THE CHRISTMAS PARTY
A/N: This is a short story that's part of my Something Old and New series. Please see my profile for the list of the stories in the series and the order they should be read. This takes place when Hope and Faith are four years old. Chapter One It was Christmastime on New Gallifrey and this year it was the Doctor's turn to host the annual Christmas party on Christmas Eve night. They had spent the morning putting up the Christmas tree and decorations and now that it was over, Rain went into the kitchen to put a couple of turkeys in the oven while the Doctor went to the lavatory. As he was heading up the stairs, he glanced over his shoulder and saw Hope and their dogs, Anne and Elizabeth following them. The little corgis panted as they flanked his four year old daughter. "Chriiiistmaaaas," Hope said as he followed him. "Yes," the Doctor said, stopping and leaning over. "But right now, looooo." "I like Christmas," Hope said. "Me too but I like an empty bladder even more. So wait here and let me go to the loo and I'll be with you in a trice, okay?" Hope nodded and the Doctor tousled her hair before he walked on to the lavatory. As he entered, he grunted when Anne and Elizabeth tore past him and began to walk around the bathroom, sniffing out something. "You lot lose something?" the Doctor said to them before turning towards the door. He froze when he saw Hope starting to come inside and he quickly scooped her up while she giggled. "No, gotta stay out here. Daddy needs privacy," he said to her. "Doggies are in there," Hope said, pointing to the corgis. "Yes, well, doggies are busy sniffing around. Tell you what, why don't you go help mummy in the kitchen and I'll join you in a minute, yeah?" "Promise?" Hope said. "No, I'm gonna run far, far away in my TARDIS and never come back," the Doctor said, setting her down on the floor. "No, you're not," Hope said. "If you do, I'm gonna go get in your bed and sleep." The Doctor let out an exaggerated gasp and began to tickle her while she laughed. "No one invades the sanctity of my bed, my little gingerbread person," he said as he tickled her. Anne and Elizabeth, overexcited, came out and began trying to lick the Doctor's face. Before any of them could react, the Doctor zoomed into the bathroom and slammed the door, locking it behind him. "Hey!" Hope said, slamming her hands on the door while the dogs barked and ran around her. "You can't get away from me!" "What are you doing, love?" Hope turned and saw her mother coming up the stairs. "Daddy's going to the loo and I said, no, you have to stay out here and be with me and he said go and help you and I said, no," she replied as Hope walked up to her. Rain chuckled. She ran to the door and slammed her hands on it while she yelled at the top of her lungs. "Oi!" the Doctor yelled out while Hope bent over laughing. "GET OUT HERE, I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOOOOU!" Rain yelled as she banged the door repeatedly. By now the dogs were in a frenzy, barking and running around while Hope laughed hysterically. Rain stepped back when the Doctor opened the door and stared at his wife in a stunned silence. "How old are you?" the Doctor said to Rain when she gave him an innocent look. "Blimey, I thought Hope was running me ragged but you're running a close second now. It's a good thing I never age physically because I'd have a head full of grey hairs by now." Rain kissed him and the Doctor smiled at that and picked up Hope. "I put the turkeys in and I'm making mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese and the salad," Rain said. "Supposedly, everyone else is supposed to bring something." "Well, if not, we can open up bottles of wine and get good and pickled," the Doctor said. "I'd like to see that actually, you drunk off your butt," Rain said as they headed towards the stairs. The Doctor put Hope down and she laughed when he began to stagger around. "Woo-hoo, I'm drunk!" he said in a slurred voice as he staggered back and forth. He stopped in front of Hope and stared at her with wide eyes and a slack jaw while he made a gargling sound in his throat. Hope giggled and embraced him. The Doctor picked her up and held her close while they went downstairs. While they were going down, there was a knock on the door. The Doctor and Rain walked over and Rain opened the door. They backed up when Alan sprinted inside and slammed the door on Rose, his children and the Doctor's grown children along with Patience, Amelia and Opal. "Help me! Zombies are following me!" Alan said, slamming his body up against the door. "Let us in, you maniac!" Rose said, pounding on the door while Hope and the other children laughed hysterically. "Quick, Brother, get the axe. We need to chop their heads off and get rid of the fiends!" Alan said. "Out of the way, weirdo," Rain said, pushing him away from the door. "See that, Brother," Alan said as Rain opened the door. "Your butter knife is bringing about the zombie apocalypse and I have nothing to do with it. Don't blame me if they start eating your brains." Rain shook his head and embraced the children while Rose hugged the Doctor. While Rain was hugging the children, she looked out the door at the Christmas lights on the house across the street and the Christmas tree in their bay window. When they first founded New Gallifrey, they got together and decided what holidays they would like to celebrate and Christmas was by a unanimous vote. The bigger the population of their planet got, the more elaborate the Christmas celebrations became. In the morning was a huge Christmas day parade that would go down the high street of Kasterborous City and both Hope and Faith were eager to see it. As everyone greeted each other, Alan bent down and put his face next to Hope's. "And do you have kisses for me this Christmas Eve night?" he said. He smiled when Hope gave him a huge kiss on the cheek. "That'll do for now but I'll be back for more," he said as everyone went outside. They came back in with two large garbage bags filled with presents and several covered dishes of food. Alan came back in wearing a Santa Claus hat on his head. It had Jingle Bells written in red stitching on the front of the wide fur brim and Squeeze me in smaller red stitching on the fur ball hanging off the back of the hat. He bent over to Hope and told her to squeeze the ball. She did and smiled when a tinny version of Jingle Bells began to play. Alan picked her up and she held onto him as everyone else came inside. Once they put the garbage bags and food down, the Doctor's children and grandchildren came back to give him hugs. "Merry Christmas," the Doctor said as he hugged them. "It's great to see you again. I don't see you often enough. I keep debating on whether to build a great big house so I can have you all back under my roof again. I'm a very needy person, you know." "Yes, we know," Tara said, rolling her eyes. "I'm surprised you actually let us go out on dates when we got old enough." "I let you go out on dates? When did that happen?" the Doctor said, feigning confusion. "I must have had my brain swapped with someone else during that time. Anyway, while I sort out how I allowed my girls to go out on dates, come on in and enjoy yourselves." As they went to the kitchen, the Doctor hugged Dex. "Merry Christmas, my son," he said to him. "And to you, Father. I'm glad you thought of bringing this Earth celebration here. I have to admit it was one of the few things I enjoyed during my Earth life," Dex said to him. "I've always enjoyed it as well. Not just the presents and food but the fact that it celebrates peace and love and brotherhood which is what the Earth needs more of." They looked at the door when someone knocked on it. They opened it up and saw Duer standing with his family. Faith was carrying a brown wicker basket that had a red velvet lining inside. Inside the basket were lollipops. The ends of the lollipops were covered with handmade Santa, Reindeer and Snowmen faces. "Lolly?" Faith asked, holding up the basket to the Doctor and Dex. "She did this so she could contribute," Duer said. "We helped her make the felt faces for the lollies and she wants to pass them out to everyone tonight." "Awww, what a brilliant idea," the Doctor said, reaching down and pulling out a Santa one. "Thank you." Dex said thanks to her as he took a snowman one. They hugged her and when they were done, Faith went past them to find the others. The Doctor chuckled when they heard her say, "Lolly?" while she went into the kitchen. The Doctor closed the door while Duer took the sack of gifts to the tree and Frankie took the covered dish of food they brought to the kitchen. The Doctor was about to step away from the door when someone else knocked. He opened it and saw Torchwood. They yelled Merry Christmas to him before coming inside with their gifts and food. While they were greeting each other, Faith came out of the kitchen with her basket and walked up to them. "Lolly?" she said, holding up the basket to them. "She and Duer made the little faces," the Doctor said, holding up his Santa one. "Awww," Martha said while the members of Torchwood took some of the lollipops. "Thanks, sweetie!" "Daddy and me made them, the faces, not the lollies," Faith said. "I want everyone to have one tonight." "Thank you, I love the reindeer," Jack said, tousling her hair. Faith walked away while Martha and Mickey took care of the presents and food. Everyone else walked into the living room and sat down. Over the next hour, the rest of the family streamed in and Faith ended up standing by the Doctor each time he answered the door, offering everyone a lollipop. The Doctor smiled proudly at her and laid his hand on her head when she offered Grace, Amber, Selena and Juliet some lollipops. "Wow, you have a little helper tonight," Grace said as she took a snowman lollipop. "Yes, she's been very sweet and generous tonight. We'll have to give her a little something extra in her stocking," the Doctor replied. Once everyone arrived, the food was brought out to two large card tables and set up so everyone could get what they wanted. The Doctor and Duer took their daughters up to get something to eat and once everyone had food, they began to mingle and chat while they ate.
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