A/N: didn'twrite 'A Christmas Carol' because it isn't Christmas and I just couldn't writeit. I might write it near Christmas and just add it in the correct place.

"Where're you taking me?" Poppy asks for the fifth time whilst The Doctor runs around the console

"Somewhere nice, don't worry," he winks and she rolls her eyes, dramatically falling onto the jump seat "come on, we saved the Ponds from death at Christmas and the TARDIS appearing inside the TARDIS, you deserve a treat,"

"Fine," she reluctantly agrees

Less than a minute later, The Doctor was dragging her to the doors "Go on then," he gestures outside

"Why aren't you coming?"

"I can't" he answers simply before turning around and rummaging around in a box by the door, he pulls out a handbag

"Doesn't really suit you dear," Poppy smirks

"Oh shush," he passes it to her "two spa things and enough money for whatever you want whilst there,"

"Where is there,"

"Not quite sure, now off you go," he goes to push her out the door, but she stops him and gives him a quick kiss

"Love you," she shouts as the door slams behind her and the door opens slightly as he says the same before the TARDIS disappears. Poppy looks around and a bright smile overtakes her face when she realises where she is "Oh, I really do love him," she puts the bag over her shoulder and rings the doorbell, hearing a familiar voice shout for her husband to get it, who responds with a 'you're closer'.

The door swings open and the ginger sighs when she sees Poppy "You're late,"

"Yeah,"

"By two years,"

"Who is it Donna?!" Shaun shouts from what Poppy assumed to be the living room

"No one important!" she shouts back, crossing her arms and glaring at her (ex) best-friend.

"Oi!" Poppy says "I was your best friend far before you met Nerys,"

"Nerys," Donna tries to hold in a laugh, but when she sees Poppy doing the same, they both start.

"I'm really sorry about not responding to your calls or texts, or visiting you,"

"It's not me you should be saying sorry to, it' gramps!"

"Is he okay,"

"Oh, you know him, always looking up at the stars. Like he's looking for something,"

"Sounds like him," Poppy nods "I have a way to make it up to you," she promises and Donna raises an unimpressed eyebrow and leans on the door frame "two places at a posh spa in central London,"

"And how'd you get that,"

"I know a man,"

"You got a sugar daddy now?"

"What?! God no! I just have a better paying job and know someone who works there,"

"Fine,"

----------&----------

The two women were now both on sunbeds by a pool, it seemed The Doctor had got them the private package. Both had a woman at the end of the loungers, painting their nails. Poppy went for a TARDIS blue and French fingernails, yet Donna went for a nude tone on both toe nails and finger nails.

"I can't believe they offered you a haircut," Donna mutters, looking right

"I mean, it was getting quite long,"

"Did you get extensions or something? Your hair never grows that quickly,"

"Yeah, something like that," Poppy responds, her hair had really grown out because she had been on the TARDIS for much longer than the year that had passed back on earth.

"Mind you, my friend Shanice, she got extensions at this place down the road, and they fell out as soon as she washed it. Though, we don't know what her and her boyfriend were doing in there,"

"Donna," Poppy groans in disgust. The woman finishes with her toenails and Poppy thanks her before she leaves. It's silent for a few moments and Poppy stares at Donna, she missed her. But not just her, she misses the Donna who hadn't had her memories wiped, the Donna who knew how important she is.

"I've missed this,"

"What? Us gossiping?"

"Yeah," Poppy pretends, "and us hanging out". Unspoken, Poppy also knew how much she missed traveling with Donna. Sure, she loved Amy and Rory and they were certainly entertaining. But Donna was well...Donna.

"This came for you ma'am'" a worker walks up to Poppy and passes her a dark blue envelope, a '1' placed on the back.

"You getting letters now?"

"Shut up," Poppy opened the envelope and found a date, time and map reference "Oh, so him," she muttered quietly

"So, who?" Donna interrupted

"There's also a woman waiting for you at the front desk, said her name was Alexandra,"

"Tell her I'll be five minutes, and to grab some clothes and contact lenses for me please," the worker nodded and walked away.

"Are you leaving me here, alone?" Donna asks "this was your idea,"

"Yes, and I know you'll enjoy being alone," Poppy winked as she puts a dressing gown on and rushes out "I'll text you at some point!"

"You'd better!"

Poppy walks out by the front desk and finds Alex with a suitcase and a matching envelope, she flashes Poppy the '3' on her own envelope.

"So, him," she mutters and Poppy smirks "what does yours say?"

Poppy shows her, her note and Alex compares them "I got two versions," the second set of coordinates had a familiar handwriting scribbled in red pen 'clothes + contact lenses'.

"Oh, he knows me so well," Poppy smiles "Trust him to ruin my spa day though,"

"Oh, don't worry. He ruined me being tried as a witch,"

"You wanted to be burned or drowned?"

"Drowned, and I learnt a trick," she winks "wanted them to think I was an actual witch,"

"Right," Poppy takes the suitcase from Alex and walks into the bathrooms "I'll be back!"

Alex sighed, sitting on a waiting chair. When Poppy comes out, Alex abandons the suitcase and links arms with the other woman, putting both their hands on the vortex manipulator that sat on her wrist.

----------&----------

The two women appear as they see The Doctor hugging Rory

"Rory the Roman! Oh, come here," he embraces him tightly.

"Oh, you'd think he didn't even miss me," Poppy shouts over to them as her and Alex walk over.

"Poppy!" The Doctor shouts when he sees her and she laughs, hugging him when she gets there. He wraps his arms around her tightly.

"Struggling to breathe in here," she jokes and The Doctor lets go, holding Poppy's face in his hands, looking at every feature of her face "you okay there?" whilst this happened, Alex hugged both Amy and Rory.

"Yeah, just definitely missed you," he presses a quick kiss to her lips before putting his Stetson on her head.

"What's with the new hat then?" Rory asks

"I wear a Stetson now. Stetsons are cool," The Doctor adjusts the hat on Poppy before it suddenly shoots off her head, she turns around and everyone stares at the woman.

"Hello, sweetie,"

----------&----------

The group are at a diner, Alex and River are next to each other, talking about the trips they've both been on with The Doctor since they last met.

"Have you done Easter Island yet?"

"Yeah, they worshipped him there. Did you see the statues?"

"They worshipped her as well," River gestures to Poppy and The Doctor who were at a separate booth, Poppy telling The Doctor all about Donna's friends niece's hairdresser.

"Jim the fish?" Alex asks

"Oh! Jim the fish. How is he?"

"Mum and Dad said he's still building his dam last time I asked,"

"Sorry, what are you two doing?" Rory asks as him and Amy sit opposite them, The Doctor and Poppy still in another booth.

"They're all time travellers, so they always meet each other in weird orders," Amy gestures to the other two and calls them over "They're catching up like you would with your aunt at a Christmas party,"

" So, what's happening, then?" Amy asks when The Doctor and Poppy join them, The Doctor pushing her off the bench slightly as he sits next to Rory and Poppy fits in perfectly next to River considering they all had smaller bodies

"Because you've been up to something" Poppy elaborates

"I've been running, faster than I've ever run. And I've been running my whole life. Now, it's time for me to stop. And tonight, I'm going to need you all with me,"

"Okay. We're here. What's up?"

"A picnic,"

"How domestic," Poppy jokes

"And then a trip. Somewhere different, somewhere brand new,"

"Where?" Alex asks, leaning on the table

"Space, 1969,"

----------&----------

The six are sat on a picnic blanket, wine glasses in hand- apart from Alex who declared she hated wine and River somehow had an apple juice box to give her.

"Salud!"

"Salud!" everyone raises their drinks

"So, when are going to 1969?" Rory questions

"And since when do you drink wine?" Poppy continues

"I'm eleven hundred and three. I must've drunk it sometime," he takes a swig from the bottle, then immediately spits it in the other direction "Oh, wine is horrid. I thought it would taste more like the gums,"

"Eleven hundred and three? You were nine hundred and ten the last time I saw you," Poppy sits up from her lying position and squints at her boyfriend "have you been away for longer than you said?" she teases and The Doctor tenses up "Just kidding, I kind of expected it," she laughs and lies back down, River's spare sunglasses on since she forgot to get some.

"Oh my god," Alex mutters and looks to River mouthing a 'does that mean he knows about me?' River just shrugs but The Doctor winks at Alex and that answers the question

"You were nine hundred and eight last time me and Rory saw you,"

"And you've put on a couple of pounds. I wasn't going to mention it, "the Doctor jokes

"Who's that?" Amy mutters and Rory and Poppy look to her

"Hmm? Who's who?" Rory asks his wife

"Sorry, what?"

"What did you see? You said you saw something,"

"No, I didn't,"

"Ah, the moon. Look at it," The Doctor changes the subject, pointing "Of course, you lot did a lot more than look, didn't you? Big, silvery thing in the sky. You couldn't resist it. Quite right,"

"The moon landing was in 69. Is that where we're going?"

"You're full of questions today," The Doctor glances at Alex "But no. A lot more happens in 69 than anyone remembers," he looks at Amy and Rory "Human beings. I thought I'd never get done saving you,"

A truck pulls up nearby and a man gets out, The Doctor stands and waves to him.

"Who's he?" Amy asks and everyone seems to stand up at the same time

"Oh, my God," River says in horror, they turn and find a figure in a NASA spacesuit is standing up to its knees in the lake.

"Silence will fall, " Poppy mutters unintentionally before she gets a sudden stabbing pain and falls into River who wraps her arms around her, supporting her.

"You all need to stay back. Whatever happens now, you do not interfere. Clear?" Poppy can't stop staring at the suit and before The Doctor walks down to the figure, he presses a gentle kiss to her forehead and one to a confused Alex's.

He goes to meet the figure, who has stepped out of the water.

"That's an astronaut. That's an Apollo astronaut in a lake," Rory whispers to his wife

"But it's not, "Poppy mumbles, her head pounding as River rubs her back soothingly and Alex stays at the front.

Everyone watches as The Doctor says something, then bows his head.

"What's he doing?" Amy asks, to no one in particular. But before anyone knew it, the astronaut shoots the Doctor.

Everything happens quickly after that, Amy and Poppy going to run but River holding Poppy as Alex grabs Amy and her and Rory hold her back, Poppy being much weaker from her headache and only needing one person. The astronaut shoots him again and Poppy screams out from the pain of watching The Doctor being shot and the ever-increasing pain in her skull.

"The Doctor said stay back! You have to stay back!" River warns as regeneration energy starts to flow from the Doctor's hands.

"I'm sorry," The Doctor tells them as they can barely read his lips before the astronaut shoots again just as the regeneration starts properly. He falls dead, the energy gone.

Everyone runs to him, Poppy and Amy having finally been let go. When they get there, River scans him with her tricorder. Poppy and Amy fall to the floor, kneeling by his dead body, tears streaming down both their faces.

"River?" Poppy asks between tears, begging to know if he's dead or not "River?!" River shakes her head and Poppy grabs her gun from its holster, firing at the astronaut, the training Jack gave her kicking in. She hits it perfectly each time, but by the time she shoots all the bullets, nothing's happened.

"Of course not," River mutters sadly, taking her gun from the trembling woman.

"Shh," Alex hugs Poppy, trying to calm her as Alex's own tears drop onto her hair.

"River, he can't be dead. This isn't possible,"

"Whatever that was, it killed him in the middle of his regeneration cycle. His body was already dead. He didn't make it to the next one,"

"Maybe he's a clone or a duplicate or something," Amy prays between tears as the old man from before approaches, with a petrol can.

"I believe I can save you some time. That most certainly is the Doctor. And he is most certainly dead. He said you'd need this," The man tells them as he places the can down

"Gasoline?" Rory asks

"A Time Lord's body is a miracle. Even a dead one. There are whole empires out there who'd rip this world apart for just one cell. We can't leave him here. Or anywhere," Alex explains

"Wake up. Come on, wake up, you stupid, bloody idiot," Poppy begs as when bakes free from Alex and holds The Doctor's face in her hands

"What do we do, Rory?" Amy looks up at her husband, rocking back and forth

"We're his friends. We do what the Doctor's friends always do. As we're told,"

"We never do as we're told," Poppy mutters sadly "that's why he likes us secretly,"

"We do this time," Alex says seriously

"There's a boat," Rory stairs off into the distance "If we're going to do this, let's do it properly,"

And so, as the sun sets over the beach. The Doctor's body floats in a boat, burning.

"He always admired the Vikings," Alex mumbles, as River wraps her arm around both her and Poppy.

"Who are you? Why did you come?" Poppy asks the man

"The same reason as you," He holds out his blue invitation to which Poppy takes out her own and compares them.

"Doctor Song, Miss Watcher, Alexandra, Amy, Rory. I'm Canton Everett Delaware the third. I won't be seeing you again, but you'll be seeing me," he leaves and they watch

"Six," Alex says, having seen the envelope

"Sorry, what?" Rory asks

"The Doctor numbered the envelopes," River finishes.