Christmas was a hard time for Jackie. The knowledge that everyone was getting together with their loved ones, and she didn't know if her daughter was dead or alive, had soured the last one tremendously. When Rose had come back, she was so sure that she was going to turn the next one into something to celebrate, and yet there she was again; placing presents underneath her Christmas tree without knowing whether Rose was alive. She had been gone for so long without a word, yet again, and it was hard to keep being positive.

She wasn't sure what it said about her life when she heard the TARDIS engines she was filled with happiness, but she was and instead of thinking too much about it, she ran out of her flat, out onto the courtyard outside, where she saw Mickey running the opposite way from work.

"Mickey!" she cried and he spotted her, running over in his overalls and hat.

"Jackie, it's the TARDIS," he replied, confirming her suspicions.

"I know, I know, I heard it," she replied. "She's alive, Mickey. I said so, didn't I? She's alive!"

"Just shut up a minute," he said, shushing her as the TARDIS didn't materialise, despite the fact they could both hear it.

"Well, where is it then?" she demanded, as if he knew.

Above them, it flashed into existence and it was obvious, even before it bounced off one of the blocks of flats, that something was wrong. It smashed into another, and then another, before finally landing on the ground in front of a mail van. The door opened as they rushed over and man stepped out, wearing a leather jacket but who very much wasn't the Doctor.

"Here we are then, London. Earth. The Solar System. I did it," he cried before seeing the two. He grinned widely. "Jackie. Mickey. Blimey!" he continued before pointing at the two, his happy look dropping to a confused one. "No, no, no, no, hold on. Wait there. I've got something to say. There was something I had to tell you, something important. What was it?" He grabbed them both on a shoulder, bringing them in close as he tried to remember. "No, hold on, hold on. Hold on, shush, shush, shush, shush." Then, as suddenly as his mood had changed, it changed back and he was happy once again. "Oh, I know! Merry Christmas!"

Then he passed out. Mickey tried to catch him, but only managed to soften his fall as he dropped to the ground. The TARDIS door opened again and Rose stepped out, looking down at the man on the ground. "What happened?" she asked, bringing their attention to her as she rushed over. "Is he alright?"

"I don't know, he just keeled over," Mickey replied. "But who is he? Where's the Doctor?"

"That's him, right in front of you," she said softly. "That's the Doctor."

"What do you mean, that's the Doctor?" Jackie demanded, confused. "Doctor who?"

"The Doctor, mum. The Doctor," Rose replied, a little exasperated and a lot worn out. The door opened again and Danielle stepped out, looking just as shaken up as Rose seemed.

"Doctor!" she cried out, seeing him on the floor. She rushed over as well, but crouched down. She had absolutely no idea what was happening, all she had seen was that the Doctor hadn't known either. He'd tried to fight the manic way that he'd flown the TARDIS, and the crash landing they'd been in, but he hadn't been able to. She placed the back of her hand on his face. "He feels warm," she said before looking up at Rose. "Should he feel warm?"

"How should I know?" she retorted before looking around. "We need to move him before someone notices."

She was right, of course. "Your flat?" Danielle suggested and she nodded. Danielle took a deep breath, trying to calm herself then she looked at Mickey. The Doctor was still a full-grown man, after all. "Fancy helping?"

~0~0~0~

Rose's flat had been the best place to take him, as not only did they have a spare room, but her mum and Mickey also had more experience with all things alien than Danielle's mum did. That was, of course, if she was even going to be home for Christmas, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Jackie had insisted on getting him out of his clothes and into some pyjamas to make him comfortable, which had been an awkward idea that Danielle had stayed away from. Everything felt so awkward around him. He'd held onto her so tightly as they'd crashed, but his arms felt different. He looked so different. He seemed so… different.

Soon he was tucked up in the bed, though, still unconscious. He looked rather vulnerable and she and Rose didn't move from his side, even though neither of them knew what to do. They'd not said a word to each other, but what was there to say? They had nothing to add, nothing to inform the other.

Jackie came into the room with a stethoscope. "Here we go. Tina the cleaner's got this lodger, a medical student, and she was fast asleep, so I just took it." She handed it to Rose. "Though I still say we should take him to hospital."

She looked at her mother. "We can't. They'd lock him up. They'd dissect him. One bottle of his blood could change the future of the human race." Jackie opened her mouth to protest. "No! Shush!"

Jackie did as she was told as Rose checked both the left and right side of his chest. "Are they…" Danielle started and Rose nodded.

"Both working," she confirmed and Danielle sighed slightly in relief. That was good to know. Neither of them knew how important the two hearts were to his health, but it was the only thing they definitely knew about him, so it was the only thing they could monitor.

"What do you mean, both?" Jackie asked.

"Well, he's got two hearts," Rose explained.

Jackie's nose scrunched up. "Oh, don't be stupid."

She rolled her eyes, just like a teenager whose mother was really annoying her. "He has," she replied before standing up and leaving the room.

"Anything else he's got two of?"

Rose stopped and pointed the stethoscope at her. "Leave him alone," she warned. Jackie was quick to follow her, leaving Danielle alone on the bed with him.

She couldn't help but stare. It was strange, wasn't it? To just be able to change your face instead of dying? She shifted on the bed, leaning on her side a little so she could get a closer look. There didn't seem to be much of his face left. The sideburns were impressive, though.

His mouth opened and she was startled back as some more of the golden dust came out of his mouth. She watched it float out of the window, and she wasn't sure if she was supposed to tell anyone. He'd done that on the TARDIS, too, though and it hadn't concerned him. Perhaps it was normal?

She had to laugh; normal. What the hell was normal, anymore? Her life hadn't been normal since she'd first seen the TARDIS in the courtyard.

She was hesitant, but she reached out and ran her fingertips down his face. He had the faintest hint of stubble, and he still felt a little warm. His hair was rather nice, though. Rather thick, like she could run her fingers through it. His voice had been different, as well. He didn't sound Northern anymore. What else had changed? Was it just the outside? His mannerisms seemed a little different, he'd seemed to have a lot more energy than he had done, but he had said the change had been going wrong? Was that down to that?

Did his personality change as well? He'd loved her banana bread; would he now hate it? Would he like to sleep all the time now? Would he still like her?

Tears filled her eyes and she didn't know what else to do except lie on the pillow next to him, looking at his profile from the side. She didn't mind the change in look – in fact, even though she'd like the old face, this one was rather nice to look at too – she just was terrified about what else had changed as well.

She sniffed. "Please be okay, sweetie," she pleaded in a whisper.

And, although he couldn't hear anything through the darkness and the sleep his body needed, somehow her whisper made it through and it made him smile.

~0~0~0~

Rose couldn't stay in the room with the Doctor. Unlike Danielle, who was intrigued as much as she was confused, she felt uncomfortable. Like he'd kept a giant secret from her, but he wouldn't, because he was her friend. It was different to feeling betrayed, so she didn't want to put that label on it, but she also didn't know what else to call it. And, until she could think of something, she just decided that keeping herself busy by finding herself something to eat.

She opened the fridge, knowing her mum wasn't far behind her. "How can he go changing his face?" she asked. "Is that a different face or is he a different person?"

Rose slammed the door shut. "How should I know?" she snapped angrily before catching herself. Her mum was just being interested, so knew that. It was strange for all of them, and she was only angry because she knew she couldn't answer them. "Sorry," she apologised. "The thing is, I thought I knew him, Mum." She could feel the tears in her eyes so she wiped them away. "And then he goes and does this. I keep forgetting he's not human."

She realised that she wasn't ready to confront the idea that the man in the other room was her friend, and instead took hold of her mum's hands. "The big question is; where'd you get a pair of men's pyjamas from?"

"Howard's been staying over," Jackie replied.

"What, Howard from the market?" she asked, her nose scrunching up just like her mother's would. "How long's that been going on?"

Jackie leant on the kitchen counter. "A month or so. First of all, he starts delivering to the door and I thought, that's odd. Next thing you know, it's a bag of oranges…"

Rose was very much interested in what she had missed when she was away, but she was pulled away by the voice coming in from the television. "Is that Harriet Jones?"

It was rather nice to see the woman on television, now Prime Minster and still as polite as ever. For some reason, even though she had only met her because of aliens, it was rather reassuring to see something so very human happening. She had travelled to the future, to the stars, but humanity was still sending probes to Mars.

Jackie glanced behind her when she realised her daughter was more interested in the news than her. "Should I go tell her mother she's here?" she asked Rose.

"Nah, don't bother," Rose told her, sitting down and getting comfortable. "I don't think she cares, much."

Jackie sat down with her. "You know, when you were missing, she came 'round with brownies. Real nice they were. Said she remembered you from school but I didn't know she was in your class."

"We weren't friends then," she offered.

"Her mum was never at any parent evenings," Jackie continued. "I'm not sure if I could pick her out on the street."

"I think she travels a lot," Rose said, because she wasn't sure. Danielle hadn't really mentioned her, much. Just that she travelled for work. "I don't think they're close."

"Shame, that," her mum replied and Rose agreed. She couldn't imagine not having a close relationship with her mum. As annoying as it could be at times, she loved it. "So, she doesn't know about, well, you know?"

Rose did know. She'd mentioned the last time they'd come home that the Doctor and Danielle had been like school children, holding hands and smiling shyly. "I don't even think she knows she's gone travelling," she explained. She glanced at the door to the bedroom where the pair still were. "I'm not sure it matters, now."

"So, you think he'll change his mind?" Jackie asked and Rose shrugged.

"I really don't know."

~0~0~0~

Mickey managed to convince Rose to go shopping with him, after all it was almost Christmas and she hadn't had a chance to buy any presents, with only having maybe five minutes notice that she was going to skip over to the holiday in the first place. Danielle opted to say behind, and Rose didn't argue. She just wanted to be away from the Doctor and a trip to the market felt the best way to do it.

Jackie peeked in on her. She hadn't really moved from the Doctor's side, choosing instead to lie on the pillow next to him, watching him closely as if expecting some massive change. It was cute, and a little sad, if Jackie had to put words to it. She wasn't lying particularly close, or holding his hand, she just obviously didn't want to leave his side.

"Hey, sweetheart," she said softly as she stepped in the room. Danielle propped herself up on her elbow. "Any change?"

Danielle shook her. "Nothing," she said. "Which, I'm not sure is a good or bad thing. He doesn't seem to be getting any worse, I suppose."

There was a small silence as Danielle looked him over again. "It's so strange," she whispered. "The more I look at him, the more like the Doctor he looks."

Jackie motioned to the dining room. "I've just made some food. Just instant mash and sausages, nothing special. Come have sommat to eat."

Danielle smiled. "I couldn't eat your food, Mrs Tyler."

"Rubbish," she dismissed. "You can do the washing afterwards. Come on, he won't thank you for starving yourself."

Danielle looked down at the Doctor again. Nothing had changed since they'd brought him up to Rose's flat, but she wasn't sure if leaving him alone was the best thing to do. Then again, she hadn't eaten in a while. He wouldn't be happy if she starved herself, would he?

She nodded. "Alright," she agreed and Jackie led the way to the kitchen, where she dished out their food before the pair headed to the dining room to eat together.

Instant mash and sausages didn't exactly make the best meal on the planet, but when smothered in gravy there was something about it that Danielle really loved. Soon enough, her plate was almost clear and she realised that she hadn't spoken the entire time. Luckily, Jackie could talk to the walls and keep a conversation so it didn't last long.

"Did you not fancy going shopping?" she asked and Danielle shook her head.

"One of us needed to stay," she explained. "I- I didn't feel right about leaving him, but Rose deserved a break. After all, if it wasn't for her then we couldn't have saved him in the first place."

"Is it really him, though?" she asked.

Danielle paused for a moment, considering everything she had seen, not only on the TARDIS when the Doctor had changed but everything else as well. All the aliens and the bad and the good. Jack, who was most definitely dead, and all the people that they'd saved. That the Doctor had saved.

She nodded. "It is him," she said softly. "I mean, he changed bodies, and I've not managed to hold a conversation with him, but that is the Doctor." She looked down at her plate, suddenly not wanting the few bites that were left. "He'll be alright," she said softly. "He probably just needs a rest."

"Do you want me to go get your mum?" Jackie asked her. "I did ask Rose, but she said not to."

"No, it's fine," she replied before smiling again. "Thank you, though, Mrs Tyler."

It was nice to have someone be concerned about her, but the last thing Danielle wanted was to explain everything to her mother. If she was even home. She really had no idea, she rarely did. Instead she took the plates and started the washing up that was part of their deal, and Jackie let it drop.

The doorbell rang as she was drying up. "Oh, isn't that lovely?" she heard Jackie say as she answered it. A moment later she appeared in the kitchen. "Come help me move this, love."

Danielle dutifully followed her out the door to where a rather large, pre-decorated tree sitting on the walkway. "Isn't it nice?" she asked. "Rose must of bought it. Help me get it into the living room."

"Don't you already have a tree?" Danielle asked as they lifted it together.

"It's just a plastic one," Jackie replied. "I've had it donkey's years. She must have fancied a change."

The talk of change had her looking back at the bedroom, where the Doctor still hadn't moved. Perhaps Rose was trying to take her mind off what had happened by throwing herself feet first into Christmas. She wasn't sure if she could do the same, but she definitely wasn't going to interrupt her having a good day.

She became rather anxious, though, once they'd gotten it in place. "I think I'd better check on him," she said. "If-If that's alright."

Jackie, once again, shot her a warm smile that made her feel safe in the Tyler household. "Of course, sweetheart. I'll bring you a cuppa."

Danielle shut the door behind her as she entered the bedroom, and just watched him for a moment from the doorway. He hadn't moved at all, it would seem, since she'd left to go get something to eat. Was that a good thing? Should he be moving? She wasn't sure.

She wasn't sure of anything, really, so she just laid back down where she had been, making sure that he never left her attention. The more time she spent with him – even if he was unconscious – the more she felt like him changing wasn't a bad thing. He had died, which mean she and Rose hadn't quite managed to save him, but he hadn't. Not really. She was more concerned about what had changed rather than him actually changing. They'd only just started getting close, and she didn't want to lose that. But would she want it with a new Doctor? Would the new Doctor want it with her?

She didn't move for a long time, only looking up when Jackie walked in with a cup of tea in one hand and her house phone in the other. It was strangely peaceful. She hoped that helped with whatever was happening in his Time Lord body.

The front door slammed open, and she guessed that Rose and Mickey were back. She could hear them talking through the walls, although she couldn't quite make out what they were talking about. Part of her thought that she should go find out, but by the time she'd made up her mind, she didn't need to. The living room exploded into a violent, mechanical noise and she shot up as the door to the bedroom flung open.

"What's happening?" she asked Rose, who was stood there, still in her coat.

"The tree's trying to kill us!" she exclaimed.

Danielle blinked. "I'm sorry; what?"

"We need to move the Doctor," she replied, and her tone was enough for Danielle to nod in agreement.

"What're you doing?" Jackie exclaimed, terrified and Rose motioned to the man in the bed.

"We can't just leave him!"

Mickey, who had been trying to fight off the wild Christmas Tree, appeared next and moved to the bed to help them move the Time Lord.

"No, leave him!" Jackie begged, trying to get the three to leave the flat and get away from the tree. "Just leave him!"

Mickey grabbed her arm. "Get in here!" he yelled and he quickly shut the door behind her.

Danielle looked to Rose. "What do we do?" she asked. She could hear the tree destroying the hallway outside, and while there was no way she was leaving the Doctor behind, they couldn't exactly move him at any speed out of harm's way.

"I don't know," Rose replied as Mickey and Jackie pushed the wardrobe in front of the door in hopes of creating a barrier it couldn't break through. She leant down and shook the Doctor's arm. "Doctor, wake up!"

Danielle joined in, crouching on the bed next to him. "Doctor, please, wake up," she begged. "What do we do? How do we stop it?"

Rose rushed over to the Doctor's jacket and grabbed his sonic screwdriver. She held it up, looking to Danielle for confirmation that it might help him. She shrugged; it seemed unlikely, but what other options did they have? Maybe something familiar would give him something to grab onto so he could pull himself out of whatever was keeping him asleep? She'd seen stranger things.

The door broke open and the wardrobe was shredded by the tree, sending wood everywhere. Mickey, Jackie and Rose jumped away and to the far side of the room to try and put any sort of distance between them.

"I'm going to get killed by a Christmas tree!" Jackie shrieked, and it was very likely they were all going to die.

Danielle, who had curled up on the bed next to the Doctor when the wood had shattered, could feel herself crying in fear. So much had happened to her, they'd survived so much, and she was going to die in a flat just above her own.

"Doctor, please," she begged him. "Tell me what we need to do. Help me."

She fell off the bed as he shot up, alert and pointing his screwdriver at the tree. It exploded in a bright flash, sending debris everywhere but it stopped and they were safe for the moment.

"Remote control," he declared. "But who's controlling it?"

He jumped up out of the bed, heading to the door, only pausing to grab a dressing gown to chuck over the pyjamas that he didn't question. Rose and Danielle shared a look, still utterly confused, but the redhead was out of the door after him before either of them could share a word.

He'd headed to the walkway just outside the flat to look down at the courtyard below. On the ground were three figures dressed up as Santa Claus, in a triangle formation, all looking up at the group of people.

"That's them," Mickey said, which didn't clear anything up for Danielle but she didn't question it. "What are they?"

Rose smacked him on the arm. "Shush!"

The Doctor didn't reply to him, instead he just held out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it directly at them. He didn't set it off, but the Santas quickly backed away and into a tighter formation until they disappeared in a blue light.

"They've just gone," Mickey stated as the Doctor lowered his arm. "What kind of rubbish were they? I mean, no offence, but they're not much cop if a sonic screwdriver's going to scare them off."

"Pilot fish," the Doctor said and, for some reason, they were all rather startled that he'd spoken.

"What?" Rose asked.

"They were just pilot fish."

He twitched, crying out in pain and falling backwards against the building. They all rushed forward to help him, but Danielle caught him at the front. He stared at her with eyes wide as she looked back in pure concern. "What's wrong?" she asked him. "What do you need us to do?"

He just continued to stare for a moment before a big, wolfish grin spread on his face. "Hello," he said.

She blinked, wondering if he was ever going to stop confusing her. "Hello," she replied slowly. "Are you okay?"

He didn't answer her question, it was almost like he didn't hear it as he continued to look her over, like he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. "You're still here," he replied. "I'm glad. I'm really glad. Did it hurt you?"

She shook her head, trying not to smile at his concern. "No, I'm fine. What about you? Are you okay?"

Almost as a response, he twitched again. "I woke up too soon," he explained. "I'm still regenerating. I'm bursting with energy." He opened his mouth and more of the golden dust came out.

"Is that what that is? Energy from regenerating?" she asked and he nodded. "I saw some before, I wasn't sure if I should say anything. It went out of the window."

"The pilot fish could smell it a million miles away. So, they eliminate the defence, that's you lot, and they carry me off," he explained. "They could run their batteries on me for a couple of ye—" he cut himself off, yelling in pain and jolting forward, taking Danielle with him.

"Okay, so how do we stop them?" she asked. "How do we help you?"

He grinned again, even though he couldn't quite hide the pain he was feeling. "Look at you," he said to her. "Always trying to help me. I love that. I absolutely love…" He cried out again and she tightened her grip on him to hold him in place in case he hurt himself.

"Doctor, tell us what you need us to do," she said firmly. "How do we help you?"

He groaned, both in pain but also like he didn't quite want to talk about it. "My head! I'm having a neuron implosion. I need…"

Jackie, wanting to help even though they'd had their differences, shot to his side. "What do you need?"

"I need…"

"Say it. Tell me, tell me, tell me!" The Doctor tried to tell her, starting the sentence again and again as she rattled off everything she could think of. "Painkillers? Do you need aspirin? Codeine? Paracetamol? Oh, I don't know, Pepto-Bismol? Liquid paraffin? Vitamin C? Vitamin D? Vitamin E? Is it food? Something simple. Bowl of soup. A nice bowl of soup? Soup and a sandwich? Soup and a little ham sandwich?"

Through his pain he managed to shoot her an exasperated look. "I need you to shut up," he snapped.

She looked to her daughter. "Oh, he hasn't changed that much, has he?"

He jolted another time, crying out in pain and once again taking Danielle with him. "We haven't got much time," he told them. "If there's pilot fish, then…" He frowned, cutting himself off and pulling an apple out of the dressing gown. "Why's there an apple in my dressing gown?"

Jackie grimaced, slightly embarrassed. "Oh, that's Howard. Sorry."

"He keeps apples in his dressing gown?"

She shrugged. "He gets hungry."

"What, he gets hungry in his sleep?"

"Doctor!" Danielle exclaimed, pulling his attention back to her. This time, as he stared at her, he looked serious and in pain rather than happy to see her. He held onto her arms tightly as their eyes locked. He looked worried.

"Brain collapsing," he said, as if it explained his tangent. "The pilot fish… The pilot fish mean that something… something is coming."

And, as if that was all of the energy he had, his eyes rolled back into his skull and he passed out. She caught him them best she could but toppled under his weight and landed on the floor with a thud. "Doctor?" she asked, but he didn't reply. "Wake up. Doctor? Doctor, please!"

~0~0~0~

This is a bit of a shorter chapter, but I hope you like it :)