A/N: I promise that I will continue with my other story, but I had to get this posted, otherwise Christmas would have come and gone! To be honest, though, sickness and writer's block has gotten the best of me on my other story, so please don't get mad at me if it's a while before I'm able to update it. This is just some wonderful Christmas fluff to tide you over until then :) ~Haybales
After an intense afternoon of decoration, the TARDIS was finally getting up to Rose's standard of holiday readiness. The bannister leading to the TARDIS wardrobe was decked with garland, and the interior of the vast ship shone brighter than ever with all the light the Doctor and Rose had added. Now, there was only one more thing to be done- The large tree that the pair was beginning to set up in the console room.
"Is this necessary?" The Doctor asked, helping to spread out the branches of the artificial tree (real pine needles would play havoc with the time rotor if they happened to fall in there, so they went with this secondary option), "It's not like we can't have Christmas every day if you wanted, all you need to do is ask and we can spend the entire year visiting different places and times, all on December 25th."
"That's why it's special, Doctor! Christmas is only once a year, and that's why we all go through the trouble of decorating and all that." Rose said, putting a porcelain snowman ornament on one of the lower branches, "And be honest, Doctor. You love Christmas, admit it."
"Of course I love Christmas." The Doctor said, "It's the day I saw you with this pair of eyes for the first time." He said, smiling at her. Rose blushed, hiding behind the greenery of the tree in order to keep the Doctor from seeing it.
"So, do you have any traditions for Christmas on Gallifrey?" Rose asked. She always tread lightly when it came to the subject of the Doctor's home, but she thought it would be nice to reminisce a little. She relished every little bit the Doctor was willing to share of his life before her, and she was sorry that she would never get to see Gallifrey with her own two eyes.
"Oh, nothing much different than human traditions. Christmas is a purely human tradition, of course, and all the other alien races just kind of adopted it because they thought it was fun. Mind you, some got it totally wrong, but the Time Lords were always so clever." The Doctor explained.
"They still are." Rose smiled. The Doctor began helping Rose with the ornaments, Rose intently listening to his stories of Christmas on his home planet, and sharing her own stories of Christmas as a kid around the Powell Estate.
"Mickey, of course, would come round every Christmas, and mum would always have a present or two to share with him. Now, this one year, mum accidentally hands him the wrong one- accidentally hands him one of mine! So, just imagine Mickey's face when he opens this box and sees this frilly pink blouse!" Rose said, the Doctor laughing, "He just kind of smiled weakly and said thank you!" Rose laughed. As they finished the decoration, they sat back and admired the tree on the settee they had set up for exactly that purpose. After a few seconds spent in silence, the Doctor swanned off to the TARDIS kitchens, re-emerging after a short while with a tray of hot chocolate. Rose smiled and took a mug, sipping it as the Doctor sat back down. She drew her feet up onto the sofa and lay her head gently on the Doctor's shoulder, taking in a deep sigh and closing her eyes. The Doctor looked at his companion, his beautifully human human companion, and couldn't help but smile.
Just two weeks later, according the TARDIS cycle that directly mirrored London time, it was finally Christmas day. Before heading back to London to spend the day with Rose's family, the Doctor decided that he would give Rose her gift early. The Doctor had been preparing for this since the early morning. He only needed half the sleep Rose did, after all, so he took the extra time before she woke up to make a batch of Christmas cookies. When Rose finally emerged from her bedroom, the smell led her to the kitchen, where she found the Doctor, still in pajamas, a slight dusting of flour in his otherwise fantastic hair.
"What is all this?" She asked.
"Christmas cookies, what else does it look like?" The Doctor said.
"You are too good." Rose smiled, taking a deliciously warm and soft sugar cookie from the rack on the counter.
"Now, time for your present."
"My present?" Rose asked, "Did you land us in London already? I slept right through it!"
"No, we're not in London yet. Just come to the console room." He said. Rose followed him with a perplexed look to their Christmas tree, the Doctor grabbing a small package, wrapped in TARDIS blue paper, and presenting it to her. Rose took it, taking a seat on the sofa as she did so. The Doctor watched her with a smile on his face as she unwrapped it, finding a small velvet box under the wrappings. She opened it, and found a beautiful necklace, in the shape of a heart with a central diamond that sparkled brighter than anything she'd ever seen before.
"Doctor, this is…this is…"
"That's a warp star." The Doctor said, "Some of the most beautiful stones around."
"It's…it's wonderful." Rose said, clasping it around her neck.
"Now you're the one with two hearts!" The Doctor smiled, "You've got yours in your chest, and…and mine, around your neck."
"Thank you, Doctor." Rose said, drawing him in for an embrace. They stayed there for what seemed like years, and when they finally drew apart, some strange energy forced them to stay locked together. Their eyes met, and they were drawn together again, this time it was their lips that locked instead of their arms. They were both so amazingly ecstatic, so wonderfully happy, that they again lost all sense of time. When they parted, they swore the lights of the TARDIS were brighter than they had ever seen them.
"To London, then?" The Doctor said.
"Yeah, to London." Rose replied, wrapping her hand around the Doctor's heart.