While everyone has already gotten used to the Tenth Doctor, someone is still remembering the man before who sacrificed himself to save her.

***

Everyone was back in the flat, Jackie was beginning to prepare Christmas dinner for the five of them as Mickey and Rose fixed up the living room. The Doctor was taking a shower, however, Willow was settled in the spare room. Thinking. That was all she was doing. Thinking and remembering the past.

The first time they met was so clear in her mind like it only happened a few moments ago.

"So," She stepped closer to him. "What's your name?"

"The Doctor." He answered.

Willow stared at him. He must have been confused by the question. "No. What's your real name?"

He smiled. "The Doctor."

"The Doctor?" She questioned.

"Yes."

"Just the Doctor?"

"Hello!" He waved.

That day changed her life. Somehow she knew from then on that everything would change. She faced off the Slitheen with the future Prime Minister and save the world from a deadly threat. The best part was that the Doctor invited her to travel with them which was the most unexpected thing. He took a chance on her after just being a background character that only helped in only the slightest ways. 

How could Willow know that she would do more than just travel in time and space?

She touched her cheek to find water dripping down. Why was she crying? Willow gagged as more tears soon ran out from her eyes.

The Doctor held her in his arms. "It's ok."

"Thank you."

He shrugged. "What for?"

"Everything."

He held Willow tighter. For once, she felt at home. Willow decided then and there that she was never going to leave him.

Thinking back, now she wasn't sure about staying with him. Willow was not sure about the Doctor yet. Everything seemed so strange and bizarre because he never told her nearly enough about himself. She admitted the truth about her dreams to him, but he didn't reveal his power to regenerate? It made her think for a moment on whether or not the Doctor fully trusted her and Rose. Perhaps he didn't think that it would happen.

There were so many times that she managed to dissuade the Doctor, the most prominent one was stopping him from murdering the Dalek with Rose's DNA. For a moment, she saw a soldier trying to end a war. However, it was too late to end the war then because it was already over. There was seemingly nothing left for the two to fight for. No planet to protect. No civilisations to save. No people to rescue.

"It's the sunlight, that's all it wants." She pled.

"But it can't" He insisted.

"It couldn't kill Van Statten, it couldn't kill me. It's changing." Willow glanced back at him. "What about you, Doctor? What the hell are you changing into?"

"I couldn't... I wasn't..." He hesitated. "Oh, Willow. They're all dead."

He comforted her, even during the darkest of times. He knew what it was like to lose everything and when Willow saw Pete die twice, he taught her to move on and enjoy what she had. 

"Why do you care more about Pete than your own parents?"

Willow shrugged her shoulders. "Not sure." Suddenly, she came to a realisation. "He was more of a father to me than mine."

"Why?" He questioned.

"I went to their place a lot in the past." She explained. "My parents were working to earn a living. I guess I arrived at a bad time."

He crossed his arms. "You got too attached."

She nodded in response, fidgeting with her fingers. He reached out his hand as a gesture for her to take it.

"Come on."

While looking through her memories, she never even realised that she was smiling. They were so special that Willow couldn't help but be happy.

Although, a shot of pain thumped through her head for a moment and her ears began to ring. Willow slapped a hand on her head as if something was going to pop out of her skull. Something was being hidden from her like it was forbidden.

Remember...

She sighed, trying to look back into the past but it still hurt trying. 

Remember...

What was going on? What did she need to remember?

Remember...

"Willow?" A sense of fear flooded over him as he looked into her eyes. They glowed like the light inside his machine. The heart of the TARDIS was inside her; time and space inside her mind. "What've you done?"

"I looked into the TARDIS, and the TARDIS looked into me." Her voice sounded different as if she were a god.

His mind was in terror, knowing that the energy could kill her. "You looked into the Time Vortex. Willow no one's meant to see that."

A memory broke through the mental wall where her undiscovered memories lied, ones she couldn't remember living through.

"I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself." She glimpsed at the words on the wall. "I take the words, I scatter them in time and space. A message to lead myself here." Bad Wolf. It was all her. She was the Bad Wolf.

Bad Wolf? 

She didn't understand. When did this happen to her?

He tried to plead with her. "Willow, you've got to stop this. You've got to stop this now. You've got the entire vortex running through your head. You're going to burn."

"I want you safe." The yellow hue from her eyes faded. Tears ran down her cheeks as if she knew that she had to sacrifice himself so he could live. "My Doctor. Protected from the false god."

"Stop it!" Willow screamed, closing her eyes in fear. She didn't want to see this. She didn't want to live through this. She just wanted it to end.

Abruptly, everything went black and there was silence again. Cautiously, she exposed her view to find herself in the spare room again. Her memories faded like a dream. However, she was no longer the only person in her room. "Still having the dreams then?"

Willow let out a gasp, startled by the sudden voice. Taking a deep breath, she swivelled her head over her right shoulder, looking towards the doorway. There, still in striped pyjamas and a dressing gown with freshly dried hair, was the Doctor. He smirked a little, waltzing over to her.

"Don't scare me like that." She muttered.

"Sorry," He replied, apologising. "You just seemed to zone out for a moment."

She nodded, her ginger hair bouncing up and down. "Yeah, you could say that."

They both paused, staring away from each other. "I'm sorry I never told you. I'm so stupid."

Willow laughed a little. "Yes, you are a stupid genius!"

"That doesn't even make sense!" He pointed out, chuckling along. "I much prefer "Sleeping Beauty" than that."

"Yeah, I told you it-" Her face dropped, understanding what he had insinuated. "Wait, what?"

He burst out laughing, seeing her reaction. "You heard everything?"

"Of course, I did." He answered in confirmation. "How do you think I woke up to destroy that Christmas tree?"

She hit him on the shoulder, causing the Doctor to cry out in pain. "Ow!"

"Then, why didn't you show that you were still in there?" Willow asked.

"I did try but it would have been a waste of energy."

"A waste of energy?" She questioned, disbelieving. "Is a simple thumbs-up, meaning "I'm ok, don't worry!" a waste of energy?"

"Well-" Before he could say more, Willow smacked harder. "Ow!"

"You are an idiot!"

Once again, they sat in silence, facing away from each other. Willow kept thinking about how he had changed but tried not to think about the past in fear that she might be trapped in it again. Unexpectedly, the Doctor stood up from his seat and slowly strolled over to the door. Willow looked back at him, frowning. "Come on," He murmured, outstretching a hand. "I want to show you something."

She bit her lip nervously as she also rose from her seat and hesitantly followed him. Her fingers interlocked with his and it didn't feel any different from before. The Doctor unlocked the front door with his screwdriver and trailed Willow along the balconies of the complex. At first, she was unsure what he was doing until they reached the ground floor. They headed down Bloxom Road again, reuniting with the TARDIS.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

He opened the door, revealing the TARDIS interior. She stepped in with Doctor at her side. Ready for whatever.

***

1 out of 2 interludes for The Christmas Invasion done!

Where do you think the Doctor is taking her?

- Alice ❤