"Rose, are you ever coming out of there?" the Doctor asked, straightening his bowtie in the bedroom mirror.
"Yes," Rose said, her voice muffled by the closed bathroom door. "Eventually."
"Why do we have to go to this?" the Doctor said, sitting gingerly on the edge of the bed.
"You know why. My dad's the head of a multi-billion dollar company, and I've got to make an appearance at his fundraiser. Besides, it's Christmas."
"Exactly. It's Christmas. Don't you think we should close our curtains and lock our doors?" the Doctor said.
"What are you talking about?"
"Something strange always happens at Christmas. I regenerated, then I met Donna when she beamed inside the TARDIS in a wedding dress, then I was on the Titanic, then there was the time that…"
"Ok, ok, I get the point," Rose interrupted.
"And to top it all off, I'm wearing a tux," the Doctor grumbled.
"So?"
"So, something always happens when I wear a tux," the Doctor looked down at this black and white ensemble and scowled.
"Don't be superstitious," Rose said. "It's a Christmas party. What could happen? You'll probably just drink one too many banana daiquiris and start bickering with someone about wormhole physics."
The Doctor looked affronted.
"I never bicker about wormhole physics. There's nothing to bicker about. They're quite straightforward actually. It's just space bending to put two far away points closer together. In fact, I know this race of super advanced beings who created round devices that could…. Rose, why are you laughing?"
Rose fought to keep her laughter under control.
"I love you even when you go off on tangents," she said.
The Doctor smiled to himself.
"So where exactly did Jake run off to, again?" Rose asked.
The Doctor ran his fingers though his hair, making it stand up on end.
"He got a call from his friends in Europe. Said they had found another cache of cybermen, and they needed him back right away."
"Alright, I'm coming out," Rose said, opening the bathroom door. "What do you think?" she spun around, so that her dress flared out.
The Doctor would have loved to tell her what he thought. But he couldn't. He was having trouble forming coherent thoughts at that moment. Rose was breathtaking. Her black dress hung off her shoulders by thin straps, hugging her curves before flaring out to her knees. Her three inch heals made her legs look like they went on forever. Her hair hung loose and wavy down her back, with one pink rose tucked behind her ear. A silver necklace gleamed against her skin.
"Well? What do you think?" she asked.
"Uh…." The Doctor struggled to gather his thoughts. "I have the most beautiful wife in the entire universe."
Rose smiled.
"You don't think it's too low?" she asked, tugging at the neckline of her dress.
The Doctor's lips twitched into a smile.
"Definitely not too low."
Rose laughed.
"Good." With a business-like air, Rose grabbed her purse, and headed for the door. The Doctor got there first, and offered her her coat, feeling as though he aught to be on his best behavior with the stunning woman who held his hand.
"You're being very gallant tonight," Rose said.
"You have to be, when you're escorting a princess to a ball," the Doctor replied.
Rose stood on her tip toes and kissed his cheek.
"Glad Prince Charming came too," she said.
--
"Sweetheart! You're here!" Jackie hugged her daughter, beaming at her. "I was worried maybe you weren't coming."
"I had a little trouble with His Highness," Rose said, jerking a thumb towards the Doctor.
Jackie laughed.
"Well, you're here now. Happy Christmas, Love."
"Happy Christmas, Mum," Rose responded. Jackie moved on to the next guest, and the Doctor offered Rose his arm.
With a smile, she took it, and they moved into the cavernous room. Pete had certainly spared no expense for his Christmas fundraiser. The room was done up to the nines in red and green. In the corner loomed a huge Christmas tree, with many twinkling lights. The massive chandeliers overhead reflected the tiny lights a thousand times over.
"Tasteful," the Doctor murmured.
Rose snickered.
"Be nice. It's Dad's fundraiser, after all."
"Exactly. Who would want to pay lots and lots of money to sit in this green-and-red dipped room and talk with people they don't even like?"
"That's not exactly the point, is it?" Rose asked.
"All I'm saying is, I'm going to be on my guard. Something strange always happens at Christmas," the Doctor shot a suspicious look at the man standing close to them, as if he was suddenly going to pull out a sonic blaster and demand that they surrender Earth to his control. Actually, considering the way that the Doctor had spent the last couple of Christmases, that wasn't too far fetched.
"I hope you socialize properly tonight," Rose said.
The Doctor sighed.
"Properly?"
"Not just holing up with one person and talking science the entire night. Mum says if you don't do it properly, she's making you come to the New Years party as well."
"Your mum is a nightmare," said the Doctor severely. "I would rather face a whole hoard of daleks than an angry Jackie."
"You marry me, you get my mother," Rose replied evenly. "Besides, it's Christmas."
"Bah humbug," the Doctor groused.
"Our friend Charlie Dickens wouldn't appreciate that reference," Rose reminded him.
"Charlie would have appreciated the science talk," the Doctor shot back.
"Just… try to act normal, ok?" Rose said.
"What does normal look like?" the Doctor replied.
Rose smiled.
"With you I'm never sure."
--
Rose drifted to the other side of the room, casually looking for the Doctor. They had been forced to separate after dinner, and Rose just knew the Doctor was probably off shirking his duty. As she walked around and talked briefly with people, Rose kept a sharp eye out for her husband.
When she found him, she couldn't help but smile. He was in a corner of the large room, speaking animatedly to an elderly gentleman with a strong German accent.
"That's exactly what I'm saying! It's not as if he was totally wrong at all. You don't have to discard one for the other!" the Doctor said.
The elderly gentleman hmphed.
"You are too young to know what you are talking about," he said.
Rose smirked, and started to walk closer. This was an argument she didn't want to miss. She came up beside the Doctor, slipping her hand into his.
"Newton had a lot of good things to say," the Doctor continued, glancing down at Rose with a smile.
"He could not even manage round objects! No, we must abandon him for Einstein completely," said Dr. Wittgenstein.
"Einstein wasn't right about everything," the Doctor grumbled. "He totally botched the circumnavigation of space thing. Just wait. In fifty or so years you'll find the connection between the two."
Rose cleared her throat pointedly, seeing that the Doctor was steering into dangerous territory.
"Are you going to introduce me to your argument buddy?" she asked him.
The Doctor blinked. He seemed to have forgotten that she was there.
"Of course," he said, regaining his mental footing. "Rose, this is Dr. Wilhelm Wittgenstein. Witt, this is my wife, Rose."
Dr. Wittgenstein's demeanour changed. His face broke out into a smile.
"Delighted! Why Dr. Smith, however did you find such a lovely young lady?"
"She found me," the Doctor replied, kissing Rose's hand.
"How long have you been married?" Dr. Wittgenstein asked.
"Almost six months now," Rose said.
"Ah! Newlyweds. No wonder your husband does not know the difference between Newtonian and Einsteinian physics.
"Oh no," said Rose with a grin. "He's always like that."
"Who's side are you on?" the Doctor complained, good-naturedly.
A strain of music started up. The musicians had finished tuning their instruments and were beginning to play.
Dr. Wittgenstein began to smile.
"I hope you don't mind, Dr. Smith, if I dance with your lovely wife? That is, if she will dance with me. I used to be known for my dancing when I was younger."
Rose smiled.
"Course I will. It'll be nice to dance with someone who has a sense of rhythm."
"Oy!" the Doctor protested.
"Don't deny it," Rose answered as she walked past on Dr. Wittgenstein's arm.
He lead her to the floor, and they began to dance. Slowly, they danced the steps, moving in time to the music.
"Where did you learn to dance, my dear?" Dr. Wittgenstein asked Rose.
Rose grinned.
"In front of Big Ben during an air raid in 1941," Rose said.
Dr. Wittgenstein stared at her, and then broke out into a smile.
"What curious senses of humour you young people have!" he said.
Rose laughed along with him.
"Yes, of course I was joking. A friend taught me. He put on swing music and everything so that it would feel like the 40s. The Doctor was wildly jealous, but of course he wouldn't admit it at the time."
"Naturally not," Dr. Wittgenstein agreed. "I hope he has learned better now?"
The Doctor, standing behind Dr. Wittgenstein, tapped his shoulder.
"I wonder if I may steal my wife away from you, sir," he said.
Dr. Wittgenstein winked at Rose.
"Ah, I see he has not. Well, thank you my dear. It was been a real treat for an old fellow like me to have a pretty girl like you on my arm again."
The Doctor scowled at the older man's retreating back as he put his arms around Rose.
"He was flirting with you."
"Of course he was," Rose said. "He's a dear old man."
"His theories are all wrong," the Doctor grumbled.
"That doesn't make him less of a sweetheart," Rose replied.
The Doctor frowned, but didn't remark. They glided silently over the dance floor for a few moments.
"This regeneration's pretty good at dancing too," Rose said with a smile.
"Hey, I've had moves in all my regenerations," the Doctor replied.
Rose smirked.
"I seem to remember a certain man with no hair and big ears having two left feet," Rose teased. "You got moves? Show me your moves."
The Doctor twirled her out and expertly twirled her back in. The he dipped her.
"Is that moves enough for you?" he asked.
Rose opened her mouth to reply, but was prevented from doing so by a gun shot. The music stopped abruptly, and everyone was still.
"Right. Everyone on the ground," said a rough voice. The hundred or so people that were in the room immediately sat down where they had stood. Four people were left standing: a bald man, a woman with a long braid, a woman wearing a bandana, and a man who was so tall he was almost a giant. They were all holding guns, and all wore identical expressions of determination and resolve.
"Everyone get over there by the wall," the huge man said, waving his gun menacingly. Everyone did as they were instructed, except a man in a back tuxedo with messy brown hair.
--
"What is it with humans and guns?" the Doctor asked, thrusting his hands deep in his pockets. "They're so unchivalrous. Even arrows gave people a chance. You can dodge an arrow. But good luck dodging a bullet, unless you're from Krypton. Swords now, they gave a fair fight. At least you had a chance when attacked by a sword."
The woman with the bandana leveled her gun at him.
"He said, get against the wall," she growled.
The Doctor pulled a slender object out of his pocket, and twirled it around his fingers thoughtfully.
"Put it down!" yelled the bald man.
"What? This?" the Doctor held it up. It was a long, grey, pen-like object with a bright blue light at one end. "It's not a weapon, if that's what you're worried about. It can't hurt anyone. See?" he pointed it at the ground and pressed the button at the side. A familiar buzzing filled the air.
The four terrorists raised their guns to the ready.
"I said, put it down," the bald man repeated again.
"Like I said, not a weapon. Not good for anything except opening doors. Unless they're deadlock sealed, of course. But here, if it worries you…" the Doctor tossed the sonic screwdriver onto the ground, and watched it roll away a little sadly.
--
Rose hunched beside her mother.
"What's your insane husband doing now?" Jackie whispered in horror as the Doctor refused to comply with the orders being given.
"Being himself of course," Rose whispered back.
"He's not immortal any more. He's going to get himself killed."
"That never stopped him before," Rose replied. "Mum?"
"Yeah?"
"You've got an emergency button on your mobile, right?"
Jackie's eyes widened. As inconspicuously as she could, she fumbled in her purse and found her mobile. With a quick gesture, she pressed the red button at the side.
"It should send out a silent 911 call to the police," Jackie said.
Rose nodded, watching the Doctor. Her breath caught in her throat when he pulled out the sonic screwdriver.
"I knew he made another one," she whispered to Jackie.
"Not good for anything except opening doors," the Doctor, his emphasis on the last words almost undetectable to someone who didn't know him as well as Rose did.
"But here," he continued. "If it worries you…" he rolled the sonic screwdriver on the ground, right towards Jackie.
Rose thanked her lucky stars that her mother had chosen to wear a long and flowing dress that night. Jackie carefully tucked the screwdriver under her skirts and waited for the 4 intruders to focus their attention on the Doctor once again. While they were occupied, Jackie silently passed the object to Rose.
"Be careful," she said.
Rose nodded, and slipped the screwdriver into her bra, cursing the fact that her dress didn't have any pockets. They really should make party dresses with pockets.
"I will, Mum," Rose whispered back.
--
"I'm the Doctor by the way," the Doctor continued mildly.
"Doctor Who?" the woman with the long braid demanded.
"Just the Doctor. But the real question is, who are you? And what do you want with a room full of party guests?"
"You! Stay where you are!" barked the very tall man.
The Doctor looked over. Rose had stood up from the crowd of huddled guests.
"I was wondering where you had gotten off to," the Doctor said.
"Miss me?" Rose smirked.
"This is Rose, my…"
"Companion," Rose interrupted him. "And the Doctor has a good point. What do you want with all of us?"
The bald man leveled his gun at Rose.
Rose held up her hands in a non-threatening manner.
"I just want to know so you can get whatever it is you want and we can all get out of here," she said.
"We're demanding that Torchwood release all its classified files to the public, or we'll kill all of you," the bald man grinned humourlessly, showing all his gleaming teeth.
"Well that wouldn't be very productive, would it?" the Doctor said conversationally. "If you killed us all, you wouldn't have any hostages to barter with."
"Shut up!" the tall man snapped.
"Touchy," Rose remarked.
"You'd think we weren't trying to help them," the Doctor replied.
"We're sick of Torchwood hiding things from us. The people of Britain have a right to know what's going on," said the woman with the long braid.
"Miri, don't say anything!" said the woman with the bandana sharply.
"So you're taking hostages? Well that's clever…" said the Doctor with a roll of his eyes.
Rose glared at him.
"Oy. Rude. Let's keep it civil while they have guns pointed at us, shall we?" Rose said pointedly.
"So you're angry at Torchwood?" the Doctor said, returning to the subject at hand.
"We're tired of big money like Pete Tyler controlling our lives. We have a right to know the discoveries that Torchwood makes."
"You want to know what Torchwood does? It defends your lives every day from threats that you can't even imagine," Rose said, sounding angry.
"Now who's being rude?" the Doctor muttered.
"We should decide for ourselves if we want to be defended," replied the woman with the long braid.
"Trust me, you want to be. You have no idea what kind of dangers are out there," Rose countered.
"We're not here to argue," said the bald man. "Our demands have been made, so all we have to do is wait. And if you two don't sit down, I'm going to shoot you right now." And his steel blue eyes said that he would.
The Doctor knew that he would have to play this situation very carefully.
"Alright," he said, holding out his hand in a gesture of surrender. "Listen to me. When this is all over, you don't want murder to be added to hostage-taking, do you? You'll need someone to speak for you, and tell the police how reasonable and fair you were to the hostages. I can be that person. But you have to put the guns down."
"Nice try," the woman with the bandana scoffed.
There was the distant wail of sirens.
"They called the cops!" the woman with the long braid said, panic lacing her voice.
"Don't worry," said the giant of a man. "I locked all the doors. They can't get in. Not without risking us killing the hostages."
Out of the corner of his eye, the Doctor saw a small side entrance, almost hidden behind the giant Christmas tree. Through the window in the door, he could see three uniformed police men, their guns drawn, peeping in. He caught Rose's eye, and pointed it out to her. Almost imperceptibly, Rose nodded.
"The thing is," the Doctor said suddenly, thrusting his hands into his pockets and beginning to walk forward. "You're not doing this hostage thing very well."
Instantly, all four guns were pointed at him, and four pairs of eyes watching him exclusively.
Behind their backs, he saw Rose fish the sonic screwdriver out of her dress, and point it at the door. He began to talk louder, to cover the characteristic buzzing.
"I know you're angry at Torchwood and Pete Tyler, but this isn't exactly the way to do it," he said, watching as the uniformed men silently joined the seated crowd of guests.
"It's the only way to stop him!" snapped the woman with the braid.
"Miri, shut up!" yelled the huge man.
The Doctor could see that crowded around the main entrance were many more police men. He knew that in order to stop these four, they would need more than the few who had been able to sneak in.
"Rose!" he yelled suddenly.
Rose swung around and aimed the sonic screwdriver at the front door.
A shot sounded. For one second, everyone was frozen into shocked silence.
"Oh," said Rose softly. Her eyes sought the Doctor's, and held them for a moment. Then, she crumpled to the ground.
Author's Note: Well I did say I had another cliffhanger... Sorry guys, but that's just the way it turned out! Just be glad I didn't put it directly after the other one, like I planned to at first. Two cliffhangers in a row is just unfair to you guys.
Sorry this took so long. I got totally and completely stuck at the terrorist part, until I remembered the sonic screwdriver. Handy little plot device. My brother got one of the toys for his birthday, so I had it beside me when I was writing that part. You know, for inspiration. It is a totally cool toy. Did you know that originally the one in the show was smaller, but they had to make the toy bigger so that the batteries would fit in. The Doctor Who people liked the bigger sizes so much that they enlarged the screwdriver on the show to match it. So the toy sonic screwdriver is exactly the same size as the one on the show. Cool, eh?
I'll be honest, I made some of that Newtonian/ Einsteinian stuff up. I vaguely remember talking about the difference between them in Philosophy of Science, but not really. Hopefully no physics whizzes come along to tell me how wrong I am!