A Special Christmas

Home for the Holidays

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.... And Stevie has one of those "can't-come-within-five-miles-of" thingies on me!! (O.O) Why would he do that? Not like I ever....no, wait, yeah, perfectly reasonable. -nodnodnod- ...Not gonna help. :)

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Ears: Oooh, wonder who's next.... -bounces- Yay!!

The door creeked a bit as the two women entered the house. Donna looked around, and was rather unsurprised to see the view outside was no longer the old-fashioned London it had been when they'd been walking though, much like the pictures that were scattered along the walls and tables, it was blurred beyond recognition, though she could just make out the grass in the front of the house and the light dusting of snow that covered it.

"Oh, this isn't right at all." A voice sighed, and Donna turned to see an older brunette woman standing where the last one had been. "Though I suppose it will do, as neither of you have actually been here before." She shook her head then smiled at Donna. "Still with us, Donna?"

She nodded slowly. "Just...tell me though, who are you? What is all this, what's happening?" Her voice got progressively louder, but the other woman didn't seem phased.

"Almost, Donna. We're so very close now, just hold on." She smiled again, then walked off towards a doorway Donna hadn't noticed when she'd looked around. "This way, Donna, follow me."

The door led into a hallway, which was almost completely dark except for the little specks of light that the photographs along the walls caught and cast away in various directions. The only door, besides the one behind them, was at the far end, door wide open but she couldn't see inside. At about halfway down the hall, though, it suddenly got very, very cold. Donna stopped, though the older woman continued on, and actually was surprised by the door at her side.

Light was coming from beneath the crack of the door, and Donna could swear she heard voices on the other side. She couldn't her what they were saying though, and stepped almost subconsciously towards the door, though the voices within grew quieter as she got closer. Curious and a bit annoyed, she reached for the doorknob that was glinting at her almost invitingly. Before her fingers even brushed it, however, a hand grabbed her wrist and she looked up to see the older woman there, eyes flashing. "No, Donna. Not that door. It's not safe." She released her wrist and stepped back. "Come with me."

As she followed the woman, Donna put it off as her imagination that she heard a loud hissing sound behind her.

Donna had been told to take a seat on the large sofa as the other woman looked from one bookcase to another, searching for something. After a moment, she grinned and picked a book off the shelf, moving to sit beside Donna.

"What's that?" Donna stared at the book, voice soft and somehow cautious.

The older woman patted the cover, shaded a sort of reddish-brown colour, and smiled faintly. "This is a photo album. Yours, to be exact." She looked up and seemed to stare through Donna. "Would you like to look?"

For a fraction of an instant, a wave of fear crashed over her, chilling her, drowning her, trying for her to leap away from the book. But then it was gone, replaced by a warmth and strength she was barely aware she had, and nodded. "Yes." The woman handed her the book.

As she opened the cover, something, deep within her mind, began to move.

The first dozen or so pictures in the album were easily recognisable; her mother, herself, her grandad, scattered from around the time when she was...oh, five, to what looked about maybe a little older than twenty five. Not much though. Probably younger. Pushing back the distant thought that it was her own fault for having three twenty-second birthdays in a row, she turned the page.

And paused.

She didn't know this photo. She was sitting at a table with a man, both of them smiling and holding mugs in their hands. The same man appears in two more before she shook her head, and moved to the next page. The photo there wasn't any less confusing; she was in a wedding dress. Beside her was the man from the last picture, and other people, including several she recognised instantly, but....she'd never been married! The next one was of what might have been a wedding party, but Donna was absent from this one.

The woman watched her closely, silently.

The somethingwas reaching, tendril-like, blind and searching for a hold.

She turned the page, and gasped. A single picture took up the whole thing; a gigantic creature, spider-like and red and beside it - well, her; the spider did look rather feminine - was the man from the last few pictures, sneering down at...at....at...her?

The something shot out, suddenly, and Donna grabbed at her head, gasping at the sensation.

The other woman put a hand on her arm. "Don't worry, Donna. Let it pass, you're safe here. That was the first connection; the rest of them will go easier now."

"N-no, I can't." She shook her head, trying to pull away.

Gold flickered around the edges of the woman's eyes. "They are only memories, Donna, they cannot hurt you. Not unless you let them. Nothing has power until it is granted that power. Just let them flow."

There was a long pause before, hesitantly, Donna settled back into the seat, nodding. She turned the page.

There was another man, looking rather sad, standing inside a blue box. She paused on the picture, feeling a sudden rush of sympathy for him - beside her, the woman smiled softly, as if she knew the reaction - and hoped he would be alright. In her mind, the something sent out more tendrils, mapping out connections and paths that had been darkened for some time. The man didn't show up for the next few pictures, and she found herself missing him slightly.

Then came the next full-page photo: A little, white blob that was smiling, waving. A laugh bubbled up inside her,sending her eyes sparkling in a delighted sort of way. She turned the page.

The man was back, grinning in a more-than-slightly maniacal way. Brown suit and hair that looked like it had never seen a comb, she couldn't help but smile at him. The next was of a necklace with a little pill-shaped charm dangling on it. More of those little blob-things. Both she and the man in brown waving up at dozens of floating blob-things.

As she continued through the book, the man appeared more and more. And the scenes seemed to become more and more bizzare. There was a volcano, and aliens holding glowing balls in their hands, and weird potato-headed aliens, and the sky was on fire, and there were two women who looked achingly familiar but who she couldn't remember...

The last image was of another alien, one that reminded her a bit of a pepperpot. A rush of fear swept through her at the sight of it. The next pages were blurred, and the woman took the book away gently.

"It's time to go." The older woman said softly, standing and holding a hand out to Donna. Donna took it, letting her help her up. As they walked for the door, the woman paused at a window that hadn't been there before. "Oh, look, Donna! The sun's coming out..." She smiled, and continued on.

Donna looked outside, where the warm light had begun to melt the snow away.

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Ears: ....Well, this one turned long.... Hm. Reveiw!!