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The days after Christmas moved slower than the days prior. After waking up and seeing the present that the Doctor had left for you, you were more eager than before to meet up with him again. You had been devastated that you had missed his visit, but were thrilled to know that he had stopped by to visit you for Christmas. You had opted to hold onto the gift until you were back inside the TARDIS, deciding that you wanted to be with your friend when you opened it. You wondered if he had waited as well, or if he had opened it once he went back into the ship. You were more than ready to find out.
After what felt like months rather than weeks, you were going back to the beautiful, blue box you considered your second home. Giving your family one final wave goodbye, you left your normal life behind and headed for your designated pick-up spot. You tried to stay calm and collected, but you simply couldn’t contain yourself. You were about to see your best friend again, and you couldn’t be happier. Your heart began to beat faster the closer you got, a wide smile that rivaled the even the Doctor’s grins finding a spot on your lips.
Your heart skipped a beat when you saw the magical box and a certain alien leaning up against the doors, already waiting for you to arrive. You picked up your speed and made your way to him as fast as you could, your smile somehow becoming even wider. As you came closer, the Doctor kicked himself off of the doors and spread his arms wide open for you, his signature grin already on his face. You collided into him, nearly knocking him over as you wrapped your arms around his lanky body and pressed your face into his neck. Happy tears left your eyes as you felt him put his own arms around you, hugging you back tightly.
You both stood there in each other’s embrace for some time, happy to just be back together again. You finally pulled away, wiping your tears off with your arm as you smiled brightly at your friend. He smiled right back, his brown eyes sparkling with excitement.
“I would say “Happy New Year,” but New Years don’t really impact me. Time Lord and all.” He chuckled as he spoke, your ears burning at the wonderful sounds that you had missed. Even so, you managed to roll your eyes and chuckle back.
“You could at least amuse me, you know. Maybe go back to the 31st, drink a bunch of champagne, say a Happy New Year at midnight, give me a little kiss, and then wake up with a hangover and major regrets,” you retorted, crossing your arms and lifting your eyebrow.
“You humans and your silly human traditions. Remind me to take you to show you a real New Year’s celebration next year. I know someone who can give us the full experience,” he replied, winking at you.
“Oh? Then why not right now? You’ve got a time machine, you know.” You pat the TARDIS doors a few times to reiterate your point.
“Aw, but where’s the fun in that?” he asked, trying to keep the massive grin off of his face. He was failing miserably. “Wouldn’t want to spoil you now, would I?”
“You already do that, Doctor, so what’s the difference in doing it again now?”
“New Year’s Resolution. Stop spoiling my companions.”
“You just said that humans have silly traditions!” you cried out, slapping him gently on the arm as you tried to look annoyed. You, too, couldn’t keep the act up.
“Oi! What was that for? Other planets have the same traditions, you know!” You both tried to keep the banter going, but before long you both burst out laughing. You both entered the ship, laughing and smiling as you went to the console. As you calmed down, you saw the Doctor’s gift on sitting on the console, unopened.
“You didn’t open your present?” you questioned, pointing to the neatly wrapped box. The Doctor smiled softly while shaking his head.
“Nah, I decided to wait for you. And by wait, I mean travel ahead to today so I wouldn’t have to wait. Waiting long isn’t for me.” You both chuckled at his reply, knowing that he was the most impatient person you had ever met, which was understandable. The Doctor cleared his throat before continuing. “Did…you open yours?” He looked nervous, which was uncharacteristic of the alien. Your brows furrowed, but you decided not to ask what was wrong.
“No, I thought I’d wait until I got back here before opening it. I see that we both wanted to open our presents with each other around, huh?” You smiled softly at him, hoping it would lessen the tension he seemed to be holding. It worked slightly, his body relaxing slightly at your soft expression before he nodded in agreement.
“Well,” you started as you retrieved his gift to you from your bag, “why don’t we open them now? You’ve done, what, fifteen minutes of waiting? You must be ready to burst!” The last of the tension in the Doctor’s body left as he laughed and shook his head, disappointed, but amused, that you had such little faith in his patience levels. He could wait sixteen minutes, thank you very much.
You grabbed the his present off of the console and sat down on the seat, patting the empty spot next to you. You handed him his gift as he sat down, prompting him to go first. You watched with a big smile as he opened the present a little too quickly, showing how impatient he was to know what was inside. He glared slightly when he realized that the gift was inside the box, and the box itself didn’t hint at what at present was. You giggled at this, and he shot the glare towards you, trying to look intimidating. Unfortunately for him, it was more of a pout than a glare, which made you full out laugh. Deciding to ignore you, he went back to opening his gift. His eyes softened when he saw the box’s contents and slowly took it into his hands.
“I hope that it’s alright. I really wasn’t sure what to give you. I just saw it and thought of you,” you explained, hoping that he liked the present. It was a gorgeous, antique pocket watch, much like the fob watches the Doctor had told you about in the past. “I know that these kinds of watches hold onto the memories and essential being of a person when they basically become someone else. I know you’ve been through a lot, and you still hide things away. But I thought maybe this would help you remember that it’s okay to open up and remember things. It’s okay to hold onto the memories, because they help make you who you are.” He looked over at you after hearing your words, giving you a small, warm smile. He placed the watch back into the box and hugged you tightly, his hearts full from your kind words.
“Thank you. I really mean it. Thank you. You are the most wonderful companion that I’ve ever had the pleasure of traveling with.” He pulled away and glanced at the unopened gift in your lap. “I think you should open yours now,” he said, no signs of tension making their way to him this time. Nodding, you tore the wrapping off of the box and took the lid off. Your head tilted to the side slightly, a look of confusion on your face as you lifted out a single key.
“Wha-“
“It’s a key to the TARDIS. As I said, you’re the best companion I’ve ever had. I thought maybe it was time to have you become an official tenant of the ship. Of course, you’re going to have to pay rent, which is approximately two hund-“ He was cut off as you hugged him again tightly, your body beginning to shake with happiness. While you considered the ship your second home, it had never been made official. You had simply been sleeping over for multiple months at a time. Now, you were actually living there, and you were overjoyed.
Pulling away once more, you wiped your tears away for the second time that day.
“I don’t know what to say, Doctor. This is the most meaningful gift I’ve ever received. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life. And now, thank you for letting me truly make this my home. I’ll treasure this for as long as I live, I promise.” You both smiled before you leaned your head on the Doctor’s shoulder, his arm wrapping around you. You closed your eyes, happy to have things back to normal. You started to drift off to sleep, content but exhausted from the excitement of being back.
“Merry Christmas, Doctor. And Happy New Year,” you slurred quietly before falling asleep against him. Chuckling, he pulled you closer to him, glad that you were back with him.
“And a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too, my dear companion.”