A Jolly Holiday
The sound of the TARDIS transitioning from the void quickly faded away.
"You can come with us," Romana said, looking across the console at a scowling Missy.
"Go play with your pets," Missy said grumpily, waving her hand dismissively.
"Come along, K-9," Romana said, sighing.
"Yes, Mistress," K-9 said, following her out.
"This is a good test," Romana said, as K-9 joined her on the snow covered sidewalk. "She shouldn't be able to get past the travel lock on the TARDIS."
"Affirmative, Mistress," K-9 said, radiating disapproval.
"You don't trust her?" Romana said. "She has been behaving herself."
"The Master has proven to be untrustworthy," K-9 said. "Mistress."
"If she runs away you can tell me you told me so," Romana said. "That's the correct phrase, yes?"
"Affirmative, Mistress," K-9 said, his wheels rumbling on the hard packed snow.
"It appears that this human holiday is celebrated with colored lights and ribbons," Romana said, looking around, as they headed towards the bookshop, where she expected to find Joyce. "Interesting."
"Analyzing," K-9 said. "It appears to be the human holiday known as Christmas during this time period."
"It celebrates the birth of one of their local gods," Romana said, nodding. "I am not familiar with the particular deity involved. I don't recall running into them, though their followers can be quite a handful."
"Affirmative, Mistress," K-9 said. "The historical narrative is unconfirmed. This unit has not traveled to the time period to investigate."
"The origins of gods tends to be vague and largely based on faith," Romana said, shrugging. "It seemed pointless to take that mythology course at the Academy. Diplomacy was much more useful."
The bookshop was lit up with colorful lights outlining the display windows and door, like the other shops on the street. In one window was a large figure dressed in red, sitting in a chair holding a book, surrounded by children.
Nodding to herself, Romana opened the door, holding it open for K-9. Once he was inside she followed him in, letting it close behind her.
"Closing in five minutes," a voice said loudly, coming from the back of the shop.
"We appear to be a little early," Romana said, looking around at the decorations.
"Yes, Mistress," K-9 said, before heading to the back of the shop. Shaking her head, Romana hurriedly followed.
"A robot?" the voice said, confused.
"This unit is called K-9," K-9 said, just as Romana caught up with him.
"Is this yours?" a grey haired woman said. "We're closing in five minutes. It's Christmas Eve."
"I believe Joyce is expecting us," Romana said, ignoring the question.
The woman frowned at her, before turning and shouting, "Joy! There's someone here to see you!"
"Coming!" Joyce shouted back.
"Where do you know Joy from?" the woman asked, eyeing her great coat suspiciously.
"We met this summer," Romana said.
"Mom, you don't need to interrogate everyone who comes to see me," Joyce said, entering the storefront from the back. She turned to Romana. "Hi! Wasn't sure you would be able to come."
"Greetings, Miss," K-9 said.
"And you brought K-9," Joyce said. She looked down at K-9. "Hello K-9! Are you and Idris keeping her out of trouble?"
"That does not compute, Miss," K-9 said.
"That sounds like a no," Joyce said, shaking her head. "You'll have to tell me all about it."
"Introduce your friend, Joy," her mother said.
"Oh, right, sorry," Joyce said. "Mom, these are my friends Romana and K-9. We met this summer at a museum. Romana is a historian. I've finished the inventory, can I go?"
"It's Christmas Eve, Joy," her mother said, raising an eyebrow with a disapproving look.
"And?" Joyce said, frowning. "You and Dad will sit in the kitchen drinking your special eggnog, and staring at each other, like old people do, before you send us to bed and pretend that Santa put things under the tree."
"We're your parents," her mother said. "It's what we've always done, and when did you stop believing in Santa?"
"When I was ten," Joyce said. Turning to Romana, she said, "I'll be right back, don't go anywhere." She left the storefront and went into the back.
"I expect her back before midnight," Joyce's mother said, giving Romana a stern look. "And no drinking anything stronger than eggnog."
Romana raised an eyebrow at the command, and then nodded.
"Mom, I'm sixteen," Joyce said, pulling on her coat as she came back into the storefront.
"And too young to be out drinking on Christmas Eve," her mother said.
"Of course," Joyce said, sighing. "Shall we go?" Stepping around the counter, she headed towards the door, K-9 following right behind her.
Romana looked at Joyce's mother for a moment and nodded again before following Joyce and K-9 out the door.
Once they were out of sight of the bookshop, Joyce turned to Romana and said, excitedly, "What are we doing? Where are we going?"
"Christmas is not a Gallifreyan holiday," Romana said. "We don't really celebrate any deity's birthday like this. Rassilon expected gifts of power but that had fallen out of favor the last time I was there. What did you want to do?"
"It's Christmas Eve," Joyce said. "We need to do something exciting, with presents and candy canes. And adventure. Is Ebenezer Scrooge a real person? Can we meet Tiny Tim?"
"Ebenezer Scrooge?" Romana said, puzzled.
"A fictional character created by Charles Dickens, Mistress," K-9 said.
"I suspect not," Romana said. "He was a loud man. Liked to tell stories. Missy frightened him."
"You took Missy to see Charles Dickens?" Joyce said, staring at her. "That doesn't seem like a good idea."
"In hindsight, no," Romana said, sighing. "It wasn't planned."
"Where is she?" Joyce asked, stomping on some slush.
"In the TARDIS," Romana said. "Or, that is where she was when we left."
"Is the TARDIS going to be where you left it?" Joyce asked, stopping and looking at Romana. "She likes taking it out for a spin when you aren't watching her."
"It's travel locked," Romana said. "I'm sure Idris will keep her from leaving."
"If you say so," Joyce said, doubtfully.
"And there it is," Romana said, as they stepped into an alleyway. "Right where we left it."
"Correction, Mistress," K-9 said. "It has moved three millimeters to the left."
"Really?" Romana stopped to stare at the TARDIS. "That is not normal. If she left and came back, Idris should be in exactly the same place as before."
"So, expect a trap?" Joyce said.
"She can't have gone very far," Romana said. "If she'd removed the travel lock she wouldn't have come back."
When they reached the TARDIS, Romana had Joyce and K-9 stay back while she walked around it, sonic in hand, checking for any changes.
"It appears undamaged," Romana said. "Wait out here for a minute." Cautiously opening the door, Romana stepped into the TARDIS, and walked down the short passage into the control chamber.
"You're back. Already," Missy said, dryly. "What took so long? Had to rescue your pet?"
"No," Romana said, looking around, trying to spot any changes. "Where did you go?"
"I've been here," Missy said, smirking.
"Idris?" Romana said, placing a hand on the console. Idris responded with a confusing montage of images. "I am not familiar with that civilization," she said, frowning.
"Wasn't much of a civilization," Missy said, smirking.
"How did you get past the travel lock?" Romana said, pushing several buttons on the console.
"Travel lock still engaged, Mistress," K-9 said, Joyce following him into the control room.
"That old thing?" Missy said. She waved a small device. "Did Theta ever tell you how he stole his Type 40? They don't just leave the quantum keys lying around."
"No," Romana said. "The White Guardian implied that he was allowed to take it."
"That's one interpretation," Missy said, shrugging. "We were borrowing old TARDIS wrecks from the archives while at the Academy. You can learn a lot of things about TARDIS control they don't want you to know that way. I'm sure you must have done something similar." Missy sighed. "Though, you were probably a good little boring student."
"We didn't need to borrow a TARDIS," Romana said, shrugging. "We were assigned simulations."
"Fancy," Missy said. "But boring. Fear of death can be quite a learning experience."
"What are you planning," Romana said, frowning. There was the faint air of anticipation in the control room.
"Planning?" Missy said, yawning. "A nap and maybe a show?" Humming to herself, she wandered out of the control room.
"She's up to something," Joyce said, watching her leave. "Is it going to be safe to take Idris somewhere?"
"Safe? No more than is usual, when she's scheming," Romana said. "Analysis, K-9?"
"Probability that something dangerous will occur is 90%, Mistress," K-9 said.
"So, just an ordinary day with Missy?" Joyce said, sighing.
"Yes, Miss," K-9 said.