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and make your wish come true, TenII/Rose, G, 820 words
A meaningful cough from the head of the table draws her attention, and she laughs aloud to see the Doctor sitting there, grinning away beneath a large green top hat. He theatrically fluffs the pale blue bowtie and smoothes the lapels of the mustard-yellow jacket. Then he clears his throat again, spreads his arms wide, and sings, in a booming voice, "a VERY merry unbirthday to you!"
You are cordially invited to celebrate a very important date with a tea party in the garden.
Rose grins, picking up the hastily scrawled note in one hand and the fresh, white pinafore in the other. She hurries to her closet and is unsurprised to find a sky blue dress, along with another note: You're late! You're late! Hurry! She holds the outfit to her chest and spins once, giggling. Then she rushes to change into the new clothes -- adding white tights, black flats, and a black ribbon in her hair -- and races out of the house and into the backyard.
The sight before her stops her short, and she claps her hands to her mouth. The humble English garden has been transformed; white roses litter the ground, several white rabbits can be seen congregating in the far corner, and a table sits in the center, straining under the weight of dozens of platters of food and various teapots and teacups.
A meaningful cough from the head of the table draws her attention, and she laughs aloud to see the Doctor sitting there, grinning away beneath a large green top hat. He theatrically fluffs the pale blue bowtie and smoothes the lapels of the mustard-yellow jacket. Then he clears his throat again, spreads his arms wide, and sings, in a booming voice, "a VERY merry unbirthday to you!"
"To me?" Rose responds, clapping her hands excitedly as she scurries to take a seat at the other end of the table.
"To you!" He is beaming as he picks up the nearest teapot and tilts it over the cup in front of him. "Surprised?" he asks, pushing the cup as far towards her as he can--not far at all, considering the numerous food obstacles.
"Oh, completely!" She stretches to pull the cup to herself and takes a generous sip before speaking again. "Only today isn't my unbirthday, of course."
The Doctor's grin wavers. "Yes, it is. Today is your unbirthday. Tomorrow is your birthday."
"You sure about that?"
"Yes!" He flinches at the raised eyebrows he receives across the table. "I suppose it's possible that I...miscalculated. Or that you miscalculated! Couldn't it be that?"
"Hmm." Rose reaches for a teacake, not bothering to maintain her cross face. "It could be that someone miscalculated."
"Or that both of us did!"
"Curiouser and curiouser."
He smiles again at that, and recovers from his temporary lapse in character. "A riddle for you, miss," he asks in what she supposes is his attempt at a Mad Hatter voice, "why is a raven like a writing desk?"
Rose purses her lips together. "A raven...like a writing desk...hmm. I'll have to get back to you."
"Clean cup!" the Doctor shouts in response, knocking his chair backwards as he jumps up. "Move down! Move down!"
She lets out a loud laugh and tosses out the remaining contents of her teacup before running to take another seat. He chooses one directly beside her, earning him a questioning look. "I thought there was plenty of room, Mr. Hatter," she says, glancing at the chairs positioned around the table.
He shrugs and pours her another cup of tea. "They're too far away," he says dismissively.
She smiles at that, and wraps her fingers around his. "Thank you for doing this," she says, gesturing around her personal Wonderland. "It's...magical. Even better than the movie."
The Doctor whistles appreciatively. "High praise, that! Better than your favorite movie."
She twists in her chair to see his face. "When did I tell you it was my favorite movie?"
"After we went to Woman Wept. I made you tea, and you told me you'd always wanted a tea party like the one in Alice in Wonderland, because it was your favorite movie."
She nods slowly, biting her lip. "I barely remember that."
He tightens his grip on her hand. "I remember it vividly."
She smiles at him, her tongue poking out between her teeth, and he brushes his lips across her forehead, and for the next several moments they eat in comfortable silence. When he speaks again, it is in the Hatter voice: "Of course you know what this means."
"What does this mean?" she asks, pouring herself a fresh cup of tea.
"This was meant to be an unbirthday celebration," he informs her. "So if today is actually your birthday, we'll just have to have another party tomorrow."
"That's logic!" She clinks her teacup to his and giggles. "And maybe by then I'll have an answer to your riddle."
He frowns. "Riddle?"
"Yes. 'Why is a raven like a writing desk?'"
"What did you say?"
"You said it! 'Why is a raven like a writing desk?'"
The Doctor leaps up from his seat and backs away, cowering dramatically behind each chair he passes. "She's stark ravin' mad..."
Rose rolls her eyes and pops a teacake into her mouth. "We're all mad here."
A meaningful cough from the head of the table draws her attention, and she laughs aloud to see the Doctor sitting there, grinning away beneath a large green top hat. He theatrically fluffs the pale blue bowtie and smoothes the lapels of the mustard-yellow jacket. Then he clears his throat again, spreads his arms wide, and sings, in a booming voice, "a VERY merry unbirthday to you!"
You are cordially invited to celebrate a very important date with a tea party in the garden.
Rose grins, picking up the hastily scrawled note in one hand and the fresh, white pinafore in the other. She hurries to her closet and is unsurprised to find a sky blue dress, along with another note: You're late! You're late! Hurry! She holds the outfit to her chest and spins once, giggling. Then she rushes to change into the new clothes -- adding white tights, black flats, and a black ribbon in her hair -- and races out of the house and into the backyard.
The sight before her stops her short, and she claps her hands to her mouth. The humble English garden has been transformed; white roses litter the ground, several white rabbits can be seen congregating in the far corner, and a table sits in the center, straining under the weight of dozens of platters of food and various teapots and teacups.
A meaningful cough from the head of the table draws her attention, and she laughs aloud to see the Doctor sitting there, grinning away beneath a large green top hat. He theatrically fluffs the pale blue bowtie and smoothes the lapels of the mustard-yellow jacket. Then he clears his throat again, spreads his arms wide, and sings, in a booming voice, "a VERY merry unbirthday to you!"
"To me?" Rose responds, clapping her hands excitedly as she scurries to take a seat at the other end of the table.
"To you!" He is beaming as he picks up the nearest teapot and tilts it over the cup in front of him. "Surprised?" he asks, pushing the cup as far towards her as he can--not far at all, considering the numerous food obstacles.
"Oh, completely!" She stretches to pull the cup to herself and takes a generous sip before speaking again. "Only today isn't my unbirthday, of course."
The Doctor's grin wavers. "Yes, it is. Today is your unbirthday. Tomorrow is your birthday."
"You sure about that?"
"Yes!" He flinches at the raised eyebrows he receives across the table. "I suppose it's possible that I...miscalculated. Or that you miscalculated! Couldn't it be that?"
"Hmm." Rose reaches for a teacake, not bothering to maintain her cross face. "It could be that someone miscalculated."
"Or that both of us did!"
"Curiouser and curiouser."
He smiles again at that, and recovers from his temporary lapse in character. "A riddle for you, miss," he asks in what she supposes is his attempt at a Mad Hatter voice, "why is a raven like a writing desk?"
Rose purses her lips together. "A raven...like a writing desk...hmm. I'll have to get back to you."
"Clean cup!" the Doctor shouts in response, knocking his chair backwards as he jumps up. "Move down! Move down!"
She lets out a loud laugh and tosses out the remaining contents of her teacup before running to take another seat. He chooses one directly beside her, earning him a questioning look. "I thought there was plenty of room, Mr. Hatter," she says, glancing at the chairs positioned around the table.
He shrugs and pours her another cup of tea. "They're too far away," he says dismissively.
She smiles at that, and wraps her fingers around his. "Thank you for doing this," she says, gesturing around her personal Wonderland. "It's...magical. Even better than the movie."
The Doctor whistles appreciatively. "High praise, that! Better than your favorite movie."
She twists in her chair to see his face. "When did I tell you it was my favorite movie?"
"After we went to Woman Wept. I made you tea, and you told me you'd always wanted a tea party like the one in Alice in Wonderland, because it was your favorite movie."
She nods slowly, biting her lip. "I barely remember that."
He tightens his grip on her hand. "I remember it vividly."
She smiles at him, her tongue poking out between her teeth, and he brushes his lips across her forehead, and for the next several moments they eat in comfortable silence. When he speaks again, it is in the Hatter voice: "Of course you know what this means."
"What does this mean?" she asks, pouring herself a fresh cup of tea.
"This was meant to be an unbirthday celebration," he informs her. "So if today is actually your birthday, we'll just have to have another party tomorrow."
"That's logic!" She clinks her teacup to his and giggles. "And maybe by then I'll have an answer to your riddle."
He frowns. "Riddle?"
"Yes. 'Why is a raven like a writing desk?'"
"What did you say?"
"You said it! 'Why is a raven like a writing desk?'"
The Doctor leaps up from his seat and backs away, cowering dramatically behind each chair he passes. "She's stark ravin' mad..."
Rose rolls her eyes and pops a teacake into her mouth. "We're all mad here."