A TOUCAN'S CHRISTMAS
WRITTEN BY ZOE LANCE
This story was salvaged from the Diary of Amelia Pond-Williams, with granted permission from her daughter, Melody Pond and son, Anthony Williams.
Please read at your own discretion.
***
“This is utterly ridiculous,” Sarah Jane grunted as she tugged on her restraints, hoping to loosen them. “Absolutely ridiculous.”
“You’re not going to bleat on, are you, dear?” asked the man, staring at her strangely.
“Try and stop her,” the Doctor murmured. “Once you set her off, there’s nothing to be done.”
“This is barbaric, you know!” Sarah Jane exclaimed. “Let me out!”
“Oi, I can’t do that! It’s not my fault you got in my way!” the man tutted condescendingly, waving his arms animatedly.
Sarah Jane grunted again, and turned to glare at the Doctor. “Well, haven’t you got a plan?”
“Working on it.” the Doctor sighed, wondering how he had managed to get them into this mess in the first place.
***
“Where are we?” Amy Pond asked as she poked her head out of the TARDIS door. Outside of the cavernous machine was a marketplace of some sort. Huge stalls were dotted across an expansive room, decorated with fruits and machinery and all sorts of confectionaries. They were all decorated in colourful banners and streamers, giving them each a unique appearance. She noticed one stall had a holographic alien of some sort welcoming passerbys. Looking upwards, Amy noticed the giant skylight and the space beyond it. Stars and glittering clouds shone above her, casting an ethereal glow on the marketplace, distinguishable to the artificial lighting that hovered in the air. The entire area was crowded with clumps of aliens and multiforms. “Are we back on Starship UK?”
“Nope! Welcome to Athena Major!” the Doctor announced grandly, spinning on his heels to face her, an excited grin etched onto his face. “One of the greatest marketplaces in this galaxy! I would have taken you to Akhaten, but what’s the point of that? Just smell that air, Amy, it’s beautiful!”
“It stinks.” Amy retorted bluntly, still wedged between the safety of the TARDIS doors, the final barrier between her and their latest destination.
The Doctor tutted. “I prefer realistic, though, now that you mention it, it actually is quite smelly. Anyway, come along, Pond! I have a package to pick up!”
“A package?” Amy closed the TARDIS door behind her and jogged to catch up to him, surprise laced in her tone. “You pick up packages?”
“Of course I pick up packages!” the Doctor gasped, looking affronted. “Where do you think people send my Christmas presents?!”
“I always thought River just picked them up for you,” Amy admitted.
The Doctor scoffed as they turned a corner. “She just steals them! Just like she stole Rory!”
“She didn’t steal him.” Amy rebutted, distracted by a cow sitting in one of the stalls, looking particularly grumpy. “She just nicked him to help her with a presentation for her students at the University: ‘Prehistoric Centurions’. Rory wasn’t too keen on the title.”
“And is that okay with you?”
Amy looked at him strangely. “Er, yeah? Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Good, that’s good,” the Doctor murmured absentmindedly. “And you two are okay, you and Rory?”
“Yeah...yeah, we’re fine,” Amy whispered, her eyes glazing over for a few seconds before she regained her composure and bumped his shoulder playfully. “Besides, gives us time to explore! Like the good old days.”
“The Doctor and Amy Pond,” the Doctor ruminated. “May those days never end. We’re here.”
Amy looked up to see they had reached the corner of the marketplace. A lone market stall stood proudly, the wooden oak glinting in the light. Manning the stall was another grumpy looking cow, their arms crossed against their chair and their beady eye locking onto the two new arrivals. The cow opened its mouth and spoke.
“Salutations, dear Doctor,” the cow greeted in a clear male British accent, tilting his head slightly. “Is this delightfully mute woman your latest companion?”
Amy was stunned. She had seen lizard aliens from the dawn of time, she had raised her parents from nonexistence, she had endured torture at the hands of religious fanatics, she ran around in a bigger on the inside box with a bow tie wearing alien that could change his face and personality when faced with death, but she had never expected to meet a British cow in her lifetime. She had expected she would reach a point where the universe would stop surprising her, but she was clearly wrong.
“Hello, Moo!” the Doctor greeted the cow cheerily as if it was a normal occurrence. Knowing him, it probably was. “Yes, this is my friend, Amy Pond! She’s a firecracker, this one. I would be careful around her. How are you, still riling up customers?”
The cow called Moo chuckled fondly. “No, no, I have plateaued in my controversy. I have reached an impasse with my customers.”
“Well, that’s good!” the Doctor clasped his hands excitedly. “Now, I’m here to collect my package.”
“Ah, of course,” Moo nodded in understanding, turning his swivel chair around and rummaging through a pile of packages. The Doctor grinned cheerily at Amy’s expression, taking joy in her inability to process the talking cow.
Eventually, he turned back around with a silver cage in his hands. The cage was a large silver one and inside it, to Amy’s surprise, was a black feathered bird with a distinctive orange beak. Its eyes locked onto hers, and it cocked its head to the side out of curiosity.
The Doctor leaned in towards the cage until the tip of his nose brushed against the cool metal. “Ah! There you are, Bill!”
“Bill?” Amy asked in confusion. “This is your package? A parrot called Bill?”
“I’m a toucan, actually,” the bird squawked in a factual tone, flapping his wings as if to reinforce his point. “Be glad I’m not a raven! Nasty buggers, they are.”
“Oh, really?” Amy asked dryly. “Next time I see a raven, I’ll be sure to keep the advice a talking Toucan gave me.”
“You do that,” Bill said beseechingly before turning his head to face the Doctor. “Well, are you gonna let me out?”
“Ah, Bill, it’s good to see you!” the Doctor grinned. “I remember when you were just a little bird!”
“Oh, here we go,” Bill audibly sighed, flapping his wings again. “If I wanted a recount of my life, I would ask for it. Take me on an adventure!”
“Bossy little one, isn’t he?” Amy murmured.
“You would know,” the Doctor teased as he took the cage out of the hands of the cow, beaming from head to toe. “We’ll take him off your hands now. Come along, Pond! Adventure awaits us!”
***
Amy sat on the TARDIS seat with a book in her hand, reading it as she felt the Doctor’s footsteps pace back and forth on the glass floor. Bill the Toucan remained in the cage, eyeing the pacing Time Lord as well.
“I thought adventure was awaiting us?” Amy said as she turned the page.
“It was - it is,” the Doctor murmured. The TARDIS hummed in a dismissive tone, apparently proving him wrong. The Doctor scowled and flick a switch. “Yes, thank you for the vote of confidence.” he turned to Amy. “Are you just going to sit there?”
“Yup,” Amy replied breezily, looking up from the book with a charming smile. “It’s a good book.”
“Well, I’m glad you can just sit there with your book while we just...just drift in space!” the Doctor shouted melodramatically, flapping his hands in disdain. Amy rolled her eyes and returned her attention to her book. She didn’t know where the author, but she was enjoying it.
The Doctor continued flicking buttons and pulling levers, hoping to get the TARDIS to cooperate.
“Come on, come on…”
“Doctor?” Bill squawked.
“Yes, Bill?”
“Could you let me out?”
The Doctor frowned. “Let you out?” he gasped. “We’re floating in space because my TARDIS is having a tantrum, missing out on adventures in the process, and you want to be let out?”
“Yes.” Bill answered bluntly.
“Preposterous,” the Doctor grumbled even as he relented to the bird’s wishes and pulled the latch open. Bill flapped his wings and flew a lap around the TARDIS with a caw. After his circle, he came to rest on Amy’s bright red hair, deciding it was a suitable perch. Amy didn’t react, simply because she was so engrossed in her book. A few minutes of silence elapsed. The Doctor grew tired of standing around and returning to flipping switches, when a piercing scream and a string of curse words caused him to startle and leap into the air. He spun on his heels and stared at the disgruntled Amy in surprise. “What happened?”
“He pecked me!”
“He what?”
“Pecked me!” Amy repeated.
“Really? How hard?” the Doctor asked in awe. Amy glared at him, waving her arms above her head to evade the Toucan. She spun on her heels and stomped down the steps. “Where are you going?”
“To my room! Tell me when you get the TARDIS working so we can go on an adventure!” she cried out as she entered the corridor, muttering to herself under her breath. The flapping of wings caught her attention and the next thing she knew, Bill was on her shoulder.
“Hi.” greeted the Toucan.
“Don’t you have anything better to do?” Amy huffed.
Bill cocked his head, as if to contemplate the answer. “No, not really.”
“Great.” Amy muttered sarcastically. Bill craned his neck to the left so he was facing the upper part of Amy’s head, and pecked. “Ow! Stop that!”
“No.” Bill replied, pecking her again. “It’s fun.”
“Ow! You are really annoying, you know that?” Amy cried out, trying to shoo the bird away. Bill persisted, continuing to peck her. Amy was starting to consider murder when the corridor lit up with fluorescent lighting and the Doctor’s cry of triumph momentarily halted Bill, prompting Amy to shove the bird off her shoulder. She watched in satisfaction as the bird clonked his head on the wall.
“Ow!” the bird squawked, glaring at the ginger woman.
“Deal with it, bird brain.”
“Amy!” the Doctor cried out, his voice slightly muffled. Amy deduced he was down in the underbelly of the ship. “I’ve got her working! Adventure! Goodbye, boredom!”
***
“And you just leave the turkey in the oven for-”
“Yes, Clyde, I got it!” Sarah Jane interrupted the boy as she closed the oven door. She sighed in relief. “There, everything’s all ready for tomorrow.”
“You sure you don’t want me to come over? We don’t want to poison Luke and Sky or anything.”
Sarah Jane huffed indignantly. “I think we can manage, thank you very much!”
Clyde chuckled. “Okay, just let me know if you need anything. See you tomorrow!”
“Bye, Clyde,” Sarah Jane smiled, ending the call and leaving the kitchen. She hopped up the stairs and made her way to the attic, intending to check on any potential alien activity with Mr Smith. She opened the door to her attic, still as cluttered with mementos and alien artifacts as always, to find her daughter seated on the steps, engrossed in a book on her lap.
“Ah, there you are!” Sarah Jane addressed Sky, patting her on the head as she sat down next to her. It was almost difficult to believe that Sky had been in her life for two years now. She had adjusted to Earth life seamlessly, traipsing around Ealing with a hoodie and headphones. It was nice to have somebody else in the house, especially since Luke had moved out so he could be closer to his job. She missed him, and Sky did too, but they always maintained contact. It was just a shame Luke couldn’t make it until tomorrow evening. Sarah Jane shook her head, and focused on her daughter. “What are you reading?”
“Summer Falls,” Sky explained. “It’s a book I found in the school library. Mr Chandra recommended it.”
“Did he now? I never pegged Haresh down as the story reading type,” Sarah Jane ruminated. “Who wrote it?”
“A woman called-” Sky began to explain, but was cut off by the sudden gust of compressed air and boisterous fanfare as the chimney slowly opened up, revealing the complex supercomputer behind it.
“Attention,” Mr Smith, the Xylok crystal that operated as Sarah Jane’s alien encyclopedia, announced. “Temporal flux is escalating in this vicinity.”
“What’s going on?” Sky asked as a gust of wind knocked the papers on the nearby table. A wheezing, groaning sound punctuated the air, coupled with the materialisation of a blue telephone box. “What is that?”
“Oh, Sky, don’t be frightened.” Sarah Jane assured her, rising from her spot and looking at the TARDIS eagerly. “It’s time you met a friend of mine.”
“A friend?” Sky repeated, realisation dawning on her features. “You mean -”
“Aha! There, you see, Amy? Perfect landing!” the Doctor babbled as he hopped out of the TARDIS and splayed his arms dramatically. “And River says I can’t manage it. Oh look, she’s not here to be proven wrong!”
A ginger haired woman popped her head out of the door, most likely the Amy the Doctor had mentioned earlier. “You know where she i-”
“Yes, yes,” the Doctor wafted his hand dismissively, turning to the two women at the bottom of the steps. “Hello, Smith! Lovely to see you again! Who’s the girl?”
Sarah Jane found a smile easily grace her lips. “Doctor, it’s you!” she beckoned Sky closer. “This is my daughter, Sky.”
“Sky? That’s a lovely name! Hello, Sky, I’m the Doctor!” the Doctor announced as he hopped down the steps and enveloped Sarah Jane in a hug. “Oh, it’s good to see you, Sarah! How long has it been for you?”
“Oh, let’s see, about three years?” Sarah Jane estimated.
“Blimey! You sure leave us hanging, don’t you?” Amy remarked, waving when everybody turned to face her. “Hi, I’m Amy.”
“Mrs Pond, mad as a box of cats!” the Doctor added, before rounding on Sky. “Hello again, Sky! You’re back!”
“I...I never went anywhere.” said Sky.
“Really? Are you sure?” the Doctor asked in confusion.
“He does that,” Amy assured the young girl. “Just roll with it.”
“I agree,” Bill cawed as he flew out of the TARDIS and landed on Sky’s head. “Good day, I am Prince Bill.”
“A talking bird?” Sky gasped.
“What do you mean, you’re a prince?” Amy asked at the same time.
“Oh, didn’t I mention?” Bill asked. “I am Prince Bill of the Andromeda Galaxy, husband to the great Prince Pickles himself.”
“Well, you kept that quiet,” Amy noted. “Bit convenient, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Bill scoffed proudly, turning towards Sarah Jane and bowing his head. “Good day, madame, I am Prince Bill.”
“Yes, you said.” Sarah Jane smiled. “Nice to meet you, Bill.”
“Well, you certainly are pleasant company compared to the ruffian up the stairs.” Bill noted Amy scowled and crossed her arms indignantly.
“You are suspiciously accustomed to a talking bird, Sarah,” the Doctor noted.
“Well, I have my own fair share of bossy birds.” Sarah Jane admitted. “Besides, after everything we’ve seen, this ranks lower on the spectrum of things.”
“Fair point.” the Doctor conceded.
Bill flew off Sky’s head and landed on Mr Smith’s keyboard, blinking at the silent Xylok. When Mr Smith didn’t respond, Bill raised his beak and pecked at the keyboard rapidly. The pecking continued until Mr Smith grew annoyed and sent a tiny spark of electricity up his beak, causing the bird to cry out in surprise. The Time Lord and three humans watched the scene unfold in surprise.
“Good grief!” Bill squawked as he flew onto the Doctor’s head. “That computer is positively barbaric!”
“Oh, do try to contain yourself,” Mr Smith retorted dryly.
“A talking computer, huh?” Amy drawled. “I’ve seen enough of those to last me a lifetime.”
“On the contrary, Mrs Pond, I am an artificial life form with the memory banks of any superior species. Not a talking computer.”
“Tetchy.”
“Indeed.”
“Does anyone else smell burning?” the Doctor asked.
“Burning…?” Sarah Jane looked at him blankly for a few seconds before realisation coloured her face and she flew out of the room. The Doctor shared a look with Amy and Sky and galloped after her, jumping down the stairs and almost tripping over his own two feet. The three skidded to a halt outside of the kitchen, coughing to exhume the smoke that had seeped into their lungs.
Sarah Jane was cursing as she pulled the turkey out of the pan, hurriedly placing it on the table. Sky ran inside and opened a window to let the dense layer of smoke out.
“Oh, the turkey is ruined,” Sarah Jane complained. The Doctor and Amy walked over to examine the charred food more closely, curling their mouths in distaste at the acrid smell.
“Yeah, I’d say so.” the Doctor agreed, freezing when he noticed the annoyed expressions of Sarah Jane and Amy. “Er, I mean-”
“Have you got another turkey?” Amy asked. Her own cooking disasters had taught her to always keep a spare turkey handy.
“No,” Sarah Jane sighed, fishing her phone out of her pocket. “Oh, I wonder if Clyde has one.”
At that precise moment, Bill flew into the kitchen and perched itself in front of the turkey, blinking silently at it.
“Oi, Beaky, where’ve you been?” Amy asked. She sighed in exasperation when the bird ignored her in favour of staring at the turkey..
“What’s he doing?” Sky whispered, almost as if she was worried she would disrupt the Toucan’s concentration. Without warning, Bill plunged his beak into the turkey leg and pulled out a piece of scrap paper.
“Paper?” the Doctor spluttered. “In a turkey? You have very strange eating habits, Sarah.”
Amy and Sky stared at the man blankly while Sarah Jane took the paper from Bill and unfurled it, her brow furrowing as she read aloud.
“Dear Ms Smith, this is not the only attack. Be prepared. Oh, and bring a candy cane. What do that mean?”
The Doctor looked at her gravely. “Someone’s trying to ruin your Christmas.”
***
“Let us out!” Sarah Jane hollered, tugging at her restraints once again.
The man shook his head regretfully. “Hmm….no. I want somebody to be here when I turn on my machine!”
“This is ridiculous! You’re the most generic villain I’ve ever had to face!” Sarah Jane spluttered. “Are you a cardboard cutout from an action movie?”
“Oi, that smarts!” the man growled, spinning on his heels. “No matter, you’re just annoyed my plans are coming to fruition!”
The Doctor sighed, struggling to reach for his sonic screwdriver with his bound hands, thinking back to the events that led up to this moment.
***
“The note was written in the ink of the Gashuri race, a unique and traceable substance.” Mr Smith explained in his monotone voice as he scanned the scrap of paper.
“How’d you know to scan the note?” Amy inquired as she leaned against the chair opposite Sarah Jane.
“The words were handwritten,” Sarah Jane pointed out. “There’s a stark difference between printed and handwritten text. Mr Smith, can you locate the recipient?”
“Yes, Sarah Jane. The specific mention of candy canes made it easy to trace the writer back to the abandoned steel mill on the outskirts of Ealing. They were manufacturing candy canes when they were unexpectedly shut down.” Mr Smith explained.
“Then that’s where we’ll start!” the Doctor explained, leaping out of the TARDIS with an awestruck Sky and a caged Bill. “Come along, Smith, we’re going on a little reconnaissance mission. Amy, you stay here with Sky and Bill.”
“What? Why?!” Amy complained.
“If there’s another attack on Sarah’s Christmas, we’re going to need you here. I put Bill back in his cage so that you have fewer things to worry about. And don’t worry, we’ll shout if we need you!”
“Fine.” Amy conceded, taking a seat in the chair Sarah Jane vacated and crossed her arms. “But bring me back a candy cane!”
“Course,” the Doctor grinned, passing the cage to a Sky.
“You’ll be careful, won’t you?” Sarah Jane asked worriedly. Sky nodded brightly, fascinated by the Toucan. She had never seen one before.
“I’ll take care of her,” Amy assured Sarah Jane.
“Thank you.”
“Right, come on, we have a job to do! We’ll have to take your car, it’s too dangerous to take the TARDIS.”
***
Half an hour later, the Doctor and Sarah Jane arrived at the steel mill. The Doctor eagerly stepped out and ran to the door, glad to be out of the stuffy little car. “Honestly, how do you people cope?”, he had asked Sarah Jane more than once. The woman in question quickly caught up and together, they pushed the steel mill doors open.
The factory was deserted. The derelict and disused equipment lay neglectfully scattered around the area. Sarah Jane pulled out her sonic lipstick and wielded it like a weapon, ready to use if necessary. The two cautiously stepped into the factory. The only sounds that punctuated the air was their breathing and quiet footfalls.
“It’s very quiet, isn’t it?” the Doctor asked Sarah Jane as they traversed through the factory.
“Do you think it’s a trap?” Sarah Jane inquired.
“Almost certainly.”
As soon as the words left his lips, the Doctor felt a sharp sting in the crook of his neck. He pulled the object away with shaking hands and noted that it was a tranquiliser before his vision blurred and blackened. He struggled to keep his eyes open, hearing something slump by his side. A pair of feet strode up to him, and the last thing the Doctor remembered before he fell unconscious was the pain that erupted above the bridge of his nose when the mysterious figure kicked him.
***
And that was how he and Sarah Jane Smith had ended up bound to a crane while the mysterious man pranced around them like somebody fresh out of a pantomime and explained his plan to them in the minutest detail. He didn’t give them a name, he just liked to be the Man. He wasn’t particularly impressive. He had a scrawny build with bedraggled hair and wild grey eyes, but his face was covered in deep purple scales.
“So, you’re a Gashurian, right?” the Doctor asked, hoping to keep the man monologuing for his sonic screwdriver.
“Correct!” the Gashurian Man replied in a gravelly voice, sounding proud of himself.
“And you ruined Sarah Jane’s turkey because you wanted Prince Bill to sell to the black market?” the Doctor postulated.
“Well, yes, but I also just like ruining humans’ Christmas. Such a facetious celebration.” the Man sighed.
“That’s a ridiculous motive!” Sarah Jane yelled.
“Oi! How is it you’re terrified of those bargain basement Slitheen and not me? I am clearly the superior being!” the Man retorted, insulted by Sarah Jane’s words. He turned around to face them with an annoyed glint in his eye. “Look, I even have a machine that’ll compress this planet into a diamond!”
“Yeah, I’ve seen one before. Not impressive,” The Doctor grunted. Sarah Jane voiced her agreement.
“Oh, you two are spoiling my fun,” the Man huffed. “Seriously, you’re supposed to be the heroes and you can’t do anything! I think I’ll just kill you now.”
“Hold it!” Amy yelled as she burst into the room, Sky and Bill hot on her heels. The bird dived straight into the Man, pecking at his face repeatedly.
“Amy!” the Doctor shouted in delight. “How did you find us?”
“Mr Smith detected an energy build up in this area, so we thought we’d come and help,” Amy replied as she worked on freeing them from their restraints. “We borrowed the neighbour’s car. She was very keen.”
“Somebody get this parrot away from me!” the Man screeched, covering his face to protect himself from the vicious onslaught.
“He’s a Toucan!” Amy yelled.
“Let him have it, Bill!” the Doctor cried out in triumph as his fingers wrapped around his sonic screwdriver. Pulling it out of his pocket, he pointed it at the machine and disabled it as Amy and Sky worked together to tackle the Man to the floor. Sarah Jane grabbed the rope and hurried towards them, helping them to tie up the Gashurian male.
“No! You ruined my plan! Every single one of you!”
“Yes, we did!” the Doctor agreed through a delirious giggle. “Job done!”
***
End of Journal entry.
***
“Is that it?” Rory asked.
“What do you mean ‘is that it’?” Amy repeated incredulously. She put her pen down and turn to face the man peering over her shoulder in consternation.
“You can’t just leave it at that, you have tie up the plot points. Any writer knows that!” Rory protested. “And besides, that villain is underwhelming-”
“Not every psycho we encountered with the Doctor was terrifying, Rory.”
“And some of that dialogue feels clunky! Sarah Jane isn’t half as shrieky.”
“How would you know? You never met her!”
“I did, actually.”
“When?”
“I dunno, I visited her with River once.” Rory shrugged. “And you and Sky barely did anything!”
“That’s okay, I barely did anything when we were with the Doctor.” Amy replied flippantly.
“What happens to Bill?”
“Spoilers.” Amy grinned as she pushed past him. “Come on, Anthony needs changing.”
“You can’t leave me with cliffhangers! I’ll die from the mystery!” Rory protested.
“Hmm. this wasn’t one of my finest, was it?”
“Did this actually happen?”
“Who knows?” Amy countered. “Use your imagination!”
“Oh, that helps a lot. Thanks.” Rory bit sarcastically.
“Oh, shut up, Rory.” Amy laughed.
***
Diary Entry 2013
Earth, Ealing, Christmas Eve 2013, 11:59 PM
***
“That was weird.” Sky said aloud. After the entire debacle, they had called up UNIT and returned to the house. The Doctor and Amy didn’t stay long, hopping into the TARDIS with their Toucan and dematerialising without a goodbye. Sarah Jane didn’t mind. Usually he would at least acknowledge her before he left, but sometimes he did things that she didn’t understand.
“Yes, it was a strange day, wasn’t it?” Sarah Jane mused. They were in the garden swing staring at the stars when she heard it.
“They didn’t stay for Christmas,” Sky sighed as the clock chimed midnight.
“I know, Sky.”
“Merry Christmas, Sarah Jane.”
Sarah Jane smiled. “Merry Christmas.”
“Hang on…”
For the second time that day, the TARDIS materialised right in front of her. Sarah Jane and Sky hopped off the swing in surprise, expecting the bow tie clad man to leap out at them babbling away at his companion. Instead, a young girl and boy popped out, the girl looking more dazed than her male friend.
Sarah Jane gasped as Sky ran to hug the boy. “Luke, Maria! What are you two doing here?”
“Surprise, mum!” Luke grinned sheepishly.
“That box is bigger on the inside!” Maria gasped.
“Oh, Maria!” Sarah Jane laughed, wrapping her arms around her friend in a warm hug. “It’s good to see you.”
“Surprise!” the Doctor exclaimed cheerfully, jumping out of the box with a top hat, closely followed by a disgruntled Amy, who was rubbing her head in exasperation and trying to push away Bill. “Early Christmas present! We got sidetracked, had to visit Janine - she’s a friend. Sort of, it’s a long story.”
“The Doctor told us everything,” Luke explained. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, I’m fine.” Sarah Jane said, wrapping an arm around her son. “Out of everything we faced, he wasn’t even threatening.”
“He just wanted to ruin Christmas.”
“Like a cheesy movie villain?” Maria asked.
“Exactly.” Sarah Jane grinned. “I don’t think you two ever met face to face. Maria, this Sky. Sky, this is Ma-”
“Yes, yes, introductions can come later. For now, it’s Christmas! Let’s eat!” the Doctor demanded, hopping out of the TARDIS again with a cooked turkey. He shoved it into Luke’s hands and ushered the youngsters into the house.
Sarah Jane pulled the Doctor back. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” he beamed at her. “You didn’t think I’d leave without saying goodbye without a reason, did you?”
“Well, I had my doubts,” Sarah Jane laughed.
“Aw come on, Smith,” the Doctor grinned, pulling her into a hug, “You know I’d do anything for you.”
“I know, I know,” Sarah Jane chuckled, basking in the hug for a few seconds before composing herself and pulling back. “Right, come on, we have to save some turkey before they eat it all!”
“Right behind you,” the Doctor called out as he turned to Amy. “We did good today, Pond.”
“Yes, we did.” Amy nodded. “You got your adventure after all.”
“I helped today.” Bill stated.
“Yes, you did.” Amy said as she sat on the garden swing. “And you pecked me a million times too.”
“You’re so sensitive,” Bill sighed, rubbing his beak against Amy’s hair. “I’ve never celebrated Christmas before.”
“Really?” Amy asked in surprise.
“Yes, it’s my first.”
“A Toucan’s first Christmas,” the Doctor mused.
“A Toucan’s Christmas.” Amy corrected the Doctor with a grin. “Great title, isn’t it?”
“Pond?”
“Yeah?”
“Merry Christmas.” The Doctor said softly as he sat next to her.
Amy smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. “Merry Christmas.”
writer - ZOE LANCE
cover art - JANINE RIVERS
story editor - JANINE RIVERS
producer - JANINE RIVERS
cover art - JANINE RIVERS
story editor - JANINE RIVERS
producer - JANINE RIVERS