The Orphan and Her Family

Chapter Twenty-Seven

With Jack gone, Sophie doesn't want to do any of the things she has planned. So instead she plods back to the sofa, plopping down. She puts on Eloise at Christmastime, and pulls a blanket over her chest. The movie plays, and she just relaxes into the seat. She falls asleep about halfway through the film.

Waking up a few hours later, Sophie begrudgingly goes into her room. She pulls a couple packages from underneath her bed, and begins to wrap them. As soon as they are wrapped up, she slips them under the tree.

She keeps herself busy for the next few hours, until Jack once again slips into the flat again. "Sorry about that," he sighs. He's juggling a stack of wrapped packages.

Sophie rushes over, taking a few of the parcels from his hands, "What's all this then?"

"Gifts from the team." He slips the stack that he's still holding under the tree, and Sophie follows suit almost immediately. "So, what now?"

"All that's left of my plan is more movies."

The Captain smiles, "Why don't you make some popcorn, some hot cocoa, and I'll pick out a movie," he shrugs.

Smiling, Sophie immediately agrees. She comes back into the room, a giant bowl of popcorn, and two teacups balanced in her hands. Jack takes the bowl, and presses play on the movie. "Miracle on 34th Street?"

He shrugs, "It's a good movie."

She sets the cups down on the coffee table, "I never said it wasn't," she says, sitting down next to him.

Jack wraps an arm around her shoulder. She glances over at him, "Maybe we could do the first two Home Alone movies next?"

"And then In the Good Old Summertime?"

"Elf?" Sophie adds.

"Die Hard," Jack states.

He leans forward to grab his hot chocolate. Sophie grabs it away from him, "Hang on, we are not watching Die Hard."

Jack snatches the drink from her hands, "That is a classic!" he punctuates, pointing furiously at her.

"It's not even a Christmas film!"

"Yes, it is! It takes place at Christmastime. It's got festive moments. It's a Christmas movie."

"It's an action movie."

Jack grabs a cookie off the cookie tray on the table, "C'mon, Soph. Can't we watch it?"

She sighs, and crosses her arms, "Fine."

*The Next Day*

As the end credits for Die Hard start to play, Sophie feels her eyes drift shut, as her head rests on Jack's shoulder. The Captain also begins to doze off, having been awake for quite a while. As sleep begins to claim the duo, on the roof of the flat, a blue box materialises. A man in a pinstripe suit stolls out, the December chill seemingly not bothering him. He spies the closest chimney, and a manic grin crosses his face. He slips into the brick structure, easily going all the way down.

Jack hears a noise from the fireplace, and reacts, accidentally waking Sophie in the process. He pulls his pistol out, aiming it at the fireplace, as Sophie grabs her sword off the floor by the couch. A man with spiky hair rolls out onto the floor of the flat, spreading soot onto the floor. Sophie sighs, and places her sword down, Jack re-holstering his gun. The Time Lord grins, his teeth glowing in comparison to the rest of his body, "Merry Christmas!"

"It's the twenty-third," Sophie deadpans.

The Doctor shrugs, "Okay, it's close enough."

Jack rolls his eyes, "Why don't you go and get yourself cleaned up, Doc. We're really just relaxing."

"We need a new movie suggestion," Sophie calls after the retreating Time Lord.

"I'll let you know when I get back," he calls back.

Jack climbs to his feet, and grabs the mop, cleaning the smoke and soot off the floor. Sophie slips into the kitchen, and starts to boil some water, intent on making something warm to drink. About ten minutes later the Gallifreyan reappears, in a suit identical to the one before. His hair is slightly damp, but he's smiling all the same. "So," he starts, clapping his hands together, "Someone mentioned a Christmas movie?"

Sophie steps back into the living area, and sets three cups down on the table, each filled to the brim with hot chocolate, topped with marshmallows. "We've already watched quite a few," she starts, handing the Time Lord one of the cups. "White Christmas, Christmas Carol, Home Alone, Home Alone 2, the Santa Clause trilogy."

She hands Jack a cup, and he continues, "Miracle on 34th Street,, In the Good Old Summertime, and Die Hard."

"Sophie let you watch Die Hard?" the Doctor asks, raising his eyebrows. The woman sticks her tongue out at him, and then takes a sip of her drink. The Time Lord seems to think deeply, before suddenly snapping his fingers, "What about the old Rankin and Bass movies? Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and, of course, The Year Without a Santa Claus. Those are some of my personal favourites." He proceeds to take a loud, obnoxious slurp of his cocoa.

Jack and Sophie look at each other, and nod, "Sounds good," the Captain states, and sits back down onto the sofa.

Sophie flops down beside him, and pulls the Time Lord down on her other side. She reaches into the Doctor's inside breast pocket, and pulls out his sonic. He makes an affronted noise, trying half-heartedly to grab the screwdriver back, but the woman leans further into Jack, and aims the sonic at the screen. It fades to black, and then the beginning credits of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer begin to scroll across the screen. She tosses the screwdriver back to the Time Lord, who shoves it back into his pocket, and leans back into the sofa, with a sigh.