Same Old Lang Syne
A Doctor Who one-shot
Pairing: 11/Rose
This idea popped into my head literally at 2:30am, and I just had to write it down. It's inspired by the song "Same Old Lang Syne" by Dan Fogelberg, one of my Christmas favorites. The Tardis finds a small gap in between the parallel universes and decides to take the Doctor through it to visit Rose one last time.
"So it's a yes then?" Amy Pond excitedly questioned the Doctor who was working underneath the console. He either ignored her or didn't hear her so she asked again a little louder.
He finally looked up at her and simply replied, "Hmmm..?" Then, he looked back down at his work. Amy groaned in the frustration of having to repeat herself again. Her husband Rory, having suffered his wife's wrath before stepped in to prevent his wife from killing the Doctor.
"I believe what she's trying to ask is," Rory explained, glancing at his wife who began pacing around the Tardis console, "Will you be joining us for Christmas?"
"Thank you," Amy breathed a sigh of relief. The Doctor looked up at the pair with a slightly flustered look upon his face.
"Oh," he replied, "Hadn't given much thought to that. You know…..time travel and all… kind lose track of that sort of stuff." He shrugged his shoulders.
"Ahh come on Doctor," Amy replied, pulling him up from his spot, "We can't let you spend Christmas all by yourself."
"Even if it is our first," Rory tried to mutter quietly but Amy, of course, heard him and smacked his chest.
"Ow…I mean yeah…join us…please…" Rory conceded to the whims of his wife, as usual.
The Doctor gave the Ponds a small smile, "Ahh sure, why not? It'll give me an excuse to wear my fez. Fezzes are cool, ya know?" Amy groaned at his response as he began to set the coordinates for their home.
The Tardis gave a shake to signify its landing.
"You know, you really need to take the brakes off," Amy criticized, remembering River's much more smooth Tardis driving skills.
The Doctor rolled his eyes as he parked the Tardis in front of their house, "I'll have you know there is nothing wrong with my driving skills"
"Uh huh, sure, Doctor. Absolutely nothing wrong whatsoever," Amy replied sarcastically as she opened the doors to exit, "Well come on then. Let's go celebrate." She grabbed Rory's hand and pulled him out of the Tardis. She looked back into the Tardis to see the Doctor still inside. "Doctor!" She called, "Come on."
He smiled at his companion and began to walk towards the open doors when they suddenly slammed shut. "What in the world?" He looked around his ship and became quite confused. "What are you doing?" he asked his ship as Amy continued to call to him.
The Tardis began to shake as it vanished from the Ponds' house and into the vortex. It hummed at the Doctor.
"What do you mean a Christmas present?" He asked his ship, as it continued to travel to some unknown destination. "Take me back to the Ponds."
The Tardis gave a violent shake as it landed, knocking the Doctor to the floor. He groaned as he stood up and walked over to the monitor to see just where the Tardis had taken him for her so-called "Christmas present." What he saw, floored him. He knew just where the Tardis had decided to take him and grew a bit angry.
The Doctor sighed and in a low voice asked his ship, "Why would you bring me here?" His voice grew a little louder, "How did you even manage this? The gap is closed. It closed right after…"He let his voice trail off.
The Tardis gave a small, happy hum in her reply.
"A gap?" He asked before sighing again, "For how long?"
"One night?" He asked his ship after some silence had passed. She replied with an affirmative hum. The Tardis opened her doors for the Doctor, almost urging him to take the steps forward and out the door.
"No," he told his ship firmly, "I have to get back. The Ponds are waiting, and you know what Amy is like when she gets..." He started to explain to his ship who in turn gave a violent shake even though they were parked so to speak.
He took a deep breath, "Fine. You win." He knew better than to argue with a ship that was alive and seemed to have more emotions than he did. He slowly exited the Tardis and took in the sight before him. The Tardis had landed him; it seemed of all things, in the parking lot of a grocery store.
It seemed to be rather late at night. He looked up at a giant clock, indicating the hour was eleven. Even though it was late, he saw people out and about, getting the last minute things for the holiday and smiled a slight smile.
The Doctor took another look around him and decided to enter the store. 'Maybe I can pick something up for the Ponds',' he thought, trying to avoid the real reason his ship brought him to this place.
It was late it seemed to the Doctor, yet there was still a crowd of last minute shoppers getting supplies for their Christmas dinner. He found himself trying to waste time by wandering aimlessly up and down the aisles until a sight before him stopped him dead in his tracks in the frozen food aisle.
She was older, obviously. Time went by more quickly here. Her hair was darker, more of a dirty blonde, than it was the last time he saw it. Her clothes seemed to be in the style of a more mature woman rather than the youthful style from her younger days. Yet, even with those changes, her identity was unmistakable. Before him was the figure of a one Rose Tyler.
He felt his breath get caught in his throat, and his hearts began to race a bit faster than before. Before he lost the nerve to turn around, he straightened his bow tie and tapped her shoulder.
She turned around and gave a nervous smile, "Um, hello," she greeted him as she backed away from his stranger who very well could be some sort of threat to her.
"Rose," he spoke her name, and it sounded foreign in this new body on his lips.
She grew agitated and confused, "How…how do you know my name?" She began to back away when she looked into the stranger's eyes. She paused, gazing into his eyes, until she saw it. Those eyes may be a different shape and color, but somehow she knew who this stranger was.
"Doctor?" She asked him in a shaky voice. She began to make her way back towards him.
He gave a nervous chuckle, "Hello." He nervously ran his fingers through his hair, just as he had done in his previous form. She smiled.
"Hello," she replied, before launching herself into the time lord's stunned arms, spilling the entire contents of her purse on the floor. She ignored that. He wasted no time in holding her tightly to him, relishing in the feeling of her warm, familiar embrace.
Gaining a little more confidence in her voice, she pulled away and asked, "How?"
"The Tardis. She found a small gap between the universes and decided to go through it as a sort of Christmas present," he answered, giving a smirk at the last part.
"Oh," She took in his response and knew what to ask next, "How long?"
"Just tonight," he informed her with heavy hearts as her eyes began to show signs of tears forming.
She took a deep breath, taking this shock in, and then said, "Well then, let's not waste it, yeah?" She stuck her tongue between her teeth, smiling just as she had done when they travelled together all those years ago.
The Doctor smiled and held out his arm for her, "Well then, shall we Miss Tyler?" She looped her arm through his, placing her basket of items carelessly on the floor. He smirked, "Um, I believe those are the reason why you came in here in the first place," he picked up an apple in her basket, tossed it in the air and said, "An apple a day keeps the Doctor away. Hmmm? Guess that didn't exactly work out that way for you tonight, now did it?"
She chuckled at his corny joke as she picked her basket up from off the ground and said, "Ready?" He nodded and the two made their way towards the checkout line. The food was totaled up and bagged.
They walked over to where she was parked and loaded up her car. They stood at the car in an awkward silence until Rose finally spoke up, "Well, come on then. I know somewhere we can go." The Doctor let Rose lead him to a small park around the corner from the store, and then the two sat down on a cold wooden bench there.
The Doctor let out a nervous sigh as Rose let out a nervous giggle. Neither knew just exactly where to start their conversation, and both were scared to try.
Finally, Rose let out a sigh and said, "You've changed again," He nodded and recounted the story to her, "Oh Doctor, I'm sorry. Though you're still quite handsome, I must say. I like the bowtie."
He chuckled, "Well of course you do. Bow ties are cool." She joined in on his laughter.
"So, are you traveling with anybody?" She asked him as she nervously played with her hands as she waited for his response.
"Yeah, her name is Amy," he began to tell her as he ran his fingers through his hair.
Rose would be fooling herself if she denied that she was jealous that his latest companion was, again, a woman. Swallowing those feelings, she forced a smile and asked, "Oh? What's she like?"
"Oh she's wonderful," he replied, unaware of her jealousy as he recounted the tale of meeting Amy Pond, "Yes, I travel with her and her husband, Rory, nice fellow, a bit nervous but still."
She smiled and placed her left hand upon his right one, giving it a gentle squeeze. He returned the smile and looked down at her hand. That's when he noticed it. He was shocked that he hadn't noticed it before or even thought to ask about it.
"You married him," he stated matter-of-factly, gesturing towards the glittering ring of gold around her ring finger. Yet, neither even began to move their hands from their current position.
"Yes I did," she said the same tone as the Doctor did previously. After she said that, she moved her hand and began absentmindedly playing with the ring on her finger. She reached in into her purse, pulled out her phone, and flicked through her pictures before finding the right one. She held the phone for the Doctor who forced a smile when he saw what the picture was: her wedding photo. He congratulated her, and she replied with an awkward thank you.
"You look happy," he informed her as he handed her phone back to her. Then, in a low voice, he asked her, "Are you happy?"
She looked down and paused before replying, "Yeah, guess so. He's really…he's good." She smiled a genuine smile at the thought of her husband, which faded at the Doctor's next question.
"Do you love him?" The Doctor asked bluntly. Rose didn't say anything. She didn't want to lie and then looked down guiltily. She took a deep breath and let a tear fall from her eye. He reached over and brushed the tear off of her face. "Rose," he simply stated, brushing a strand of her still blonde hair out of her face, before pulling her into an embrace. They held tightly to each other, as if the whole of existence would crumble if either let go.
They continued to hold each other until the chimes of the clock interrupted them. Midnight. The Doctor let out a sigh. Rose noticed this and pulled back slightly, "You have to leave, don't you?" The Doctor silently nodded, and the two separated from their hug. He was the first to stand up and held out his hand for her.
"Rose?" He said to her as he pulled her up from the bench, still holding her hand.
"Hmm?" She questioned.
And the Doctor replied with one single word, "Run." Hand and hand, the pair ran, just like they used to, back to where the Tardis was. They stopped in front of it. "Do you want to come in? Just for a sec?" he asked her.
"Yea…," Rose started to reply when she stopped, "No best not. He's probably worried sick 'bout me right now."
"Well if he's anything like me, which he should be considering he is my duplicate, he should be," the Doctor replied with a smile as he went to open the doors of the Tardis, "Well then, best be off…"
"Doctor?" She called to him as she made her way towards him. He turned to her. She wasted no time in placing her hand at the back of his neck, reached up, and kissed him thoroughly. He reciprocated the kiss with equal strength. But the Doctor knew what this kiss meant. Although it was full of passion, desire, and love, it was goodbye, a real, definitive goodbye.
Reluctantly, they broke apart.
"Merry Christmas Doctor," She wished him. She placed her hand on his cheek, gave it a quick, chaste kiss, and began to walk away.
"Merry Christmas Rose Tyler," he replied in a whisper, still in a bit of a daze after the kiss. He turned away, opened the doors, and shut them behind him without looking back. Leaning against the doors, he gave a heavy sigh before walking over to the controls and firing up his ship. He sat down on the seat and leaned his head back; tearing up a bit though, no tears fell.
Rose stood a short distance away from the ship as it faded from her sight. A single tear fell from her eye as she whispered, "Bye Doctor." Her phone let out a ring. She didn't need to look to see who was calling her at this hour and answered, "Hey, I'm on my way home. Hmm? Oh just got caught up with this and that. Yeah,… me too. Bye" She wiped her eyes and made her way back to her car.
The Tardis gave a little shake, letting the Doctor know that they had returned to the Ponds' home. He didn't make a single move until he heard Amy's voice outside the Tardis doors. "Doctor?" Amy called as she pulled open the doors and walked in. The Doctor didn't give any response so Amy moved in closer to him. At noticing his changed demeanor, she placed a hand on his shoulder and asked softly, "You ok?"
He turned to her with a sad look on his face that Amy had never seen before but one that she understood the meaning of. The Doctor was hurting. "Doctor, you ok?" she asked again.
Turning away from her and ignoring her question, he jumped off the seat and checked the console. "How long was I gone for?" he asked the Scottish red-head who gave him a weird look.
"Seriously? You just left a few seconds ago. We just thought the Tardis glitched or something," She replied.
"Right, well then, I believe we have a holiday to celebrate," he told her in his normal demeanor and with a smile, a complete 180 from a few seconds prior. He reached under the console and pulled out his fez and gingerly placed it on top of his head. Amy smiled and helped him straighten it.
He followed her out of the Tardis and reached to pull the doors shut, but paused for a second, as if someone was supposed to follow him out, before shutting the doors with a sigh and joining the Ponds'.
Wow. That was an intense writing experience for me. I hope you all enjoyed it. Happy Holidays.