunk on store-bought eggnog and drunkenly dancing to Christmas carols on the radio until she either passed out or the neighbors called the cops. Alex had spent most of the time in her room, reading Christmas-centered books over and over again where the characters were miserable at the start, but blossomed at the end, all the while wishing she could be like them.
The Doctor saw pain flash through her eyes at the memory of what must have been a terrible Christmas (or more). He winced, wishing, not for the first time, that he could have been there for her. He wished he had stayed in Bristol for the thirteen years Alex was there, just looking out for her until she was old enough that he could take her away with him forever. Of course, he couldn't do that. It would cause a mega paradox. But he could try to make it up to her.
"Of course, Ally," he smiled, meaning every word of it. While he rather doubted 21-year-old Alex would get much use from a Barbie Dream House, if it made her happy, he didn't care. "But it'll have to wait. Because. . ." He whirled around to face what looked like a giant organ, only this organ had a bunch of futuristic panels on it, covered with dials, switches, and buttons.
"Ooh! Now, what's this then?" he exclaimed, grabbing Alex's hand and pulling her along after him. "I love this! A big flashy lighty thing!" He sat down in a swivel chair in front of the device, pulling Alex down to sit in his lap. "That's what brought us here. Big flashy lighty things have got us written all over them. Not actually, but give me time, and a crayon."
"No!" Alex objected, eyes wide. "Do not, under any circumstances, give him a crayon." Before she'd started reading to him a few hours ago, she had given him a coloring book and a box of crayons she'd found, something for him to do to cease his boredom while she read. This being the Doctor. . . Well, it hadn't ended well. Alex shuddered to think of how long it would take to scrub the scribblings off the irate TARDIS's walls.
The Doctor rolled his eyes, pointedly ignoring her. "Now," he continued, "this big flashy lighty thing is connected to the spire in your dome, yeah?"
"And it controls the sky," Alex helpfully added.
The Doctor nodded at her. "Good job, Ally. Although, technically, it controls the clouds, which aren't clouds at all." He nudged her off his lap and got up, keeping hold of her hand as he paced over to a large metal box on the side of the room. "Well, they're clouds of tiny particles of ice. Ice clouds. Love that." They rounded the front of the box, allowing them to see an unconscious blonde-haired woman inside it, seemingly frozen. "Who's she?" the Doctor questioned.
"Nobody important," the old man retorted.
"Nobody important," the Doctor repeated, incredulous. "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." He turned to smile at Alex, causing her cheeks to turn so red, they were visible even under all the soot on her face.
The Doctor and Alex went back over to the console, the Doctor leaning over to examine it more closely. "Now, this console is the key to saving that ship, or I'll eat my hat. If I had a hat. I'll eat someone's hat."
"Will you eat that ugly fez I saw you eyeing at that market in 1900 India?" Alex smirked, remembering the Doctor's 'hat-envy' when he saw someone in the market wearing the same hat he so desired.
The Doctor frowned at her as he started playing with some of the switches on the console. "Fezzes are cool, Ally. And no, not someone who's using their hat. I don't want to shock a nun, or something. Sorry, rambling, because . . . because this isn't working!"
"The controls are isomorphic," the old man called over. "One to one. They respond only to me."
"Oh, you fibber," the Doctor accused, remembering the times he'd told his companions the TARDIS controls were isomorphic just to keep them from touching the console. "Isomorphic. There's no such thing!"
The old man just rolled his eyes and calmly walked over to them. Acting like he didn't have a care in the world, he reached over and flicked a switch. The machine shut down. He flicked the same switch again. This time, the machine turned back on. As he stepped away, the Doctor reached over and tried the same switch. All this resulted in was a bunch of beeps. Frowning, the Doctor reached over and grabbed Alex's sonic necklace, his lifting of the device causing Alex to stumble closer to him, to where she was nestled in his side. Still, even with a sonic device, nothing happened.
The Doctor released the necklace, letting it drop back down to Alex's collarbone. "These controls are isomorphic!" he exclaimed.
Alex rolled her eyes. "No. Really? Never would've guessed."
"The skies of this entire world are mine," the old man informed them before the Doctor could try and form a retort to Alex's sarcasm. "My family tamed them, and now I own them."
"Tamed the sky?" the Doctor repeated. "What does that mean?"
"It means I'm Kazran Sardick," the old man boasted. "How can you possibly not know who I am?"
"Well, just easily bored, I suppose," the Doctor shrugged, not really caring whether or not he was being rude. "So, we need your help, then."
"Make an appointment," Kazran retorted, waving them off.
The Doctor frowned at him. "There are 4,003 people in a spaceship trapped in your cloud belt."
"Two of them our best friends," Alex jumped in, glowering at the man. "Without your help, they'll die!"
"Yes," Kazran agreed.
"You don't have to let that happen," the Doctor told him.
"I know, but I'm going to. Bye, bye. Bored now. . . Chuck!"
Immediately, one of the servants straightened to attention and marched over to the Doctor and Alex. He grabbed the Doctor by one elbow and Alex by the arm before leading them out.
However, the Doctor was able to wriggle out of the man's grasp and, after a few sharp kicks to the man's ankle, Alex got free as well. The two hurried over to Kazran, who was calmly settling down in a large leather chair by the fireplace.
"Ooo, look at you, looking all tough now," Kazran wryly laughed.
"There are 4,003 people we won't allow to die tonight," the Doctor said, ignoring the dig. "Do you know where that puts you?"
"Where?"
Alex smiled, knowing where the Doctor was going. "4,004."
Kazran's eyes narrowed at them. "Was that a sort of threaty thing?"
"Whatever happens tonight," the Doctor continued, ignoring the question, "remember you brought it on yourself."
"Yeah, yeah, right," Kazran said, nervously clearing his throat, the duo's words having got to him, though he would never admit it. "Get them out of here! And next time, try and find me some funny poor people."
The Doctor and Alex were grabbed by two more servants who led them towards the door, along with the family. However, the young boy copied their earlier moves and broke free of the servant holding on to him. He ran into the middle of the room, quickly spotting a lump of coal that had rolled out when the Doctor and Alex made their little entrance by fireplace. He picked it up and hurled it at Kazran, the lump hitting the old man square on the head.
Kazran whirled around, an angry look on his face. He stormed over to the young lad, who was currently frozen in place. Everyone watched, horrified, as Kazran raised a hand to hit him.
"No, stop, don't!" the Doctor shouted, thrashing around as he tried to break free of his guard.
"Get away from him!" Alex cried.
"Don't you dare!" the father in the family shouted. "You leave him!"
Alex tensely watched as Kazran's hand froze in the air. It shook a little, as if Kazran was unsure whether to actually go through with the hit. After a tense few seconds, Kazran lowered his hand. "Get him out of here!" he ordered. "Get that foul-smelling family out of here! Out!"
"We're going!" the boy cried as he and the rest of his family were pushed out the door.
Kazran stalked back over to his chair but stopped when he saw the Doctor and Alex still standing in the room, their guards having left them along to escort the family out. "What? What do you want?"
"A simple life," the Doctor answered. Preferably with Ally, he added silently. "But you didn't hit the boy."
"Well, I will next time!"
The Doctor shook his head. "You see, you won't. Now why?" He tugged Alex along as he began to pace. "What am I missing?"
"Get out," Kazran ordered. "Get out of this house!"
The Doctor ignored him, instead choosing to look around the room. His gaze traveled over to a large portrait on one of the walls. It was of a terrifying looking man, a Christmas tree in the background. He then eyed the rest of the room. He noticed that all the chairs were facing the same way, not one of them looking at the portrait. He then looked down at Alex, who had also noticed all this. The two looked at each-other, both thinking the very same thing.
"The chairs," they said together.
"The chairs!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Of course, the chairs! Stupid me, the chairs." He leaned down and kissed Alex on the forehead, murmuring, "You're brilliant," in her ear.
Kazran looked at them confusedly. "The chairs?"
"There's a portrait on the wall behind me," the Doctor explained, nodding to the menacing painting. "Looks like you, but it's too old, so it's your father."
"All the chairs are angled away from it," Alex picked up, waving a hand at the chairs.
"Daddy's been dead for twenty years," the Doctor jumped in, "but you still can't get comfortable where he can see you. 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?"
"Why?"
"Because you didn't hit the boy," Alex answered, having already figured this out.
The Doctor smiled in agreement. "Merry Christmas, Mr. Sardick."
"I despise Christmas!" Kazran snapped.
"You shouldn't," the Doctor said. "It's very you."
"It's what?" Kazran frowned. "What do you mean?"
But the Doctor only smiled mysteriously. "Halfway out of the dark," he murmured, just before the servants arrived and grabbed him and Alex, taking them out of the room.
Kazran watched them for a moment before turning to look at the large metal box with the woman inside it. "Get her downstairs with the others," he commanded. "And clean up this mess."
~Living the Life of Ally~
"Have you got a plan yet?" Amy asked over the comm the Doctor had managed to connect to her.
"Yes, I do," the Doctor affirmed. At the moment, he and Alex were walking through Sardicktown. It was a large, bustling place that reminded Alex of Dickensian London. Cobblestones decorated the streets, and all the wooden houses were close together, a real fire hazard, though in the future, it was likely they had done something to the houses to prevent this.
"Alex, is he lying?"
Alex laughed. "What do you think, Amy?"
"I think I'd better start writing out my will."
"Was he lying?" they heard Rory distantly ask.
"No, no," Amy lied.
"Okay, the good news," the Doctor began. "I've tracked the machine that unlocks the cloud belt. I could use it to clear you a flight corridor and you could land easily."
"Oh, hey! Hey, that's great news!" Amy cheered.
"But I can't control the machine," the Doctor added.
A short silence and then, "Less great."
"But we've met a man who can!" the Doctor said enthusiastically.
"Ah well, there you go!"
"But he hates the Doctor," Alex revealed.
"Were you being extra charming and clever?" Amy asked the Doctor.
"Yeah," the Doctor confirmed, looking rather surprised that Amy had guessed this. "How did you know?"
"Lucky guess."
"Sir, ma'am!" a new voice called out. The duo turned to see the father of the family they had encountered a few minutes prior rushing over to them.
"Hang on," the Doctor murmured to Amy just as the man approached.
"I've never seen anybody stand up to Mr. Sardick like that!" the man gushed as he shook their hands. "Bless you sir, bless you, ma'am, and merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas," Alex smiled.
The Doctor nodded his agreement, though he looked more frazzled and worried than jolly. "Lovely. Sorry, bit busy."
"You and your wife better get inside, sir," the man continued. "The fog's thick tonight, and there's a fish warning."
"All right, yeah," the Doctor agreed.
Alex only blinked. "Fish?" she skeptically repeated.
"Yeah," the man nodded. "You know what they're like when they get a bit hungry."
The Doctor nodded along, although anyone could tell he was just as confused as Alex. "Yeah, fish, we know fish. Fish?"
"It's all Mr. Sardick's fault, I reckon," the man explained. "He always lets a few fish through the cloud layer when he's in a bad mood. Thank you. Bless you once again, sir, ma'am." With that, the man went off.
Once he was out of earshot, the Doctor and Alex turned to each-other. "Fish?" they simultaneously wondered.
"Doctor," Amy's voice rang out. "The captain says we've got less than an hour. What should we be doing?"
But the two barely heard her, for at that moment, they spotted a bunch of tiny fish actually swimming around a nearby streetlamp. Alex marveled at the sight while the Doctor murmured, "Fish."
"Sorry, what?" Amy questioned, obviously confused by the change in topic.
"Fish that can swim in fog," Alex murmured, trying to wrap her head around such a thing.
The Doctor looked down at her and grinned. "Don't you just love new planets, Ally?"
"Doctor. Doctor! Alex, please don't let him get distracted!"
"Now, why would people be frightened of you tiny little fellows?" the Doctor wondered, holding out his fingers so that the fish could nibble on them. Alex, a little bit more wary, stayed slightly behind the Doctor, though that didn't stop some of the fish from circling her legs. "Look at you, sweet little fishy-wishies. Mind you, fish in a fog, so the cloud cover. . ."
"Ooh," Alex winced, knowing what he was thinking. "Amy, be careful up there!"
"Oh, great, thanks, Alex, because there was a real danger we were all going to nod off!" Amy retorted. "We've got less than an hour!"
Right at that moment, a nearby clock stuck eleven. The Doctor glanced at it as it bonged the hour. "I know," he said, his voice slightly grim.
"Ding dong merrily on high!" a singer's voice rang out from nearby loudspeakers.
"Doctor? Alex? How are you getting us off here?" Amy questioned.
"Oh, just give me a minute!" the Doctor cried as he began to pace.
"We can't use the TARDIS," Alex frowned, "because you said it couldn't lock on."
The Doctor nodded in agreement. "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."
"Doctor, I can't hear you," Amy protested. "What is that? Is that singing?"
"This whole thing is like A Christmas Carol," Alex said absently.
The Doctor stopped in his tracks. "A Christmas Carol," he murmured, thinking this over.
"A what?"
"A Christmas Carol. . ." he murmured again.
"A what?" Amy called again.
"A CHRISTMAS CAROL!" the Doctor shouted in delight. He whirled around and rushed over to Alex. "Alex Locke, you are brilliant!" He kissed her forehead while Alex smiled, having a good guess as to what he was thinking.
"Hosanna in excelsis!" the carol continued.
"Doctor?" Amy questioned.
"Gloria. . ."
"Kazran Sardick," the Doctor smirked at Alex.
"Doctor!"
But the Doctor only ignored her. "Merry Christmas, Kazran Sardick," he beamed, before leading Alex back to the TARDIS.
"Hosanna in excelsis!"
~Living the Life of Ally~
"So, we're going back in time to try and change Kazran from bad to good?" Alex asked as the Doctor ran around the console.
"Exactly, Ally!"
Alex's brow furrowed. "But won't that cause a paradox? I mean, messing with a person's timeline. . . You told me when we were with Van Gogh that it was really risky."
"Yes, but that was with Vincent Van Gogh," the Doctor said as he typed some coordinates in. "Special circumstances. Here, we're dealing with a mostly average citizen. As long as we get the same outcome in the future – Kazran being in control of the cloud belt – we're good."
Alex nodded. "Okay, I think I got that. So where do we start?"
"First, we have to determine why Kazran became the way he did. I believe the answer to that lies with his father."
"Makes sense," Alex agreed. Her hometown, as great as it was, had some horrible citizens, some worse than Carla. Alex had gone to school with classmates whose parents were in prison, made meth in their basements, were alcoholics and/or druggies, and some who did horrible things to their kids in their bedrooms late at night. Alex could see that all those kids were affected by these things, and it wasn't for the better.
Now, Alex shrugged off her bomber jacket, wincing as a large mound of soot and ash dripped onto the glass floor. "Um, I'm going to go change. When we do go back in Kazran's timeline, I don't want to be looking like a Santa-in-training."
"Or a Locke Ness," the Doctor quipped.
Alex blinked. "Sorry, what?"
This time, the Doctor turned to face her. "Locke Ness? Hot mess?"
Alex groaned. "This wouldn't have anything to do with the 'pond water' joke you made during our adventure on Base Diana, would it?"
"You were lucky I didn't make a comparison to 'locke and key' or something."
Alex laughed. "Okay, Doc. Fair enough. Now, I'd better go from looking like a Locke Ness to hot."
~Living the Life of Ally~
Kazran slept in his big easy chair, rather exhausted from the pressures being a miser/almost dictator bring. Just then, a recording began playing on the wall in front of him.
"Hello, my name is Kazran Sardick," a young Kazran said into the camera. "I'm twelve and a half, and this is my bedroom."
"Top secret special project," the elder Kazran murmured as his subconscious detected the recording.
"This is my top secret special project. For my eyes only. Merry Christmas!"
"KAZRAN!"
The sound of this all-too familiar voice caused Kazran to awaken. He stared in shock at the recording, watching his younger self turn from eager and excited to utterly terrified.
"Kazran! Kazran, what are you doing?" his father demanded as he entered young Kazran's bedroom. "What are you doing?" He peered at the camera, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "I've warned you before about this, you stupid, ignorant, ridiculous child!"
"I was just going to make a film of the fish," young Kazran whimpered.
"The fish are dangerous!" his father snapped.
"I just want to see them!"
"Don't be stupid," his father protested. "You're far too young."
"Everyone at school's seen the fish!" young Kazran argued.
"That's enough! You'll be singing to them next, like gypsies."
"The singing works!" young Kazran protested. "I've seen it! The fish like the singing."
"What does it matter what fish like?"
"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!" Then, as if to punctuate this, he hit the young boy. The elder Kazran flinched and rubbed his cheek, remembering the sharp sting that had lasted for hours.
"OW!" young Kazran cried out, before dissolving into tears. "I'm sorry, Father!"
"This is my house! While you're under my roof, you'll obey my instructions! I don't care what you. . ."
The Doctor and Alex stepped up behind Kazran. Alex turned away from the video, trying to hide her tears. That young boy had been horribly treated by someone who was supposed to love him and care for him. She'd buried her face in the Doctor's jacket at the slapping part, unable to see it, though just hearing it wasn't any better. She winced, watching as the Kazran on the video buried his head into his folded arms on the desk while his father stood by, watching with a detached interest.
The Doctor kept one arm wrapped around Alex's back as they stepped closer to Kazran. He knew seeing the video had affected her. It had affected him, too. He had heard and seen child abuse before in his travels and, though it was hardly ever mentioned, there had been some on Gallifrey as well, thankfully not with his family, but with the Master's, which may have influenced the man more than anything. He glanced up at the crying Kazran on the video. His hearts pained. How could people be so heartless?
This thought in mind, he reached out with his free hand to touch Kazran on the shoulder. "It's okay. It's okay," he murmured.
Kazran jumped, tugged free of his grasp, and whirled around to glare at them. "What have you done?" he demanded. "What is this?"
"Found it on an old drive," the Doctor answered. "Sorry about the picture quality. Had to recover the data using quantum enfolding and a paperclip."
"Don't bother calling your servants. They quit," Alex called as Kazran moved towards the bell. "Apparently," she continued, casting a mischievous look at the Doctor, "they all won the lottery at the exact same time."
"A bit lucky when you think about it," the Doctor added, shooting Alex a conspiratorial smile.
"There isn't a lottery," Kazran protested.
"Yeah, as I say, lucky."
"There's a fog warning tonight," Kazran's father continued on the video. "You keep these windows closed, understand? Closed."
"Who are you?" Kazran asked them.
"Tonight," the Doctor smirked, "I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past."
"Mrs. Mantovani will be looking after you tonight," Kazran's father added. "You stay here till she comes. Do you understand? Do you understand?" Young Kazran didn't respond, for his head was still buried in the desk, his sobs echoing out.
"Did you ever get to see a fish back then?" Alex asked, watching this. "When you were a kid?"
"What does that matter to you?" Kazran glared.
"Look how it mattered to you," the Doctor said, nodding his head at the video.
Kazran turned to look at the video, his expression unemotional. "I cried all night," he told them, "and I learned life's most invaluable lesson."
"Ah," the Doctor nodded. "Which is?"
"Nobody comes," Kazran said sourly. "Get out! Get out of my house!"
The Doctor's arm around Alex tightened a little as he backed her up. "Okay. Okay," he agreed, "but we'll be back. Way back. Way, way back." They backed into the room the TARDIS was in and rushed inside.
The Doctor leapt up to the console, turning to grin at Alex. "Ready to surprise a twelve-year-old, Ally?"
"Twelve and a half, Doc," Alex corrected. "And yes, yes I am! Let's go!"
A/N: And here's the first part of 'A Christmas Carol'! This episode will be five chapters long, with a possibly epilogue chapter after that. Then, this story will be over! :(
Some notes on reviews. . .
Timeywimey12 - Not until the sequel, no. :)
ShadowTeir - Glad you liked the possessive moments! There will be more in this episode, between the Doctor and Alex. :)
Gwilwillith - I know! Yeah, I don't want it to end either. :(
TheUltimateGuest - Yes, only 5-6 days left! It'll take me a little while to write the sequel, but I hope to have it up before Christmas. :)
ElysiumPhoenix - We'll have to wait and see if the getting-together is in the finale or not. Lol, no, I don't practice being a tease. :) Glad you liked the possession moments and Alex's chat with Sarah Jane. I felt like it was important for her to talk to someone who knew what she was going through with her feelings for the Doctor. And the possessive parts came because it's Jack. :)
We're All M-M-Mad Here - Glad you liked that part! Don't worry, they will tell each-other eventually. :)
mayfire21 - Thank you! I can't wait to reveal the title of the sequel! I think it'll make you all think and ponder it while I'm writing the sequel. :)
Guest - Thank you for the advice! Like I've said before, it means a lot. :) I agree, those stories are kind of old. I have an idea for a Whovian OC story, but she probably won't get written for a while, if I even write her at all. Yes, the progression for this story is normal. I'll say that in OC stories I have planned for the future, the relationship won't take as long as it does here to happen. Lol, the majority of this story is already written up, so that's how I can post every day! I just have to finish up the last few bits of 'A Christmas Carol', which I should get done with in the next 2 days. :)
lalala00123 - They're my ship too! But we've still got a few chapters to go on this, so we'll see what happens. :) No, I didn't know that! I thought they were two separate species where they both lived pretty long, but only the Time Lords could regenerate. :)
jesterlover - I know, I so want a sonic necklace! :)
rycbar15 - Don't worry, I'm not going to forget. I hate when people do that. :)
SopherGopherroxursox - I know, I hate that it's ending too. But I'm going to try my hardest to get the sequel posted up real soon. And you all can enjoy the new OC story I'm launching in the next couple weeks. :) Yes, she did get into them first... Must've been more on her mind than just saving the kids. :)
SopherGopher'sAwesomeSister - I don't want it to end either! :( But, Q&A time! :) The Doctor doesn't meet other Time Lords in his travels because they're all in the Time War which was time-locked, meaning they can't go anywhere and they can't escape the time-lock. And, unfortunately, the Doctor can regenerate into a girl. It was said in 'The Doctor's Wife' that his friend the Corsair regenerated into a girl a couple times. Hopefully, that won't happen to the Doctor. I don't think Alex could take it. :)
