Notes: Takes place during Journey's Beginning when Jamie was still a toddler. Someone on the facebook group for here challenged everyone to write a Valentine's story... here's mine, this seemed like the best place to put it in my stories. It doesn't affect the plot at all really, just fluffy stuff.
Rose and Jamie sat together on the floor of his playroom. This was the space where he did most of his 'school work,' which wasn't very formal at all. Between the Doctor's genius and Jamie's brilliant three year old mind, it was more a matter of exposing him to everything they could imagine.
Today, they were making Valentines. Red, pink, and white paper covered the floor around them, along with lace, sequins, buttons, glitter and several different kinds of glue. Jamie was busy cutting out hearts for the card he was making his Aunt Donna, while Rose put the finishing touches on one she was making for the Doctor.
"What do you think, Jamie? Will daddy like the Valentine I made for him?" Rose asked as she held up the sparkly creation.
"It has too many sparkles for daddy, but he'll like anything that you give him, mum," Jamie told her honestly.
"You're probably right," Rose replied with a smirk. "Are you almost done making your cards, sweetheart? We could go visit Torchwood to deliver them all."
"Just about. I have cards for grandma, grandpa, Uncle Mickey, Aunt Martha, Uncle Jack, Ianto, Gwen, and Aunt Donna. I just need the glue to dry on this one before we go," Jamie announced.
"You aren't going to make one for daddy?" she wondered.
"I dunno if he'd want one from me," he answered with a shrug.
"I'm sure daddy would love it. Why don't you make one for him while we wait for the glue to dry on Aunt Donna's and if daddy's isn't dry before we go deliver the others, you could give it to him after," Rose suggested.
Jamie got to work on a Valentine for his father, while Rose made one for her parents. They decided that they would both give the Doctor his cards after their visit with everyone at Torchwood. Half an hour later, they went to the console room with their deliveries in hand.
The Doctor was lying on the floor under the console, fixing some wiring that probably didn't need to be fixed. He was singing softly to himself when they entered the room, "Close your eyes and I'll kiss you. Tomorrow I'll miss you. Remember I'll always be true..."
"Daddy! We need to go to Torchwood, right now," Jamie called as he ran into the room.
"Ow!" the Doctor cried when he bumped his head on the console when he sat up too quickly. "What's wrong? Did something happen?" he asked worriedly, wondering what the hurry was.
"No, love, nothing like that. We just have some Valentines to deliver. I called mum and she'll meet us there too. We can all have a nice visit," Rose told him and leaned down to kiss the bump on his head where he was still sitting on the floor.
"Valentines? What does this look like a mail coach? Alright, fine... let's go and see what the little humans are up to," the Doctor whined as he stood up and started his manic dance around the console to pilot the ship to its destination.
The TARDIS landed inside the Torchwood Hub with its usual wheezing and a mighty thump. As soon as the door opened with a creak, the three year old Jamie raced up the newly installed ramps in a blur of messy brown hair and freckles. With a squeal of delight, he leapt into Donna's arms for a hug.
"And how are you today, little man? I've missed you, ya know," Donna said as she tickled the toddler in her lap.
"Mummy and I had so much fun today! I made you a Valentine, Aunt Donna. Do you want to see?" Jamie told her as he pulled the glittery, pink card from his bigger-on-the-inside pocket.
"Oh, it's lovely! Thank you, Jamie. I'll be your Valentine any time you like," Donna praised with a wet kiss on his cheek.
Jamie's face scrunched up a bit at the sloppy kiss and he wiped his cheek on his sleeve. Jumping down from her lap, he ran to deliver the other cards he had made.
"Hello, Donna. Is my mum here yet?" Rose asked with a hug for their friend.
"Not yet, but I think your dad is up in Jack's office. Did you want me to call them out here?" Donna replied.
"Nah, I'll go up and get them," Rose told her and skipped up to greet them.
"How are you doing, Spaceman?" Donna asked the Doctor, leaning over her desk to address him where he was watching Myfanwy, the team's pet pterodactyl, flying overhead.
"Oh, we're just fine. Keeping busy with showing Jamie the wonders of the universe," the Doctor replied, seeming rather bored with the visit.
"So, what did you get Rose for Valentine's Day?" Donna questioned, already knowing that he probably hadn't done anything at all despite his family's observance of the holiday.
"Why would I need to get Rose something for Valentine's Day?" he asked her as he nervously tugged on his ear.
"Because it's an Earth holiday for telling people you love them, you prawn. So, you'd better think of something," she advised him and went back to typing data into her computer.
"Right," he responded quietly and gazed into the distance, lost in thought. "What do human men usually give their wives on Valentine's Day?"
Donna chuckled and shook her head as she looked back toward the alien she loved like a brother. "Flowers, chocolates, jewellery... that kind of thing. Although, I'm sure with that box of yours, you can find something better than the standard stuff," she informed him.
"I think... I may need to do a little research. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the TARDIS," he called over his shoulder as he made his way back into the ship.
Jamie and Rose visited with Jackie and the Torchwood team while the Doctor scoured the TARDIS library for all of the Earth traditions surrounding the holiday and all of the places he might take his wife to celebrate it. The list of romantic places and restaurants and waterfalls was enormous, so he picked a few to start with and kept the list of the rest in his pocket, just in case Rose seemed more inclined towards something else.
The Doctor went into one of the TARDIS gardens to cut some fresh flowers for Rose. He had not only traditional red roses, but several other varieties of roses that had been bred in the future as well. He left the bouquet in their bedroom for her to find later.
He couldn't leave to go and buy his wife a present while they were visiting and there wouldn't be time to go shopping afterward without being painfully obvious about it, so he decided that this would have to do. He could always buy her jewellery or something next time, if he remembered the silly human holidays. Maybe he could just buy a selection and keep them in a safe place for just such an emergency.
Rose and Jamie returned to the TARDIS just as the Doctor began entering his list of destinations into the computer to find the best times to visit each of them. Looking up from his typing when they entered, he asked, "Did you have a nice visit? I thought maybe we could go somewhere nice for dinner tonight. There's a lovely space station orbiting Saturn in the thirty-second century where you can watch the rings drift by through the windows of this great restaurant."
"Sounds lovely, yeah. Why not?" Rose replied with a smile and whispered something in Jamie's ear. The three year old excitedly ran down the hallway to retrieve the cards he had made.
"Rose, before Jamie comes back from wherever you've sent him, I wanted to ask you something. I was researching traditions for Valentine's Day because, well, Donna told me that I should do something for you for the holiday and I'd really like to... what I wanted to know though is whether you wanted to leave Jamie to visit longer and celebrate it with just the two of us or not? I understand that the holiday is for telling everyone that care about how much you love them, and I love Jamie so much too, I'd really like to include him in our celebration. But if you'd rather it just be a you and me kind of thing, I understand and I'm sure your mother would love to watch him for a little while, if that's what you want," the Doctor rambled uncontrollably as he nervously asked her opinion.
"Doctor!" she interrupted and moved to wrap her arms around his waist. "I think we should definitely bring Jamie along with us. We can celebrate the love between all three of us. And who says that it has to be just today? We could make a week of it! Just revelling in our happy little family," Rose told him and rested her head against his chest to listen to his hearts beating.
The Doctor held Rose tightly in his arms for a moment, just breathing in her lovely scent and basking in the fact that she was here with him again. For years, he thought he had lost his wife forever, and sometimes the fact that she and Jamie were really, truly with him made his hearts stutter with joy.
Jamie dashed back into the room and handed Rose the card he had made secretly for her and the other card to his father. The card for Rose was made with pink paper, lots of glitter and cut out pictures of red roses pasted all over it. The words, "I love you, mummy. XOX Jamie," were neatly printed using a purple, sparkly pen. For a three year old, Jamie's brilliance and abilities were unfathomable.
The Doctor smiled fondly at the card he had been given. The paper was bright red, the writing done in blue marker, said, "I love you, daddy. All the time. XOX Jamie." There was a large picture of an hour glass drawn in the centre, surrounded by little blue hearts.
The Doctor and Rose picked up the young Time Lord in a crushing hug between them and showered his face with kisses. Jamie giggled and tried to wriggle free.
"One more card, before we go to dinner," Rose announced as she pulled her card for the Doctor from her pocket.
Rose had found a paper that was midnight blue and sparkled like the night sky. She had attached a red heart to the middle and wrote the word, "Forever," in looping cursive letters. It was all the card needed and the Doctor pulled her close for a heart-stopping kiss.
They actually spent two weeks visiting every place on the Doctor's list and by the end of their celebration, Jamie had three new teddy bears added to his collection, and Rose had a beautiful locket containing a holographic image of her little family that appeared at the touch of a button. The Doctor decided that maybe certain human holidays would be acceptable once in a while.