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The Doctor had been rummaging through the closet for what seemed like hours but was probably only a few minutes. Rose, perched on an unbalanced stool, looked at her toenails as she waited. It was almost time to repaint them. Maybe tomorrow, if she had time.
She was just about to start peeling the polish off when the Doctor finally reemerged carrying a book almost as large as he was. He left the book fall to the hallway floor and grinned at Rose.
“Pick a page, any page,” he said.
“Huh?”
“Open the book to a random page. Come on Rose, we haven’t got all day.”
“Time machine.” She jumped off the stool and crouched down next to the book. He did the same. “The 47th Century Human’s Guide to the Human Universe,” she read.
“It covers every planet humans have colonized by that time.”
“No wonder it’s so big.” She pulled the book open and flipped several pages all at once. “Oh, what an interesting planet.” She raised an eyebrow at the Doctor.
“Of all 4000 pages you manage to land on Earth,” he sighed, “Well, we have no choice. Close your eyes and point.” She did.
“Where did I point to?” she asked, eyes still closed.
“Canada. You can open your eyes.” She smirked and opened her eyes. “I guess we’re going to Québec.” He leaned closer to the book. “Actually, I think you pointed exactly at Québec City.”
“I’ve never been to Canada,” Rose said absently. “Should be nice.” He gaped at her.
“Never?” She nodded. “You’ve traveled with me for two years and we’ve never been to Canada?”
“Usually we’re either in London or four billion light years away from Earth,” she pointed out.
“Good thing we’re headed there, then. I can’t have my companion missing out on one of the greatest human empires of all time!”
“You’re kidding,” she said with a laugh as he stood and helped her up.
“America made a lot of bad political mistakes so Canada got a head start in the planetary colonization market. You should see Nova Scotia 6. It’s the richest asteroid of the 43rd century. I’ll take you there sometime. But for now, Québec City. Dress warmly.” He dashed off to the console room and Rose looked down at her shorts and sleeveless top.
Ten minutes later she entered the console room in a winter jacket and boots. The Doctor was, like always, wearing his pinstriped suit and trainers. “Ready to go?” he asked.
“Yup.” He flipped the lever and they both laughed when he fell over but Rose managed to grab the railing in time. He jumped to his feet and pulled Rose to the doors. They flung them open and walked out into the snowy city.
“Old Québec, Vieux-Québec in French,” the Doctor said grandly with a sweep of his arms.
“It’s so pretty,” Rose said brightly. It was mid afternoon, in December judging by the pine trees everywhere and the snow. “But… people are carrying phones and stuff. Is this my time period?”
“Yup.”
“I figured we’d be in the, what was it, 47th century?”
He shook his head. “Nah. This place is interesting enough now. Holographic trees aren’t nearly as interesting as real ones. They are less painful to run into, though.” They wandered around the old-fashioned buildings admiring the architecture as the Doctor translated every sign and poster they came across even when it already had the English translation on it.
“Wait, I’ve got this one,” Rose said when they stopped outside a little café. “Something to do with chocolate.” She had never taken French in school, but le chocolat wasn’t all that hard to figure out.
“They’re selling hot chocolate,” the Doctor said. “Do you want some?”
“I always want hot chocolate.” He grinned at her and they skipped inside to get some. Minutes later they were back outside giggling to each other over steaming cups.
“No, really, I did!” the Doctor was saying. “Then he said to me, ‘Doctor, have you seen my wife anywhere?’ So I told him she actually a mermaid werewolf and he didn’t believe me. Of course, when she smashed in the window and tried to murder him he realized I was telling the truth. So me, him, and this scientist named-” He stopped as he realized a few people were staring at him curiously.
“He has really odd dreams,” Rose told them. “I keep saying he should become an author.”
“I’m rubbish at writing, you know that,” he said cheerily. The people shook their heads and kept on walking.
“I still don’t think you’re telling the truth,” Rose said.
“Of course I am!” He acted affronted. “Where was I? Oh yeah, the scientist. His name was- why are you laughing?”
“You… you look so happy,” she admitted. “With your hot chocolate and no coat in the middle of Winter and your silly stories.”
“And you,” he blurted. His cheeks became even redder. “You make me happy.” She blushed and looked away for a moment.
“You make me happy too.” They stared at each other silently. A passing man said something in French and the Doctor smirked. “What’d he say?”
“Nothing.”
“Sure.”
“No, really. It’s nothing important.” Rose raised an eyebrow.
“Ok, whatever.” He looked embarrassed and she decided not to push it. “Hey, why isn’t the TARDIS translating?”
“To make your experience better, maybe. Everything’s already also written in English, so I guess she didn’t see a reason to translate.”
They kept wandering and talking and enjoying their surroundings until it was dark and all the lights came on.
“Told you it was a nice place,” the Doctor said quietly.
“No you didn’t.”
“Well, I meant to tell you. I forgot.” He shrugged and swung his arm. They were holding hands, so Rose’s arm went with it. “It’s about to get even colder. We should probably head back to the TARDIS.”
“Alright.” They walked back to the TARDIS, not talking but instead enjoying each others company in silence.
A while later Rose was cuddled with the Doctor by the library fireplace. He had finished telling her about the man with the mermaid-werewolf wife and had started on another tale, this one about a dog that could fly and its owner who was scared of heights. Rose was half asleep, his voice and the warmth of the blankets and fire making her drowsy, when he poked her softly.
“Rose? Are you sleeping?”
“No,” she denied with a shake of her head.
“You should probably go to bed.”
“I’m not tired.” He rolled his eyes, though she couldn’t see because she was faced away with her eyes closed, and lifted her off his lap so he could stand up. “Where you going?”
“I’m taking you to your bedroom.” He grabbed her arm and gently pulled her up to stand next to him. They walked to Rose’s room and she sleepily climbed in.
“Not tired,” she protested again even as she made a sleepy little yawn and burrowed deeper into the blankets.
“Okay, Rose.” He stepped back, about to turn and leave, when she spoke again.
“Stay.”
“Stay? Here?”
“Yeah.” They had done this enough times that the Doctor shrugged away the tiny bit of awkwardness and climbed in bed next to Rose. He put an arm around her. “Night, Doctor.”
“Night, Rose.” Within seconds she was asleep. He thought about leaving to go tinker or read, but most of him wanted to stay next to Rose.
He spent a long time lying next to Rose and thinking of absolutely nothing at all. Eventually he sat up a little and grabbed his book off her nightstand where he’d left it the night before. When she woke up hours later he was almost finished with it.
“What are you reading?” she asked as she rubbed her eyes.
“A Christmas Carol.”
“Again?”
“It’s a classic.” He put the book down. “How was your sleep?”
“Good.” She sat up. “How was your not-sleep?”
“Good.” They stared at each other. “I want pancakes.”
“Pancakes sound good.” They both got out of bed. He left the room while she took a shower and got dressed.
The Doctor was looking for the syrup when she arrived in the kitchen. “It’s in the fridge door,” she said. He stood up a few seconds later with the syrup in hand and his ‘kiss the cook’ apron on. “Didn’t the TARDIS hide that apron?”
“I found it,” he said. “Did you know, in your time period wheat trade is greater than that of all other crops combined?”
“Did you know that humans have farmed wheat since 8000 BC?” she retorted. At his raised eyebrow, she continued, “Last week you were reading that book about wheat out loud.”
“I thought you weren’t paying attention.”
“I wasn’t,” she said with a grin. She sat in her chair and he sat opposite her like always. They started eating. Rose was in the middle of a story about her school days when she realized he was staring at her. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“C’mon, what is it? Did I spill something?” She looked down at her shirt. Perfectly fine.
“I was just thinking,” the Doctor insisted.
“About what?”
“Yesterday.”
“It was nice,” Rose commented. He nodded. “It was nice having a day without running for our lives.”
“We don’t get in trouble that often!”
“Yes we do.”
“Yeah.” He waved his fork at her. “But we aren’t letting your mother know that.”
“What were you thinking about?” Rose asked after a moment. He pouted. “I’m not distracted that easily, Doctor.”
“Fine. That man, the one who was speaking French.”
“Oh yeah. What’d he say anyway?”
“He,” the Doctor sighed, “He was complaining because he thought we were on our honeymoon.” He poked at what remained of his pancakes.
“Lots of people have said stuff like that,” Rose pointed out quietly.
“It felt different.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, Rose,” he said. “It just did.”
“Guess we were in a bit more romantic location that normal.” An awkward silence fell over the room. Eventually, the Doctor stood with his plate.
“I’m gonna go tinker a bit,” he said as he put his plate in the sink. Rose stood just as he turned to leave.
“You know,” she said. “If we actually had a honeymoon it’d probably be even more fun.” He raised an eyebrow.
“To have an actual honeymoon we’d have to be married.”
“We act like we are.”
“We do?”
“Yeah. We hug all the time and argue and eat breakfast together and go on dates.”
He blinked. “Dates?” he squeaked. She nodded.
“Yeah.”
“But… don’t married humans kiss?”
“We could do that, if you want,” she said with a shrug that did nothing to hide how nervous she felt. His eyes widened.
“What, really?” He took a step closer.
“Sure,” she breathed as she stepped closer too and kissed him.