Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or Christmas… I do have the first one on my Wish List, though.
He was finally clean. It had taken fifteen minutes of wiping and scrubbing, but he was no longer covered in crumbs and whipped cream. I felt sort of bad, because we'd used about seven towels to get it all off of him, and my mother would be forced to wash that.
I had his hand wrapped in mine as we walked into the living room. Now that I wasn't mad with him, I didn't want to let him go. He was here, and if I let him go he might disappear. I didn't care if our hands accidentally got stuck like that, at least I'd have an excuse to follow him wherever he went. I wouldn't let him vanish again.
As we entered the large room, I glanced around. No one was in there. Well, fifteen minutes, I suppose. They'd all probably gone downstairs to watch TV or something. I could smell ham, and knew that my mother was making the final part of our dinner. Cooking for Christmas Eve wasn't that hard, seeing as we did fondue, but at least some food was necessary.
"Kittay?"
I jumped at the sudden voice, and caught sight of Rose curled up on the couch, a blanket over her tiny form. Her large blue eyes were glued to the man at my side, and his were glued to her, both pairs extremely curious.
I glanced between them once more, and then walked over to the couch, reluctantly releasing his hand. I sat down at her feet and grabbed the small hand she offered to me. We were all about the hand-holding today.
"What's up, sweetheart?"
She pulled her large eyes from the Doctor and looked to me, an innocent look on her round face. She raised her free hand and extended her pointer finger towards the Doctor. "Tall."
I grinned and nodded. "Yes, very tall." I could feel the Doctor's presence behind me, standing only inches away. Subconsciously, my own free hand flipped and opened, unknowingly waiting for the strong grip that wasn't coming.
She smiled up at him. "Uppy!" She yelped as she released my hand and held her arms out towards him. Her tiny fists opened and closed, a gesture she'd learned from Riley when she'd still thought little Rose was like a doll.
In her defense, Rose was very doll-like. Her skin was purely alabaster, and contrasted sharply with the bright blue of her eyes and her fiery red hair. Though she still had baby fat, she was much less so than most children her age. She looked fragile, as if you'd break her when you tried to pick her up, even if she was exactly the opposite. That kid was tough as nails.
"Uppy! Uppy!"
The Doctor glanced at me, as if asking for my permission. He didn't have to. If Rose wanted him to hold her, then he should hold her. She deserved to get some of the things she wanted.
I took a step back, allowing him to carefully peel the blanket from her frame and grip her underarms gently. He lifted her into the air, her little feet dangling beneath her. As he set her against his slim hip, she tightly wrapped her fists in the material of his jacket. Her head lay gently against his chest.
I watched with soft eyes as he held her up and wrapped his free arm around her. Suddenly, his head jerked up to move to me. "What's her name?"
I inquired as to how he'd react to her given name. Would he be touched? Perhaps it would bring about memories that would make him happy and upset at the same time. He'd once told me he didn't miss her, when we were fixing something in the TARDIS that most likely didn't need fixing. I didn't believe him. I knew how missing people worked, and you never really forget them. You just move on. It still hurts when you remember, though.
I looked down at the little girl so I wouldn't have to see his possibly broken reaction. "Rose."
I heard a small, most likely subconscious, gasp. It was a sound of surprise, but I couldn't hear any pain in it. So, I risked a glance.
A gentle smile had graced his beautiful face as he stared down at the doll-like girl in his twig-like arms. His chocolate eyes were soft and warm. He was now attached to her in a way I'd always wished he'd be attached to me. He loved her, and his eyes weren't saying anything else. I started to wonder if he ever looked at me like that.
We were all downstairs, save for my mother who'd left the minute she caught sight of the Doctor. Everyone else had offered a smile, though. Rose had held tight to the man she appeared to love just as much as he loved her. Although I didn't really understand the sudden connection the two had, I left it alone. The magic is in the mystery.
Riley and I were sitting on the loveseat, admiring the two as they rolled and giggled together, completely ignoring the show on TV. When she felt like it, little Rose would reach up and move her hands over what I assumed was his very smooth face. She was memorizing the planes of it. She'd done the same thing with my hand once, only not so thoroughly. Why she'd want to remember how his face felt I wasn't sure, but it was still adorable.
Beside me, Riley's bright blue eyes were both warmed and confused at the same time. She thought what her daughter was doing was adorable, and one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen, but she didn't understand why it had to be with the Doctor. To be honest, I think she was a little jealous. She wanted that kind of relationship with her daughter, not for a man she hardly knew to have it. I could see her side of it. I was a little jealous of Rose, to be honest.
"Dinner!" All heads turned towards the staircase, and the smell of delicious food that had been rather dormant a moment ago seemed to attack every one of my senses. My nose filled with the sweet scent of honey ham and potatoes, and my mouth began to water. I couldn't have been that hungry.
We all got to our feet, and started to head upstairs. As I turned onto the staircase, a warm and comfortable feeling enveloped my hand. I knew the feeling well enough, but I still looked around to see the Doctor's smiling face.
He didn't have Rose now. Riley had grabbed her as soon as the opportunity had arisen. He didn't seem to mind much, though. He knew that she was her daughter, and he knew that he couldn't have her to himself the entire night.
We were silent as we climbed the stairs side by side and hand in hand. Neither of us said anything at all, not even as we sat down. I made sure to seat him between Nicky and I so he was a safe distance from the black clouds of anger metaphorically surrounding my mother. That also put little Rose across from him, which I knew he would be grateful for.
It was eerily silent as we all looked around the table, waiting for someone to make a move. I just sat there with my hand in my lap. I didn't want to do anything, but my stomach was rumbling and twisting in hunger pangs. All of the food in front of me was beckoning me closer; it was calling. Soon enough, I couldn't handle my urges and reached out to take a slice of ham and place it on my plate. I was so hungry, I didn't really care that everyone was staring at me. They all soon followed in step.
Despite the fact that we were eating, it was still awkward. It was too quite. Normally, the only thing that would keep us from talking at Christmas Eve fondue was the fact that we were all too busy stuffing our faces. This year it was not the comfortable silence we were used to. This year, it was an awkward silence we were all just getting acquainted with.
My mother glared at the Doctor from her end of the table, angrily stabbing her food. He was staring down at his food, obviously feeling the fire her eyes left on his head. Every now and then, he'd glance at me or Rose, for comfort from her and help from me. Although I felt bad about it, I ignored these looks. There wasn't much I could do. At most I could break the silence, which would most likely make things worse because I was a terrible conversationalist.
Riley, however, might do a better job.
"So, London?" She asked awkwardly, trying her hardest to focus on the Doctor and not my mom's devil-eyes.
He swallowed the chicken he'd just put in his mouth, and blinked a few times. "Oh, um, yeah, London," He mumbled, glancing at me, he still didn't know my cover story. "It's nice. Busy, and all that."
"Where are you working now?" My mother wasn't looking at him, but her jaw was set. At least she was being civil.
"Oh, um…" He anxiously licked his lips. "The, ah, British Museum, I'm part of the, um… restoration team…"
I smirked. He always did seem to make moments like this ironic and somewhat amusing to me.
"What sort of things do you restore?" It was Ian who spoke this time.
The Doctor turned with wide eyes. I thought he'd be a better liar. "Um… Artifacts… Old Police Boxes, things like that…"
Everyone nodded, and then things were silent again. Even as awkward as that conversation had been, it was better than this. This was just downright 'please let me die and get it over with' awkward. Like the first time a child talks to their parents about sex.
The Doctor, doing his thing, started yet another awkward conversation.
"How far along are you?" He asked Riley, reaching up to tug at his earlobe. He had a lot of really odd habits like that.
She grinned that bright grin of hers, and gently placed one of her petite hands on her swollen womb. "Eight and a half months." She looked proud of herself, like carrying around that boy in her stomach was something no one else on Earth could do.
For a moment, all awkwardness was forgotten. The Doctor grinned, and went on one of his many rambling tangents. "Brilliant! I love babies! Nothing better than seeing brand new, beautiful life! Don't you think?" He looked at me, but didn't give me any time to respond before continuing. "Of course you do! Why wouldn't you?"
I smiled at him. I'd surprisingly missed all of his little moments. Yeah, they were annoying and a bit unnecessary at times, but I loved them still.
My mother's eyes shifted from her food to his thin frame. Like pause-buttons of death, they froze him and removed the carefree look from his face. "Do you have any children, John?"
He stared back at her. He didn't look fearful, as I would've assumed, but instead he looked determined. To do what, I'm not sure. He could've been determined to make the night as enjoyable as possible. However, I knew he had no intention of keeping the conversation light due to his next statement.
"Not anymore, no."
Everyone at the table was silent. No one other than me had been aware of his fatherly positions. Riley, Dave, and Nicky, the only three besides me that knew what he was, didn't know anything other than that he wasn't human. They didn't know that he was nine-hundred-plus years old, or that he was the last of his race. Any information about him was new to everyone else.
A look around the table caused my heart to warm. Everyone looked sympathetic. I'd expected this sort of reaction from all of the younger parents at the table, but I hadn't thought the anger in my mother's eyes would fade at all. Instead, she seemed to be the most emotional due to his words. Her blue eyes softened, and the sneer on her face disappeared. I could still see the anger, but there was much less of it now.
My hazel eyes finally reached the Doctor. He didn't look as I'd expected. I thought he'd be at least a little bit upset, but his face was clear and unreadable. I didn't like it when he got like that. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I hated it. When he didn't show any emotion, he didn't seem human. And, even though he really wasn't, he always would be in my mind.
I nervously licked my lips and reached out, grabbing the hand he'd laid gently on the table. I wasn't really nervous about holding his hand. No, we'd done that so much it was second nature. I was nervous because it was the first time I'd comforted him, and not the other way around.
He offered me a gentle smile, and gripped my hand tightly.
Then, all of the awkwardness gone, we all started eating in a slightly comfortable silence.
It was awkward again. Then again, I'd been expecting it to be that way. I'd half expected Morgan to catch that things were a bit tense between my mom and I and offer to take my position of cleaning up after dinner, but she hadn't been quite so observant. Instead, she'd let me take my post as everyone else went down stairs. Maybe she had noticed, and she just thought it was important that we talk through our differences.
Either way, this was worse than the awkwardness at dinner.
With efficiency, we moved to the table and back, picking up plates and glasses and empty bowls. We'd done this so many times together, it went like clockwork. She picked something up, I threw something in the sink. She threw something in the sink, I picked something up. And the process repeated until everything was off the table and we were both standing at the counter, her washing and me drying.
For what felt like an eternity, we were both silent. I was a little afraid that she was mad at me for letting him just walk back into my life. However, that thought didn't last long.
"You should go with him,"
I jumped at her voice, even though it was soft and harmless. "Sorry?"
"Back to London, with John," She mumbled, staring at the dish in her hand as she scrubbed it. I couldn't help but think she wasn't actually seeing it, though. "I was there with your father once, it's nice."
I stared at her with bewildered eyes. I was at a loss for words, so I just repeated the one I'd said a moment ago. "Sorry?"
She smiled gently, but her eyes didn't move. "If you want, you should go with him. There's a lot of people there, but I think you'll like everything else."
I set the dish I was drying on the stack to my left, and turned to her. "I'm confused," I mumbled slowly, trying to absorb what she'd said. "I thought you didn't like him."
She chuckled. "Catherine, you've lived under my roof for how many years? How many times have I been able to hold a grudge?"
"Yeah, but-"
"Cat, you have no idea how many things I've regretted not doing because no one told me it was alright," She finally looked at me, her eyes slightly damp. "So you don't have those same regrets, I'm telling you it's alright."
My mind was going a million miles an hour. Did she want me to go against the laws of the universe and go with him? I don't think that was the case. She thought I'd be getting on a plane and flying across the ocean to lead a perfectly normal life. She had no clue that wasn't what would happen if I went with him. She didn't know that I would be leaving not only this planet, but this time as well.
Should I go with him? That was the question I was asking myself. A large part of me was screaming yes, and telling me that he was worth the universe, but the smaller, more rational part was whispering a convincing no. I was conflicted like I'd never been before.
With a deep sigh, I made a snap-of-the-moment decision, and looked at my mother determinedly.
"We're having Christmas at my house tomorrow."
A/N: I just wanted to thank all of you for being cool with the mix up. I accidentally set the story as Eleven, and just Eleven. It's fixed now, and we're back with Ten. I'll be honest, he's much preferred over Eleven, but I love them both for different reasons. Ten is just my Doctor, even though I started with Eleven.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed. My updates might come a bit slow for a while because I've only got three chapters ready after this one, plus I'm a bit stuck on a certain scene. I'll work through it, and then I'll be back at top speed, just be patient.
Life is hectic on my end. School's driving me insane, my head won't stop aching, and I have basketball more often than I'd like. Sometimes, I really have no idea how I power through the day. I'm surviving, though.
Enough about me, I'm done complaining. Onto the story's happenings, yes? So, I've got the entire thing all planned out. At least, I think I do. I still have to make a final decision on the ending, but I'm pretty sure I know what's going to happen. Well, sort of. I know what's going to happen, but I have yet to determine how. Everything else is set in stone, though.
Anyways, I'm playing Doctor Who: Worlds in Time, so I've got to go. Seriously... best... game... ever! Come play with me!
Talk to you guys later! :D
