Title: Holiday
Author: Gillian Taylor
Rating: R
Characters: Tenth Doctor, Rose, Jack, Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart
Summary: She kissed him on the cheek and said cheerily, "We're doomed."
Series: Part of the Brigadier-verse (Stories in series: A Brave New World, Duty Calls, and Homecoming)
Spoilers: Christmas Invasion, Virgin New Adventures Novel "Blood Heat"
Disclaimer: Don't own them. I just like playing with them...a lot.
Archive: Sure, just let me know.

A/N: The rest of the Brig-verse and the VNA Blood Heat do not have to be read prior to reading this story. Thanks, as always, to my lovely betas NNWest, Ponygirl72, and WMR for their encouragement and suggestions. This story is still being written, as such the number of chapters is morphing. Also, I will be posting at a rate about one every two days.

Holiday
by Gillian Taylor

Chapter 1: Just a Nice Day Out

This was how it always started. A tired companion, worn out from adventures, asked for a holiday. He, being as impressive as he always was, agreed. One holiday. A few days of nothing but indulgent pleasure on a nice, peaceful planet and no running.

At least, that was how it was planned.

This was how it always went. Arrive on nice, peaceful planet in the midst of a revolution. Get shot at, captured, tied up, expected to come up with a brilliant escape plan - easy, that, have to rescue the others, and then run back to the TARDIS barely in the nick of time to escape.

Typical.

He needed a holiday from his holiday.

"Remind me again whose brilliant idea it was to go to Cadalia? A nice, peaceful planet. Nice trees. Nice scenery. Nice place to visit for a holiday. No running?" Rose groused from her slouched position on the chair next to the console.

Maybe it was more that he needed a holiday from talking about his holiday. Or something like that. "No running? But that's boring, Rose! 'Sides, how else are we to keep fit?"

"I can think of a few suggestions." Jack contributed to the discussion with a characteristic leer.

Yup. Typical. "Why am I not surprised?"

Rose's expression had changed from despondent to something else entirely. She rose, sharing a conspiratorial look with Jack, before advancing upon him. "I have a few suggestions, too. An' none of them involve running. Well," she amended with a grin, "maybe at first."

When had the conversation changed from holidays? Had he missed something? He blinked. "You do?" That was not his voice. Since when had his voice been that low?

"Yeah. An' you know what else?"

"What?" Definitely not his voice.

A hand slipped into his, followed shortly by his other hand being claimed by Jack. "This a mutiny?" he asked, his voice seeming to drop even lower.

"Only," Jack said, leaning into him, "if you want it to be."

He swallowed. Did he?

When Rose tugged his other hand imperiously, he knew that there was only one possible choice.

Yes.

So many times he had led. Pulling one, or both, behind him into danger. Leading one, or both, to see everything the universe had to offer.

Now it was their turn to lead. They had confessed their love. They had shared kisses and caresses. They had gone to a point, before stopping, drawing out the wait. The expectation was everything. The build-up was everything. Now it was his turn to be led. It was time to cross the threshold.

Down the halls of his TARDIS. Around corners and turns.

To a room.

His room. Her room. Jack's room. It did not matter.

Not anymore.

It was their room.

There was nothing quite like a good book, a good cup of tea, and sitting in your favourite chair when the weather was nasty outside. It was comforting, really. As much as he enjoyed spending time in the gardens, he preferred this more. This was what retirement was all about. Enjoying the simple things in life. No wars. No emergencies. No alien invasions. Nothing but him, a steaming mug of his favourite tea, and a good mystery to sink his teeth into.

Perfect.

He had barely reached the second paragraph, when the phone rang. With a low grumble, he put down the book and the cup. Typical. If it was another prank caller, he could not be held accountable for his actions. At least Doris had gone into town and would not be able to overhear him. Thank goodness for small comforts.

The shrill ring caused him to wince. "I'm coming," he told it impatiently, not that the phone even cared. He picked up the phone, and without bothering with typical niceties, he began somewhat tetchily, "Yes?"

The unexpected sound of the current UNIT CO's voice dismissed his disgruntlement with ease. Bambera's voice sounded strained as she began without preamble, "We've got a problem."

"What is it?"

"I'm sending the chopper to get you, Alistair."

He sobered immediately. "That serious?"

"If not more so." Winifred Bambera sighed heavily. Through the phone, he could almost hear her begin to pace. "I'm also sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I've been given orders from Geneva. For the duration of this problem, your commission has been reinstated."

Alistair blinked in shock. The last time he had been pulled out of retirement, he had been embroiled in a war between medieval knights and UNIT forces. Then again, at the time, the Doctor had been firmly in the middle of the situation. "Is our scientific advisor involved?"

"He is the situation. I'll see you at HQ, Alistair. And give Doris my apologies."

He made his farewells quickly and hung up the phone. What on Earth had the Doctor done now? He had only said goodbye to the Doctor and his companions a few weeks ago. Surely that wasn't enough time for his old friend to get into more trouble.

Of course it was. It was the Doctor.

He sighed as he made his way upstairs. He needed to put together an overnight bag, and pull out his uniform. Doris would not be happy about this, but there was no choice.

He had more questions than answers, and that was one situation that he never cared for.

"What have you done now, Doctor?" he asked.

As expected, there was no answer.

She watched him as he practically bounced around the room, flipping switches, turning knobs, and generally making a spectacle of himself for, she assumed, her benefit. A fond smile played about her lips as he leaned in a particularly uncomfortable looking position to hit another control. She blinked away the remembered images of last night. The Doctor's lanky body, Jack's muscular one, Jack's hands, the Doctor's hands, their kisses… "So, where we goin' now?"

He looked up at her and grinned. "It's a surprise." His grin was somewhat shy, she realised, but there was a cause for it. Things had changed, but it was a good change. The best change. But that did not negate what he had just said. A surprise. Oh great.

"Doctor..." She remembered how the last surprise had turned out. It had turned out with them in jail, Jack confronting his mother, and a generally unpleasant experience. Admittedly, it had ended up rather well for them personally, but that was later. After the 'surprise' part of the surprise was over.

"What?" His expression was innocent as he pumped the handle on the side of the console. "Surprises can be good."

"They can be," she agreed. She touched the tip of her tongue against her teeth as she added, "But, with you, that's questionable."

"Oi!" he protested. However, she could tell that he was not upset. Once the TARDIS was firmly on its way to whatever 'surprise' the Doctor had in store for them, he quickly crossed to her side and pressed a too-brief kiss against her lips. "You'll love it. Promise."

"The last time you said that, I ended up wearing a hot pink tube sock thing that'd look better on a worm than on me. An' Jack wasn't much better, though at least he got something semi-decent. An' you jus' mucked about in your usual get-up. How's that for something that you promise I'll love?" She hated that planet. With a passion. Though the shopping was nice. She just could have done without the over-abundance of that shade of pink.

He looked somewhat downtrodden as he patted her shoulder. "This'll be better. Promise. No pink tube socks, for one thing." He wrinkled his nose slightly as he added, "Though there are mosquitoes."

"Mosquitoes," she repeated.

"Yup!" He beamed at her. "But that's the last hint you'll get. Go get Jack out of bed and put on some good hiking shoes. You'll love this!"

That cinched it. This was definitely one of those surprises.

As she walked out of the console room, she spotted Jack heading down the corridor, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Before he could do more than mumble a 'good morning,' she pressed a kiss against his cheek and told him cheerily, "We're doomed."

It was definitely going to be one of those days.

He blinked after Rose as she continued down the hallway. Doomed? What? He was always half alive in the mornings until he got his hands on a cup of coffee. Rose and the Doctor knew that. But they were doomed?

He scratched the side of his nose and shrugged. He'd worry about it after his coffee. Hopefully the world would make far more sense after a good dose of caffeine than it did at the moment. At least, the world as it stood at the moment. He well remembered how it stood still last night. He stretched, wincing as aching muscles made themselves known. It had been a good night. The best night. But this was today. And he needed caffeine.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the kitchen as he stepped inside and he patted the wall of the TARDIS in silent thanks. It might've been the Doctor's doing, might've been Rose's, but neither of them were readily available to thank. Besides, there were far more important things to worry about than who to thank.

Like where Rose had hidden the cream. Or even the milk. He really wasn't that picky.

He never did find the cream. The milk was almost gone, so he decided to forgo it. Two strong cups of coffee later, he felt far more awake and far more able to try and understand just why they were doomed. From what he remembered of Rose's expression, he suspected that he knew just why they were doomed and suppressed a world-weary sigh.

It was a surprise again, was it?

Great. Fantastic.

He needed more guns.

He poured himself a third cup of coffee and downed it in several gulps as he tried to determine just what sort of armaments he'd need to bring along. The sonic blaster was a given. So was his miniature blaster. Carbines were too big, and a pistol was too slow. He'd have to ask the Doctor what time period they were in since he'd have to be extra careful about using the sonic blaster anywhere near the locals.

An explosive or two probably wouldn't hurt. He could put some of those grey canisters into his carryall. Though, once again, it would depend on the time period. He did not fancy landing himself - and by extension his lovers - in jail because he had been too weapon-happy.

A knife or two would be a must. A Bowie and one of the boot-knives should work. Depending on where they landed, he might switch out the Bowie for a machete. But first things first. Find out when they were going and some minor inkling of where, and dress and pack accordingly.

Decision made, he put the coffee cup in the sink and headed for the console room. If it was a surprise, and he suspected it was, it would take a great deal of needling to get the Doctor to admit to much of anything.

"What's the surprise?" he asked without preamble as he walked into the console room. The Doctor shot him an exasperated look.

"Why is it that you lot always sound so depressed when it's a surprise? It's exciting! It's something new! It'll be fantastic! And what do you do? Make sullen remarks about 'what's the surprise?' like something bad's gonna happen. Where's the excitement? Where's your sense of adventure? Where're your trousers?" The Time Lord's expression was somewhere between aroused and confused.

He looked down and blinked. Oh. "Think they're still on the floor in the bedroom. Wanna help me look for them?" He grinned as he made the suggestion.

"That'll be later. For now, adventures await! Go on, then, get dressed." The Doctor made a shooing motion with his hands.

"Where are we? You don't have to tell me the planet, just what the weather's like. Just so I know how to dress."

"Tropical rainforest. And it's 2007, so keep that gun of yours hidden."

Though he knew that the Doctor did not mean it as anything other than innocent, he did his best to look depressed as he replied, "Okay, okay, I'll put my jeans on. Then what shall I do with my sonic blaster?"

"That," the Time Lord said with a wicked grin, "Is for me to know and you to figure out. Now go get dressed, or nothing's going to get done around here. At least no adventuring."

He grinned. "Ah, but Doctor, with you anything is an adventure. But fine. I'll go get dressed. If you insist."

"Oh, I do. At least for now. That's not to say that I might not change my mind later, mind. But for now, definitely. It'll be fun."

He knew exactly what Rose meant. They really were doomed. With a non-committal shrug, he left the Doctor by the console and headed deeper into the TARDIS.

A machete was definitely replacing the Bowie knife on his packing list. And he'd need to see if the wardrobe room had any appropriate jungle gear. Heavy boots, thick socks, and sturdy material were a must. Long sleeves would be a must as well, especially since the insects would definitely be biting.

Pounding footsteps reached his ears as Rose raced down the hallway toward him. She skidded to a stop and demanded without even seeming to pause for a breath, "Well? What did he say? Where are we?"

"It's a surprise," he replied and received a smack on his arm for his troubles. "Jungle. 2007. And that's all that I got out of him."

"At least it's more than I had. And where are your jeans?"

"Well, I already asked the Doctor to help me find them but he seemed to be slightly reluctant. Something about adventures awaiting or some such. But you're more than welcome to help me look." He slung his arm around her and pressed a kiss against her hair.

"I bet I am. But the Doctor's right. We do need to get going. Otherwise we'll never leave the TARDIS." Rose murmured, though she made no move to pull away from him.

"And this is a bad thing because…?"

"You know the Doctor. If we're not there, he'll probably end up going out on his own and getting into trouble. We do have to keep an eye on 'im."

"Who said anything about letting him leave?" he asked, eyes wide. "He'd better be a willing participant."

"Jack!"

"What? Oh, all right. I'll go find my jeans." He made to pull away, but was stopped short by Rose's hand on his cheek.

"Keep it in mind for later," she told him. Before he could do more than think of a reply, her lips were on his.

When they finally parted he grinned, slightly breathless. "Well, another kiss like that, and we're definitely not leaving the TARDIS."

She smiled brightly at him and slipped neatly out of his arms and sauntered down the hallway toward the console room. Shaking his head in amusement, he headed deeper into the TARDIS. So many things to do, so little time.

He was going to grow old waiting for Jack and Rose to get to the console room. And that was saying something. He was a Time Lord. His body never really aged - well, it did, but it was barely noticeable. Besides, lots of Time Lords got a bit of sag around the waistline when they got to their later regenerations. At least, they used to.

His brow wrinkled slightly as he flipped a switch on the control panel. He wanted to be doubly certain that nothing could go wrong. He knew far too well that his surprises tended to have a bit more of the surprise added to them than he would generally like. This time, though, this time he would be certain. Just his companions and him, exploring history. That was it. Nothing more. Nothing less.

No running, no tripping, no getting captured, no angry natives, and definitely no megalomaniacs. Just a nice visit where he could show Jack and Rose the sights and sounds of Guatemala. Climb a pyramid, perhaps. Drop a rock in a cenote and try and determine how deep it really was just from the sound of its hitting the water. Explore. Avoid injury. In short, have a good time.

It was a good plan. The best sort of plan. This time, he was not going let anything ruin this wonderful plan of his. Nothing at all.

Where were they? He shot a look toward the doorway, resisting the urge to either go look for them or to tap his foot in impatience. Was that what sort of man he had become? Impatient? He was swiftly coming to the conclusion that it was. At least where waiting for his companions was concerned. There were things to see! Not a lot of daylight hours to spend! Well, there were, this was a time machine, but no. They had arrived, and they were going exploring.

He had just decided to call out for them when Rose entered the console room. "What?" she asked. Apparently, his expression gave away some of what he was feeling.

"Just wondering where you were. Did you see Jack?"

"Yeah, he's gettin' changed. I think he's getting more guns," Rose said thoughtfully.

He really didn't understand. Why did they always assume the worst? "He doesn't need them. Not here."

She looked sceptical. "Right."

"I don't get you lot." He shook his head. "You assume the worst. It'll be fine. It'll be great! It's the tropical rainforest! What can go wrong?"

She sighed. "Doctor, don't you know that by sayin' that you've doomed us?"

"You lot. So superstitious."

"More like we know you," she corrected.

"I'm not like that."

"You so are." She grinned at him, poking just the tip of her tongue out from between her teeth.

"I am, am I?" He marched across the room and pulled her unresisting form into an embrace. "Just because I said 'what can go wrong,' it doesn't mean something's gonna go wrong. You never know. Something might go right."

"Uh-huh."

"And you, Rose Tyler, should know better than that. Jus' cause we've had some bad luck before, it doesn't mean this'll be another case in point."

"The jury's still out on that," she said rather cheekily.

"Is it now?" He leaned in, capturing her lips with his own.

When they finally broke away from each other, he looked up to find Jack leaning against the doorway with a smug expression on his face.

"What?"

"You two are so cute." Jack grinned, and he saw the unmistakable curve of a machete slung at his lover's side and a rucksack slung over his shoulder.

He arched an eyebrow at the sight. "And just how many weapons are you carrying, Jack?"

The other man's grin deepened. "Wanna frisk me and find out?"

Of course he did. But that was a distraction they could ill afford. He wanted to get outside the TARDIS walls sometime that day after all. "I'll take a rain check on that. For now, adventures await!"

He released Rose from his arms and grasped her hand within his own, tugging her toward the doors. "You'll love this, Rose. Where we're going, no archaeologist has yet fully explored. Very few 'civilised' humans, at least as you term them, have visited this place. We're the first time travellers, far as I know. We're amongst the first people apart from some of the local tribes to see this place."

"Which is?"

He opened the doors and stepped aside, giving her the first glance into a tropical world full of lush green foliage, brilliantly coloured flowers and birds, and what was unmistakably - under all the moss - a large pyramid.

"Rose, Jack, welcome to Masuul. Or, as you lot of this time call it, Naachtun. Once, it was one of the more powerful trading posts in the Mayan empire before it was abandoned." He grinned at their awestruck expressions as he continued, "Go on, then. Get out there! Explore! Climb the ruins, find new stelae, watch out for the biting insects, and most of all keep an eye on the ground. There's bound to be a cenote or two lying around here and it's a long drop to the bottom of one of those."

He gave Rose a gentle shove out through the TARDIS doors, and gestured for Jack to follow her. Closing and locking the door behind them, he breathed in the rich, moist atmosphere with a contented sigh. This, he decided, was going to be perfect.

Cenotes? Stelae? She sighed. Of course he wouldn't explain just what those were for the untrained amateur archaeologists amongst them. Just expected her to find out for herself. Typical.

"An' those are?" she asked.

"What?"

"Cenotes? Stelae?"

"Ah," he replied as he ran a hand through his hair in an unconscious gesture. His posture changed into what she considered his 'absent-minded professor' mode. She knew what that meant. She was about to get a lecture. "Stelae are stones covered in hieroglyphics that the Mayans used to generally describe historical facts of a city and important events in the history of their kings.

"Cenotes are deep sinkholes. The Mayans used them to get their drinking water, water for their fields, and for ceremonial purposes. If I recall correctly, the one here is an open well. The vegetation can hide them, so watch your step. The fall can be as much as 15 metres to the water."

"You gonna make me sit an exam after this?" she asked.

"I'm sure he'll want to examine you. As do I. Oh, that wasn't what you meant?" Jack grinned as he slung an arm over her shoulders in a brief hug before releasing her again. It was too warm and sticky for close contact, sadly.

"Jack!" She laughed as she said his name. He really was outrageous sometimes, but that was part of why she loved him.

The Doctor smiled. "Now, go on, Rose. Explore."

She shot him a dubious look before she shrugged and picked a direction. She could see what looked like a large and corroded pillar lying on its side near the edge of the pyramid. Curious despite herself, she moved in that direction. The low murmurs of her lovers' voices were shortly overrun by the sounds of the jungle. She felt as if she were alone - just her, the rainforest, and the ruins - though she knew either the Doctor or Jack would keep her in sight no matter where she went.

The ground squelched alarmingly beneath her trainers and she regarded her muck-covered shoes with a saddened expression. She ruined more shoes while travelling with the Doctor, but when she reached the pillar she decided that it was worth it. Symbols and designs traced out intricate paths in the stone. The obvious care and beauty of the designs astonished her. It must have taken the ancient stonemasons years to work out these hieroglyphics - and all for what? A book?

She touched the moist stone and traced the ridges of a particularly prominent symbol. It looked somewhat like a cross between a dinosaur and a snake. Her hand paused in its path as she spotted something rather strange. The hieroglyph next to the dinosaur seemed to be some sort of lizard with what seemed to be a third eye. An alien?

She followed the glyphs with hands and eyes. From what she could tell, the dinosaur and the lizard-man seemed to be linked. She counted at least six different symbols that seemed to reference them. What could it mean?

She could always ask the Doctor. Maybe the reason Naachtun was abandoned was because of the lizard-men. Maybe. "Doctor?"

No answer.

Confused, she stood up and turned back toward where she had left the Doctor and Jack.

They were gone.

To be continued...