Earthbound, Chapter 23
Chapter Title: The First Noel
Author:stormwolf10
Summary: Rose and the Doctor's first Christmas together in Pete's World, set a few months after the events of the last chapter. Much fluff is to be found behind the cut. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own any Doctor Who canon characters
23 December, 9:26 am
"The forecast said nothing about snow either today or tomorrow," The Doctor pouted as he and Rose walked briskly through the lobby of Torchwood Tower, greeting fellow employees as they passed, "I was rather hoping to finally get some real snow for once."
Rose laughed. "You are such a child!"
"Am not," he retorted, making a face at her as they stepped into the lift, which only made her laugh harder. Attempting to keep his dignity, he cleared his throat and changed the subject. "So, what exactly do you get a three-year-old boy who's mother already spoils him with everything he wants?"
"Doctor, he's three. You could get him a cardboard box and he'd be happy."
The Doctor frowned thoughtfully and shook his head. "Somehow that doesn't seem appropriate to get Tony an empty cardboard box for Christmas."
The lift doors opened up once they arrived at Rose's department and she leaned in to kiss him softly, grinning against his lips. "Don't be daft, I wasn't being literal. I just mean he'll love whatever you get him. Besides, it's your own fault for waiting so long to go shopping."
"It's not as if I've ever gone Christmas shopping before!" He yelled after her as she bounded out of the lift and down the corridor. Leaning back against the wall of the lift, he watched her go with a small grin, not taking his eyes off of her departing form until the doors closed and the lift whirred back into life again, sending him up to his department on the top floor.
============================================
10:54 am
"I've got those test results for that organic substance we found in that crash site outside Glasgow for you, Doctor," Andrea said as she waved a file over her head with an expression of slight exasperation. The woman was the closest thing the Doctor had to an assistant, being the highest ranked of the technical staff under him, and (according to the Doctor, at least) the most brilliant. People passing them on the street, who didn't know that the Doctor wasn't entirely human, would insist that she was his little sister. She also had brown hair that seemed to defy a combing, large brown eyes behind her wire-rimmed glasses, and a physique that indicated she spent more time researching Torchwood's latest discovery of alien technology than she did in feeding herself. The Doctor was actually rather fond of her, and despite their being as unrelated as you could get, he looked on her like a little sister. And, she was safe to be on friendly terms with, without making Rose suspicious. Andrea only had eyes for Jake, the poor girl.
"It looks like the Virans are on the move again, Doctor. The substance is some sort of chemical warfare. The ship that had crashed was a Tree ship, and since their technology is almost totally organic, this corrosive substance was even more effective, dissolving at least a quarter of the ship's hull before it crash landed." She paused, looking around in confusion when she found she was giving a report to an empty room. "Uh...Doctor?"
An unruly head of brown hair poked out from behind a curtain that had been erected in the room that the piece of TARDIS was growing in. "Andrea, hello! Yes, thank you, I was listening. It's unfortunate about the Trees, they're rather nice and peaceful. Just leave the file on my desk, I'll be out in a tick. By the way, were there any survivors? Is there any way we could help them?"
Andrea sighed and shook her head. "No survivors, I'm sorry."
"If there's any way to contact their homeworld, we need to let them know what happened. Don't want them not knowing what became of their people."
"Mr. Tyler might not want that, Doctor. They might accuse us of having something to do with it."
The Doctor frowned and stepped out of the curtain, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "No," he said softly, "Not the Trees. They are good, honorable people. I think we should try to let them know anyway."
"Yes, sir," Andrea replied with a sad smile and exited the room as the Doctor went back behind the curtain. When he wasn't working on Torchwood projects, the Doctor spent most of his time working out ways to enhance and accelerate the growth of his precious ship. His original TARDIS had been...borrowed. Yes, that's it, borrowed. Oh, alright, borrowing without any intention of returning the borrowed item was technically stealing, but he figured the Shadow Proclamation had decided the statute of limitations had been passed. This TARDIS, however, was completely and utterly, from the moment it began to grow, his ship. Not one he nicked centuries ago and developed a friendly rapport with, but one that was bonded to him from the moment it was "born". He had a momentary thought to change the desktop theme from the coral, but decided against it. There were far too many memories for himself and, more importantly, for Rose, to think of changing it now. It felt like home the way it had been.
==========================================
1:04 pm
What better way to spend the day before Christmas Eve, chasing after slobbering aliens in an abandoned warehouse? the Doctor groused to himself as he hefted the tranquilizer gun to aim at the snarling Weevil as it perched on a pile of discarded metal scraps.
"Do it already!" Rose shouted over the noise of the Weevil and it's claws scraping the metal it was clinging to.
Impatient woman! "I am!" He pulled the trigger and the dart flew, hitting the beast in the shoulder. The Weevil glared at the annoying thing stabbing him, then turned it's fanged muzzle towards the two of them and howled angrily, leaping off it's perch and making a dash for them. "I thought I said to make the tranquilizer double-strength!"
"I thought we did!"
The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and ran for it with the Weevil hot on their heels. With a startled gasp, Rose's ankle connected with a small crate and she crashed to the floor, yanking the Doctor down with her. She dug into the bag at her waist quickly and tossed another dart to the Doctor, who quickly snapped it into place, rolled onto his back, aimed, and fired, hitting the Weevil square in the chest this time. The creature groaned and fell face-first, skidding to a stop right at their feet.
Letting out a giddy little laugh, Rose rested her head on the Doctor's shoulder. "So...mum wants us there for the annual Christmas ball tomorrow night."
"Do we have to?" he groaned.
"Would you like to tell mum that you don't want to be there?"
There was a moment's pause. "I think I'd rather be devoured by the Weevil."
================================================
24 December, 6:53 pm
"I'm not wearing a tux," the Doctor stated emphatically, crossing his arms over his chest as he sat on the bed in the room he shared with Rose, "Tuxedos are bad luck for me. I'll wear my nicest suit, but I'm not wearing a tux."
Rose rolled her eyes, and her reflection in the bathroom mirror returned the expression in commiseration. "When did you get so superstitious?"
"Since every time I wear the bloody thing, disaster happens."
"That's just you, Doctor," she laughed as she pinned the last bit of her hair into place.
The Doctor stood up and huffed, reluctantly pulling the tux Jackie got for him out of the closet. "That's what Martha said, then her sister's boss turned into a freak mutated thing that nearly ate her family."
"Right, and nothing bad has ever happened when you wore a suit."
"Wellll..."
"Exactly," Rose said as she stepped into the room, smoothing down the skirt of her red satin ballgown.
The Doctor found himself frozen, the cuff link in his hand thudding to the floor. It felt like he was back on the TARDIS again, fiddling with some wiring under the console and looking up to find this enchanting lady standing before him. And again, the only thing he could manage was, "You look beautiful."
"You don't look so bad yourself," she said, and smiled that cheeky little smile that made his normally very agile mind simply quit on him. "Here," she laughed softly, kneeling down to pick up the cuff link and began to slip it into place, "We should hurry, or mum will be up here to give you a slap again."
"We...ah...can't have that, no," he stammered. He managed to pull himself together by the time she was finished and gave her his elbow. "Shall we attend the ball then, Miss Tyler?"
With a loving glance, she slid her arm around his.
=============================================
25 December, 4:53 am
The Doctor had to hand it to Jackie Tyler. The woman could throw a hell of a party when she put her mind to it. A bit posh for his liking, he decided as he sat in the parlor, watching the lights on the Christmas tree twinkle, but he couldn't blame her. Jackie spent so much of her life without much money, she deserved to have the chance to throw a lavish party now and then. He was especially grateful that it was the first time ever that he wore a tux and didn't have to run for his life in it. No alien would risk the wrath of Jackie Tyler by crashing her party, the Doctor thought to himself with a quiet chuckle.
Hearing a shuffling sound behind him, the Doctor quickly turned to find Tony in his little footed pajamas, looking a bit sheepish that he'd been caught sneaking into the parlor so early. "Hello, Tony," the Doctor smiled, "You should be in bed, you know. The sun's not even up yet, and what if Father Christmas finds you awake?"
Seeing the horrified look on the small boy's face, the Doctor stood and swept him up in his arms, ruffling already rumpled blond hair. "Here, lets get you back to bed, and I won't tell him if you don't, eh?"
"You promise?" Tony asked, his eyes wide with worry that Father Christmas would find out he had been up and would pass him over.
The Doctor carried Tony back to his room in silence, memories of his own children, lost long ago with everything else, playing in his mind. As he tucked the little boy into bed, he nodded solemnly.
"I promise."
=============================================
10:37 am
"Look at all that wrapping paper!" Jackie laughed, snuggling up against Pete, "It looks like we've killed a small forest in here."
"Tony made out pretty well, didn't he?" The Doctor said with a grin, looking over to the toddler had curled up amongst his hoard of toys, clutching a stuffed dinosaur that dwarfed him as he slept. He and Rose gathered up the paper, tossing each other little glances like two lovesick teenagers so often that it was almost impossible for Jackie and Pete to keep from laughing.
The rest of the day was a lazy one, lounging about and sipping cocoa as they watched the telly, enjoying the round of Christmas specials that came on. It felt so good to simply relax and enjoy the fact that this universe didn't seem quite so keen on ruining Christmas for the earth as the other had. They could just be people, and not heroes. The time for heroics could wait.
As Pete picked up the last dish from the table after dinner, something in the window caught his eye. "Would you look at that!" He exclaimed, calling out to the others that had meandered back into the parlor, "Everyone, look! Go outside and look!"
Snow! Real snow! Not ballast, not the ashen remains of an exploding ship, but real snow!
"Looks like you got your snow after all, Doctor," Rose said, slipping her hand into his and gazing up happily at him, standing there with his face upturned, pure joy written on his features.
"If I believed in gods, I'd think one of them was smiling on me," he replied breathlessly, then suddenly spun around to face her, his dark eyes bright. "I have one more gift for you, Rose Tyler," he said in almost a whisper.
"Yeah?"
"Oh yes," he grinned, sliding a long, velvet box out of his suit jacket.
She stared at him for a moment as he held it out to her in his upturned hands, until her mother's light nudge brought her back to herself and she took it from him. Lifting the lid slowly, she caught a shimmer of silver and looked back up at him, anticipation making his face light up.
"Well, go on," he said, bouncing on the balls of his trainer-clad feet.
Holding her breath, Rose pulled the box open the rest of the way, and nearly dropped it in surprise. Nestled on top of the satin lining of the jewelry box was a thin but intricately-woven silver chain, and hanging from that chain...was a key. "Is...is that...? Oh my god, is that a TARDIS key?"
The Doctor smiled gently and leaned in, brushing his lips against hers. "The only gift worthy of being given to my Rose. All of time and space."
26 December, 12:18 am
The TARDIS, now fully grown and functional, stood in the garden behind the Tyler mansion, lightly covered in brilliantly white snow. Inside, the Doctor lay in bed, watching Rose sleep by the soft golden glow of the TARDIS interior. She had been so excited to be back inside the ship that she insisted they spend the night there.
The Doctor brushed a hand over her hair and smiled softly. How often he wanted to spend a night in the TARDIS like this, with Rose in his arms. And now, here they were. If they never had another peaceful Christmas, at least they had this one. Pulling her closer to him, he decided that no Christmas could ever be this perfect.
Author:stormwolf10
Summary: Rose and the Doctor's first Christmas together in Pete's World, set a few months after the events of the last chapter. Much fluff is to be found behind the cut. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own any Doctor Who canon characters
23 December, 9:26 am
"The forecast said nothing about snow either today or tomorrow," The Doctor pouted as he and Rose walked briskly through the lobby of Torchwood Tower, greeting fellow employees as they passed, "I was rather hoping to finally get some real snow for once."
Rose laughed. "You are such a child!"
"Am not," he retorted, making a face at her as they stepped into the lift, which only made her laugh harder. Attempting to keep his dignity, he cleared his throat and changed the subject. "So, what exactly do you get a three-year-old boy who's mother already spoils him with everything he wants?"
"Doctor, he's three. You could get him a cardboard box and he'd be happy."
The Doctor frowned thoughtfully and shook his head. "Somehow that doesn't seem appropriate to get Tony an empty cardboard box for Christmas."
The lift doors opened up once they arrived at Rose's department and she leaned in to kiss him softly, grinning against his lips. "Don't be daft, I wasn't being literal. I just mean he'll love whatever you get him. Besides, it's your own fault for waiting so long to go shopping."
"It's not as if I've ever gone Christmas shopping before!" He yelled after her as she bounded out of the lift and down the corridor. Leaning back against the wall of the lift, he watched her go with a small grin, not taking his eyes off of her departing form until the doors closed and the lift whirred back into life again, sending him up to his department on the top floor.
============================================
10:54 am
"I've got those test results for that organic substance we found in that crash site outside Glasgow for you, Doctor," Andrea said as she waved a file over her head with an expression of slight exasperation. The woman was the closest thing the Doctor had to an assistant, being the highest ranked of the technical staff under him, and (according to the Doctor, at least) the most brilliant. People passing them on the street, who didn't know that the Doctor wasn't entirely human, would insist that she was his little sister. She also had brown hair that seemed to defy a combing, large brown eyes behind her wire-rimmed glasses, and a physique that indicated she spent more time researching Torchwood's latest discovery of alien technology than she did in feeding herself. The Doctor was actually rather fond of her, and despite their being as unrelated as you could get, he looked on her like a little sister. And, she was safe to be on friendly terms with, without making Rose suspicious. Andrea only had eyes for Jake, the poor girl.
"It looks like the Virans are on the move again, Doctor. The substance is some sort of chemical warfare. The ship that had crashed was a Tree ship, and since their technology is almost totally organic, this corrosive substance was even more effective, dissolving at least a quarter of the ship's hull before it crash landed." She paused, looking around in confusion when she found she was giving a report to an empty room. "Uh...Doctor?"
An unruly head of brown hair poked out from behind a curtain that had been erected in the room that the piece of TARDIS was growing in. "Andrea, hello! Yes, thank you, I was listening. It's unfortunate about the Trees, they're rather nice and peaceful. Just leave the file on my desk, I'll be out in a tick. By the way, were there any survivors? Is there any way we could help them?"
Andrea sighed and shook her head. "No survivors, I'm sorry."
"If there's any way to contact their homeworld, we need to let them know what happened. Don't want them not knowing what became of their people."
"Mr. Tyler might not want that, Doctor. They might accuse us of having something to do with it."
The Doctor frowned and stepped out of the curtain, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "No," he said softly, "Not the Trees. They are good, honorable people. I think we should try to let them know anyway."
"Yes, sir," Andrea replied with a sad smile and exited the room as the Doctor went back behind the curtain. When he wasn't working on Torchwood projects, the Doctor spent most of his time working out ways to enhance and accelerate the growth of his precious ship. His original TARDIS had been...borrowed. Yes, that's it, borrowed. Oh, alright, borrowing without any intention of returning the borrowed item was technically stealing, but he figured the Shadow Proclamation had decided the statute of limitations had been passed. This TARDIS, however, was completely and utterly, from the moment it began to grow, his ship. Not one he nicked centuries ago and developed a friendly rapport with, but one that was bonded to him from the moment it was "born". He had a momentary thought to change the desktop theme from the coral, but decided against it. There were far too many memories for himself and, more importantly, for Rose, to think of changing it now. It felt like home the way it had been.
==========================================
1:04 pm
What better way to spend the day before Christmas Eve, chasing after slobbering aliens in an abandoned warehouse? the Doctor groused to himself as he hefted the tranquilizer gun to aim at the snarling Weevil as it perched on a pile of discarded metal scraps.
"Do it already!" Rose shouted over the noise of the Weevil and it's claws scraping the metal it was clinging to.
Impatient woman! "I am!" He pulled the trigger and the dart flew, hitting the beast in the shoulder. The Weevil glared at the annoying thing stabbing him, then turned it's fanged muzzle towards the two of them and howled angrily, leaping off it's perch and making a dash for them. "I thought I said to make the tranquilizer double-strength!"
"I thought we did!"
The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and ran for it with the Weevil hot on their heels. With a startled gasp, Rose's ankle connected with a small crate and she crashed to the floor, yanking the Doctor down with her. She dug into the bag at her waist quickly and tossed another dart to the Doctor, who quickly snapped it into place, rolled onto his back, aimed, and fired, hitting the Weevil square in the chest this time. The creature groaned and fell face-first, skidding to a stop right at their feet.
Letting out a giddy little laugh, Rose rested her head on the Doctor's shoulder. "So...mum wants us there for the annual Christmas ball tomorrow night."
"Do we have to?" he groaned.
"Would you like to tell mum that you don't want to be there?"
There was a moment's pause. "I think I'd rather be devoured by the Weevil."
================================================
24 December, 6:53 pm
"I'm not wearing a tux," the Doctor stated emphatically, crossing his arms over his chest as he sat on the bed in the room he shared with Rose, "Tuxedos are bad luck for me. I'll wear my nicest suit, but I'm not wearing a tux."
Rose rolled her eyes, and her reflection in the bathroom mirror returned the expression in commiseration. "When did you get so superstitious?"
"Since every time I wear the bloody thing, disaster happens."
"That's just you, Doctor," she laughed as she pinned the last bit of her hair into place.
The Doctor stood up and huffed, reluctantly pulling the tux Jackie got for him out of the closet. "That's what Martha said, then her sister's boss turned into a freak mutated thing that nearly ate her family."
"Right, and nothing bad has ever happened when you wore a suit."
"Wellll..."
"Exactly," Rose said as she stepped into the room, smoothing down the skirt of her red satin ballgown.
The Doctor found himself frozen, the cuff link in his hand thudding to the floor. It felt like he was back on the TARDIS again, fiddling with some wiring under the console and looking up to find this enchanting lady standing before him. And again, the only thing he could manage was, "You look beautiful."
"You don't look so bad yourself," she said, and smiled that cheeky little smile that made his normally very agile mind simply quit on him. "Here," she laughed softly, kneeling down to pick up the cuff link and began to slip it into place, "We should hurry, or mum will be up here to give you a slap again."
"We...ah...can't have that, no," he stammered. He managed to pull himself together by the time she was finished and gave her his elbow. "Shall we attend the ball then, Miss Tyler?"
With a loving glance, she slid her arm around his.
=============================================
25 December, 4:53 am
The Doctor had to hand it to Jackie Tyler. The woman could throw a hell of a party when she put her mind to it. A bit posh for his liking, he decided as he sat in the parlor, watching the lights on the Christmas tree twinkle, but he couldn't blame her. Jackie spent so much of her life without much money, she deserved to have the chance to throw a lavish party now and then. He was especially grateful that it was the first time ever that he wore a tux and didn't have to run for his life in it. No alien would risk the wrath of Jackie Tyler by crashing her party, the Doctor thought to himself with a quiet chuckle.
Hearing a shuffling sound behind him, the Doctor quickly turned to find Tony in his little footed pajamas, looking a bit sheepish that he'd been caught sneaking into the parlor so early. "Hello, Tony," the Doctor smiled, "You should be in bed, you know. The sun's not even up yet, and what if Father Christmas finds you awake?"
Seeing the horrified look on the small boy's face, the Doctor stood and swept him up in his arms, ruffling already rumpled blond hair. "Here, lets get you back to bed, and I won't tell him if you don't, eh?"
"You promise?" Tony asked, his eyes wide with worry that Father Christmas would find out he had been up and would pass him over.
The Doctor carried Tony back to his room in silence, memories of his own children, lost long ago with everything else, playing in his mind. As he tucked the little boy into bed, he nodded solemnly.
"I promise."
=============================================
10:37 am
"Look at all that wrapping paper!" Jackie laughed, snuggling up against Pete, "It looks like we've killed a small forest in here."
"Tony made out pretty well, didn't he?" The Doctor said with a grin, looking over to the toddler had curled up amongst his hoard of toys, clutching a stuffed dinosaur that dwarfed him as he slept. He and Rose gathered up the paper, tossing each other little glances like two lovesick teenagers so often that it was almost impossible for Jackie and Pete to keep from laughing.
The rest of the day was a lazy one, lounging about and sipping cocoa as they watched the telly, enjoying the round of Christmas specials that came on. It felt so good to simply relax and enjoy the fact that this universe didn't seem quite so keen on ruining Christmas for the earth as the other had. They could just be people, and not heroes. The time for heroics could wait.
As Pete picked up the last dish from the table after dinner, something in the window caught his eye. "Would you look at that!" He exclaimed, calling out to the others that had meandered back into the parlor, "Everyone, look! Go outside and look!"
Snow! Real snow! Not ballast, not the ashen remains of an exploding ship, but real snow!
"Looks like you got your snow after all, Doctor," Rose said, slipping her hand into his and gazing up happily at him, standing there with his face upturned, pure joy written on his features.
"If I believed in gods, I'd think one of them was smiling on me," he replied breathlessly, then suddenly spun around to face her, his dark eyes bright. "I have one more gift for you, Rose Tyler," he said in almost a whisper.
"Yeah?"
"Oh yes," he grinned, sliding a long, velvet box out of his suit jacket.
She stared at him for a moment as he held it out to her in his upturned hands, until her mother's light nudge brought her back to herself and she took it from him. Lifting the lid slowly, she caught a shimmer of silver and looked back up at him, anticipation making his face light up.
"Well, go on," he said, bouncing on the balls of his trainer-clad feet.
Holding her breath, Rose pulled the box open the rest of the way, and nearly dropped it in surprise. Nestled on top of the satin lining of the jewelry box was a thin but intricately-woven silver chain, and hanging from that chain...was a key. "Is...is that...? Oh my god, is that a TARDIS key?"
The Doctor smiled gently and leaned in, brushing his lips against hers. "The only gift worthy of being given to my Rose. All of time and space."
26 December, 12:18 am
The TARDIS, now fully grown and functional, stood in the garden behind the Tyler mansion, lightly covered in brilliantly white snow. Inside, the Doctor lay in bed, watching Rose sleep by the soft golden glow of the TARDIS interior. She had been so excited to be back inside the ship that she insisted they spend the night there.
The Doctor brushed a hand over her hair and smiled softly. How often he wanted to spend a night in the TARDIS like this, with Rose in his arms. And now, here they were. If they never had another peaceful Christmas, at least they had this one. Pulling her closer to him, he decided that no Christmas could ever be this perfect.