Title: Home

Author: Megan Faye

Rated: PG

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Author's Note: This started out as a small one-shot, and snowballed. Here's hoping for another good story!

This story deals with depression, romance, fluff, love, hurt, comfort, trust, and new beginnings. This is life, in every way. Depression doesn't just hurt those who are depressed. Depression hurts everyone.

Note: I'm modelling Tony after my son, Sam, who is 2 and a half now. He says "Dah-Tah OOO!" when he hears the TARDIS. He sings the theme song. I have a baby geek! :D


Weeks turned into months, and before anyone was properly ready for it, Christmas decorations were up around the house. The house staff, who worked rather quietly, had it up almost overnight, except the tree. That would be a family event on December 20th. The staff would be off for two weeks to be with their families.

Pete had never gotten to know his staff on a personal level before Rose and Jackie came to live there. As they were from a difference universe, most of the staff was quietly told, and asked to keep the secret quiet. There were a few that Torchwood had to follow and slip a memory-wiping pill. When The Doctor came into the picture, the staff was well used to the strange things happening in the Tyler mansion. Either they didn't care, or the large pay check from Pete was enough to keep quiet.

The Doctor came down the stairs to the attic apartment he shared with Rose to a winter wonderland in the hallway. Garland lined all the banisters, wreaths hung on almost every door, there were lights inside and out.

"I don't like this holiday," he muttered to himself. He stepped into the bathroom across the hall. The shower curtain and towels had been changed to Christmas decor. The candles that were on the sink were white, as they had always been, but had miniature Christmas Wreaths around the base. There was a small Santa crossing the mirror. They looked like the Santas that attacked London shortly after he lost rose. "I really don't like this holiday."

"Hi Dah-tah!" The Doctor screamed, startled by the 16-month-old toddler hiding in the empty bath.

"What are you doing here?"

"He's hiding." Jackie pushed past The Doctor to pick up the boy. "There you are! I've been looking for you since breakfast! Sorry Doctor. It's a phase. You should probably lock the door to the attic. He's figured out all the baby gates we've tried."

"DOCTOR!" Pete hollered from down stairs. There was a lot of that lately. Pete required The Doctor's help with his work. He was trying to focus on inventions, and The Doctor was better at building prototypes, even if they seemed rather redundant.

"Today isn't going to be a good day."


"Pete, I've got plans with Rose today."

"But you don't leave the house outside of Torchwood and an occasional accidental peanut exposure."

"That doesn't mean we haven't got plans," The Doctor countered. Pete frowned, but dropped the questions. "We'll work on the prototype tomorrow. I still only require about half the sleep you need. I'll have something built tomorrow afternoon."

"Of course."

"Until tomorrow, then-"

"Are you going to marry her?"

"Yes. Just not yet. I need to get my head on straight. I want her to marry me because she loves me, not because I'm a depressed half-alien who lives with her. I'm barely holding it together, Pete." Pete nodded and looked back at the plans.

"Doctor?" one of the house staff called from the kitchen. "Would you like brunch sent up?"

"Yes, Cora, thank you. Tea as well, and something sweet and terrible for me."

"Very good, sir." She bowed her head and headed back to the kitchen.

"I thought her name was Karen."

"My God, man, she's worked for you for 11 years. Learn her bloody name! "


After the quiet morning with Rose that included brunch on the terrace, and discussions of how they were going to spend the coming holiday, he planned on starting a prototype for Pete.

Before he was able to begin, he felt the need to take some time to continue his search for a name. The Doctor hid away in his small office that had once been Rose's bedroom. He had a computer, various books, and a proper writing desk. He had one office chair, that he could roll between the two desks and multitask. The library in the attic was supposed to be his space for such things, but once it became a home within the mansion for him to share with Rose, taking over her room as an office seemed like a better idea.

"You know, Doctor," Cora said, as she brought him a fresh tea service. "All those years traveling, you could write a book. A whole series of books, even!"

"You know, that's not a bad idea."

Wheels began turning in his very clever brain.


"You'd better kiss me," The Doctor teased, pointing to the mistletoe he hung over his side of the bed. Rose complied, happily.

"Happy Christmas." She kissed him again.

"The happiest."

"I got you a gift." Rose climbed up out of bed, and pulled a box from the bottom drawer.

"I've got you something, too." He pulled a long, narrow box from under his pillow. She opened hers first. It was a necklace. "You were admiring your mum's, so I found something similar."

"I love it!" She thrust his gift to him. "I...I hope you like it."

The Doctor carefully unwrapped the small box. It looked like a box for a pen. When he lifted the lid, his eyes welled. It was a sonic screwdriver. She'd been working on a secret project at Torchwood for several weeks, at least. And this was it. She'd built him a new sonic screwdriver.

"Rose Tyler, you are magnificent. How did you-"

"Well, you weren't the only one who couldn't sleep with the TARDIS engines humming. I read the manual from the library...in case you ever needed to fix it, I'd be able to help. It took me a while. I had to look up a lot of words that were alien. Not hard, literally, in an alien language."

"This is why we're together. You're clever, and beautiful, and sexy."

"And yours."

"My Rose," he growled, smiling. "Let's try it out!" They quickly dressed, and he pulled his long, brown coat on

It wasn't until they got to the door that he realized the coat was there, and not on the TARDIS.

"Doctor," Rose started to say. He pulled it off and stared at it. After a moment, The Doctor dug through the pockets until he found a note.

"Dear Doctor, As I've regenerated, the coat no longer fits, and my wife has asked me to throw it out. We could think of no better place to send it. The TARDIS burned up a star, and nearly ripped a brand new hole in the universe getting it to you. Happy Christmas, The Doctor and River," The Doctor read out loud. "River? He married River Song!" The Doctor thought back to the library for a long moment. "Oh, that explains quite a lot!"

"River?"

"When two time-travelers meet, and continue meeting, it is very out of order. I met her the day she died. She knew so much about me. She had a book full of memories, and my sonic screwdriver. She said "Hello, Sweetie," as if we'd known each other forever. I never saw her again."

"She died there-"

"Time travel. I met her the day she died. I have no idea when she met me. There are only two reasons I'd have given her the sonic screwdriver. One, because I knew it was going to be what saved her. And, two, I knew she was going to die. She told me that I gave it to her at an opera. I was crying. I was crying because I knew she wasn't going to come back. That was as far as we were ever going to go." He caught sight of himself in the mirror; long coat, red trainers, sonic screwdriver in hand, and Rose at his side.

"What's the matter?"

"Too many people were lost, because of me. I've watch one wife become time-locked, and another die. Immortality was rather unfair, Rose."

"Just because they died doesn't mean I will. I am young, healthy, and-"

"Work at Torchwood."

"I'll retire. We'll settle down. We'll move out to our own place, just us."

"And Cora. She makes a perfect pot of tea." Rose smiled.

"Just us and Cora."

"But you...your, Rose Tyler, you save the world," he argued. He looked her in the eye. "Don't stop being you because I can die."

"I want to retire, Doctor. I want us to have our own lives. I want us to live in our own home, with our own garden, our own sitting room, our own baby waking us up before dawn..." The Doctor's breath caught when she said the word "baby." Rose also felt herself holding her breath. She hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"We're not there yet, Rose." She let out a very soft sigh. He put his arms around her, and held her close. "But we will be, very soon. Let's start with finding a place for ourselves. We'll move in, get settled, and then we'll figure out the rest."