Present Tense (short story)

Present Tense was the seventeenth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: A Christmas Treasury. It was written by Ian Potter. It featured the Fourth Doctor, Romana II and K9.

Summary
It's Christmas in the TARDIS, and the crew are exchanging gifts. The Doctor gives K9 an old biscuit (Romana suspects that he's been programmed by the Doctor to enjoy old biscuits).

The Doctor gives Romana her gift, anticipating her reaction. She unwraps it to find the Great Crystal Choir Crown of Pseudolonica VII. The Doctor says he found two days in its history when it wasn't worn, and it's hers now. He will return it some time before it's missed.

The crown is special because it has the ability to learn. K9 states that the crown will acquire new information while it's here, and the Doctor admits to having taught it to sing certain songs. Romana thanks the Doctor and puts it in the cupboard where she put the one he gave her last year. The Doctor is stunned to learn that he gave her the same crown last year. He figures he shouldn't let the two crowns learn from each other.

Romana gives the Doctor his gift: a moment's peace located in the Zero Room. The Doctor hugs Romana, and K9 and the two crowns sing Christmas carols.

Characters

 * Fourth Doctor
 * Romana II
 * K9 Mark II

Worldbuilding

 * The Doctor taught the second crown to sing tunes from Ruddigore and taught the first crown Venusian songs.
 * K9 and the crowns sing the carol about the figgy pudding.
 * Romana's gift of peace for the Doctor is a time looped English rose garden.
 * The chrono-historical stress gauge has broken.
 * The Doctor hopes no one from Gallifrey finds out about the two crowns.

Continuity
to be added