a/n: Written as a response to the following prompt:
Rose and Ten (or Tentoo) Christmas shopping
The Perfect Gift
"Oh, Rose, must we do this?"
"Yes," she said firmly. She grabbed his arm and pulled him down the crowded London street. "Now where is it? 'S gotta be here somewhere."
Standing on tiptoe, she strained her neck to see over the crowd.
"You're taller than I am," she said. "You look."
He looked around for a moment.
"There it is," he replied.
He led the way to a street corner a block away. As they drew near, she could see the familiar sign for the entrance to the London Underground, a circle with a horizontal line bisecting it, but since it was Pete's World, the colors were reversed, a blue circle with a red line rather than the opposite.
They scanned their tickets–since they rarely if ever used the Tube, they didn't have passes–and made their way down to the platform, passing a saxophone player wearing felt reindeer antlers and playing So This Is Christmas. Rose dropped a large bill in his open instrument case as they passed, and the musician's eyes widened. He nodded at her without missing a note.
"Now explain to me why we're doing this again?" the Doctor asked–well, more like whinged, really–as they entered the train packed with people from all walks of life. The doors closed behind them.
The train was so crowded they were forced to stand right next to the door and hold onto the railings. They swayed as the train began to move.
"You are the one who wanted the full Christmas experience, Doctor," she said pointedly, "and when I was growing up, that meant a trip downtown on the Tube Christmas Eve to finish shopping and look at all the Christmas lights."
They were in London for the holidays, staying with Rose's family at the mansion, but the Doctor remembered what it was like when Rose was growing up, how money was so tight that the Christmas Eve trips were more sightseeing than shopping. He grabbed her free hand with his and smiled at her, remembering a certain red bicycle when she was twelve. She smiled back, and he wondered if she was thinking of the same thing.
After two line changes and three more stops they got off at Piccadilly and headed back up to the street. They were met by the sound of Jingle Bell Rock which was coming from the entrance to one of the nearby pubs.
The Doctor noticed the statue on top of the fountain in the square was covered in a plastic dome, and fake snow was being blown inside, creating the effect of a snow globe.
He cocked his head and stared at it.
"The winged statue on top of the fountain in your home world is of Anteros, although most people believe it to be Eros," he said in full lecture mode. "If I'm not mistaken, this, however, really is a depiction of Eros."
She stared at him in disbelief. "That's all you can say? You are surrounded by beautiful Christmas decorations and you're focused on the statue?"
He shrugged. "It's interesting, the differences between Earth and Pete's World," he said. "Besides, I've seen snow globes before. Did I tell you, Rose, that Martha and I were once trapped in a giant snow globe?"
"What, seriously?"
"Yep," he said, and he began to tell the story as they walked down the street. But then the Doctor's voice trailed off as he stared up in delight at the decorations that seemed to cover every surface. Lampposts were wound with red and white streamers, giving them the appearance of candy canes. Fake snow was being blown from the top of a tall building that housed a toy store. Garland and enormous glowing snowflakes were suspended across the street. Every shop, every pub, and every restaurant was covered in bright, colorful lights.
Rose pointed at the toy shop. "Too bad it's only fake snow," she said over the sounds of music, traffic and the crowd. "C'mon." She tugged his arm, and he reluctantly followed.
As they turned a corner, the crowd parted in front of them. They both stopped, startled. In their path stood three musicians carrying horns and dressed like Father Christmas. For a moment it seemed as if time stopped as their minds returned to a different Christmas: a regeneration, the Powell Estate in their home universe, the Sycorax and a hand being cut off. Rose squeezed that hand and grinned at him. He smiled back, and then they both giggled.
"Real musicians, not pilot fish this time," the Doctor said.
"Thank God," she said expressively. "Jus' want a quiet Christmas this year, thank you very much. For a minute, I didn't think we were going to get one." She bumped her shoulder into his. "Never know with you around."
"Oi." It was a token protest, since he knew his track record with Christmas celebrations wasn't the best to say the least.
She rolled her eyes and began to lead the way, seemingly turning at random, but he knew she knew exactly where she was going. After several minutes, he found they were in front of Harrods.
"When I was growin' up," she told him, "we couldn't really afford to shop at Harrods, not even on Boxing Day, but Mum and I used to go every year to look at the displays."
They walked along the front of the store looking in the shop windows. They were filled with miniaturized Christmas scenes. Toy trains wound through towns and circled mountains, a family decorated a Christmas tree in front of a fireplace hung with tiny stockings, little figure skaters twirled in pairs on a pond, Father Christmas handed out presents to rosy cheeked boys and girls.
Rose glanced over at the Doctor who was staring at the displays in wonder. He had the same look on his face as Tony had when Rose, Jackie and Pete had taken him to see the decorations the previous year. Her heart overflowed with love for this man, her part human Doctor who was living a life with her day-by-day, one day after another.
But something was missing. Something in the form of a long, brown overcoat. It always seemed wrong when she saw him in an anorak. He had loved his old coat, and although he hadn't mentioned it in months, she knew how much he missed it.
The Doctor caught her staring at him.
"What?" he asked.
Rose jerked her head at the door. "Never used to shop here, but now I do occasionally. I need to pick a few last minute things up."
She led the way through the revolving door. Inside, a harp player sat in the corner playing Christmas carols, and in the center of the store stood an enormous Christmas tree decorated with tiny white lights and silver and gold ball ornaments. The Doctor started when he saw it was flanked by mechanized angels in flowing, white robes.
"What is it?" Rose asked at the look on his face.
"Nothing," he responded. "Well, not nothing, but I'll tell you later."
She looked curiously at him but didn't press. Whatever it was was obviously unpleasant, and she knew neither one of them wanted to ruin the evening by dwelling on bad memories.
They wound their way through the crowd, past the perfume and makeup counters, past shop dummies wearing Christmas jumpers–some tasteful and some horrid–to a display of silk scarves.
"D'ya think Mum would like this?" Rose asked, holding one up. It was a light blue shot with a delicate pattern of silver.
The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "You're asking me?"
She shrugged. "'S supposed to be from us; you could at least show a little interest."
"I didn't think she wore anything but velour track suits," he said.
Rose snorted and then shook her head. "You know better than that. 'S been a long time since she lived on the Estate."
The Doctor grimaced and scratched the back of his head. "What do you think?" he asked finally.
"I think she'd love it," she told him.
"Then let's get it," he said, relieved that they were that much closer to being finished.
As they wandered the store, the Doctor looked bored as Rose picked out small gifts for the staff at the mansion and a pair of slippers for Pete. Reaching the toy department, however, his interest picked up.
"Let's get this for Tony," he said excitedly, holding a large toy robot that appeared about a foot and a half tall. Rose glanced at the box it came in. It had a remote control fitted with a microphone that allowed it to act as a loudspeaker.
"And the best part is this," he continued, and he pressed a button on its back. Lights on its chest and head began to flash, and it produced an earsplitting wail. Although the surrounding customers winced, the sales clerk didn't even blink, probably because the Doctor wasn't the first, or even the hundredth, to set off the siren that day.
Rose bit her lip, trying not to laugh. "Tony would love it," she said loudly over the din.
"I know," he said, nodding. He pressed the button again, and the noise of the customers and the background music sounded like silence in comparison.
She shook her head. "Mum would hate it," she warned.
The Doctor's eyes twinkled and he began to giggle. "I know!"
She laughed then, and her tongue curled up to touch her teeth. "Alright, let's get it!"
He grinned widely at her.
After buying Tony's present and leading the Doctor away from the toy department–before he could find something else to play with–Rose glanced up at him.
"Do you…" she started, and then stopped herself.
"Do I what?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Nothing."
He stopped, causing the other shoppers to walk around them, and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Alright," she said, giving in. "Do you need to do any shopping while we're here?"
"Why, Rose Tyler, are you asking if you're going to receive a gift from Father Christmas this year?"
She looked away and felt herself begin to blush. Since when did Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth, blush? The things this man could do to her.
"Have you been a good little girl this year?" he continued, innuendo laced in his voice.
She felt off balance, the way only the Doctor could make her feel. Time to take a bit of control back.
"You tell me," she said in the same tone he had used. "Have I been… good?"
"Oh, I think you've been very, very good," he said. "Particularly this morning. Twice this morning, in fact. And I wouldn't mind if you were very good again when we get back to the mansion." He raised his eyebrows suggestively.
She chuckled.
"But as far as shopping goes… Nope." He over-pronounced the p. "Don't need a thing."
She raised her eyebrows at him, and the Doctor knew she must not have spotted a present from him to her when they had loaded up the car to drive to the mansion. Good. It meant he had hidden the small ring box well when he had stuck it in the toe of his spare trainers.
"Well, then, just one more stop," she said.
They picked up the packages at customer service and divided the bags between them. It would be a hassle to lug them back to the mansion on the Tube, but not impossible, and since it was Christmas Eve already, they couldn't rely on having them delivered.
Included in the packages was one long flat rectangular box, Rose's gift to him. She had ordered it, had it tailor made based on pictures she had taken of him before Canary Wharf, in heavy brown cloth with a blue lining. She had only received notification that it was ready for pick up that morning. She tried to hide a smile as the counter clerk handed it to her. Now that he was part human, when it was really cold he'd still have to wear the anorak, but he'd have a long brown overcoat again. She couldn't wait to see his face when she gave it to him.
They made their way back out onto the street and by unspoken agreement, they headed towards Knightsbridge Station, not wanting to carry everything back to Piccadilly. Before they made it halfway there, the Doctor jerked his head towards a pub. Rose grinned.
Inside, they managed to snag a table next to the window, not even needing to resort to the use of psychic paper. They stowed their packages under the tiny table, and the Doctor crossed to the bar to order cider and chips.
"This is nice," Rose said when he returned. "'S been too long since the last time we did this, just gone out together without being interrupted by some sort of alien invasion."
He chuckled. "Night's still young."
But the evening passed quietly for a change. As they ate, they chatted and watched the shoppers rush past the window on the way home.
"So, you never told me," the Doctor said finally as he snagged the last chip from the basket in front of them. "What do you want for Christmas, Rose Tyler?"
Rose looked surprised at the question.
"Dunno, really," she answered after a moment. "Already have everything I ever wanted."
She reached over, took his hand, and squeezed it. He found his eyes go misty.
"Me, too," he said.
Five minutes later, they had finished their cider and were back on the street. Rose began to walk towards the station and then stopped when she realized the Doctor wasn't following her. She turned to see him looking speculatively at the heavy cloud cover.
"What?" she asked. "Another alien invasion?"
He chuckled and shook his head. "Just need one more thing to make everything perfect." He set his bags on the pavement, reached into the pocket of his anorak and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. She looked at him curiously. He winked at her and pointed his sonic up at the sky.
Rose's jaw dropped.
"It's snowing!" she heard a child say excitedly as giant snowflakes slowly began to fall.
She crossed over to him, set down her bags and wrapped her arms around his neck and he automatically wrapped his arms around her waist.
"I love you," she told him.
"I love you, too, Rose Tyler." He drew out her name and then lowered his head to hers to give her a soft, slow kiss that nevertheless made her toes curl.
"Happy Christmas, Doctor," she said when they broke apart.
"Yes," he answered. "It certainly is."