Disclaimer: the Usual
The cool air hit her cheeks, as did the flurry of snowflakes, and Rose Tyler smiled into the weather as she stepped outside. In a dress too fancy to do much in, reminiscent of the one she'd worn in Cardiff, she stepped outside with a tennis shoe covered foot and left her print in the fluffy white stuff. Giggling, she stepped out and twirled around, face to the golden sky with absolute glee. The Doctor had promised her snow, promised a perfect holiday feel before she went home to visit her Mum, and likely Mickey, for a proper London Christmas. But this, this was exquisite, perfection, a winter wonderland.
It was also slippery, and mid laugh her eyes went wide as her feet suddenly came out from underneath her.
"Whoa, there. I got ya." The Doctor's deep, soothing voice said, and he caught her with one arm as if they'd been dancing and he merely dipped her back. One look at the glee in his ice blue eyes, the slight smile pulling on his lips, and Rose was grinning again. "Thought you'd make snow angels? In that dress? Bit impractical, that." He teased as he brought her back to her feet.
Rose straightened her skirt before tucking a loose strand back behind her ear with a glove covered hand. "Impractical for most things. Sure we aren't gonna be running anywhere?" She asked him, her cheeks rosy from the chill and his catching her. She didn't need saving, hadn't for a long time, but it was also a bit of a rush when he did it anyway. Even if it was simply being saved from minor humiliation.
"No running," He said as he stuck his hands in his leather jacket pockets, the shift momentarily showing more of his dark red jumper, and he gave a single nod for confirmation. She smirked at the sparkle in his eye.
"You know, you keep sayin' that but I just don't believe you." Jack said, stepping out in a black suit, his ivory waist coat contrasting against his white oxford, the dark green cravat not quite so interesting a touch as the top hat he had on his head. Over the suit was a dark gray, wool pea-coat that went to his knees and he chose to leave open. He smiled to Rose, handing her a clutch that matched the deep green of her dress with a wink.
"Well stop stirring up trouble, and I'd stay a man of my word." The Doctor retorted, folding his arms and looking Jack up and down. "And what's with the get up?"
Jack spread his arms out to the side, looking down at his outfit of choice before meeting the Doctor's eye. "You said this place was big on formal, and late 19th century Earth styles. This fits, doesn't it?"
"I said that to Rose so she'd know what to change into. Didn't mean you had to." The Doctor replied, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth while he shifted a slight distance away from Jack. It was nearly imperceptible, and Rose was sure anyone who hadn't known them or their repertoire wouldn't have noticed it. But she did, every time. "Though you do clean up pretty good." The Doctor added.
"For a human," Rose teased as she stepped up and tucked her hand in the crook of the Doctor's leather covered arm. She smiled, tongue curling around her tooth as she glanced up at the Doctor to gadge his reaction.
He rolled his eyes.
"So where are we, exactly, anyway?" She asked as the Doctor rested his other hand over hers, and Jack came up beside her.
"Leatis. A planet where the wealthiest beings in the nearest five galaxies, and the even wealthier from farther out, come to celebrate whatever their winter holiday is. The planet was terraformed by humans about three hundred years ago, but the position of the planet against the two suns made it a bit frostier then they were expecting. So, instead of gripping and moaning, they used it to their advantage. Marketed it as a getaway, brought out ancient Christmas cards and paintings and set about mimicking them. Course, had to have something for the tourists to do, couldn't have them just wonder about all dressed up and singing jolly songs, they set up events. Classic traditions from classic Earth." He said all this while hardly taking a breath, and as always Rose was mesmerized. The man could probably tell her the history of soup from a tin and she'd be enthralled. It was the way his voice boomed, deep and confident. The way his eyes lit up when he sprouted facts from his impressive mind, the joy of sharing it clear as day in the slight lines of his face. She often thought of him as handsome in an unconventional sort of way, but he shone with that light smile playing on his face.
"So we're on a planet to celebrate a holiday that hasn't been recognized for at least twenty centuries by my time because?" Jack asked, hands behind his back as they walked down the sidewalk lining the old-fashioned looking buildings. A horse clopped by, pulling an open sleigh with people dressed in finery looking out at the settlement as they went.
"Because Rose asked." The Doctor replied, and he shot a smug grin Jack's way.
"Gonna go see my Mum soon for the holidays, and I just wanted to be in the right mood." She told him, and Jack nodded.
"This mean I'm going to finally meet the infamous Jackie Tyler?" He asked with a sly grin.
"Sounds like," The Doctor conquered.
"But what are we doing here?" Rose asked just as Jack opened his mouth to say something. Better he keep whatever comment he was about to make to himself, she'd wager.
"Like I said, classic Christmas traditions. And you, Rose Tyler, deserve something fantastic. And what could be any more fantastic than the Nutcracker?" He asked, but she wasn't sure he was being serious.
Stopping on the sidewalk, she looked up at him to see if there was a joke lingering behind that grin, a tease she didn't quite pick up on. She glanced over her shoulder to Jack, but he seemed just as confused and taken aback as she was.
"Are you serious?" He asked.
The Doctor shrugged. "What's wrong with a classic ballet?"
Jack and Rose exchanged another glance. "Well," Jack said. "Doesn't seem very, I dunno …."
"Doctor." Rose filled in, and Jack nodded as she turned back to the Time Lord.
"Oi, I take offense to that." He said, a hint of amusement dancing in his gaze. "Enjoy all sorts of entertainment, me. Big fan of the Opera in a couples lives." He said, and it wasn't the first time he'd spoken of his past, but it still sent a startled shock through Rose's system.
It was a topic of conversation that became necessitated after recent events. She didn't like to think about it much, mostly because she didn't remember everything that happened. Rose recalled opening the TARDIS, but nothing else. What ever happened when she returned to Satellite 5, Game Station, whatever they wanted to call it, it took a lot out of the Doctor. He'd been in a coma of sorts for nearly four days, and not long after he sat both her and Jack down and told them what could have happened.
She studied his face a little more, trying to memorize every detail. She couldn't imagine for a second what it might have been like if she woke up to a different man saying it was him, or if she'd ever really believe it. She'd mourn for the man he'd been, probably forever.
The Doctor seemed to have noticed her lingering stare, though he didn't say anything about it. There was a glint in his eyes, playful and maybe a bit hopeful, and his mouth curled in a subtle grin that one wouldn't have been spotted unless they knew what to look for.
"Well, I suppose, men in tights. Can't be all bad, right?" Jack said, clapping a hand on Rose's shoulders before the trio started walking again.
"Never been my thing, really." Rose confessed. "Followed gymnastics a bit even after I left. Didn't leave much to the imagination."
"Or you could look at it as knowing what you're getting into." Jack attempted to compromise.
Neither Rose nor the Doctor said anything to that, which was probably for the best as Rose couldn't see a way to discuss the topic of men in tights that may give the Doctor the wrong impression. She still remembered Lynda, after all. May not have been good to think slightly ill of the dead, and Rose did feel bad she'd lost her life, but she'd never felt so territorial over the Doctor and she didn't want to give him reason to look at other blondes. Or women in general. She'd thought before that maybe they were starting to become more, what with the way he became increasingly annoyed with the fit blokes who sauntered into their lives. She distinctly remembered how he almost seemed envious when she married that caveman just to get the tribe to listen to her, but maybe she was distorting what she heard in her mind.
His hand closed tightly around hers where it rest on his elbow, fingers curling around hers and breaking her out of her thoughts. She smiled, leaned her head on his arm, and sighed with utter contentment. As much as she loved Jack, Rose had to admit the moment would have been perfect if he wasn't lingering close behind.
They continued down the street, the Doctor seeming to know exactly where they were going. Rose noted the store front windows decorated for Christmas, but that it lacked any other holiday in the atmosphere.
"Thought you said people come here to celebrate their winter holiday?" She asked, looking up at the Doctor. "Don't see much variety."
"Leatis has different continents and countries dedicated to the different celebrations." He explained.
Rose nodded, smiling just a bit. She loved immersing her self in the local cultures, but it was nice to know he specifically landed them in a particular area.
"Isn't that cute." Jack pipped up. "Lovely way for us to spend out first Christmas together."
The Doctor snorted. "First Christmas with you, maybe. Second for Rose and me." He stated, and she looked up at him in confusion. His brow furrowed. "Charles Dickens and the Gelth."
Rose chuckled, "Does that really count, though?"
"Think it does, yeah. Ah! Here we are," he announced as they turned to corner and stood before a magnificent theater. "Leatis Noel center for performance arts. Catch the afternoon showing of the Nutcracker, then maybe if you behave we can take in a Christmas Carol."
"We makin' Dickens a tradition, then?" She teased, her tongue peeking out the corner of her mouth.
"Could do," He smiled slyly.
"I can leave if you two would prefer to be alone." Jack teased, and Rose turned to catch him flashing the Doctor a wink. She sensed the Time Lord shifting around behind her as if he considered taking Jack's offer.
"What about your men in tights?" She teased the Captain, and his eyes went wide and distant as if he had only just remembered that possibility. "Come on." She gestured with her head, feeling the Doctor tense for a moment before pulling her along.
They got inside without a hitch, the Doctor flashing the psychic paper to the ticket master who instantly scrambled and babbled until an Usher was finally able to come escort them. The three were led up to a balcony that hovered about twenty feet above the stage. It wasn't the best angle for watching the show, but the way the Usher also fawned over them Rose assumed it was actually meant for the rich and well connected. They settled into their seats with programs in hand, Jack on one side of Rose, the Doctor on the other. She glanced down at the filling auditorium seating below, the crowd giving an oddly melodic hum which was easily explained by the sightings of some distinctly non-human patrons.
"Odd to see so many aliens here." She commented.
"That's because we're in the fifty-third century by your time. Church changed, became a bit more military by this point, and Christmas wasn't considered an entirely religious endeavor. Course, you lot went through a period where it became very commercial. Nearly entirely about things. By this time, though, it's become more about family. Spending time with those you …." He stopped, his ears going pink and his posture stiffening. "Care about, quite deeply." He swallowed visibly, clearing his throat, and continuing. "They took the traditions that had nothing to do with religion, or at least very little, and did away with more of the material things. Kids at this point don't believe in Santa Claus because they were never taught about him."
"Santa Claus?" Jack made a face, looking down at Rose with a raised eyebrow. "Seriously, you believe in that stuff?"
"Only when I was a kid," She shook her head with a grin. "Then again, I have it under good authority he might be a bit more real than I thought." She said, leaning back and resting her head on the Doctor's arm.
He chuckled, "It was one time."
"And it was my last, that's the part that really matters." She turned to look him in the eye. "You gave me one last year of my childhood, and now I know why Mum was so confused about that silly bicycle."
"You went back in time to give Rose a bicycle? Like you were Santa Claus?" There was an implication in Jack's voice that Rose couldn't define, didn't dare to for what it might cause her to hope for.
"She saved my life." The Doctor said indignantly.
The lights in the theater dimmed, and they all stopped talking to watch the stage. The Doctor handed Rose a tiny pair of binoculars, likely not needing them himself because of some superior Time Lord reason. She squeezed his arm in thanks before lifting them to her eyes.
The ballet was gorgeous, and while Rose could hear her mother in the back of her mind rambling on about airs and graces and all that nonsense, she was enthralled with seeing something she likely wouldn't have without the Doctor. He'd entwined their fingers, arms partially entwined, and leaned a little closer to her than he had been. Near enough that she could smell the mix of his skin with the leather of his jacket, Rose's heart thrummed with so much love, hope, and anticipation it made her dizzy. She had to lower the binoculars to regain some equilibrium.
Which may have been why she didn't notice the tin soldiers led by the Nutcracker near the final act where moving very stiffly. Yes, they were meant to be toys, but there was a hard, jolting movement about them that was almost mechanical. They charged the mice, and while the choreography did call for a mock battle, it was the sound of injury barely heard over the Orchestra that made her note something was wrong.
She, the Doctor, and Jack all leaned forward at once, straining to get a better look. She was nearly positive that the tin soldiers were not meant to turn on their fellow dancers as soon as the mice all seemed incapacitated. She was certain they weren't supposed to hit the Nutcracker in the face and cause him to stumble back with what looked like a broken nose. And it was definitely not in the program for them to force the character of Clara-Marie to center front where they pushed her to her knees. One solider produced a saw where their hand used to be, and an involuntary gasp escaped Rose as said saw went close to the dancer's neck.
The music in the theater had been replaced by cries of distress and fear, the dancers who'd been pushed around but not knocked out or badly injured scuttled to the back of the stage or off it completely. The half dozen soldiers that surrounded the girl, who's chest heaved but posture remained rim-rod, seemed to wait patiently until there was mostly silence.
"We have the girl, you will give us what we want, or she will die." A tin soldier said, though it was impossible to tell which one as known of their mouths moved. "You have three days."
And in a flash, the soldiers and Clara-Marie disappeared from the stage.
After a few seconds ticked by, Jack said, "Thought you said no running."
"Technically we're not running yet," The Doctor partly growled.
"I'm so glad I didn't wear the proper shoes to go with this dress." Rose said, her voice only shaking a tiny bit. She took a deep breath, collecting herself before she turned to the Doctor. "Shall we get started then?"
A/N: Thanks for reading. Hoping to have this updated about every 4 days. You know, like a story advent of sorts.
Also, Run With You series fans, don't worry: Until The End is still on its way, still being worked on. Be patient. I wouldn't let you down.