☆
CALLISTO WATCHED AS the doctor began slamming different buttons, "before we go to barcelona, we've gotta pop back to london and get rose! what time of year? christmas eve! that'll be nice, i wonder if it'll be snowing—"
he choked on his next words, bending over, gasping and coughing before a golden stream of light escaped his mouth. worried, callisto rushed towards him and lay a hand on his back. the doctor grasped her hand, squeezing her fingers as another stream of gold dust left his body, fading in the air.
"what's happening?" callisto asked.
"regeneration's not going as smoothly as it should." the doctor grimaced. "i'll be fine!"
he began slamming buttons and pulling leavers again but callisto made him stop for a second, "should you really be doing that if something's gone wrong? maybe sitting down would be a better option?"
"oh, lighten up, callisto! i wanna get to barcelona!" the doctor grinned but jolted back into callisto's arms, pain shooting through him. "it'll be gone in a second."
"just sit down and i'll do it—" callisto's words were cut off as they both held onto the console, the t.a.r.d.i.s whirring and spinning as they barrelled for london, 2005, christmas eve.
callisto and the newly regenerated doctor barrelled through time and space. the pair jolted violently around the ship as the t.a.r.d.i.s slammed into flat buildings numerous times before skirting to a stop on the floor, after they'd forced a royal mail van to pause its journey with a sudden and harsh stop.
the doctor yanked the door open, looking at his surroundings with a grin, "here we are then. london, earth, the solar system. i did it!" he stepped out, approaching jackie and mickey. "jackie, mickey! blimey! no, no, no, hold on, wait there a sec. i had something i had to tell you. something important, what was it?" he gripped their shoulders as callisto left the ship and rose came around the corner from her flat, having been getting dressed when the doctor crash landed. "hold on, sh, sh, sh, sh! oh! i know. merry christmas!"
he fainted randomly and callisto rushed forwards to catch him before he could slam into the pavement, holding him under the arms.
"what happened? is he alright?" rose rushed out.
"i don't know." callisto muttered. "probably not. it shouldn't be like this."
"who is he? where's the doctor?" mickey demanded.
"that's the doctor." callisto stated.
"what d'you mean, 'that's the doctor'? doctor who?" jackie asked.
"i can explain once we get him into a bed. could we go to your flat?" callisto questioned.
"yeah, course." rose nodded and mickey helped pick up the doctor's legs, callisto carrying him under his arms as they went to the tyler's flat.
once there, jackie found the doctor some pyjamas and lay him in her bed. he stayed fast asleep. callisto sat beside him on the edge of the bed before jackie rushed in, giving her a stethoscope, "here we go. tina the cleaner's got this lodger: medical student. and she was fast asleep, so just took it."
"cheers." callisto muttered, putting the ear pieces into her ears and placing the round end of the stethoscope to one side of his chest. his left heart worked. she placed it to his right. his right heart was beating too.
"i still think we should take him to the hospital." jackie admitted as rose stood in the doorway, worried.
"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." rose explained and jackie went to speak again "no! sh!"
"they're both working. which is good, at least." callisto shrugged, taking the stethoscope from the doctor's chest, placing it on the bedside table.
"what d'you mean 'both'?" jackie inquired.
"he's got two hearts." rose replied.
"oh, don't be stupid!" jackie exclaimed in disbelief.
"he has." rose nodded, going to leave the doorframe.
"anything else he's got two of?" jackie asked and callisto couldn't help but chuckle.
rose turned to her mother sharply, "leave him alone."
jackie followed her daughter out, obliging. callisto was about to leave the room but she heard the doctor sigh loudly and turned to see another stream of golden energy passing through his lips and out of the window. worried that it was a sign the regeneration was draining him, she picked up the stethoscope and checked his hearts again. they were both perfectly fine. after pressing an adoring, yet hesitant, kiss to his forehead, seeing him relax even more into the pillows, callisto closed to door to jackie's room, heading to find rose in the small kitchen.
"is that a different face or is he a different person?" jackie asked curiously.
"how should i know?" rose snapped before sighing. "sorry. the thing is... i thought i knew him, mum. and then he goes and does this."
rose had begun crying but callisto didn't pay that any attention as she leant against the counter, "he can't help it."
"well, what is it? why'd he change his face?" rose demanded.
"it's called regeneration. time lords do it when they're about to die." callisto explained. "i'm not sure why he would be dying. i can't remember what happened at satellite 5, but i know his body is meant to change. however, i was told he'd faint and go into a coma."
"who told you all of that? and why're you green, now? are you ill?" jackie questioned, worriedly.
"i'm green because i'm from a planet called zen-whoberi. this is my race's natural skin tone. we got taught about threats to our world during school. time lords were one of the biggest." callisto answered.
"why would you learn about other aliens?" rose inquired.
"you know how you learn about other religions in school?" callisto asked and rose nodded. "it's kind of like that. but we learnt about them to try and prevent them from attacking and killing our people."
"why would the doctor's people do that?" rose asked.
"time lords are very powerful. power can go to a person's head and consume them. having control over time and space, a persons past and future, an entire race's past and future, is so incredibly powerful it's beyond comprehension." callisto said. "they make one mistake with that power, a simple one, a planet could cave in on itself. it was mainly for precautions that we learnt about them."
"but that can't be the doctor. it can't be." rose shook her head. "he doesn't look the same, act the same, speak the same."
"because he's regenerated. he is the same person with slightly different tweaks." callisto assured. "he should be fine soon. probably just needs a few hours sleep."
"you took a while coming back here." rose said, a little sourly.
callisto sighed, "he thought it'd be fun to come back for christmas and that maybe it'd be snowing. am i okay to sit down?"
"go ahead, love." jackie smiled and callisto left the kitchen for the living room. jackie turned to her daughter, mouth dropped open in shock, "you never mentioned she was an alien, too!"
"i forgot." rose shrugged.
jackie scoffed, "'cause that's something you forget easily."
"anyway, the big question is, where'd you get a pair of men's pyjamas from?" rose inquired, holding her mums arm as her tears stopped.
jackie turned to the counter, rose's hand dropping from her arm, "howard's been staying over."
"what, howard from the market?" rose asked. "how long's that been going on?"
"a month or so. first of all he starts delivering to the door and i thought, 'that's odd.' next thing you know, there's a bag of oranges—"
"is that harriet jones?" rose interrupted as she looked through the window that connected into the living room, leaving the kitchen to get a better look at the tv.
"oh, never mind me."
"why's she on the telly?" rose asked.
"she's prime minister, now." jackie explained. "i'm 18 quid better off. they're calling it britain's golden age. keep on saying my rose's met her."
"did more than that. stopped world war three with her." rose smiled. "harriet jones."
"prime minister, what about those calling the guinevere one space mission a waste of money?" a reporter asked on the telly.
"now that's where you're wrong. i completely disagree, if you don't mind." harriet replied confidently. "the guinevere one space probe represents this country's limitless ambition. british workmen ships, sailing up their among the stars!"
"this is the spirit of christmas, birth and rejoicing and the dawn of a new age, and that is what we're achieving 50 million miles away. our very own miracle." a man explained giddily before an animated version of the mission was presented to the public.
"hey, rose, would you wanna come into town?" mickey said, shrugging his coat on.
rose nodded, "sure. callisto, d'you wanna come?"
"if you don't mind. i'd like to see more of this planet now i've got the chance." callisto muttered, standing from the settee.
"there's not much to see down london market." rose chuckled.
"there's christmas lights." mickey suggested. "or do they have those on...?"
"zen-whoberi. no, we didn't. we don't celebrate christmas because our planet doesn't have the bible and christianity." callisto replied as she changed her skin to look human and rose pulled on a coat and they left the flat. "we had no religions at all. we mostly just kept our belief in our people."
"so what did you do? did you have your own celebrations?" rose inquired.
callisto shrugged, "sometimes. parades and street parties. festivals, even. but they happened rarely. it was a very quiet place."
"sounds peaceful." rose smiled.
"mhm." callisto hummed, forcing a small smile back.
the trio started walking around london, callisto marvelling at the city around her. lights were hung up across the lampposts and the fronts of the large shops and houses. christmas trees were displayed gloriously throughout the market and carol singers stood around, small pouches for donations by their feet.
"so does part the of the human race that celebrates christmas worship this 'santa claus'?" callisto questioned curiously. she knew of the religons earth had, but father christmas was an entirely new subject for her.
mickey looked at her like she was mental while rose laughed, "no, no. he's someone that delivers presents on christmas eve so people wake up to them on christmas."
"but it's not real. it's something parents tell their kids." mickey added.
"oh. probably better off that he's not real. he's sounds like a right pervert, climbing down people's chimneys." callisto mumbled, gaining another laugh from rose. the conversation died out before rose asked mickey if he had any money she could borrow to get something for jackie for christmas.
"what d'you need? 20 quid?" mickey inquired, holding the note out to rose.
"d'you mind? i'll pay you back." rose muttered, pocketing the money thankfully.
"call it a christmas present." mickey joked.
"god, i'm all outta sync." rose mumbled. "you just forget about christmas and things in the t.a.r.d.i.s. they don't exist. you get, sort of, timeless."
"oh, yeah, that's fascinating, 'cause i love hearing stories about the t.a.r.d.i.s." mickey remarked sarcastically. "ooh, go on, rose, tell us another one 'cause i swear i can listen to it all day. t.a.r.d.i.s this, t.a.r.d.i.s that."
"shut up." rose grinned.
"ooh, and one time, the t.a.r.d.i.s landed in a big yellow garden, full of balloons." mickey mocked.
"i'm not like that." rose denied.
"oh, you so are." mickey disagreed.
"hm, must drive you mad. surprised you don't give up on me." rose hummed.
"oh, well, that's the thing, isn't it? you can reply on me, i don't go changing my face." mickey said.
"yeah... what if he's dying?" rose asked and mickey groaned. "sorry!"
"just let it be christmas." mickey tried. "can we do that? just for a bit? you, me, callisto and christmas. no doctor, no bog-monsters, no life or death."
"okay." rose agreed.
"promise?" mickey asked.
"yes!" rose gave in.
"are discussions always this difficult on earth?" callisto wondered.
"they are when mickey's involved." rose joked, grinning at the alien who hummed in a sign of amusement.
"right, what you gonna get for your mum?" mickey asked as they continued to walk through the market.
mickey's chat dwindled away in callisto's ears as she glanced around at the market stalls and the happy humans around her. she wondered how much of the planet celebrated christmas and if everyone that did was as joyous as the people here. however, she looked over her shoulder at the band playing, seeing they had santa claus masks on.
"is that normal for earth?" callisto asked rose in a whisper.
rose shook her head, "no. especially not the way they're staring."
callisto saw the santa's hand grip their trumpets as if they were guns and she reached to pull mickey by the back of his coat, grabbing rose's arm as she tugged them away, just seeing flames leave the bands trumpets. they also shot at the stalls, people running away screaming while the trio hid behind a stall.
"it's us. they're after us." rose mumbled, screaming and ducking with the other two as flames blasted at the stall they hid behind.
they started running out from behind the market stalls, keeping their heads down. one santa aimed the end of his trombone at them and blasted flames towards them, but they'd already ran past where the flames ended up hitting. the blast ended up hitting a tree and it collapsed onto another santa, knocking its metal mask off.
"what's going on? what've we done? why're they after us?" mickey rushed as they sprinted down the street past some shops.
"taxi!" rose called and the cab stopped for them, allowing them to get inside. "they're after the doctor."
"i can't even go shopping with you! we get attacked by a brass band!" mickey said as rose began calling someone. "who're you phoning?"
"my mum." rose answered and jackie didn't pick up, already on a call. "oh, get off the phone!"
"i mean, what we're those santa things?" mickey inquired.
"i dunno. callisto?" rose asked.
the alien shook her head, "never seen them before."
"but, think about it. they were after us. what important about us? well, nothing. except the one thing we got tucked up in bed: the doctor." rose explained.
"what about you?" mickey pointed to callisto. "could they be after you?"
"i highly doubt it. the doctor has a reputation, i don't." callisto hummed.
the cab pulled up outside of rose's flat building and they rushed from it, running up the stairs. rose slammed open the flat door, yelling at her mum, "get off the phone!"
"it's only bev!" jackie replied as rose snatched the phone. "she's says hello."
rose put the phone to her ear, "bev? yeah, look, it'll have to wait." she hung up. "right, it's not safe, we've gotta get out. where can we go?"
"my mate stan, he'll put us up." mickey offered.
"that's only two streets away. what about mo? where she living now?" rose asked her mum.
"i dunno, peak district." jackie shrugged.
"oh, we'll go to cousin mo's, then." rose nodded.
"ah, it's christmas eve! we're not going anywhere! what're you babbling about?" jackie demanded.
rose went to answer but looked behind her mum, "where'd you get that tree?" they all looked and the white tree that was there before had been replaced with a green one. "that's a new tree, where'd you get it?"
"i thought it was you." jackie replied, confused as she turned back to rose.
"how can it be me?" rose inquired.
"well, you went shopping, there was a ring at the door, and there it was." jackie explained.
"no, that wasn't me." rose denied.
"then who was it?" jackie asked.
rose gently pulled her mother towards her as they watched the tree with caution. the lights began to flicker on and callisto took a hesitant step towards, stepping beside rose and jackie.
"oh, you're kidding me." rose mumbled.
the branches began to spin slowly but then they sped up dramatically. things fell off the fireplace and the curtains started blowing at the force of the wind the tree was producing. it started moving towards the four, crushing the small coffee table in the middle of the room as it did so.
"we've gotta go! get out!" mickey yelled, picking up a chair and the three women darted down the corridor.
"we've gotta get the doctor!" rose exclaimed, running into where he was still sleeping, callisto joining her immediately.
"oh, what're you doing?" jackie asked.
"we can't just leave him!" rose shot back.
"oh! mickey!" jackie yelled, trying to usher him away from the tree and towards her room with rose, callisto, the sleeping doctor and herself. "get out! get out!"
"mickey!" rose yelled and he dropped the chair he was trying to protect himself with, running into jackie's bedroom.
"no, just leave him!" jackie shouted as mickey ran to get the doctor too. she then screamed again as the christmas tree span closer and darted into the room, sharing glass shatter as the tree crashed through the window separating the living room from the hallway.
"doctor, wake up!" rose yelled desperately as mickey and jackie shoved a wardrobe in front of the door.
"leave him to sleep!" callisto ordered.
"we need him!" rose shouted.
"no, we just need the sonic screwdriver!" callisto replied.
she moved to the doctor's coat, which was hanging up, and searched the pockets, pulling out the sonic screwdriver. mickey and jackie were holding onto the wardrobe, which shook as the christmas tree tried to get into the room. rose snatched the sonic screwdriver from callisto's fingers and slapped it into the doctor's limp hand, thinking it would wake him.
"no, give it to—" callisto was interrupted when the christmas tree burst through the wardrobe.
"i'm gonna get killed by a christmas tree!" jackie shrieked, curled into the wall.
callisto took the sonic screwdriver from the doctor's palm and held it up to the christmas tree as rose whispered, 'help us!' to the doctor. he sprang up from the comfort of the bed to see callisto immobilise the murderous christmas tree by making it explode. jackie screamed as it exploded and mickey and rose ducked.
"remote control." the doctor muttered before pulling himself out of bed, standing in front of callisto, giving her a smile. "but who's controlling it."
he grabbed a dressing gown, which was howard's as well, pulling it on over howard's pyjamas. still grinning at her, the doctor took his sonic screwdriver back when she held it out to him, a small smile that only he really saw on her lips. the group left the flat, seeing the santa's down below on the ground, holding a remote.
"that's them. what are they?" mickey asked hurriedly.
"sh!" rose hissed.
the doctor held his screwdriver up and pointed it down at them. the santa's started backing off at the sight of it. suddenly, they teleported in a flash of blue light which stretched into the air before disappearing.
"they've just gone." mickey chuckled. "what kind of rubbish were they? i mean, no offence, but they're not much cop if a sonic screwdriver's gonna scare 'em off."
"pilot fish." the doctor muttered, the same short sentence leaving callisto's lips, too.
"what?" rose asked, looking to them.
"they were just pilot fish." the doctor explained.
he yelled out suddenly and callisto caught him as he groaned in pain, holding his abdomen. his slender fingers curled around her own as she wrapped an arm around his waist to help support him. the doctor groaned again, panting heavily as he leant into callisto, squeezing her hand.
"what's wrong?" rose asked worriedly.
"you woke me up too soon." the doctor said, breathing heavily. "i'm still regenerating. i'm bursting with energy." golden energy left his mouth again, fading into the air. "the pilot fish could smell it... a million miles away. so, they eliminate the defence, that's you lot, and they carry me off. they could run their batteries off me for a couple of years!" his words turned into a yell as he surged forwards, leaning against the wall of the balcony, forcing callisto to join him, still supporting him. jackie crouched in front of him. "ah, i'm having a neuron implosion. i need..."
"what do you need?" jackie asked.
"i need—"
"what d'you need? just tell me!"
"i need—"
"tell me, tell me, tell me! pain killers?"
"i need—"
"d'you need aspirin?"
"i need—"
"codeine? paracetamol? oh, i dunno, pepto-bismol?"
"i need—"
"liquid paraffin? vitamin c? vitamin d? vitamin e?"
"i need—"
"is it food? something simple? bowl of soup? a nice bowl of soup? soup and a sandwich? a little ham sandwich? ooh, soup and a ham sandwich?"
"i need you to shut up!" the doctor finally got out.
"oh, he hasn't changed that much, has he?" jackie joked as he lurched forwards again, gripping the wall before falling back into callisto's body.
"we haven't got much time... if there's pilot fish then..." he suddenly pulled an apple out of his dressing gown pocket. "why is there an apple in my dressing gown?"
"oh, that's howard." jackie replied. "sorry, sorry."
"he keeps apples in his dressing gown?" the doctor questioned.
"he gets hungry." jackie responded.
"what, he gets hungry in his sleep?" the doctor asked, eyebrows furrowed.
jackie nodded, "sometimes."
the doctor yelled out again, dropping the apple and leaning back even more into callisto, gripping her hand so tightly she thought it might break. he yelped twice, "ah, ah, brain... collapsing! ah, ah!"
"it's fine, i'll explain." callisto stopped him from going on, the pain across his face worrying her more and more. he nodded, leaning his head back on her shoulder. "pilot fish means something it coming. something bigger than them. basically something that controls or persuades them. something more powerful. or they're just travelling alongside the bigger thing."
the doctor collapse fully into her arms, eyes closed as he fainted again. mickey grabbed him legs and helped her bring him back to bed where she pulled the covers over him. however, he now looked as though he had a fever, his forehead having grown a cold sweat and weak coughs leaving his body every so often.
sitting beside him, callisto pressed a cool towel to his hot head, wiping soothing it as much as she could. he coughed weakly in his sleep and rose watched worriedly from the doorway, mickey passing by and taking a glance at rose, who only had her eyes on the doctor. however, he clearly got the wrong idea from her worry as he stormed off with jackie's laptop.
callisto reached over and grabbed the stethoscope again, pressing it to one of his hearts. it was beating. the pattern was unusual, but it was still beating. she pressed it to the other side of his chest where his second heart was, panic flooding where when no heartbeat filled her ears. placing the stethoscope back on the table, callisto stood up after laying the cool towel on his forehead, approaching rose who had pushed her hair back, fearful of the doctor's weak state.
"he's only god one heart beating, now." callisto mumbled, walking past her friend and into the living room, twisting the rings on her fingers anxiously.
{3888}
i love this episode sm