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CHAPTER TEN:
CHRISTMAS

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IRIS didn't travel with the Doctor for a week. He ignored her requests, drilling information into her head and dumping new space policies and politics to ensure she memorized them. She'd gone through two notebooks filled with different information, and she attended all of her classes on time (to make up for the one she missed when travelling with the previous doctor.)

"Off you go, then," the Doctor practically shoved her from the TARDIS. "You've got things to do."

"But I want to travel with you," Iris frowned. "I like your other selves, but...you're my Doctor."

"I know," he softened. "But it's still me. Every time. Just different."

"Yeah, but, it's not the same," Iris objected and he shook his head, bopping her nose.

"Tell me that after this one," he told her. "Be good, Holloway."

"Yeah, whatever," she rolled her eyes, then turned around at the last second. "Do you have companions now? That I haven't met?"

"Yes," he answered immediately. "And you'll meet them when it's time."

Iris pouted. "But they're important to you," she pointed out. "Why can't I meet them now?"

"They're not ready for you, Holloway," he grinned. "Get out."

"See you soon?"

The Doctor hesitated. "Merry Christmas, Iris."

Iris furrowed her eyebrows. "It's Christmas?"

"Goodbye, Holloway," he backed into the TARDIS and closed the doors.

Iris let out a small groan, turning and walking down the street, wondering where she'd ended up. This didn't look like Bristol. At all. Or Las Vegas. He hadn't taken her to school, and he hadn't taken her home.

Iris frowned, checking her watch and seeing it was near ten in the morning. Straightening her bag over her shoulder, she clenched her jaw in frustration realizing she'd left her jacket with the Doctor and began walking.

Around her were numerous apartment buildings, all brick and a bit dated. Christmas decorations littered the balconies and lights were strung up on windows. So, he had been right in saying it was Christmas, but a flash of annoyance rushed through her knowing she'd probably end up with a previous him and not be able to see her family.

He was definitely getting lectured for this.

Iris spotted two people in the middle of the courtyard and jogged over to them. The closer she got, the more she realized — Mickey.

So, this was another tenth doctor adventure then. That was fine, she liked that one. She just preferred her Doctor.

She wished she could spend Christmas with him.

"Mickey?" Iris asked loudly, grabbing the attention of him and the other woman. Blonde, older, with kind eyes. "Where's the Doctor? Have you seen him?"

"Who's this, then?" The blonde woman asked in confusion, and Iris stifled a groan at the confusion on Mickey's face.

"Do I know you?"

Iris sighed heavily, but the sound of whirring breaks eased her frustrations.

There he was.

"You'll find out soon enough," Iris mumbled, looking around for the TARDIS.

"Where is it, then?" The blonde asked.

As if on cue — which could have been planned, knowing the Doctor — the TARDIS surged out of the vortex and appeared in the courtyard, bumping into apartment buildings and Iris ducked down as it flew directly over the trio.

An orange van stopped in the middle of the road to avoid the TARDIS, but got dinged anyway, and she finally landed in between two trash bins on the other end of the courtyard.

Iris was the first one to move, rushing across the courtyard, worry filling her chest. He was so careful with her when he steered — the TARDIS hated getting all busted up — and so he was either in extreme pain or danger or...was failing at showing off.

One of the three.

The doors opened and the tenth Doctor's face appeared, but Iris noted he was wearing her jacket, or Nine's jacket, really, and looked incredibly confused. Had she stumbled upon a regeneration?

"Here we are, then. London, Earth, the solar system, isn't it?" He asked someone behind him, not noticing Iris.

She crossed her arms with an amused smile, head tilted as she watched him.

He stumbled out the door closed behind him. He looked down to the blonde woman first with wide eyes.

"Jackie, Mickey, blimey!" He exclaimed, stumbling backwards. "No, no, no, no, hold on, wait there. Just-what was I going to say?" He glanced and spotted Iris, face lighting up in a grin. "Iris Holloway! Oh, look at you!"

"Hi, Doctor," Iris replied with a soft smile. "You feeling okay?"

"No, rubbish," he grinned through his words, then looked between the three, walking in a large half-circle back to them. "There was something I had to tell you," his smile fell. "Something important. What was it?" He grabbed onto Mickey and Jackie's shoulders. "No, hold on, hold on, hold on." He shushed them, but Iris knew he was really shushing his overactive mind, bless him. "Oh! I know!" He grinned at the three. "Merry Christmas!"

Iris caught him as he fell, slowly lowering him to the ground. Pulling out a stethoscope from her bag — she started carrying one at the Doctor's behest, who claimed one never knew when their heart would stop — and placed it to his chest, listening to his heartbeats.

Only one.

"One heart," she mumbled, placing a hand to his head as Rose exited the TARDIS. Iris hardly looked up. "Regenerating," she looked up to Rose with a small frown. "What was he doing before this? Where were you both?"

"Sorry, who're you?" Rose frowned. "Get away from him!"

"I'm Iris Holloway," she smiled cheerfully up at the three. "I'm the Doctor's partner, hard to explain. I travel with a future version of him, but I also live through adventures in his past selves, whenever my Doctor is like "hey, get out there, Holloway" and so that brought me here." At their blank looks, she added, hoping it would help explain things. "The universe is in a state of infinite temporal flux, but the Doctor and I are like magnets, existing outside of that flux, drawn together throughout space and time. Did that simplify it?"

Rose frowned at Iris' words. "But...that's not the Doctor."

"Yes, he is," Iris nodded. "Come on, we can take him to the MedBay, I can fix him up and—"

"—No," Rose cut her off harshly, grabbing the Doctor's legs. "Mickey, grab his head. We're taking him upstairs and I'll fix him."

Iris blinked at her words, a confused frown finding her face as Mickey and Rose carried the Doctor across the courtyard.

"You're a friend of his, then?" Jackie asked as they walked a bit behind.

"Yes," Iris replied. "I'm Iris, sorry for the introduction earlier," she held out a hand for Jackie with a smile.

"Jackie Tyler," Jackie shook her hand. "Rose's Mum."

"Oh, wonderful!" Iris grinned. "Merry Christmas," she added. "Is it Christmas Day exactly?"

Jackie nodded. "Twenty-fifth this morning. I didn't think Rose would come home for Christmas. She's always out travelling. Haven't you got any family to be home with?" Jackie asked.

"Yes," Iris nodded. "But the Doctor dropped me off here instead, so I think this is something I have to do this Christmas," she shrugged. "That's okay, I'll just call them when we get everything situated."

"Oh, bet your mum's worried," Jackie acknowledged as they climbed the stairs to the Tyler flat. "God knows I lose my mind whenever Rose is out there."

"Oh, I don't have a mom," Iris shrugged. "I mean, biologically, I do, but I've never met her. My brothers raised me."

"What, really?" Jackie asked. "How many have you got?"

"Three," Iris smiled fondly at the memory of them. "Two live in Las Vegas, that's where I'm from, but my oldest one lives in Maryland." At Jackie's blank stare, Iris grinned. "America. I'm from America, I came here for school and met the Doctor then."

"Oh, look at you, getting a degree," Jackie smiled. "What're you studying?"

"Astronomy and Astrophysics," Iris told her.

"Wow," Jackie raised her eyebrows, impressed. "You must be a smart cookie."

"I try," Iris laughed lightly.

Jackie hurried in front of Rose and Mickey, opening the door for them and letting them carry the Doctor further inside. Iris closed the front door behind her, looking around the flat.

It was cute, matching white sofas and couches, a small television, a wooden table, and a large pink blanket over the main couch. Yellow walls, carpet, and a dining room table next to a small kitchen.

Iris stepped further inside, looking over book titles as she went, skimming through magazines, before her eyes caught Jackie hovering outside a bedroom.

"Iris, love, can I have your stethoscope?"

Iris nodded, pulling it back out and handing it to her, following the woman inside. The Doctor had been changed into pajama pants — though Iris wasn't sure exactly when they'd done that — and Rose's eyes narrowed at Iris, but she put the stethoscope to her ears and the Doctor's chest, listening.

"I still say we should take him to a hospital," Jackie told Rose.

"Bad idea," Iris shook her head. "His blood has regenerative properties and Time Lords don't even have the same antigens that a human does. A and B aren't even possible."

Rose glanced at her. "They'd lock him up," she added, looking to Jackie. "They'd dissect him. Like she said, one bottle of his blood could change the future of the human race."

Jackie opened her mouth to speak again but Rose shushed her. Iris watched Rose put the stethoscope back on the Doctor's chest, listening for his heartbeats.

"Both working," she said after a moment.

"Oh, great, good on you, Doc," Iris smiled softly.

"What do you mean both?" Jackie asked. "Iris said that earlier, thought she was nutty."

"He's got two hearts," Rose explained.

"Oh, don't be stupid," Jackie scoffed.

"He has," Rose stood and walked past Iris, giving her another look.

"Anything else he's got two of?" Jackie asked curiously.

"Two hearts, a respiratory bypass system," Iris elaborated, "three brainstems, although, he may have two in this regeneration, it depends, two sets of lungs, and don't give him aspirin, Time Lords are allergic."

Both women stared at Iris, bewildered by her words.

"How do you know that?" Rose asked with a frown.

"He told me," Iris replied simply.

Rose scoffed and walked off, her mother following close behind. Iris didn't let it deter her, leaning against the doorframe and watching the Doctor as golden regenerative energy left his mouth.

"You'll be alright," she voiced gently. "I'm here."

—

"Hiiiii Seb," Iris held the phone to her ear, sitting at the dining table in the flat. "I won't make it home."

A pause.

"Why not?"

"I've got Doctor stuff," she bit her lip, fighting back tears that threatened to spill at the sound of her brother's voice. "I'm sorry. I just...I was supposed to come and see you, but he dropped me off with an older version of himself and he's regenerating, so..."

"I don't know what that means, cupcake."

Iris let out a small chuckle. "Instead of dying, his body restarts itself, completely. He's able to maintain the same consciousness in the next body, but he becomes someone else entirely. New face, new personality, new habits, likes, dislikes, everything."

"Will he still want you around?" Sebastian asked.

"Apparently," Iris smiled. "He doesn't explain when I ask, though."

"But this...regeneration thing," Charlie's voice cut through the call and Iris chuckled at the idea that the pair had her on speaker. "That's why I've slaved over this oven for three hours and you're not coming home?"

"You can barely make a microwavable meal, Charlie," Iris giggled. "I doubt you put actual food in the oven."

"Now you won't know," Charlie countered. "Seb and I are going to eat it all."

"And Griff," Sebastian added. "Who is visiting and will be very upset that he can't see his sister."

Guilt flooded Iris and she looked down, drawing circles on the wood. "Tell him I'm sorry," she requested quietly. "I miss you guys. I'll come home soon."

"Yeah, and bring this Doctor guy," Charlie voiced. "I'd, uh...like to have a word."

"Just a word," Sebastian agreed.

Iris laughed at her brothers. "Bye, idiots."

"See ya, stink," Charlie replied, ending the call.

Iris sighed, letting the phone sit on the table as her thoughts drifted. Was this her new life? Missing out on her family in place of the Doctor? She liked him, she did, but if he'd already known her — and her family — then he must know that she can't live without them. She can't separate her life from theirs.

It wasn't fair to ask her to spend so much time with him — different versions of him — and take time from people she loved. They would love the Doctor if he only let himself be apart of her life.

She promised herself that when she saw her Doctor again, she'd tell him to take her home before the next adventure.

But, shoot, she let out a small groan. He'd already informed her that a different version of him met her brothers. How many versions were there? When would she meet the others?

It was all so frustrating.

"How can he go changing his face?" Jackie asked Rose loudly in the kitchen. Iris glanced over.

"How should I know?" Rose countered.

"Iris," Jackie grabbed her attention. Iris smiled kindly, eyebrows raised in question. "How's he change his face?"

"How should she know?" Rose asked harshly. "She doesn't know him."

"Uh, actually," Iris frowned at Rose's behavior. Had she been this rude last they met? Iris didn't think she was very rude, but she seemed it now. Perhaps she was stressed. "He regenerates into a new body. New face, new personality, new attributes, new everything. But his consciousness is able to passed on from body to body. It's a way that Time Lords cheat death."

"You made that up," Rose crossed her arms. "How do you even know the Doctor again?"

"We travel together in my present, his future. My future is his past but it's my present."

"What?" Rose asked, narrowing her eyes. "You're just...saying words, Just...don't talk."

"Okay," Iris said in a small voice, looking away. "Sorry," she added.

Rose turned back to Jackie and quietly sobbed to her mother about how much she loved the Doctor. Iris recalled her last adventure with the pair — it was obvious the Doctor loved Rose, too. Anyone could see it.

And she knew with them travelling together that Rose obviously came around to the idea of a new Doctor. Her heart went out for the young girl, remembering when she'd met Nine and he hadn't a clue who she was.

She missed her Doctor.

"Is that Harriet Jones?" Rose asked, grabbing Iris' attention. "Why's she on tv?"

Iris looked over to the television, and sure enough, their Prime Minister was doing another recording.

"She's Prime Minister now," Jackie explained. "I'm 18 quid a week better off. They're calling it Britain's Golden Age."

"She's really cool," Iris added. "She came to do a lecture a few weeks back, talking about economics and the developing classism of the modern monarchy, with an emphasis on the political restructures and formations she hopes to bring in the near future. It was amazing."

Rose glanced at her, jaw clenching, but looked back to the screen.

"I keep on saying, my Rose has met her," Jackie added, smiling to Iris.

"Did more than that," Rose smiled. "Stopped World War III with her." She sighed fondly. "Harriet Jones."

"What about those calling the Guinevere One Space Probe a waste of money?" Someone on the television asked.

Iris jolted from her seat, moving to stand next to Jackie. "That's my brother's probe," she declared excitedly. "He came up with the design for the probe and—"

"—Can you not?" Rose asked, pointing to the screen. "She's talking."

"Oh, yeah, sorry," Iris shrank a bit, wrapping her arms around herself. She suddenly felt much...smaller, somehow. Iris hadn't felt like that since she was a little girl.

"...The Guinevere One Space Probe represents this country's limitless ambition," Harriet Jones continued. "British workmanship sailing up there among the stars."

"This is the spirit of Christmas, birth, and rejoicing," another man spoke, most likely Harriet's aid. "And the dawn of a new age, and that is what we're achieving. Fifty million miles away, our very own miracle."

Iris watched as the screen changed and a three-dimensional design filled the screen, representing how Guinevere One would orbit.

"Guinevere One is about to make its final descent," a commentator's voice narrated, "Photographs of the Martian landscape should be received by midnight tonight."

"This is so cool," Iris grinned. "I mean, Mars is one of dream adventures, but my Doctor says I have to get there with an older version before we can go back, but I love this idea of knowing it's out there just beyond our fingertips, but still existing in this present moment. My brother created that probe and now it's going to discover something that—" Iris stopped, smile falling at the look on Rose's face. She looked back at the screen, quieter.

Iris really missed being home.

—

Iris fiddled with her phone, debating on whether or not to call him. It felt strange, considering he was just down the hall in bed, lying asleep from a regeneration. But he wasn't her Doctor. He was Rose's Doctor.

Iris walked over to the room, pulling up a chair and sitting next to him.

"I miss you," she said quietly. "The other you. But you're still you. That's what's weird. You're you, but...not you." She sighed. "Rose is kind of mean," she admitted quietly. "I don't know if I should tell you that because she's your companion and I'm just...I don't know. But...she's a little mean. I would tell my Doctor that, but I don't think he'd answer. I get the feeling I'm supposed be learning something with you, this day. Not being around my family or anyone I know, but you know me."

Iris leaned her head on her hand, watching the Doctor's sleeping face. "I know you can hear me," she added. "You're just being dramatic. You need to sleep, but you won't let yourself relax because you don't feel safe. I'll keep you safe," she assured him. "Promise."

—

okiiiieieee you guys thought we were done with 10? haha NOPE but this is for a reason. next adventure after this is 12. also how could i not put chapter 10 with ten, bffr. okay hope you guys liked the first part!! next chapter will be up soon with the second half of this. i miss 12:(