Daleks. There were daleks all around him. Their huge, metal bodies gliding soundlessly over the ground, closing in. He tried to get away, but they had hemmed him in. In front of him stood the chief dalek, his red metal dome gleaming dully in the dusky light.
"Welcome, Doctor," he boomed.
The Doctor shook his head.
"You can't be here. You're all dead."
"Yes. You killed us," the chief dalek said.
The Doctor shuddered.
"I had to. You would have wiped out all other life in the universe if I hadn't."
"There is a word for one such as you, Doctor," the dalek said. There was no pity in his metal voice, no reprieve.
The Doctor shook his head again.
"Don't!" he cried. "I couldn't bear it!"
But daleks are not merciful.
"Murderer. Genocide," the chief dalek said, and the others repeated it, their computerized voices echoing till the sound surrounded the Doctor and beat into his skull.
"Genocide, genocide, genocide."
"I had to!" He yelled at them, as if to drown out their endless refrain.
"You wiped out our entire race," intoned the daleks.
"I had to," the Doctor repeated.
The chief dalek swiveled his metal dome around so that it was towards him, its plunger facing him.
"You kill entire races because they are not like your own. You killed Davros without giving him a way out," there was a sneer in the chief dalek's voice.
Then, he said the words that forever haunted the Doctor. The words he could never forget.
"You would make a good dalek."
The Doctor woke with a jerk. Ever since that last dalek had said those words to him, they had reverberated in his ears, and never more than now.
He looked beside him. At his side, Rose still slept peacefully, undisturbed by his nocturnal terrors. He was glad. She would have been worried and concerned if she had known how frequently he woke shaking, with sweat pouring down his forehead.
Gently, the Doctor leaned over and brushed a strand of hair off of Rose's forehead. She looked so peaceful when she slept. All the many cares of the day before, and the many worries for the day to come were wiped away. In sleep there were no alien plots, no mysteries, no annoying coworkers. She had enough peace for the both of them right now.
Even after six months, it was still surreal to be married to Rose. It was surreal just to be around her again, never mind sharing breakfasts, stolen kisses, midnight cuddles, and long talks. He knew it could never go back to the way it was before. For one thing, they weren't running for their lives every other day. At least he wasn't. Her job kept her significantly more active.
He worried about her. Life seemed so much more fragile now that he only had one. He found himself purposefully taking time to enjoy things as he never had before. Knowing that he had to savour things somehow made them clearer, more crystallized. The simple act of sleeping besides Rose somehow had so much more meaning than it used to.
The Doctor lay back down, and pulled his slumbering wife into his arms. Yes, he intended to enjoy every minute of it.
--
Rose woke to a delicious smell. At first, she thought she was only hovering on the edge of a dream. Then, as she became more fully conscious, she realized that the smell was in reality, and not just in dreaming. She sat up, fully awake now. Glancing over, she saw that the Doctor's half of the bed was empty, the blankets hastily pushed aside. She grinned as a thought flitted through her head, and then dismissed it instantly. There was no way the Doctor was cooking.
She trailed downstairs, running her fingers through her tumbled hair.
Rose was greeted by a cheerful "Good morning!" by Jake, who sat at the table, his plate piled high with pancakes.
"Stayed the night, did you?" Rose asked.
"Yup. The Doctor said it was fine," Jake answered.
Rose smiled.
"Where did you get the pancakes?"
Jake smirked.
"Actually, that would be me," the Doctor's voice said behind her.
Rose turned around, and started laughing.
The Doctor was standing over the stove, bowl of batter in one hand, spatula in the other, a floral print apron covering his green t-shirt.
"You're kidding, right?"
The Doctor pouted.
"I did eat before you came along, you know," he said.
Rose grinned.
"I thought the TARDIS cooked for you."
"Only sometimes," the Doctor replied, ladling another spoonful of batter into the frying pan.
Rose plopped down at the table and looked up at him expectantly.
"Yours is coming," he informed her. "So just be patient."
Jake tipped his fork up, offering Rose a piece of his syrup-dripping pancake.
"Um, eeew," Rose said, making a face.
Jake laughed.
"Don't say I didn't offer," he replied.
The Doctor placed a plate in front of Rose. She eyed it suspiciously.
"Just try it, skeptic," the Doctor said.
With much show, Rose carefully cut a piece of the pancake and brought it to her mouth.
"Hmmm..." She said thoughtfully, chewing. "It's not bad."
"Course not," the Doctor said with a smirk.
As soon as he turned back to the stove, Rose cut another piece. Actually, they were good.
The doorbell rang.
Rose glanced down at herself, and then sprang up.
"It's Lily, and I'm still in my pajamas!" she exclaimed.
"Why's Lily here?" the Doctor asked.
"She heard you were making pancakes," Rose said, her mouth twisting up. "She and I are going Christmas shopping. I told you last week, remember?"
"No," grumbled the Doctor.
"Listen, distract her for a few minutes while I change, ok?"
Rose dashed up the stairs before he could answer. She got dressed in record time, spending only a few minutes to ponder her outfit instead of the usual half an hour of trying different things on. She snatched up a hair clip, and hurried down stairs, hoping Lily wasn't annoyed with her for making her wait.
Lily looked up from her place at the table as Rose walked in.
"Hi," she mumbled, her mouth full of pancake and syrup.
Rose suppressed a smirk.
"Hi, Rose," a small voice said.
Rose turned, and located the source of the voice: a small girl, perched on the counter and swinging her round legs while the Doctor fed her pieces of pancake. She grinned at Rose, and opened her mouth like a baby bird to receive another piece.
Rose laughed.
"Isabella! What are you doing here?"
"Lily's takin' me shoppin'. We is going to have girly time," Isabella said.
"Do you mind if we bring her along, Rose?" Lily asked. "Andy really needs some time to run some errands, and I said I would help him out."
"She can always stay with me," the Doctor volunteered, smiling at the girl, who looked like nothing so much as a china doll at that moment.
"Don't wanna stay with John," Isa protested. "I wanna go shoppin' wif Lily and Rose." She smiled at Rose with her most winning smile.
Rose grinned back.
"I think that settles it," she said.
"You mean you don't want to stay with me?" the Doctor cried melodramatically, flinging his arms around Isa.
Isa giggled, and gave him a sloppy kiss.
"I still love you," she reminded him.
The Doctor grinned.
"Well then," he said, picking her up. "I might just have to kidnap you,"
Isa wriggled in his arms, laughing while he tickled her.
"Wow, is he ever going to be a great father," Lily commented, coming to stand beside Rose. Rose nodded.
"Alright, alright," she said, checking her watch. "We have to get going. Doctor, kindly return Isa to her rightful owners."
"You're leaving me with the dishes I presume," the Doctor pouted, putting Isa back on the ground.
Rose stood on her tip toes and kissed him.
"Like a model husband," she said.
Behind her, Jake snorted.
"Fine," the Doctor said. "I'll just stay here and be lonely, shall I?"
"You won't be lonely. Jake's here," Rose reminded him, checking her appearance in front of the hall mirror. Placing her clip in her mouth, so that it dangled out comically, she gathered her hair up and secured it at the back of her head. In one swift movement, she clipped it back, and smoothed the remaining hair that hung down on her shoulders.
The doorbell rang once again. Rose gave one final backwards glace at the mirror, then opened it.
"Mum!" she exclaimed, surprised.
Jackie looked harried.
"Can I come in?"
"Sure, Mum," Rose said. Jackie walked into the kitchen, dropping her bags on the floor, and shifting Tony's weight where he rested on her shoulder.
"Sweetheart, can I ask a favour of you? I need someone to look after Tony for the day, and you know how I don't trust those daycares- there's always something dodgy about them. It's just for a couple of hours while I help Pete arrange his Christmas party. Please?"
Rose looked at the people surrounding her.
"Um. Lily and I were going to do some Christmas shopping. And we're already bringing my teammate's daughter Isabella," Rose added, heading off her mother's imminent suggestion that they should bring Tony with them.
Jackie looked disappointed.
"The Doctor…" Rose started.
"Is coming with them, unfortunately," the Doctor cut in.
Rose sent him a glare, which he happily ignored.
"I'll look after him," said a voice from the back of the kitchen.
Jackie raised an eyebrow.
"I thought you didn't like kids. And I didn't know you were back in town."
"Only got back yesterday. Besides, Tony and I are old friends. I was there when he was born."
"Don't you have plans today?" Jackie asked.
"Well, I had planned on spending the day with the Doctor," he shot the Doctor an exasperated look. "But it seems they had plans without me. I can look after Tony. It's really no problem."
Jackie looked totally relieved.
'Thank goodness. I really have to go, or I'll be late!" She handed Tony to Rose, and the huge diaper bag to the Doctor, and rushed out the door.
The Doctor and Rose exchanged amused glances, and simultaneously handed both items to Jake.
"Good luck," the Doctor muttered.
"Deserter," Jake muttered back.
--
The shopping mall was crowded and noisy. Usually people tried to avoid these places at all costs at Christmas, but Rose loved it. The bustle, the lights, the decorations, the air of barely contained excitement. It made her feel like a kid again.
"I wanna go there!" Isa pointed to a huge, highly decorated toy store, with shining eyes.
Lily knelt down so that she was level with Isa's stroller.
"I'll make a deal with you, ok? Rose and I have to do some shopping for Christmas, but after we're done the serious stuff, we can go look at the toy store and you can pick out one thing. How does that sound to you?"
The little girl nodded sagely.
"Ok," she said.
Lily straightened up, looking pleased with herself.
Rose was impressed.
"When did you become a Mommy?" she asked.
Lily blushed.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, pushing Isa's stroller.
--
"Right," Rose said, consulting her list. "I need a present for my mum, and one for Tony. Isa can probably help with the one for Tony."
"I have to get one for my next door neighbour Marcie, and something nice for Andy. What about you, John?"
The Doctor looked totally bored.
"Serves you right for coming with us instead of looking after Tony," Rose said good-naturedly.
The Doctor made a face.
"Shopping malls at Christmas are terrible places,"
Rose rolled her eyes.
"Why don't you just sit in the food court and read your book, and we'll meet you there?" she asked.
"How do you know I have a book?" the Doctor asked innocently.
"Your pockets aren't as dimensionally transcendental as they used to be," Rose answered. "Besides, you always make a big fuss when I want to go shopping, and then end up wandering off and getting into trouble."
"I wander off?" the Doctor teased. "I get into trouble?"
"Are you coming shopping with us or not?" Rose asked.
The Doctor shrugged.
"So maybe I do have a book."
"Meet us in the food court?" Rose asked.
The Doctor smiled winningly.
"Have fun. Bye Lily. Bye Isabella. Be good."
"Me or Isa?" Lily asked.
"Both," the Doctor threw over his shoulder as he wandered in the opposite direction.
--
"Right. Now that we've got rid of him," Rose said. "I can shop for his present."
"He wasn't allowed to know you were looking for a present for him?" Lily asked.
"Are you kidding? He's like a little kid. He would be following me around and watching me and trying to guess what it was."
Lily giggled, then sighed.
"At least you have someone," she said, regretfully.
"What about Andy? You like him, don't you?"
"Sure I like him. I mean, he's my partner and all."
"But you don't have any feelings for him?"
Lily blushed to the roots of her flaming hair.
"Why would you ask that?"
"You volunteered to take care of his kid," Rose pointed out.
"I like Isa. And besides, he needed a favour."
"Sure," Rose said, looking skeptical. But she dropped the subject.
Isa tugged on Rose's trouser leg.
"Rose? Can we go in the book store?" she asked.
Rose grinned.
"Good idea. And I can pick something up for John while I'm there."
--
The Doctor, book tucked under his arm, surveyed the food court. It was crowded, and there didn't seem to be any seats left. He headed off to one of the further reaches, where there didn't seem to be as many people. He threw himself into a plastic chair, and opened his book, staring at page one. It was a new one that Max had recommended. Immediately, he was intrigued. The author of the book, Zephram Cochran, seemed to be on to something when he talked about the possibility of a working warp engine. Of course it would need a little tweaking, and the guy's theory was a little off, but…
The Doctor was so absorbed in the book that the slamming down of a plastic tray somewhere near him was almost like a physical blow. He wrenched himself away from the page, and looked up. At the next table over was a familiar figure in a red plush suit: the mall Santa.
"You gonna use those?" the Santa asked, pointing to the salt and pepper shakers on the Doctor's table.
"No, by all means," the Doctor said, pushing them towards the large, padded figure.
The Santa nodded his thanks, sprinkling the salt liberally over his French fries.
"You know," the Doctor said, almost to himself. "Nick was an old friend of mine."
"Nick?" the Santa asked, his mouth full of hamburger.
"St. Nicholas. Knew him from the old days at the Academy."
"Sure, you know Santa Claus," the mall Santa joked.
The Doctor nodded.
"Actually, I never could understand why the people of Earth made such a big deal out of him. I mean he was a good guy and all, but he helped a lot of other planets as well, and you never see a 'Doctor Day' on any of the ones I saved."
The Santa stared at him as if he was insane.
"It's not as if I'm jealous or anything. He's welcome to his own holiday. But really – red?"
The mall Santa looked down at his outfit.
"What's wrong with it?"
"Well nothing, strictly speaking. It's just that Nick usually wore a green suit. To blend in you understand. It was just in his third regeneration that he wore red. Actually, I knew ol' Nick pretty well, and right before the war he wore a gold leisure suit. Come to think of it, red was an improvement. Even if you guys added the fur later on. But if you were going for accuracy, I would pick green."
The mall Santa evidently thought that the Doctor was someone to be humoured until the authorities came to take him back to his padded cell.
"People – ah – expect the red suit," he said. "I have to wear it or they wouldn't know who I am."
"True," the Doctor mused. "Humans aren't exactly known for their observation skills. Actually, the red suit was a tad impractical."
"It's hot and itchy and sweaty," the Santa confessed.
"Yeah. That's what Nick was always saying. And really unnecessary when you have a TARDIS to take you around anyways. Even if it was disguised as a sleigh."
The Santa looked confused again, but was saved from replying to the Doctor by the appearance of Rose, pushing Isa's stroller while the little girl walked beside her.
"Santa!" Isa cried, running straight at him. The mall Santa caught her in his arms, and gave her a huge hug.
"Made a new friend?" Rose asked.
The Doctor grinned.
"I was just telling him about Nicholas, the prototype for Santa Claus. Nick and I went to the Academy together."
Rose choked.
"Are you saying Santa was a…?"
"Oh yes. Travels in time and space to get to every kid in a single night while also saving the world? Oh yes."
Rose started laughing.
"No way. I didn't know other Time Lords visited Earth."
"Of course. What do you think Mary Poppins and her carpet bag were?"
Isa's high voice cut through Rose's laughter.
"Are you the real Santa Claus?" she asked.
"Of course I am," the mall Santa said, holding the small girl in his arms.
The Doctor shook his head.
"I'm afraid not, Isabella. You see, Santa isn't so much a person as he is a collection of archetypes and pre-Christian myths about good will and the spirit of giving. And he's not so much those things as he is a thousand year old Time Lord. In fact…" the Doctor stopped short and let out a yelp. Rose had trodden very firmly on the toe of his black converses. "What was that for?" He demanded.
Rose pointed.
In the Santa's arms, Isa's lip was trembling.
"Say something," Rose hissed. "She's too little to stop believing in Santa!"
"Erm…" the Doctor scrambled for ideas. He gently took Isabella from the Santa. "You see, archetypes are ok, Isa. The world needs more goodness and more giving in the world. And Earth has made a whole holiday out of one generous and jolly Time Lord who liked spreading happiness. And who am I to say that that's bad?"
"So is that Santa?" Isa asked, pointing.
"Apparently not," muttered the mall Santa.
The Doctor shot a glance at Rose, who shrugged.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is yes, Isabella, there is a Santa Claus."
Rose reached behind him and plunked something on his head.
"What did she do?" he asked to Isabella in a stage whisper.
Isa giggled.
"Reindeer antlers," she said.
"Hey buddy," the mall Santa said. "I gotta get back to work. So am I real or not?"
The Doctor opened his mouth to give the real answer, and then looked at Isa's tiny, trusting face.
"What do you think?" he asked her.
Isa nodded solemnly.
"Jury's in. And so are you apparently," said the Doctor.
"Good," said the Santa. "Cuz I got some pictures to take." He picked up his red gloves, and walked off.
The Doctor caught Rose's look.
"What?" he asked, putting Isa down.
Rose sighed.
"You can't talk to mall Santas like that! He's just some bloke who's getting some extra Christmas pay to make children happy."
"I was only saying…." The Doctor protested, before he was cut off. Rose put her hand over his mouth.
"In the future, leave those guys alone."
The Doctor sighed.
"Ok, fine."
Rose stood on her tip toes, and kissed him.
"Thank you," she said softly.
"Blimey," the Doctor said with a grin. "You should have started out with that bit. Makes a better argument." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Rose laughed.
"You're so dumb sometimes. But then sometimes, you get it right."
"What did I get right?" the Doctor asked.
Rose nodded towards Isa, who was playing with the fur trimmed hat that the Santa had left behind.
"You let her believe. You knew the right answer, but you let her believe it her way anyways. Christmas is all about believing in things you wouldn't normally believe in. Never mind that Santa's a Time Lord. To her, he's a jolly man in a red suit who brings presents. That's what it's all about."
The Doctor rubbed his nose against Rose's.
"When did you get so smart?" he asked.
Rose smiled.
"You're rubbing off on me."
"What are you wearing, John?" Lily asked behind them. The Doctor let go of Rose, and turned to face her.
"Wearing?"
"On your head," she said.
The Doctor reached up, and encountered fuzzy antlers.
"Oh! The reindeer antlers! Rose gave them to me. Don't you like them?"
"I do," Isa piped up.
Lily laughed.
"Well you have one fan," she said.
"Two," Rose whispered in his ear.
The Doctor chuckled.
"Why are you wearing antlers?" Lily asked.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow.
"Right," Lily answered. "I don't want to know, do I?"
"Nope," said the Doctor cheerfully.
"Ok," Rose cut in. "If you're all finished, I think we've got everything. You wanna go to that toy store now, Isa?"
"Yeah!" Isa cried, jumping up and plunking the Santa hat onto her dark hair.
"Remember, you get to pick one thing, ok?" Lily said, helping her into the stroller.
"Ok," Isa replied.
"You know," the Doctor said in Rose's ear as they strolled behind Lily and Isa. "The flying reindeer were real? They were androids. Sentient robots, not unlike my K9 model. In fact, they were made by the same people."
Rose wrapped her arms around him and laughed.
Author's Note: So school has been kicking my butt lately, not to mention a huge case of writer's block. Which is why this chapter is so horribly, horribly late. I had it planned out like three weeks ago, and never got around to writing it because I started a new school, and everything was new and scary and I didn't have time to think about Rose. Sorry for making everyone wait!
Thanks so much to I am the Lev – by the barrel, by the bucket, by the bushel. I managed to get my thoughts together and give you this chapter because of her help. I wouldn't have been able to do it if it wasn't for her and her great comedic ideas.
This chapter makes this story the longest I have ever written. Sixteen chapters and still going strong (Celebrates! Yay for long stories!
I had to sing Christmas songs to get myself into the Christmas mindset, and now I want it to come! Three months and four days to go….