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cynicalclassicist · 3 years

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TURN BACK

Written by Chris Newton

This isn’t mine but was done by another of the Lockdown writers who very kindly sent it to me.

There it was again: that fluttering, rattling, scuttling noise. It sounded like grasping pincers, snapping mandibles and probing antennae. It felt like something was on her back. For some reason, it was an oddly familiar sensation.

Donna Temple-Noble knew that things had not been right for a while.

Things were fine in her life. After a decade of marriage, both she and Shaun were still very happy and very much in love. They had been determined that their big lottery win wouldn’t change them and, for the most part, it hadn’t. They lived in a ten bedroom mansion Highgate with two acres of land, owned a holiday villa in Spain, and had been able to afford to send Joshua and Ella to an incredibly expensive private school – but otherwise, they still went to watch West Ham every Saturday (albeit in their own executive box), still kept in touch with all their old friends (even Nerys), and eschewed fancy restaurants and glitzy parties in favour of Friday nights in on the sofa watching Love Island and eating Pringles.

But something was wrong with the world. Her high school boyfriend, Mathew Richards, had always been going on about global warming back in the 90s, but as far as Donna had been concerned somebody was always banging on about the end of the world, whether it was the Millennium Bug, or Mayan calendars or Hadron Colliders… But what did that have to do with her life? She could hardly see which type of milk she put in her tea affected the wider world.

But things began to get so bad that even Donna noticed. On her eighty-inch TV, she saw bush fires in Australia, David Attenborough showing the ice caps melting and an ocean filled with plastic. And then the Sontaran virus came – the lockdowns, the curfews, and the restrictions. But not even a global pandemic could prevent the USA from imploding in a civil war. The Zygon president had attempted to form a dictatorship when he lost the election and all hell had broken loose.

Donna knew they were lucky, they were far away from the fighting and they could afford regular deliveries of fresh food, and had a huge garden with their own private swimming pool to occupy them in quarantine. The first lockdown had almost been like a holiday for the Temple-Nobles; the kids cannon balling into the water, Donna and Shaun sunning themselves on loungers, barbeques, cocktails. Their autumn lockdown consisted of bonfires and marshmallows, thick jumpers and flasks of hot chocolate as they told ghost stories on Halloween and twirled sparklers on Bonfire Night. It was almost perfect.

Almost… But not. Because for all the comfort their money could buy them, there was one problem wealth could not solve.

Donna’s Grandfather, Wilf, was now ninety-one. A few years ago, after a fall, had moved into a care home. Donna made sure he received the best care possible, and paid for him to go to a lovely facility just near Hampstead Heath, that way they were practically neighbours. Before the virus, she had visited him every day without fail. His memory had been growing steadily worse; sometimes he called her Sylvia, and occasionally Louise, for some reason, but he never forgot that she was his granddaughter, and more than not greeted her by saying ‘Wahey, here she is! The Little General!’ which had been his nickname for her when she was little.

But since lockdown, she had been unable to visit him. She knew it was for the best, for the safety of her grandfather and for the other residents in the home, but it didn’t change the fact that it felt as though a huge part of her had been ripped away. His dementia had worsened, the staff had told her over the phone, and he had been repeatedly talking about a spaceman in a flying blue box.

She had managed to arrange a videocall with her grandfather, a favour from one of the nurses at the home. She sat waiting for him to answer, full of fear and trepidation. Always wondering which visit would be the one where he failed to recognise her entirely.

“Wahey, here she is! The Little General!” Wilf’s face filled the screen of her phone.

“Hiya Gramps!” Donna’s eyes welled with tears of joy at the sight of her grandfather.

“Blimey, how’d you get inside this little tablet thingy?” he chuckled. “Must be bigger on the inside,” he muttered with a strange, faraway look in his rheumy eyes, as though he were trying to remember something.

“You don’t half come out with some rubbish!” she laughed. “We had a bonfire in the garden on the 5th. You know, jacket potatoes in tin foil, passing round a thermos of tea. Reminded me of the old days, up the hill at your allotment, remember?”

“Mmmm,” he smiled distantly, before his face crumpled in confusion. “’Ere, where’s the Doctor?”

“You’ve already seen the doctor, Gramps. Remember? He put you on those new pills.”

“No, not him. The skinny one. Isn’t he with you? He usually is.”

“Why would he be with me you daft old thing? I’m fit and healthy, thank you very much. Touch wood,” she tapped her head. “Don’t need a doctor.”

“I think you do,” Wilf mumbled. “I think we all do. He’d sort out this bleedin’ virus.”

“They’ll have a vaccine before you know it, Gramps. You’ll be round ours for Christmas dinner, just you wait and see.”

“That’ll be nice,” he grinned. “How’s Lance, then? He alright?”

“Shaun, granddad, I’m married to Shaun. Lance… had to go away.”

“Oh. Well, it’s probably for the best. I never did like him much.”

Donna couldn’t help but chuckle.

“The kids want these flippin’ animatronic Baby Yoda dolls for Christmas,” she changed the subject. “Honestly, it’s Star Wars this, Star Trek that… and that other one. You know, the time travel one? No idea where they get it from, I was never into any of that sci-fi rubbish.”

“Donna…” Wilf cried, a sudden urgency in his voice.

“Yes, Gramps?” she swallowed nervously, it had been a long time since he had called her by her name. “What is it?”

“There’s something on your back.”

The words chilled her, although she had no idea what they meant. She felt her right hand darting involuntarily over her shoulder expecting to feel… what, exactly? Something creeping, crawling, insectoid… she shivered.

“There’s nothing there. Honestly, what are you on about?”

“He was only trying to help, but it’s gone wrong again. It wasn’t a fixed point, you see? It was one of those… Temporal wotsits.”

Donna took a deep breath.

“I think you’re getting mixed up again, Gramps.”

“Hmm?” he looked at her, his eyes full of warmth, kindness and confusion. “So how’s Lance, then? He alright?”

“Yes, Gramps. Lance is fine.”

“Oh, that’s good. I always liked him. Oh, I’ve got to go. The nurse wants her tablet back. When are you coming to see me?”

“As soon as I can, Gramps. I promise. As soon as I can.”

“Well, I’ll look forward to it. Ta-da sweetheart.”

“Bye,” she stifled a tear as the screen became blurry, before Wilf’s face was replaced by a blonde-haired woman.

“Donna Noble!” the stranger grinned irrepressibly

“Oh, hi,” Donna swiftly composed herself. “Are you the nurse? Thanks so much for letting me speak to him…”

“Yeah. Well, I’m a Doctor, actually. Although a lot of people assume I’m a nurse these days. Bit annoying, really. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a nurse, mind! If it’s good enough for Rory Pond, it’s good enough for me.”

The blonde woman was still grinning.

“Oh my god,” Donna’s mouth fell open. “I know you!”

“No! No – that’s not possible!” The Doctor’s face paled.

“I knew I recognised you.”

“Listen to me – you cannot know who I am…”

“You’re Leanne Battersby. From Corrie!”

“What?”

“Ha! Just wait ’til I tell Nerys, she’ll be well jealous.” Donna snorted.

The Doctor harrumphed.

“Leane Batt… Actually, you know what? If it stops your neural receptors from combusting then fine. Fine! Yeah. Leanne Battersby at your service. If you think I’m just an actress from Coronation Street then it’s safe for us to talk. Well, I say safe… safe-ish. By which I mean not very dangerous. Okay, maybe it’s a little bit dangerous. Put it this way: your mind won’t burn, but you might end up forgetting your old mate Susie Mair.”

“Susie Who?”

“Exactly. Anyway, we don’t have long… I need to get back in Wilf’s wardrobe before the Sontarans triangulate my signal. I’m telling you, this has been a long eight months. But your grandfather’s right: there is something on your back. Again. Or maybe for the first time – it all gets a bit wibbley with alternate dimensions. But there’s something on your back, and I’m really sorry, but it hitched a ride on a lottery ticket.”

“What on Earth are you on about?”

“Not on Earth, actually, Shan Shen,” the Doctor said, and then winced. “Oops! Shouldn’t have said that. Might have deleted another scene. Remember that time you were one the phone to Veena in the kitchen and you heard that strange wheezing, groaning sound coming from outside?”

“No?”

“Probably for the best.”

“What’s going on? And why are you in my Granddad’s wardrobe? Do I need to call social services, ’cause don’t think I won’t, blondie!”

“I need you to trust me. What was the name of that TV show where the kid in the blindfold had to be guided through the dungeon by their mates?”

“Knightmare?”

“Yes! That’s the one. I need you to be my Dungoneer. I don’t have a Helmet of Justice so you’ll just have to close your eyes.”

“Close my eyes??”

“I know I’m asking a lot, Donna, but Wilf trusts me, and that’s all I can tell you. But be honest – you know something’s wrong, don’t you? You can feel something digging into your shoulders, can’t you?”

Donna nodded. There was no denying it, and for some inexplicable reason, she felt she could trust this woman, even though the reason seemed distant and out of reach. Donna closed her eyes.

The strange woman on the phone guided her out of the house, past a row of trees and to the telephone box at the end of the road. Funny, Donna thought, she didn’t remember there being a telephone box there. She hadn’t seen a proper one for years.

Following the Doctor’s instructions, Donna pulled the handle and the door creaked open as she stepped inside. Instinctively, she reached out for the mounted payphone, but her fingers met only empty air. Perhaps it wasn’t an operating phone box anymore? It probably housed a defibrillator instead. She was tempted to have a peek and find out.

“Don’t even think about opening your eyes,” the Doctor snapped, somehow reading her thoughts, “if you open your eyes, your brain will hyperpodulate.”

“Hyer-what-you-what? I want you to know I’m taking a lot on faith here, Battersby! And if this is a wind-up, then so help me god...”

Donna’s threat was drowned out the VROOP-VROOPING of ancient engines that at once sounded utterly alien and distantly familiar to her, like hearing a half-remembered nursery rhyme from childhood.

She heard the telephone box door creak open again, and a rush of cold air from outside. Strange, it didn’t feel like the smoky air of the November street she had come from. It felt crisper, fresher. She could hear the merry peal of church bells. There isn’t a church that close to my house, she thought, puzzled.

“You can come out now. Walk forwards but keep your eyes closed for a moment.”

Donna did as she was told. She felt grass beneath her feet as the VROOP-VROOPING resumed and then faded, drowned out by the sound of the bells.

“You can open you eyes now,” the woman on the phone was now stood in front of her, but that was the least surprising thing to Donna.

“But, how…” Donna looked down at herself. “I’m in my wedding dress. I don’t understand?” The two of them were stood by an old lychgate. Donna looked ahead – there was the church where she had married Shaun. Discarded confetti swirled about her ankles. There were guests milling about ahead – there was her grandfather’s friend Minnie Hooper. Minnie the Menace he used to call her! Although Donna was sure she’d heard that Minnie had died recently. Nevertheless, there she was, full of joy and life. And there was Nerys in her hideous peach dress!

“What year is this?” asked Donna.

“2010,” said the Doctor.

“This is my wedding day. How is this even possible?”

“The time differential’s trying to reconcile there being two of you here at the same time. Hence the dress. It’s tricky with parallel universes. Anyway, ‘how’ isn’t important right now. What’s important is that somebody just gave you a lottery ticket as a wedding present.”

“I know, cheapskate.”

“You’re about to win a triple rollover.”

“Yeah, well…”

“The thing is, Donna – the man gave you that ticket – he meant well, but he was meddling with things that shouldn’t have been meddled with. He was young – still in his Time Lord Victorious phase.”

“I don’t understand a single word you’re saying.”

“You know that theory that a butterfly fluttering its wings can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world? Well, time’s like that. Small, trivial things can cause ripples which alter the course of history. The truth is: you didn’t win that money. At least, not originally. You took one look at that ticket and ripped it up. Remember? The first dance at your wedding reception was Can’t Buy Me Love.”

“No… that’s not right,” said Donna. It couldn’t be. She knew that hadn’t happened. Their first dance had been 2 Become 1 by Spice Girls. So why could she remember dancing to The Beatles with Shaun?

“Nobody won the lottery that week – and the next week it was a quadruple rollover! A boy called Michael Finch won it. He was only sixteen. Imagine that! First time he’d ever played. Great kid. A friend of mine met his dad once. Long story. Anyway, I’m sorry Donna, but Michael didn’t spend it on cars and holiday homes and private pools. He invested in the future: green initiatives, healthcare, education… When the Sontarans released their virus, Earth was ready for it. Plus, the United States didn’t have a Zygon for a president. Well, they did actually, but she’s one of the nice ones. But shh, don’t tell anyone.”

“You know what,” said Donna. “I don’t think you really are Leanne Battersby, are you?”

“No.”

“But I do know you, don’t I?”

“Yes.”

“And that’s… bad? My head hurts…” Donna cupped her forehead in her palm.

“Yes. It’s very bad,” said the Doctor. “But it’s okay. Because if you tear up that lottery ticket and let Michael Finch win it instead, then you’ll change the future and we’ll never have met. Well, not like this anyway.”

“This is crazy. How is any of this possible?”

“My fault, I’m afraid. A long time ago, you had an encounter with a Time Beetle – and this is the gross part, sorry – Time Beetles can lay eggs beneath the hosts’ skin. They lie dormant, sometimes indefinitely, until the host encounters a significant temporal junction – in your case a lottery win that could change the course of human history. You were never supposed to have this life, Donna. You were supposed to tear up the ticket.”

More non-memories were flooding Donna’s mind – the years of living on the breadline in Chiswick, living with the regret of their lost fortune. A bank holiday weekend in Blackpool with the kids, having her fortune told by the strange little woman in the kiosk on the pier… Voicing her regret aloud and wishing she could go back to the day of her wedding and keep that winning ticket.

That couldn’t be right… They never took the kids to Blackpool. Their holidays had been in Cyprus and Malaga, they’d splashed out on luxury round-the-world cruises. But she remembered it so vividly: the rattle of the trams, the glare of the illuminations, the taste of the chips, the seagulls crying overhead.

“But we’ll have nothing. I can’t go back to the way we used to live: hand to mouth, never knowing where next month’s rent is coming from. What about Ella and Josh? They’ll be born with nothing.”

“Donna Temple-Noble, listen to me,” the Doctor gazed at her sternly. “You’ll have everything. You’ll have each other.”

Donna looked back over to the church – there was Wilf! – still spry at eighty and fighting off Minnie’s advances as ever. And there was Shaun – so handsome in his wedding suit! She couldn’t believe how young he looked.

The Doctor was right. Donna thought of how happy they had been during lockdown, not because they were comfortable, but because they had each other. The tweet-a-longs, the virtual gigs, the walks in the woods, the disastrous attempts at baking, standing on their doorstep and clapping for U.N.I.T…. She hadn’t put two and two together until she’d been speaking to her grandfather: but it had been the first time in her married life – the first time as a mother – that she had somehow recaptured that magic of sitting in her grandfather’s allotment with a flask of tea and gazing at the stars.

At the time Donna had felt as though she were longing for adventure, as though the stars held some inexplicable magic, but now she knew that the magic had been right there in the allotment all along. She no longer yearned for adventure, but longed instead to return to those simple days. She never could, of course. Wilf’s star was fading, but her own was rising. She thought back to the old world of financial hardship: rented flats, being plunged into darkness when the electricity meter ran out, payday loans and minimum wage temp jobs. There would be struggles but there would also be magic. There would be stories by candlelight, cartoons and warm milk before bed in the precious few years before Joshua and Ella became moody teenagers. There would be games in the park. There would be home cooked meals, and there would be telly and Pringles on the sofa on Friday nights.

There would be family.

Donna turned to speak to the blonde woman, but the stranger was gone, so she hitched up her wedding dress and hurried over to her husband.

“Who were you talking to?” he asked.

“A friend,” Donna smiled.

“What’s her name?”

“I can’t remember,” she said. It was strange, the name was on the tip of her tongue, but it had gone. She decided it didn’t matter.

“Give us that lottery ticket, will you?” Donna asked. (She had entrusted it into Shaun’s safe keeping. There were still no pockets in wedding dresses.)

“Why, you got a good feeling about it?” he asked, taking it from his pocket and handing it to his bride.

“Yeah. As a matter of fact, I have,” said Donna Temple-Noble as she tore up the ticket, and a great weight lifted from her shoulders.

#doctor who lockdown #doctor who #fanfic

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thesquiddygirl · 5 years

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Sweater Time

Summary: Wilford gives everyone a christmas sweater. Everyone.

Warnings: None!

Pairing: Dark x Reader

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Happy holidays everyone! IN the spirit of the charity livestream i have written an x reader! I hope you all like it~! UWU

“CHRISTMAS!! IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME Y/N!” Wilford screamed happily as he had a plethora of ugly sweaters in his arms. A huge puppy-like smile was across his face and you couldn’t help to laugh at his rather ecstatic nature. “Wil, it’s only December first..” You began to explain as you sat on the couch. The house was somehow already covered in christmas decorations despite it being okay an hour ago.

But then again an hour ago Wilford was sleeping.

“NO! IT'S CHRISTMAS!” He replied with a goofy laugh as he grabbed one of the sweaters from his pile. It was a blue and red sweater that had patterns of a tie as well as mirrors. You immediately recognized who’s sweater that was and held in a laugh. Wilford however smiled brightly and put it over his shoulder. “I made one for everyone! So they can all feel the holiday spirit!” He explained as he jumped up and down rather excitedly. You smiled a bit more at his explanation, thinking how cute it would be for everyone to wear those rather horrid sweaters. “Aw, that’s a nice idea Wilf! But uh.. I don’t know if it’ll bring them holiday spirit more as holiday homicide.” You replied with a giggle. He laughed along with you and ruffled your hair, taking out another sweater as well, “And don’t think I forgot about you too! We’re all wearing them!”

The sweater was your favorite color for one, how Wilf found out you have no clue, but the pattern had red and blue roses on it as if it was matching none other than Dark’s. Your face instantly heated up from the realization and Wilford’s cheery smile turned into a smug smirk. “You… you horrible horrible candyman.” You managed to mumble out as you felt your face get hotter within each second. He just smiled, shrugging as if he didn’t know what he did wrong, “I don't know what you’re talkin about ! It’s just sweaters~!” You wanted to yell at him but the last thing you wanted was either a bullet in your head or the other egos wondering what was wrong. You grabbed the sweater and gave him a glare as you walked to the bathroom to change, noticing Wilford’s wave as his rather smug expression grew.

You had to give it to Wilford. He did know how to create a good sweater. Despite the ugly design.. It was rather comfy. That and despite the not so subtle callout he made towards you, the sweater was really cute. Throughout the day you saw the other egos wearing their sweaters. Google had a simple blue sweater with his logo and when the other Google’s would appear, they had their designated color. Bing’s sweater was covered with his logo and skateboards, the Jims had cameras as well as a microphone and so on. Even Host had his own sweater, which was patterned with books and pens. Despite the rather odd clothing choice, you noticed that everyone was having a pretty good time and not caring.

Well, except for one person.

Dark was in the far corner of the lounge, reading his book with a coffee in his hand. He looked more aggravated if anything about the situation as well as just tired. He seemed rather involved in what he was reading and you were contemplating on if you should talk to him. “Y/N, I see that Wilford has made you a sweater as well.” Dark spoke up as he did not tear his eyes away from his book. Your heart stopped and gulped, nodding faintly. “U-uh, yeah! Wilf said he wanted to include me so uh…” You began to speak, your voice trailing off as your heart was pounding against your chest. God dammit, why was it difficult for you to speak to him?

A low chuckle escaped his lips and he took a sip of his coffee, his gray eyes now peering up at you. He stopped mid sip as if he noticed the design of your sweater, his eyes narrowing at the patterns. Dark set his book and mug down and stood up, his sweater now fully visible. It looked rather nice on him and not as baggy as the one you were wearing, his button up shirt being noticeable under it. He walked towards you and stopped when you were both inches away, his eyes examining each and every part of your body and clothing. He craned his neck and a small smirk appeared.

“The roses look lovely on you, I must say.” He merely stated as he leaned in close to you. One of his hands ruffled your hair and you squeaked slightly in fear, your face getting red instantly. “U-uh, thanks!” You managed to reply as you felt his hand entangled in your hair, basically massaging your scalp. It made you feel at ease but at the same time you were getting more flustered at him doing that. Dark laughed more at your reaction and pulled his hand away, making it touch one of your sleeves. “As well as that, you match with me perfectly.” He continued on, his smirk widening, “How cute.”

You let out a rather incomprehensible sentence and tried to pull away but he pulled you close, making you practically fall onto his chest. The fabric of his sweater rubbed against your face and you let out a shriek at the sudden movement. You had no idea what his reaction looked like but you felt his arms wrap around your body and held you close. A part of you wanted to pull away but the feeling was… rather comforting. You hesitantly wrapped your arms around him as well and buried yourself deeper into his sweater, saying nothing as he just chuckled softly at your reaction.

“...I suppose wearing these sweaters might not be much of an annoyance now..” He sighed out as he played with your hair. You hesitantly nodded and looked up at him seeing his rather curious expression. “Uh.. yeah..” You replied with a gulp, hesitantly letting go of him. He smirked and leaned down and kissed your forehead, “...Let us get some eggnog shall we? Before Wilford decides to get any. I do not want a repeat of last year.” As he said that he rolled his eyes, holding his head as if remembering the catastrophe. You giggled and nodded as you held his free hand, “Sure. Let’s go then.” He turned towards you and you could have sworn he gave you a smile but it faded quickly. He squeezed your hand and then walked out, holding you close as if he didn’t want you to get lost.

Maybe this christmas season won’t be as embarrassing now.

#darkiplier #darkiplier fic #darkiplier x reader #dark x reader #markiplier #mark egos #x reader #self insert #fanfiction #fanfic #writing

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pennywaltzy · 5 years

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Donna/Greg, Soulmates AU :)

Donna doesn’t believe the soulmate tripe. Especially as she gets older and has yet to find hers. So when she agrees to marry a bloke just to get her mum off her back, she doesn’t think much of it. Marriage is a social contract, and at least she’ll get to be the belle of the ball the big day.

Greg is one of those strange people with two soulmate markers. One has disappeared as soon as the divorce from his wife was finalized, but the other one is still there. He doesn’t think much of it, though, because he’s got a daughter to raise who’s mum wants nothing to do with her because she wants a life free of responsibilities. So it’s just him and Rowena and honestly? He doesn’t want to go through the hassle of marriage again.

The day of Donna’s wedding, the groom and the best man get arrested for car theft, something stupid they did on his stag night. No one tells Donna till she’s in her dress at the wedding venue.

When she finds out she takes the black car they were supposed to go off to their honeymoon in and drives to Scotland Yard and demands to speak to someone, anyone, who will tell her what the bloody hell is going on.

Greg is entering the building as Donna is in mid-tirade, and as soon as they lock eyes, her mark and his remaining mark burn. Greg knows what this means, but Donna just wants her wedding because no, this man who’s a complete stranger to her can’t be her soulmate!

Greg finds out the information for her even though it’s not his division, and she calms down. He doesn’t mention the mark or anything, just helps her find the fiancee and goes off to his office. Sally can see he’s shaken but he doesn’t want to talk about it and shuts the door in her face before going to his desk and pulling out the hidden bottle of whiskey he has there.

Donna, meanwhile, finds out there’s no way the groom is going to be released, and when she gets to speak to him finds out he really doesn’t want to get married anymore, as his stag night reminded him there’s still someone out there waiting for him.S he calls him a tosser, says her soulmate is upstairs and he can just bugger off, she’ll have the wedding party while his arse rots in jail.

Greg hasn’t even finished the glass when he hears a commotion outside his office of security and Sally trying to escort Donna back to the lift but he says, quite loudly, that Donna is his soulmate and they need to talk. Security and Sally back off and Donna goes to his office. He pours her a whiskey and she asks if he wants to be her date for the reception of a wedding that will happen when hell freezes over.

Oh, did I mention it’s Christmas? Because...Doctor Who Christmas shenanigans ensue and that’s how Greg and Donna meet Ten. He offers Donna the chance to travel with him but Greg’s impressed her so she decides to give their relationship a chance.

Flash forward five years. Greg and Donna are quite happy together, but something is lacking. She loves being a quasi-stepmum to Rowena, but now Rowena’s gone off to uni and they’re...well, frankly they’re bored. And then there’s a case and a familiar blue box at the scene, and in the end, Greg and Donna travel with the Doctor for a while.

And GODDAMMIT THERE IS A HAPPY ENDING SHE DOES NOT HAVE HER MEMORIES WIPED NO NO NO.

Before the Earth is returned to its proper place, Greg and Donna get married with all the other companions there, Wilf gets to give her away and the Doctor, Rose, Ten Too and Jackie slink away at the end while everyone else is celebrating, and someone pops up before they go: Rowena, wanting to travel with the Doctor. She gives her dad and stepmum a wave from the door to the TARDIS and goes off to have adventures of her own while Donna and Greg live happily ever after, especially with the gift of a winning lottery ticket from Jack.

SEND ME A FANDOM/PAIRING AND AN AU AND I’LL GIVE YOU 5+ HEADCANONS ABOUT IT!

#doctor who #sherlock #wholock #greg x donna #noble copper #answering asks!#thequeenofhades

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theclaravoyant · 5 years

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a Noble tradition

The Doctor loves Christmas, so Ryan, Yaz, and Graham take her to a local Christmas market on Earth, where she runs into some unexpected old friends. (*Very* old friends.)

AN ~ I was prompted to write a fic where Thirteen meets Donna, and I really got into a nostalgic Noble family mood with it. I wouldn't technically call this fluff, but it's bittersweet with a positive outlook and lots of wholesome platonic goodness. Enjoy <3 (but please note Donna doesn't remember the Doctor, because I enjoy suffering too much)

Relationships: The Doctor & Wilf, The Doctor & Donna, Team Tardis 13/The Fam

Read on AO3 or Pillowfort (word count ~1900)

a Noble tradition

“I love Christmas,” the Doctor remarks cheerfully, beaming as she looks around at the market Yaz, Graham and Ryan have brought her to. There are baubles and strips of tinsel draped from every snow-and-pine-covered surface, bells jingling, and carols warbling over a distant speaker. “So colourful. And everybody’s nice to each other, mostly. Not that people should need an excuse, but…”

She trails off, distracted by a tray of gingerbread men someone is carrying past. She follows it to a patisserie stall and Graham, ever grateful for the opportunity for food, jumps at the chance to follow her while Yaz and Ryan trail a few steps behind, admiring the handmade wreaths and glowing lights and hats with unnecessarily long ear flaps that decorate the nearby stalls. By the time they reach the Doctor, she has already picked out their gingerbread folk, and passes them around enthusiastically. They are fresh and warm in the frosty air, and Yaz and Ryan accept them with delight as the Doctor begins to regale them with a story of a town called Christmas on a planet oh so far away from here - a tale Graham briefly interrupts to pass her a jam donut shaped and decorated like a Christmas tree, and which as a result, diverges into one about the time a Christmas tree nearly killed her. Naturally.

“Hold on,” Graham remarks. “All that funny business at Christmas in London a few years back, was that all you?”

“Well-“

“Oh yeah!” Yaz cries. “Pig in a spaceship? Disappearing hospital? My cousin was in there, you know. Said something about alien rhinoceros?”

“Well, it was- I mean, I was there,” the Doctor explains as all three of them look around at each other, impressed. “And it was actually more of a space vampire. The space rhinoceros were just looking for her.”

“Oh, well that’s alright then,” Ryan shrugs, smirking as the illustrious, ancient, alien defender of earth takes a gigantic bite out of the tree-shaped donut and in doing so, all but buries her nose in jam and bright green icing. Her eyes are bright with mirth for a moment and then - mid-chew, like a deer on high alert - she pauses.

Graham, Yaz and Ryan eye each other warily.

“I know that voice,” the Doctor whispers.

“We about to become one of those stories then, Doc?” Graham offers. “Assassin Santas running about or something?”

He glances up and down the fairway of the market. Ryan is wondering how effective a nearby baguette would be as a weapon. Depends what they’re facing, he supposes. He can already see Yaz mapping the exits, figuring out which would be best to heard civilians toward in the case of an emergency, but then the Doctor leaps into action.

“Quick!” she orders. “Hide me!”

“What?”

She runs a lap around the display table, trying to figure out where to go, and settles for nicking one of those beanies from the neighbouring stall instead, with the really long ear flaps. This one is deliberately designed to look like a cartoonish reindeer, with stuffed antlers sewn on and all, and it really would look utterly ridiculous if they weren’t all so busy trying to gauge the danger as the Doctor bustled around and muttered to herself. Probably not all that dangerous then, or she’d be rallying them instead, but try as they might to ask her what is going on she - as per usual with the first go round of things - doesn’t quite have time to clearly explain.

“What’s the point of that?” she frets, tugging at the hat. “He doesn’t know what I look like. It’s fine. It’ll be -“

She cuts herself of when she realises that the man in question is already at the stall, staring her in the face. He’s got on an old hand-knitted sweater with pine trees stitched into it, and red foam antlers around his head. He beams, full of merriment, and gestures to the treats on the table.

“These yours then?” he asks. “Love the hat!”

“Wilf.” She doesn’t mean to say it, doesn’t mean to give herself away, but how can she not? She has missed this family for so long, and this is the man she died for all those years ago. She just knows that he’s been watching the sky for her, all this time, and she wonders if he knows how grateful she is for that constant reminder that she is not alone.

Wilf, of course, is good natured but confused by all the carryings-on. He laughs it off as the Doctor releases him from the hug, and watches her with a strange expression. But he is very bright, and there’s something about this strange woman, so he tries something. Nods to Graham and suggests -

“All these young whippersnappers with you? You should take them round the corner, there’s one of them police boxes, like the ones from when we were young. Amazing. It’s like going back in time.”

He sets his eyes very deliberately back on the Doctor for that last part, and she’s smiling and almost crying at the same time. Oh, she has missed him. But now he knows, so she opens her arms and gestures to her new self.

“I told you I was going to change, didn’t I?”

“Blimey,” Wilf remarks. “Did a good job of it. Even if you are dressed like a rainbow upchucked on a fisherman.”

“Told you,” Ryan mutters. Yaz elbows him.

Wilf’s face lights up upon seeing they’re with the Doctor, and he gleefully shakes everyone’s hands and introduces himself to the full circle.

“This is Wilf, he’s an old friend,” the Doctor adds. “Very old friend.”

“How long’s it been?” Wilf wonders.

“A long time,” the Doctor breathes. “Decades. Centuries. Depends who you ask, really.”

“And you still remember us old things?”

He looks so surprised, it almost hurts, and the Doctor wonders if he’ll ever know what it feels like not just to miss someone, but to miss missing them… and then to get them back, if only for the briefest of moments. A smile touches her lips and she promises -

“Always.”

Wilf smiles back, with a solemnity that suggests he knows something of what she’s going through, at least enough to begin to imagine, and without further prompting he offers -

“She’s good, you know. Doing well. Started up her own contracting place a few years back, business services they call it - managing temps, bookkeepers, IT, all that stuff. She’s in charge of the whole thing, and getting quite a good reputation too.”

“Good on her,” the Doctor praises, and she can’t help but smile. “Helping people, and ordering them around all day. Sounds right up Donna’s alley.” Wilf laughs. “It’s a struggle sometimes, but she’s really grown, you know. I thought it would all go away after… after you left… but she is finding her feet again. Really taking responsibility for herself and grabbing life by the horns, eh? Bloody fierce, she is, I knew she could do it.”

“THERE you are!”

Before the Doctor can so much as open her mouth to respond, there is an interruption. It’s a new voice, but an old one. It’s seared into the Doctor’s soul. (Speak of the devil, Wilf remarks fondly.) Upon hearing it, the Doctor freezes. Should she run? Hide? Dive behind the table? Suddenly it’s too late and that red hair is already here. A quiet voice whispers in her head: she doesn’t know what you look like. It is going to be okay. She doesn’t know. She can never know.

“What’s all this, then?” Donna wonders, looking around the gathering that has formed. Only half-jokingly, she points at Wilf and asks the Doctor, “Is he bothering you?”

She can never know. Words freeze on the Doctor’s tongue.

“I wasn’t bothering anyone, sweetheart,” Wilf insists. “We just got to talking, that’s all.”

“Bonding over crazy Christmas headgear, I see,” Donna remarks, eyeing the Doctor’s hat. Just as the Doctor is about to regain control of her voice, a pattering of tiny footsteps come crunching through the snow, and Donna sweeps a little blonde boy into her arms.

“This is my great-grandson Devon,” Wilf introduces, because of course, as far as Donna is concerned there’s no need. What is puzzling is the gestures he is making, until he explains a moment later, “He is deaf. Donna adopted him earlier this year. This is our first Christmas all together as a family!”

The Doctor beams, but finally manages to stumble into a response. Quite convincingly if she does say so herself, and with signs to boot.

“That’s brilliant! Merry Christmas! Have some gingerbread, on me!”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Donna jests. “Devon, what do we say to the nice lady?”

Blushing, Devon musters up the courage to say:

“… I like your hat, Nice Lady.”

The Doctor laughs. “He’ll fit right in, this one.”

Ryan hands her a cookie, which she passes onto Devon with pride. Donna nudges him.

“What do we say?”

“Thank youuuuuuuu,” Devon recites.

“Thank you,” Donna repeats genuinely as she takes a cookie for herself and, at this collection of strangers’ insistence, another for Wilf. “We should be going before Mum loses her head. Come on, Granddad.”

“Come on, Granddad!” Devon mimics in an exasperated tone. Yaz grins and hides it behind her hand, and Wilf sighs dramatically and makes a show of adhering to his dear family’s wishes. He spares one last glance for the Doctor, and a fond nod; a promise of all the things they’ve left unspoken. The Doctor stares after him for a long moment, until bittersweet tears fill her eyes beyond seeing, and then she wrenches the hat off her head because if she thinks of how Wilf-like it is for one more second…

She blinks the tears away, and turns back to her friends.

Ryan, Yaz, and Graham say nothing, and they’re all looking at her with such sympathy in their eyes it almost makes her tear up again. Instead, the Doctor takes a deep breath.

“I warned you to be sure when you travel with me,” she reminds them. “It doesn’t always end well.”

The others share a look. They could take this moment to ask any number of questions - was it Wilf who had travelled with the Doctor, or just Donna? Why did Wilf remember, and not Donna? What exactly did Donna not remember and why did the Doctor look like that about it all?

Instead, Ryan offers encouragingly; “I dunno, she looks alright to me."

The others nod in agreement and the Doctor finds her spirit is lifted. Donna is driven, successful, and loving, and so very loved, and as painful as things had been ending between them, the Doctor could hardly ask for a better life, even for her best friends in the world.

Gingerbread, surely, is the least she can do.

“Shall we get a box of these to go, then?” she suggests.

“I don’t know about you, Doc,” Graham puts in, “but right now I could go for something a little stronger than gingerbread.”

Yaz nods. “Here here.”

“They do mulled wine at the pop-up round the corner,” Ryan informs them. “Tis the season and all that, right?”

“Right,” Graham agrees. “I’m sold.”

“Me too,” Yaz says, and all three of them turn to look at the Doctor, who tucks a gift box full of gingerbread under her arm for good measure, dumps a frankly ridiculous amount of money into the cashbox, and gestures for her friends to lead the way.

#doctor who #dwfic #thirteen #thirteenth doctor #the doctor & donna noble #the doctor & wilfred mott #teamtardis13 #clara's fic tag

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blueboxesandtrafficcones · 6 years

Text

For the Love of Family

Sequel to Family Feast Pt 1! Because of how this ended up, I’m calling it both 23 - Feast AND 24 - Love! (Partially because that’s the only way to stay on schedule.) @doctorroseprompts

For @timepetalsprompts Bingo - arguably real v. artificial (their relationship); Piper - badassery, monologue, saving James’ day.

Plus any of the following prompts: fake relationships, spontaneous love confessions, coffee shop au. It’s got it all!

Human!TenxRose

Ficmas Masterlist 2017, Day 24

#2 in the Cosier With You Universe

AO3

Rose spent the entire car ride panicking as she tried to take in the info dump on who’s who. In the days since the invite she’d taken every break she’d had when he was in, and they’d gone through the crash course of basics the other should know.

As they pulled up in front of Donna’s house however, it all went out the proverbial window leaving her paralyzed in her seat as James held the door for her.

“Rose?” He peered down at her, worried. “It’s not too late to change your mind – I can take you home if you’d rather…”

“No,” she shook herself out of it, digging deep for her strength. “I’m good. Let’s go.”

They made it halfway up the walk before she stopped again to stare at his back.

“Rose?” It took several steps for him to realize she wasn’t behind him, and he turned back to her.

“They’re gonna expect us to kiss,” she blurted, feeling her face flush.

“We’ll say you have a cold,” he dismissed. “Actually, that could be good – it’ll certainly help get us out of there early.”

“Right,” Rose said awkwardly, blushing further as she decided – in for a penny, in for a pound, right? “Or, you know, if you really wanna sell it…”

James stared at her for along moment. “I’m not saying I’m not open to it…”

“We should just be prepared, you know? Things happen,” she suggested, and he nodded slowly.

“So long as we’ve talked about it…”

“It’s okay is all I’m saying, if you need to, or want to, or whatever.”

“Good to know.”

His gaze darted down to her lips and his tongue darted out to wet his own, making her a little bit braver.

“But, uh, first time shouldn’t be with an audience, right? You can always tell when it’s a first kiss – they’ll never buy it then.”

“Are you saying I should kiss you?” His tone was doubtful but his eyes brightened, making her heart speed up.

“For believability. Cause you know someone’s gonna ask me how good a kisser you are – I’d hate to lie.”

“I’d never ask that of you,” he murmured, coming up close within her personal space and gently cupping her cheek with a shaking hand.

“James,” she whispered and he lowered his mouth to hers, hovering a breath away. Impatient, she fisted his lapel and pulled him to her.

Rose was willing to admit, if only to herself, that she’d imagined this. A lot. She knew fantasizing about a customer was a bad idea, but for more than a year she’d seen him near every day. She’d watched him drink his coffee in the winter, seen how he wrapped his lips around a straw in the summer. How he often licked his lips when trying to decide whether or not to try a specialty seasonal drink.

It was better than she’d ever dreamed. Dry lips pressed against glossy ones, not moving, and it was still the best kiss of her life.

“Oi!” Donna’s voice broke the moment and they both jumped back, cheeks flaming. “Quit snogging and come inside!”

“We should…” he gestured vaguely, looking more than a bit flustered.

“Yeah!” Rose squeaked in reply, but caught his jacket before he could turn. “Um, you’ve got…”

Her thumb came up automatically to wipe away the remains of her lip gloss, not realizing what she’d done until he pecked a kiss to the digit, making them both freeze again.

“James!” Donna hollered, and the both turned without a word and hurried up the path.

“Here,” he held the door for her, unable to look her in the eye. “Remember the safe word?”

Her smile turned to a smirk after she brushed past him. Of course she did – it was banana.

After that kiss, she thought Freud might have a field day with that one.

James watched in awe and a little bit of fear as Rose expertly handled his family as though she’d known them for years. It was a fairly small crowd; Donna and her boyfriend, their mother and grandfather, James’ favorite aunt, and a scattering of cousins; no more than a dozen, them included.

He watched as she laughed with his grandfather, and for just a moment he allowed himself to pretend that it was real. Truth to tell, he’d been harboring a not-so-little crush on the kind barista since his very first visit. As good as the coffee was, it didn’t compare to how seeing her every morning made him feel.

“You really love her.”

He jumped, turning to face his aunt. “Sarah!”

“I can certainly see why – she’s lovely,” Sarah Jane continued. “And it’s clear she feels the same.”

“Oh, no, I don’t – I mean-” he belatedly remembered they were supposed to be a couple, and shut his mouth before the whole sordid tale could come out. He was embarrassed at how long he’d been lying to his family, but not enough to come clean.

“Donna said you’ve been thinking about proposing?”

James’ eyes widened, checking to make sure that Rose was still out of hearing range. She was, in the middle of a tale that had his grandfather howling with laughter. “I’m not sure she feels the same way I do,” he admitted truthfully, watching with an aching heart as two of his favorite people got on so well.

“She does,” Sarah said confidently, watching them as well.

“Really?” His heart leapt, and his aunt smiled at the hope on his face.

“Trust me. Did Donna really show up at her work?”

Before lunch James had managed to keep his mother and sister away from Rose, something Donna had obviously noticed because she seated Rose between herself and Sylvia, with James on his mother’s other side.

“So, Rose,” Sylvia started as soon as the food had been served, “James says you work in a coffee shop?”

Hand outstretched to her water glass, Rose paused to look over at the woman. “I do. It’s how we met.”

Sylvia nodded with pursed lips. “And what do you plan to do once you’re finished with that?”

Rose shrugged, finally getting a sip of water and using it to hide her nerves. “Retire, I would think. That’s quite a ways off.”

The older woman’s eyebrows shot up, the first visible evidence that she and James were related. “You plan to sell coffee the rest of your life?”

“I do,” Rose smiled politely. “I love it. The brewing of course, and the baking for the scones and muffins and such. But most of all I love the customers; getting to know them, hearing their stories. Hot beverages are such an integral part of who we are as a species, and there’s just something about providing that that feels right.”

“Is there any upward mobility?”

“Mum,” James intervened, but Rose gave him a warning glare to let her handle it.

“Not as such, no.”

“Really? No way to grow in your position?”

Rose hummed thoughtfully. “Well, I suppose I could always expand, or open a new location. I try to test out different brands and types of drinks, and I certainly have plans along the line of ways to improve the customer experience.”

Sylvia scoffed derisively. “You talk like you own the place.”

“I do.”

James coughed on the bite he’d just taken, and Sylvia’s fork clattered to the plate.

“What?”

“Bad Wolf Beanery. I bought the shop about three years ago and changed the name,” Rose explained calmly, hiding her smirk behind her water glass at the shocked look on everyone’s faces.

“That’s incredibly impressive,” Sarah Jane said, barely hiding her laughter at her sister-in-law’s gobsmacked expression.

“I worked my arse off,” Rose shrugged. “I worked there off and on since I was, oh, sixteen? The last owner, Mr. Jones, took me on as almost an apprentice. When he and his wife decided to retire, we worked out a deal where I’d buy them out. I paid the balance off about four months ago.”

“Well, James has been raving about it for more than a year now,” Wilf told her. “Though I certainly wonder how much of that was the business, and how much the proprietress.”

Rose and James flushed as he halfheartedly protested, “Gramps…”

“Hang on,” Donna interrupted. “If you’re the owner, why didn’t you say so?”

Rose shrugged. “It’s just easier, really. Customers tend not to take me seriously cause of my age. If I have to pull rank I’ll say I’m the manager on duty, which is technically true. And I’d planned to work this afternoon so Amy, one of my employees, could spend the holiday with her boyfriend, who had to work tomorrow.”

“Well, it sounds like you’re doing a fine job,” Wilf complimented her, and she blushed again.

“Thank you. Anyway, that’s me. Donna, this lunch is delicious.”

Rose deftly steered the conversation away from herself, sneaking a glance at James once Donna was off on the meal only to find he was already looking at her. When he caught her eye he gave her a big grin, and she relaxed back to enjoy the food.

After lunch when Rose was helping Donna clean up the kitchen, Sylvia cornered her son by the Christmas tree.

“I don’t approve,” she said bluntly. “This girl’s not right for you, James.”

“I disagree,” Wilf butted in before his grandson could respond. “She’s perfect – you ought to seal the deal, as they say.”

“Dad!”

“What? She’s lovely, Sylvia, and he’s never smiled as much as he does when he’s talking about her. I had my concerns, but having met her now it’s obvious they’re as in love as the day is long! Not everything’s about you.”

“I-” James tried to interrupt, but his mother talked over him.

“Dad, how can you say that?! This, this, this girl- this chav thinks she can waltz right in here-”

“Mum!” James bellowed. “How can you say that? She’s been nothing but polite and respectful, changing her plans to show up here when Donna demanded! Rose is kind, and decent. And I’d much rather spend Christmas with her than with you, the way you’re acting now!”

“But, James,” Sylvia protested, “how can you say-”

“Because I love her!” he roared, and the room fell deathly silent.

“You do?” he heard softly from behind him, and he closed his eyes briefly before spinning around.

“Rose-” before he could get another word out she all but tackled him, throwing her arms around his neck as she pressed against him.

“Really?” Rose breathed, and he smiled wryly down at her.

“Yeah.”

“Me too,” she whispered, and the slow, happy grin that grew on his face he gave as he understood made her heart take flight.

“Really?”

“Mmhmm. For ages,” she admitted, fingers toying with his collar.

“Me too!” He bent his knees slightly to be eye to eye with her, and they beamed at each other.

“Can I kiss you?” It finally occurred to him to ask.

In response, she tugged his head down to hers.

She was wrong earlier.

This was the best kiss of her life.

#bbatcfic #doctor who #timepetalscollective #31 days of ficmas #ficandchips #human!tenxrose #coffee shop au #fake relationship #Cosier With You Universe #31 Days of Ficmas 2017

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raywritesthings · 6 years

Text

Busy Day, Silent Night

My Writing Fandom: Doctor Who Characters: Wilfred Mott, Donna Noble, Tenth Doctor, Sylvia Noble Pairing: Doctor/Donna Summary: A typical Christmas in the Noble-Mott household. For @phoebemaybe AO3 link

Christmases never really turned out the way they used to anymore, not since that year with the alien face on the telly and the people on the roof, and certainly not since Donna had met the alien who constituted her date to these things.

Wilf wasn’t complaining of course. The Doctor was one of the most fascinating people he’d ever met, and it was clear Donna absolutely adored him as he did her. Not like that Lance fellow she’d been planning to marry. They were all well rid of that as far as he was concerned.

Of course, Sylvia wasn’t very happy with Donna’s current choice of partner.

“It’ll be just like her not even to turn up,” she’d been saying all the last week as she’d gone about buying presents and groceries to make a feast fit for ten people, let alone four. “When’s the last time they’ve even been by?”

Nevertheless, Donna and the Doctor arrived in the blue box Christmas morning with a whole sack of presents.

“You should see what he’s gotten me,” his granddaughter remarked. “We’re being spoilt, all of us.”

“Donna, gift-giving is the entire point of Christmas,” the Doctor insisted. “Well, that and peace on Earth, goodwill, that sort of thing. But, it’s hard to be in ill will when you’ve got presents!”

And what presents! Wilf received some sort of contraption the Doctor promised to set up later; a device that projected holographic starfields onto the ceiling, and Donna went on about all the different ones it contained.

“That way, if you ever get bored of the old Milky Way, you’ve got something else to look at,” she said.

Sylvia unwrapped a set of earrings Donna had picked out on some planet in the future. Apparently, the gems were made of some material that didn’t exist on Earth. Sylvia sniffed and deemed them acceptable, but they all were able to tell by the way she immediately got up to tuck them away in her jewelry box that she was really quite pleased.

They made it about halfway through unwrapping presents when a loud boom shook the floor and rattled the windows.

“And that was…?” Donna asked.

“Probably a ship entering the atmosphere,” the Doctor answered, frozen with the tie Sylvia had begrudgingly bought him halfway unopened. He dropped the packaging and sprung to his feet, bending back over to place a chaste kiss on Donna’s lips. “Sorry. Just, um, carry on without me for a minute.”

He’d not even made it out of the room before Donna had stood up with a roll of her eyes. “Won’t be a minute,” she excused herself as well, then hurried after her alien.

Wilf and Sylvia sat there blinking across at each other for several minutes until the wheezing of the Doctor’s ship could be heard.

“Oh,” Sylvia huffed, then stood and retreated to the kitchen. “Suppose they’ll still be expecting dinner even after running out on their hosts.”

“Well, if it can’t be helped, it can’t be helped,” Wilfred reasoned. “Aliens on Christmas. It’s getting to be tradition, you know.”

“Hm. Well it’s one I could do without.”

The morning went on. Wilf completed his task of gathering up the wrappings from the floor, then entered the kitchen in the hopes of a biscuit or two. Instead, he found Sylvia on the phone.

“Well how long does he think you’ll be? Am I supposed to just keep the turkey in the oven till it pleases you to come home?”

“Would you rather we just let the aliens make themselves at home on the planet, mum?” He was able to hear Donna’s voice on the other end.

“You don’t come round all that often, you know. And when are we supposed to see you if you run off when you are home?”

He was practically able to hear the guilt in Donna’s voice as she replied, “I’m sorry. Look, I’ll try and hurry him along.”

“Donna!” The Doctor’s voice called distantly. “We’ve got to move! That door won’t hold them forever!”

“Coming!” His granddaughter hollered. “Just save us a plate, alright? Love you.” She hung up shortly after.

His daughter shut her phone with a sigh.

“What are you bothering them for?” He asked. “They’ve got plenty to worry about what with them aliens.”

“I just don’t see why they had to leave in the middle of Christmas. That box travels in time doesn’t it? Why can’t they just sort it tomorrow?”

“Cos it doesn’t work like that!”

“Well how does it work?”

He knew it had something to do with personal timelines or some such ; Donna had tried to explain it once, but he didn’t have the whole thing clear. Wilf went back out to the sitting room instead and turned on the telly. The news didn’t have anything to report aside from the ship that continued to hover overhead.

The smell of baked goods began to waft from the kitchen a little after one, and it was clear Sylvia was just looking for things to do while they waited. They still hadn’t heard anything from Donna or the Doctor well into the afternoon, though neither of them would have been able to anticipate just how that would change!

He’d just settled into a chair for the Queen’s Speech. As she appeared on the screen, he made sure to sit up as straight as he could manage these days.

Yet before she was able to begin, a very familiar wheezing sound emanated from the telly. Wilfred watched in stupefied silence as the blue box came phasing into view just behind the Queen. The doors opened, and out stepped the Doctor and Donna.

“Hello!” The Doctor greeted brightly.

“Oh, hello, Doctor,” the Queen said. “Merry Christmas.”

“And to you!”

“Hold on, you two know each other?” Donna asked.

“Sylvia! Hey, Sylvia! You’d better come and look at this!” Wilf called.

“Oh, dad, it’s the same thing every year,” Sylvia said as she’d banged pots and pans together.

He turned back to the telly just as the Doctor began to speak.

“Oh, Elizabeth, this is Donna. Donna, Elizabeth II.”

“Yeah, I know who the Queen is, Spaceman.”

“Might I ask what brings you fully into my home on this Christmas Day?” Asked the Queen.

A couple of men in suits had moved into sight, partly blocking his view of things. "You two can't be in here. How did they get in here?"

“Oh, right! We wouldn’t have, but it’s sort of important.”

“Sorry about this. Oh, and sorry, Gramps,” Donna added.

The Doctor gave Donna a look. “What are you apologizing to Wilf for?”

“He watches this every year, looks forward to it. I mean it, he just loves your speech,” she added, looking back over her shoulder at the Queen. His granddaughter, talking to the Queen! And about him!

The Doctor looked straight at the telly. “Oh. Well, sorry for the interruption then, Wilf. But the Veero are monitoring all communications and broadcasts on this planet right now, and this seemed to be the best way to reach out. Paying attention yet?” He asked of an unseen viewer. “Brilliant.”

“Basically, we want you to just go back where you came from,” Donna said bluntly.

“Right. No fighting. This is meant to be a day of peace and goodwill, which is lucky for you because you wouldn’t last a day against this lot. You see this?” He walked over to a tree that stood near the back corner of the room and prodded at a bit of tinsel. “This stuff is made out of a mineral you call The Slow Poison. It may not stop you quickly, but it will stop you painfully. And humans, they bring it into their homes by the armful every Christmas!”

He wheeled back around to face the telly, a very serious look on his face.

“So I’d think it over before invading this planet, wouldn’t you?”

“Is that it, then? Cos mum’s fussing about the turkey,” said Donna.

The Doctor blinked. “Er, I think that’s about it.”

“Lovely. Merry Christmas, Your Majesty.” Donna took the Doctor by the hand and pulled him back towards the blue box.

“Right, just — just carry on,” the Doctor added before the door shut. The two men in suits hurried forward, but it faded away moments later.

“Dad, what’s Suzette on about the Queen’s Speech for?” He heard Sylvia ask in the next room. “She’s texting me something about Donna.”

“Oh, er, nothing.” From outside came the noise of the Doctor’s ship, and so he added, “Well, here they come now.”

Sylvia set Donna straight to work in the kitchen with her as soon as the two had gotten through the front door, though the Doctor nearly went right after them.

“Anything I can do, Sylvia?”

“I certainly hope not.”

“Mum, alien men from the future know how to cook,” Donna insisted. But it was Sylvia’s kitchen and Sylvia’s rules. Donna grimaced and looked to the Doctor again. “Just sit tight with Gramps a minute. I’ll get you to set the table later.”

Wilf led their discouraged guest back through to the sitting room. It was pretty obvious to all of them that this was Sylvia’s version of punishment, separating him and Donna.

“Did your people have their own Christmas songs?” Wilf asked as he switched on the radio, hoping to raise some holiday spirit.

“My people didn’t have Christmas anything. Didn’t celebrate it. I didn’t either till I first started coming to Earth.”

“Oh! Well, I wouldn’t have known it with how well you’ve taken to it. And Donna, too, she didn’t used to hold with all the getting up early and unwrapping the presents together and all that.”

“I’ve heard,” the Doctor remarked, lips twitching with amusement.

“Of course, best present any of us could’ve gotten was you stepping in with those whatsits. Veeorgs.”

“Veeoro,” the alien corrected him.

“Right. But tinsel! I mean, just imagine. That’s proper clever of you.”

“You think so? Good job Donna remembered you lot make it mostly out of synthetic material now. We had to make a trip to the 17th century to get the proper thing for UNIT so they’d have it on hand.”

“UNIT?”

“The Unified Intelligence Taskforce,” he explained. “I’ve worked with them a fair bit over the years. Once you get them pointed in the right direction, they’re good on follow-through. They can handle things while I spend Christmas with you all,” the Doctor finished with a grin.

“Yeah, might as well let them deal with it since they’re getting paid to be on duty,” Donna added, entering the sitting room with a plate of biscuits. “They get extra compensation for the holiday, right?”

The Doctor shrugged as he helped himself to two or three of them. “I never really bothered with the finances of things.”

“Hold on, did you get paid? You said you worked for them. Have you got a bunch of money stored up somewhere?”

The alien had to swallow down his mouthful of biscuits before answering. “Maybe. I really didn’t pay much attention.”

Donna rolled her eyes and dropped into a chair now that she’d given Sylvia the slip. “You see what I have to deal with on a daily basis? He’s a bloody genius, but he misses the simplest stuff.”

“Well, that’s what I’ve got you for,” the Doctor said as he perched on the arm of her chair. Donna smiled up at him and laid a hand on his knee.

A second boom threatened to send the alien sprawling into her lap.

“Was that them leaving?” Wilf asked.

Before either of them could answer, Slade’s “Merry Xmas Everybody” stopped playing on the radio mid-song, only to be replaced by the voice of an announcer.

“We’ve just received word a second unidentified craft has entered our atmosphere over British airspace. Officials continue to tell the public to remain calm.”

“I’m taking that as a no,” said Donna.

“Hold on.” The Doctor stood and took out a mobile. Wilf and Donna tried their best to follow a very quick, heated conversation.

“What’s happening? Well, that’s not right, it should have worked. No, don’t keep trying. Pull those troops back. I’ve just got to figure something else out.”

He hung up and began pacing back and forth in front of the tree, his brow furrowed and a frown etched deeply into his face.

“So what’d we get wrong?” Donna prompted. “Can’t be the wrong tinsel, unless we got fleeced, and there really isn’t any silver in it.”

“No, you’re right, it can’t be the tinsel.”

“Well, what else? Can’t be the wrong aliens.”

The Doctor froze in place, then slowly swiveled on the spot towards her. “No, I think it is the wrong alien.”

“What?”

But the Doctor had already started rifling through the unwrapped presents Wilf had set to one side of the room.

“Wilf, we’re going to get your starfield set up right now. There’s something I need to check.”

He and Donna followed after the alien to his room and watched as the Doctor tapped at a couple buttons and then set the device on his bedside table.

“Alright, the Carveana galaxy, home of the the Veeoro.”

Wilfred gaped up at the vast expanse of stars entirely unfamiliar to him, but the Doctor immediately began scanning the image closely, a pair of spectacles perched on the bridge of his nose.

“Let’s see, let’s see, think,” he muttered to himself.

“What are we looking for? Their planet?” Asked Donna.

“Not quite. Oh! Oh, of course, it’s not the Veeoro at all!” The Doctor declared.

“It’s not?” Wilf asked.

“No, it’s the Veeori. They’re cousins of the Veeoro from a satellite orbiting their planet. See that one right there?” He pointed to a tiny orange-looking light nearby a larger, brighter one. “Evolved similarly but separately, so they haven’t got the same reaction to the silver in the tinsel.”

“Great, so our plan is useless,” Donna stated.

“Maybe, but I’ve got a better one! They’re immune to tinsel but extremely susceptible to loud, high-pitched noises. Their ears are too sensitive at those decibels to stand it. It creates a sort of ringing in their ears.”

“If you’re about to say you need to borrow my mum,” Donna warned.

“Good idea, but no. We need bells!”

“Bells? Where are we supposed to get bells?”

“Easy, Donna.” The Doctor beamed at her. “It’s Christmas!”

Her eyes went wide as she practically jumped in place, and her hands reached for him. “The church!”

Wilf watched as she yanked the Doctor right out of the room and listened as, minutes later, the front door slammed.

“What, have they gone again?” Sylvia called from the kitchen.

“Oh, I’d think so.” He sat back on his bed and continued watching the stars up above him. “But they’ll be back.”

Eventually he went back out to the sitting room. There weren’t any more radio announcements and the news didn’t have anything to report. He supposed they’d just have to wait to hear back from Donna and the Doctor. They were the ones who really knew what was happening whenever these aliens showed up.

“When did they say they’d be coming back this time?” Sylvia demanded from the kitchen. Wilfred had lost track of how many times.

“Well, they can’t come back till they’ve got it sorted. It’s cause you wanted them home so badly they got it wrong the first time.”

It was almost dark outside now, and it was just as the sun finally sank past the horizon that they heard the ship arriving again. Wilfred and Sylvia both went to the front door to welcome the pair, who looked a bit worn out frankly as they came up the front path.

“I think my hands are about to fall off from all that ringing,” said Donna.

“You were quite good, though,” the Doctor praised. “Maybe you ought to join a bell choir.”

“Ha! I don’t think so.”

“So that’s it, then?” Wilf checked. “They’re leaving?”

“Should be,” said the Doctor. Twin booms shook the ground again, and Wilfred caught himself on the wall. “That’s them gone.”

“Well, all in a day’s work, then!” He gave an astonished laugh. “That’s really something, that is.”

“Oh, it shouldn’t have taken half as long,” the Doctor replied as he followed Wilfred back to the sitting room. “Bit embarrassing I mixed up the Veeori with the Veeoro, really.”

“You hear that?” Donna remarked from behind them. “Him being humble. That’s a Christmas miracle.”

“I’ll say,” Sylvia agreed.

“Blimey, they’re a pair when they work together,” the Doctor said under his breath. Wilfred nodded in commiseration.

“You want anymore help with dinner, mum?” Donna offered as the cane upon the archway into the kitchen.

Sylvia hesitated, then said, “No, I think you’ve had enough to do running off invaders. Just go and wait with the men.”

There was no missing the relieved look on Donna’s face as she dragged herself over to the sofa and dropped onto it. The Doctor threw himself down next to her moments later.

“I really am sorry about running out on you and Sylvia today, Wilf,” the alien said as Donna leaned her head on his shoulder, and he rested his cheek on her in turn. “Should’ve expected it. Ought to just drop Donna off with you next year—”

“Oi, don’t even think about it.” His granddaughter cut the alien off with a prod to his side. He squirmed a bit, but seemed either too comfortable or too tired to move away.

Wilf gave an approving nod. “That’s right, Doctor. Our girl knows just where she’s supposed to be.”

“Hm.” The Doctor smiled and laced the fingers of one hand through Donna’s. “That’s true.”

“Why don’t I see what we’ve got to start off with? Sylvia’s always got some sort of nibbles ready before dinner, and you look like you could use the energy,” Wilf told them.

He also thought they could do with a quiet moment to themselves before tucking into a big family meal. Even if they’d been off together all day, Wilf doubted they’d had any time to appreciate it.

In the kitchen, it looked as though his daughter had calmed down now that aliens were no longer ruining her Christmas — either by invading the planet or stealing her daughter away to stop it.

“You know they only meant well going to help with those, those — oh, I’ve forgot what they’re called again.”

“Of course I know. But why’s it got to be up to Donna to get called away on Christmas and, and save the whole Earth?”

“Because she’s good at it. And she likes doing it. You know she’s never liked Christmas all that well, but you should see her out there right now. Happier than ever.”

Sylvia didn’t acknowledge his words verbally, but he thought her gaze softened just a tad. She really did want the best for her daughter at heart, even if it didn’t always agree with what she thought was best. But he supposed that was what being a parent was about sometimes.

“Well, tell them there’s food on the table. If they’re still here. It’s awfully quiet.”

Wilf shuffled out to the sitting room again, his granddaughter’s name on his lips, but the sight he was met with gave him pause.

Their guests were still present contradictory to what Sylvia had assumed. She was correct, however, that their usual chatter has quieted, and it was plain to see why.

They were both fast asleep along the length of the sofa, the Doctor’s long legs nearly sticking out over the armrest while also tangled with Donna’s. She was curled up into his chest with a gentle smile on her lips and her hands clutching tiny fistfuls of his shirt. Wilf couldn’t see what expression the Doctor wore, for his nose was in Donna’s hair, but the way his arms were wrapped around her was a good indication.

Wilf carefully removed the throw blanket from the back of the couch and placed it over the pair. Neither of them woke, though Donna snuggled in closer to her alien, and he thought he saw the Doctor’s arms tighten around her waist as well. He straightened back up with a smile.

“Peace on Earth, ha.” Wilf went about the room switching off all the lights until only the twinkling of the tree washed the room in a warm, multicolored glow. He stopped in the open archway, looking back at the blissfully slumbering pair.

“Merry Christmas, you two.”

Sylvia could always save them a plate for later.

#ten x donna #doctor x donna #wilfred mott #donna noble #tenth doctor #sylvia noble #the doctor #doctor who #my writing

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tenroseforeverandever · 6 years

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Dear Father Christmas Chapter 6: 24th December, 2021

MASTERPOST

Characters: Tentoo; Rose Tyler; Jackie Tyler; Pete Tyler; Tony Tyler; OC Hope Tyler-Noble; OC Charlotte Tyler-Noble; OC Wilfred Tyler-Noble

Rated: Teen

Tags: Family!Fic; Kid!Fic; Pete’s World; Letters to Santa; Christmas Fic; Family; Fluff; Hurt/Comfort; Angst; Romance; Love

Summary: When Rose Tyler was little, she always wrote a Christmas wish list to Father Christmas. As she grew older, the wish list became more of a letter to someone she could confide in once a year, but she fell out of the habit somewhere along the way. Now, as a new mum, celebrating her daughter’s first Christmas, Rose takes up writing her Christmas letter to Father Christmas once again.

Rose’s Christmas letters are excerpts from her life with her beloved Tentoo and their children in Pete’s World, written once a year, for each of 31 years.

Chapter Summary: Rose is beyond frustrated when the children’s creative intelligence results in an explosion of melted candy canes.

Notes: As always, my thanks to my darling betas mrsbertucci and @rose--nebula for offering their unstinting support and insightful comments. ((((hugs, ladies))))

Thanks to @doctorroseprompts for their 31 Days of Ficmas prompts. A reminder that I am using the prompts very much out of order, but I intend to use them all. The prompt I used today was Candy Canes.

Also read at: AO3; FF.net; Teaspoon

December 24th, 2021

Dear Father Christmas,

Ooooooh, some days I just want to tear my hair out. Today, in case you couldn’t guess, is one of them. It was completely mad! The Doctor aggroed (full Oncoming Bah Humbug), the TARDIS is in a snit, the children are in solitary lock-up until the foreseeable future (imposed by aggro-Doctor), and I have candy cane melted into my hair. The smell of burned sugar is everywhere! And on top of all that we’re expected at Mum and Dad’s in a few hours for Christmas Eve, and I’m not even sure we can pilot the TARDIS in her current state. We’ve been travelling this past week, so Mum suggested we could stay at the mansion overnight tonight and open pressies with them Christmas morning. Honestly I just want to go to bed and stay there for a very, very long time.

Even though it’s completely against everything me and the Doctor agreed on, this is one of those days when it’s really tempting to consider cheating a little with the timelines and stealing a few hours to give us a chance to get it together. It’ll never happen, but it’s sure nice to think about.

Actually, the whole of autumn has been a bit of a challenge, if I’m being completely honest. We decided to do try something new this year. When the school year began in September, we enrolled Hope at her own age level to help her to socialize (that’s another story! Let’s just say, some attitude adjustment was necessary.) That meant taking the TARDIS out on the weekends to explore and educate the children, Doctor-style, which was lovely. But, it also meant the two kiddies left at home during the week whilst Hope was at school weren’t having their intelligence challenged as much as would be considered ideal… for them. It’s a constant battle trying to keep on top of them to figure out what they’ll get into next.

I don’t quite remember why we didn’t enroll them in the Torchwood Nursery… Some nonsense about me needing to be home to do the school-run, morning and afternoon, and since they had each other for company, they might as well stay home too and drive me mental while they were at it. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Santa, it was a mutual decision between me and the Doctor. We talked it over and decided since he’s enjoying working in the Torchwood labs so much, he should keep doing it, and he relieves me whenever I really need it. It’s just some days I find myself questioning my life choices...

Anyway, the upshot of it is, this past week, we thought we’d give ourselves a nice break. We took Hope out of school a week early for a few days of hols before settling back to Earth-life over Christmas. It started out great, exploring cave life on Naotol-ri-Pibol one day and observing the process of the Grand Canyon gradually forming over eons from the TARDIS doors the next. (That little trick always floors me: to have the TARDIS hover in one point in space, but move through time, so the evolution of the planet plays out like a time-lapse film before your eyes! Brilliant!) But our final stop, yesterday, was the absolute best Christmas planet in either universe: 63rd Century Yultidia! I know, I know, the name is cheesier than my mum’s festive nutty cheese ball, but it sure makes up for it in many wonderful ways.

You’d love Yultidia, Santa, for a chance to get away. It’s completely impractical and over-the-top, not at all suited for building toys, but still everything’s decked out in Christmas cheer. And there’s so much to do: reindeer-pulled sleigh rides (not that that’s anything special for you), shops, carnivals and amusement parks, ice skating, sledding, and all kinds of other winter sports. There’s brilliant, posh hotels and restaurants, the ultimate hot chocolate, and the most wonderful spas… ever! You can guess where I spent most of my time. You and Mrs. Claus should come and treat yourselves to a post-Christmas massage some year. You deserve it!

(I could bloody use another massage, myself, right about now.)

So, while I was enjoying my day at the spa, the Doctor and the brood went exploring. They went snow tubing and they each got to ride a reindeer. And then they went shopping…

Hope, being the most diplomatic of them all (and not just because she’s the eldest… it’s just her nature) convinced her pushover of a Daddy (she has him wound around every single one of her little fingers) to allow the three of them to buy, in addition to a soft toy each, Christmas decorations to add to Gran and Grandad’s setup this year. Of course they chose the tackiest, most garish multicoloured garland possible. Now I’m not talking about tinsel-garland, yeah. I’m talking about fake metallic tree branches in every shade of the rainbow and then some. A bit naff. Not that Mum would mind one little bit. Even though she’s gone a bit posh, living in luxury these last few years, she could never be accused of being particularly sophisticated in her decorating tastes. And besides if her grandkids want something, her grandkids get it.

They also bought a huge box of candy canes to hang from the garland, and no doubt from other places as well, given the quantity of them. I’m not quite sure what the Doctor had been thinking, allowing them to buy so many. Probably thinking with his sweet tooth instead of his brain.

Anyway, they picked me up from the spa, and we all went to a restaurant to have our tea. Soooo good! They have Christmas Chips! I can’t begin to explain the flavour. Gooorgeous! So after enjoying some hot chocolate and mince pies for dessert we all headed back to the TARDIS. Me and the Doctor left the three kids to play in the console room. They were looking all innocent, oohing and awing over their purchases and plotting where they would hang everything when they got to the mansion. Basically, they seemed content, so we headed down to the family room to watch some Scrooge. Biggest mistake ever… but we wouldn’t know that until this afternoon.

In retrospect, we should have known. The three of them were being awfully quiet for children who were “playing”, but we were just so happy to have a quiet evening to snuggle together, we didn’t want to jinx it. When the movie was over, I went to get them ready for bed. They had already tidied up the garland and candy canes, and Wilf was nodding off, hugging his new stuffie reindeer. I got them all into a bath to wash the glitter off them, then into their new Christmas jimjams and straight to bed. Nothing seemed amiss. Same this morning when I made banana pancakes in Christmas shapes for breakfast, although there was rather a little too much chatter about them getting to see Father Christmas (you!) hiding pressies under the tree this year.

We decided to spend a little longer on Yultidia. They all wanted me to go tubing with them! So much bloody fun! Then we had lunch and bought a pile of Christmas goodies for Mum, Dad, and Tony, and gifts for Hope’s teachers and the folks at Torchwood. They’d get them a little late, but that’s okay. I know you’re thinking “time machine”, Santa, but remember, me and the Doctor agreed not to cheat with the timelines, and anyway, those sweets are worth the wait.

We all bundled back into the TARDIS, and got ready to go: the kids were all buckled in and squirming, so excited to show Gran the garland. The Doctor did his usual dance around the console switching switches and pushing buttons, and I followed behind, making sure everything was set just right, then both of us once again. I know it sounds tedious, but these days… safety first!

Then, the Doctor’s running his hands through his hair and telling me “Something doesn’t feel quite right. Something’s off. I just can’t put my finger on it.” And as he’s fishing for his sonic, I can’t help but see our three little angels giving each other guilty looks and biting their little lower lips. And all I can think is “Oh, bloody hell…”

Next thing I hear is the buzz of the sonic, then a violent rumbling coming from the candy cane box under the console, and I’m throwing myself between it and the children as fast as I can. Flames come shooting out of the box, and the Doctor’s just standing there gawping and saying “What?” over and over. I mean, at this point, Doctor, does it matter?

Suddenly the whole thing explodes, bits of melted and burning candy cane go soaring around the console room, sticking to everything. And believe me, hot candy cane burns are not to be taken lightly. The stuff was everywhere, in our hair, on our clothes (the kids had managed to come out of it with only a little stickiness, thank goodness.) But, worst of all, some of the molten sweet had seeped into the TARDIS controls.

The Doctor lost it. Completely lost it. I could see he was scared shitless. Things could have been so much worse, and he was over-reacting as a result. Like I said earlier, he put the kids in solitary time-out rooms. They were blubbering and apologizing and begging. At least Hope and Charlie were. Poor Wilfred, was just sobbing and sucking his thumb, really frightened and not quite realizing why his Daddy was so angry.

After the kids were settled, the Doctor gingerly ran his sonic over the TARDIS console and deemed it would be hours before she’d be ready to fly again. She just grumbled and dimmed her lights. I wonder if she would enjoy a nice spa treatment…?

Anyway, the Doctor just went down to interrogate the little hooligans, so I’m taking the time to record my letter to you now.

Holy crap! Hang on just a minute, Santa! Now, that plonker is crowing away to the kids about how brilliant they are. Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, he is! And they’re all laughing and talking some bloody technobabble language I swear they all made up. I’ll make them laugh, all right! I’ll be right back. Looks like Mummy Scrooge is going to have to step in after all.

--ooOoo--

I’m back! Honestly, that man is such a pushover! If I hadn’t stepped in… The brood may be little but they’re definitely smart enough to learn that they have to be held accountable for their actions. I saw their faces when Daddy thought there was something wrong, and they knew it was probably their doing. So accountability! No matter how clever their little invention was!

So, right now, they’re giving the TARDIS her “day at the spa”. They damaged her, and they can fix her up again. They’re polishing and buffing her, and the Doctor is helping them take apart the damaged bits and they’re all putting them back together. The Doctor’s even letting Hope use his sonic for the really stuck-on candy, and the TARDIS is humming in appreciation. My lovely, baby TARDIS. She’s such an important part of our family and it doesn’t hurt for us to remember that once in a while.

In case you’re wondering, it turns out the little inventors were devising a surveillance system to watch for you coming down the chimney. They had rigged each and every candy cane with miniature cameras they found in one of their father’s storage cabinets. (To answer the burning question that must be on your mind: no, I don’t know why he had them. I think it must have been from when Hope was small and he wanted to be able to keep an eye on her everywhere she went.) Anyway, long story short, they rigged them up incorrectly (they were a bit dodgy to begin with, mind) using some wiring they had pinched from under the TARDIS console that was completely incompatible. So, when the Doctor activated his sonic, he ended up reversing the polarity of the neutron flow (or some rubbish like that) and BLAM! Candy cane fireworks!

All I can say, is thank goodness we found out about it before we got to Mum and Dad’s. Can you just imagine Mum’s reaction to having peppermint-scented goo all over her living room? Blimey, what a nightmare that would have been!

Well, it’s time for everyone to get bathed and dressed again (right into their jimjams, I’m thinking.) Then off to the mansion to put up some rather naff garland (minus the candy canes!), hang some stockings, and as it’s been a very long day, a quick tea and off to bed.

Happy Christmas! Love to all, Santa. And here’s hoping you don’t encounter any exploding candy canes on your travels tonight!

love, Rose

#doctorroseprompts #kid fic #tentoo x rose #christmas fic #christmas fluff #angst #hurt/comfort #family #love #romance #ficandchips #tenroseforeverandever's fic

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youremyonlyhope · 5 years

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The End of Time Part 1

Yay for once, in all these years of rewatching, I was wrong when I assumed it wouldn’t be until 3 months from now that I’d watch the next episode! Only like 2 days!

Honestly, at this point, I’m almost ready to see Ten go. I’ve been stuck watching Ten’s episodes for 5 years now. Longer than his actual run. Because I’m so lazy. So I’ve almost been itching to getting around to Eleven’s era. Especially since I’ve only seen the vast majority of those episodes once, the first time I ever watched them.

And in true Amazon Prime fashion, it freezes 27 seconds in. It’s almost fitting that I’m watching the Christmas episode on Halloween. Since the moment it hits midnight I’m gonna probably be in Christmas mode. OK. AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. I still don’t understand who this lady is supposed to be. Some say the Doctor’s mother. Some say a future weeping angel. I just don’t understand who she is. Awww yay Wilf gets a opening credit!

“Got married! That was a mistake. Good Queen Bess. And let me tell you, her nickname is no longer... Anyway!” God I love the 50th anniversary special if only because it resolves the Queen Elizabeth mystery behind this line and the Shakespeare Code.

See, they have to give this Master recap since it’s been 2 years since the season 3 finale. Or, in my case, 4 years. Literally, the Master had a Horcrux. And it was a ring. A ring that was green and silver... just like Slytherin’s colors... Doctor Who stole from Harry Potter confirmed!! Opening the TARDIS like a car door while he ran to it was cute. Ok I just gotta take a moment to appreciate that they brought back Lucy. This is probably the first time I’m thinking of this, but they really brought back EVERYONE for this episode. I’m glad they brought back Lucy. She was a small part, but still, I always wondered why she went along with the Master, especially since she killed him in the end. I’m glad we got to have some sort of closure to her character, where she ended up after it all, redeeming her a bit more by having her try to kill him again. Ok but why would Lucy be wearing lipstick if she had been in prison all this time?

OK. Gotta take a moment. Because it’s kind of just hitting me. WHERE THE HELL DOES WORLD AND ENOUGH TIME TAKE PLACE IN THE MASTER’S TIMELINE? Because I’m thinking about the “Out of the way” moment that’s coming in the next part, and would he really be that angry and evil after that, and create Mondasian Cybermen? He’d saved the Doctor, then the next time we see that version of him he hates him? But also, that’s the only place where it can really be timeline wise since he went straight from Utopia to being Harold Saxon and then died. He was on Mondas a long time, so resentment? I don’t know.

OH. AND HOW DID HE ESCAPE GALLIFREY? MOFFAT EXPLAIN.

I mean. Of course that potion wouldn’t completely work. Humans aren’t smart enough to really be that successful in reverse engineering a time lord potion... elixir... thing. He’s wearing 2 sets of antlers. On top of a beanie. I love Wilf. Awww. Obama. I miss him. I’ve always wanted to know more about this Ginger kid. Why did Tommo take him under his wing? Why doesn’t he talk much? Why does he have to spend his Christmas Eve in this worksite, with burgers from a food truck as his dinner? What is his story? I really really want to know more. Ugh I hate watching the Master scarf the burger down. Those two did no deserve that fate at all. There’s a little wire on the metal beam that Ten runs on and he steps on it. I’ve always wondered if Tennant tripped on in during a take. WOW. I was so busy thinking “You can see that he dented it in previous takes during the shot before he hits it” and “why would he even want the Doctor to find him when 2 seconds ago he didn’t want to be smelled?” and “is he just teasing him?” to realize that he’s hitting the barrel 4 times. I am slow. The captions says the guy who was handed the camera phone said “V nice.” but to me it sounds like “Me next.” So either he’s an older gay guy (in which case, cool representation) or he’s from the future using our slang since I didn’t hear anyone say “V” instead of “very” before 2015. “People have waited hundreds of years to find me and you did it in a couple of hours.” Yep. Well, they didn’t have The Silver Cloak on their side. That moment when a bunch of old people are better at finding the Doctor than a Doctor locator literally made from the Doctor’s severed hand... “I’m going to die.” “Well, so am I, one day.” “Don’t you dare.” I love that line. I’m the same. Wilf can never die. OK SO WHAT I HATE. Is that the Doctor told Wilf “He will knock 4 times.” and then it’s Wilf who knocks. If Wilf had remembered the whole “4 times thing,” would he have knocked 3 times? Or 5? It wouldn’t have prevented Ten from dying, but still... “Some new man goes sauntering away.” Never forget that Ten not only brushed off Martha’s worries of racism, but he also didn’t even consider that he could become a woman. I’m aware reading too much into this but I’m a little salty about Martha. Also, my Monthly Martha Spam’s coming up so I’m getting antsy, I need more Martha. I love the way they both laughed so lovingly at Donna. Oh I miss Donna. I’m glad the Doctor regrets Mars now. I’m glad he’s finally realizing he’s not in a good place. I mean... it’s not cannibalism... but it’s not right. See, part of the reason why I don’t love this episode is because of the Master’s jumping/flying and his electrical powers that came out of no where. Doctor Who has added some random powers, but never anything as ridiculous as this. And those electrical powers didn’t kill the Doctor because.... why? I love the kind of... muted... subtle version of This is Gallifrey that’s playing as the Master describes his father’s estate. Things I literally never noticed before. I miss Murray Gold... Remember when I said “What would Doctor Who do without Murray Gold?” and then he left the show... yeah... Aaaaaand now he’s Iron Man. “Fighting the Future”?? Ugh. Too similar to this administration. Even though Abigail’s evil and crazy, I DO love that she wears her hair in a natural TWA and that it’s shown as professional and beautiful and elegant and ugh I love it. “Only you stand at the heart of coincidence.” Girl, didn’t you literally just say that there’s no such thing as coincidence? “You never killed a man.” “No. No I didn’t. No. But don’t say that like it’s shameful!” I love Wilf. I love that Donna’s mom took a second to say “Merry Christmas” before going back to telling him to leave. “You’re not coming with me.” “Well you’re not leaving me with her.” “Fair enough.” Oh my god. Donna matched her necklace to her cardigan perfectly. I love her. I like that the Doctor was insulted and felt the need to come back and add “I could take you back home right now.” “Understand?” “Not a word.” “Welcome aboard.” I love Wilf as a companion. Ok wait. I thought that this guy who ends up being a cactus thing was whats-his-face from Sherlock... but now that I’m watching this it does not look like him... Ok, it’s not him. I’ve spent like 6 years thinking it was him. Why did I think it was him? Heeeyyyyy Torchwood shoutout!

Master: I like you. Naismith: Thank you 🙂 Master: You’d taste great. Naismith 🙂...😐

It felt like a good time to use emojis. I can’t tell if it’s supposed to be pronounced “schimmer” or if it’s Tennant’s accent making it sound more like sch than sh, but I love it. I do love the Master’s little satisfied smirk as he’s being tied back up again. I love that throughout this entire scene, Wilf’s just staring at the Vivocci in awe. I wish we had something that could mend the entire population... cure all diseases... stop plagues before they kill half the population... yeah. I like the little kick off the wall and he turns the corner. HEEEEYYYY IT’S MY GIRL TRINITY WELLS. I SEE YOU GIRL. I SEE YOU. Love her. Oh how I miss Obama. I DON’T THINK I EVER NOTICED WILF TAKE OUT HIS GUN THINKING IT WAS HIS PHONE. Or maybe I forgot. It must have been fun for Simm to film all these characters. “Now, there is no human race. There is only the Master race.” Choice of words, Master. Choice. Of. Words. Never noticed that he was in heels when dressed as Abigail. All that spit from Rassilon always makes me cringe.

Welp. That’s Part 1 out of the way. Yay.

#hope rewatches doctor who #ignore me if you want

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lyndakiwi · 6 years

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I can’t for the life of me think why, but my family have always been staunch Royalists. Lets face it we are talking about working class folk from the North of England here, but for as long as I can remember my Mother & Father, & particularly my Dad, always referred to her Majesty as “Duke of Lancaster”, which of course she is. In my house as a small child I can remember that we were still fighting the Wars of the Roses, its just that someone forgot to tell my parents that it all got resolved 22nd August 1485 at Bosworth field with the demise of Richard of Gloucester. As far as they were concerned the Penines (sometimes called the backbone of England) were a wall a mile high between we Lancastrians & “t’other quere fella’s ont t’other seed”. One anomaly to this was that my parents especially my dear Mother adored Wilfred Pickles on the BBC Home Service, which is a bit strange as dear Wilf was actually (dare I say it) a Yorkshire man. She used to bask in the reflected glory that in the evening, about 1944, when closing the late night news on the Beeb he said that immortal line, “an ta all those up north, gd’neet”. Unfortunately Wilf’s salute to his northern kith & kin was severely censored by said BBC & he got demoted to cleaner from which position he was further reduced to tea maker. I jest of course, but he did apparently get a good ticking off before he was reinstated & actually allowed to carry on in his own unique way as apparently his dialect totally confused the Germans who were listening in to English radio at the time. Not surprising if you’ve heard it & your a German to boot!.

This apparent division was all the more worse when Lancashire played Yorkshire at cricket & although my Mum & Dad knew very little about the game they always said that Brian Statham, the darling of Lancashire cricket, was ten times a better & quicker bowler than that “bloody Freddy Trueman!”, “big edded sod ‘e is” and so forth. Similarly with football (soccer, for all those uninitiated in the beautiful game) as it was the belief that any Lancashire team could thrash any other team that could be cobbled together, heck, Preston North End had Tom Finney so what more could you ask?, he’d have beaten them single handed anyway you could have left the other 10 players off the filed…maybe kept the goalie perhaps?.

Freddie Truman, Brian Statham & Tom Finney respectively.

But it was the Royal Family who not only ruled the country but also our house as well. I always remember coming down the stairs at our house in Darwen to hear my Mother & Father talking in hushed tones in the lounge (not ‘ower’ front parlour you understand), I paused at the door to hear the name of a well known Royal with the shocked utterance, “suspected of being a lesbian, oh my God Frank, whats the world coming to?”. I didn’t even know what a lesbian was in those days but I do remember my Mum whispering, when she suddenly realised that we may be close by say, “ssshhhh Frank what if the children found out!”. Intrigued, I rushed away immediately & scoured every book I could find on ‘lesbians’ this of course prompted a morbid curiosity in me which lasted for about 10 years.

It was much the same at Christmas in the early days when we would gather around Grandads ‘wireless’ to listen to the Queens speech, “Frank, her Majesty will be speaking soon, go put your jacket on!” was the directive from my Mother. Grandad immediately donned his cloth cap & held on to his ferret while quietly pushing his pint of brown ale under the table. As soon as the strains of ‘God Save the queen’ droned across the airwaves we all stood, my dear Mother, misty eyed & looking into the distance, much like Julius Caesar must have done when he first surveyed the white cliffs of Dover. It was only later that I realised that she was in fact looking at a stain on the wallpaper that had been there for quite some time, I think it may have been when my brother Roger threw one of Grandad’s many ash trays at me after I had been teasing him unmercifully for hours.

It was the same performance maybe worse when we got our first TV as it was almost as though seeing her Majesty in full blown black & white was like having her sacred presence in our lounge, my Mother burst in to tears the first time she saw her as she hadn’t vacuum’d out that morning, fortunately we were all wearing clean underwear & I had a bow tie on!. Christmas dinner was always punctuated by the usual toasts & my Father, who was a consummate speaker, would stand up glass in hand & drone on for about 25 minutes before Mum would intervene saying “get on with it Frank”, after which he would clear his throat & say in a booming voice “Merry Christmas all & God Save the Queen” to which we would all jump up & echo “the Queen!” whilst downing a beverage, in later years of course the response was something like “yeah right”.

Protocol at Grandads house.

It was about this time that I wondered about my Mothers origins, as for most of the time she had a beautiful Lancashire dialect, however when speaking of the Queen & even in the presence of someone whom she thought rather upper class, her voice inflection would change quite dramatically & it was on these occasions I actually thought that we were in fact secret nobility hiding out in the nether regions of Preston, a notion that got me into all kinds of trouble later. Strangely enough she did something similar in the evenings when she had had a couple of extra Gins, oh dear 🙂 Dad wasn’t much better although I have to say that I never saw him doff his cap or tug at his forelock….he came close though!.

In later years Mother softened her stance on Royal protocol in the house & I think that a lot of it had to do with her passion for English History & in particular the Kings & Queens of England. You could ask my Mum anything you liked about people, places & dates & if it had anything to do with the Tudors through to the present day she was an expert. The only trouble was that she had read so much stuff about Royal scandal of the past 500 years that, shall we say, I think that the sheen of Royal Godliness had somewhat worn a bit thin.

For my sins I like the Royals, if only for my dear Mother & Father’s sake. God help me. God save the Queen. 🙂

More ramblings later.

Me, a Royalist?. I can't for the life of me think why, but my family have always been staunch Royalists.

#Addiction #Christmas #Family #Lancashire #New Zealand #Royal Family #The Queen

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doctor-who-hears-a-horton · 6 years

Text

The Tiny Town of Tardis (Ten x Rose)

When John Smith gets stranded in the small town of Tardis, he meets the daughter of a bed and breakfast owner that is much more than she seems to be. He finds he might not mind if he doesn’t make it to his business meeting before Christmas after all.

Chapter 8/8

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7

Read it on AO3 here!

The danced for a long time, ate together, right next to each other, with John’s hand on her leg. It was exhilarating, to have him touching her, and she had a feeling that things would be happening between them, good things. This was something that could last, if they were careful, if they went slow. She knew that And she had a feeling it might be worth it.

She didn’t dance with him all night, though. She danced with Martha and Adam, spoke to Wilf and danced with him as well, and John watched from where he sat, watching how the people in the town adored her. She didn’t belong to him, he knew that, they weren’t even dating. But it was nice, to know that she’d be walking with him to Mickey’s shop. And he was still going home. But he would miss her, and he would call her as soon as he could.

Which, of course, reminded him that he didn’t have her phone number. He jolted at that, and when she sat down next to him again, he reached over and touched her arm. “Would you give me your phone number?” He asked softly.

She reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled her mobile out before handing it to him, grinning. “Go ahead, Mr. Smith. It’s all yours.”

He put his number in her phone and put hers in his, smiling when he handed it back to her. “Okay,” he said, grinning. “Thank you.”

“Thank you,” She smiled. “Now, are we going to dance till midnight, or am I going to have to dance by myself again?”

He stood and offered her his hand. “I would never make a lovely lady dance alone.”

“Oi, there are plenty of girls here you haven’t danced with yet,” she teased as she took his hand, letting him pull her to her feet.

He shook his head. “Don’t wanna dance with them. You know?”

She nodded. “Think I do.”

He swept her onto the floor again, and she spun as much as possible so she could look at her skirt twirling like something out of White Christmas.

The night ended, as all nights do, but no one was done dancing, and John still held Rose against his chest and Mickey held Martha and Jackie held the thirtieth man that she had danced with that night.

The band wrapped up, and Rose felt so warm and happy that she knew this was exactly what Christmas was all about. Mickey tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around, looking at him expectantly.

“Sorry, Rose, but we’ve got to get John’s car if he has any hope of getting home before another storm hits.”

John rubbed his hand over Rose’s back and released her. “Well, we’d best get going then, it’s midnight.”

Martha came with them, and the four of them walked there together, where John’s bags had been placed beforehand. The rental car was front and center in the shop, and John felt a bit melancholy at seeing it.

“Well,” he said, “I’ll get my GPS set up and then I’ll be on my way.”

Mickey shook John’s hand. “We’ll hope to see you back in Tardis sometime again.”

“I should like to come back. You lot should come back to London, if I haven’t lost my job. I’ll be calling my boss on my way home, believe me.”

Rose winced. “I hope you won’t be in too much trouble, John, it’s not like any of this was your fault.”

He squeezed her hand and smiled down at her. “I know it wasn’t, but he’s a bit stupid. I’ll figure it out though,” he said. “Don’t you worry about me.”

“Well, we’re helping tear down the party,” Martha said. “We’d better get going.”

Hugs were exchanged, and Mickey and Martha left, Mickey leaving the key to the shop with Rose so she could lock up when they were done. John turned to Rose after glancing around the garage for a moment. “I’m… Sorrier to leave than I would’ve thought,” he admitted.

She laughed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m sorrier to see you leave than I would’ve thought.”

He reached up and cupped her cheek. “I’ll call,” he said, “I promise I will, and I’ll try to visit, and-”

“Maybe I’ll visit you,” She grinned, “I want to travel again.”

He grinned, “Then I’ll send you my address.”

“Please do.”

He leaned down and kissed her. “Goodbye, Rose.”

“Bye, John.”

They grinned stupidly at each other for a few moments before kissing again. This time she let her arms wrap around his neck and she held him tight for a few moments. When she pulled back, she slipped a wrapped box into his hand. “Merry Christmas.”

She bid him goodbye as he stammered out that he felt guilty for not getting her something. She hushed him and shook her head. “It’s a little something for you. Bring me something the next time you visit.”

He got into the car before he did something stupid, like ask her to come with him, and she left, opening the garage door on her way out. He laid the box on his passenger side, deciding to open it at the airport. He pulled slowly out of the garage, and rolled down the window. “I’ll see you later.”

She grinned, her hands fisting in her dress. “Not if I see you first.”

It wasn’t like the romantic Christmas where she would hop in the car and drive with him to the airport, and lead a new life with him in London. She couldn't. She had a life here, and would plan to live it the same way. She waved at his car until he was out of sight, leaving Tardis far behind. She felt sad, of course, but she also felt peace sweep over her. She would see him again.

********

John opened the present as soon as he got home, and found that it was Rose’s own copies of her novels. She’d signed the inside of the first one, “to my dear John, should you never wonder about me again.”

As it was, John didn’t lose his job, but he did quit it. Rose was right, he should do what he loved. He got a job at the local Uni, and Rose mentioned that she was proud of him for doing so.was a year before they saw each other again, and John realized that it was because when Rose said she was taking things slow, she meant it. She called and texted, and whenever he got to video call her his heart pounded hard in his chest.

“Will you be home?” He asked one night in late November, as they chatted on the phone. “Over Christmas?”

Rose hummed into the phone. “Um, yes, but I’m leaving on New Year’s.”

“Where are you going?”

“Not sure,” she admitted, her voice happy, “Going traveling. Thought I might ask you to go with me, seeing as your classes won’t start up again for awhile.”

She was right, of course, and he found his mouth hanging open. ‘Really?” he asked after a moment.

She laughed, a bright, tinkling sound that he missed greatly. “Yes, really. Figure we know each other well enough by now, yeah, that it’s not considered running away from my problems or anything.” “I wouldn’t think that you were.”

“Yeah, well I would,” She said, and he could hear her moving around. “I’ll be here for Christmas, yeah, but after that, the world is my oyster. Or so they say. I wouldn’t know, I'm allergic to seafood.”

John laughed. “Well, if that’s the case, how would you feel if I brought my sister and her kids up? Her husband has to be away for work on Christmas and I can actually be stress free during Christmas this year.”

“Hm,” she pretended to consider it. “Will you be offended if I wear the same dress as I did last year?”

He blinked. Somehow that wasn’t the question that he had been anticipating from her. “I would be delighted if you wore the same dress as you were last year, you looked beautiful.”

“Glad you think so. Yeah, bring ‘em.”

And so he did bring his sister and her twins, and they all danced in the barn. Rose wore the same dress but this time her hair was up in a twist. When she heard the sound of unfamiliar voices, she turned around, her eyes locking on him, and she grinned. She barely restrained herself from running to him and he swept her up into his arms, hugging her tightly. She squealed into his neck and pulled back after just a few moments to cup his cheeks.

“Ooh, look at you!” She said happily, “You look so much happier.”

“I am,” he promised, squeezing her waist before turning to the redhead next to him. “This is my sister Donna, and her twins.”

Rose spoke to them, squatting down, her red skirt fanning around her so that she could bend down and talk to them.

“John, why don’t you take the kids to get some snacks, I wanna talk to your little girlfriend here.” Donna said, though she was smiling.

Rose stood and John nodded, blustering a bit as he herded the children towards the drinks and food, being stopped by the locals who remembered him as he went.

“Thanks for letting John bring us,” Donna smiled at Rose. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been on a vacation.” Rose beamed. “I’m honored that he asked to bring you, Donna. He thinks so highly of you.”

“Well, he must.” Donna preened.

“Shall we sit?” Rose asked, and she led them to a table that she had saved for them, and her mother as well. “I’m happy your flight went well, the kids seem to have plenty of energy.”

Donna settled her hand over Rose’s. “He’s in love with you.”

Rose blinked. “What?”

“He is,” Donna grinned, “he talks about you all the time. Loves you to death.”

John saved her then, asking her to dance, and Rose was blushing so hard, that by the time he swept her up, she was brimming with relief.

“You are very pink,” John said as she swept her into the dance.

“Your sister was getting ready for an interrogation, I think,” She laughed.

He smiled fondly. “I expected nothing less,” he confessed. “She’s very protective of me.”

“Mm,” She laid her head on his chest, just happy to be near him. She wasn’t expecting seeing him again to be such a whirlwind. “I missed you.”

He kissed the top of her head. “I missed you too.”

“So, do you think you’ll come with me?” She asked, “When I leave on New Year’s. You could stay here a couple days, till then.”

She lifted her head to look into his eyes. He smiled happily at her, and nodded slowly. “You know, I think a holiday with you would be the best way to get reacquainted again.”

“Even if I annoy you?” “Especially if you annoy me,’ he squeezed her waist and kissed her forehead. “So you’re moving out?”

“I suppose, “Rose said, “Might come back to regroup but I’d like to get out of here, you know?”

“Well… John looked over her head. “I suppose if you liked hanging around me enough, you could… Come home with me? We’d come back here for Christmas, of course.”

She smiled, her eyes shining with emotion. “Of course,” she laughed, “And I suppose, If I don’t hate our holiday, I’d love to come and live with you.”

John realized then, the true value of taking it slow. He beamed at her and kissed her on the mouth for the first time since arriving. She held onto the nape of his neck and kissed him back, almost a bit too eagerly for public. Since the last time they’d seen each other, they’d learned so much about each other, and gotten so much closer that Rose thought of him as her best friend. She pulled back from the kiss and looked up at him dreamily. “Dance with me all night?”

He grinned, as Donna and the twins came onto the dance floor and danced together. “As long as you like,” he promised.

And after that, their travels never stopped.

#ten x rose #tenrose #tenxrose #raylu writes fic #raylu ten x rose #ray lu writes fic #tenth doctor #rose tyler

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doctor-who-hears-a-horton · 6 years

Text

The Tiny Town of Tardis (ten x Rose)

Chapter 5/?

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Read it on AO3 here!

The four of them wound down as the night wore on, and Wilf assembled a bed for himself out of tables and a booth, and Adam followed his lead. Rose protested, offering up the bed that she and John were going to use.

“Oh, no,” Wilf waved, “You’re a lady and John’s a guest. I’m happy to offer up a bed to you.”

“Besides Wilf, you did this to yourself,” Adam chuckled, pulling up one of the blankets that Wilf had brought.

Wilf laughed. “Right you are, young man!”

They all bid each other good night, though Rose wasn’t too sure about it, even still. She led John into the lounge and pulled out the couch. John rushed to help, but of course he’d never maneuvered around a pull out couch, so Rose did most of the work. Once it was out Rose fitted it with blankets as sheets and three for covers. She drew the curtains shut over the small window, but not before looking out.

“It’s several inches deep out there,” she said sadly. “We’ll probably be able to get out tomorrow, but it’s a whole day wasted. Mickey’s probably locked into the shop.” She sighed. “Well, your car might be fixed by tomorrow, if that’s the case.”

John frowned. “Well, I wouldn’t want him to stay up all night.” “Oh, don’t worry about that. He can’t really stop working, if he’s still in the shop.” She grinned, and pushed her shoes off. John sat on the edge of the bed and followed her lead, watching what she removed and taking care to only remove things that she was also removing. His outer jacket came off, as did hers, but that was as far as she went before climbing into bed, balling up her coat as a pillow.

Again, John echoed her, took off his tie, and hunkered down on the bed next to her, facing her. She smiled softly.

“So, enjoying your time here?” He nodded slightly, “I am,” he said, “I’ve never played cards for quite so long, I think.”

She laughed. “We do sometimes,” she said, “But there’s plenty more dancing and eating, and, well, excitement I guess, at the Christmas party than card playing.” She pulled the blankets up to their shoulders. “It’s in two days. You’ll come?” She had the startling realization that she wanted him to come, which was very different from her opinion of him when he first came to town. Well, she wanted him to attend the Christmas party as long as he arrived, and left, with her.

She poked his shoulder. “It’s held in a very clean barn, so I promise you won’t get sick with your weak immune system.

“I have an amazing immune system, I’ll have you know,” he protested, though his eyes were twinkling in the dark. “Really, I don’t think I’ve ever been sick!”

She giggled and looked down, picking at the afghan underneath her hand. “Um. So we could go? You’d… Go?” He nodded. “If I’m still here.”

“Right,” She said, averting her gaze. “Um, I have one question though.”

“Mm.”

“How’d you get into sales when it’s obvious that you’re so brilliant?” She asked, afraid that she had gone too far, and that John wouldn’t answer.

“Oh, so it’s obvious I’m brilliant, is it?” He teased, and she could tell he was shoving what he was really thinking, what he really wanted to say, out of sight so that she wouldn’t see. Rose frowned at him and scooted closer, hoping to throw him off balance.

“That’s not what I meant, I’m not after a banter,” She said, quirking her eyebrow.

He shook his head. “It’s not important.” He wouldn’t look her in the eye though, and that was enough for her to think that perhaps he wanted to tell her, or at least tell somebody, and just wasn’t quite able to. She almost wanted to hug him. Instead, she curled her fingers into the blanket at her shoulder so she wouldn’t touch him.

“Can I ask you a question?” He asked suddenly.

Rose blinked, not used to having a conversation turned on her like this. Usually, the men she spoke to let her talk about whatever she wanted to talk about, or else they talked about themselves. She wasn’t sure any man had ever asked her something about herself. She nodded slowly as he met her eyes again.

“And unlike you,” she said, only half kidding, “I’ll answer it.”

His lip quirked in a poor attempt at a smile and he nodded. “I suppose I deserve that,” he said quietly. “But I just wanted to know why you hated me so much when I got here?”

She flopped onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. She wasn’t sure she could look at him if she told him the truth, but she’d already had a dig at him saying she would tell the truth.

“I thought you might change things,” She said, “Usually when new people come here, they get all the attention, all the time, until they leave. And you made quite an entrance, and I just… I didn’t want you to ruin Christmas.”

“Oh,” he said softly. “So you didn’t like me?”

“No,” She said, “But when we talked, the other night, I realized I had probably judged you too quickly. That’s why I wanted to do the tour, to make things right. I don’t know how successful that was.” She gestured towards the window, indicating the snow. “I know, it’s selfish and terrible of me, and I shouldn’t have done it.”

“I’m glad you did.”

She turned her head towards him and frowned. “What?”

“I said, I’m glad you did,” he repeated. “I’m not used to being challenged. I liked it.” he smiled a little, “And what we did see on the tour was wonderful, and tonight was very fun,” his smile turned into a full blown grin. “And I got to see a little more of you.”

He blushed right after he said it, and waved one of his hands in front of his face. “Um, emotionally.”

She giggled. “So that’s what you wanted? To see more of me, emotionally?” She was teasing him back, and he breathed out a sigh of relief, knowing that he hadn’t ruined everything. Or, even if he had, maybe she just wouldn’t tell him.

“You’re very interesting,” he said in response to what he assumed was not a rhetorical question. “I very much enjoy spending time with you.”

“Really?” Her voice got quiet and shy at that, like she couldn’t quite believe it.

“You write books you won’t tell me about and you tease me and you’re very good at conversation,” he said, propping himself up on one elbow so he could look down at her. “I’d say that’s a very interesting combination to make a very interesting person.”

She shouldn’t feel so comfortable around him. She knew that. She wanted to believe it. But here, when he was looking at her like that, she couldn’t believe that this wasn’t exactly where she needed to be. At this moment, with the way he was looking at her, she could almost picture a future where they continued on as they were. Maybe not in Tardis, maybe somewhere else, but she realized, with a startling hit to the chest, that she didn’t want him to leave yet. She wanted him to stay, and she wanted to learn all about him.

“Well… Thanks,” She said, trying to hide her blush at his compliments. “You can’t butter me up enough to tell you about my writing, though.”

He barked out a laugh and clapped a hand over his mouth to stop the sound, lest he wake up Wilf and Adam. He settled down next to her again, closer this time, and she turned on her side to face him.

“You wanted to have a cuddle?” She asked after seeing him shiver and try to hide it.

He huffed out a breath. “Not really used to the cold,” he said, “We have very nice heating units in my building.”

“Mm. Fancy.”

“Oi, didn’t you say that you lived in the city for awhile?” he protested, frowning at her. She couldn’t tell if he was serious or not, but she smiled anyway.

“Yeah,” She said, “For awhile. Lived a lot of places, actually. I’m very well versed in my living situations.” She pushed him gently so he laid on his back. He peered up at her, startled.

“We’re having a cuddle,” She announced, laying down at his side and resting her cheek against his chest. “See? Isn’t that nice.”

His arms were very slow in their journey to wrap around her, holding her close. She pulled the blankets up farther so they almost completely covered both of them. Rose closed her eyes, enjoying the sound of his heartbeat against her ear. She liked the feeling of being so close to another person, and she was sure she hadn’t felt it in a very long time.

“Comfy?” She asked him after a few moments.

“Mm-hm,” he replied, voice high pitched.

He was very warm, so she burrowed closer to him. “Not uncomfortable?” She asked him when he froze.

“Uh, far from it, actually,” he mumbled, sounding embarrassed. Both of his arms were still firmly wrapped around her, and he squeezed her side with his fingers. “This is nice. Although I doubt I should be feeling so comfortable about it.”

“Me too,” she said, then poked him with her toe. “But we fit.”

“Yes, I suppose we do,” he answered with a little chuckle. He was quiet for awhile and Rose was convinced that he’d fallen asleep until he spoke again, saying softly, “I’m in business because my friend needed help.”

“What?” She replied, alerting him that she was awake.

“My friend, Harold Saxon, who I work for. He started a business, said my job there would be temporary. Well, I was fresh out of Uni, and didn’t have a job lined up, so I thought it would be a good way to earn money before finding something in my field. But… That was about six years ago, and I’m still there. Can’t get away.”

‘You could quit.”

“I could, but… I can’t. Every time I try, Harry likes to make it seem like I’m the only reason the company is afloat, and I feel obligated to stay.”

She frowned, knowing what it was like to be cornered, and wishing for all the world that he didn’t have to live like that. “Maybe this trip will decide for you,” She said, “You know, if you don’t make it to that stupid meeting. You could miss it on purpose, stay here-”

The ‘with me’ that she didn’t say stuck to her tongue, and she bit it to keep those tiny words from escaping.

“Maybe,” he whispered, “Maybe there’s a life for me outside all of this, you know? Something a bit better.”

“What would you like to do?” She asked, tilting her head up to look at him., “If you could do anything?”

“Travel,” He said dreamily. “Teach physics or some sort of science or astronomy in a University during the school year, and make the world my oyster for the summer months.”

“That sounds lovely,’ Rose replied, and he looked down at her, meeting her eyes at the odd angle they were at.

“You’ve traveled though,” he said, “You’ve done great things.”

“Yeah, but-” she shrugged, not wanting to tell him that it meant hardly anything because she’d done it all alone. She hadn’t made any friends from it, hell, she’d come back home. She didn’t want to stay, granted, but she was here, wasting her time.

She looked at John. Maybe this wasn’t a waste of time. Maybe she was supposed to be here.

“But what?” He asked softly, bringing her attention back to the conversation that they had been having.

“I dunno. There’s something that should make it a bit more special, don’t you think?”

“I suppose so,” he said, “Though, I can’t say, seeing as I’ve never been farther than, well, here. And no offense, but it’s not exactly the colosseum.”

She laughed. “No, it’s not.” she laid her head back on his chest and listened to the rise and fall of his breaths, cataloging them all and holding them in her heart. She wanted to kiss him goodnight, but it was much too soon for that. He’d only opened up a bit because of the weather, she told herself. That was the only reason. It wasn’t because he felt anything for her, or because he thought she was special. This was just two people stranded, and forcing themselves to open up to one another. That was the only way she could justify it, the way her mind was twisting around it and getting lost in his words an the happy way his eyes lit up when he smiled at her.

Although.

None of that felt very forced at all.

#ten x rose #tenrose #tenth doctor #rose tyler #ten rose #fic #christmas au #christmas fic #tenxrose

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doctor-who-hears-a-horton · 6 years

Text

The Tiny Town of Tardis (Ten x Rose)

Chapter 2/?

Chapter 1

Read it on AO3 here!

Rose tried not to think about John Smith for the rest of the day. Her life had never been terribly romantic, and for some reason, a man from the city stumbling into her diner just hadn’t really done it for her. She hadn’t really dated for awhile, and a man was a man, so she wasn't even sure she wanted someone. In fact, she felt that maybe it was best if she stayed far enough away from this man that she wouldn’t even think about thinking about him. He’d be gone in a few days and they could all go back to their very boring lives.

All day, people had talked about him. Wilf and Jack had spread the news like wildfire, and people kept asking Rose about it.

“I don’t know,” she’d said, “We hardly talked.”

For the rest of her shift, she deflected questions about John Smith, and did quite well until the end of her shift, when she and Jack were closing up.

“So, that guy that came in here today-”

“What about him?” Rose asked, giving Jack a look that said she would rather not talk about it, but she didn’t think he got the picture, since he was just grinning at her like a little boy on Christmas.

“He was good looking,” Jack said casually. “I just think that maybe you should… Maybe check that out.” Rose scowled at him. “Jack, I hardly have time for anything as useless as dating. Remember, I don’t want to stay here my whole life.”

“And neither does he, it looks like he’s just gonna be here for a few days.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Well, I doubt we’ll be going to the same place. We’re not going to be friends once he leaves or anything. I’m not looking forward to some entitled business man from the city coming in here and stealing everyone’s attention from the town right before Christmas. We still have the town Christmas party coming up, and, just... “ She shook her head, “I don’t want him to ruin it.”

“I don’t think he’ll ruin it,” Jack said, leaning his elbow against the counter. “He could be… An asset? He might have some money, could have something to give to the town.”

“I don’t want to be dependant on him,” Rose said. “And we don’t need to talk about this. Mickey will put him up some place for the night, and then we won’t have to worry about him anymore. What do you think?”

Jack shrugged, “He might be worth worrying about. He seemed unattached.”

“What does that have to do with anything? Haven’t I said before that I’m not looking for a boyfriend?”

“Well, you could be. I’m sure every man in this town under the age of forty has thought about dating you, or-”

“Jack!” She laughed and threw a rag at him. “You’re being completely ridiculous. Obviously not every man,” she said, “Some of them are married.”

“And you are very attractive.”

“So you think I should go and seduce some guy from the city who’s going to leave after a day or something? Who might actually be gone now?”

“He’s probably not gone,” Jack said, “If he got a rental car to pass through here, it’s horrible. You know the rental place that’s closest to here gives out bad cars, people get stranded here all the time.”

“I know,” Rose said, “But maybe he got lucky and it’s something with the oil or something,” she shrugged. “Mickey’s really good, you know.”

“Obviously Mickey is very good at what he does, but he’s not the best at everything,” Jack pointed out, “Maybe whatever’s wrong with John’s car is something Mickey isn’t familiar with.”

Rose narrowed her eyes at him. “Jack Harkness, you had better not be playing matchmaker. That’s not fair.” Jack simply winked at her and put on his best pinball grin. “Oh, honey, don’t worry about that. The match made itself when he walked in here.”

Rose rolled her eyes and decided not to dignify that particular comment with a response. It would only encourage him.

It felt like a very long time between her closing up the diner and heading to her mum’s house. She had transformed the large home into a bed and breakfast after Rose’s father died, saying it was too big for just the two of them, and so Rose had met lots of interesting people who passed through during her childhood. So when there were signs of someone being in her home when she entered, she couldn’t say she was surprised.

She locked the front door behind her and peered behind the front desk. Her mum usually sat there doing paperwork. Rose frowned. “Mum?”

“She’s upstairs,” said a voice from her living room, and Rose narrowed her eyes. She knew that voice, and she had hoped very much that that voice would not be in her house. She clenched and unclenched her fists, calming herself and telling her that she knew she was being a little ridiculous with her anger at this man. Just because she wasn’t used to change didn’t mean that she had to take it out on him.

“John Smith,” She said, finally entering the living room and shucking her coat. There he was, sitting on her couch in his dress shirt rolled to the elbows, suit trousers, and trainers. He had glasses perched on the edge of his nose and was reading a book. He removed his glasses upon her entrance.

“Nice to see you, Miss Tyler,” he said, grinning, “Apparently, I will be here for the next three days. My car is completely broken down, looks like I rented a lump of junk.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

He arched an eyebrow at her. “The way you were acting when we met earlier today, I suppose that shouldn’t surprise me.” He leaned back on the couch. “I’m sorry my first impression on you made you so upset.”

She shook her head, not wanting to look at him. “Um, no, you didn’t make me upset, it’s just that usually we don’t have frantic visitors to the diner, you know?”

“I suppose you wouldn’t,” he said, chuckling in what she wanted to call nervousness. He ran his hand through his hair and dropped his hand to his side. “Well, I should have been a bit calmer about it. I just have somewhere to be.”

��Somewhere drastically important, I suspect,” Rose said, almost sarcastically.

He nodded. “A business meeting.”

She frowned, “But Christmas is next week, aren’t you going to… I dunno, visit family, or something?”

“No. I wish that’s what I was doing, though.”

She couldn’t help but smile a little at that. “Who would you be staying with?”

“My sister,” he said, “Her family. Her husband and two kids.”

Rose sat on the armchair across from him. “And you can’t go because-”

“I’ll be traveling back home over Christmas Eve and day,” he said softly. “No way I can get home in time.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. Should make you hate me a little less.”

She sighed, shaking her head. “Christmas has always been the same around here. I’m kind of scared that you’ll…”

“Ruin it?”

“No, change it.”

“Change isn’t always a bad thing, Miss Tyler.”

“You don’t have to call me that.”

“Oh, sorry. Is it a ‘mrs’ or something?”

“No, God no,” She leaned back in the chair. “Haven’t had a boyfriend, since… God, high school.”

He hummed in the back of his throat, fingering one of the pages in his book. “Can’t imagine why.”

She chuckled a little. “Shut it. I could be the nicest person in the world for all you know.”

“But I don’t,” He said, closing his book with a quiet ‘thunk’. “Maybe we should start over? You could show me the town, since I’m going to be here for awhile.”

She blew out her cheeks and nodded, having trouble looking at him but making herself do it. “I think that might be best,” she admitted. “I’ll try not to snap at you too much.”

He grinned. “I think that might just be part of your personality.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “And what gives you that impression?”

“I’m a businessman, my job is to read people.”

“What are you planning to sell me?” She teased.

“Nothing,” he replied, shrugging a little. He looked at her a little more closely then. “Oh,” he laughed, “You were kidding, weren’t you?”

“Yeah,” She laughed, and looked up at the clock above the fireplace. She pushed herself out of the chair and looked down into his face, which was now expectant, as though he was waiting on her to say something.

“I’m, um, going to go on up to bed then. Had a long shift today, I’m exhausted.” She gestured uselessly with one hand.

“Do you work tomorrow, then?” He asked casually, opening up his book again.

“No,” Rose said, shaking her head, “I don’t really work that much, two or three days a week at the most.”

“Why not? You seem very responsible.” “Published a couple books. Don’t really need to work that much.” She shrugged. “I mostly work at the diner as something to do, so I don’t go spare just sitting around.”

John leaned forwards, looking at her a little more intently. “What did you write about?” He asked, his eyes glinting with excitement.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She got to her feet. “You can call me Rose, by the way. I suppose we should try to get along if you’re going to stay in my house.”

“I would have to agree,” John said, nodding. “And you can call me John.”

“Lovely. Goodnight, John.”

“Goodnight, Rose.” He went back to his book but then sat straight up again. “Wait.”

“Yes?”

“Would you show me around town tomorrow?” He asked. “Might keep my mind off my car, and how my boss is most likely going to kill me.”

Rose wrung her hands, trying not to look uncomfortable but having a feeling that she was failing. “Sure, if you’d like.”

“Brilliant! Thank you.”

She smiled and left then, walking up the stairs. She passed her mum’s room, knocking to let her know she was home, and passed the room she knew would be lent to John before opening the door to her room.

Since she was planning on leaving again, there wasn’t a lot on the walls. It was all very plain, with cream walls and carpet. The only thing that was really ‘hers’ was the bedspread, bright pink and quite happy, if Rose did say so herself. Obviously her things were in the room, but it never felt like home, like it did when she was little.

This wasn’t her house anymore, she realized. She didn’t know where her home was, but it wasn’t in this little town. But she couldn’t leave yet. She wasn’t ready. She’d already seen parts of the world, but there was definitely more, and she wanted to know what it was.

Sighing heavily, she changed into her pajamas, thinking about what she was supposed to do with John Smith in the morning. There wasn’t a lot to see around the town, so she’d have to introduce him to people, which she really didn’t want to do. All the women would be charmed by him, and the older people would ask him all about his life in the city.

Well, she thought, maybe that way she could pass him off. She wouldn’t have to babysit him the whole time he stayed in town, not that she was planning to.

She locked the door to her bedroom, as her mother always instructed her to do when they had company, and padded over to her bed. She was exhausted all of a sudden as she crawled under the covers, pulling them up to her chin. She watched the angry red numbers of her digital clock for a few minutes, but nothing could stop her from falling asleep quickly, taking her at top speeds to the next morning.

#ray lu #ray lu writes fic #raylu writes fic #raylu ten x rose #ten x rose #tenrose #tenxrose #tenth doctor #rose tyler #fanfic writing

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doctor-who-hears-a-horton · 6 years

Text

The Tiny Town of Tardis (Ten x Rose)

Rating: Teen

When John Smith gets stranded in the small town of Tardis, he meets the daughter of a bed and breakfast owner that is much more than she seems to be. He finds he might not mind if he doesn't make it to his business meeting before Christmas after all.

Chapter 1/?

Read it on AO3 here!

It was a beautiful little town, especially around Christmas. There were lights everywhere, and snow already coated the ground. It really was lovely, Rose Tyler mused. She’d moved away from here after high school and written a couple books, and traveled a while, but something had brought her back home, at least for the time being. She was making enough money to live on, but she was happy to be working at the diner and living at her mother’s bed and breakfast for the moment. She would certainly leave again, she knew, but for now? It was very nice to be home.

She walked to work and waved to nearly everyone on the way. She had missed this. In London, there was really no camaraderie, but everyone knew everyone here, and in more than one way, it was very comforting.

“Hello, Rose!” Rose’s friend Martha fell into step next to her, linking their arms together.

Rose laughed and looked over at Martha. “Hello,” she said happily, “Headed to work?”

“Trying,” Martha grinned, “It’s absolutely freezing, don’t you think?”

Rose nodded, trying not to bury her nose into her scarf. “I know, it so is,” she said, “I did miss it though.”

“Did you really?”

Rose burst out laughing. “Yeah,” she noded. “I really did. It’s lovely here.”

“Right, you keep telling yourself that,” Martha grimaced, “Next time you leave, I’m climbing in your suitcase and making you take me.” “Oh, anytime.”

They chatted and walked along together as snow fell quietly around them and the rest of the town’s occupants went off to their own jobs.

Nearly across the nation and with a much worse start to his day, was John Smith. He had stumbled out of bed and thrown on his suit, adjusting his tie in the mirror hurriedly. He wasn’t even late, but he was, in fact, very annoyed. He had a business meeting in four days, and of course his boss wanted him to be there so ridiculously early. He would have to take a plane and then drive for six hours to get to the city the meeting was being held in. A stupid meeting, about how much they could increase business after the Christmas season. John wished he could be with his sister and her family, but of course, it was very difficult to be with family when he was a travelling representative, of sorts.

His phone rang as he was getting into the cab, and he grumbled to himself as he answered it. “Hello?” he said into the mobile, exasperated.

“Oi, is that how you talk to your sister?” Donna’s voice blared back at him. “I wanted to see if you were headed out on your trip yet.”

John looked at his watch. “Headed for the airport now.”

“We’ll miss you here.”

He frowned, wishing that he could come to see her and her family. But it seemed that he couldn’t ever have time with his family, to the point where he almost didn’t want it anymore. It hurt too much to hope really. He breathed out a gentle sigh. “I wish I could, Donna, you know I do.”

“I know,” Donna said slowly, drawing it out, “But that doesn’t stop me from being disappointed.”

John felt guilty when he hung up, but tried very desperately to push it down. He chatted with her for a few more moments before begging off, hanging up, and putting his head in his hands. This was going to be the worst Christmas yet, he was sure of it.

**********

Rose was working at the diner several hours later when it happened. In the tiny town of Tardis, there wasn’t really a lot to happen, so she was more than a little concerned when a man barrelled in to the diner, his hair askew and snow coating his clothes.

He was wearing a suit, and that was Rose’s first clue that he didn’t belong. Nobody in Tardis wore suits, there wasn’t exactly a mighty need for it. It wasn’t a business town, that was for sure.

“Who’s that?” Wilf asked, squinting at the man who just walked in.

Rose chuckled and patted the counter. “Eat your eggs, Wilf.” She walked around the counter and stood in front of it. “Sir?”

The man turned around and looked at her, his eyes almost crazed with what she supposed was panic. “Yes?”

Her lip twitched. “What do you need?”

“Nothing.”

“So that’s why you busted into the diner looking like hell was chasing you?” Rose crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. “Sorry, but I’m not buying that.”

“I just- I need a repairman. My rental car, it’s broken, I don’t know what’s wrong with it, but-”

“I know just the guy,” Rose smiled. “Come back to the office with me, I’ll call him for you.” She turned over her shoulder. “Jack, can you handle everything up here?”

The man she was addressing looked up, his fringe flopping over his forehead. “It’s not even the holiday crowd, Rosie. I got it!”

Rose gave the man a thumbs up and turned back to John. “Well, come on then, follow me.” John scowled at her a little, not appreciating being talked down to, but followed her anyway, through the kitchen and to a vacant office in the back. It was old fashioned, with an old computer and phone, a filing cabinet, and not much else.

“Do you know where you left the car?” Rose asked as she sat down in the spinny desk chair in front of the computer.

“Um. Eighth street,” John mumbled.

“Perfect,” Rose picked up the phone and dialled a number from memory, which surprised John a little, as he couldn't remember the last time he’d remembered a phone number. Rose swayed back in forth in the chair, the cord catching on the arm of it.

“Hey, Micks,” She said after a few moments. “Yeah, m’fine. Look, this bloke just barrelled into the diner, and -” she turned to John and narrowed her eyes, “Say, what’s your name?”

“John Smith.”

“Pull the other one.”

“No, really. John Smith.” He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m afraid my parents weren’t terribly creative.”

Rose pulled a tight smile, shaking her head. She opened her mouth to speak when John blurted out, “Well, what’s your name, then?”

She arched an eyebrow at him. “Rose Tyler. And that’s hardly the point.” She rolled her eyes and focused her attention back on the phone. “Alright, Micks, John Smith wants you to come tow a car and fix it, can you do that? Yeah, it’s on Eighth street. What do you think?”

Rose spun around in the chair a little more and then nodded, which John thought a bit odd, since of course, no one could see her. “Yep, I’ll tell him. Thanks Micks, bye.” She hung up her phone and got back to her feet. “He’ll come tow the car, you can wait out front in the diner if you want.”

“Um, thanks, that would be nice.”

“Cuppa?”

“Um… Yeah.”

She stood up and walked past him, completely unfazed, as though strangers stumbled into her little town every day. He shook himself and followed her out of the back office and to the diner. He sat down awkwardly next to an elderly man who was tucking into a plate of eggs and toast.

“How do you take it?”

“Three sugars, one cream,” he said without hesitation.

Rose let out a low whistle and headed over to the tea maker, which was quite new and the owner of the diner was very proud of it. Rose, on the other hand, had seen bigger and better things in her travels.

“You like a spike of sugar in the morning, then?” Said the old man beside him, laughing. He stuck his hand out. “Wilfred Mott, pleased to meet you.”

“John Smith, likewise.” John shook the man’s hand and looked back to Rose.

“You won’t have any luck with her,” Wilf whispered, “The boys in this town have been trying to pull her since she was in high school. No one’s ever had any luck.”

John sputtered a little, straightening his tie. “I- no, I- no, not at all. I wouldn’t try to…” he shook his head. “I wouldn’t even have time for something like that.”

“And why’s that?” Wilf asked.

“Because I’m a businessman,” He said, “You know, married to my work?”

“So you are… What, then? Painfully single?”

He winced. “In a manner of speaking, yes. Uh, Miss Tyler?”

She turned over her shoulder. “Yeah?”

“Do you think my car will be operating and functioning by tonight? I’ve got somewhere important to be, and that’s, you know, quite urgent-”

“I don’t know anything about cars,” She admitted, turning all the way and setting a mug of steaming tea in front of him. “I really couldn’t tell you. When Mickey comes round, though, you can ask him. I’m sure he’ll be able to at least guess once he takes a look at your car.”

John sipped his tea in silence for a few moments, listening to Rose chat to Jack and Wilf and everyone else around him. This was certainly something different, he remarked to himself, looking around the diner that was actually quite old-fashioned, in comparison to the rest of the town. He’d barely given it a passing glance on the way in, but he thought that perhaps he should take a longer look at it on the way out. Which, he thought to himself, would hopefully be very, very soon. He wanted to think that at least, but a bit of anxiety was getting the better of him.

“So, John Smith, what will you do if you have to stay?” Rose asked him, and before John could answer, a young man bundled up to his ears in coats and scarves entered the diner. Rose grinned and waved him over, her attention now firmly on him instead of John.

The young man came over to Rose, stepping right in front of her at the counter. “You’re John Smith?” He asked John.

“Yeah,” John shook the man’s hand. “And you must be Mickey.” “Got it in one,” the man grinned. “I’m also a Smith, no relation, I guess. Anyway, if your car the blue one?”

“Yes?” John furrowed his brows. “There was only one blue car?”

Mickey laughed. “Not a lot of colorful cars around here, much less cars at all. Most people walk.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “You should know it’s going to take two days to fix.”

“What?!” John exclaimed, “What’s wrong with it?” “Can tell you back at the shop, but you’ll need to come back with me, alright?”

“Sure,” John said glumly.

“Which leads back to my question,” Rose put her hand on her hip. “Where will you stay?”

“Oh, Rose, don’t tease the poor man,” Wilf said, clapping John on the shoulder. “Your mum’s bed and breakfast isn’t too filled up, she must have another room left.”

Rose laughed a little. “She does, but I wonder if it won’t be good enough for you, since you’re from a big city and all.”

John narrowed his eyes at her. “Are you having a go at me?”

She winked before turning away to help Jack at the other end of the counter. “Absolutely.”

John stared after her. It wasn’t that he thought he was Cassanova or anything, but he was a bit of a charmer when it came to ladies, and he could at least get one date. Not that he ever made it to a second date, because he didn’t have time, but this Rose Tyler didn’t seem to like him very much.

“She’s just a little difficult,” Wilf whispered loudly, “Picked up an attitude in University. But a fun one!” He grinned, “Her sense of humor is something else, Mr. Smith.”

John smiled tightly in return. “Well, she doesn’t seem to like me very much.”

“Thought you didn’t have time for that sort of thing.”

John wanted to sputter some more, but MIckey cut him off. “Alright then, Mr, Smith, come with me, we’ll figure out your car. And by the way, if you need somewhere to stay, you won’t find any place better than the Tyler’s Bed and Breakfast.”

#ten x rose #tenth doctor #rose tyler #tenxrose #tenrose #fanfic #doctor who fanfic #fanfiction #christmas fic #tenrose Christmas

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