Sugar and Spice

[preserved_ginger]

Title: Sugar and Spice
Author: rjrog77
Character(s): Ten, Rose, brief mentions of Jackie and Jack
Pairing: Ten/Rose, implied Nine/Rose
Setting: post-ep The Christmas Invasion.
Spoilers: A tiny piece of (slightly amended) dialogue from Family of Blood
Rating: PG
Summary: The Doctor is still recovering from his regeneration, and Rose is still trying to adjust to the new, new Doctor.
Disclaimer: Borrowing (as usual) what's not mine
Author's Note: Unbeta-ed, so any and all mistakes are mine. This is a gift for ladyfiresprite in the oh_she_knows Secret Santa exchange. ladyfiresprite wanted fluffiness, with any Doctor/Rose but preferably Four through Ten. My prompts were apples and cinnamon.

“What are you doing?”

The Doctor had been lounging in the doorway of her mother’s kitchen, as was fast becoming customary for him (although in fairness he tended to use the doorframe to prop himself up; he was still not quite as recovered from the trauma of his regeneration as he would like, or even pretended, to be). And, as he had always been for as long as Rose had known him, he was nosey and liked to poke his nose into things.

“Baking.”

“I can see that,” he said in a tone that bordered on impudent, “there’s any number of boxes and packets and so on all over the kitchen surfaces and the oven’s on; if I’m not mistaken,” he sniffed the air, which held the faint smell of stewed apple and cinnamon, amongst other things, “you’re baking something sweet. But what?”

“You always have to know everything, don’t you?” She smiled up at him, taking the sting out of the words. “Well … since I didn’t manage to get Mum any Christmas presents this year, thanks to the pilot fish Santas and the Sycorax and all the worrying we did over you while you were unconscious, I’ve decided to bake her something. Apple pie, a recipe Jack gave me way back when.” She didn’t see him flinch at the mention of their friend, lost (so far as Rose knew) back at the Game Station. “Hopefully I won’t manage to burn the place down while doing so - I’ve never been that good at this sort of thing.”

I would never have left you on your own to face the Daleks; no matter what you might think of me I could never have done that to you, she thought fiercely. I know you think I gave up on you, but I promise you I never did. I never will.

“Rose Tyler, baking? Now this I have to see,” he smirked, “seeing as you’re the one person I know who can’t even make toast. I haven’t forgotten how you almost managed to set the TARDIS on fire that time - I forbade you to use the toaster for a reason, y’know!”

Rose’s smile changed to something more like a grimace; still getting used to this new, new Doctor, she wanted no reminders of the one she had lost. She saw a shadow pass over the Doctor’s face as he registered this and a large part of his nonchalance disappeared. He pushed himself off the doorframe and walked through into the kitchen to put a hand on Rose’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to remind you,” he said gently, in a rough and tender tone that, one day, she would recognise as the one he only ever used with her (and only when there was no-one else around to hear it). “I know how you must be feeling, how hard it must be for you, to see me looking like this - with this daft old face - telling you I’m the Doctor, and all you can see is the man I used to be. But everything that he is and was, I’m capable of that too.”

I still love you, Rose, as he did. Let me have a chance, just one, to show you how much.

He had moved closer now and had put his other hand on Rose’s other shoulder. He wanted to hug her to him but did not dare. She backed away slightly, enough to move his hands from her shoulders, and turned to face him. She tried to smile at him, although it came out looking more sad than happy, and moved forward until there was almost no space between them. Leaning forward, she kissed him gently on the cheek.

“Thank you.”

He looked at her, dumbfounded.

“Whatever for?”

She chuckled, a happy sound at long, long last.

“For everything.”

Comments

[hydref.livejournal.com]

Lovely little fic for Christmas :)

[bananasandroses.livejournal.com]

Lovely little fic for Christmas :)

Thanks! :D

[fey-spirit.livejournal.com]

Lovely - though if your going to tag it as Jackie it would be nice to see more of her actually in the story...

[bananasandroses.livejournal.com]

Lovely

Thank you :)

though if your going to tag it as Jackie it would be nice to see more of her actually in the story...

I tend to tag my stories by who's mentioned in them, rather than by who the major characters are. But it's a fair point even so.

[ladyfiresprite.livejournal.com]

Awww! What a wonderful Christmas present! Thank you so much. :D

[bananasandroses.livejournal.com]

Awww! What a wonderful Christmas present! Thank you so much. :D

You're quite, quite welcome :)

I hope what I did with the apple and cinnamon was OK?

[ladyfiresprite.livejournal.com]

Oh it was great! To tell you the truth I really didn't care about the prompt so much. I'm really bad with coming up with those... lol

[bananasandroses.livejournal.com]

To tell you the truth I really didn't care about the prompt so much. I'm really bad with coming up with those

Oh, me too. So long as people write Ten/Rose fic where neither Ten nor Rose end up too badly damaged, it's a winner with me.

[torn-eledhwen.livejournal.com]

Wonderful, Christmassy story. Thoroughly enjoyable.

[bananasandroses.livejournal.com]

Wonderful, Christmassy story.

The whole idea surrounding Christmas is of new life (the Christ Child); Ten is new-born, figuratively speaking, and childlike in his enthusiasm for life.

The regeneration struck me as being a perfect thing to write Christmas-based fic about.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Thank you, I'm glad you like it :)

[bagatellery.livejournal.com]

How lovely!

[bananasandroses.livejournal.com]

How lovely!

Thank you!

[artic-fox.livejournal.com]

Very sweet. I always am looking for fics that deal with Nine's regeneration into Ten and how Rose copes so I think this was a nice little take on that. Great job.

[bananasandroses.livejournal.com]

I always am looking for fics that deal with Nine's regeneration into Ten and how Rose copes so I think this was a nice little take on that.

I think it's made such a deal of (the regeneration, that is; The Christmas Invasion basically runs on the premise that the Doctor is hors de combat because the regeneration's gone wrong) that to ignore Rose's likely reaction to it (and if you've never seen the 2005 Children in Need Special, then you'll think they've ignored it) is rather silly IMHO.

Great job.

Thanks!

[maniacalshen.livejournal.com]

Hehe, aww. Appropriately bittersweet.

[bananasandroses.livejournal.com]

Appropriately bittersweet.

Bittersweet fluff. Yep, that sounds like me.

[requialexa.livejournal.com]

How'd I miss this? You're far too prolific for me these days. I could've spent hours on end in that kitchen with them! *SIGH* I love it! Especially the visuals. And the awkwardness.
It is love!

[bananasandroses.livejournal.com]

How'd I miss this? You're far too prolific for me these days. I could've spent hours on end in that kitchen with them! *SIGH* I love it! Especially the visuals. And the awkwardness.

I’m not so prolific these days (that bloody finale killed the plot!bunnies for quite a while; they’re only just now recovering.) I’m quite proud of this one; for when it’s set I think I have them quite in character, no?

It is love!

Thank you!