My Classic Who Secret Santa gift for @stephadoo! The prompt was anything involving Dodo, Sarah Jane, or Ian/Barbara, and I didn't know how to choose between such good options, so I ended up incorporating all of them into this little fic. I'm overly critical of my own writing, so I don’t know if this is very good or not, but I hope you enjoy it. <3
It was a cold December night and Dodo Chaplet, having long since been made wary of catching colds, was bundled in a warm coat and scarf as she made her way through the busy and brightly lit streets. She walked quickly by a display of dolls and headed inside one of the local shops to buy a greeting card to send to her old friends, Polly and Ben. It had been some time since she'd last seen them in person, the pair having moved to India to run an orphanage, but they tried their best to remain in contact, which Dodo was grateful for as there was no one else she could talk with about the Doctor and the things she'd seen, and they'd grown very close over the years. She smiled as she found a card displaying the image of the BT Tower, or the Post Office Tower as it had been called when she met her friends -- and when she had left another. Thoughts of the Doctor filled her mind as she went to the counter to purchase the card. She thought of him often, of course, and around the holidays the subject of her old friend was near impossible to ignore, because in the last several years almost every Christmas had been met with some alien invasion or another. Dodo would never forget how she felt to see spaceships in the sky once more. But every year, the mysterious threats would suddenly disappear, and something in her knew that the Doctor was still at it. Still saving the universe and protecting those who couldn't protect themselves. She didn't regret her decision to return to an ordinary life, but she had to admit she missed the life of adventure, and she wondered how her old friend was faring these days or what he even looked like, since Polly and Ben explained to her that his body had "renewed" itself since she saw him last. It felt like lifetimes since WOTAN, since her travels through time and space. The sound of the TARDIS was almost a distant echo. Her thoughts were distracted by a nearby couple not much older than herself, standing by a clothes rack and examining a very smart black coat. "Oh, Ian," said the woman, with the joy of nostalgia in her voice, "doesn't this remind you of him?" The man smiled and let out a cheerful chuckle marked with age. "Yes, I suppose it does. Say, do you think he would get it if we had this delivered to Totter's Lane?" he joked, earning a laugh and a playful jab in the ribs from his wife. Dodo supposed that this inside joke would probably be quite funny if she understood it. But she smiled anyway, because the coat did remind her of someone as well, though of course she knew it wasn't whoever they were thinking of. ~~~ As Dodo was walking home from the shops, her usually quiet street was disrupted by the sudden cry of, "Gotcha!", followed by a loud CLANG! and exasperated whispers. She paused in her tracks and listened in on the commotion. "Clyde! Can't you be any quieter?!" came the irritated voice of a young woman. "I'm trying to catch a speedy little green blob monster in a tin pot, I'm doing my best! Come on, it's getting away!" Wait. Green blob monster? There was a continuing series of clanging sounds and grunts of exertion intermingled with warnings of, "Careful!" and, "It went that way!". Dodo noticed that there was a third voice involved, that of a mature older woman who spoke to the others like they were her children. Dodo hadn't felt such curiosity and desire to investigate since the city of the Elders, and she soon couldn't take it anymore and followed the voices around the corner, where she was met with the sight of the woman and two teenagers frantically chasing a small green creature that appeared to be gelatinous and was definitely faster than it looked. The boy attempted once more to trap it inside of an old pot, and upon failure decided it would be for the best that the woman try instead, and he handed the pot to her, though she didn't have much better luck. Suddenly, the creature began to speed down the street and in the direction of the hiding Dodo, who had a brief moment of panic as she quickly tried to think of what course of action she should take. It had been so long since she'd done anything like this. A moment later she bent to the ground, took off her scarf and held it outstretched. The little blob promptly sped into it, causing it to be disoriented long enough for the other woman to snatch it up into the pot and firmly close the lid. Everyone took a few moments to breathe with relief. "Is it dangerous?" Dodo soon asked. "No, not dangerous, just mischievous," replied the woman, "and not fond of containment," she added with a gentle smile. She stood up to hand the creature over to the young girl, then helped Dodo up from the ground. "But it's nothing for you to worry about. It's for the best if you just forget that you saw this." Dodo let out a laugh. "Not a chance! It's been years since- I mean, I used to do things like this meself. I traveled all over the place with a couple of friends of mine. We saw so many things together, things like this. It was out of this world." She smiled to herself, remembering the Doctor and Steven more clearly than ever, reliving the memories of aliens and other times and other worlds. With a reminiscent gleam in her eyes, she added, "It was absolutely fab." The trio all looked among each other, sharing the same thought. "Your friend... was he called the Doctor?" the woman asked tentatively, failing to hide excitement. Dodo's heart sped up and her face broke into a large grin. "Yes, yes he was! You know him?" "I traveled with him for a time as well, though I imagine he looked different when you knew him. What's your name?" "Dodo Chaplet, and yours?" "Sarah Jane Smith," she replied, shaking Dodo's hand. "The journalist?" Dodo inquired. "Oh, I've read some of your articles, I think they're smashing!" Sarah Jane was taken aback by the sudden compliment, but smiled. "Thank you very much." Then her expression changed as if she just realized something she'd forgotten. "Oh, these are my friends, this is Rani and this is Clyde," she introduced, pointing to them respectively. "Nice to meet you," Clyde said as he reached forward to shake Dodo's hand, while Rani had to make do with a pleasant smile and an awkward 'hello' as she tried to keep the little creature from escaping containment again. Dodo was still grinning from ear to ear, showing off the wrinkles on her face. Excitedly, she asked, "Would you like to join me at my flat and share stories over some tea?" "We would love that," Sarah Jane replied kindly for all three of them. They would deal with the creature later. It wouldn't be getting away again, so there was no harm in holding onto it a little longer... probably. Dodo began to lead the way down the street. "Alright, what first... Oh! I went to the Wild West once! That was a hoot! The Doctor had a toothache, I held a gun to Doc Holliday, my friend Steven sang while I played piano..."
