Author Note: This one-shot was a birthday present for my little brother who loves Doctor Who as much as I do (maybe not as much). I also wrote it because I was having a little writer's block on my other story The French Mistake. I'd like to thank my beta reader, ShadowLink5, for editing all my grammar mistakes too.

You can also think of this as a celebratory story to welcome the new Doctor, Peter Capaldi. The wait will be over in a couple weeks!

The Birthday Magician

He never forgot a face, not one. That's how important they were to him: no matter how ordinary they were, like a temp from Chiswick or a Scottish ginger girl. Even though he himself had changed into so many faces, the people that he traveled with, and all the people he met always stayed in his mind.

The old time lord was in his 12th face now. His features were older and grayer than his previous incarnations, yet all his memories were still the same and the feelings for the one person that stuck to his hearts was still there. Still there. The pink and yellow human who had left his life hundreds of years ago was still in his heart and mind to this day. Her smile and large brown eyes was always a fresh image in his thoughts.

He visited her two times before: the one time when he was about to regenerate and the second time to help her with her homework. This time it was for her birthday.

He had dropped off Clara to continue her teaching at her school and placed the coordinates into the TARDIS. The motor wooshed and banged as it arrived at the intended destination, the Powell Estates. He stepped out to the familiar setting and reminisced the memories he had there.

It had been a while since he had visited the place, more than three hundred years to be exact. He remembered in his ninth incarnation when he was bitter to coming to the council housing complex. When he would bring Rose there to visit her mother, he would always be bored while waiting in the TARDIS and anticipating for their next adventure. In his tenth incarnation, he gladly sat with Rose, her mother, and Mickey to enjoy a Christmas dinner. He smiled at the memories of the past.

He made his way up the stairs to the cherished flat, skipping a little in his steps. In his hand he held a small box with a tag. Inside was a ring that would be too large for its owner now, yet would fit snugly in the future. The ring was made of three layers of color. The top and the bottom was a crystallized red and the middle was gold. He tucked it in his pocket for safe-keeping until the time came to give the present to the celebrant. Once at the door, he made a cheerful, rhythmic knock and waited for someone to answer the door.

"Be right there!" A female voice called from inside, one he was all too well acquainted with. Although muffled, the sounds of music and shrieks of small children could be heard. It became louder once the door was opened.

In front of him stood the infamous Jackie Tyler, the first mother to slap him in the face. Her slap did hurt like he had told Rose; however, he too had grown fond of her. Jackie became like a crazy aunt to him, one that no matter how mad she was, he secretly loved her as a family member. She wore what he had normally seen her in: a bedazzled tracksuit. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail with strands coming loose and falling on her face. It was the same old Jackie, yet younger in appearance.

"May I help you?" She asked looking at him expectantly.

"Hello," he replied brightly. "I'm the Do-"

"Oh! You must be that magician Bev told me she might book. Well don't doddle about outside, come on in." She opened the door wider to let him enter.

Magician? The Doctor thought as he looked down at his attire. He didn't think his outfit resembled a magician's! It's better than bowties or sandshoes.

He used the excuse, walked in, and gazed around the apartment, which was now a party war zone. Streamers and confetti was scattered on the walls and floors. The smell of pizza and junk food lingered in the air. A banner on the wall read: "Happy 6th Birthday Rose!" Children ran about the area wearing party hats and blowing party horns. It was a noisy affair; the Doctor didn't think his superior Time Lord eardrums could even handle it.

"My little princess is in the living room," Jackie said as she guided him towards her. "Rose! Rose!" She called and tripped on balloons and little feet in the process. The Doctor held in a snicker.

Then, right on the couch a few feet away from him, he saw the birthday girl herself. Her dark blonde hair that was topped with a plastic tiara was not yet bleached with coloring peroxide. She had yet to have her distinct facial features, as her cheeks were still plump and babyish. She looked up at her mother and at the unusual man she had brought in. Her brown eyes were still the same as the Doctor remembers them.

"Rose, look who came," Jackie told her excitedly. "A magician!"

"Really?!" Rose sat up and squealed. She beheld the man in wonder. "Are you going to do some magic tricks for us now Mr. Magician?"

Magic tricks. He didn't think about that, but as all his other plans have went; he would think of something as he went along.

The Doctor grinned and knelt down to talk to her at eye-level. "Course I am, that's what magicians are for right?"

"Gather round everyone," Jackie yelled over the noise. "The magic show's about to start."

The children that were previously running around had instantaneously joined Rose and surrounded the Doctor, making a circle around him and sitting cross-legged.

"Oh, uhm…" The Doctor looked at the crowd of expectant faces. He quickly thought of something and started digging through his bigger-on-the-inside pockets. Upon finding the object he wanted he started pulling it out. Through the children's amazement, they watched him bring out a whole bouquet of bizarre looking flowers from his small looking pocket.

"These flowers are from Florous." He told them. The kids oooed and ahhhed. "A planet I went to so I could get these for our little birthday celebrant, Rose." He handed the flowers to the wide-eyed girl, who smiled at him with gratitude.

"And what would a magician be..." He made a suspenseful pause as he pulled out his trusty tool. "Without his wand?" He produced his sonic screwdriver to present to his audience. "I can use it to bring light!" He pointed the device to a lamp across the room which flickered on immediately. The children clapped in gusto. "And I can use it to make predictions." He pointed it at a dark-skinned boy that stood near him. "Tell me…"

"Mickey?" The boy supplied.

"Mickey." The Doctor said surprised with his eyebrows raised. He smiled at the younger version of his old friend. The boy who would become more than a tin dog. "Do you have any pets?"

"Yeah Gran has a-" The Doctor cover his mouth before he could say anything.

"No, No, don't tell me." He scanned his sonic at Mickey and detected cat hair on him. "You have a cat."

"How'd you know?" Mickey looked at him in awe.

"Magicians never tell their secrets." He gave the small boy a wink. His audience clapped once more. "And for my final trick…" he raised his sonic at the crowd. "I will change the colors of all your shirts to…" He went over to Rose and whispered to her ear. "What's your favorite color?"

"Pink." She responded confidently.

"I will change all your shirts to pink!" He waved the screwdriver around the group of children and their shirts did turn pink! It was all the matter of altering the molecules and chemical formula of the fabric. The girls giggled and were pleased by the color choice; the boys stuck their tongues at their shirt and made a disgusted look. The Doctor quickly undid his trick and their shirts changed back to the same color. The children roared and hooted with elation.

"Thank you, thank you." The Doctor bowed. "That's all for me ladies and gentlemen. Give a round of applause to our very own princess, Rose." They cheered for her and Rose beamed.

The Doctor brought out a cylinder-shaped object and pulled the string on the end of it, which exploded with confetti and candy. The children laughed and jumped to grab the raining sweets. Jackie watched with exasperation at the mess she had to clean. He made his way to Rose who was with the other kids, catching falling goodies.

"Rose I have a special birthday present I want to give to you…wanna see it?"

Rose nodded eagerly at him, hoping it was another amazing magic trick. He led her to the kitchen where no adults and children were around and shut the door so the noise would not bother them. He once again dug into his pockets to produce the small box he had viewed earlier. Squatting down to be face to face with Rose, he gave her the box.

"Here you go," He said with a small enthusiastic smile.

Rose read the tag attached to the box; although, she was having a little trouble since she had just learned to read. "Hap-happy Ber-Birthd-ey Rose, fr-ah-oh-m the D-doo-"

"From the Doctor." He finished for her.

"Who's the Doctor?" She asked him curiously.

"I am." He gave her an ear-splitting grin.

"I thought you're a magician."

"It's my stage name," He shrugged.

"Hm," She said as she gave the name some thought. "It suits you."

"You think?"

"Yeah," She started opening the box with anticipation. Her eyes widened at the sight of her present and she gasped. "It's so pretty."

"It's a magic ring," he explained to her. "Anything you wish for, this ring will help grant it."

Rose marveled at the ring and tried to put it on her pointer finger, but was disappointed when it was too big to fit. After trying it with her other fingers, she became satisfied by the fit on her thumb, which she kept it on.

"Thank you," She looked up to face him with eyes full of gratitude. "But, I don't understand…why would you give this ring to me? It's magic, yeah? You could have given this to anyone else, yet you gave it to me…I'm no one important."

"Oh Rose Tyler, you are far more important than you realize." His expression looked as if he knew and said more than he had spoken.

She broadly smiled at the man who smiled back at her. She felt so comfortable around him, even though she had just met him.

"Rose? Where did you go? Rose?" Jackie's voice interrupted the pleasant atmosphere that formed between them.

"Well I've got to go now." The Doctor got up from his crouching position. "You know how busy a magician like me is, more parties to go to and such."

He began walking towards the door. "Wait Doctor!" Rose ran up to him and hugged her small body with his legs. "Thank you again."

"You're absolutely welcome Rose." He bent down and hugged her back. Then, he strode off out the kitchen door and out of the apartment.

Rose still stood inside the kitchen, admiring her ring on her thumb. Jackie opened the door to find her there.

"Rose what are you doing in here?"

"I had a checkup from the Doctor." Rose replied with a cheeky tongue-poking smirk. Her mother gazed at her daughter, clueless to her little inside joke.

The Doctor stood inside his TARDIS while he looked out the open door at the Powell Estate. In thirteen years, the blonde, tiara-wearing girl would meet a time travelling mad man. She would be able to touch the stars and live a life filled with adventures. She would be battling aliens and defending the Earth with him. She would realize how much more there is in life and anticipate their running. She would fall in love. And in fifteen years, those times would end.

He gave a sad, nostalgic chuckle.

After all these years it was still her. Yes, he had many other companions after her and he had loved River, but—they were never Rose. She was the one who put him together after experiencing the horrors of the time war. She was the one who made him better. She was the one who kept coming back to him. Not this time though. This time she already does have him, his metacrisis. And somewhere, across the void and in another universe, he hoped she was happy and enjoying the life he wished he could have had.

He smiled wistfully as he looked up at the apartment to where the very person that stole his hearts was.

"Happy Birthday Rose." He whispered. Then, he turned his back to the place he had thought of as a second home and closed the doors. The TARDIS wheezed and slowly disappeared from the Powell Estate.

Fifteen years into the future

"Rooose!" The brown, spikey-haired man called from beneath the TARDIS console.

His companion's face appeared in front of him; bending down to see him. "What is it Doctor?"

"Could you hand me that wrench over there?" He pointed to an item that looked nowhere near a wrench.

"You mean this doohickey?" She grabbed the bizarrely-shaped object and handed it to him.

"Yup," he said, popping his p. While he took the wrench from Rose's hand, he noticed a ring that she wore on her pinky. "Is that new?"

"What is?" She asked confusedly.

"Your ring." Sounds of clanging emitted while he worked.

"Doctor," she raised one eyebrow at him. "I've been wearing this ring for a very long time now."

"Really? Huh." He scratched the back of his head. The Doctor was a very observative man, especially with his superior time lord senses. Yet, with all the adventures and exotic places he's travelled to, he sometimes does not see what was right in front of him. "Bad Wolf" being another example (he still couldn't believe how he hadn't figured out what, or rather who it was earlier). "How long?"

"Since I was six. This magician gave it to me for my birthday, said it was magic."

"Pffft," the Doctor scoffed. "There's no such thing as magic. Weell, if you count the Carrionites, but their powers merely looks like magic. It's all just science."

"Yeah that's what I started thinking as I was growing up. Stuff happened to convince me otherwise."

"What stuff?"

"Well when I still did gymnastics, I had a championship. It was the biggest one there is and I used my ring to wish that I would win something, anything, because I didn't have much hope in winning. I was going against tough competitors who probably trained with more intensity than me. So every day I wished on the ring, a sort of daily ritual really. Then I won bronze and my ring's been my lucky charm ever since."

"That's all?" He teased her. "I think it was more than just a silly little ring that helped you win the competition. It was obviously because you practiced and worked hard enough. Nothing to do with magic rings."

"There's one more though."

"Okay what?" He mockingly raised his eyebrows and nodded for her to continue.

"I wished I could live a life worth living for and here you are."

He stopped tinkering with the TARDIS console. He sat up and looked at her. He was touched by her statement and he smiled at her.

"I think it's magic because it brought me you," she told him.

"I really change your life that much?"

"Yeah." She smiled back at him.

He lied back on the TARDIS floor and propped his head up with one elbow. "So who was this magician anyway?"

"I dunno. I remember after the party Mum was saying how Bev, she was the one who was going to book a magician, never called one in." Rose laughed. "Mum went ballistic."

The Doctor laughed with her. "I can picture it."

She scrunched her face as she recalled something. "You know, the funny thing is, his stage name was The Doctor."

"Really? That's a bit of a rubbish title for a magician. When they're announcing him they would say 'Presenting the Amazing Doctor'…you know what, actually, I like that 'Presenting the Amazing Doctor'." He made his voice deeper to imitate an announcer's. "Maybe we should announce myself like that from now on."

She smiled and shook her head at his frivolous babbling. "You're full of it, you are!"

"I mean think about it Rose, I would be a brilliant magician.

"I bet you would." She said sarcastically.

She had no idea that the very magician they were talking about was right in front of her, or of the greatest trick he had performed. Transforming her life for the better while stealing her heart in the process. That, was the most magical trick the Birthday Magician had ever done.