Chapter 7: London, England 2006

A/N: The tenth Doctor's first story in this fic, beginning with The Christmas Invasion of course!

"Cancel Barcelona. Change to... London... the Powell Estates... ah... let's say the 24th of December." The Doctor looked towards Rose, practically begging her to stop him. "Consider it a Christmas present."

Rose knew what he was doing. She was upset and he was responding to it the way he always did, but that was the last thing she wanted. This stranger trying to convince her he was the same when he clearly wasn't. She let him set the coordinates, still waiting for him to reveal himself as some heinous alien, hiding the Doctor on some ship somewhere. Whoever he was, he certainly knew his stuff and she had to stop herself from laughing as he joked about her mother. Despite the outward appearance and somewhat manic behavior, it was so very Doctor-like.

Then things went terribly wrong and he went and passed out on her, leaving her all alone to deal with dozens of questions, a confused mother and an angry ex-boyfriend. Never mind the alien invasion.

He proved himself in the end though. Had her worried to the very last moment, then saved the day in a pair of jim-jams and a dressing gown. The Doctor was the only man she could ever see doing that and she was forced to admit that he really was the same man.

Well maybe not quite the same. She never could have pictured her Doctor wearing specs and a red paper crown. Or passing potatoes to her mother over Christmas dinner. It was all a bit domestic for him. But when he took her hand and told her everything would be fantastic, she knew for sure that it was him.

They headed back into the flat after watching the burning pieces of Sycorax ship shoot across the sky. Rose had expected the Doctor to head straight for the TARDIS, but instead he pointed out that there was still plenty of turkey left and trotted towards the stairs, still holding her hand.

Gathered together in the living room, her mother and Mickey peppered him with questions while she sat back and listened. There was so much she wanted to know but she couldn't ask now. Not with other people around.

The ins and outs and hows that her family was asking about were interesting, but she was more concerned about why and just how much had changed.

She could remember being sent home, knowing he was somewhere in the future, dying for all of humanity. She was certain her Mum had pulled through in the end with that truck, the TARDIS panel popping up with a blinding light. There was music, she told him that and he tried to cover it up, clearly lying when he said it had been him. The song was gentle, and decidedly female. Almost like the faint humming of a mother trying to comfort her child.

Then he told her she was fantastic and exploded. How he'd gotten to that point she had no idea.

He said something about absorbing time but she hadn't been paying enough attention to what he said, too concerned with what was going on because she could tell something was clearly wrong.

When Jackie and Mickey had finally finished making the Doctor repeat the same answers over and over, her Mum came over with a red box. "Was hoping you'd come home for Christmas," she whispered.

Rose opened the box slowly and smiled at her. "'Course I did. Wouldn't have missed it for the world." She hugged her mother, then pulled the blue and purple top out of the box to lay it across her lap

"Do you like it?"

"It's great. Promise I'll wear it when I go."

Jackie looked away solemnly, then excused herself to make some tea. Mickey came next, handing her a small, poorly wrapped box. Rose opened it quickly and smiled when she saw what was inside, fully knowing the implications of it. A new mobile phone. Call us. Call me. Suddenly the curve of her lips felt forced and she fought the urge to cry. "Thanks." It was all she could manage to say without sobbing, so she hugged him tightly again. "Sorry I don't have anything for you."

"That's alright. Probably haven't had much time for shopping, running around with him all the time." He gestured toward the sofa where the Doctor had been sitting, only to find it empty. "Where'd he go?"

"Probably too much for him." Rose sighed. "I'll go find him." She gave Mickey a pat on the knee, then made her way down the hall and outside where she found the Doctor looking out over the railing. She moved to stand beside him, the sight of the falling ash mesmerizing in it's dark beauty.

"Sorry," she said suddenly. "Here I am opening presents and I haven't got anything for you." She looked away, a shy smile on her lips. The Doctor turned to her, a grin on his face. A different grin, but nice just the same.

"What do you say we go for a walk? Trafalgar Square? Hear they've got a nice tree from Norway." He paused thinking. "I like Norway. Haven't been there in a long time. We should go sometime."

Rose smiled. "Used to go there for lunch on my breaks."

"Norway?"

"No," Rose laughed. "The square."

"Well, bit late for a lunch break but I'm sure your mum will give you a bit of time off."

"Yeah." She popped her head into the flat to call out quickly that they were going and would be back shortly. A clatter came from the kitchen and Rose thought she heard Mickey jump up, but she and the Doctor took off down the stairs before anyone could stop them. When they reached the ground floor they merely smiled at each other, then took off running, hand in hand.

Once they had reach a safe distance, the Doctor slowed and Rose did the same, their hands still clasped together. She sighed, the heat of her breath sending a wisp of mist into the air.

"You alright?" He asked, pulling her just a bit closer as they walked side by side. She nodded. Not quite reassured by her quick and muted response he nudged her and gave her a small smile. "Are you sure?" He paused and looked around them, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know it's a bit to take in."

She raised her eyebrows and scoffed. "A bit, yeah. Think that just may be an understatement." She cocked her head to the side, taking a moment to look him over. "Is that really you in there?"

"Yep!" He popped his 'p' and rocked slightly on his heels. "Inside and out. Well, not really out. New cells and all. Although the genetic make up is the same so really it's all the same material, just in a new configuration."

"Are you always gonna talk this much?"

He frowned and seemed to think on it. "Possibly. Maybe. Probably. Yes. I think. Maybe."

Rose couldn't help laughing and gave his hand a gentle tug to get them walking again. "Can I ask you a question?"

"I should think so. Just asked that one, didn't you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Okay. Perhaps 'may I ask you a question' and 'will you answer' would be more accurate." Before he could start in with another rambling answer, she continued. "Have you ever done that before?"

"And by that you mean… Run out on Christmas dinner? Yes. Saved the world with a sword? Sure I must have. Save it with a satsuma? That was new."

She frowned and came to a stop as they reached the edge of the square, already filled with other people. "You know what I mean."

"Yes."

"So have you?"

He let out a small laugh. "That was my answer. Yes, I have."

"How many times? I mean, can you do it more than once?"

He nodded and began counting on his fingers. "I've done it nine times."

Rose blinked, unable to keep the shock off her face. "Nine times?"

"Yep. Only get twelve so do try to be careful." He winked and began walking towards the fountain.

"What did you look like?"

"Which time?"

"I don't know. Start with the first."

"I… was a weary old many. Interesting that. I seem to get younger and younger each time. Well, that's not true. Last one was a bit of a step back. Still, mitigating circumstances and all." He smiled as a thought occurred to him. "If we keep this up, you'll be babysitting soon."

Rose grimaced and shook her head at his joke. With a slight shiver leant forward and began rubbing her arms.

"You cold?"

"Yeah," she admitted. "Didn't think to grab my jacket."

The Doctor stood and shrugged his coat off, wrapping it around her.

"Ooh, you're more chivalrous this time," Rose hummed, pulling the coat snug around her. She looked up into the sky briefly before lowering her head to lean it against him. She felt like all of her nerves were tightly coiled and a small part of her felt like crying for a loss she hadn't taken the time to consider in the madness of the past few hours. Not since she'd broken down in her mother's arms.

Despite that tension and ache, she couldn't help feeling content sitting there with the new Doctor's new coat wrapped around her. So much had changed but that feeling that kept her holding his hand hadn't, and that was all it took for her to know they were going to be okay.