Rose woke up to see two bright eyed faces staring down at her. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, thinking that maybe her eyes deceived her.
She looked again and they were still there. Martha and Donna were standing in her bedroom staring at her.
"Um, what are you two doing in my room?" she asked them.
"Waiting for you to get up!" Martha exclaimed.
"We're taking you dress shopping!" Donna added.
Rose had met Donna and Martha at Torchwood where they both worked and they'd been good friends since then. It seemed that even their parallel universe selves seemed to have ties with the Doctor.
"Who told you about the engagement?" Rose asked them with an eyebrow raised. It'd only been two days since the Doctor proposed to her and she hadn't told anyone except her family.
"Your mum may have called the Torchwood staff..." Donna mumbled.
"What!" Rose exclaimed. She sighed. Her mum was the most attention seeking person she knew. It wasn't exactly surprising that she'd already spilled the beans to every person on her contact list.
"Well she called Yvonne and Yvonne told us, since she knew that we're your friends, and pretty soon everyone at Torchwood knew that Rose and the Doctor are getting married," Martha told her.
Rose just sighed again and groggily crawled out of bed. "Alright. You can take me dress shopping. But do you mind giving me some privacy while I get ready?"
Both the women nodded and stepped out in the hallway, grinning with success.
Rose decided to wear a simple T-shirt and jeans. She pulled her hair back in a pony tail and left her room.
Donna and Martha were waiting for her. "Rose! You can't go shopping for a wedding dress looking like that!" Donna exclaimed.
"Why not?" she retorted.
Martha tsked. "Darling, you have to look fabulous! This won't do."
They pushed Rose back into her room. Donna sat her down in a chair and applied her makeup and fixed her hair while Martha picked out an outfit for her to wear.
When Donna had finished dolling Rose up, Martha entered holding a dress and a pair of pumps. She shoved the clothes into Rose's arms. "Go put it on," she told her. Donna and Martha went back into the hallway to wait for her.
Rose got up from her chair and took off the clothes that were apparently too casual for dress shopping. She slipped on the new dress and looked in the mirror. The dress was deep purple and strapless with a sweetheart neckline. It came just above her knees and the top of the dress around her chest was sequinned while the skirt was simple but for a bit of lace at the hemline.
With the gorgeous dress and her curled hair, she felt much too fancy for just dress shopping. Rose stepped into the hallway to meet Martha and Donna. Martha held her hand to her mouth. "Oh Rose, you look beautiful!"
Donna nodded in agreement. "We make a pretty good team, don't we Martha?"
Rose's two friends grabbed her arms and pulled her down the stairs, ready to go shopping. The Doctor entered the living room holding a peeled banana right as they were coming down the stairs. He took a bite and then noticed the three women coming down the stairs. His eyes widened and he swallowed the piece of banana and then set it down on the coffee table. Rose smiled her beautiful white smile at him. "Good morning, Doctor."
"Oh, hello. Where are you off to?" he asked.
Donna smirked. "We're taking Rose for a girls' day out."
He nodded. "Alright. You look beautiful, Rose," he added with a smile at her.
Rose blushed. "Thanks," she mumbled.
"Well, we'll be off then," Martha said as she pulled Rose and Donna out the door.
"Bye," Rose called over her shoulder.
He waved at her. "Have fun!"
Once out in the driveway, Martha got in the driver's seat and Rose in the passenger. Donna sat in the back. "Of course I'm in the back, as usual," she grumbled.
Martha laughed. "Well unless you want to drive," she said.
Donna shook her head. "I'm good, thank you."
The car ride took about thirty minutes. They drove to a fancy bridal boutique just north of London. As they entered the boutique, a friendly looking lady with a posh accent greeted them. "Hello, ladies. How may I help you today?"
"Yes, we're just looking for a wedding dress," Martha answered.
"Oh, who's the lucky bride?" she asked.
Donna and Martha pushed Rose to the front and she smiled and waved.
"Oh, aren't you a pretty girl!" the woman fawned. "I'm sure you'll find your perfect dress here at our boutique. We have the finest staff and plenty of renown designer dresses. Would you please follow me this way?"
They followed the woman through a doorway into a grand room lined with long silk curtains and plush sofas in the middle. A huge crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling. On one side of the room was a slightly raised platform with a tall three-sided mirror. Rose didn't feel so out of place with her fancy dress anymore.
"Please, have a seat," the woman said as she gestured to the sofas.
Rose, Donna, and Martha sat down on the one nearest to them.
The woman smiled cheerily and said, "Some of our staff will be here momentarily to help you find the perfect dress." Then she departed, leaving them alone.
A few moments later, a tall, middle aged woman entered the room followed by a flamboyant young man. The woman smiled at them. "Hello, ladies. I'm Catherine and this is my assistant, Ryan. We'll be helping you find your dress . May I ask whom we are shopping for today?"
"That'd be me," Rose told her.
Catherine smiled. "Congratulations, dear. So do you have any kind of dress you're looking for in particular?"
Rose shrugged. "Well actually, I've only been engaged for two days, and this was sort of a last minute notice for me," she said with a glare at Martha and Donna, "so I really haven't had time to decide what I want yet."
"Oh, it's alright, sweetie. That's what we're here for. And it's never too early to buy your dress," Ryan informed her, earning Rose a smirk from Donna and Martha.
"Well why don't we pick out a few dresses for you to try on and maybe you can get an idea of what you'd like?" Catherine suggested.
Rose nodded. "That sounds great."
Ryan and Catherine disappeared into the back to find some dresses for Rose. They returned with a wedding dress in a clear plastic bag. Catherine placed it into her arms and told her, "This is a new arrival we just got in this week. The dressing rooms are right over there," she gestured with her head to a doorway between two curtains, "and I'll be there in just a second to help you into it."
With a thumbs up from Martha and a smile from Donna, Rose walked into the doorway to put the dress on. Rose chose a dressing room, and was surprised how large and posh it was compared to a dressing room at a mall. It was roughly the size of a moderately sized bathroom, with walls that went all the way down, a stuffed purple bench, and a small chandelier hanging from the ceiling. While Rose stood there gaping at the elegance of the dressing room, Catherine came in and laughed at how she looked so amazed.
"Yes, we do like to impress our clients. Now shall we try on the dress?"
Rose removed the dress from its plastic bag and handed it to Catherine while she undressed. Catherine helped her step into the dress and then buttoned up the back.
"Let's show your friends and see what they think," she told Rose.
Rose entered the sitting room and stepped up onto the platform with the mirrors. She examined herself in the dress. It was long sleeved with a high collar and a button up back. The bodice was fitted and the skirt was big and round.
She turned around for them to see. Martha faked a smile. "If you like it, I think you might be able to pull it off," she said unenthusiastically. Donna however, just scoffed and said, "If it was black you'd look like a schoolteacher from the 1800s!"
Rose laughed. "Yeah I don't think it's the dress for me."
Catherine nodded. "Yes, let's get another one. Ryan, could you fetch us another dress? Perhaps something more contemporary would do."
Ryan nodded and took off into the back to get another dress. By the time Catherine had helped Rose out of the schoolteacher dress, Ryan returned with another. Catherine helped Rose into the new one and she returned to the room.
The new dress was strapless with a squared, straight across neckline. The bodice was quite squared as well and gave her sort of a boxy figure. The skirt fell in a loose simple style.
This time Martha didn't try to lie. She frowned and said, "I don't think it's exactly your style."
Again, Donna was blunt with her. "Honestly, Rose. You look like a box in that dress. You have curves! I think you should show them off."
Rose laughed so hard she snorted. "You really think so?"
Donna nodded. "Definitely. If I had your figure I wouldn't cover myself up like a square."
Rose smiled. "Thanks, Donna."
Rose tried on several more dresses after that, and she was about to give up when she found the one.
She examined herself in the mirror yet again, but this time she fell in love with what she saw. This dress was a mermaid style dress with lacy straps and a sweetheart neckline. The back was open and the bodice was very form fitting and it was sequinned until her knees, where the skirt flared and had long, layered ruffles.
(See this for example of Rose's dress: . )
She turned around and saw Ryan put his hand up to his heart. "Oh you look fabulous, darling," he complimented.
Donna and Martha were speechless. "Rose, it's gorgeous. I feel like this is the one," Martha told her.
Donna nodded in agreement. "It's definitely the best one we've seen all day. And it shows off your curves. It's a keeper, no doubt."
Rose grinned widely. "Catherine, I think I've found the dress."
"Alright, dear!" Catherine exclaimed. "Let's go take it off and I'll bring it up front for you okay?"
Catherine helped Rose out of her dream dress and placed the dress back into its plastic cover. She left Rose to put her own clothes back on and brought it up to the front counter.
Once Rose was dressed, she met Martha, Donna, and Catherine at the front of the boutique. After paying for the dress, which of course happened to be quite expensive, the three women got back in the car to go back to Rose's house. Donna sat in the back again, this time accompanied by the wedding dress that was hung up in the back.
When they finally arrived home, they all got out of the car and Rose thanked her friends for taking her dress shopping. They all walked inside together, to help Rose carry the dress upstairs to her room.
When they opened the front door, the Doctor was sitting in the living room watching a sci-fi movie. A now empty banana peel lay on the coffee table in front of him.
"Oh hello! How was your 'girls day'?" he asked.
Rose beamed. "It was marvellous," she answered as Martha and Donna tried to hide the bag with their bodies.
As they started up the stairs, the Doctor raised an eyebrow. "What's in the bag?"
"Oh, you know, just clothes. We went shopping," Rose lied. Well, it wasn't really a lie. They did go shopping, and there was an item of clothing in the bag.
The Doctor didn't seem very convinced, but he returned his attention to the movie. He muttered something about women while the three friends giggled going up the stairs.