Sagganach. It was the winter party to end all winter parties. Not a Christmas party, the Doctor had carefully pointed out to Rose, but frankly, she couldn't tell the difference. The planet wasn't Earth and the locals weren't human, but the holly and evergreen boughs decking the halls sure seemed familiar.

Even the mulled wine tasted just the way it always did, and in the end, that very nearly proved to be the end of them.

It was just starting to snow when they left the party to return to the TARDIS. One of the locals peered doubtfully up at the starless sky before looking at the Doctor. "Are you sure you will not stay with us for the night, Doctor and Rose Tyler? You would be very welcome. Snow that comes during Sagganach always falls hard and fast."

The Doctor buttoned up his coat and slung a navy blue scarf around his neck. "Nah." He stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "Even if it gets bad, I can find the TARDIS."

He winked at Rose and tapped the side of his head, and she realised he must have some special ability to find the ship.

"Very well," their host said reluctantly. "It has been a blessing to have you here for this holiday festival."

The Doctor pulled his hands out of his pockets and slid gloves on, then took Rose's mittened hand. "We had a jolly good time," he said cheerfully, then tugged her out into the snow.

Rose giggled when he started swinging their hands between them while they walked. "Are you sure you didn't have a bit too much holiday cheer?" she teased. "You're awfully giddy, even for you."

The Doctor nudged her with his elbow. "I'm a Time Lord, Rose," he said dramatically. "We do not get drunk; we do not get tipsy. I am just. fine."

Rose cast him a sidelong glance, taking in his skinny body and the spiky hair. Yes, you are, she thought, but managed to keep the words to herself, despite the fact that she was a bit tipsy.

The snow kept coming down heavier, and Rose felt the tip of her nose go numb. "How much longer until we're back to the TARDIS?" she asked. Her knee length parka kept her fairly warm, but it wouldn't for much longer.

The Doctor stopped, and Rose watched him squint slightly. "We're only…" He pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth. "Hmmm, about…"

Something flickered through his eyes, but before she could ask about it, he cupped his hands over his ears. "Blimey, it's cold out here," he muttered.

"You don't need to tell me that," Rose agreed, slapping her hands together to keep her fingers warm. A shiver ran down her back, and she rubbed vigorously at her arms to warm them. "But hang on. I thought you had that superior biology that let you adjust your own body temperature so you never got too hot or too cold."

The Doctor swayed slightly on his feet and his eyes went out of focus for a moment. Then they opened, and panic stared down at Rose. "Was there any ginger in the punch?" he asked, grabbing her shoulders.

Rose blinked up at him. "Well yeah, I think so," she said. "I mean, I didn't watch them make it, but that's not an uncommon ingredient in Christmas punch so…"

The Doctor let go of her and raked his hands through his hair. Snow showered down around his eyes, some of it catching on his eyelashes. "Oh, no. Oh, this is bad. This is very, very bad."

"Why exactly is this bad?" Rose asked, tamping down her own panic.

He shivered and tightened the scarf around his neck. "Time Lords can metabolise alcohol. It shouldn't affect us at all, unless we choose to get drunk. But ginger makes us unable to metabolise the liquor, and we'll get just as wasted as a human."

Rose felt herself blanch. "And can a drunk Time Lord track a TARDIS?"

"They cannot," he said, confirming her suspicion. "I can't regulate my body temperature, either."

It was probably fear that left Rose feeling cold, but the gust of wind that blew across the open field and cut through her parka didn't help. "You mean you're just like a human right now. And we left that party, where we would have been safe, without any special Time Lord tricks on our side."

He nodded miserably, and Rose regretted her phrasing. He hadn't realised he was drunk when he declined the offer to stay. In fact, she realised, his inebriation had probably influenced his decision.

Rose shook her head; she would have questioned it if she'd known he could get drunk! "We've got to talk more about these things," she muttered as she hooked her elbow through his. "Come on then, time to find someplace to get out of the wind. Because there's no way I can get us back to the TARDIS on our own."

But they'd parked the TARDIS on an open plain without any shelter to speak of. Rose did remember that they'd passed a small stand of trees on their walk into the village, but given that the Doctor's sense of direction was apparently offline, she had no idea if they were anywhere near the TARDIS or the slight shelter of the trees.

"Bloody hell," she muttered as she turned a slow circle, trying to see in the near white-out conditions. "This is a hell of a mess you've gotten us into, Doctor."

"Yeah, but you'll get us out of it," he said sanguinely and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

Rose shook her head. Her face was painfully cold now, and her teeth were chattering. "I wish I had your confidence in me."

The Doctor hummed, that happy little sound he made in the back of his throat. "So do I. Because you're brilliant, Rose."

She paused and looked up at him. His pupils were completely dilated, but he also looked sincere.

"You always save me. I'm never worried when I'm with you." His eyebrows knit together, and he shook his head quickly. "Unless they're threatening you. I don't like it when they do that."

The dark tone in his voice sent a shiver down Rose's back, but even though she knew she ought to discourage his vengeful tendencies, a shiver of warmth ran down her spine.

"My hero," she murmured, thinking of the few times she'd been captured, forcing him to come to her rescue. "Come on, we need to keep walking," she said, tugging on his hand and leading him in a randomly selected direction.

The snow was well past their ankles by now, and Rose was grateful she'd worn boots instead of the cute shoes that had tempted her. Her legs were cold from the top of the boots to the hem of her coat, and the uncovered part of her forehead was aching, but hopefully, she wouldn't lose any fingers or toes from this little adventure.

Thankfully, they came across a few trees about fifty steps later. Rose pulled the Doctor off the path, cursing under her breath when she sank into knee-deep snow. Despite the drifts, the wind did seem to be better now that they were sheltered by the trees. Rose shrugged; it wasn't like she could get them anywhere better, and if they kept wandering in the storm, there was no way they were going to survive.

"Come on, Doctor," she directed, guiding him to a spot where two large trees stood close together, creating a little corner out of the wind. "You stand against the trees, and I'll—"

"No." He shook his head and turned so Rose had her back to one of the trees, and then he wrapped his arms around her. "Like this. I'm taller; I can keep you warm."

His sweetness certainly warmed her, and Rose allowed herself to relax a little, resting her cheek against his wool coat. They stood like that for a few minutes, then she felt herself drifting off.

Rose shook the sleepiness out of her eyes and made herself stand up straight. "Hey Doctor," she started, feeling like conversation would be the best way to stay awake.

"Hmmm?" He turned slightly, and his nose brushed against Rose's forehead.

She tilted her head back so she could look him in the eye and shivered when the wind pushed into the gap that created between them.

"Cold!" the Doctor grumbled. He pulled her close again, and Rose settled back against him, resting her head against his shoulder so she could watch his face.

"S-sorry," she stuttered. "I won't do that again." She paused and furrowed her brow. There was something she'd wanted to ask him… Oh! "Why were you so determined that this festival isn't Christmas? It's pretty much the same thing, just with a different name."

The moonlight reflected off the fallen snow, and she caught his pout. "A real Christmas party would have had mistletoe."

Rose's heart flipped. "What did you want mistletoe for?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

The Doctor scoffed. "Well not for eating. Mistletoe can be deadly, if you eat it."

"Yeah, I saw the old Batman movie too," Rose said, rolling her eyes at the Doctor. "Come on, tell me."

"Why do you think?"

She sighed and leaned back against the tree. "I should have known you wouldn't actually tell me."

The Doctor tilted his head. "D'you wan' me to tell you?"

Rose noted the slight slurring of his words with a twinge of alarm. His speech had been perfectly clear earlier—apparently drunk Time Lords didn't slur their speech—so this must be because of the cold.

She shoved the thought aside. There wasn't anything she could do about it now. Instead, she smiled at him, determined that if nothing else, she'd maybe get some answers from him tonight.

"Would be nice, yeah."

"But I thought you knew already."

Rose rolled her eyes. "That's not how it works. Oh, why am I even trying to explain this to you? You're drunk."

"Rooooose…" The Doctor huffed, and his breath felt cold on her face. "How many times do I have to tell you, I cannot get drunk? I am a Time Lord."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, but the punch had ginger in it, remember?"

The Doctor narrowed his eyes for a moment, then she saw the same panicked expression he'd worn earlier. "Rose. I'm drunk. I can't get us home."

Rose snorted. "Yeah, why do you think we're leaning against this tree?"

A gust of wind blew snow off the tree the Doctor sputtered as it coated them. "Cold!" he said again, shaking to get it off of him.

She took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around the Doctor's waist, smiling despite herself when he leaned against her and tugged her close. "So, Doctor… why did you wish they had mistletoe at the party?"

He hummed and buried his cold nose in her hair. "'Cause then I'd have an excuse to kish you, like I keep dreaming."

Rose's breath caught. "You've dreamed of kissing me?"

He blinked and stared at her for a moment before nodding, and Rose realised the cold was really getting to him.

"When did you dream about kissing me?" she pressed, hoping she could get some sort of straight answer out of him.

"Hmmm…"

He sounded muzzy, and Rose leaned back to look at him. His eyes were half-closed, and she slapped his shoulder, hard.

"Ouch! What did you do that for?" His voice was indignant, but at least his eyes were wide open.

"Because you're on the verge of falling asleep, and if we sleep in this, we're going to die."

The Doctor scoffed. "I'm not going to die from a little cold weather," he said. "I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord."

"Yes, yes," Rose interrupted. "But you're drunk because the punch had ginger, and I know that means you can't get us home. We've had this conversation twice already, Doctor."

"Rose…" He blinked twice and shook his head, then he slumped against Rose's shoulder.

Rose had to shift her balance so she wouldn't fall at the sudden burden of his full weight, and she realised he had completely passed out. "Oh no, no no no!" she muttered. She slapped his back, but nothing seemed to wake him up.

An angry denial rose up in Rose's heart. She would not lose her Doctor like this. A song rose up in her mind, one she remembered from another moment when she'd been afraid that she would lose the Doctor. Gold light filled her field of vision, and Rose let the TARDIS push her way into the forefront of her mind.

She huffed in exasperation when she realised that her Doctor had kept from her the full truth about how they'd defeated the Daleks. She'd never believed his line about singing a song and running them off, but now she understood. It hurt to know he hadn't trusted her enough to tell her the truth, but they could talk about that later, when they were back on the TARDIS and safe and warm.

The Doctor snuffled slightly and moved like he was trying to burrow into Rose's body. "Right, we need to get you home," she said. She looked at him as she connected with his ship and cupped his jaw with her hand. "I want you safe, my Doctor," she said, brushing her knuckles over his cheek.

Then she closed her eyes and connected with the song hovering at the edge of her consciousness. A moment later, she heard the glorious sound of the TARDIS engines as the ship answered her call and materialised only a few feet from them.

The doors flew open, and Rose dragged the Doctor inside. She was exhausted, but the TARDIS' song turned urgent. She had to get the Doctor to the infirmary, so she pushed past her weariness and kept going.

Rose found the infirmary just off the console room and managed to get the Doctor up onto a bed. She looked around, knowing somehow that she was supposed to give him something. When she spotted the hypospray on the table, she grabbed it and injected the medicine it contained into the Doctor without hesitation. Then the gold light consumed her, and she collapsed.