Miles to Go: My Love, On Christmas Day - Sixteen

[wishiknewwho]

Title: My Love, On Christmas Day
Author: wishiknewwho
Rating: G
Characters: Ten / Rose, OC (Kira)
Dislcaimer: I don't own Doctor Who and it's probably just as well that I don't because it'd be nothing but hugs and hair ruffling for the foreseeable future. Title taken from the song "Christmas Day" by Dido.
Spoilers: None for DW; takes place in a world where Doomsday never happened. However, if you intend to read my fic Miles to Go and don't want it spoiled, you might want to wait on this one.
Summary: Christmas Eve part two.
Author Notes: What follows is nothing but pure silliness.  You have been warned.  Beta by the wonderful salimali .

The Doctor smiled at Kira’s gasp as they stepped out into what could only be described as a winter wonderland. Out in front of them stretched gently sloping hills of snow and a rather large cabin with icicles hanging from the roof and smoke puffing from the chimney.

 

“Daddy, are we at the North Pole?” Kira asked, looking up at him with wide dark eyes. Her breath puffed out in front of her and her nose was already red from the cold, but she didn’t seem to notice.

 

“We are,” he said, rocking back on his heels.

 

“Oh, you’re good,” Rose said, giving his hand a squeeze.

 

“I am,” he agreed. “Now, are you ready to meet Father Christmas?” He looked down at Kira. Her answering grin and a tug on his hand was all he needed. He set off toward the cabin, Rose and Kira in tow.

 

It wasn’t a long walk, but enough to get his trainers wet and slushy with snow. He looked down at the boots Rose and Kira were wearing, and for just the tiniest moment, he wished that he was wearing some too.

 

The night was dark and clear and cold, the stars hanging above them feeling much closer than usual. It was just like a Christmas Eve should be.

 

They reached the cottage, soft yellow light seeping from the windows, promising the warmth within, and the Doctor let Kira have the honour of knocking on the door. It swung open, and the man that met them was far from what they were expecting.

 

“Can I help you?” he asked. 

 

The Doctor, Rose, and Kira stared at him for a moment, a little shocked. He was nothing like any of them had imagined when they thought of Father Christmas. He was young, tall and slim, with floppy strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes. And although he was wearing a red suit trimmed with white fur and a pair of shiny black boots, he looked far from merry. In fact, he looked stressed.

 

“Santa?” Kira asked, her voice doing nothing to hide her surprise.

 

“I prefer Nick,” the man said crankily, stepping back from the door, pulling it open further, and motioning for them to come in. “She shouldn’t be out in the cold.” He nodded at Kira, then looked back to the Doctor. “Who are you, anyway?”

 

The Doctor led them in and gave Nick a broad smile. “I’m the Doctor, that’s Rose, and this is our daughter, Kira. She’s stopped believing in you, so I thought I’d show her that you are just as real as she is.”

 

Kira’s mouth dropped open and she glared at the Doctor, apparently outraged that he would reveal that information to the actual Father Christmas. Her cheeks flushed pink in embarrassment, but she didn’t say anything.

 

The Doctor gave a little shrug, then turned back to Nick. “You’re not quite how we pictured you, but you are Father Christmas, right? Santa Claus, Jolly Old St. Nick. Well, not old, but you get the idea.”

 

“Doctor,” Rose said, her voice holding a warning, and he realised that he was indeed being rude.

 

Nick didn’t seem to notice, though, just led them further into the living room. “Yes, I’m him,” he said, pushing his hands through his hair, mussing it up. “At least, I think I am. This year, with the way things are going, maybe not.”

 

The Doctor felt himself perk up. This reeked of adventure, and it had been a while. “Anything we can do to help?” he asked, trying not to sound too eager. “It is kind of our specialty.”

 

Rose nodded and he gave her a large grin. It had been a while for her as well, a much longer time than it had been for him, and he could tell that she was thrumming with excitement. Kira, too, looked like she might come out of her skin at any moment. She yanked off her hat and gloves.

 

“I want to help, too,” she pronounced, as if worried that they might leave her in the cabin while they got to have all the fun.

 

Nick regarded them all warily, but the Doctor wasn’t bothered. “Just tell us what the problem is,” he said calmly. “You’d be surprised what I’m capable of.”

 

Finally, Nick gave a little nod. “Well, my time machine is broken. And I can’t seem to figure out what’s wrong. If I don’t get it fixed, then I won’t be able to deliver the presents on time.”

 

Rose frowned at him. “But if it’s a time machine, would it really matter when you got it working?”

 

Nick sighed. “I didn’t say it was a very good time machine. I can really only use it to slow down and speed up time. It doesn’t let me travel back and forth like some of the fancier ones might.”

 

The Doctor, obviously not confused at all by what Nick had just said, bounced on his heels. “Oh you have to let me see this time machine.”

 

Nick nodded and led them out of the cabin to a little shed. The Doctor was at his side, Rose and Kira slightly behind them as Rose was busily tugging Kira’s hat and gloves back on as they walked. 

 

“This is only my first year to do this,” Nick said, turning a little red. “My dad did it before me, and I’ve always helped him out, but now he’s retired. And I thought I could make a few improvements on the sleigh. I thought I could make things a little easier if it could slow down time just a little bit more. Wouldn’t be in such a rush, you know.”

 

“Oh of course,” the Doctor agreed. “I always did wonder how you did it. Slowing down time makes perfect sense.”

 

“So Santa has a TARDIS?” Kira asked, running to catch up with the Doctor and slipping her gloved hand into his.

 

The Doctor gave a little chuckle, only stopping when he realised that Rose was glaring at him again. “No, but it seems that his sleigh works as sort of a rudimentary time machine.”

 

“How?” Kira asked, tugging on his hand.

 

“We’re about to find out,” the Doctor answered as they approached a large red sleigh. He let go of Kira’s hand so that he could run his fingers along it, inspecting. “Oh, this is brilliant.” He grinned at Nick.

 

Nick shrugged. “It would be brilliant if I could get it to work.”

 

“Give me a minute,” the Doctor said, pulling out his sonic. He smiled as Kira pulled hers out as well. “Mind if I take a look under the bonnet?”

 

Nick shrugged again, still disbelieving. “Be my guest.” He opened a small door near the back of the sleigh and the Doctor crouched down to have a look. He scanned his sonic over the parts and wires a few times, then stood up. Kira knelt down, looking inside the sleigh and waving her sonic around, just as he did. Rose pulled her away, probably afraid she might break something.

 

The Doctor slipped his sonic back into his pocket and turned toward Nick. “Well, I’ve got good news and bad news,” he said. “Which would you like first?”

 

“The good news, I guess,” said Nick. He pushed his hands through his hair, frustrated.

 

The Doctor nodded. “Well, the problem can be easily fixed. Your time machine, sleigh, ship, whatever you call it, is going to be fine.”

 

Nick visibly sighed in relief, then seemed to remember there was a catch. “But what’s the problem?”

 

“Well, you’ve exhausted your power cells. It’s going to take a good few days for them to recharge.” The Doctor rocked back on his heels and clucked his tongue sympathetically.

 

Nick let out a groan and kicked one of the rudders on the sleigh. “What am I going to do?”

 

Kira looked at Nick and then at the Doctor with wide eyes. “Can’t we help him, Daddy?” she asked.

 

The Doctor shook his head. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but there’s nothing I can do to speed it up.”

 

Rose put her arms around Kira, comforting her. “It’ll be okay, love.”

 

“But it won’t be,” Kira argued, her voice thick with tears. “I believe now, but when those children don’t get their toys tomorrow morning, they won’t believe anymore. They have to believe. Can’t we just deliver the presents in the TARDIS?”

 

The Doctor looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, then swept her up in his arms. “You’re brilliant, Kira Tyler.” He pressed a kiss to her head. “Have to be, being my daughter and all, but still, quite impressive.”

 

“What’s a TARDIS?” Nick asked, obviously confused.

 

The Doctor set Kira down. “It’s my time machine. A bit like yours,” he said, “only she can travel anywhere in time. We can use her to get the presents delivered tonight. It’ll be tricky, but I can manage it.”

 

Nick flushed. “You’d really do that, for me?”

 

Rose gave him a bright smile. “We’re always happy to help. We just need to get the presents loaded into the TARDIS.”

 

Nick shifted from one foot to the other. “That might be a bit of a problem. I can’t carry too many at a time.  I usually come back and forth a lot to pick up loads.”

 

The Doctor smiled broadly at Rose and Kira, then turned to Nick. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem tonight. My ship’s bigger on the inside.”

 

Nick’s eyes widened. “All right then,” he said, finally grinning at them, showing just a hint of the merriment he was capable of.

 

“Let’s get the presents loaded up,” Kira said, leading them back to the cabin. 

 

The Doctor followed, smiling. They had a long night ahead of them, delivering gifts to the world’s children, but his daughter’s faith had been restored. That made everything worth it.



Seventeen