A/N - I'm feeling generous today, so I'm giving you two chapters. One now and one later in the day. So stay tuned!
The Doctor and Elise snuck back into Sardick's house, where the Doctor put his plan in motion.
A younger Kazran was sitting in front of a camera. "Hello, my name is Kazran Sardick. I'm twelve and a half, and this is my bedroom. This is my top secret special project. For my eyes only. Merry Christmas."
An older man burst into the room. "Kazran! Kazran! Kazran, what are you doing? What are you doing? I've warned you before about this, you stupid, ignorant, ridiculous child."
"I was just going to make a film of the fish."
"Fish are dangerous."
"I just want to see them."
"Don't be stupid. You're far too young."
"Everyone at school's seen the fish."
"That's enough. You'll be singing to them next, like gypsies."
"The singing works. 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." Kazran's father backhanded him.
"Ow! 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 approached Sardick and touched him on the shoulder.
Sardick jumped and turned around.
"It's okay, it's okay," the Doctor told him.
"What have you done? What is this?"
"Found it on an old drive. Sorry about the picture quality. Had to recover the data using quantum enfolding and a paperclip." The Doctor sat down in his chair and started reading a newspaper from Sardick's side table.
For a second, Elise imagined the Doctor as her father. Her real father.
She pictured him sitting in the living room waiting for her to get home from school, reading the newspaper or a book. When he saw her, he would rush towards her and scoop her up in his arms. He'd kiss her cheeks and ask her how her day at school was. He would then carry her into the kitchen where River would be waiting with a snack. He'd help her with her homework before letting her go play before dinner.
Elise was snapped out of her fantasy by the Doctor speaking.
"Oh, I wouldn't bother calling your servants. They quit. Apparently they won the lottery at exactly the same time, which is a bit lucky when you think about it," he told Sardick.
"There isn't a lottery."
"Yeah, as I say, lucky."
"Who are you?" Sardick asked.
"Tonight, we're the Ghosts of Christmas Past. Did you ever get to see a fish, back then, when you were a kid?"
"What does that matter to you?"
"Look how it mattered to you."
"I cried all night, and I learned life's most invaluable lesson."
"Ah. Which is?"
"Nobody comes. Get out! Get out of my house!"
"Okay. Okay, but we'll be back. Way back. Way, way back."
The Doctor and Elise left and entered the TARDIS. They landed outside young Kazran's window and climbed inside.
"See? Back."
"Who are you?" Kazran asked.
"Hi. I'm the Doctor. I'm your new babysitter. This is my daughter Elise. Thought you could use a playmate."
Elise stomped on the Doctor's foot, but being so small it didn't hurt him one bite.
"Where's Mrs Mantovani?"
The Doctor jumped up and down on Kazran's bed before jumping off of it. "Oh, you'll never guess. Clever old Mrs Manters, she only went and won the lottery."
"There isn't any lottery."
"I know. What a woman."
"If you're my babysitter, why are you climbing in the window?"
"Because if I was climbing out of the window, I'd be going in the wrong direction. Pay attention."
"But Mrs Mantovani's always my babysitter."
The Doctor approached the computer Kazran was using to record his 'top secret project'. "Times change. Wouldn't you say? You see? Christmas Past."
"Who are you talking to?"
"You. Now, your past is going to change. That means your memories will too. Bit scary, but you'll get the hang of it."
"I don't understand."
"I'll bet you don't. I wish I could see your face."
The Doctor threw himself on Kazran's bed. "Right then, your bedroom. Great. Let's see. You're twelve years old, so we'll stay away from under the bed. Cupboard! Big cupboard. I love a cupboard."
He ran over to it and opened it. "Do you know, there's a thing called a face spider. It's just like a tiny baby's head with spider legs, and it's specifically evolved to scuttle up the backs of bedroom cupboards..."
He closed the door and turned to the now scared twelve year old boy and a wide eyed Elise. "...which, yeah, I probably shouldn't have mentioned. Right. So. What are we going to do? Eat crisps and talk about girls? I've never actually done that, but I bet it's easy. Girls? Yeah?"
"Are you really a babysitter?" Kazran asked him.
"I think you'll find I'm universally recognized as a mature and responsible adult." He pulled out the psychic paper.
"It's just a lot of wavy lines."
"Yeah, it's shorted out. Finally, a lie too big. Okay, no, not really a babysitter, but it's Christmas Eve. You don't want a real one. You want me."
"Why? What's so special about you?"
"Have you ever seen Mary Poppins?"
"No."
"Good. Because that comparison would've been rubbish. Elise, remind me to watch that with you. Fish in the fog. Fish in the clouds." The Doctor climbed onto Kazran's windowsill and looked out across the roof. "How do people ever get bored? How did boredom even get invented?"
"My dad's invented a machine to control the cloud belt. Tame the sky, he says. The fish'll be able to come down, but only when we let them. We can charge whatever we like."
"Yeah. I've seen your dad's machine."
"What? You can't have."
"Tame the sky. Human beings. You always manage to find the boring alternative, don't you? You want to see one? A fish. We can do that. We can see a fish."
"Aren't you going to tell me it's dangerous?"
"Dangerous? Come on, we're boys."
"Ahem!" Elise snapped, glaring at him.
"Sorry. And girl," the Doctor corrected himself, "You know what boys say in the face of danger."
"What?" Kazran asked.
"Mummy."
"Wait. What about girls?"
The Doctor ruffled Elise's hair. "They laugh." The Doctor tied a string to his sonic screwdriver to use as bait as the three of them hid in Kazran's cupboard. The other end of the string was tied to the Doctor's finger.
"Are there any face spiders in here?" Kazran asked.
"Nah, not at this time of night. They'll all be sleeping in your mattress," the Doctor reassured him, "So, why are you so interested in fish?"
"Because they're scary."
"Good answer."
"What kind of tie is that?"
"A cool one."
"Why is it cool?"
"Why are you really interested in fish?"
"My school. During the last fog belt, the nets broke and there was an attack. Loads of them. A whole shoal. No one was hurt, but it was the most fish ever seen below the mountains."
"Were you scared?" Elise asked him.
"I wasn't there. I was off sick."
"Ooo, lucky you," the Doctor said.
Kazran looked down at his lap and Elise reached over and patted his arm.
"Not lucky," the Doctor added.
"It's all anyone ever talks about now. The day the fish came. Everyone's got a story."
"But you don't. I see."
"Why are you recording this?"
"Do you pay attention at school, Kazran?"
"Sorry, what?"
"Because you're not paying attention now." The Doctor's finger was moving, which meant something had taken the bait. The Doctor motioned for them to keep quiet.
"Doctor, are you sure?" Kazran asked.
"Trust me."
"Okay."
"Oi. Eyes on the tie. Look at me. I wear it and I don't care. Trust me."
"Yes."
"That's why it's cool."
The Doctor left the cupboard, leaving Kazran and Elise alone.
"What is it? What kind? Can I see?" Kazran asked.
"Just stay there a moment," the Doctor told him.
"Is it big?"
"Nah, just a little one."
"How little?"
"Um..."
"Can I come out?"
"No, no. Maybe just wait there for a moment."
"Daddy, what's wrong?" Elise asked. Something wasn't right.
"What color is it?" Kazran asked.
"Big. Big color," the Doctor said. The Doctor ran back inside the cupboard as it started to shake.
"What's happening?" Kazran asked.
"Well, concentrating on the plusses, you've definitely got a story of your own now. Also, I got a good look at the fish, and I think I understand how the fog works, which is going to help me land a spaceship in the future and save a lot of lives. And I bet I get some very interesting readings off my sonic screwdriver when I get it back from the shark in your bedroom."
"A shark!" Elise yelled.
"There's a shark in my bedroom?" Kazran asked.
"Oh fine, focus on that part," the Doctor said.
The banging stopped.
"Has it gone? What's it doing?" Kazran asked.
"What do you call it if you don't have any feet, and you're taking a run-up?"
The Doctor pushed Elise and Kazran to the back of the cupboard as the shark bust down the doors, but it got stuck.
"It's going to eat us. It's going to eat us," Kazran repeated.
Elise wished he would shut up.
"It's going to eat us. Is it going to eat us?"
"Well, maybe we're going to eat it, but I don't like the odds. It's stuck, though. Let's see. Tiny shark brain. If I had my screwdriver, I could probably send a pulse and stun it. Elise..."
Elise searched her pockets. "I don't have mine!"
"What? I told you to keep it on you at all times!"
"I don't sleep with it!"
"Well, where's your screwdriver?" Kazran asked the Doctor.
"Well, concentrating on the plusses, within reach. You know, there's a real chance the way it's wedged in the doorway is keeping its mouth open."
"There is?"
"Just agree with me, because I've only got two goes, and then it's your turn."
"Two goes?"
"Two arms. Right, then. Okay. Geronimo. Open wide."