"All right, Clara," the Doctor said, spinning around the TARDIS console. "Where do you wanna go today?"
Clara joined him at the console. "I dunno, Doctor. That's your job to pick the destination. You know I'm rubbish at that."
The Doctor smiled and rolled his eyes. "Okay I'll help you out then. Favorite....food?"
Clara gave him a puzzled look. "Um, I dunno...what does that have to do with anything?"
"Okay then, favorite sport?"
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Do I look like the type of person who'd follow sports?"
He sighed. "Clara Oswald, you're so difficult!" Then he got an idea. "How about this: what's your favorite holiday?"
Clara was about to question his question but then realized that he was trying to figure out what she liked so he could take her somewhere. "I guess Christmas."
"Really?"
"Yeah, what's wrong with that?"
"Nothing! Nothing, I just...that's a bit cliché," the Doctor laughed.
Clara smiled and gave him a light punch in the arm. "No it's not! I love Christmas! Everyone seems to forget their differences and remembers to love each other. It's like we come halfway out of the dark."
The Doctor froze. He closed his eyes, remembering that Christmas with the Ponds when they were trapped on a crashing space ship and he was trying to save Christmas on the planet down below.
"Doctor?" Clara lightly touched his arm. "Are you okay?"
He took a deep breath and opened his eyes to look at Clara again. "Yeah, fine," he sighed. "Where were we?"
"Um, Christmas?"
He clapped his hands together excitedly, whirling around to face the console. "Right, Christmas! Clara Oswald, I'm taking you to Christmas!"
❄
The TARDIS screeched to a stop and Clara stepped out into a wonderland of snow and ice. Her shoes crunched in the snow as she wandered out of the TARDIS and looked around. They were at the top of a hill. Down below there was a village, the houses decorated with bright colored lights. In the center of the village there was a small pond, where children were skating. Several other kids were building snowmen in their yards, and still others sledded down the hills behind the village.
The Doctor joined Clara, standing at her side and looking down at the little town. He smiled and put his arm around his companion. "Welcome, Clara Oswald, to the planet of Nochebuena, where Christmas time is all the time!"
"It's beautiful," Clara whispered. "Is it really always Christmas?"
"Well, most of the time," the Doctor replied. "See, the planet orbits a sun, but the planet is far enough away that for 100 days of the 150 in a year here, it's winter."
"The planet's only close to its sun for 50 days?"
The Doctor nodded. "And in case you were wondering, yes, those are humans down there. That's how the concept of Christmas got here."
"How did they get here? The humans I mean."
"You know how they tell you in school that a bunch of those space missions failed?"
Clara nodded, looking up at the Doctor.
"Well, they didn't. The astronauts ended up here, smack dab in the middle of winter. It was a rough first year, but eventually they managed to build this little town and dubbed the planet Nochebuena. Then they somehow radioed back to NASA and told them where they were, but to keep it secret and say the mission failed. It was a complete accident the astronauts landed here, and didn't know how to get back to Earth. Plus they probably didn't want any more people here."
"That's so cool," Clara said, looking back at the village. "So this is the only place that's settled?"
"Yup."
"Can we get closer?"
The Doctor grabbed Clara's hand. "Of course, Miss Oswald! Let's go!"
They started down the hill, sliding and stumbling in the snow. The Doctor lost his footing and fell over completely, rolling down the hill and taking Clara down with him. She screamed in surprise as she and the Doctor tumbled head over heels down the snowy hill. The Doctor finally managed to stop rolling and Clara crashed into him. He laughed, brushing snow off his face and clothes.
Clara sat up and coughed, shaking snow off her head. She looked up at the Doctor and laughed at his snow-covered hair. He shook his head and sprang to his feet, pulling Clara up with him. He held her hands for a moment longer than what was probably necessary, then turned toward the village.
By now a few people had seen them and were coming toward the hill. The Doctor grinned and waved at them, and he and Clara made their way to the town, walking hand in hand.
The villagers greeted them warmly. "Welcome to Nochebuena!" One man exclaimed.
"Thank you! I'm the Doctor, and this is my friend Clara."
"Hello," Clara said with a little wave.
"You've come just in time for Christmas!" An older woman said. "Please, come join us in our celebration!"
The Doctor looked at Clara and grinned. She grinned back. He squeezed her hand and they excitedly followed the villagers into the center of the town. There were Christmas decorations everywhere: lights, tinsel, wreaths and holly. The very atmosphere seemed to jingle with Christmas cheer.
"Right now most of us are preparing for Christmas dinner," the woman told them. "The kids go out and play while the adults work. My husband and I-" she gestured to the man they'd spoken to earlier- "needed a break from the kitchen so we were out on a walk when you two dropped in."
"Sorry, I didn't catch your name?" The Doctor said.
"Oh, you can call me Missy. That's what everyone here calls me," she replied.
"And I'm John," her husband put in.
"Pleasure to meet you, Missy and John! The Doctor said. "Now, do you need any help with the festivities?"
"Nah, we're fine. You go have fun with your friend. It's Christmas! We'll handle the cooking. Go enjoy the day! And you two are welcome to join us for Christmas dinner!"
With that, they left the Doctor and Clara and turned down a road leading to a cozy-looking house.
"So, what now?" Clara asked.
The Doctor shrugged. "I dunno. Up to you. Whatcha wanna do?"
"How about sledding?" Clara asked.
The Doctor grinned his goofy smile. "Absolutely!"
After many failed attempts to find someone with two spare sleds, the Doctor gave it up and just ran to the TARDIS to grab some. He closed the TARDIS doors and decided to take the fun way down the hill by sledding down it.
That didn't work so well with two sleds. Clara met him at the bottom as he came crashing down in a pile of snow and sleds. Thankfully nothing was broken.
The Doctor stood up, brushing snow off himself. "Okay, got the sleds! Let's go!"
They ran to the other side of the village where the children were sledding. Joining them at the top of a very steep hill, the Doctor was ready to go. As he was about to take off, Clara stopped him.
"What's wrong, Clara?"
Clara glanced at the ground. "I've um...I've never actually been sledding before."
The Doctor's jaw dropped. "You what?! Well then Clara Oswald you have been missing out! Come here." He patted the spot on the sled behind him.
Clara gave him a nervous glance, then sat behind him on the sled. But before she could grab onto anything, the Doctor was screaming "GERONIMO!!!!!!!" and they were flying down the hill.
Clara screamed and tightly wrapped her arms around the Doctor, holding on for dear life. She resisted the urge to close her eyes, and eventually the screams turned into laughs as they cascaded down the hill.
As they neared the bottom, another kid ran into them and they wiped out, a cloud of snow flying everywhere. The Doctor and Clara collapsed on each other, laughing and trying to catch their breath.
"That...was...AMAZING!" Clara said, laughing in between words.
The Doctor agreed, sitting up and double high-fiving Clara. He picked up the sled and they climbed back up the hill. When they reached the top, the Doctor set the sled down. "So, think you can try your own sled now?"
Clara shrugged. "I think it's more fun with two people."
The Doctor stared at her. "Really? Okay then." He sat on the sled, Clara sitting behind him with her arms wrapped tightly around him. He pushed off the ground with his feet and they were flying down the hill again, both laughing and screaming with joy.
After repeating this several more times, both were tired of making the long trek back up the hill. They walked back into the village, leaving the sleds behind Missy and John's house. It still wasn't time for dinner, so the Doctor suggested another activity.
"How about ice skating?"
"Ice skating?!" Clara exclaimed. "You can ice skate?"
"Of course I can!"
"You, with your sense of balance of a drunk giraffe, can ice skate?"
"Clara, Clara, Clara. I am a perfectly coordinated ice skater!"
"Good, cause I'm not!" Clara said, dragging him toward the frozen pond.
"You can't ice skate either? Blimey, Clara you don't get out enough in the winter!" The Doctor laughed as she led him toward the pond.
They managed to borrow some skates from some villagers, and then got onto the ice. The Doctor, surprisingly, managed to stand and skate around with no problem, but Clara was a bit more uneasy.
The Doctor chuckled as he skated figure-eights around the pond, watching her try to take a few steps. She lost her balance and started to fall over, but the Doctor rushed over and caught her. "Woah there," he laughed. "But wobbly, eh?"
Clara smiled. "Just a bit." Using the Doctor's arm for balance she got back on her feet and managed to take a few steps.
"Come on, I'll show you how it's done," the Doctor offered, patting her arm, which was linked around his. "Hold tight!"
The Doctor took off skating around the perimeter of the pond, pulling Clara along beside him. She stiffened for a few moments, then relaxed and started moving her feet in rhythm with the Doctor's. Eventually she got the hang of it and could have let go of the Doctor, but she didn't want to. The feeling of being here, speeding around the pond with him at her side was amazing, and she couldn't have asked for more.
The circles they were skating grew smaller as they closed in on the middle of the pond. When they reached the center, the Doctor lifted Clara into his arms and spun her around, laughing. She laughed with him, hugging him tightly.
He set her back down and they continued skating in circles, hand in hand, until they reached the edge of the pond. They decided to stop there, and returned the skates to the villagers they'd borrowed them from.
They were both too tired to do anything else, and the Doctor was still wary about snowmen, so they settled down on a bench and watched the kids skate on the pond. Clara sat close to the Doctor, leaning her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her and smiled. "This was so fun," Clara said quietly.
"It was great," the Doctor agreed. He kissed the top of her head. "Thank you, Clara."
"For what?"
"Just for being here," the Doctor replied. "For spending this fun day with me. I love having you as my companion, Clara."
Clara was shocked. She never thought the Doctor would say something so...sentimental to her. "No problem, Doctor. I love travelling with you."
He was about to reply when suddenly a loud bell rang out, drowning out the sounds of children laughing. "CHRISTMAS DINNER!" A voice shouted.
"It's about time!" The Doctor said, standing up. "I'm starving!"
Clara laughed. "Me too! I can't wait to see what kinds of food they've got!" She took his hand and they walked together toward Missy and John's brightly decorated house. Now that the sun was setting, the entire village seemed to glow, and the lights looked almost magical under the blanket of snow.
Missy greeted them at the door, all smiles and hugs. The inside of the house was small and cozy, with more tinsel than was probably necessary, and a large Christmas tree in the living room corner. A fire blazed in the fireplace, giving the dimly lit house a welcoming glow. Two stockings hung on the mantle.
The Doctor and Clara sat at the dinner table, complete with silver candlesticks and fancy silverware. Missy set some mashed potatoes and corn on the table, then took her seat next to Clara. John brought over the main course, a plump and delicious looking turkey. He set it on the table, then sat down next to Missy.
They dug into the food, talking about past Christmases and traditions. Clara told Missy and John about Earth, and John said that his grandfather was one of the astronauts who discovered the planet. Clara asked many questions about living on the planet and if they ever got sick of constant winter, to which they replied saying "we've never known anything else, so we get used to it."
They finished dinner and the conversations died down. In the silence Clara could hear the sound of distant singing. Carolers.
She went to the window and the Doctor joined her, looking out into the snowy night. It was dark now, and had begun to snow. The flakes fell steadily in the still air, reflecting the colors of all the lights around them.
Clara sighed in pleasure. " I love it here, Doctor." She wrapped an arm around his side, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for bringing me."
The Doctor smiled down at his companion. "I love it here too."
The carolers got closer, and Clara suggested joining them. The Doctor shrugged. "Why not?! It's Christmas!" So they went out into the snowy night and sang carols with the villagers in the town square. They stood in a little gazebo, shielded from the snow, and sang song after song for a couple hours.
Eventually, the villagers cleared out until it was just the Doctor and Clara left, singing "Silent Night". The Doctor listened to Clara's gentle singing and noticed how beautiful her voice was. He stopped singing so he could listen to her, but she noticed and stopped too.
"Why'd you stop?" The Doctor asked.
"Cause," Clara replied. "I don't like the sound of my own voice."
"You should," the Doctor said quietly. "It's beautiful."
Clara blushed. "Thanks, Doctor."
He smiled, taking her hand in his and entwining their fingers. He glanced up at the ceiling. Hanging there, at the very top of the roof, was a small branch of mistletoe.
He looked back down at Clara, his face slightly reddening. He shifted nervously on his feet, pointing up at the ceiling. "That's um..."
Clara smiled. "Yeah, it is," she breathed. "So, um..."
"So, it's a tradition," the Doctor said with a small laugh. Then he leaned down and gently kissed Clara, placing one hand on her face and keeping the other clasped with hers.
Clara closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss, pouring out all her feelings for the Doctor. Finally she could tell him how she felt after all that time trying not to fall in love. But she was so glad she did.
The Doctor pulled away and smiled down at Clara, gently stroking her face with his hand. "Clara Oswald, I love you."
Clara smiled back at him, a tear streaking down her face. "I love you too, Doctor." She laughed, wiping the tears from her face. "I don't know why I'm crying."
The Doctor's smile grew wider. "I do. Because this is the day, this is the day, everything begins."
He hugged her tightly, stroking her hair. "Merry Christmas, Clara," he whispered.
Clara smiled and another tear ran down her face. "Merry Christmas, Doctor."
