"I can't believe you have never been skiing," the Doctor shook his head, glancing at his blonde haired companion.
"Not all of us have a TARDIS to go to wherever and whenever we want," Rose responded. "Mum didn't make a lot so we couldn't go away for holiday. Besides, we're fixing it now," she reminded him as she zipped up her jacket.
The whirring sound of the TARDIS changed and Rose grinned. "We're there."
The Doctor couldn't help smiling as she hurried to the door. They had been through a lot together. They had faced Daleks together, faced a werewolf with Queen Victoria, fought Cybermen in a parallel dimension and spent time with the one being the Doctor feared the most, Rose's mum. She had gotten better since she realized that Rose wasn't going to give up traveling and that the Doctor would do anything to keep her safe. At least, she hadn't slapped him again. Through it all, Rose never seemed to tire of going to a different place and a different time, often bounding to the TARDIS doors before he could.
After all the rushing around, the Doctor decided they needed a vacation. He had suggested the mountains of Betla for skiing and when Rose admitted she had never done that, the Doctor insisted they go.
"Prepare yourself, Rose. For mountains covered in snow. So bright, you need these." He tossed her a pair of sunglasses, which she caught and slid on. The Doctor pulled on his own, as he joined her at the door. "Where the sky is changing colors all the time."
"Like the Northern Lights?"
"Yes, but much better," the Doctor grinned as Rose opened the door and stepped outside. "Snow
and ice and-"
"Sand," Rose interrupted.
The Doctor paused. "No. Rose, why would there be…"
He trailed off as Rose held up a handful of sand, letting it sift through her fingers.
He joined Rose outside the TARDIS and took in his surroundings. Sand. Lots of it. And there appeared to be a town in the distance. There were no mountains, no snow. Just sand. And…were those camels?
"Doctor?"
"Yes, Rose?" The Doctor asked. He was right. Those were camels.
"If we aren't on Betla, where are we?"
"Good question," the Doctor answered, and then offered his arm to her. "Should we go find out?"
Rose nodded, taking off her thick winter coat, tossing it over the rail of the interior of the TARDIS.
She shut the door before looping her arm through his. "Of course."
"Brilliant," the Doctor grinned and they set forth for the town. Though the Doctor was dressed in his usual Converse shoes and brown jacket, Rose had been dressed for snow and found the boots weren't made for sand. She didn't complain, though she was clearly getting winded. As they neared the village, they realized it was quite large. In fact, it was more of a city than a village.
There were people everywhere and the Doctor and Rose dropped their arms, linking their fingers together instead to not get separated. There were vendors in the streets, most offering food and other supplies like blankets. There was even one trying to sell camels and donkeys. Almost everyone had baskets or bundles with them.
There was a shout as a camel broke free of its rope just a short distance from where Rose and the Doctor were. Rose jumped back to get out of the animal's way and she felt a sharp pain go through her right ankle as she landed and stumbled. It was only due to the Doctor's firm grip that she didn't fall.
"Are you alright?" he asked as he helped her stand on one foot.
"I just rolled my ankle," Rose winced, one hand on the Doctor's shoulder, the other wrapped loosely around his neck while she balanced gingerly on one leg. The Doctor had one arm around her waist to help keep her steady.
They stayed like this for a moment, as if they were the only two people there, instead of being among a crowd. Then, realizing how close they were, Rose felt her cheeks grow warm and she knew she was blushing. "I…I think I'm okay now," she told him. Slowly, she put her foot down on the ground. Sore, but it seemed okay. However, as soon as she started to put some weight on it, the pain shot through her body again and if the Doctor hadn't already been holding onto her, she would have crumpled into a heap.
"It might be more than that," he commented. Then, without warning, he scooped her up. One arm went under her knees and the other supported her back.
Rose's arms both wrapped loosely around his neck, even as she asked.
"Doctor, what are you doing?"
"Well, I think we should take a look at that ankle and while hopping for our lives was fun, it's better when you can switch legs when one gets tired," he grinned.
Rose smiled back even though her ankle was hurting her.
The Doctor looked around but didn't see any space where Rose could sit, even for a moment, so he could check her ankle. He wasn't a Doctor who could set bones, but he could at least tell how bad it was. If necessary, he would take her back to the TARDIS so she could get her leg set. Then, they could come back.
Seeing there was no room, he walked up the steps of the first house and carefully set Rose back down, making sure she had her balance on one foot before he knocked on the door. "Hello," he said when a woman answered. "My friend and I are travelers and-"
"We have no room." The woman's reply was abrupt and left no room for argument.
"Well, there are more places," the Doctor said.
He tried five more places, but all said the same thing, though the others were nicer about it than the first.
"Just one more try," he told Rose. She wasn't heavy, but it wasn't easy to dodge the crowds while carrying her. Maybe going out to the TARDIS would have been better, but it would be getting dark soon.
He knocked on the door and a man answered. "Hello," the Doctor greeted him. "My companion and I are travelers and wondering if there might be a room we can use for just a short time."
The man frowned. "I don't allow that sort of business in my establishment."
Rose felt her cheeks burning. Though that was not the reason, she could see how someone might assume that due to what the Doctor said. "It isn't that, sir," she spoke up. "I hurt my ankle. We're traveling together, but I'm no slag and he's not that sort of…man" she managed to stop herself from saying Time Lord. "He's a doctor though and he'll be able to help my ankle, but there's no place outside to stop."
The man looked between the two of them and sighed. "All right. But you pay the price of a full night. You're in luck. My last room. The last one in all of Bethlehem."
The Doctor, who had been about to pick up Rose, paused. A glance at Rose confirmed that she had heard that too. The Doctor picked her up and followed the man inside. "With the census being taken, all the inns are getting filled. Are you both from here?" he asked as he showed them to a room. It was small,
The Doctor shook his head. "No, just passing through."
"Do you have far to go? They want to get the census done soon."
"Oh, we'll get there in time for it," Rose answered then winced as the Doctor carefully set her down on the bed.
The man nodded and paused in the doorway. "I need to be paid."
The Doctor and Rose shared a very quick glance. "I need to check her injury, and then I'll make certain to go trade for whatever we owe you."
The man seemed uncertain. "All right, but if you don't pay when I come back, the room goes to someone else." With that, he turned and left Rose and the Doctor alone.
"Doctor, is this really what I think it is?" Rose whispered to him.
"I think so," he answered as he started to unlace the boots on her injured foot. "Around the time of the first Christmas. Apparently the TARDIS decided this was better than skiing."
"Are you sure it's the TARDIS and not like the time we ended up a hundred years further back and then faced down a werewolf?"
The Doctor considered it. "Could be," he answered then slowly pulled off Rose's boot. Rose gave a hiss of pain, hands clenched as the boot was removed. Then, the Doctor started to pull off the two pairs of socks she was wearing. Those were painful to take off too, though the Doctor was very careful. Rose was surprised. Yes, he was known as the Doctor, but she had never known him to actually act like he had a medical degree.
As the offending socks were removed, Rose could see her ankle was swollen. Her skin was already bruised, taking on shades of black, blue and purple. No wonder it hurt so much.
The Doctor made a tsking sound. "I'm just going to check it," he told her and pushed up her pant leg a few inches. His fingers moved gently over her skin, making Rose give a small whimper of pain when he found the injured part. The Doctor continued to touch it, and then pulled her pant leg back down. "Well, it's not broken."
"Well, that's good," Rose answered. "Though how do you know? I've never seen you check for broken bones before."
"Never needed to so far," the Doctor grinned. "But, you lay here; I'll go find a way to pay our innkeeper. I'll find something to wrap your ankle with too."
"Too bad there aren't any nanogenes here," Rose smiled. "Though we could go back to the TARDIS," she suggested.
The Doctor shook his head. "Too far for you to walk and with so many people, a blue box will stand out. Besides it's going to be dark soon and we have a room."
He took off his jacket and folded it. He carefully lifted her foot and laid her ankle on the makeshift pillow. "Now, you stay here and I'll be right back."
Before Rose could reply, he was gone. She sighed and leaned back on the uncomfortable mattress. She was sore and her ankle did hurt. She was grateful to sit down and rest it. She closed her eyes, just to relax and before she knew it, she was asleep.
"Rose…Rose…"
Slowly, Rose opened her eyes and saw the Doctor was back. He was illuminated by a few candles and Rose realized it must be after dark. "I paid him and I got some food and water," he said, setting down some various foods that had been wrapped in a cloth on the bed. "I also did some investigating and it is going to be the first Christmas."
Rose, who had been reaching for a date, paused. "Why don't we get out of the room and give it to Mary and Joseph?" she suggested.
The Doctor shook his head. "Think about what the story says. He was born in the manger because there was no room at the inn. If we give them the room, he won't be born in a manger, he'll be born at an inn and that could change history in a big way."
"I suppose," Rose answered, popping the date into her mouth.
"Rose, you know we aren't supposed to change things."
"But didn't we change things by being here in this room?" she asked.
"If it wasn't us it would have been someone else," he shrugged. "Now, how's the ankle?" he asked, looking at it.
"About the same," she answered.
The Doctor lifted her foot again and looked at it then took out a piece of cloth, starting to wrap it around. Rose winced, but knew it would help so she would at least be able to limp back to the TARDIS.
"And these," he said, showing her a pair of sandals. "They might be more comfortable than the boots."
"How did you get these? And how did you pay for the room. If I recall right, I paid for chips on our first date," she pointed out, then realized that she had called it a date. It wasn't really a date, was it? Cassandra hadn't lied when she said that Rose fancied him. She did. However, she couldn't admit it to him. She had tried to bring it up once, after meeting Sarah Jane. He had pointed out that she could spend her life with him, but he couldn't spend his life with her.
The Doctor didn't seem to notice these thoughts plaguing the mind of his human companion. He was grinning when he answered, pulling on his jacket once more. "A Time Lord never reveals his secret, but I will say this. When you have a sonic screwdriver and psychic paper, you can do just about anything."
This made Rose laugh quietly, pushing away her concerns for awhile. "I thought you could do just about anything even without the psychic paper and sonic screwdriver.
"Well, yes, but they help," he grinned, passing her a small wooden cup filled with water. Rose took a sip of it then handed it back to him. She sat up slowly then winced.
"I think I am getting stiff from laying on this. Think we could at least-"
She was cut off by the sound of a scream. The Doctor started to rush for the door, and then hesitated. "Go," Rose said, already getting to her feet. "I'll catch up."
The Doctor was out the door fast, coat billowing behind him. Rose pulled on the sandals and picked up one of the candles before following.
She didn't have to go far before she saw the Doctor standing just a few yards away, looking up at the sky. "What was it?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "It flew away. But it was large."
Rose nodded, though she didn't see anything up there except stars. "We don't have this many anymore," she murmured. She could see stars outside of London, but they didn't go there often and she never saw as many as here."
"Some have burnt out in your time," the Doctor said, his tone bordering wistful. Rose reached her hand over and took his gave it a small squeeze. She had a feeling he was thinking of Gallifrey and she knew it was hard for him. The Doctor looked over and gave her a half smile, squeezing her hand back. She returned the smile and they both looked at the stars again.
Perplexed by one, Rose pointed to one almost directly above them. "That one seems to be getting brighter. Is that possible?" She let go of the Doctor's hand and took a few small, ginger steps in that direction as if that would bring her closer to the star.
"It seems to be," the Doctor admitted, also looking at it.
Rose lowered her gaze and saw a building only a few hundred meters away
from where she was standing. Then she saw a building that she had seen in pictures around Christmas time. A manger.
"They say a star leads the wise men," the Doctor spoke up behind her.
"Or in this case, wise woman."
Rose gave him a smile and after linking her fingers with his, she led the way inside.
It did smell like a barn and though there were animals there; none of them were making a sound. Donkeys were silent and watching. A camel glanced at the Doctor and Rose, but didn't seem bothered by their presence. Sheep and goats were also silent. They were all awake though, looking in the same direction.
Slowly, deliberately, the Doctor and Rose crept forward. When Rose saw what all of the animals were looking at, she almost gasped. Yes, she had seen the plastic mangers that people put out around the holidays. However, she never realized Mary was so young. Or that the child she held would be so small. The baby didn't fuss at all and seemed content to be there in that manager.
Rose squeezed the Doctor's hand, feeling they were intruding on the private moment between mother, father and child.
Just as she was wondering if they should step away, there was an inhuman scream from outside. Mary and Joseph looked up and though they saw Rose and the Doctor there, they seemed more concerned about what was making that sound. One of the donkeys started to bray and somewhere outside, a dog was howling.
Without needing to even look at each other, the Doctor and Rose rushed outside. There, standing in the street was something terrifying. It looked like a large horse at first glance. However, it had thick legs with three toes on each leg and from each toe, there was a long, sharp claw. There were large, bat like wings attached to its back. The creature has a forked tail, reminding Rose of how people would draw devils with tails like that. The neck was that of a horse's, but the head was like that of a dragon. Yet, the creature was not covered in scales. It was covered in feathers that fluttered in the faint breeze.
"Impossible," the Doctor muttered.
"What is it?" Rose asked.
"These are supposed to be extinct. This is a Thrombalisse."
"I'm guessing that's a bad thing?"
"Well, he didn't come for Sunday tea," the Doctor responded.
"Give me the child," came a chilling voice. It sounded like a hiss mixed with a groan. Rose realized it was the Thrombalisse. She stood her ground, but she couldn't deny it was a terrifying sight.
"Leave here and leave this child," the Doctor ordered.
"Give him to me," the creature demanded, taking a step closer to the Doctor and Rose. It flapped its wings, causing the flame of the candle to disappear, leaving only a slight wisp of smoke.
"No," Rose surprised herself by speaking and the creature turned to her.
"Humans will not stop me," the creature seemed almost amused. It lunged at Rose who jumped back. In the process though, she landed on her bad ankle and by sheer willpower she managed to keep from falling.
"Maybe not, but a Time Lord can," the Doctor announced, drawing the creature's attention away from Rose.
The Thrombalisse stalked closer to the Doctor and sniffed. "You are…thought to be extinct."
"The same could be true about you."
"Give me the child," the creature growled.
"No. I won't let you. Leave now or I will be forced to stop you."
This made the Thrombalisse laugh. "You will not be able to stop me."
The creature lunged at the Doctor. At that moment, he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and shone it in the creature's eyes. It gave a low howl and sunk back.
"The Thombalisse hate light. They try to destroy anything that could cause light. They want chaos in the universe and all through time. They started the Dark Ages, the Crusades and the Hundred Years War, just to name a few."
Rose had a lot of questions but knew this wasn't the time to ask them. Instead, she looked around, trying to find something to use as light. The candle was useless without matches and a flame that small was easily extinguished.
Then, Rose noticed the star that had led them there. It was more dazzling than ever before. The beams of illumination were longer, more intense and steadily becoming more bright. Just a few feet away from where she was, the shining star had made a patch of light appear. It slowly grew and though Rose wondered how this was possible, she knew this was how to get rid of the Thrombalisse. She didn't know how she knew, yet the message was as clear as if someone had shouted it to her.
"Oi!" she shouted, waving her hands, to attract the attention of the creature that was facing off with the Doctor. The Doctor was using the blue light of the sonic screwdriver to keep the monster back, but he couldn't keep doing this all night.
Both the Doctor and Thrombalisse looked over. "Rose, don't!" The Doctor shouted at her.
However, it was too late to call back the Thrombalisse's attention.
"Foolish girl," the creature laughed. Without warning, it charged at Rose who ran to the patch of light, ignoring the pain in her ankle. She reached the patch of light just a moment before the Thrombalisse.
Instantly, her ankle stopped hurting and she couldn't see anything, the star light was blinding. She threw an arm up to attempt to block the light. She felt the ground shake as the Thrombalisse ran at her, but she couldn't see where it was. Then, she heard the creature scream. The light grew brighter still and she had to close her eyes and put her hands over her ears to block on the cries of the Thrombalisse.
Then, all of a sudden the screaming stopped and the light disappeared. Rose slowly started to open her eyes, but before she could find any sign of the Thrombalisse, she felt familiar arms pull her into a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around the Doctor, unable to keep from smiling.
"Rose, that was brilliant, but how did you know?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "What happened to it? I couldn't see anything?" she asked as she looked over his shoulder then over her own.
"I don't know either. There was a flash of white light and then it was gone," the Doctor admitted.
Rose looked up at the star that was still shining brightly, though not unnaturally so. The Doctor followed her gaze. "The star?" he asked. He took out his sonic screwdriver and did something around where the patch of light had been. "Nothing out of the ordinary," he remarked. He put on his glasses then and got down on the ground, looking for something that could explain this. "I'm missing something," he protested.
"Doctor," Rose grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. "My ankle feels all better now too. And before you decide to investigate that with your sonic screwdriver, why don't we just call it a Christmas miracle?"
"A miracle?" he repeated.
She nodded. "A miracle. The first Christmas, why can't there be a miracle or two?" she smiled.
The Doctor smiled back and hugged her tightly again, which she returned, glad they were both alright.
"It is gone?"
Both the Doctor and Rose turned and saw Joseph standing there, looking around for some sign of the Thrombalisse.
"It's gone," Rose assured him. "And I don't think it will be coming
back." She wasn't sure how she knew it, but just as she had known how to take care of the creature, she knew it wouldn't return.
"How?"
"Sometimes it's better to just call things a miracle," the Doctor said, causing Rose to grin up at him.
"Well, please come in and speak to Mary. The child seems content, but I know Mary had concern for your welfare."
Rose and the Doctor followed Joseph back into the manger and into where Mary was sitting, holding the baby.
"You are both all right," she visibly sighed in relief.
The Doctor and Rose nodded. "Couldn't be better," Rose smiled.
"You two must be angels to have defeated it. That creature, it has been following us for days."
"No, just travelers," the Doctor answered.
"They said it won't bother anyone again," Joseph assured her, sitting next to her.
Rose nodded and looked at the baby who was looking back at her with knowing eyes. Wise eyes. She suddenly realized who must have told her all she needed to know to beat the Thrombalisse. It must have been done through telepathy of some sort. No, that wasn't possible, was it?
"This is Jesus," Mary introduced, and then slowly offered him to Rose.
"I think it's better if I didn't," Rose told her, shaking her head. The last time she had touched any baby, it had been herself as an infant and she had almost destroyed the entire universe. She didn't want to chance doing it again.
However, she knelt down near Mary and smiled the baby. "Oh holy night…" she sang quietly. She had no idea what prompted her to sing, but since she started, she continued. "The stars are brightly shining."
Rose didn't look at the others, because she knew they were probably looking at her and while she could fight aliens, she had never liked speaking in public or singing in public, even in front of just four others. Yet, she continued, looking at Jesus, who appeared to like the song. "It is the night of a dear Saviour's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, till He appear'd and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices. For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees. Oh, hear the angels' voices. Oh night divine, Oh night when Christ was born."
She paused, letting the stillness take over for a moment before quietly singing, "Oh night divine, Oh night, Oh night Divine."
"That was beautiful," Mary spoke.
Rose finally looked over at her and smiled. "Thank you, though I can't take credit for it."
Nothing else needed to be said. She silently got to her feet and brushed the hay off her clothing. The Doctor, who was already waiting, held out his hand to her. She glanced once more at the family over her shoulder, giving them a smile before following the Doctor outside.
"I didn't know you could sing," he remarked as the exited the manger.
"I'm not very good," Rose shook her head.
"Not very good? You could sing professionally. Rose Tyler, Pop star," he grinned.
Rose couldn't help laughing. "I'd get stage fright and freeze. Besides," she gave the Doctor's hand a small squeeze. "I prefer traveling with you."
Just as they were reaching the edge of the sleeping city, they walked past a half a dozen men, being followed by a handful of loyal, yet sleepy, sheep.
"All is as it should be," the Doctor remarked.
"All is calm…all is bright…" Rose sang quietly, grinning at him.
He laughed. "That too. Though, since it is Christmas, I have to say, I really could go for some pudding."
"Pudding?" Rose repeated, giving him a skeptical look.
"Yes. Like the song." When the only response he got was a continued look, he sang, "Now, bring us some figgy pudding, now bring us some figgy pudding…"
He trailed off as Rose laughed. "I know the song, but it just surprised me. I didn't know if you would know Christmas songs."
"Of course I do. And I'll take you to the place for the best pudding. Then, if you can manage not to hurt yourself, we'll go skiing."
Rose playfully pushed his shoulder. "I'll be careful."
"Good," he smiled, and then started to whistle, glancing at Rose, as if daring her to guess the song. She listened then grinned as she recognized it, finding it fairly fitting. Instead of just guessing, she gave his hand a squeeze before starting to sing along with his tune.
"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas…"