Chaos Theory in Vortex Orbits in Relative Dimensions in Time and Space (12/27)
Title - Chaos Theory in Vortex Orbits in Relative Dimensions in Time and Space (12/27)
Author --
earlgreytea68
Rating - Teen
Characters -- Ten, Rose, Jackie, OCs
Spoilers: Through the end of S2.
Disclaimer: I don't own them and I don't make money off of them, but I don't like to dwell on that, so let's move on. (Except for Brem and Athena. They're all mine.)
Summary - And then there came a day when Rose said she was having a baby. Hijinks ensue from there.
Author’s Notes - The icon was created by
punkinart , commissioned by
aibhinn , who graciously offered it to me for my use.
jlrpuck is the most fabulous beta. She's also at the official opening of Nationals Park. Hurrah! Also thanks to Kristin-who-won't-get-an-LJ, who brainstormed this fic with me endlessly, and
bouncy_castle79 , who gave it the first major outside-eyes read-through.
Ch.1 - Ch. 2 - Ch. 3 - Ch. 4 - Ch. 5 - Ch. 6 - Ch. 7 - Ch. 8 - Ch. 9 - Ch. 10 - Ch. 11
Chapter Twelve
Rose insisted on Christmas. She insisted on Christmas trees and Christmas gifts, on Christmas dinner with her mum. Originally, the Doctor had thought it strange and very human. “Time Lords don’t believe in Father Christmas!” he’d exclaimed, which had led to a retort that the kids were half-human and so were definitely going to believe in Father Christmas.
He had to admit, lazing on the couch in Jackie’s parlour, watching Rose nestle satsumas into the toes of their stockings, that there really was something to be said for this human invention of Christmas. When done correctly, Christmas was remarkable.
“Are you going to help, then?” Jackie asked him, passing by him with an armful of toys to be wrapped.
“Oh, I’m…rubbish at wrapping.” He waved his hand negligently. “And I’m keeping track of the kids. In my head. Got to make sure they don’t wander out of the nursery. When you’ve got kids who don’t sleep, it’s hard playing Father Christmas.”
“The TARDIS locked the nursery door,” remarked Rose, now following the satsumas with chocolates. The Doctor watched raptly, frowning when she skipped his stocking. “There’s no way the kids could wander out.”
“Oi,” he pointed out. “You missed my stocking.”
“Did I?” He watched her deposit extra chocolates into her stocking.
His frown deepened. “I hope you’re going to share those.”
“You’re such a baby,” she grinned at him. “You’re worse than the children. Do you think Santa will find you’ve been nice? When he checks his list twice?”
“There is no Santa. I’m the closest thing to Santa-”
“Please give me your highest-authority-in-the-universe speech again,” said Rose, smiling, as she dropped some mini-screwdrivers into Brem’s stocking for him. Not sonic, but he would love their quaintness.
“I am the highest authority in the universe!” he protested. “There isn’t-”
“Honest to God,” interrupted Jackie, curling some ribbon on a package, “don’t you ever get tired of the sound of your own voice?”
The Doctor blinked. “No. Are there people that happens to?”
Jackie rolled her eyes and pulled out another stocking, handing it to Rose. “Here you go.”
“Who’s that stocking for?” asked the Doctor with interest.
“Madrid,” answered Jackie.
“You got the dog a stocking?”
“Why not?” asked Rose. “He’s been good. We’re going to fill it with treats.”
It had been Brem’s idea to name the puppy Madrid. The Doctor did not think the name as clever as Rose and Brem did. Granada was Barcelona’s sister planet, a fact they seemed to be ignoring.
He lay on the couch, watching Rose and her mother wrap gifts for the children and place them under the tree, exchanging opinions about the dolls they’d bought Athena, the mechanical sets they’d bought Brem. The kids were relentlessly spoiled, and all toys were rather superfluous, but it was Rose’s Christmas and he let her have it.
Finally, they finished. Jackie stood up, yawning, and stretched. “Time for bed for us humans,” she remarked.
“I guess I’ll kill some time tinkering with the TARDIS,” he said, standing up. “If I go into the nursery, the kids’ll never rest until they pester me out here to open the gifts.”
Rose took his hand, smiling, and turned back to Jackie. “We’ll see you bright and early, Mum.”
“Night!” Jackie called, as they walked into the TARDIS.
“Don’t tinker,” Rose said. “Come to bed with me.”
“What an offer.”
“I have a gift for you,” she said, grinning.
His grin widened. “An even better offer. Is it chocolate for my stocking?”
Rose looked thoughtful. “I suppose that could be some sort of euphemism for something, but I’m not sure what.”
**********************
The Doctor always started Christmas morning early. He blamed it on the kids, but it was really him. He’d grown used to the company of the children while Rose slept, and hated the sudden loneliness of Christmas Eve. He didn’t like to be reminded of the time when the TARDIS had been so painfully quiet and his footsteps had echoed--it made him edgy. So he always invaded the nursery as soon as he thought he could and still get away with it with Rose and Jackie.
The nursery was darkened, and the TARDIS had scattered stars over the ceiling. Brem and Athena were lying on their backs, staring up at the stars. One of them was blinking bright red, and Brem was saying, “That’s the one where Kaj and Muj live, remember, Athena?”
The Doctor smiled. Brem was right on that count. Brilliant with astronomy, that one. Of course.
It was Madrid who noticed him first, leaping up from where he’d been sprawled with Brem and Athena and bounding over to him, barking happily. Madrid was not a bad puppy at all, and even Jackie had come to adore him, in spite of his noselessness. Brem had picked him out himself, during the trip to Barcelona; he was midnight black, with one single distinctive streak of silver on one floppy ear. As the Doctor had predicted, Brem spent little time taking care of Madrid and more time playing with him, but somehow neither he nor Rose ever found time to call him on it. Rose adored the dog, and the Doctor would never have admitted it but he adored the dog just as much.
“Has Father Christmas come?” asked Brem, clambering to his feet, eagerly.
The Doctor grinned. “Indeed. Let’s go wake Mum.”
“C’mon, Athena,” said Brem, pulling her impatiently to her feet and then dashing out of the room.
The Doctor paused to swing Athena into his arms, following Brem and Madrid, who kept barking with excitement. He walked into their bedroom in time to see Brem and Madrid launch themselves onto the bed. Rose grunted sleepily.
“Are you still sleeping, Mum?” Brem demanded. “Wake up! It’s Christmas morning!”
“Oh, Brem,” moaned Rose. “What time is it?”
“It’s morning,” he assured her.
“I really don’t think it is.”
The Doctor crawled onto the bed with Athena. Rose was blearily pushing Madrid away as he was licking at her face.
“What time is it?” Rose asked him.
“Tell your mum how beautiful she looks first thing in the morning,” the Doctor told Brem.
“Flattery will get you nowhere. Grandma’s going to kill you if we get her up this early.”
“Oh, come on!” protested the Doctor. “It’s Christmas! Look!” The Doctor, delighted, gestured above the bed. “Mistletoe! What’s the human tradition involving mistletoe?” The Doctor looked expectantly at Brem, who knit his brows together in thought.
“Kiss!” exclaimed Athena, and instantly leaned over and kissed her mother’s cheek.
Rose smiled. “Oh, that’s lovely sweetheart. Thank you.”
“Oh, right!” Brem recalled, and did the same.
“Kisses all around,” said the Doctor, kissing Athena and then reaching out and tickling both her and Brem. They squirmed about the bed, Madrid tumbling over them in an effort to gain the Doctor’s attention. He finished by kissing the top of Brem’s head, and then grinning at Rose. “Happy Christmas,” he murmured, brushing his lips over hers.
“Really? Honestly? My mum’s gonna kill you.”
“Eh, it’s been a while since I’ve been slapped.” He rolled out of bed. “Come on, kids. Let’s go wake up your grandmother.”
Rose, sighing, listened to them as they went barrelling out of the room, three overly energetic Time Lords and a puppy. She rubbed at her eyes and pulled herself out of bed, grabbing for a robe and knotting its belt as she shuffled out of the TARDIS.
Brem and Athena had roused her mother and were dragging her into the living room.
“Can’t we have a cuppa, kids, before we start opening presents?”
“Making it!” called the Doctor from the kitchen.
“What time is it?” asked Rose, as the room was still dark.
“Bloody 4:30 in the morning. Your kids are-”
“The kids haven’t anything to do with it,” Rose interjected, turning toward the kitchen with her hands on her hips. “Doctor…”
“The tea’s coming,” he promised, willfully misunderstanding her.
Rose frowned and turned back to the kids. “Stockings first,” she said, and watched them fall to it, items tumbling out of their respective stockings pell-mell. They delved into the chocolate with enthusiasm and Rose, hungry herself now that she was up, pulled her stocking over to her and treated herself to some chocolate of her own.
The Doctor emerged with tea, which he handed to Jackie and Rose.
“Look, Dad!” exclaimed Brem, holding up his mini-screwdriver kit.
The Doctor pulled out his specs so he could examine the mini-screwdrivers more closely, as he settled on the floor next to Brem. “What have you got there?”
Rose watched them, two heads of untidy hair tipped together. Athena toddled over to them to show off her own toys; Jackie began handing out gifts, including a bonefor Madrid who settled down to gnaw on it. The kids worked their way through their presents, tearing off gift wrap and creating an enormous pile of discarded paper. By the time they were finished the sun was dawning, and Jackie offered to make the kids pancakes and carted them off to the kitchen, clutching their choice toys. Brem had already managed to dissect the toaster he’d been given, leaving parts of it strewn all over the floor, and Rose had to pick her way over them to reach the gift under the tree.
The Doctor was playing tug-of-war with Madrid, and looked up when she placed the gift on his lap. “For me?”
“Don’t sound surprised. It’s Christmas. I get you something every Christmas.” She settled onto the floor beside him, absently petting Madrid, who whined now that the Doctor had abandoned their game.
“And I tell you it isn’t necessary.”
“Of course it’s necessary. It’s Christmas.”
“But I don’t really celebrate Christmas.” Even as he said it, he was ripping the wrapping paper, eyes bright with anticipation.
She smiled. He was impossible to buy for but he loved gifts, which was why she made the effort.
He was presented this time with a photo album, filled with photos of him with the kids, cradling Athena while he read to her, listening to Brem, sitting up on the console where his father had lifted him, as he told him a story. The photos were interspersed with the kids’ artwork. Brem, who had picked up the bits and pieces of written Gallifreyan the Doctor had taken to teaching him, had written him messages in the language, while Athena’s notes were in the easier-to-grasp English that her mother could still help her with.
The Doctor turned the pages, remarking, “That’s why you’ve been running around taking pictures like a lunatic.”
“They aren’t going to be young forever. Look at Brem. He gets bigger every day. I thought you might want to remember…”
“I love it.” The Doctor turned, pulling her into a hug. “Thank you so much, I love it.” He pulled back again. “But there aren’t any pictures of you in it.”
“Well, I was taking the pictures,” she pointed out, logically.
“I suppose. Well.” He looked admiringly at his album. “Now I’m ashamed to give you your present. It’s nothing so brilliant as this.”
Rose blinked in surprise. “You got me a present?” He didn’t usually. He normally forgot, so caught up with the kids’ presents. She was suddenly concerned that this was connected to those dreams that he’d never mentioned again but she knew he still had.
He ruffled his hair, uncomfortable, as he reached into his coat pocket. “It’s really nothing. I mean, it’s very…human. I thought, for a change… I don’t give you very many human things, but this one seemed… Here.” He thrust it at her, blushing.
Rose was surprised, took it, and sat back. The box was small, and she thought instantly he must have bought her jewellery, which seemed incredible to her.
“If you don’t like it, we can…” continued the Doctor. “This silly human practice, of pretending we know what everyone else is going to like…”
“Shh,” she said, pulling the bow off and following it with the wrapping paper. Yes, a small velvet box, clearly a jewellery box, and she held her breath as she opened it. To find an engagement ring. She had been bracing for something completely outrageous but had not really expected an outright engagement ring, a square-cut solitaire diamond in a platinum band.
“The thing is…” said the Doctor, as she stared down at it. “I don’t want to…I mean, I don’t mean to presume…I wouldn’t be preventing you from…That is to say… You could still… It’s just that you’re making all these friends everywhere, and there’s no way to… I mean, in every culture there’s a way to show… This just happens to be the human way… I mean, when people ask you uncomfortable questions… About the kids and-”
“Oh, shut up for just a second, would you?” she asked, before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him for all she was worth. “Thank you.”
“If you don’t like it-”
“I love it. I absolutely adore it.” She pulled it out of the box, slipping it on the wrong hand so that her mother would not immediately start screeching about weddings. He wasn’t proposing. She didn’t think he would understand the point of it. But he was binding them together himself, in his own way. Which was enough.
“Let’s have a proper Christmas,” he said.
“We are having a proper Christmas.”
“No, let’s go somewhere. Somewhere marvellous. The six of us.”
“Six of us?”
“Your mum, too.”
“You want my mum to ride in the TARDIS?”
“As a special Christmas gift to me, d’you think she would?” He leapt up, all energy, dashing into the kitchen. “Jackie!” he exclaimed.
She looked at him suspiciously. “What?”
“Do you know what there is not enough of at Christmastime?” He snagged a piece of bacon, brandishing it as he spoke. The kids were now watching his show raptly. “Snow! Real snow! Do you see any real snow?”
“Where can we get real snow, Dad?” asked Athena, thoughtfully.
“Hippolita!” shouted Brem.
“Hippolita! Correctamundo.” The Doctor winced. “And I promised myself I would never say that word again. But there you are.” He turned to Jackie, all cajoling grin. “C’mon, Jackie. What do you say?”
Rose leaned against the doorjamb and crossed her arms, interested to see if her mother would be the first female in time and space to resist his aren’t-I-adorable grin.
“You want me to travel in that thing?”
“One little trip. One tiny, little trip. To Hippolita. You’ve never been, have you?”
Jackie looked at him as if he were daft.
“Exactly. Exactly what I thought. Come on,” said the Doctor, taking the spatula out of Jackie’s hand and attempting to lead her. “Let’s go.”
“Hang on,” Jackie protested. “I didn’t even shut the stove off.”
“Brem, take care of that, will you?”
“And I can’t go like this, I’m not even dressed.”
“My ship is so remarkable, Jackie. You don’t need to get dressed. Kids, tell your grandmother about the size of the wardrobe.”
“But-” Jackie said, helplessly, as he tugged her inexorably onto the TARDIS.
“Perfect,” he said, closing the door and leaping over to the console. Brem and Athena raced over to help him, punching buttons and pulling levers. “That one there, Athena,” he said. “On your left. Are you ready, Jackie?” He looked over at her, beaming.
Jackie was clutching one of the coral arches, white-knuckled. “So help me God, if I miss a year of my life because of this…”
“Oh, no chance,” said the Doctor, confidently, as he flipped the final lever and the TARDIS gave a jerk into motion.
“Could be a bit steadier, couldn’t it?” Jackie shouted at Rose, over the noise. “How you don’t get motion-sick, I can’t imagine.”
“Oh, Rose is an excellent traveller. Stellar--literally. First-rate.” The Doctor bounced around the console, weaving around his children as he banged and prodded controls. “Landing!” he announced, scooping up Athena and catching Brem as he staggered backward with the force of the impact.
Jackie would have gone flying to the ground if she hadn’t still been clutching at the coral for dear life. “Bloody hell,” she gasped. “Is it always like that?”
“Oh, that was one of the better landings,” Brem told her, wisely.
She looked at him in disbelief.
“And now!” the Doctor practically shouted. “Wardrobe time! Race ya!” he told Brem, before darting out of the control room, Brem on his heels.
“Is he always like this?” Jackie asked.
“Only sometimes,” Rose said. “Let’s go.”
The TARDIS knew where they were, and helpfully set out snow clothing of all shapes and sizes. Rose helped Athena and Brem struggle into snowsuits and heavy boots and hats and gloves, while her mother ooh-ed and aah-ed over the cashmere scarves, the smart wool pea coats.
“You know, this isn’t half brilliant,” Jackie said, approvingly, as Rose grinned and pulled on a pair of leather gloves. Jackie looked at the Doctor, who hadn’t changed an article of clothing. “Aren’t you changing?”
“Not something I really do,” he said, “change clothing. Are we all ready then?”
“Yes!” answered Brem and Athena, in unison.
Madrid, who’d been fitted out in a tiny sweater, barked.
“Off we go, then.” The Doctor turned on his heel, looking like the Pied Piper as he led the parade out of the TARDIS and onto Hippolita.
The place was covered in snow--the sort of perfect, fluffy, fresh snow that was so rare. The sky was crystal blue and completely clear, and the glare of the sun off the snow on the ground was practically blinding. The Doctor was in rare form, overflowing with energy. He directed everyone as they made a snowman, separated them into teams for a fierce boys-against-girls snowball fight that ended with him tackling Athena into a giggling heap on the ground while Brem, uncertain whether she still needed to be attacked or not, pelted them with snowballs. They collapsed into making snow angels, that Madrid then ran through, destroying them. And the Doctor insisted that Jackie take a picture of all four of them.
Rose, exhausted, finally settled next to her mother in a spot on the snow. It had started to flurry, and she leaned back and watched as the Doctor and Brem and Athena raced about, trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues.
“It’s freezin’,” said Jackie.
“Oh, they don’t notice,” Rose smiled. “They’re having fun.”
“Is this what it’s like every day, then?”
“No. Not really. I mean, sometimes, but…This has all been kind of perfect, this day. It isn’t usually really like this. He’s…” Rose trailed off, deciding against saying anything. Brem was frowning a bit at his father’s silliness, the way he sometimes did.
“That one’s funny,” Jackie commented, nodding toward him. “He’s got a bit of your first Doctor in him.”
“Of course he does, Mum. They’re the same person.”
“I just think sometimes, that if you had your first Doctor meet that Doctor, he’d kind of sigh and shake his head the way Brem does.”
“They don’t need to meet. They’ve already met. They’re the same person,” said Rose, but she knew suddenly what her mother meant, and the thought made her smile.
She felt her mother look at her closely. “So. That diamond you’re wearing. I guess it doesn’t mean we’re having a wedding?”
“No. That’s not his…Not the way he does things.” Rose smiled at her, brilliantly. “But it doesn’t matter. It’s his way of…It’s his way of binding us together. And there is no higher authority than him, you know.”
Jackie shook her head. “So long as you’re happy, darling.”
“I am happy. Can’t you tell?”
“I can, actually.”
“Oi!” said the Doctor, and tossed snow at Rose. “What are you up to?”
“Resting,” she told him. “Someone got me up at an unearthly hour this morning.”
“Who’d like some hot cocoa?” asked Jackie.
“Me!” Brem and Athena both exclaimed.
“C’mon, then.” Jackie pulled herself up. “Back in the TARDIS. Here we go, Theenie.” She leaned down to pick Athena up.
“Athena,” the Doctor corrected, in exasperation. “Her name is Athena.” He offered Rose his hand, pulled her up. “Why you both persist in calling her Theenie…”
“It suits her,” said Jackie, as they began walking to the TARDIS.
“Not at all,” the Doctor sniffed. “Theenie doesn’t suit anybody. Theenie isn’t even a name.”
“Says the man who named his son Brem.”
“And what’s wrong with the name Brem?” demanded Brem, frowning.
“Exactly,” agreed the Doctor, closing the TARDIS door.
“Let’s get out of these wet things, and I’ll make you cocoa,” Jackie told the kids. “Which way to the nursery?”
“You should get out of this wet thing, too.” Rose tugged at the Doctor’s coat, drenched and filthy from being rolled around in the snow.
“I’ll be fine,” he said.
“Take it off so I can dry it, at least.”
He huffed as if this were an enormous imposition but obeyed, and Rose went off to change herself. When she came back, everyone was dressed in dry clothing in the control room, drinking hot cocoa, and the Doctor was blasting Ian Dury and having an argument with her mother.
“When I said ‘music,’ I meant Christmas music!” she was saying. “It’s Christmas!”
“Jackie, have you heard this song?” he asked, patiently, turning the music up even louder.
But the TARDIS abruptly changed the track to Jingle Bell Rock, and Jackie smiled smugly.
“Oh, fine,” grumbled the Doctor. “Now you’ve got your way.” He startled her by grabbing her hand and pulling her into a lively, improvised two-step around the console, singing the song at her, just a tad off-key.
“You’re absolutely mad,” Jackie told him, but she laughed as he twirled her and brought her back. The kids laughed, too, delighted. The Doctor got in moods like this, sometimes twirled Rose about, or picked up Athena and waltzed with her.
Rose smiled and went to snuggle with the kids on the captain’s chair, watching them, until the song finished.
“Ready to go home?” the Doctor asked, whirling away from Jackie as suddenly as he’d begun dancing with her. “Watch me land us bang on time.” He skipped about, showing off, and the TARDIS lurched into the Vortex and then into the gentlest landing Rose had ever felt. The Doctor opened the door, onto her mother’s kitchen, and grinned, pleased with himself. “There you are.”
Jackie ventured out, checked the date and time on the mobile she’d left on the kitchen counter. “We’ve only been gone four hours,” she noted, in amazement.
“O ye of little faith,” he chided. “Plenty of time for your turkey dinner. And to pull some crackers.”
They pulled the crackers, sitting around the table in the ridiculous crowns, and Rose remembered her first Christmas with the Doctor, brand new in this incarnation, wearing a pink crown, then standing with him in the snow. Who would have guessed they would have ended up here?
By the time the day was over, even her Time Lord children were exhausted and cranky. The Doctor dropped them on the couch in the library, in front of It’s a Wonderful Life, closed the door, and found Rose in the nursery, sorting through the toys.
“They may actually fall asleep,” he said.
“Astonishing,” Rose replied.
The Doctor watched her, the flash of the diamond she was wearing as it caught the light. “Dance with me,” he said.
“To what?” she asked.
Even as she asked it, the TARDIS piped in the music. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Rose smiled and moved into his arms and rested her head contentedly against his shoulder, satisfied to let him gently sway her to the beat.
“You scared me today,” she said, after a long moment of silence.
“What?” He sounded surprised. “Why?”
“You were trying to make it spectacular. It worried me. When you act that way…it’s only ever because you’re scared of what will happen if you stay still.”
She felt him kiss her hair. “We’re okay,” he murmured.
“I’m not going to leave you.” She tipped her head back so she could see him. “Is this about your falling dream again?”
“Let’s forget about it,” he said.
“Doctor…”
“Let’s forget about it. Just tell me.” He stopped dancing, cupped his hands around her face. “Did you have a nice Christmas?”
“I had the best Christmas,” she said.
“Good.” He brushed an achingly sweet kiss over her lips, then pulled her back into the beat with him. “That’s all I wanted.”
Next Chapter
Author --
earlgreytea68
Rating - Teen
Characters -- Ten, Rose, Jackie, OCs
Spoilers: Through the end of S2.
Disclaimer: I don't own them and I don't make money off of them, but I don't like to dwell on that, so let's move on. (Except for Brem and Athena. They're all mine.)
Summary - And then there came a day when Rose said she was having a baby. Hijinks ensue from there.
Author’s Notes - The icon was created by
punkinart , commissioned by
aibhinn , who graciously offered it to me for my use.
jlrpuck is the most fabulous beta. She's also at the official opening of Nationals Park. Hurrah! Also thanks to Kristin-who-won't-get-an-LJ, who brainstormed this fic with me endlessly, and
bouncy_castle79 , who gave it the first major outside-eyes read-through.
Ch.1 - Ch. 2 - Ch. 3 - Ch. 4 - Ch. 5 - Ch. 6 - Ch. 7 - Ch. 8 - Ch. 9 - Ch. 10 - Ch. 11
Chapter Twelve
Rose insisted on Christmas. She insisted on Christmas trees and Christmas gifts, on Christmas dinner with her mum. Originally, the Doctor had thought it strange and very human. “Time Lords don’t believe in Father Christmas!” he’d exclaimed, which had led to a retort that the kids were half-human and so were definitely going to believe in Father Christmas.
He had to admit, lazing on the couch in Jackie’s parlour, watching Rose nestle satsumas into the toes of their stockings, that there really was something to be said for this human invention of Christmas. When done correctly, Christmas was remarkable.
“Are you going to help, then?” Jackie asked him, passing by him with an armful of toys to be wrapped.
“Oh, I’m…rubbish at wrapping.” He waved his hand negligently. “And I’m keeping track of the kids. In my head. Got to make sure they don’t wander out of the nursery. When you’ve got kids who don’t sleep, it’s hard playing Father Christmas.”
“The TARDIS locked the nursery door,” remarked Rose, now following the satsumas with chocolates. The Doctor watched raptly, frowning when she skipped his stocking. “There’s no way the kids could wander out.”
“Oi,” he pointed out. “You missed my stocking.”
“Did I?” He watched her deposit extra chocolates into her stocking.
His frown deepened. “I hope you’re going to share those.”
“You’re such a baby,” she grinned at him. “You’re worse than the children. Do you think Santa will find you’ve been nice? When he checks his list twice?”
“There is no Santa. I’m the closest thing to Santa-”
“Please give me your highest-authority-in-the-universe speech again,” said Rose, smiling, as she dropped some mini-screwdrivers into Brem’s stocking for him. Not sonic, but he would love their quaintness.
“I am the highest authority in the universe!” he protested. “There isn’t-”
“Honest to God,” interrupted Jackie, curling some ribbon on a package, “don’t you ever get tired of the sound of your own voice?”
The Doctor blinked. “No. Are there people that happens to?”
Jackie rolled her eyes and pulled out another stocking, handing it to Rose. “Here you go.”
“Who’s that stocking for?” asked the Doctor with interest.
“Madrid,” answered Jackie.
“You got the dog a stocking?”
“Why not?” asked Rose. “He’s been good. We’re going to fill it with treats.”
It had been Brem’s idea to name the puppy Madrid. The Doctor did not think the name as clever as Rose and Brem did. Granada was Barcelona’s sister planet, a fact they seemed to be ignoring.
He lay on the couch, watching Rose and her mother wrap gifts for the children and place them under the tree, exchanging opinions about the dolls they’d bought Athena, the mechanical sets they’d bought Brem. The kids were relentlessly spoiled, and all toys were rather superfluous, but it was Rose’s Christmas and he let her have it.
Finally, they finished. Jackie stood up, yawning, and stretched. “Time for bed for us humans,” she remarked.
“I guess I’ll kill some time tinkering with the TARDIS,” he said, standing up. “If I go into the nursery, the kids’ll never rest until they pester me out here to open the gifts.”
Rose took his hand, smiling, and turned back to Jackie. “We’ll see you bright and early, Mum.”
“Night!” Jackie called, as they walked into the TARDIS.
“Don’t tinker,” Rose said. “Come to bed with me.”
“What an offer.”
“I have a gift for you,” she said, grinning.
His grin widened. “An even better offer. Is it chocolate for my stocking?”
Rose looked thoughtful. “I suppose that could be some sort of euphemism for something, but I’m not sure what.”
**********************
The Doctor always started Christmas morning early. He blamed it on the kids, but it was really him. He’d grown used to the company of the children while Rose slept, and hated the sudden loneliness of Christmas Eve. He didn’t like to be reminded of the time when the TARDIS had been so painfully quiet and his footsteps had echoed--it made him edgy. So he always invaded the nursery as soon as he thought he could and still get away with it with Rose and Jackie.
The nursery was darkened, and the TARDIS had scattered stars over the ceiling. Brem and Athena were lying on their backs, staring up at the stars. One of them was blinking bright red, and Brem was saying, “That’s the one where Kaj and Muj live, remember, Athena?”
The Doctor smiled. Brem was right on that count. Brilliant with astronomy, that one. Of course.
It was Madrid who noticed him first, leaping up from where he’d been sprawled with Brem and Athena and bounding over to him, barking happily. Madrid was not a bad puppy at all, and even Jackie had come to adore him, in spite of his noselessness. Brem had picked him out himself, during the trip to Barcelona; he was midnight black, with one single distinctive streak of silver on one floppy ear. As the Doctor had predicted, Brem spent little time taking care of Madrid and more time playing with him, but somehow neither he nor Rose ever found time to call him on it. Rose adored the dog, and the Doctor would never have admitted it but he adored the dog just as much.
“Has Father Christmas come?” asked Brem, clambering to his feet, eagerly.
The Doctor grinned. “Indeed. Let’s go wake Mum.”
“C’mon, Athena,” said Brem, pulling her impatiently to her feet and then dashing out of the room.
The Doctor paused to swing Athena into his arms, following Brem and Madrid, who kept barking with excitement. He walked into their bedroom in time to see Brem and Madrid launch themselves onto the bed. Rose grunted sleepily.
“Are you still sleeping, Mum?” Brem demanded. “Wake up! It’s Christmas morning!”
“Oh, Brem,” moaned Rose. “What time is it?”
“It’s morning,” he assured her.
“I really don’t think it is.”
The Doctor crawled onto the bed with Athena. Rose was blearily pushing Madrid away as he was licking at her face.
“What time is it?” Rose asked him.
“Tell your mum how beautiful she looks first thing in the morning,” the Doctor told Brem.
“Flattery will get you nowhere. Grandma’s going to kill you if we get her up this early.”
“Oh, come on!” protested the Doctor. “It’s Christmas! Look!” The Doctor, delighted, gestured above the bed. “Mistletoe! What’s the human tradition involving mistletoe?” The Doctor looked expectantly at Brem, who knit his brows together in thought.
“Kiss!” exclaimed Athena, and instantly leaned over and kissed her mother’s cheek.
Rose smiled. “Oh, that’s lovely sweetheart. Thank you.”
“Oh, right!” Brem recalled, and did the same.
“Kisses all around,” said the Doctor, kissing Athena and then reaching out and tickling both her and Brem. They squirmed about the bed, Madrid tumbling over them in an effort to gain the Doctor’s attention. He finished by kissing the top of Brem’s head, and then grinning at Rose. “Happy Christmas,” he murmured, brushing his lips over hers.
“Really? Honestly? My mum’s gonna kill you.”
“Eh, it’s been a while since I’ve been slapped.” He rolled out of bed. “Come on, kids. Let’s go wake up your grandmother.”
Rose, sighing, listened to them as they went barrelling out of the room, three overly energetic Time Lords and a puppy. She rubbed at her eyes and pulled herself out of bed, grabbing for a robe and knotting its belt as she shuffled out of the TARDIS.
Brem and Athena had roused her mother and were dragging her into the living room.
“Can’t we have a cuppa, kids, before we start opening presents?”
“Making it!” called the Doctor from the kitchen.
“What time is it?” asked Rose, as the room was still dark.
“Bloody 4:30 in the morning. Your kids are-”
“The kids haven’t anything to do with it,” Rose interjected, turning toward the kitchen with her hands on her hips. “Doctor…”
“The tea’s coming,” he promised, willfully misunderstanding her.
Rose frowned and turned back to the kids. “Stockings first,” she said, and watched them fall to it, items tumbling out of their respective stockings pell-mell. They delved into the chocolate with enthusiasm and Rose, hungry herself now that she was up, pulled her stocking over to her and treated herself to some chocolate of her own.
The Doctor emerged with tea, which he handed to Jackie and Rose.
“Look, Dad!” exclaimed Brem, holding up his mini-screwdriver kit.
The Doctor pulled out his specs so he could examine the mini-screwdrivers more closely, as he settled on the floor next to Brem. “What have you got there?”
Rose watched them, two heads of untidy hair tipped together. Athena toddled over to them to show off her own toys; Jackie began handing out gifts, including a bonefor Madrid who settled down to gnaw on it. The kids worked their way through their presents, tearing off gift wrap and creating an enormous pile of discarded paper. By the time they were finished the sun was dawning, and Jackie offered to make the kids pancakes and carted them off to the kitchen, clutching their choice toys. Brem had already managed to dissect the toaster he’d been given, leaving parts of it strewn all over the floor, and Rose had to pick her way over them to reach the gift under the tree.
The Doctor was playing tug-of-war with Madrid, and looked up when she placed the gift on his lap. “For me?”
“Don’t sound surprised. It’s Christmas. I get you something every Christmas.” She settled onto the floor beside him, absently petting Madrid, who whined now that the Doctor had abandoned their game.
“And I tell you it isn’t necessary.”
“Of course it’s necessary. It’s Christmas.”
“But I don’t really celebrate Christmas.” Even as he said it, he was ripping the wrapping paper, eyes bright with anticipation.
She smiled. He was impossible to buy for but he loved gifts, which was why she made the effort.
He was presented this time with a photo album, filled with photos of him with the kids, cradling Athena while he read to her, listening to Brem, sitting up on the console where his father had lifted him, as he told him a story. The photos were interspersed with the kids’ artwork. Brem, who had picked up the bits and pieces of written Gallifreyan the Doctor had taken to teaching him, had written him messages in the language, while Athena’s notes were in the easier-to-grasp English that her mother could still help her with.
The Doctor turned the pages, remarking, “That’s why you’ve been running around taking pictures like a lunatic.”
“They aren’t going to be young forever. Look at Brem. He gets bigger every day. I thought you might want to remember…”
“I love it.” The Doctor turned, pulling her into a hug. “Thank you so much, I love it.” He pulled back again. “But there aren’t any pictures of you in it.”
“Well, I was taking the pictures,” she pointed out, logically.
“I suppose. Well.” He looked admiringly at his album. “Now I’m ashamed to give you your present. It’s nothing so brilliant as this.”
Rose blinked in surprise. “You got me a present?” He didn’t usually. He normally forgot, so caught up with the kids’ presents. She was suddenly concerned that this was connected to those dreams that he’d never mentioned again but she knew he still had.
He ruffled his hair, uncomfortable, as he reached into his coat pocket. “It’s really nothing. I mean, it’s very…human. I thought, for a change… I don’t give you very many human things, but this one seemed… Here.” He thrust it at her, blushing.
Rose was surprised, took it, and sat back. The box was small, and she thought instantly he must have bought her jewellery, which seemed incredible to her.
“If you don’t like it, we can…” continued the Doctor. “This silly human practice, of pretending we know what everyone else is going to like…”
“Shh,” she said, pulling the bow off and following it with the wrapping paper. Yes, a small velvet box, clearly a jewellery box, and she held her breath as she opened it. To find an engagement ring. She had been bracing for something completely outrageous but had not really expected an outright engagement ring, a square-cut solitaire diamond in a platinum band.
“The thing is…” said the Doctor, as she stared down at it. “I don’t want to…I mean, I don’t mean to presume…I wouldn’t be preventing you from…That is to say… You could still… It’s just that you’re making all these friends everywhere, and there’s no way to… I mean, in every culture there’s a way to show… This just happens to be the human way… I mean, when people ask you uncomfortable questions… About the kids and-”
“Oh, shut up for just a second, would you?” she asked, before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him for all she was worth. “Thank you.”
“If you don’t like it-”
“I love it. I absolutely adore it.” She pulled it out of the box, slipping it on the wrong hand so that her mother would not immediately start screeching about weddings. He wasn’t proposing. She didn’t think he would understand the point of it. But he was binding them together himself, in his own way. Which was enough.
“Let’s have a proper Christmas,” he said.
“We are having a proper Christmas.”
“No, let’s go somewhere. Somewhere marvellous. The six of us.”
“Six of us?”
“Your mum, too.”
“You want my mum to ride in the TARDIS?”
“As a special Christmas gift to me, d’you think she would?” He leapt up, all energy, dashing into the kitchen. “Jackie!” he exclaimed.
She looked at him suspiciously. “What?”
“Do you know what there is not enough of at Christmastime?” He snagged a piece of bacon, brandishing it as he spoke. The kids were now watching his show raptly. “Snow! Real snow! Do you see any real snow?”
“Where can we get real snow, Dad?” asked Athena, thoughtfully.
“Hippolita!” shouted Brem.
“Hippolita! Correctamundo.” The Doctor winced. “And I promised myself I would never say that word again. But there you are.” He turned to Jackie, all cajoling grin. “C’mon, Jackie. What do you say?”
Rose leaned against the doorjamb and crossed her arms, interested to see if her mother would be the first female in time and space to resist his aren’t-I-adorable grin.
“You want me to travel in that thing?”
“One little trip. One tiny, little trip. To Hippolita. You’ve never been, have you?”
Jackie looked at him as if he were daft.
“Exactly. Exactly what I thought. Come on,” said the Doctor, taking the spatula out of Jackie’s hand and attempting to lead her. “Let’s go.”
“Hang on,” Jackie protested. “I didn’t even shut the stove off.”
“Brem, take care of that, will you?”
“And I can’t go like this, I’m not even dressed.”
“My ship is so remarkable, Jackie. You don’t need to get dressed. Kids, tell your grandmother about the size of the wardrobe.”
“But-” Jackie said, helplessly, as he tugged her inexorably onto the TARDIS.
“Perfect,” he said, closing the door and leaping over to the console. Brem and Athena raced over to help him, punching buttons and pulling levers. “That one there, Athena,” he said. “On your left. Are you ready, Jackie?” He looked over at her, beaming.
Jackie was clutching one of the coral arches, white-knuckled. “So help me God, if I miss a year of my life because of this…”
“Oh, no chance,” said the Doctor, confidently, as he flipped the final lever and the TARDIS gave a jerk into motion.
“Could be a bit steadier, couldn’t it?” Jackie shouted at Rose, over the noise. “How you don’t get motion-sick, I can’t imagine.”
“Oh, Rose is an excellent traveller. Stellar--literally. First-rate.” The Doctor bounced around the console, weaving around his children as he banged and prodded controls. “Landing!” he announced, scooping up Athena and catching Brem as he staggered backward with the force of the impact.
Jackie would have gone flying to the ground if she hadn’t still been clutching at the coral for dear life. “Bloody hell,” she gasped. “Is it always like that?”
“Oh, that was one of the better landings,” Brem told her, wisely.
She looked at him in disbelief.
“And now!” the Doctor practically shouted. “Wardrobe time! Race ya!” he told Brem, before darting out of the control room, Brem on his heels.
“Is he always like this?” Jackie asked.
“Only sometimes,” Rose said. “Let’s go.”
The TARDIS knew where they were, and helpfully set out snow clothing of all shapes and sizes. Rose helped Athena and Brem struggle into snowsuits and heavy boots and hats and gloves, while her mother ooh-ed and aah-ed over the cashmere scarves, the smart wool pea coats.
“You know, this isn’t half brilliant,” Jackie said, approvingly, as Rose grinned and pulled on a pair of leather gloves. Jackie looked at the Doctor, who hadn’t changed an article of clothing. “Aren’t you changing?”
“Not something I really do,” he said, “change clothing. Are we all ready then?”
“Yes!” answered Brem and Athena, in unison.
Madrid, who’d been fitted out in a tiny sweater, barked.
“Off we go, then.” The Doctor turned on his heel, looking like the Pied Piper as he led the parade out of the TARDIS and onto Hippolita.
The place was covered in snow--the sort of perfect, fluffy, fresh snow that was so rare. The sky was crystal blue and completely clear, and the glare of the sun off the snow on the ground was practically blinding. The Doctor was in rare form, overflowing with energy. He directed everyone as they made a snowman, separated them into teams for a fierce boys-against-girls snowball fight that ended with him tackling Athena into a giggling heap on the ground while Brem, uncertain whether she still needed to be attacked or not, pelted them with snowballs. They collapsed into making snow angels, that Madrid then ran through, destroying them. And the Doctor insisted that Jackie take a picture of all four of them.
Rose, exhausted, finally settled next to her mother in a spot on the snow. It had started to flurry, and she leaned back and watched as the Doctor and Brem and Athena raced about, trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues.
“It’s freezin’,” said Jackie.
“Oh, they don’t notice,” Rose smiled. “They’re having fun.”
“Is this what it’s like every day, then?”
“No. Not really. I mean, sometimes, but…This has all been kind of perfect, this day. It isn’t usually really like this. He’s…” Rose trailed off, deciding against saying anything. Brem was frowning a bit at his father’s silliness, the way he sometimes did.
“That one’s funny,” Jackie commented, nodding toward him. “He’s got a bit of your first Doctor in him.”
“Of course he does, Mum. They’re the same person.”
“I just think sometimes, that if you had your first Doctor meet that Doctor, he’d kind of sigh and shake his head the way Brem does.”
“They don’t need to meet. They’ve already met. They’re the same person,” said Rose, but she knew suddenly what her mother meant, and the thought made her smile.
She felt her mother look at her closely. “So. That diamond you’re wearing. I guess it doesn’t mean we’re having a wedding?”
“No. That’s not his…Not the way he does things.” Rose smiled at her, brilliantly. “But it doesn’t matter. It’s his way of…It’s his way of binding us together. And there is no higher authority than him, you know.”
Jackie shook her head. “So long as you’re happy, darling.”
“I am happy. Can’t you tell?”
“I can, actually.”
“Oi!” said the Doctor, and tossed snow at Rose. “What are you up to?”
“Resting,” she told him. “Someone got me up at an unearthly hour this morning.”
“Who’d like some hot cocoa?” asked Jackie.
“Me!” Brem and Athena both exclaimed.
“C’mon, then.” Jackie pulled herself up. “Back in the TARDIS. Here we go, Theenie.” She leaned down to pick Athena up.
“Athena,” the Doctor corrected, in exasperation. “Her name is Athena.” He offered Rose his hand, pulled her up. “Why you both persist in calling her Theenie…”
“It suits her,” said Jackie, as they began walking to the TARDIS.
“Not at all,” the Doctor sniffed. “Theenie doesn’t suit anybody. Theenie isn’t even a name.”
“Says the man who named his son Brem.”
“And what’s wrong with the name Brem?” demanded Brem, frowning.
“Exactly,” agreed the Doctor, closing the TARDIS door.
“Let’s get out of these wet things, and I’ll make you cocoa,” Jackie told the kids. “Which way to the nursery?”
“You should get out of this wet thing, too.” Rose tugged at the Doctor’s coat, drenched and filthy from being rolled around in the snow.
“I’ll be fine,” he said.
“Take it off so I can dry it, at least.”
He huffed as if this were an enormous imposition but obeyed, and Rose went off to change herself. When she came back, everyone was dressed in dry clothing in the control room, drinking hot cocoa, and the Doctor was blasting Ian Dury and having an argument with her mother.
“When I said ‘music,’ I meant Christmas music!” she was saying. “It’s Christmas!”
“Jackie, have you heard this song?” he asked, patiently, turning the music up even louder.
But the TARDIS abruptly changed the track to Jingle Bell Rock, and Jackie smiled smugly.
“Oh, fine,” grumbled the Doctor. “Now you’ve got your way.” He startled her by grabbing her hand and pulling her into a lively, improvised two-step around the console, singing the song at her, just a tad off-key.
“You’re absolutely mad,” Jackie told him, but she laughed as he twirled her and brought her back. The kids laughed, too, delighted. The Doctor got in moods like this, sometimes twirled Rose about, or picked up Athena and waltzed with her.
Rose smiled and went to snuggle with the kids on the captain’s chair, watching them, until the song finished.
“Ready to go home?” the Doctor asked, whirling away from Jackie as suddenly as he’d begun dancing with her. “Watch me land us bang on time.” He skipped about, showing off, and the TARDIS lurched into the Vortex and then into the gentlest landing Rose had ever felt. The Doctor opened the door, onto her mother’s kitchen, and grinned, pleased with himself. “There you are.”
Jackie ventured out, checked the date and time on the mobile she’d left on the kitchen counter. “We’ve only been gone four hours,” she noted, in amazement.
“O ye of little faith,” he chided. “Plenty of time for your turkey dinner. And to pull some crackers.”
They pulled the crackers, sitting around the table in the ridiculous crowns, and Rose remembered her first Christmas with the Doctor, brand new in this incarnation, wearing a pink crown, then standing with him in the snow. Who would have guessed they would have ended up here?
By the time the day was over, even her Time Lord children were exhausted and cranky. The Doctor dropped them on the couch in the library, in front of It’s a Wonderful Life, closed the door, and found Rose in the nursery, sorting through the toys.
“They may actually fall asleep,” he said.
“Astonishing,” Rose replied.
The Doctor watched her, the flash of the diamond she was wearing as it caught the light. “Dance with me,” he said.
“To what?” she asked.
Even as she asked it, the TARDIS piped in the music. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Rose smiled and moved into his arms and rested her head contentedly against his shoulder, satisfied to let him gently sway her to the beat.
“You scared me today,” she said, after a long moment of silence.
“What?” He sounded surprised. “Why?”
“You were trying to make it spectacular. It worried me. When you act that way…it’s only ever because you’re scared of what will happen if you stay still.”
She felt him kiss her hair. “We’re okay,” he murmured.
“I’m not going to leave you.” She tipped her head back so she could see him. “Is this about your falling dream again?”
“Let’s forget about it,” he said.
“Doctor…”
“Let’s forget about it. Just tell me.” He stopped dancing, cupped his hands around her face. “Did you have a nice Christmas?”
“I had the best Christmas,” she said.
“Good.” He brushed an achingly sweet kiss over her lips, then pulled her back into the beat with him. “That’s all I wanted.”
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