Donna shivered and closed the TARDIS doors. "Snow again?" she demanded, one hand on her hip. "This is your idea of a place to relax after the Ood Sphere?"
The Doctor frowned and tapped the navigation panel. "I wanted to take you to the Planet of the Hats," he muttered. "Thought you might like that. But…" He tapped the panel again and slumped for a moment before he caught himself and straightened back up. "It looks like we're on Rejoyna instead. You've still got the coat you wore yesterday," he told Donna, a cajoling smile on his face. "Why don't we explore as long as we're here?"
Donna looked at the Doctor, taking in the lines around his mouth and the pain that flashed through his eyes. She was willing to bet he'd brought Rose here once, and the memories were already hurting him.
"Can't we leave?" she suggested, not wanting to put him through any more of this.
The TARDIS' hum was low and almost threatening. Donna stared up at the ceiling, then looked at the Doctor, her mouth hanging open slightly. "Did your ship just… threaten me?"
"No!" The Doctor ruined his denial by tugging on his ear. "It's more like… she wanted you to know that she's not going anywhere, so it doesn't matter what we try."
"All right, fine. I'll go get the coat."
Once she was in her room, where she was reasonably certain the Doctor couldn't overhear her, she glared up the ceiling. "Listen, you. I don't know what you're doing, but you'd better have a bloody good reason for bringing us here. You know how much he misses Rose, and you're going to rub that in his face."
The ship's hum didn't change, but a knit hat and scarf appeared on her bed. Donna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I get it. We're going."
oOoOoOoOo
The air shimmered, and Rose Tyler walked through the Void and onto a planet obviously in the grip of winter. She shivered and pulled her bright blue leather jacket tighter around herself as she looked around.
She was on the High Street, and judging by the number of shops, the town was neither large nor small. Fairy lights twinkled in the shop windows, drawing attention to the festive displays. The aroma of roasted nuts wafted down the street from the vendor's stand, and the light snowfall dusting the scene was the final piece needed to create the ideal Christmas picture.
Rose walked slowly down the street, a bittersweet smile on her face. The Doctor had brought her someplace like this once—a planet where they could have the ideal Christmas.
In fact… She stopped on a corner and turned slowly in a circle. This was the planet they'd come to. Just down the street was the community tree where they'd stood and sung carols with the locals… and around the corner from that was the alley where some romantic soul had hung up mistletoe.
Rose closed her eyes for a moment and called up the memory of that first kiss. They'd been so hesitant, but as soon as it had become clear their feelings were mutual, all shyness had disappeared. The Doctor had pulled her close and Rose had nibbled at his luscious bottom lip, and only the sound of a door slamming shut had pulled them out of their private world.
The rest of the holiday had been magical, and it was tempting to retrace their steps. But he wasn't here right now, so visiting all the spots he'd shown her on that trip would only dredge up memories that were painful in their perfection. And if he were here… She swallowed hard. She couldn't cross her own timeline, not even to find the Doctor. If she came across her past self, she would have no choice but to hit the recall button and go back to Pete's World.
So she stayed on the shopping thoroughfare, admiring the merchandise in the storefronts. Just like the first time they'd visited Rejoyna, she was amazed by how familiar everything seemed. It was so similar to the picture-perfect Christmas she'd expect to see on Earth—on her Earth.
Holiday music filled the street, piped in from somewhere. The tune was unfamiliar, but somehow the tone was exactly what she was used to. She was enjoying it so much that she almost missed another sound, even more familiar, teasing her subconscious.
In fact, it wasn't until she turned the corner and spotted the blue box at the end of the alley that she realised the TARDIS had been singing her home.
oOoOoOoOo
Donna took a sip of her peppermint hot chocolate and watched the Doctor carefully. She didn't understand the notion of a ship purposely sending them off course—the idea that the TARDIS could actually think for herself was frankly terrifying and she preferred not to think about it.
But if she allowed the concept, she had an even harder time understanding why his ship had brought them here. Obviously the holiday memories were hard on the Doctor. He kept stopping in the middle of sentences and staring into shop windows, clearly lost in memories.
But maybe that's why he needs to be here today, she thought. Maybe he needs to… let some of that pain over losing her go.
It was the only possibility that made sense to her, but looking at him, she knew it wasn't going to happen without help from her. She licked the froth off her upper lip and took a breath. "Doctor," she said carefully, "did you ever bring Rose someplace like this?"
He started, and some of his hot chocolate sloshed out of his cup onto his hand. Donna handed him a napkin and watched him wipe up the spill.
"I… what makes you ask that?"
Donna shrugged. "You get this look when you're thinking about Rose," she admitted.
"Oh." He looked away. "I didn't realise."
She bit back a sigh. Normally, hinting wasn't her style, but she still remembered the horrible look on his face the first time she'd carelessly said something about Rose. He'd nearly broken right in front of her, so she was trying to be gentle.
He didn't seem to be picking up on any of her hints, though. They were walking back to the TARDIS, and she wracked her brain, trying to think of some way she could keep the conversation on Rose without hurting him more.
"Do you have a picture of her?" she asked finally.
The Doctor was silent for a long moment, then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph. Donna took it from him carefully, noticing the way the corners were bent and worn from frequent handling.
She studied the young woman's face. Her age was a surprise; she was barely out of her teens. But after a moment, Donna saw the way the photo just breathed life, and she understood why the Doctor still loved Rose so much. Her head was tilted back and her eyes sparkled with laughter and love—she seemed real enough to leap out of the photo into being right there in front of them.
"She's beautiful," she said as she handed it back. She meant more than the blonde hair and slightly too-wide mouth, and the Doctor understood.
"Yeah. She is."
They turned the corner of the alley the TARDIS was parked in, and Donna took a breath. "She loved you," she said.
The Doctor's breath hitched. "Yeah. She did." He put the photo back in his pocket and took the key out instead.
Donna leaned against the TARDIS as he unlocked the doors. Movement caught her eye, a figure stepping around the corner. A blonde figure.
"And I… I never got to tell her…" He swallowed hard as he unlocked the door. "Do you think she knew, Donna?"
Donna's gaze was fixed on the other woman, who'd stopped dead in her tracks the moment she'd seen the TARDIS. It was really too dark for her to make out features, but there was something in the way she held herself that told Donna this was indeed Rose Tyler.
"Why don't you ask her yourself?"
The Doctor sucked in a breath. Donna seemed to be saying… but that couldn't… but the TARDIS said the same thing. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, then he opened them and turned around slowly.
The silhouette at the end of the alley was one he would know anywhere. Seeing her here knocked the breath out of him, and he swayed on his feet for a moment before Donna pushed lightly on the middle of his back.
He heard footsteps, and he distantly registered that they belonged to Rose before he started running himself. Rose was here. Why was he standing still?
The atmosphere vibrated with timelines shifting, but for once, the Doctor ignored them. Who cared what had happened in other timelines when Rose was here with him in this one?
When she was five feet away, Rose launched herself into the air. The Doctor braced himself and caught her with a breathless laugh, spinning them around in circles as he relished the feeling of having her in his arms once more.
Rose squeezed the Doctor tight, and after a moment, he set her down on her feet, though his hands remained firmly on her waist, holding her close.
"Rose."
The wealth of emotion in his voice made her breath catch. She'd never doubted how he felt about her, not really, but on the bad days, on the days when she didn't think she'd ever made it home, the niggling fear had crept into her mind that maybe he hadn't cared as much as she did. All of those fearful moments and lonely nights were banished with one utterance of her name.
She bit her lip, and he groaned low in his throat before dipping his head down to press his lips to hers. Rose clutched at his shoulders before sliding her hands up into his hair.
"Right then, that's my cue to go to my room."
The loud voice interrupted their kiss, and Rose peeked over the Doctor's shoulder at the ginger woman standing by the TARDIS door, smiling at them even as she shook her head in exasperation.
"My room, where I will stay until someone comes to get me for breakfast," she emphasised.
The Doctor's ears turned red, and Rose giggled in embarrassment. "I'm Rose," she said, wanting to introduce herself before the Doctor's newest companion disappeared into the TARDIS.
She snorted. "Oh, believe me, I figured that out—the way Spaceman here was snogging you? You couldn't be anyone else." She smiled. "My name is Donna, but we can introduce ourselves properly tomorrow. Right now, I think you've got something better to be doing."
Rose looked up at the Doctor after Donna closed the TARDIS door behind her. "You talked about me?"
He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Sometimes you're all I talk about," he admitted. "I missed you so much… I wanted you to be here, and you weren't, so I would talk about you."
Rose kissed him again for that, but the Doctor pulled back after just a few moments. "I think if we went inside, we'd find a fire going in the library," he suggested, taking her hand and leading her to the TARDIS.
She placed a hand on the door, feeling the texture of the wood and the warmth of the ship humming through her. "I dreamed about this," she admitted, her voice soft. "Of coming home and finding you, and seeing her again."
The humming swelled into song as she pushed the doors open, and Rose laughed when she recognised the tune as "I'll Be Home For Christmas."
"That's right, old girl." She ran her fingers along the coral wall as she and the Doctor walked to the library. "Home for Christmas, at last."
The library door was open, and Rose and the Doctor stopped in the doorway to take in the scene the TARDIS had created. A tree stood beside the fireplace, lit with twinkling red and white fairy lights and strung with tinsel garland. Stockings hung from the mantle in front of the crackling fire, and Christmas music continued to play softly in the background.
The lights in the room were turned down, but Rose was still able to make out something hanging from the ceiling above the fireplace. "Look, Doctor."
He followed the finger she pointed at the ceiling and immediately pulled her over until they were standing directly under the mistletoe. "It's tradition, after all—and once upon a time, this was how I found the courage to kiss you." He wrapped his arms around her waist and brushed his nose against hers in an Eskimo kiss. "Rose Tyler."
Rose looked up at him through her eyelashes. "Yes, Doctor?"
"I love you."
His lips against hers muffled her gasp of surprise and happiness. Rose considered pulling away from his kiss so she could tell him how much she loved him, but then she felt his tongue tracing the seam of her lips and decided there would be time for words later. For now, she let herself get swept away by her lover's touch and the joy of being home for Christmas.