A Christmas to Remember
Day 5 – Boxing Day, Friday, 26 December
Unlike Christmas morning, which had begun with music, Boxing Day for Rose began with the ring of a phone. Rose picked up her mobile, but it was silent. She stared at it for another sleepy second before a series of thoughts occurred to her. The first was that the electronic warbling sounded very much like the phones she used to answer at Henrik's. The second was that she had never used a "classic phone" ringtone on her mobile. The third was that the ringing sound was coming from the nightstand on her left. Her final thought was that the only way to stop the offending noise was to answer the phone that must have been sitting on that nightstand for her entire stay.
"Hello?" she said in a voice still heavy with sleep.
"Right. Seems I woke you up, then. Thought I waited long enough. Sorry 'bout that..."
It took Rose a moment to register that it was the Doctor on the other end. "You've got my phone number?" she asked in confusion.
"You think I can make business transactions all over the world and haven't figured out how to call the hotel room next door?" the Doctor asked.
Rose didn't answer, trying to formulate a response. The fact was she was so used to her mobile, that the hotel phone had completely escaped Rose's notice. And even if she had paid attention to its presence, it would never have occurred to her to call a neighboring room. Even in the rare instances that Rose had stayed in a hotel, it had only been she and her mother, so there had never been anyone else to call.
After a few second's silence, the Doctor spoke again. "Wanted to invite you to a room service brunch, but thought it might be better to call than knock."
Rose nodded, not registering until after she had done it that it was a wasted gesture.
"Like I said," the Doctor continued, "I waited to ring you, but if you need more sleep or don't want to join me…"
There was hesitation in the Doctor's voice, and Rose worried he had interpreted her sleepy silence as rejection. "What time is it," Rose asked as she willed herself to wake up fully.
"Half ten," the Doctor answered while she picked up her phone and tried to read the time with blurry eyes.
"Okay," Rose said. "I'm awake now and would love brunch. Just give me some time to get ready." The call concluded with Rose telling the Doctor her menu preferences so that he could order brunch and have it ready when she arrived.
Twenty minutes later, she knocked on his door. They exchanged the typical hellos and good mornings when the Doctor answered, but Rose detected the same uneasiness in him that was present during their phone conversation. Since this was Rose's last full day with him (a thought she instantly pushed to the back of her mind), she did not want it wasted on awkwardness and misunderstanding.
"Er," she said as she entered, feeling the exact awkwardness she was trying to avoid. "I hope you didn't misunderstand why I didn't say much on the phone. I was only not talking because I was still half asleep, not because I didn't want to see you."
Rose watched as a smile slowly spread across the Doctor's face, culminating in a bright toothy grin. "Good to know," he said as he gestured toward the small table in the salon where a tray of food awaited. "Was hoping I hadn't made you feel uneasy last night when…" The Doctor's voice trailed off, but Rose did not need him to finish the sentence to understand his concern
"Are you kidding?" she asked, sounding more enthusiastic than she had intended. She took a breath and did her best to tone down her response. "I almost can't remember a better Christmas," she told him. She took his hand and smiled in a way that she hoped was reassuring. "And it couldn't have ended more perfectly."
There was a moment when it felt like they were being drawn toward an encore of the kiss in question, but both she and the Doctor seemed to hesitate at the same time. And as they distracted themselves from the resulting awkwardness by sitting down to eat and talking about the food before them, Rose wondered at its cause. She could not pretend to know the Doctor's reasons, but she wondered if her own hesitation was due to the inevitable end of her holiday that now loomed like a cloud on the horizon. It was fun to play Cinderella, and she couldn't deny that she had fallen for a prince. Perhaps in his own way her prince, the Doctor, had fallen under a spell of his own. But midnight was looming and sleigh rides and elegant balls would soon turn back into public transport and the drudgery of job searching. They would both return to their very different lives, and there would be no glass slipper to symbolize that they belonged in each other's worlds.
"What are you thinking?" the Doctor asked.
Rose had no idea how long her mind had wandered, but the Doctor must have noticed it. She couldn't bring herself to tell the Doctor of her feelings for him or of the shadow of reality that had been cast over the remainder of their time together, but she also felt compelled to make sure that whatever she did tell him was honest. "Just realizing Christmas is over and that soon I will have to go back to looking for work," she told him. "I had no luck before this trip, and now I am going to have to start over at the bottom."
"Why?" the Doctor asked her. "You have marketable skills."
"Because I've only ever had one job, that's why," said Rose not doing very well at disguising the bitterness that she felt. "It's the same job that I had when I was still in school, and my promotions don't seem to make a difference to the places I've applied to."
"Did I mention that I was sorry for my part in your circumstance?" the Doctor asked. His look of apprehension had reappeared.
"Indirectly, yeah," she said, managing a smile. "But it's not your fault. I just worry that I'll either be unemployed for some time, or I'll work somewhere for far less than I did before."
She wasn't sure why, but Rose felt better having said that. And after she had, the rest of the meal seemed to be a mixture of an interview and job counseling. When brunch was concluded, things seemed a little less dark. There was still the inevitable goodbye, but at least she had more optimism about her job prospects.
After brunch, the Doctor and Rose moved to the sofa and the Doctor showed Rose the ideas for holiday recreation that he had jotted down at the beginning of his trip. By Rose's estimation he had enough ideas to keep him busy well into the new year.
"How long is your holiday?" Rose teased him as she scanned the list a second time. "Because I don't think you'll be able to do all of this."
"One week," he said. "Typical six night, seven day package. Still gives us two days to fit things in."
Rose let the list drop to her lap and she felt something sink in the pit of her stomach. "My stay is only five nights," she told him.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
It was foolish to be upset when Rose had known the length of her stay all along, but suddenly knowing she could have had one more day with the Doctor made that missing day feel like a terrible loss. There was nothing else that could be said, so she sighed and leaned against the Doctor. He responded by putting an arm around her and letting his head rest against hers, and they remained that way for several minutes.
Eventually the conversation resumed and they chose three activities to attempt that day, knowing that since it was past noon, they would likely accomplish only two. Then they left hand in hand to make the best use of the time they had left together.
"Right then, Rose Tyler, you tell me," the Doctor said as he selected items from the helicopter tour's custom flight itinerary. "Where do you want to go? Over the village, or above the mountain tops? Or we could do all of it, I suppose. It's your choice. What's it going to be?"
It did not surprise the Doctor that in the end they chose to see every location that the pilot was willing to take them over. But he was surprised by how amazed he was by the experience. It was not his first helicopter flight, but somehow having Rose along to enjoy it, made it all the more thrilling.
"Fantastic!" he exclaimed into his headset microphone as they passed over an icy glacier then swooped downward for a better look. Then he looked over at Rose. "I told you this was a good idea."
"You think you're so impressive," she said in a teasing tone that could even be heard over the headset.
"I am so impressive," he said pretending to be offended.
"You wish," she said. But her smile assured him that she was enjoying the experience.
One hour and several amazing views later, their tour had ended. The Doctor watched as Rose admired the photograph of the pair of them that they each had received, and a thought occurred to him. Unlike the sleigh ride, Rose had not protested when he had paid for the helicopter tour. Perhaps their conversation over brunch had helped her to see that their differences in social class meant nothing to him. While he had never lived on a council estate, he had grown up simply and had known the struggle to make ends meet. He was glad for the success he had achieved, but the foundation of his youth had also instilled in him the responsibility of using his good fortune for others. From the things Rose had told him in their conversations—things such as helping neighbors and standing up for her friends when they had been mistreated—she had the same type of heart and did those things without needing a large bank account to do it. And that mattered so much more than money.
If the Doctor was right, maybe Boxing Day didn't have to be their last full day together. He could pay for her to stay an extra night. After that he could find her a job in his company. He could even make her an apprentice buyer at Henrik's or any other store that Arcadia Associated owned while she finished her education. Then they wouldn't have to say goodbye.
Rose was still smiling as they left the site of the helicopter tour, telling the Doctor that it was one of the most exciting things she had ever done. He could change that. He could ask her to be his traveling companion on company trips (two rooms, not presuming anything) and he would make sure to take time out for recreation and seeing the sites. They could both start truly living instead of going through the motions.
"So walking trail, then?" Rose asked, interrupting the Doctor's thoughts.
"Suppose so," the Doctor answered. "Still think the dogsled would've been fun."
"It's a half-day program," Rose reminded him. "The second session started almost an hour ago."
"But is walking around the woods going to be exciting enough after a helicopter ride?" the Doctor asked. Despite his earlier thoughts, he found himself worrying that she had chosen the second activity simply because there was no cost involved.
"Not every moment has to be full of excitement," Rose told him. "And after the noise of the helicopter, I'll really appreciate the stillness of the forest."
The Doctor's mind was put at ease. And if a nature walk was what Rose Tyler wanted to do most, then that was his desire too. "All right then," he said. "Your wish is my command."
Author's Notes: An apology again for the delay. There is a long line to use the now only functioning computer in the chapter is a little short because I decided to split it in half at the last minute. But the good news is that the next chapter should be ready in hours, not days.
