The Night Before Christmas

A Doctor Who Christmas short story by Charles McGrath 24th December Christmas Eve
It was the night before Christmas, when all thro the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

It was Christmas Eve, 2013. A normal day in a normal year. Alices life hadnt changed much in the past twelve months indeed, the very fact that her life had been static for so long irritated her greatly. She had dreamt of travelling the globe, reaching out to foreign lands and foreign cultures but alas, she was still in London, England, living in a one bedroom house and still single. Christmas would hardly be merry this year it would be dull, miserable and melancholic; another year had passed by in the blink of an eye. Alice was the only member of her family left her mum and dad were long gone, buried with all those wasted years, and all her friends were somewhere else, with their own families and enjoying their own Christmases. She was alone, completely alone. Perhaps this was her Blue Christmas, as Elvis Presley once sung about. And she needed somebody to hold It was midnight, or just after. Father Christmas had yet to arrive. Despite the reaction of depression that you would think someone who was so alone would experience at Christmastime, Alice was oddly jovial, or as jovial as you could get in such a situation as hers. For a brief moment, or few moments, on Christmas Eve, that childlike excitement and ecstasy would be rekindled in her, that anticipation for what the next morning would bring. It was a calm Christmas Eve a silent night for all, only the faint whistle of the wind blowing through the trees to be heard. After a few moments of contemplation to cultivate the excitement of Christmas within her, she began to doze off. Onward into a new day, another Christmas A crash from upstairs! A tremendous, almighty bang coming from the attic. Shed never been up in the attic before, and didnt know what could be up there. Perhaps something had fallen over up there, something left by the landlord of the house. The strange thing was, she had never heard anything like that before. Why tonight? Why would something fall over of its own accord on a calm, peaceful, saintly night like this? On Christmas Eve? Alice decided, rightly or wrongly, to investigate. Something had happened, and she was going to find out what. She went downstairs, got a stool, returned upstairs and opened up the hatch leading up to the attic. She managed, after some commotion, to haul herself up into the attic, equipped with a torch to illuminate what had been for years a dark, dank and unchartered part of the house. She turned on the torch, bringing light to the place, and the damp and mouldy walls one would imagine were very ungrateful for her doing such. But there was something strange right at the other end of the attic. Something unlike anything she had seen before. She was surprised it could fit inside what was the relatively small attic of hers. It was a box, a big blue box, with the words Police Box lit up across the top. There were two large, blue doors, the right-hand one adorning the St. Johns Ambulance logo and

the other a sign reading Pull to Open amongst a larger paragraph that Alice did not have the chance to read. For moments after she set eyes on this oddity, the door burst open (inwards, strangely, considering the sign read pull) and a man stumbled out. The man was in himself strange he was wearing a purple Victorian winter coat, beneath which was a grey waistcoat complete with a fob watch. He wore a polka dot bowtie also, which amused Alice to an extent. As he fell, he coughed and spluttered and his complexion was blazing red, as though he had just emerged from a furnace. But he was alive he looked worse for wear, definitely, but his howling cough proved that he had survived whatever he had just experienced. A puff of smoke followed him out of the box, rising upwards as he fell to the floor. Alice, bemused and bewildered, looked down on him, unsure as to what to do next. She approached cautiously, placing great emphasis on each creak that her steps towards him made. Are you alright? What the hell happened? she asked with a touch of uncertainty in her voice. I I Help What he said was almost indiscernible, but Alice still attempted to find out more. Help? Do you want help? Help me This whole situation took on a whole new gravity at this moment. It was almost as though Alice had been summoned, by a complete stranger, to fulfil some impossible task. She knew he was important, significant, vital he gave off that aura. But who was he? And why was he in a blue box in her attic? It took Alice a while to get the man down from the attic; in the end, she had to drag him down after she had managed to get herself back down to the landing rather precariously. After essentially carrying him down the stairs and into the sitting room, she propped him up on the sofa, panting as he continued to splutter like a broken machine. He could barely speak, but this is what he had to say: I need your help. Im running, running away Being chased, hunted down Im already dying, and I need you Alice stared in disbelief how could all this be happening, on Christmas Eve of all nights? Or perhaps, she wondered, this is something that was so perfectly suited to Christmas Eve that she couldnt believe it. I havent got long left Days at most Seven You mean, a week? she asked, her interest piqued by this revelation and the possibility of a guest over Christmas. One week Thats all And I need somewhere to stay The man perked up for a moment, letting out a slight chuckle as he said: Any room at the inn?

Alice smiled. She hadnt smiled like that for a long time a true smile, a smile generated by the warmth and elation of the soul. Of course you can! Its Christmas, after all! I couldnt turn you out at Christmas. Thank you the Doctor whispered, his strength seeping away like all those years had done for Alice. And then he fell asleep, not to awake again before the big day itself. As Alice walked out of the sitting room and back up to bed, she turned to have one final glimpse of this strange man in case he had suddenly vanished after she had moved away. She turned out the lights and, for the briefest of moments, she saw his whole body glow golden, like an angels.

25th December Christmas Day

As dawn broke, so Christmas Day came and lightened up the world just that little bit more. Alice had woken up early the events of the past night had been so bizarre that she had barely fallen asleep since the arrival of the man, whose name she still did not know. And she had thought solely about him the entire night and, more precisely, about how his body radiated with light as she went upstairs, as though he was changing into something else. That would be the main topic of discussion this Christmas Day a very interesting Christmas dinner would be had. The man called himself the Doctor, and said that he was a Time Lord (whatever that was) from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous some millions of light years from Earth. He also claimed to have two hearts and, most importantly, could change his whole body on the point of death. When I say dying, he said, I can regenerate, change myself and my whole body, so long as Im not killed during regeneration. So youre not dying, then? Well, I could die, because theyre coming. I can sense it. All of my enemies, theyre coming. And who are they, then? The Doctor looked reluctant to divulge any further, gazing nervously down at his turkey dinner whilst chewing his mouthful. But, eventually, he gave in: All of them, the most terrible creatures in the universe. And then he stopped, and he thought. He pondered a moment, then hurriedly got up as though panicked. I cant stay, I cant put you in any more danger. Why do you say that? They know Im here. You dont want me here, and not at Christmastime. He stumbled out of the room and up the stairs, jumping atop the stool and climbing up into the attic, heading back to his blue box. Alice quickly followed, calling out to him.

Doctor, dont go! You need help, you said so yourself last night! But I dont want you to be hurt. Thats the thing with me Im like fire. If you stand too close to me and my life, then youre bound to get burnt. The Doctor rustled around in his pockets for the key to the box. But, after a moment, the Time Lord collapsed, exhausted and weakened. You cant go, Doctor. Youre dying. The Doctor could hardly speak again, his breath lost. Alright But youve got to be careful

Later

The Doctor and Alice had settled down to some board games after their Christmas dinner, enjoying each others company more than they had ever enjoyed anothers company before. Alice, the lost and lonely soul who dreamt of a Christmas alone and afraid in the cold winters nights, had found another like herself someone alone, lost and afraid of the world around him. The Doctor was a wise man, and certainly a man used to travelling the universe; but at the moment he was weak and dying, frail and old. His time had come, and he knew that, but he still found joy in life and in Christmas. Whilst playing their games, Alice had noticed something. There was something shifting behind the Doctor, something that shouldnt move was moving out of sight and unnoticeable. But she had noticed it, out of the corner of her eye, with much concentration and focus. Something had found the Doctor, and that something was moving forward. The television was the next source of entertainment to be mined by the pair. The Doctor had told Alice that he rarely, if ever, watched the television, and this showed when he struggled to operate a rather simplistic remote control successfully. Alice found this quite funny, that a man of such wisdom, knowledge and strangeness failed to grasp the simplest of concepts. But that was the Doctor, she supposed that was who he was, even though she hardly knew him. And then the assault began. A piece of tinsel, newly animated and now sentient, flung itself on the Doctor, grasped his neck and proceeded to tighten its grip on the Time Lord. The Doctor struggled with the tinsel, throwing himself about the room in a frenzy. Alice tried to assist the Doctor, grabbing hold of the tinsel and pulling with all her might. Doctor! I cant get it off, Doctor! The Doctor couldnt reply he was preoccupied with trying to remove the tinsel from his neck. He struggled and struggled, crashing back into the small table placed in front of the sofa bang! And then, he stumbled back into the television crash! Finally, he fell back upon the sofa, still wrestling with the unbelievable strength of this sentient Christmas decoration. Its Its Suddenly, the tinsel threw itself off the Doctor, flying back into the wall and falling to the floor inanimate once more, a mere decoration.

Are you alright? The Doctor took a few moments to recover before saying anything in reply. Yeah, yeah, I think so. What was that? Tinsel, sentient tinsel. Must have been controlled by some sort of psychic link or connection, but who could it be? He pulled out an odd-looking device from his coat pocket it looked somewhat like a screwdriver. He pressed a button, and the nib at the end of the device shone a green light. He pointed the light at the tinsel that had once attacked the pair but now lay innocuously on the floor beside the small Christmas tree. Yep psychic link. And I think I know where it originates from. Where? The Doctor gulped. Right outside your front door. An almighty crash was heard from the hallway. Then, the sound of metal footsteps, almost marching. That sound, Ive heard it before. And its not good. Alice, now sharing the Doctors fearful sentiments, dared to ask: And that would be? Cybermen. A battalion of Cybermen, right outside your house on Christmas Day! The metal man slammed down the sitting room door, moved in with a cacophony of metal clanging and bashing. They immediately identified the Doctor, who stood almost in shock as they entered. You are the Doctor, categorised enemy of the Cybermen. You will be deleted. The Cyberman raised its arm in a jolting motion, reaching out towards the Doctor as though it was about to grab and throttle him in a similar manner to the tinsel earlier on. But no for the Doctor knew the Cybermen and their modus operandi, for it was a Cyberman who had killed him now.

Christmas Night

The Cybermen did this to me, you see, the Doctor said to Alice, now sat on the sofa relaxing. The reason Im dying, its because of the Cybermen. And why do they want you dead? Because theres a secret that must never be told. Its yet to be spoken, but it will be, one day. And all my enemies, all my foes, are scared about what that might mean for them.

Do you know what itll mean? Yes the end of the universe. Alice did not understand what the Doctor was talking about, but nodded in agreement anyway, for it sounded grand and important and portentous. And that includes the Daleks, the Silence, all of them? Yes.

Earlier

The Cyberman was slowly approaching the Doctor and Alice, its eyes keenly focused on the pair with deadly intent. The Doctor, with futility, armed himself with his Sonic Screwdriver, directing it at the advancing Cyberman. Then, a look of doom came across the Doctor. Oh Oh Oh, thats not good. Not good at all. Alice backed away from the Cyberman with the Doctor, staring bewildered at him. Yeah, this isnt! Are you going to stop it anytime soon? No, not the Cyberman oh, no. Its outside. Theres more of them! More of what!? Daleks, Silence, the whole lot! The assorted hordes of my enemies gathered today to watch me die! And what a show thatll be! The Doctors Screwdriver efforts eventually bore fruit the Cyberman was rebuffed, stumbling backwards as if in some sort of a daze. The pair ran over to the front window to see, outside, a horde of creatures, all gathered on the road. The robots, resembling closely giant pepper-pots with an egg whisk and a plunger attached (looking somewhat like weapons), screamed in unison the word Exterminate! And what are they? The end of the world if we cant stop them. You say we as though youre depending on me to help. Yeah thats because I am. The Doctor gave a slight grin as he said this, taking a perverse pleasure in placing Alice on the spot in giving her such responsibility. But not this time cause I know what to do. Its time. And then it happened again. The Doctor began to glow, his whole body head, hands all shone with a bright golden light, as though he were some higher being beyond this dimension, beyond this realm. His face contorted and the golden energy burst from his body, and he became a fountain. The Cyberman recoiled, falling over with the sheer force of the energy. And outside the house for the energy blasted through the window the assorted hordes of Daleks and Silence burned when hit with the artron energy. The Daleks, in stark

contrast to their blood-curdling cries of Exterminate mere moments ago, now screamed with terror and begged for mercy. The Time Lord had won his last battle.

Christmas Night

The Doctor tucked in to some chocolates, both of them now settled back into watching some television. Alice, ever curious about her new friends adventures, often interrupted their viewing by asking questions, prompting stories remembered by this age-old man from hundreds of years ago. So, has this happened before? This regeneration thing, have you done it before? Yeah so many times. Well, Time Lords can technically only regenerate twelve times, but everyone cheats. And what about you? Alice asked. What happens to you now? I die, I change. Once upon a time Id get really het up about it, but its okay now. I know its time. But thats a week, isnt it? Youre not going to die yet, are you? Why? Dont you want me to? Well, no its just that, over Christmas, you dont want to be alone. And you dont want to have a friend or loved one die. The Doctor placed his hand on Alices shoulder gently, smiling warmly and reassuringly, as if to say, Im still here, and Im not going yet. Alice, in return, smiled, but it was one of a child who has found out that they can spend a few extra hours at a friends house. Merry Christmas, Doctor, Alice whispered. Merry Christmas to you, too, the Doctor responded, on that merry Christmas Night.

26th December Boxing Day

Alice, through the looking glass! Alice had never seen such a thing before a box that was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. The Doctor said it had something called transcendental dimensions, meaning that the interior was compressed so it could fit within the outer shell. She didnt know how it worked, but it was spectacular nonetheless. And, oh, the things the Doctor had showed her. She remembered stepping out into the harsh Czechoslovakian winter, seeing the story of Good King Wenceslas acted out in real life right before her eyes. She saw wonder in the peaceful celebration of Christmas in No Mans Land on Christmas 1914, and terror of the legend of the Krampus in the Alps who would terrorise and kidnap naughty children on the Feast of St. Nicholas. She had admired the resilience of Blitzed Londoners as they celebrated Christmas in makeshift bunkers in the London

Underground during the last Christmas of the Second World War, and had nearly got arrested in 17th century England for singing Christmas carols under the reign of the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. But all that time, there was a spectre hanging over the Doctor. Not a visible or physical one, not a Grim Reaper that you could see, but an ominous feeling that couldnt be erased. Alice thought, and she truly believed it, that the Doctor would have been a magical person to travel with, to see these wonders of the world and the universe but not right now. Now, the Doctors mind was on other things. Or, perhaps, just one thing, one simple thing his fate. They returned to Boxing Day, 2013, now Alice had seen the wonders of time and space. She dashed out of the door of the TARDIS, that magical and unearthly machine, and realised soon after that indeed they had been gone for the duration of five minutes. Christmas could last forever with a time machine, she thought. Somewhat selfishly, she would have liked to have had the Doctor come to stay every Christmas so that she could travel in space and time and never have to endure the drudgery of everyday life again. Only then could she be merry. And then, that morning, Alice got a phone call. A relatively unimportant one in the grand scheme of things, in the spectrum of events occurring on all the planets in all the galaxies in the universe, but it was a phone call from a friend. To Alice, this was something new. It was her friend Jane, inviting her to a New Years Eve party. She considered the Doctor would still be here on New Years Eve, but he would be leaving soon after midnight, he said. That was the time of his regeneration, his end. (He had told Alice this with confidence and certainty, as though he knew the exact second when he would collapse and be reborn as a new man.) She discussed it with him, and he said he didnt mind and that it was her life, not his. So she accepted the invitation, and New Years Eve seemed to suddenly become much more of an exciting prospect. Something happened then the Doctor collapsed, he fell into some sort of comatose state. He wouldnt respond to anything, nothing at all, no matter what Alice did to try and rouse him from his unconsciousness. But she noticed again the golden energy flowing from his pores, from every part of his body. Time was running out for the Doctor

27th December
The Doctor remained in a coma, not responding at all but merely in a deep sleep. Alice, having at one point been interested in becoming a medical doctor herself, was in possession of a stethoscope, and so used it on the Doctor to see if his claim that he had two hearts was correct. It was. She could hear the two hearts beating together, in unison. They were still beating, but the Doctors infinite mind and exuberant movements were not. These would be the longest days of Alices life.

31st December New Years Eve

The New Year had almost arrived, and so too had the Doctors demise. The Doctor was beginning to recover slightly the day before, he had woken from his comatose state, and by the morning of New Years Eve he was walking about and forming coherent sentences. Whatever had struck him down on Boxing Day evidently did not have a lasting effect on him, for he seemed back to normal by this point. The Doctor managed to climb up to the attic by himself, despite his weakened physical state, and returned to his TARDIS, wandering around the console room and trying to absorb all that it meant to him before his inevitable fate that would come that very night. He tried to envisage all the adventures he had been on, and how the TARDIS had been there for him always, never letting him down. And then he noticed something in the corner of his eye, but he turned away and forgot whatever it was. But, being acutely aware of everything, the Doctor knew what it was. The Silence had entered the TARDIS, they had come for his body. The Doctor addressed them with authority despite his ailing condition: I know why youre here, why youve come. The battles nearly over, isnt it? Our conflict is nearly done. He grinned uncontrollably in a self-satisfied way for a few seconds at having come up with such a clever rhyme so quickly. He hadnt lost it yet. Doctor, your fate is sealed. Your life is over. And I was suppose it was you with the tinsel, was it? The question must not be answered; we must kill the Doctor at any cost, and with great haste. A tone of sadness entered the Doctors voice at this point in the conversation: he had done good deeds in his life to all worlds, saved civilisations from utter obliteration and had forgiven those who had wronged against him. Yet for a secret he could neither change nor forget, he was being threatened with death by the collected masses of the universe. Do you know what? Perhaps its time. Ive outstayed my welcome, it seems. He came close to the TARDIS console, in an expression so very similar to an embrace. The TARDIS seemed to be his closest and only friend, with his name and image being demonised right across the stars. Even Alice would fade away she would forget the Time Lord, as most humans who have the luck of travelling in the TARDIS do. They remember for a while, they remember the different worlds and the alien species, but they never remember the designated driver, the lonely physician, the brooding Doctor. Otherwise, he would never be alone. Alice opened the doors quietly, as though somehow knowing that the Doctor was deep in thought and contemplation. Im going out now, if thats alright, she said. Call me if you need anything. Ive left my mobile number downstairs. Alright, okay, thanks, replied the Doctor, with a tear of lost loves and missed opportunities in his eye. And if I dont see you again, thanks for everything. Youve been great.

Alice smiled, then walked out of the TARDIS. She still couldnt comprehend the size of the place, and the small box in which such size was contained. The Doctor remained in the TARDIS, once again the lonely physician, and continued to ponder the fate that loomed over him. And, for the first time this time, and for a second, he glimpsed his hand glow that ethereal glow that only came with every time he changed. Not long now Later The Doctor had spent the night alone, wandering the streets of London for a time as everyone revelled in merriment and entered the New Year in a drunken stupor. He saw them celebrate this primitive festival, this mere marking of the end of one of their superficial years and the beginning of the next. He thought to himself, whats the point? Why remind yourself that time is passing and that youre one step closer to your demise? And then he remembered, perhaps thats what humans do best. Their ingenuity, their subconscious fearlessness in the face of death, their marking of these tiny, insignificant festivals. Perhaps thats what kept them sane, kept them alive. They were halfway out of the dark, while the Doctor marched towards his death with fear and trepidation. And maybe that was the way forward, the Doctor thought. Christmas is not only a time for fun and laughter, its a time for togetherness. The Doctor had found a friend in the week before his demise, and a friend must surely be the greatest gift of all. He had left a note for Alice it was the least he could do. And every moment while he was writing it, he could see a figure standing over his shoulder, watching with every letter formed. It growled and hissed, it observed keenly, as though it were itself dying in anticipation for the Doctors doom. The Doctor knew that the Silence had been waiting for this moment for hundreds of years, but he couldnt help but wonder whether it might be a bit of an anti-climax for them. They had expected a great battle on Trenzalore, the final resting place of the Doctor; instead, they were getting a man slowly dying in a one bedroom house on the Planet Earth. And so he returned to his box, the last Time Lord. The clock struck twelve how fitting for this occasion. A new year had begun, and so had the Doctors regeneration. The console room blazed with light, such a holy light. There were no explosions, no pyrotechnics just a solitary man in the centre of the room aglow with such a golden energy, his whole body consumed by this glittering mass. Beneath the particles which flowed out of his body in a constant stream, it was possible to see the Doctors face contorting, shifting, metamorphosing into something completely new, unseen before, like a newly born baby. It was fresh, brilliant and so, so alive! Downstairs, Alice had returned home, the festivities over for another year. She closed the door gently and quietly so as not to disturb her neighbours, not considering the Doctor who she knew would be leaving any moment now. She then proceeded up the stairs, calling out to him to see if he was still there: Doctor, are you there? You still here?

There was no reply. The Doctor, she thought, had left. But she went up to the attic anyway, to check. And there she saw the most beautiful thing the blue box in the corner, the Doctors TARDIS, slowly fading away into the air, something with such size merely becoming nothing. Is that how it did it, she thought. Is that how he goes? Not with a bang, but a whimper And then, a small post-it note floated around in the air, drifting towards her. She grabbed hold of it, and read it. It was a note from the Doctor: Merry Christmas! And thanks for looking after me. Alice shed a small tear. It had been a bizarre Christmas without doubt, it had been a strange Christmas with her house coming under attack from a horde of aliens. But it was the best Christmas, because this Christmas, she wasnt alone.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Inside the TARDIS, the transformation was complete. The Silence had gone; it had seen what it had to see, but it had perhaps left too early, for the Doctor the indomitable Doctor had survived death itself. And in the middle of the console room lay a woman, reasonably tall and with auburn hair, wearing the clothes of a man that were too big for her. The TARDIS hummed as it travelled onward through the night, having borne witness to the rebirth of the Doctor.