Hello, lovely readers. Well, thank you everyone for reading, reviewing, favouriting the story etc. In this chapter, the Doctor and Rose visit Earth for Christmas 2006 and New Year 2007, so it doesn't really fit in line with the TV series, where Rose would be in the other Universe xx

Chapter 5: Celebrations

Rose tapped her foot impatiently on the metal grating floor of the TARDIS control room.

"What do you think? Doctor?"

The Doctor shook himself out of his reverie, and stared wide-eyed at Rose. He was supposed to have been listening. But he'd found himself gazing at her; her soft, golden hair, her creamy skin, her beautiful, piercing eyes...

And now he found those eyes staring at him in great annoyance, awaiting his reply.

"Well," she asked expectantly.

"Um..." his mind spun like the planets as he tried to think of an appropriate answer. "...Three?"

"What?"

"Um..."

"Were you listening?"

"Yes!" he replied indignantly.

"Well, what do you think, then. Can we? Please?"

The Doctor gulped. What exactly had she asked him?

"Um... Yes," he said hopefully.

Rose's face broke into a grin, and she hugged him close. "Thank you. My mum will be so happy."

The Doctor smiled at the hug, and wrapped her in his arms. But that sentence hit him like a rock.

"What? Your mum?"

Rose pulled back a little to look at him. "Yeah. You just said, Christmas at my mum's."

The rock hit the Doctor's stomach, and his face fell. "Oh, I thought you said... something else."

Rose frowned at him, folding her arms crossly. "You weren't listening, were you?!"

How am I supposed to listen when you're looking at me with those big, lovely eyes...? The Doctor grinned to himself, not noticing Rose's glare. He'd decided after their visit to the Galapta Meadows on Cierach 9 that there was no point denying his feelings. But he also knew that it wasn't something as straightforward as infatuation, either. However, he couldn't quite admit even to himself exactly what he did feel.

And now Rose was glaring at him again.

"Right. Christmas, you're mum's place."

He stood staring at her blankly, wondering exactly what she was expecting him to do. Rose nodded towards the console.

"C'mon, then."

"What, now?"

"Yeah."

"O.........kay..." he stalled. "Um... I've just got something I have to do before we go."

"Okay, but make it quick, please."

----

Four hours later, Rose was still waiting in the control room, perched impatiently on the edge of the captain's chair, watching the Doctor tinkering with wires under the metal flooring. She was getting cross. He'd already fixed a broken dial on the console, replaced the wiring for the chameleon circuit (then un-fixed it when he remembered he actually liked the TARDIS looking like a blue box), fixed a leaky pipe in the spare bathroom, and polished the time rotor. Rose knew he was procrastinating.

"Doctor, come on, when are we going to see my mum?"

The Doctor cringed, and poked his head out from the grating. He knew he was running out of excuses, but he was really not looking forward to seeing Jackie. He jumped up out of the floor and closed the hatch. He thought fast.

"Um... one minute, I've just got to... go change my shirt."

"You look fine. Let's go."

He groaned.

Rose jumped up from her chair, and headed over to him. She rested her chin on his shoulder, gazing up at him with big, soft eyes.

"Come on, Doctor, I know you don't really get on with my mum, but it's Christmas."

"Yeah, it'll just be the same as last year, the Turkey, the crackers-"

"-The Sycorax, the Regeneration?"

The Doctor grinned. "Okay, probably not exactly the same."

Rose smiled and tugged at his sleeve. C'mon, then."

He sighed, and gave in.

----

"The twenty-ninth?!" Rose shrieked as her mother informed her of the date. They both turned angrily to the Doctor. He took a shaky step backwards under their menacing stares.

"How could you make her miss Christmas?" Jackie screeched, before slamming the door in his face and leaving him alone in the corridor.

The Doctor took a moment to work out what had just happened. He might have got the coordinates a little wrong, but it was only a few days off. He shuffled his feet on the grubby floor, and decided to go for a walk.

There had been no snow this year, an apparently mild festive season. The Doctor made his way to the local park, and sat down on a damp bench under a wilting tree. He sighed. He couldn't understand humans' obsession with these types of holidays, even if he did enjoy being part of them. Sometimes. Two Christmases in a row would be getting too domestic. Still, he hated to let Rose down.

He was so deep in thought he didn't notice a figure sitting down next to him. Not til she spoke.

"Don't worry about my mum, she'll get over it."

The Doctor looked at Rose, and smiled sadly. "But I wanted you to have a good time."

"I still got to see her." She looked around the glum, wintry park. "Don't suppose... we could go back...?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Timelines-"

"-Right."

The Doctor furrowed his brow, deep in thought. Then an idea struck him like a lightening bolt, and he sat up straight. He grabbed Rose's hand and dragged her back to the TARDIS.

----

"This was such a great idea, Doctor. Thank you."

They were back in Jackie's flat, but this time, it was full of happy, excited people, alcohol, and laughter. Music drifted through the place, along with Jackie's overbearing voice chatting to an uncomfortable-looking guy in the corner.

The Doctor looked at Rose and smiled at her happy face. She grinned back excitedly.

"But you know, we could have waited a couple of days for New Year, we didn't have to jump in the TARDIS and fly here."

The Doctor nodded, but shuddered at the thought of two days spent with Jackie. Way too domestic. He knew he'd made the right decision.

He looked down at Rose's beaming face, and at that moment, he knew why stuff like this was so important. For a split second, he understood. He saw it through her eyes. And he knew, in that moment, that he loved her.

At that moment Jackie's voice shattered the relative peace of the party.

"It's time, everybody. Get ready for the countdown!!!"

The countdown didn't even penetrate the Doctor's ears. His whole world was Rose, this wonderful woman looking up at him with excitement in her eyes, and something else... was it love? He had to know. And, as clueless he was about most human traditions, he knew about this one.

"Three, Two, One... HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Just at that moment, Rose pulled the Doctor into a hug, burying her face in his shoulder. He sighed in frustration. He'd missed his chance.

----

"Come on everyone, the pub's waiting!" Jackie hollered. Slowly the flat began to empty, leaving the Doctor and Rose trailing at the back. The Doctor groaned. "I hate pubs."
Rose grinned. "We don't have to go, if you don't want."

The Doctor shook his head. "No, we'll go. Spend time with your mum."

Rose saw how he cringed at the thought, and smiled affectionately. "Thank you Doctor. And..."

"Yeah?"

"Happy New Year."

He grinned at her as she headed to the door. He knew this was his chance. It was a bit domestic, but, hell, he didn't mind, for her.

Before Rose knew what was happening, he pulled her close to him and kissed her.

Happy New Year, Rose.

----

I want to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported me with my stories. I am going to be taking a break from writing Doctor Who, I'll be writing on instead. Thanks once again everyone xx