Secret Santa Detective Timelord Part 11/11
A Wholock Gift fic for mirabilelectu.
“You seem upset, Doctor…” Sherlock commented.
“No, I’m fine” the Doctor replied with a small sigh as he looked at the screen.
“You knew they had to leave at some point,” John said.
There was a long pause of silence as the Doctor apparently parked the TARDIS. He was very quiet. Sherlock looked up to stare at the strange old man. John did the same. The Doctor stepped from the controls and walked towards the doors.
“I’ve taken you home. I’ll come back for you shortly. I’m just going to drop off the Rein Moose by myself,” the Doctor said.
“This is somewhere near the London Eye, we’re nowhere near home…” John said.
“What day is it?” Sherlock asked.
“It’s still Christmas Eve, 2011” the Doctor answered.
“The night that never ends…” John said tiredly.
“Perhaps you can go grab something to eat while I’m gone,” the Doctor said with a smile as he closed the TARDIS doors. John and Sherlock watched as the time machine disappeared out of sight. Sherlock shook his head and started walking on.
“Chinese?” Sherlock asked.
“Do they serve on Christmas eve?” John said.
“I don’t see why not,” Sherlock returned.
The two walked on together. John kept his eye on the London Eye as it shone brightly in the darkness. There was even a flurry of snow falling. There wasn’t enough to stick on the ground for a white Christmas, but it was enough to make it feel like Christmas. It was kind of romantic. John coughed awkwardly into his hand.
“Something bothering you?” Sherlock asked.
“Nothing just thinking about…”
“Ummm…” John did his best to hide his flushed cheeks. This was becoming slightly embarrassing. What was worse is that it seemed Sherlock was not bothered by the situation at all. He seemed completely at ease. Then Sherlock suddenly stopped walking. John slowed down and turned towards him. Sherlock met John’s eye.
The taller man slowly bent forward towards the army doctor. John began to slowly panic, but he did nothing to stop Sherlock. The detective slid his cheek along John’s as he breathed on the shell of his ear. John flushed a darker red. This was too much.
“I don’t mean to alarm you John, but it appears someone has been following us for a while now,” Sherlock whispered into his ear.
Sherlock pulled back from John. The smaller man did his best to look out from the corner of his eye. The two were finally in a well-lit area. The other person should be easy to see, and they were. Considering the person was fully visible and now running straight towards them. John was now very confused.
The person heading towards them appeared to be a young woman around twenty-something. She had short choppy blonde hair that barely reached her shoulders. A wide smile was on her face, yet at the same time it almost looked as if she was about to burst into tears. Both men didn’t quite know what to do in this situation.
“Oh my god. It’s you! It’s really you! I had to make sure. I thought I had finally lost my mind when I saw you in passing. This is great!” the girl cried as she ran over to John and Sherlock. She wrapped her arms around each of them in turn. Her American accent was very distinct and simply raised more questions.
“What are you doing?” Sherlock asked irritably as the girl clung to him.
“Oh you haven’t changed at all…” the girl sighed happily.
“I don’t understand,” John said honestly.
“What’s going on here?” came a new voice. The young woman let go of Sherlock upon hearing the voice. She spun around quickly and as soon as her eyes fell on the Doctor, her smile grew ten times wider. She flung herself towards the strange man gleefully.
“Santa!?!” the three men said simultaneously.
The young woman continued to look Starry-eyed even as the Doctor pushed her back. He studied her face, and Sherlock did as well. After a moment both men seemed to realize something. Sherlock seemed almost surprised. Or perhaps disgusted and appalled.
“It’s Trini…” Sherlock said simply.
“It’s…what?” John managed to say.
“What are you doing here?” the Doctor asked as he looked at the young woman with a smile.
“I was looking for you! Well…I mean not really. I had no idea you’d be here. I’ve been searching for so many years. I wanted to see you guys again, but most of all I wanted to see Brittany again. It was so hard working with no last names, and you can’t really ask people if they know Santa or a Strawberry. I came to London in one last move of desperation. I’m here for study abroad, so I took this as the perfect opportunity to find a certain detective. His name is Sherlock Holmes. He’s supposed to be brilliant…” Trini explained in a rush, words just falling out of her mouth.
“Sherlock Holmes?” John said dumbstruck before giving Sherlock a side glance.
“Yes. I heard about him a while back. I found his website. I’ve sent e-mails and everything. I’ve also been on the forums for weeks, but he seems to be ignoring me. I thought I’d just have to go and find him in person,” Trini said with a sigh, although the smile on her face refused to go away.
“So it was you. I was contemplating blocking you, but I haven’t had the time. If I’m correct you’re that girlyjames person whose been spamming my forums. I personally found the missing person case too mundane…” Sherlock went on.
“Well, regardless I needed help and… wait. How do you…” Trini grew quiet in thought.
“May I present to you, my dear Trini, the one and only Sherlock Holmes,” the Doctor said, gesturing towards the other man. The first reaction the girl gave made sense within the context. She looked shocked, but then she did something strange. She started laughing uncontrollably.
“What’s so funny?” John asked.
“Strawberry is the great detective, Sherlock Holmes” Trini said before bursting into another fit of giggles. After that comment, John found it a bit hard himself not to laugh. Sherlock did not look amused.
“I detest that name,” Sherlock said seething.
“I’m currently letting myself be called by I name I gave myself when I was five. You don’t see me complaining,” Trini said with a grin.
“I’ve always liked you the least,” Sherlock said with a glare.
“No, it’s fine. It’s his prickly attitude that makes him my Strawberry. Speaking of which, you guys haven’t changed at all. You look exactly the same, even down to the clothes I remember you wearing. How is that possible?” Trini asked.
“My sleigh is really a time machine and a space ship,” the Doctor said.
“We look the same, because it’s still the same night for us,” John said.
“The same night…” Trini said softly. Suddenly she was grasped by the hand. She looked up to meet the Doctor’s eyes. He appeared to be digging something out of his pocket. He pulled whatever it was out, and gently placed it into Trini’s hands, “That’s my hat…”
“I found it in my pocket when I was sending the Rein Moose home. I had forgotten I had it. It still has some melted snow on it… that little pink hat,” said the Doctor with a smile.
The young woman grew very quiet. Her smile didn’t fade, but it grew softer. She brushed her fingers over the fabric of the little pink hat. It was such a tiny hat. Had she really been that small as a child? A strange look began to grow in her eyes. It might have been the start of small tears, but she quickly wiped at her eyes before any could fall.
“Where’s Brittany?” Trini asked.
“We dropped her off at home right after we got rid of you,” Sherlock said.
“Can you take me to her? I’d like to see her now” Trini said hopefully.
“I can’t take you to her. I have no idea where she is, she might have moved by now. I don’t know her last name either… It’s truly a miracle that you even found me,” the Doctor said.
“But I need to find her! I’ve worked so hard to get to this point. I have the great Sherlock Holmes and Santa Claus before me. You can’t tell me that you can’t help me,” Trini said with a quivering lip.
“I don’t think…” but the Doctor was cut off before he could finish.
“Don’t tell me you can’t. Don’t tell me you don’t think it’s possible. Almost sixteen years, I had a magical night. A night that should’ve been impossible, but I remembered it. I dreamed it. I lived it in little adventures I made up as a kid. My adventure with Santa Claus, Bilbo, Strawberry, and my very best friend Brittany. She’s the friend I’ve been looking for. Not only because we promised to see other again, but because she also lived that night. She was there to experience it all, and she knows that I’m not delusional. She knows I’m not crazy. She knows that our dream was real, and she’s the only one,” Trini said as tears started to trail down her cheeks freely.
“I’ve done it again. The girls’ who waited…” the Doctor said softly to himself before speaking to Trini again, “There is something. It’s a complete long shot, because it also depends on Brittany. However, there is a way I can find her”
“Then let’s do it…” Trini said trying to calm down.
“I can’t promise it will work,” the Doctor said.
“I don’t care. I at least want to try,” Trini said determinately.
“Alright. It looks like we’ve got one more adventure for the night. Time to get back to the TARDIS. We’ve got a signal to track,” the Doctor said.
////////////////////////////////////
Brittany felt snug and happy in her electric blanket as she lounged on her family’s couch. She clicked away at her lap top that sat nicely in her lap. A cup of hot chocolate sat on coffee table nearby. She scrolled down the website she was on, and paused when a picture of the power rangers popped up. A sad smile came to her face. Suddenly something caught her eye off in the corner of the room.
Amongst the Christmas decorations, something was blinking on and off. It didn’t appear to be the Christmas lights either. Brittany got out of her warm cocoon, and headed towards the strange light. A breath caught in her throat as she realized what it was. It was one of her most prized possessions. Her old snow globe…
Brittany gently picked up the snow globe. She’s had it since she was six. Her parents never question where it came from, and simply stocked it with the rest of the Christmas decorations every year. It was so warm now. A strange noise echoed from outside. Brittany looked up curiously trying to pinpoint what the noise was. It sounded so familiar. In the next moment the noise stopped and the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it!” Brittany called to the rest of the household as she continued to clutch the snow globe in her hand. She walked towards the door and peeked out of the peep hole. She didn’t recognize the person on the other side of the door. She held the snow globe carefully in one hand, and opened the door.
“Brittany?” said the young woman on the other side of the door hopefully as the two stared at one another.
“Can I help you?” Brittany asked curiously. The other young woman seemed very nervous. It also looked as if she had cried a little bit earlier. Brittany hoped that everything was alright with this other girl.
“Hello. I’ve waited so long. I don’t know what to say. My real name is Madeline. I can’t believe this is happening…” the young woman stuttered.
“Your real name?” Brittany said confused.
“Yes. Well…” the young woman’s nervousness seemed to have grown. She bundled up a small hat in her hands, and brought up to her chest. Her fingers played against the knit pink hat. Brittany paused for a moment to really look at her hat. A long lost memory started to float back to her.
“Trini?” Brittany said softly as she looked towards the young woman once more.
“Yes! Yes, it’s me!” Madeline/Trini said excitedly.
In the next moment, both girls’ were gathered up in each other’s arms. The hug they shared was long overdue, but entirely worth it. Tears prickled at both their eyes. Brittany hugged even tighter one last time before stepping back.
“I can’t believe it. I’d given up. I never thought I’d you see again,” Brittany said in disbelief.
“Well, I guess, surprise! Merry Christmas!” Madeline said with a glowing smile and a light laugh.
“Merry Christmas!” Brittany said happily.
“And a happy new year!” came a shout from the front lawn.
Brittany stepped out of her spot from doorway, and peered out. A wider smile broke out on her face, and she ran past Madeline towards the Doctor. John and Sherlock stood on either side of the Time Lord. Brittany shared another warm with Santa.
“We’re here too…” Sherlock said.
“Do you want to hugged?” John asked curiously.
“It’s merely the principle of the thing…” Sherlock replied.
“You’re just jealous someone’s getting more attention than you,” John said with a smirk.
“Santa…” Brittany said breathlessly as she broke apart from him.
“Hello Brittany. It’s been a very long time… and I want to fix that. I want to fix that for both of you,” the Doctor said, as Madeline joined them on Brittany’s front lawn.
“Fix it?” Brittany asked curiously.
“How would you two like to join us on some more adventures? Collect some new stories to tell? Some new memories to remember? Together of course,” the Doctor said, smiling.
Both young women looked at each other. Smiles broke out onto their faces. This was starting to become the best Christmas. Perhaps it would be even better than the one they shared long ago. Madeline and Brittany took each other’s hands, and turned back to the Doctor.
“Yes!” they said simultaneously with matching smiles.
“Then let the adventures begin!” the Doctor said.
