The Orphan and Her Family

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The trio watch all four of the movies the Doctor requested. As the end credits roll, Sophie presses her hands to her knees, pushing herself to her feet. Jack glances over at the Time Lord, and shrugs, popping to his feet as well.

"I have an idea!" she enthuses.

"Okay," the Time Lord says, cautiously.

"We should get Christmas photos. Like a family."

Jack smiles, "Yeah, okay kid. That sounds like a nice plan."

"And we should wear Christmas jumpers!"

"Okay, maybe not so nice."

The Doctor laughs, "Now that's a plan, Soph. We can get some out of the TARDIS, and then we can go and get those photos taken." The Time Lord slings an arm over Sophie's shoulder, and starts out the door. The woman grabs Jack's arm, and pulls him along behind them.

They ascend the stairs to the roof. Standing stark against the skyline, the TARDIS glows lightly. Sophie smiles, rushing for the ship. She presses the doors open and strolls into the ship. Without waiting to see if the Time Lord and immortal are following her, she rushes down the corridor, swinging into the massive TARDIS wardrobe. Sitting on a table near the entrance are three jumpers. One is bright blue, with writing along the centre that says 'Of course I'm on the nice list, I'm a Doctor'. The second one is red and green, and says 'Now I have a machine gun, ho, ho, ho' in big block letters. The third one is bright red, and says 'Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal'.

Sophie drapes the jumpers over her arm, and rushes back to the console room. The Doctor and Jack are leaning against the console, from which soft Christmas music is emanating. "That was fast," Jack says, pushing himself off the console.

She tosses the red and green jumper at him, and it falls over his face. She tosses the blue one to the Doctor, and tugs the red one over her head. The Time Lord laughs as he looks at his jumper. He slips off his blazer, and tugs the jumper over his head, before replacing the jacket. Jack pulls his on as well, and replaces his great coat. Jack offers Sophie his arm, and smiles, "Shall we?"

She links one arm through the Captains, and the other through the Doctor's, and off they go.

***

They get back with a large stack of photos, which Sophie puts on the mantel. Jack sits down on one side of the sofa, and the Doctor takes the other side.

Sophie plops down in the centre, and lays her head on the Doctor's shoulder. She points her remote at the telly, and the opening credits of The Polar Express starts to play.

"Oh, The Polar Express, a true classic."

"Can we watch A Charlie Brown Christmas next?" Jack asks, laying his head on Sophie's shoulder.

She pats his head, "Sure, Jackaboy."

***

They get through the next few movies. Sophie glances over at the clock on the wall, "We have time for about three more before it's Christmas. So, what are the choices?"

Jack smiles, "It's A Wonderful Life."

"The Grinch," the Doctor states.

"I think I'm going to go with Muppet Christmas Carol myself. But, before all of that, I got us a little something."

She flips over the back of the sofa, and slips into her room. She comes out with three parcels. She tosses one in the Time Lord's lap, and the other in the Captain's lap.

The Doctor's eyebrows raise, "Matching pyjamas?"

Sophie shrugs, "I thought it would be fun. I mean, obviously you don't have to wear them."

"Of course we'll wear them, back off," Jack says, standing up.

***

As the credits start to roll on Muppet Christmas Carol, the trio yawn in synch. Sophie climbs to her feet, stretching her arms up in the air. She grabs one of the Doctor's arms, and one of Jack's arms and pulls them up as well. "Seems to me we could all use a good night's sleep. Not to mention, Santa won't come if we stay up all night."

Jack rolls his eyes, "C'mon, Soph, you know that the Doctor and I don't need as much sleep as you."

"Maybe not, but you've been awake for like, two weeks straight. And the Doctor looks like he hasn't slept in months, so c'mon."

She drags them into her bedroom, and then flops face first into the middle of the bed. "I don't think this is big enough for three people," the Doctor comments. "I could just sleep on the sofa."

He turns to leave, and Sophie is up like a rocket, kicking the door shut, "Oh no you don't. If you leave this room, you won't sleep." He rolls his eyes, but sits down on the left side of the bed. She then turns and raises a single eyebrow at Jack. The immortal sits down on the right side of the bed, and Sophie once again flops into the middle of the bed. Jack and the Doctor lay down on either side of her, and they all fit, barely. She sighs, contentedly, and cuddles into her brother's sides.

"If this is gonna be a normal thing, Soph, you're gonna need a bigger bed," Jack states, but wraps an arm around her torso.

"I concur," the Time Lord says, as he too wraps an arm around his sister.

"Shh," she says, "It's sleepy time now." Then she buries her face in her pillow, and closes her eyes.

Jack and the Doctor fidget for a small time longer, before getting comfortable enough to fall asleep.

The Doctor is the first of the group to wake up, and he finds that their legs are all entwined in the bed. Jack has his face pressed into one side of a pillow, and Sophie's face is pressed into the other side. The Doctor has the other pillow folded under his head. Sometime during the night, Sophie had grabbed one of his hands. He gives it a light squeeze. Jack shifts on the other side of the girl, and pushes his head up, groggily looking around the room. He smiles at the Time Lord, and props himself up on one elbow.

"Who knew that all it took to get you into bed with me was Sophie?"

The Time Lord rolls his eyes, and begins to untangle his legs. Sophie mumbles something, and rolls over, blinking her eyes open groggily, "Wha's happ'ning?"

Jack smiles, "Happy Christmas, kid."

She sits up like a rocket, immediately brushing her hair out of her eyes, "It's Christmas!" she grins, moving to sit.

"That it is," the Time Lord smiles, standing up, and stretching.

The woman clambers out of the bed, grabbing the Doctor's and Jack's wrists, and dragging them back out into the main room of the flat. The Time Lord, on the way out of the room, grabs his sonic off the side table. He points it at the tree, and the lights start to glow. He then points it at the fireplace, and the logs ignite. Jack steps over to the record player, placing a vinyl of Bing Crosby down, and placing the needle on top. As the music starts, Sophie sits down in front of the tree, grinning. Her smile is infectious, and before long, both Jack and the Doctor are smiling as well.