A/N: I had this chapter laid out in my head perfectly. Funny and happy and what not. And then I started writing and my fingers didn't want to do what I had planned but instead found their own way over the keyboard and wrote a different story to the one I wanted to write... this one's... not angsty but not fluffy either... I'll try to write the next one right now...but it's 1am and I should really be going to sleep or I won't be able to work properly tomorrow...xD

Day 11 – Eggnog

It was the day of the day of the Torchwood Christmas party and Rose already feared it. She didn't even know if the Doctor had ever been to a company Christmas party which wasn't even the actual problem. Christmas parties were always something of a must to her. People drank way too much and pretended to be friends with everyone and some two people always ended up having a Christmas party fling with each other that they regretted dearly after the holidays and even though the people at Torchwood were actually more like a family (being run by Pete and Rose it was kind of a given) than a company it still wasn't really the most fun thing to be at. Also, Eggnog. There was always way too much of it. Rose used to like the sweet and creamy alcoholic drink but now she could hardly drink it. Somehow her taste buds had changed over the years in the new universe or maybe things just tasted slightly different than in her universe.

The other thing about the Torchwood Christmas party was, that it was actually a publicity event and that was what worried her the most.

Thanks to Pete, it had been very easy to get the Doctor settled in to the new world. No one ever really asked a question where he came from but in order to get there, he and Rose had to appear in public together and that was a disaster – needless to say that she wanted to avoid every public appearance because every single one turned out to be a mess.

"Do we really have to go?" the Doctor moaned while Rose tried to fix his black bow tie where it belonged.

"Yes, we do and you know it."

"But it's cold and there are going to be too many photographers and they'll want to talk to us and I'm really not up for it…"

"Doctor, if there is one thing you're good at, it's talking. We'll be fine."

"But the other three public press events have always gone horribly wrong, why should it be different this time?"

"Geez, normally you are the one cheering me up and telling me everything's going to be fine. Come on, we'll survive…"

She finished fixing the bow tie and the Doctor groaned in response to her encouraging words.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again. Whenever I wear this suit something bad seems to happen."
"Change the bloody suit then…"

"Well…it's any kind of black suit…"

"Then don't wear a black suit. But don't you dare getting that dreadful velvety thing of yours."

"Yes ma'am," he replied and then leaned down to kiss her. "We ready to go?" he asked and Rose looked him up and down.

"Ya, I think we're ready."

"Rose?..."

"Hm?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?"
"No, what?"

He looked down at her feet and she followed his eyes.

"Oh… Now that's something the press would love," she giggled as she looked at her comfy slippers.

She quickly changed into heels and together they walked out of the apartment and got their ride to Canary Wharf.

Like expected, the press was waiting for them and for the first two hours everything went absolutely smooth. The finger food was delicious – the Doctor was almost eating constantly –, the people were well behaved, the entertainment was lovely, Rose's parents were having a good time and so was she and it couldn't have been any better.

And then someone got the eggnog out. For the most part, Rose stayed away from it but someone was walking around and poured it into everyone's glasses. It didn't take long until the first few people were slurring and starting to feel over confident. Some started to dance to the music and Rose tried to find the Doctor.

She found him surrounded by a group of young women, all in training at the Torchwood Institute and Rose immediately saw that he was already a bit drunk.

Back in the days he could hold a lot of alcohol, his Time Lord had quite a different metabolism when it came to alcohol – which didn't mean he never got drunk – but now he was human and he didn't know his limits yet.

"Rose!" he slurred happily when he saw her and he tried to get up. "Rose, why is this so sweet?" he asked and held up his glass full with Eggnog.

"You don't have to drink it, Doctor…"

"But it tastes so nice…"

"No it doesn't. You've only had more than enough of it already…"

She wanted to drag him away from the girls who watched their conversation, prying and listening in, waiting for their opportunity to get the Doctor back without his girlfriend.

This was basically exactly what Rose had feared. The Doctor was getting more and more drunk and it wasn't pretty. The evening turned into night, the party went on and the Doctor was singing and slurring and dancing and most of these things he wasn't doing with Rose because the other girls didn't let him and Rose had definitely enough of it.

Angry she went to the loudspeakers and yanked out all the cables. A loud bang was audible and then it was silent.

"Enough now!" she shouted and walked to the Doctor who had a brunette in his arms who seemed to be a couple years younger than Rose.

"Roooose," the Doctor said again and it sounded like a baby babbling, "What are you doing?"

"We're going home, that's what I'm doing."

She managed to free the Doctor of the brunette's arms and supporting him, they walked to the exit. Unfortunately a lot of the press people had gotten more than plenty shots of the Doctor with other girls and Rose trying to get them off the Doctor. She could already see the headlines; 'Torchwood party turns into jealous girlfriend party' or something stupid like that.

The Doctor was blissfully unaware of all this though, he was drunk as a skunk.