Title: Early Christmas Present
Characters: Ninth Doctor, Rose Tyler
Rating: PG
Pairing: Nine/Rose
Summary: Rose never did explain how she got the scarf in Boom Town.
Author's Note: Written for
and
charlottetrips prompt - "9/Rose. How Rose got the scarf in Boom Town"
Rose was bored.
The Doctor was busy fixing some doodad that was connected to the something-or-other and oh alright! So she wasn’t paying much attention when he started going on about the repairs, it was mostly instinct by now anyway. Doctor starts talking about fixing; brain turns onto more interesting things like shopping.
“Doctor,” she leant on the back of the battered leather seat and watched him as he worked. His jacket had been dumped on the grating next to the crawlspace and his jumper, the blue one that always looked good on him, had ridden up slightly, exposing some of his pale stomach.
“Rose, this is important. I need to get this fixed or we’ll never get anywhere.”
“Can’t you just take her to a repair shop or something?”
The Doctor slid out from under the console, he didn’t look at her but Rose could tell she’d accidently touched a nerve. “There aren’t any repair shops for the TARDIS. I’ve just got to do what I can.”
“Doctor, I didn’t mean-“
“No it’s alright Rose,” he gave her one of his megawatt grins and turned back to the controls, sending them both tumbling to the floor as the ship bucked and twirled in the time vortex.
--
“Right then Rose, go get a scarf and a warm coat,” he pulled her up and gently pushed her towards the door, “you’re gonna need them out there.”
Rose made her way along the corridor, she’d never get used to him and his moods. She reached the wardrobe and headed up the spiral staircase to the winter clothes section, even though the ship seemed to like moving things around and sometimes there’d be a bikini, always in her size, nestled between the thick coats. Nothing out of place today though. Rose picked out a wool-lined jacket and the matching gloves, the TARDIS always seemed to have things to fit with whatever else she was wearing that day, but there was no scarf.
“How can there be gloves but no scarf to go with this?” Rose flicked through a couple of other coats and jackets, thinking it might have gotten mixed up with them but she didn’t find it. “There was a scarf in the men’s section, the Doctor won’t mind.” She smiled and headed down a few floors to where the Doctor’s jumpers were kept.
--
“Rose? Are you ready yet!” the Doctor shouted, just as Rose came around the corner all dressed up for cold weather. She’d found a jacket and gloves and then he noticed the scarf. Wrapped around her neck several times so she didn’t trip over it. His old scarf.
“Doctor?” She nudged his shoulder to snap him out of whatever memory he was in, “you said we were going somewhere?”
“Hmm? Oh! Yeah, come on then,” he walked briskly out of the doors and Rose followed. They’d landed on the edge of a cliff that overlooked what seemed to be a frozen ocean.
“Woman Wept,” the Doctor said, “whole planet is made out of ice, see those waves,” he pointed to one of them, “they’re over 100 feet tall, frozen solid!” He grinned and held out his hand, “shall we go and explore?”
Rose took his hand and smiled as he led her across the ground towards their latest adventure.
--
It had been a few days since woman wept and Rose was worried.
The Doctor had locked himself away in his room and only came out to get something to eat or drink, barely saying hello before vanishing again for the next few hours. So she took things into her own hands.
“Doctor?” she knocked on his door, a steaming mug of tea in her hands. The door creaked open just enough for him to poke his head around. “I brought you some tea,” Rose handed him the mug and tried to sneak a peek at whatever he was up to in there but he blocked her view with his arm as he slid through the narrow gap to join her in the corridor.
“Thanks,” he gratefully took a sip. “It’s late Rose, why don’t you get some sleep?”
“I want to know what you’re up to. You’re not acting normal.”
He smiled, “I’m not normal Rose.”
She rolled her eyes, “you know what I mean!”
“Yep. I’m still not telling you though. It’s a surprise.”
“A surprise? What for?”
He steered her down the corridor to her room, “if I told you it wouldn’t be a surprise. You’ll find out soon enough.”
Rose reluctantly dropped the subject and stepped into her room, glaring at the Doctor as he turned back to his room and went inside. “I really hate it when he doesn’t tell me anything,” she muttered as she got ready for bed. “I’ll try again in the morning,” she said before falling into a deep sleep.
--
The next morning Rose woke to find her door slightly open and a box just inside her room. “Doctor?” she moved towards the strange parcel and carefully poked it, you could never be too careful around strange things that appeared out of nowhere after all. When the box didn’t explode or make strange noises Rose picked it up and put it on her bed. It was light, almost as if it were empty. Then she noticed the tag.
Rose,
Merry Christmas!
Love,
The Doctor
She shook her head and smiled, he was early by a few months but it was the thought that counted. She lifted the lid off the box and couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her. A scarf. Just like the one she’d worn on Woman Wept, a little shorter and made up of pinks, yellows and purples. She wrapped it around her neck and headed off down the corridor to the console room, the Doctor was pretending to press a few buttons so she hugged him and pressed her face into the cool leather of his jacket.
“Thank you Doctor, I love it.”
The Doctor smiled, unseen. “Merry Christmas Rose.”