ladyoftime | Santa Claus is comin' to town!

“You’re not Santa.”

The Doctor spun around, neatly dislodging from their places on the Christmas tree three green ball ornaments, a little Santa sitting at a piano, and a parasailer. The little Santa bounced off her boot, switched on, and sang “Jingle Bell Rock” most humourously. “What makes you think that?”

"Santa,” the little girl in the Cinderella princess nightie explained, “is a man.”

“Well, yes, there’s that,” the Doctor said, tearing off the fake white Santa beard with a sigh of relief. “You’re very observant, you know. He couldn’t come this year. Something about catching a mutated cold virus from the Master. You’ve been sick before, haven’t you?” The little girl nodded solemnly. “Well, you wouldn’t want him going out on a night like this, would you? He’d be miserable.” She held up a red velvet bag for the girl to inspect. “How does this open?”

“Pull the string,” the girl advised.

“Ah.”

A mountain of toys that talked, walked, and wrote theses for stressed-out college students covered the floor. The Doctor leaned in for a closer look. “I suppose I should’ve made sure it was right-side up first,” she admitted. The girl stared up at her and, for the first time in their short conversation, smiled.

“You’re silly.”

“Yes, I am. Is this yours?” she asked, holding out a doll that changed hair colour. The things dolls could do these days. And it had just changed to ginger now, too, something even she couldn’t manage.

The girl made a face. “No. I already have one. ‘Sides, that’s not my name on it.”

“It isn’t?” She squinted at the tiny name tag. “What is your name?”

“Joni. What’s yours?”

Distracted by the tangle of toys, “I’m the Doctor.” After unearthing a Barbie and two toy cars, she finally found the presents marked for Joni and her family. Santa had to do something about his organization.

Joni watched her with interest. “You’re holding them upside down again.” The presents were righted and deposited underneath the tree. “My cousin says Santa doesn’t exist. He says he’s made up.”

“Of course he exists. He’s a good friend of mine. Why else would I be wearing this hat?” She pulled off the Santa hat and placed it firmly on Joni’s head. “Looks better on you than it does on me.”

“Then how does he get around the world in one night?” Joni asked, slightly muffled by the fuzzy white cotton ball over her face.

“He time travels, of course. He’s a Time Lord. I used to know him at the Academy.” The Doctor gathered a bunch of gifts in her arms and dumped them back into the bag. “Strange one, he was, too. Kept entering rooms through the fireplaces. Still, he turned out all right, didn’t he?” Another load for the bag. “We used to call him Kris Kringle. He kept that name, come to think of it.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Nostalgia, perhaps? I’ve finished here,” she said, hefting the velvet bag back over her shoulder. Despite its full load of presents, it couldn’t have weighed more than a few ounces. Bigger on the inside, of course. “Happy Christmas!”

Joni’s eyes widened with alarm. “You forgot the cookies!”

She turned, slowly. “Cookies?”

“Yeah!”

The Doctor hesitated, then tossed the bag carelessly to the couch. “Well, maybe I could stay for a little while. Have I told you about the time Kris, Koschei, and I decorated the entire Citadel in tinsel and mistletoe?”