Chapter 3: Ayler Beach, Acensia, 5327

Author's Notes: Utter cheese at the end I know. --

Okay. So he'd missed when he promised to catch her when she jumped from the Rofoldian ship. He may have been a bit careless by letting her get captured in the first place. And he probably should have warned her about their tendency to vomit when attacked. But still, that was no excuse for her giving him the silent treatment.

"Care to see the New Roman Empire?"

Rose didn't even look up from where she was seated on the floor.

"Or we could meet Lennon."

Still nothing.

"Shopping on Alpha Seven? Fall of the Berlin Wall? Ride a dinosaur?"

Rose glanced over at him coolly, then turned her attention back to the toe nail she was painting.

With a sigh the Doctor turned around and began putting in coordinates. "Right then. December… 24th... " He paused as if trying to decide where to go.

Across the room, Rose finished her last toe and closed the bottle of polish. Finally after hours of nerve wracking silence she spoke flatly. "I just painted my toes. Can't go out until they dry. No shoes."

The Doctor nodded. "Acensia then."

Before she could protest he had the TARDIS moving, dragging her to the door enthusiastically as soon as they'd landed.

"Ever do Christmas on a warm sunny day?"

Rose ignored him but he could see the corners of her lips twitch as she fought back a smile.

"No need for shoes on the boardwalk." He made a point of kicking off his own shoes, tugging his socks off with his toes. Again he saw her struggle not to smile. "Come on then."

He threw the doors open with a flourish and they stepped out into picture perfect weather. The sun was shining and a gentle breeze blew in from the turquoise and blue ocean. Rose took her first few steps nervously, expecting the ground to be painfully hot from the open sun. Amazingly she found it was actually cool to the touch.

"The boardwalk's hollow," the Doctor explained, noticing her trepidation. "There's a coolant system that runs through it to keep the surface comfortable. Acensians aren't fond of shoes. Nature lovers. Try maintain contact with the planet as much as possible."

Rose looked around and found that the majority of the people walking around were in fact barefoot.

"Come on then." The Doctor gestured to their right where various vendors had stalls set up. "Have a quick look around, and once those-" he glanced down, "periwinkle toes of yours are dry, we can head down to the beach."

Rose smiled. She couldn't help it. This was so... Un-Doctor like, market shopping and beaches. Strike that. Barefoot shopping and walks on the beach. He really was trying to make up for his numerous slip-ups on their last trip.

"Why do you do this?" She asked, almost feeling guilty for keeping him from whatever Time Lord duties and obligations he might have. She paused to look at the jewelry being sold at a stall before adding, "The whole Christmas thing I mean."

"You humans. So easy to please and ridiculously easy to upset. Great thing about you though is, same trick always works twice." He smiled, his chest shaking with a laugh. "Bored of it already?"

"'s good. I like it." She smiled, a gentle look of appreciation on her face.

"Good. Sooner you're happy, the sooner we can get to the fun stuff."

"Like getting puked on by Rofoldians?" Rose teased.

"Something like that, yeah."

They stopped to listen to a local band playing what sounded like tropical Christmas carols and a thought struck Rose.

"These people aren't human, right? So why would they celebrate Christmas? Did we like colonize, or send missionaries or something?"

"Ah. Always asking the right questions." The two shared a smile. "Truth is, by now it's a commercial holiday entirely. Tell people you've got this great day where everyone gets to stay home, eat, sing and get presents and it's bound to catch on. Spread like wildfire during the Patina era."

"Not surprising. It's like that now already... In my time I mean."

The Doctor nodded. No sense denying it.

"Do they have Christmas on your planet?" Rose asked suddenly. "…Did they, I mean."

She saw a dark look cross his face and she instantly regretted asking. He covered the look quickly with a smile.

"Pompous group like that? Nah. Not much for holidays really. Closest thing would probably by Otherstide. Even that was more just sit at home then a celebration."

Rose merely nodded. It was the most he'd ever told her about his planet or his past and she wasn't about to push him. "Right. On we go then. I wanna see what they're selling in that shop over there." She pointed to a nearby building which seemed to be overloaded with shoppers.

"Last minute sale," he told her. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out several copper coins and handed them to her. "Should get you anything you want. Off you go then."

"What, you're not going?"

"Get crushed near death by throngs of desperate shoppers trying to save a bit of money? Nah. But you go. Meet you here in an hour."

"If you're sure?"

"I am." He gave her a reassuring smile. "Now go."

Rose left the relative safety of the Doctor's company and headed towards the shop. It still felt strange, being on her own on an alien world, but if her years in retail had taught her anything, it was how to handle customers during a sale.

Of course it was human shoppers that she was used to. These Acensians looked human enough but she quickly became aware of some crucial differences. Like what seemed to be some sort of psychic power of persuasion that made her walk away from the last adorable blouse in her size. Or the sharp spines they were able to extend from their elbows. Never mind the ear piercing shriek they let out when upset.

By the time she managed to get out of the shop Rose was more concerned with being alive than with the fact that she had bought nothing. Thankfully the Doctor was already waiting for her and she didn't have time to dwell on her lost shopping opportunity.

"So, beach then?" She asked, smoothing down her top and fixing her mussed hair.

"Find what you wanted?"

"Nah. Not much in there."

"Stung you, didn't they?"

"Stung? Wait a minute, they can sting too? Why didn't you warn me?" Rose's eyes went wide and the Doctor merely laughed at her.

"If you're going to learn anything about alien culture, you've got to learn to dive right in. Experience it first hand."

"But they could've killed me! Look at this cut on my arm." She held her arm up, showing him the offending mark. She nearly slapped him when he rolled his eyes.

"Barely a scratch. Back in the TARDIS and I'll fix you right up."

Rose eyed him. "Can you do that then? Just… fix it?"

"'Course!"

"Good. I think I'm done with this 'fun in the sun' Christmas. What do you say we skip the beach and get back to having fun?"

"Fun like having to run around rescuing you every few hours?"

"Something like that, yeah." She stuck her tongue out at him, enjoying the smile he gave her that she could only describe as genuine. Suddenly he looked away and reached into one of his jackets inner pockets. She expected to see the sonic screwdriver emerge, but instead he was holding a small paper bag. He handed it to her wordlessly, then began to walk away.

"What is it?" She asked. She ran to follow him, opening the bag as she went.

"For your TARDIS key." He told her matter-of-factly. "Don't need you losing it again."

"That was one time!" She huffed and stopped walking to drop the contents of the bag into her palm. It was a thin silver chain that she recognized from one of the stands they had stopped at when they'd first arrived.

"You bought this?"

The Doctor gave her a soft smile that quickly shifted into something more sarcastic. "Couldn't have you complaining about a lack of presents again."

Rose shoved her hand into her pocket and pulled out the small metal key she made sure to carry with her wherever she went. She slid the end of the chain through it, then secured the chain around her neck.

"It's perfect. Goes with the best gift I ever got."

"And what's that?"

She gave him her cheesiest, most lopsided grin. "The key to a better life."