My True Love Gave To Me
By Melissa (dettiot)
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairing: Ten/Rose, Jackie
Setting: Post-Fear Her.
Betas: leighleighla and clevermonikerr were great cheerleaders for this story as I wrote it. manticoran did a wonderful job betaing this huge story with very little time; thank you so much!
Summary: Christmas is a time for getting your heart's desire. Sometimes, the gift you truly want most can't be wrapped in pretty paper and bows.
Author's Note: Absolute fluff, written for waxingobscure, as part of the time_x_space Christmas ficathon. The prompts were needing a last-minute gift for a major character, Baby's First Christmas for the child of the Doctor and Rose, and/or carolling. See if I fit them all in. :-) Additional author's notes at the end.

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3


The Doctor awoke with a start, surprised that he was actually waking up. He didn't often sleep, but after yesterday's roller-coaster of a day, it wasn't surprising that he had dropped off. The last thing he had remembered was changing into a pair of pajamas, after Jackie had told thrown them at him and told him to wear something other than a bleedin' suit. Then, he and Rose had curled up on the couch, his arm around her shoulder and her head leaning against his chest. At some point, he must have dropped off and Rose had gone to her bedroom, because he was alone now and covered with a blanket.

Rose padded into the room, yawning and sweeping her messy hair out of her face. "Merry Christmas," she said, giving him a soft smile as she perched on the arm of the sofa.

He grinned at her. "Merry Christmas."

Oh, he knew that things weren't completely settled between them. They'd probably have to talk this out, something that he was somewhat fearful that he'd make an utter mess of. But even if nothing had been completely decided, he just knew. They were together now . . . in all but intent. And that was some Christmas gift.

The sound of Jackie's slippers scuffing along the floor made Rose grin at him devilishly. "Mum's awake. Know what that means?"

He looked towards the ceiling as if giving the question careful consideration. "Hmmm. We should leg it?"

She laughed, and grabbed his hand, pulling him up from the couch. "Nope--presents!"

She plopped down on the floor in front of the tree, giving his hand a tug until he was sitting next to her. "Come on, Mum!" she called out, giving a small bounce.

"And you call me childish?" he asked, amazed at this side of Rose. He hadn't realized just how much she liked presents, clearly. He made a mental note to make sure to get her something for her birthday, because this Rose was just adorable.

Jackie finally arrived, carrying a mug of tea and sitting in the armchair. "Lord, I always forget how Rose regresses to a five-year-old about Christmas presents," she said with a sigh. "But I s'pose you're giving her a run for her money, eh? Want to go first?"

"Ladies first," the Doctor said, nodding his head towards Jackie.

"Should be you, you being our guest and all," Jackie said, taking a sip of tea.

"The Doctor's not a guest, Mum," Rose protested.

"You just want to go first, missy," Jackie retorted.

The Doctor snorted as Rose frowned at being found out. He grinned and said, "Really, either of you can go first."

"Age before beauty," Jackie sing-songed.

He raised an eyebrow. "Ah, so you want to go first then, eh?"

He barely managed to duck her slap. With a roll of her eyes, Jackie got up, muttering under her breath, "Nine AM of a Christmas morning, and he's causing trouble." He looked at Rose, who was shooting him a glare that faded into a smile as soon as he grinned at her. Meanwhile, Jackie had gone into the kitchen. Within a moment, she came back, three straws clutched in her fist.

"Short straw goes last, and no swapping or complaining." Jackie offered the straws to Rose, who grabbed what was clearly the shortest. She pouted and the Doctor laughed as he picked his own straw. Jackie opened her hand, revealing the longest straw.

"I reckon it was fixed," Rose said to the Doctor.

"Of course you do," he said, quirking an eyebrow at her. She made a face at him and then turned towards her mum, who had joined them on the floor and had drawn all her presents towards her.

Jackie began unwrapping with gusto. Within a few moments, she was surrounded by shredded paper and a small stack of presents. Each gift was oohed and aahed over, the Doctor joining in. Thankfully, even his gift passed muster.

"They're those electronic photo frames, yeah," he explained, "but you'll have one, and Rose has one. It can take pictures now, so whenever you want, you can take a picture of whatever, and it'll be sent to Rose's frame, and vice versa."

Jackie nearly teared up, and Rose gave him that million-pound smile, the one he loved getting.

Then, it was his turn. He unwrapped Jackie's gift first, the paper coming apart to reveal a lovely leather-bound book. When opened, the pages were blank. He looked up at Jackie. "Thought you might like something to write down . . . well, whatever. After all, your memory's bound to go at some point, and then what are you going to do?"

He didn't even bother resisting the grin that crossed his face. "Very true. Once I hit a thousand, it's all downhill from there." He reached out and wrapped an arm around Jackie's shoulders. "Thank you," he said quietly, speaking into her hair.

Hopefully she realized that he was thanking her for more than the gift. If she did, she didn't give any sign of it. When he drew back, she just smiled and said "You're welcome."

With nervous fingers, he touched the two boxes that remained. One was the size of your typical gift box, while the other was quite long, about half as tall as it was long, and relatively narrow. He wrinkled his forehead. The larger box was the one that Rose had bought at Harrods, and he looked towards her. She smiled, looking slightly anxious as she said, "Open the other one first."

He nodded, then tore the paper off and opened the box, revealing three smaller packages. Each one was labeled with a number, and he looked at her quizzically.

"Open them in order," she said, gesturing towards the box marked with the number one. He tilted his head, gazing at her for a moment, and then focused on the first present. He opened the box and laughed with delight.

At the sound of his laughter, Rose smiled properly, and he held up the box towards Jackie. "Jam samples! Easy to get it all out of these little things--you don't know how annoying it is trying to get the bit at the bottom of the jar with your fingers."

"Just what you need--single-serving size jams," Jackie said from her place on the couch, rolling her eyes.

"That's why Rose is brilliant," he told her. "She thinks of those kinds of things."

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Rose had blushed at his compliment, and he smiled to himself. He was tempted to open a jar and try some, perhaps even offer some to Rose . . . but probably not the wisest course of action in front of her mother. So he set them aside and picked up present number two, packaged in a thin, flat box. It revealed a tie--a truly gorgeous tie, he thought. It was a pale blue, with darker blue swirls on it.

"I thought you had guessed about this, when you talked about what happened on Brexlack," Rose said, having scooted closer to him. "But I thought you'd like a new tie. This one was a lot like the one you lost, but a bit different, too. I thought it'd look nice with your suit."

He nodded, staring at it. He knew that on Earth, ties were a fairly generic gift. Something you gave your grandfather, or a male coworker you didn't know very well. But Rose knew him so well, and she knew how much he had missed that tie. But she didn't know why he missed it . . . because it was the only tie she'd ever told him that she liked. That was why it had become his favorite.

The Doctor swallowed and looked up at her. "It's lovely," he said, knowing his words were inadequate but afraid to say more. "I'll wear it today," he quickly said, almost wishing he was in his suit, so he'd feel more like himself, on a more even keel than he did in these pajamas, and Rose in her strappy little top, with all that skin showing . . .

He gently laid the tie aside, and then picked up the third present. "You're spoiling me," he said, trying to sound like he was making a joke, saying the kind of thing one was supposed to say in these situations.

But Rose would have none of it. She gazed at him for a long moment, and said, "Yeah, I am."

Suddenly, his throat felt tight, and it was all he could do not to gulp mouthfuls of air. He ripped the paper off the gift, disclosing a small wooden cube. He turned it around in his hands, and then looked up at her in surprise. "Is this . . .?"

She nodded happily. "A Livonian puzzle cube, yeah. I saw you try and get one, and that vendor wouldn't sell you any--said he didn't have one complex enough for you. He had to say that, because I had already bought the hardest one he had, guaranteed to stump even you for a while, and I told him that I wanted to keep it a surprise for you."

He grinned at her. "Oh, that's just--that's just excellent!" He felt giddy at the thought of Rose going to such trouble for a gift, for him. He looked down at the cube, already starting to figure out the first step in unlocking the cube and discovering the treasure inside it, when Rose placed her hand on top of his.

"Doctor?"

"Yeah, Rose?" he said, looking up at her after a moment.

She quirked an eyebrow. "Open first, play later. You've still got one left." The nervousness returned to her face when she said that, and she was even biting on her lip a little.

"Oh--right," he said, putting the puzzle cube aside and pulling the still-heavy box towards him. "Blimey, I can't imagine what this is. Well, actually, I can imagine, but there's just so many possibilities. Could be a dinosaur egg, or a cheese wheel, or a lump of gold, or--"

"Doctor, could I get any of those in Harrods?" Rose asked with a put-upon sigh. "Well, except the cheese wheel," she said, correcting herself. "Stop wondering and start opening!"

He looked up, ready to tease her, only to see her nibbling on her lip again. The same lip he'd nibbled just last night. The one he'd really would like to touch again at some point. Hopefully soon. Once they'd finished with their gifts, perhaps he could catch her under the mistletoe again. Perhaps if they kissed again, it'd be easier to talk about the relationship that had been developing between them for all this time, without either of them noticing . . .

He gave his head a brief shake and focused on the task at hand. With an enthusiastic tear, the box underneath the paper was revealed. He lifted the top to find a Styrofoam lid, which he removed. The item inside was wrapped in tissue paper. His curiosity intrigued by the packaging, he reached in and lifted the object out, setting it on the floor. He pulled aside the tissue paper and felt his mouth drop open in shock.

Rose had given him the universe.

Well, one universe. Hers, to be exact. It was a bronze model of the solar system, the planets circling the sun in precise orbits, each satellite correctly sized in relation to their actual circumference.

It was unique. It was beautiful. And he was scared about just what she was saying with this gift. The idea that she felt as much as he did . . . this gift was confirmation that it wasn't just him in this--she was right there with him, feeling the same things.

He looked up at her, absolutely gobsmacked. She smiled at the expression on his face. "You've taken me to so many places, but we always end up back here on Earth. I thought you'd like something to remind you of this part of the universe, when . . . well, when we're not here, or . . . . well, whenever."

His fingers were trembling as they reached out and smoothed across the slightly textured surface of the sun. He felt like he was having an epiphany. Strange, silly things, they were. He was suddenly realizing that everything he thought he knew about Rose was just a drop in the bucket, because he would have never guessed that she wanted to give him a metaphorical universe, one that meant so much more than this very beautiful model.

He looked up at her, straight into her eyes. And they were large and luminous, and he felt like he was seeing her, the real Rose, the heart of her. And he loved her.

He didn't just care about her. He didn't just want to be with her. He wanted to love her for as long as he could, and he wanted her to love him, too. He wanted her to know just how much he loved her, and he wanted the rest of the universe to know, too.

He couldn't wait to start loving her.

"Well, go on, then." Jackie's voice was like a klaxon through his foggy thoughts. "Someone as smart as you should know to say 'thank you' after receiving a gift. Would think you had no manners at all."

He shook his head, looking up at Rose again. He opened his mouth twice, only to close it, before finally blurting out, "T-thank you, Rose."

And oh, her smile. It made him feel like today was the best day he had ever had. "You're welcome," she said, her voice tender and soft. She was silent for a moment, before her smile widened into a grin. "So, I do believe it's my turn, correct?"

"Yep," Jackie said, gathering the last of the gifts and passing them to Rose.

"No!"

Both women turned to look at him. "No?" Rose asked in dismay.

"No! I mean, that is, I just realized--Rose--yes, I left a gift for you. In the TARDIS! And I can't have you not get your gift now--would be most unfair, very much a blot on the whole day, if I don't get it for you now." He was babbling, talking so fast that his words were falling on top of each other. But he knew now that his gift to her wasn't enough. What was more, he knew now that he wanted her to have that other present, the one he hadn't been ready to give her. Because he was ready now. He was more than ready--he was almost dying to give it to her.

He scrambled to his feet. "Two ticks, and you can be ripping paper like a three-year-old, Rose. Be right back!"

"But, Doctor, you're not even dressed--" Jackie started saying, but he just grabbed his coat and threw it on over his pajamas as he hurried out of the flat, charging down the stairs towards the spot where the TARDIS was parked.

***

Rose bit her lip, wondering if she'd always feel like they took one step forward, two steps back. She was sure he had liked her gift--he'd gotten that look of amazement that she'd seen only a few times, a look that only came when he was deeply moved. And she thought he understood what she had been trying to say with it, the message behind it. So why had he suddenly scampered out of here like that?

"There's no need to be looking like it's been raining for a month."

She looked at her mother. "What?"

Jackie rolled her eyes. "You look like you just got told there's a worldwide chocolate shortage. Trust me, he's not doing a runner. Not with the way he was looking at you."

Rose blinked. It seemed like . . . "Are you--are you actually saying that the Doctor was--"

Her mum sighed, a long-suffering sigh that Rose had heard, on average, once every three days for her entire life. "Just how thick are you, Rose? Wait, scratch that: how thick do you think I am? All this time, travelling around together in that box, and yesterday was the first time you kissed?" She paused, taking a sip of tea. "With the way the two of you are, I kept expecting you to come home and tell me you were pregnant."

"MUM!" Rose exclaimed, feeling a blush start at her face and sweep over her whole body.

"And I wasn't looking forward to a grandbaby with tentacles, or a horn, or even worse, a gob like his," Jackie said, ignoring her outburst. "When you showed up yesterday, on your own, I was scared to death you were going to tell me that it was 'Baby's First Christmas!' But you know why it doesn't bother me, sweetheart?"

She shook her head, and her mum put down her mug, leaning down to pick up Rose's hand.

"Because I knew you loved him, and I knew he loved you. And it's about time the two of you figured that out." Jackie dropped her hand and sat back. "Who knows what he's going to get, but I bet you it's something special," she said with a firm nod.

She opened and closed her mouth, and then managed to speak. "So I should stop worrying?"

"Oh, there's still plenty to worry about," Jackie said, looking at her over the rim of her mug. "But frankly, you just need eyes to see how he feels about you, so you should start worrying about birth control."

Rose closed her eyes, burying her face in her hands. "Mum . . ." she said, thinking that she was too old to feel this embarrassed.

"Well, you can't very well run about the universe getting into all kinds of messes if you've got a bun in the oven, can you? And what happens after the baby comes? You're not about to dump it on me, I'll have you know."

"Mum, can I ask you a favor?" she said, dropping her hands. "Could you please stop talking about me and the Doctor and . . . sex?" she said, whispering the last word.

"Who's talking about that? I'm just talking about babies," Jackie said indignantly. "Ooh, you should see that Maria, the one who was a few years behind you at school? She's got the cutest little baby, and so tan! The father's Egyptian or something."

Thankfully, the sound of the front door opening and closing saved Rose from having to respond to her mother's statement, and she looked towards the doorway, feeling her heart start beating faster when she saw the Doctor walk in, his coat buttoned for once to conceal his pajamas.

He smiled his broadest, most ear-to-ear smile at her. "See, faster than light! Well, not really, of course. But I certainly ran at top speed to the TARDIS and back." He grinned and then pulled a small black box out of his coat pocket, setting it down in front of her. "There you go--always nice to get one more present, right?"

She nodded, staring hard at the small box, reaching her hand out to pick it up. His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. "Open it last, okay?" he said quickly, his eyes wide and anxious.

She looked up at him, doing her best to reassure him with her expression. "Okay," she said softly. She tried to grin at him, but she wasn't sure if it was as sunny as her normal smiles. "Come on, sit down so I can open up my gifts," she said, patting the floor next to her.

His grin returned, and he quickly shucked off his coat and plopped on the floor next to her. She opened the gifts from her mum first, smiling happily at the girly lotions and hair products, as well as the pink top. When she held it up to herself, she noticed the Doctor looking at her, his eyes filled with heat. She blushed enough that she matched the top, and had to start babbling to her mum about hitting the after-Christmas sales to get a few other shirts.

Then, it was time for the Doctor's gifts to her. She pulled the first box towards her, surprised at its weight. She looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I got this for you at Harrods," he said, in response to her silent question. "It was . . . well, you're see," he said, running a hand through his hair and making it look even more rumpled.

She had a brief, intense desire to ruffle his hair, to sink her fingers into those brown locks and snog him silly--a desire that was not new, admittedly, but it took her by surprise to be feeling it now. Since their talk in the kitchen last night, they had unconsciously gone back to their regular behavior, acting just like best friends. But now, it seemed that things had shifted, and she felt warm just looking at him.

"You gonna open it, or what?" Jackie asked caustically. Rose managed to tear her gaze away from the Doctor and look over at her mother, who was shooting her meaningful looks over the rim of her mug. Rose frowned, then realized what Jackie had said.

"Oh! Um, yeah," she said, ripping off the wrapping paper and revealing a sturdy green box. She opened it up, seeing tissue paper and cardboard and wondering what he had given her that required such protection. She reached in and lifted the still-hidden object out of the box and set it in her lap. She pulled aside the paper, and gasped at what she saw.

She set the clock down on the coffee table, leaning forward to examine it. It was so gorgeous, she didn't know what to say. She oh-so-lightly brushed her fingers across the clock face, tracing the flowing design that swirled around the numbers and the dial. "Doctor . . ." she said, looking at him. "This is--this is too much--"

He reached out, and took her hand. "If anything, you're too much for it," he said, his voice low. He leaned forward, coming close enough to her ear that he had to whisper. "Funny, isn't it? You gave me the universe, and I gave you time."

She felt tears well in her eyes, and she blinked, trying to hold them back. Then, she turned to look at him, and she felt like her heart would burst. Because somehow, they had each given the other the perfect gift, a gift that expressed the truest desire of their hearts. And her hesitations, her worries, her fears . . . they floated away, until she felt nothing but a bone-deep certainty.

They loved each other. And all she wanted now was the chance to show him, as often as she could, for as long as she could.

She felt a tear streak down her cheek, and then the Doctor's thumb was there, brushing it aside. "And here I was hoping you would like it," he said tenderly, his voice softly teasing.

She sniffed. "I don't just like it--I love it," she said, reaching up and rubbing at her eyes.

He smiled. "And you've still got one more."

With a laugh, she picked up the small box. "I don't know, it's gonna be pretty hard to top this," she said, looking at him and trying to tell him with her eyes that she knew the clock wasn't just a timepiece--that it was more than that. He grinned, and a faint blush rose in his cheeks. It seemed he got the message, and she smiled to herself as she focused on the last present.

The box revealed a hinged case covered in black velvet . . . just like the ones that jewelry came in. She glanced up at her mother, feeling a flutter of anticipation and surprise, before she lifted the lid.

Nestled against the black velvet was a simple pendant, on a finely-wrought golden chain. The pendant appeared to be just a round piece of crystal, but Rose tilted her head and stared at it for a long moment, convinced that this was more than it appeared.

"Doctor? What is this?" she asked, her voice hushed.

His smile was nervous and he spoke with a slight hesitancy. "It's Gallifreyan crystal." She raised her head and looked at him, knowing her curiosity and confusion came across on her face. He swallowed. "It's from my planet. It's . . . a special mineral. Very unique. Here, let me put it on you."

He rose to his knees, reaching forward and taking the necklace from the case with one hand. The Doctor's fingers brushed against her neck, pushing aside her hair and revealing her nape. She could feel a slight tremor as he touched her skin, and then he was settling the necklace against her throat. It took him a moment to close the clasp, and then he moved to sit in front of her. She lifted her hair so that the chain rested against her skin, and then she felt it.

It was like . . . she could feel warmth. But not on her skin, and not inside her. It was like her mind, her soul, was being given a hug.

Her mother gasped. "It's shimmering," she said, pointing at the pendant. Rose looked down, and saw that it was pulsing with a soft pink light.

She touched it with the very tip of her finger, feeling the warmth intensify. She looked up at the Doctor, and said, "I feel . . ."

He nodded, looking to be at a complete loss for words. Her Doctor, who could prattle and babble and just talk for hours and hours, was speechless. She glanced down at the pendant, letting her hand wrap around it, and she felt her eyes close at how she felt.

Suddenly, an idea occurred to her, and her eyes shot open. "Is this--am I feeling . . . ?"

He smiled, his eyes shimmering. "Yeah."

She stared at him, not quite able to believe it. She was feeling . . . him? What he felt, for her? She slid her hand away from the pendant, needing a moment to collect her thoughts without the distraction of his feelings, which were . . . very distracting.

"It's the special properties of the crystal," he said, trying for that professorial tone that promised a long lecture on an obscure topic. But this was something that she was eager to learn more about. "All Time Lords were a bit psychic--some more than others. The crystal picks up on that ability, and amplifies and magnifies and transmits the thoughts or feelings of one person to another."

"So it only goes one way?" Rose asked, feeling a bit sad at the thought. It didn't seem fair that she knew and he didn't . . .

He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. "If you were a Time Lord, it would, because our mental shielding prevents that from happening. But most humans don't have the ability to control their thoughts and emotions, so if you're in contact with a piece of crystal, you'd be transmitting as well."

"Oh!" she said, feeling a burst of happiness at that. Suddenly, the Doctor's face was covered with the goofiest, silliest looking grin she had ever seen, and she realized that he had sensed her happiness. And then she felt that warmth again, even stronger than when she had been touching the pendant.

She stared at him, and he stared at her. She could feel what he was feeling, and he couuld feel what she was feeling.

"Look at this--I'm out of tea. I'm just going into the kitchen, to refill my mug. And then I think it's time for me to get dressed."

Rose heard the door close, and tilted her head in confusion, her gaze still riveted on the Doctor's face. "I think Mum just left us alone."

The Doctor nodded, shifting towards her until he was sitting right in front of her. "I think she said something about tea."

"And she closed the door," Rose said, tilting her head and bringing her face closer to his.

"She did. She must trust us not to do anything inappropriate," he commented, his hand cupping the back of her head.

She looped her hands around his neck and let her hands slip into his hair. "I'm sorry we're going to disappoint her."

"Me, too," he said, as he brought his mouth to hers.

She sighed and opened her lips, reaching out with her tongue to taste him. He did the same, pulling her head closer with one hand while the other rubbed at her hip. His hair was ridiculously soft under her fingers, and she smiled at the thought of how mussed it would be before she was done with him.

Yet the physical sensations couldn't compare to the emotional. It was like dipping your finger into warm caramel, a soft slow heat spreading through her body. And knowing that this was how he felt about her . . . it made her own feelings blaze even brighter. And she knew he could feel her--she didn't have to rely on just her lips and hands and body to express what she felt. She had another way to tell him, and somehow that made her all the more eager to kiss him, to press against him, to uncover every inch of him and map him like an undiscovered country.

She felt a flash of heat, and she shifted when she realized her knickers were getting very uncomfortable . . . and then she realized why. With a start, she pulled away from him. "Hey!" she said, feeling the flush of embarrassment.

"Wha?" he asked dreamily, slowly opening his eyes.

Suddenly, she couldn't help giggling. "I have a feeling this is going to be hard on my knickers."

He blinked at her in confusion.

Her grin spread as she realized the Doctor had been snogged into a stupor. She leaned forward, pressing kisses along his jawline, until she reached his ear. "I do believe that someone is thinking dirty thoughts."

His hands lazily drifted across her sides, and he started nibbling on her ear inbetween words. "Well, if someone is thinking all about unwrapping me like a last Christmas gift, I'm bound to want to return the favor."

She gasped, and managed to get out, "Because you're all for equal play."

He released her ear with a pop and brushed a kiss across her lips. "Very much so."

Rose sighed, letting her face rest in the spot between his neck and his shoulder. She breathed deeply, inhaling that wonderful "Doctor" scent, as his arms came up around her and rubbed her back. She could feel a vibration begin against her face, and she realized that he was humming.

"Is that . . . The Twelve Days of Christmas?" she asked lazily, pressing a kiss against the side of his neck.

"Hmmm," he confirmed. "Did you know that today is actually the first day of Christmas? The song is about the twelve days between Christmas and the Feast of the Epiphany, on January 6th."

"You don't say," she said idly.

"Yeah. I couldn't help thinking about that first line," he said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head.

She smiled into his neck. "What, about the partridge in a pear tree?" she teased.

His hands reached down and pulled her away from his neck, cupping her face. He rubbed his thumbs against her cheeks, and she smiled at him, feeling like she was so happy, so loved . . . She didn't know if there was a way to say just how much she loved him.

He closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against hers. She closed her eyes for a moment as well, the intimacy between them just so deep that she couldn't help her unconscious reaction. But it didn't seem to matter, because it was like they could see each other even with their eyes shut.

She sighed happily, and slowly brought her arm up and touched his cheek, his eyes opening to gaze into hers. "This was my best Christmas ever. Even better than the red bicycle," she said, giving him a soft, teasing smile.

The Doctor smiled at her, a blissful, contented smile. "Good. This one is certainly up there in my list of top five Christmases."

She frowned at him. "What, it's not in the number one spot?"

"Well," he said, pressing a kiss against her neck, making her shiver. "There was the shopping, and the gift-giving, and the Christmas dinner, and all the food," he said, punctuating his words with kisses on her jaw, her cheek, even her nose. "And of course, the mistletoe really put this in the top five. But . . . we never did get to go carolling." He sighed heavily, although his eyes were twinkling and his mouth was quirked in a lopsided smile when he pulled back from her.

"Carolling, huh?" Rose asked, quirking an eyebrow. "That's what would have made this your best Christmas ever?"

The Doctor nodded with a grin. And Rose grinned back.

She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She pressed a kiss to his cheek, in the spot right in front of his ear, then softly sang the first verse of The Twelve Days of Christmas.

His arms came up around her as she started, and she could feel him pulling her closer and closer, until finally she shifted and straddled him. She opened her mouth to sing the next verse, only for him to press his lips against hers.

She sighed as he pulled away, his smile enough to light up the room and make her feel like the only person in the universe.

"Good thing you stopped me there. I never can keep all the verses straight," Rose said, leaning back a little in his arms.

The Doctor huffed. "It's a classic. How hard is it to remember that you gave me a partridge in a pear tree, two turtle doves, three French hens, four calling birds, five--"

But he didn't get a chance to finish his list, because she was snogging him breathless.

After all, she thought to herself, Christmas wasn't about the gifts. It was about love.

End.

Additional Author's Notes: the Twelve Days of Christmas was my original inspiration, although the fic very quickly morphed into this. It did inspire the title and the closing scene of the fic.

I've only been to Harrods once, and it was just for tea in the Georgian Restaurant. If I've totally muffed things up, please forgive me. But since they were at Harrods in the future, I'm sure they had remodeled a few times since the present day.

This fic was a joy to write, because I basically gave in to every fluffy, squee-inducing idea I had. I hope you have a similar reaction to this, and that everyone who reads this has a lovely holiday. Thank you for reading!