Title: Home For the Holidays
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Spencer Reid
Fandom: Doctor Who/Criminal Minds
Rating: PG-13
Table: doctorwho_100
Prompt: 94, Celebrate
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor or Spencer Reid, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

***

Spencer blinked, raising a hand to his mouth to cover a yawn. He usually didn't like watching holiday movies all that much, but he had to admit that "It's A Wonderful Life" was one of his favorite films. And the Doctor certainly seemed to love it.

"That's a wonderful film, isn't it?" the Time Lord asked as he lifted the remote to stop the dvd and turn off the television. "I watch it every year at the holidays. It's one of those uplifting films that so many people scoff at, but they could take its lessons to heart."

Spencer nodded thoughtfully, laying back against the couch cushions and crossing his arms over his chest. "Yeah, they could -- especially at Christmas. I've always thought it's a pretty sad commentary on the human race that the crime rate goes up during the holidays."

The Doctor sighed softly, nodding along with his young boyfriend. "It's sad, but humans aren't the only race who do that, Spencer. And there's nothing we can do to change human nature, so we'll just have to accept it as a fact of life."

"Oh, I accept it -- I just don't like it," Spencer told him, getting up to take the dvd from the player and fit it back into its case, then replace it on the shelf. "But I like that movie," he said, trying to change the subject. "It's a nice little celebration of the holidays."

"Do you believe that every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings?" the Doctor said, his voice dreamy. "It's a nice concept, isn't it? It's one of the things I've always loved about that film. Though I used to prefer to think that a bell ringing meant that a Time Lord got his Tardis."

"Did you celebrate Christmas on Gallifrey?" Spencer asked, interested to know more about the Doctor's life on his home planet when he was a child. "I wouldn't have thought so. I was sure that Christmas was a uniquely human phenomenon."

"It is," the Doctor told him with a slight smile. "But you forget, Spencer, that my people have studied not only the human race, but other races all around the galaxy, for centuries. Since long before you were born -- and even before I was. So we know about Christmas."

Spencer nodded, blushing a little. "Sorry, Doctor. If you don't want to talk about your childhood, you don't have to. I just always like hearing about Gallifrey. It makes me feel like I've been there -- like I can see it in my mind's eye the more you tell me about it."

"I don't mind talking about my past," the Doctor said softly, the words accompanied by a sigh. "But you have to understand that it's always going to make me feel a bit sad, love. Especially at this time of year. I might not have celebrated Christmas, but I do miss my home at the holidays."

"I understand that," Spencer murmured, moving back to the couch to sit down and wrap an arm around the Time Lord's slender waist. "I didn't mean to make you sad. I was just wondering why Christmas seems to mean so much to you."

"You forget, love, I'm half-human," the Doctor told him, smiling. "I have more ties to holidays like this than most Gallifreyans did. My mother instilled a love of this holiday in me when I was a small child, and even after all these centuries, I've never lost it."

"I'd forgotten about your half-human ancestry," Spencer said thoughtfully, his gaze on the Doctor's face. "I wish you'd have had a chance to be on Earth during Christmas and really celebrate it. But I guess your mom must have had Christmas parties, right?"

The Doctor nodded, a nostalgic expression on his handsome features. "Yes, she did -- and even if there weren't many people there -- most Gallifreyans thought Earth traditions were silly and inferior -- it was always fun for me as a child."

"Did you get the usual stocking, and Christmas presents?" Spencer asked, eager to find out what the Doctor's life had been like then. He couldn't help smiling at the thought of this man as a little boy waking up on Christmas morning and scrambling to open his gifts.

The Doctor nodded, smiling at the memory. "Oh yes, my mother made sure of that. She would even talk my father into going to Earth and getting me gifts. A few other Gallifreyan children celebrated the holiday too, so I wasn't completely alone in that."

"So you have good memories of Christmas celebrations when you were a kid," Spencer said, a feeling of relief washing over him. The last thing he would have wanted to do was bring back bad memories for his lover, especially during the holiday season.

"Oh yes, I have wonderful Christmas memories from my childhood," the Doctor reassured him. "It wasn't until my mother died that everything changed, and there was period when my life seemed more of a drudgery than something to savor and look forward to."

Spencer didn't want to open that door, so he quickly changed the subject to the first thought that came into his head. "So, would you like to go to Earth and see my friends from the BAU? See how they might be celebrating Christmas this year?"

Well, it wasn't the best subject change he could think of, but maybe it would get the Doctor's mind off the sadder times from his past. And even though Spencer didn't particularly want to go to Earth during the holidays, maybe the Doctor did.

But to his surprise, the Doctor shook his head, a small smile curving his lips. "No, I think they're probably getting along just fine, sweetheart," he said softly, resting his head on Spencer's shoulder. "I'd rather spend the rest of my holidays right here with you."

"We could go to a pleasure planet," Spencer ventured, his thoughts immediately going to the place where they'd spent a few days only a short time ago. "That one we went to was great. I really enjoyed that -- and I think you did, too. We could treat ourselves."

"That's a marvelous idea, love," the Doctor told him, his expression brightening. "I loved that place! It was so peaceful -- and for once, we didn't have to worry about running into trouble. Though it does seem to come looking for us wherever we are."

Spencer couldn't help but laugh at those words. "Yeah, it does -- no matter where we decide to go," he said ruefully. "Are you always such a trouble magnet? I'd have thought trouble would be scared of a Time Lord, considering all the ways you can combat it."

"Trouble always comes looking for what it most fears, I think," the Doctor said softly. Raising his brows, he put a question to Spencer, one that the young man hadn't considered. "Don't you think that we should make a quick trip to see your mother for Christmas?"

The young man nodded, his eyes widening at the thought. "I haven't seen her, or been home for the holidays, for a while -- so it'd be nice to go this year," he said, his thoughts turning to his mother. "She'd love to meet you. I should have taken you there already."

The Doctor rested his head on his lover's shoulder again, smiling as he did so. "She isn't going to take exception to you being in love with a man, is she?" he asked, sounding slightly anxious. "I don't want to cause any trouble between you two."

"You won't," Spencer assured him, tightening his arm around the Time Lord's slender waist. "As long as I'm with somebody who loves me and who makes me happy, she won't care. She'll just say that love doesn't notice what's in your pants when you get dressed in the morning."

"A very wise woman, your mother," the Doctor told Spencer, his dark eyes sparkling. "So, we're going to celebrate part of the holidays with her, then. I'm looking forward to meeting her. From what you've told me, she sounds like a fascinating woman."

"She is," Spencer said with a laugh, getting to his feet and holding out his hand to the Doctor. The Time Lord took his proffered hand, thinking as he followed his boyfriend out of the room to set a course for Earth that this particular holiday celebration was going to prove very interesting indeed.

***