A light, feathery touch caressed her arm, but Rose nudged it away. She was trying to sleep and she didn't need any distractions. Several seconds later she drifted into a deeper sleep, waking up forgotten. Until, of course, the gossamer touch came back. Rose tried to nudge it away again, but whatever was running up and down her arm wasn't stopping. "Rose," someone said, "Wake up."

"'M sleepin'," Rose said, pulling her body away from the Doctor. She could hear the smile on his lips, but she didn't care. She closed her eyes and began her journey back into dream land. Outside, she heard the wind pounding against the house. Why was it so windy out? Because it's winter, she internally scolded herself. Rose's mind began to wander as she fell asleep; Winter, snow, deer, reindeer, Christmas.. Christmas! Rose bolted upright so fast the bed shook and the Doctor laughed merrily. Normally, Rose would have scowled and made some sort of cheeky remark, but not today. Today, she jumped from bed - still clad in her dress from last night it would seem - and rushed to the window. Outside, it was snowing heavily for a change. This elated Rose so much that a huge grin became plastered on her face. She ran at the Doctor and threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. When she pulled back, he was smiling as well, his eyes twinkling.

"Happy Christmas," she said gleefully. The Doctor's eyes crinkled,

"Happy Christmas," he replied. Rose jumped away from him and ran into her bathroom. There, she washed her face, removing the little makeup she had forgotten about last night. Last night! She didn't get to say goodbye to anyone. Ugh, great. She shrugged off her dress and pulled on her dressing gown, not caring how unappealing she must look at the moment. Right now, the only thing she could think about was giving the Doctor and her mother their presents. It wasn't until she was out of her bedroom and in front of the Doctor that a thought came to her. Her face fell and the Doctor looked at her, confused.

"What?" Rose glanced nervously out her door,

"Is Howard here?" The Doctor nodded,

"Yeah, so?" Rose looked again at the door and sighed impatiently,

"Well, number one, the blooming TARDIS is in the sitting room! And secondly, you and mum's presents are alien. He can't see them!" The Doctor sighed,

"Well as for the TARDIS, she moved. She's a smart old girl. You didn't expect her to stay in the sitting room did you?" Rose blushed. "She's back at the end of the street. As for number two, Howard is going to see his daughter for Christmas, and she lives all the way in Birmingham. He has to leave soon, if he's not already gone." Rose narrowed her eyes,

"How do you know all of this?"

"He told me last night," he said, smiling. "Now come one, Jackie's probably making breakfast in the kitchen."

After a lovely breakfast of tea, biscuits, eggs, and bacon, Howard announced that it was time for his departure. Rose smiled kindly to him and, trying to be polite, asked, "Are you sure you can't stay longer?" Howard Castille shook his head,

"Nope. Gotta get to Birmingham to see Margret and Bill." He stood up, "Happy Christmas Doctor, Rose, Jackie." He hugged Rose and the Doctor, kissed Jackie and then was off, waving a hand at the three. Once he was gone, Jackie asked,

"Present time?" Rose nodded gleefully and stood up, making her way for the exit.

"Where are you goin'?" Jackie asked.

"You're presents are in the TARDIS!" Rose said, rushing out the door. She dashed down the steps and went into a sprint. Along the way she almost hit into four people, whom she gave an apology and "Happy Christmas!" to over her shoulder. She ran to the bottom of the stairs and stopped, breathing hard. Her heart was beating fast and, hang on, why is her heart beating so fast? Surely her body must have come attune to this, seeing as what her and the Doctor do for a living? But right now she feels a bit off. In fact, she'd felt a bit off as soon as she woke up. Not bad or sick or tired, just.. off. She pushed the thought aside and began a slow trek towards the TARDIS. She was about to reach for the door when an alien thumping began to rattle in her chest. Her hand shot to her heart, which was beating incredibly fast, and gripped her shirt. That's when the pain started.

It was as if her chest were ablaze with fire. "Ahhhh!" She cried out in surprise, slumping against the blue wood of the TARDIS. Her breathing began to come out in shallow pants as the pain in her chest escalated to a hight so that Rose thought she would actually die. No coherent thought could fill her mind, and the pain increased so much that, for a second, she thought she saw golden light. Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone, and Rose felt fine. Well, except for the pounding in her chest. She sat on the ground and did controlled breathing, trying to think about anything but what she presumed to be the mini heart attack she just had. Obviously she had to tell the Doctor and he could check her out for any health problems. But it's Christmas. Maybe she should wait until tomorrow.What if it's serious? The pessimist part of her thought. At least after presents. It only seemed fair that they had a normal Christmas without any interruptions. When she thought she could, Rose got up and shoved her TARDIS key into the keyhole. She rushed inside the TARDIS and leaned against the door, panting hard. Her eyes closed and she breathed in huge gulps of air. When she finally calmed down she slumped against the door and sat for a moment, looking all around the interior of the TARDIS. "What happened to me?" She muttered absentmindedly. The TARDIS cooed and the console flashed and beautiful, glowing light. Rose had no idea what it meant, but for some reason it comforted her. She made her way towards her bedroom and stepped inside, rummaging through her drawers for the presents she had gotten for her family. She found two small packages wrapped in beautiful paper and put in a colorful box. Rose tilted her head to the side in confusion, until she realized this must be the TARDIS's doing. She smiled at the ceiling, blew a kiss at the coral, and got up as quick as she could. In the process, however, she felt another tinge in her chest. She ignored it, and it was slightly easier that time.

She made her way back inside the flat to her mother and the Doctor. There, they exchanged presents, laughter, tears, and smiles. To Jackie was given a phone in which to call Rose with; through all of time and space. The light will shine green if she is available, but red if she is not. Rose gave her mother a portrait of herself, painted by the mighty Pablo Picasso on one of their adventures. To the Doctor, Jackie gave him a cookbook titled, "One Hundred Ways to Use Bananas". To this he squealed with joy and clutched the book to his chest. From Rose, he got a book that listed every single race of species in the world. And, when a new one was discovered, it appeared on it's endlessly blank pages.

"But Rose, how did you get this!? The salesman said there was nothing in the world that he would trade for this!" Rose laughed aloud happily and said,

"Well.. Let's just say I found something." There was so much chemistry between them you could touch it; at least that's what Jackie thought. She didn't say anything, however. Now on to Rose. The Doctor gave her a mood necklace. At first, she was confused. The Doctor laughed and explained that the stone had been, in a way, alive. Inside is a living creature called a sprite. They are native to the planet Twilight which is very, very hot. Too hot, in fact, for the sprites to live. So when they're born, their skin hardens and turns into a kind of stone. As they grow, the stone grows too. Sooner or later you have a beautiful, gleaming, clear stone in which you can see the sprite through. Sprites have a sort of power, or gift if you will, that allows their skin to change colors with their moods. Their 'empathy' as some call it gets transferred into their stones after they die. After their body decays into nothingness, the 'mood stone' is left behind. For thousands of years people have used the stones as necklaces. After the little explanation, Rose gave the Doctor the biggest hug she'd ever given him, along with a kiss on the cheek.

" 'T's beautiful!" She said, tears beginning to pool in her eyes. But Rose could never have been prepared for what her mother gave her.
"Your grandmother's ring, my ring," she explained. "It's to be given to your son to propose with but, well, your father and I never had a son. Your father's family had been passing this ring down for generations. And, I thought, it was time to give it to you." Jackie reached for Rose's right hand, and she let her take it, somewhat in a trance; not fully understanding what was happening to her. All she could do was focus on was her mother's wedding ring being slipped onto her finger.

"But mum, this is your ring. I can't take this!" But even as she said it, Rose's hand was swishing back and forth, catching the early winter's sun on the little diamond that lay in the centre of the golden band wrapped around her finger.

"Yes you can, and you will. It's your's now Rose." A silent tear escaped Rose's eye and slid down her cheek. Jackie smiled. The Doctor grinned.
"It's beautiful," he commented, transfixed on the diamond as well. Rose nodded her head in agreement.

Several hours later, the trio were sitting at the table eating dinner. Jackie was just finishing up her story about her and Howard's first date when Rose felt that uncomfortable feeling again. She shimmied around in her seat for a while, hoping neither the Doctor nor Jackie noticed. But the Doctor did. His eyes trailed up and down her body, not paying any mind to what Jackie was saying. Then the pain left, and Rose was still once again, joining in on the conversation, smiling even. But the Doctor kept his eye on her, no matter how at ease she looked.

It was about half an hour later that she did it again. She was was carrying her plate back to the sink when she almost keeled over. The Doctor was by her in an instant, hands on her hips to steady her.

"Whoa, easy there Rose." She shook him off with a tight smile,

"I'm fine, Doctor." She breathed in a couple of deep breaths and stood up, then began walking. She could feel his eyes on her and she turned, catching him just as his eyes left her. "Doctor," She said a little forcefully, "I'm fine. Really." She dropped her plate in the sink, washed it off, and put it back in the dishwasher. Rose's hands leaned up against the counter for a moment, letting it hold her weight. Then she pushed off the counter and began walking back to the dining room. Just when she reached the Doctor, however, she fell. He caught her moments before she hit the ground, but that didn't keep away the pain. It was white hot, blinding, and it hurt. She shut her eyes tight and muffled a scream, which came out as a soft moan of pain.

"Rose? Rose!" Jackie rushed in the kitchen from the dining room and crouched by his side,

"What happened to her? Rose sweetheart!" But Rose didn't answer. She trashed about like a wild animal, her eyes shut so tightly she thought they'd tear. The Doctor reached into his trouser pocket and cursed himself for leaving his sonic in his jacket, which was in the pocket of his jacket. Just when Rose thought the pain couldn't get any worse, that this was indeed death, it stopped. She blinked and sat upright. So fast, in fact, that she bumped her head against the Doctor's.

"Mmph!" He cried, rubbing his head. "Rose? Are you alright?" She nodded her head and rubbed the sore spot put there but the Doctor's head. Jackie had left the room and returned with a bottle of water.

"Thanks mum," she said, taking half the bottle in one gulp. "God, somehow that was worse than the last time," Rose said to herself, forgetting her family was crowding in on her. The Doctor's eyes widened in shock,

"This has happened before?" Rose nodded. "Ballocks Rose! Why didn't you tell me!?" Rose jumped a bit at his words.

"It was only a few hours ago. I was gonna wait until tomorrow. Didn't want another Christmas ruined.." The Doctor's eyes softened.

"Rose Tyler, your health is certainly more important than a holiday. Jackie, can you fetch me my sonic?" Jackie's eyes widened in shock and a twinge of anger,

"Oi alien boy, what do you tak-" He cut her off,

"Jackie, I need it to check Rose out for possible injuries! It's in my jacket pocket." She blinked in realization, said no more, and went to get it. When she brought it back the Doctor snatched it from her hand and scanned over Rose with it. He brought it to his eyes and blinked. Hard. Then he scanned her again, brought it to eye level, and cursed under his breath.

"What'oes is say?" Jackie asked. He sighed in exasperation.

"Nothing! It says absolutely nothing. Negative, zero, zip." He scanner her again and tried for a third time, this time getting a different reading. "Hang on," he said, eyes scrunching up in confusion. He scanned Rose again and the same message appeared. His eyes traveled from his sonic, to Rose, back and forth.

"Doctor, what is it?" Rose asked, trying to get a peek at the tiny screen on his sonic screwdriver. He put it back in his pocket, got up, and held his hand out to Rose. She took it and he helped her up. Jackie stood up as well, looking at him like he sprouted two heads.

"I'm sorry Jackie, but I'm going to have to take Rose back to the TARDIS to run a few tests." Jackie's eyes blazed not with anger, but fear.

"What?"

"What are you talking about Doctor, I'm fine!?"

"No Rose, you're really not. Sorry Jackie, I'll have Rose call you when we get this sorted." Then he was tugging her out the door.

"Our stuff.." Rose began, but the Doctor finished for her,

"..is in my deep Time Lord pockets. Come on Rose!" Rose could tell whatever he found was serious. He wasn't even trying to mask his fear with laughter like he normally did. And he had good reason to. The Doctor's mind kept flashing him back the words that he saw on his screwdriver:

UNIDENTIFIED LIFE FORM