Angelic Paranoia

When the thud of the snowball hit her office window. Evelyn opened it to to chide whoever it was for having terrible aim, but she found it was the Doctor.

He grinned at her. "Come out and play."

"I've got work to do."

"You can warm up with hot chocolate and chocolate cake afterwards." Although it wasn't the cold she'd been complaining about.

She narrowed her eyes. "Whose chocolate cake?"

"Yours. Which you're going to make this evening."

Honestly, sometimes he was worse than the students at arguing their case. But still, she picked up her coat and joined him.

Evelyn sighed. "Doctor, I'm too old for a snowball fight." It wasn't the cold of the snow that she was objecting to since this world had strangely warm snow. Nor was it the joy of playing as she'd watched plenty of students make snowmen and have snowball fights from the warmth of her office.

No, it was that they were supposed to be presenting their case to the Emperor to explain why they desecrated their sacred garden, where the Doctor picked a flower. If they didn't they would be stuck outside the castle, when the TARDIS was inside. The trouble was that their presentation had to be in the form of interpretive dance and the Doctor was finding every excuse to procrastinate.

"I'm not." He reached down to gather up some snow and flung it at her, hitting her on the chest and dissipating across her coat.

She glanced down, but didn't change her expression.

After a few seconds the Doctor sighed. "You're getting old and boring," he groused.

Evelyn waited until he'd turned away before bending down. She aimed the snowball at his back and grinned when it hit. No one got to call her boring without some retribution.

"This is ridiculous."

Evelyn was inclined to agree. A snowball fight was no way to conduct a war. Especially given the green shoots she could see heralding the coming of spring.

"The snow is melting, we'll have to call a truce," the Doctor continued. He stalked off and was promptly captured by the other side.

Evelyn left him to it. Although not without aiming her cold, and very solid, snowballs in his direction.

And hour later the snow really was melting and the commander of the losing side, the Doctor, was forced to make hot chocolate for all the combatants.

"I haven't made a snowman since I was a girl." It wasn't a no to the Doctor's suggestion, but she wasn't sure she was up to it.

The Doctor frowned. "Why not?"

She hesitated. "I suppose there was never really the time for games."

"There's always time for games," he insisted, bending down to roll the the snow into a ball. "All work and no play makes Evelyn a dull girl."

"All play and no work is no better," she riposted. Although she knew it wasn't fair and the Doctor worked hard to extricate them from situations. That he'd accidentally got them into.

He stopped to frown at her again. "Is that what you think of me?"

She shook her head. "Is that what you think of me?"

"No," he said softly before grinning. "But if you do play, then you'll be willing to make a snowman with me. It is a two person job."

Which he couldn't be trusted to do on his own, like everything.

She gave in, for the sake of a quiet life. Although she provided the carrot and the Doctor found far too long a scarf in the TARDIS for the short snowman they'd made.

"Isn't beautiful?" the Doctor asked.

"And cold." Despite the anachronistic thermals she was wearing the cold had a bite to it. It had to be with the Thames freezing over. She remembered it happening when she was a first year, but hadn't seen it herself.

He stripped off his coat and draped it around her. She smiled in thanks and would have worried that he was cold, except he showed no signs of noticing the temperature. "How about a walk across the Thames?" he suggested, offering his arm.

She took it. "I can't believe I'm going to walk on water."

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