It's December, so time for Christmas fics to start showing up! This is going to be a series of unconnected short stories about the Doctor and Donna, all featuring Christmas in one way or another. Some of the stories might be able to be read as friendship, but most are blatant shipping fics, so please turn back now if that's not your thing.

Now, for the most important note of all: This series of short stories is gifted and dedicated to the wonderful Basmathgirl for Christmas. I hope you enjoy it and have a very Merry Christmas! Thank you for being such a fantastically kind person, and for providing us all with so much high quality Doctor/Donna fanfic over the years. I count you among my favorite authors of all!

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.

"Donna!" the Doctor cried.

A jolt of panic shot through Donna at his shout. She dropped her mug of hot cocoa onto the table and turned away from the lovely couple that she had been conversing with. She ignored the woman's indignant sound of protest, knowing that she had to get to the Doctor immediately.

She spotted him standing in the doorway and pushed through the crowd of costumed partiers to get to him. He looked okay at first glance, but as she drew closer, she could see that his cheeks were flushed and his forehead was beaded with sweat. Her heart leapt into her throat. Had he been poisoned again?

"Come on," she said, taking his hand. It was cold and clammy, so she tightened her grip to stop his fingers from slipping free from hers. "Let's go back to the TARDIS and see what we can do to help you."

She needed to get him away from the crowd and the pounding Christmas music. She should have known that coming to Christmas Planet was a bad idea. She tugged on his hand, trying to get him to move, but he seemed frozen to the spot.

"Come on. What's wrong with you? We need to get out of here." She tugged again, harder this time and managed to make him lose his balance, but he still wouldn't go with her.

"Donna," he said again, softer this time.

"What? What is it?"

"Look up."

She did as he said, and she noticed a small sprig of mistletoe hanging above their heads. Her stomach dropped. "Oh, are you allergic? Come on, we've really got to get you out of here. Do you have one of those pen things?" Her mind was too scrambled to remember what they were called.

For the first time since she had approached him, the Doctor looked at her. "I'm not allergic."

She heaved a sigh. "So why are you standing here like a lump then? Can you tell me what is actually wrong with you?"

"I'm standing underneath mistletoe. That means I have to kiss someone."

Donna rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, that's just a silly old tradition, Doctor, and it doesn't quite work that way. You don't have to stand there waiting for someone to come along and kiss you."

"I know," he said. His voice was barely audible over the music, forcing Donna to lean closer to him to understand. "But maybe I want to."

"I was really worried about you, you know," Donna chastised him. "I thought something terrible had happened to you. You could have caused me a heart attack just because you want to be kissed."

"Oh, I'm sorry I scared you. I really didn't mean to," he said, his shoulders sinking. He rubbed the back of his neck and took a few steps away from her. "You know what, never mind the mistletoe. Would you like some more candy cane cocoa? Or we could enter the gingerbread house decorating contest?"

Donna instantly regretted her words and wanted to kick herself for ruining his fun. How could he ever recover from that nightmarish trip on Midnight if she stomped on all of his plans? "No, no, you stay right there. I saw a pretty blonde looking at your bum earlier. Maybe I could send her your way." At the time, she'd had half a mind to slap the woman for ogling him like that, but she would do whatever it took to help the Doctor recover.

But the Doctor just shook his head. "No, thanks. Why would I want a pretty blonde when there's a beautiful ginger standing right in front of me?"

It was if all of the air had been sucked out of the room. "What?" she rasped. "You mean you want to kiss me? Oh, come off it." She studied her shoes, doing her best to resist the urge to look behind her and see if there was another ginger woman around.

The Doctor gently took hold of her chin, encouraging her to look at him. "I do mean you, Donna Noble." His eyes were full of warmth for her. "You're under the mistletoe too, remember. So why don't we partake in an old tradition?"

Donna couldn't breathe with him looking at her like that. It took all of her willpower to give a tiny nod of consent. Her heart sped as he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her to him, still searching her eyes. Slowly, ever so slowly, he lowered his mouth to hers until she could smell the peppermint scent of his breath. She knew he was waiting for her to close the gap between them, so she shut her eyes and leaned in just a bit more until her lips met his. It was just a shy, chaste kiss, but Donna felt weak in the knees at the feel of his soft lips against hers. Tears came to her eyes and she blinked them away, trying her best to hold back all of the feelings that wanted to pour from her. He was only interested in trying out the tradition, and the kiss didn't mean anything to him. Even if he had called her beautiful. Even though he was still holding her close and his hand was stroking her back in an almost intimate way.

"What a sweet couple!" someone called, and Donna looked over to see a young woman dressed up as a reindeer watching them. "I wish my husband was as into the spirit as you two are. He hasn't left the bar since we got here." Suddenly, she clapped her hands over her mouth. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to ruin your moment." She scurried off and disappeared into the crowd.

Donna turned back to face the Doctor, forcing herself to speak. "I really don't know why everyone always thinks we're a couple."

"Maybe the universe is trying to tell us something," he mused.

"We don't have invisible mistletoe permanently floating above our heads, do we?" she joked.

"Maybe not, but you've certainly got hold of my hearts," the Doctor said, again speaking quietly. The flush was back on his cheeks, this time spreading to his ears and down his neck.

"I what?" She'd heard him just fine, but she couldn't believe him no matter how much she wanted to.

"I'm trying to say that I love you, Donna," he said, louder this time. "I thought I… I've been trying to decide how to tell you. I realized on that bus, that doomed bus, that I was going to die, and all I wanted was for you to be there to hold me." He swallowed thickly. "I don't want to lose you, and I know that I will one day no matter what I do, so I tried not to fall, but it's far too late for that now, and I don't want to keep lying to myself anymore. I love you, and I want you, and I need you. But you're not saying anything. Please say something." He paused for a second to take a breath, and then opened his mouth again to keep going. "If you d-"

Donna pressed her finger to his mouth as a deep sense of calmness came over her. She could hear the honesty in his words and feel the way he trembled slightly against her, and she finally let herself believe. "Shh, you've got to stop talking if you want me to say something."

"Sorry," he murmured, his voice muffled by her finger.

She leaned close to his ear, almost nuzzling against his neck. She kissed the freckle behind his ear and felt his breath hitch. "I love you too, Doctor," she whispered, not wanting to leave him feeling unsure for any longer. "I need and want you, but I never thought that I'd actually get you."

"Oh, my brilliant Donna Noble," he breathed, almost sagging against her in relief. "You've got me."

"TARDIS?" she asked.

"TARDIS," he agreed.

They broke apart and found each other's hand, clinging to each other. Christmas Planet was already forgotten as they left the gingerbread house behind, crossed the snowflake bridge, walked back through the peppermint forest, and set off on a brand new adventure as a couple.