ROSE'S BIRTHDAY

Chapter One

Rose finished dressing, putting on blue jeans and a sky blue t-shirt with white plimsols. She made her way to the console room, following the sound of the violin. When she entered the console room, the Doctor was sitting on his jump seat, staring at the rotor while he played. She grinned and tried to sneak up on him but the Doctor lowered his violin and checked his watch.

"So…decided to join me at last? I composed a whole symphony in the time it took you to get out here. For shame, Rose Tyler, I might have fallen asleep or walked off on me own."

"Right, you little puppy dog, woulda been back here in under two minutes since you're useless without me," Rose said, ruffling his hair affectionately before plopping down beside him.

The Doctor stopped playing the violin.

"Useless?" he said while Rose giggled. "I'm useless, am I? Well, bang goes your fabulous birthday adventure then."

He moved the bow rapidly over the strings while he played Flight of the Bumblebee. He pretended to ignore Rose while he played, keeping his eyes on the ceiling.

"Doctor…"

"Sorry, busy being useless here," the Doctor said, keeping his eyes on the ceiling while he played.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that," Rose said.

"Uh-huh, you just want your birthday treat. You don't really mean that," the Doctor said, his eyes still on the ceiling.

Rose stood up. She gazed at the Doctor who was still keeping his eyes to the ceiling while he played. Then she leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead. She giggled when the Doctor stopped playing and froze with the bow halfway across the strings. Rose waited for him to unfreeze and look at her.

"Interesting," the Doctor said, finally unfreezing and playing a soulful melody while he looked up at the ceiling. "But I require more convincing."

For a moment, Rose had a thought about taking the Time Lord, throwing him up against his console and showing him how much convincing she could really do but she decided to play hard to get instead. Whistling, she headed for the front door since she knew they had landed somewhere. She reached the door and was about to open it when she heard the Doctor clearing his throat loudly.

"I didn't say you could go outside," he said as he ceased playing.

"It's my birthday, I can do whatever the hell I want," Rose said airily to the door before she opened it.

She stepped outside and gasped when she stepped directly into a raging blizzard. She ran back inside and noticed the Doctor was now leaning on the side of his console, a smug look on his face.

"Problem?" the Doctor said innocently when Rose slammed the door.

"There's a blizzard out there," Rose said, rubbing her arms.

"Oh really? That could be a problem, I suppose. And the problem is, I haven't gone to our destination yet. I landed here to make a few repairs while you slept. Of course, if you want to go celebrate your birthday on a desolate ice planet that's millions of miles away from the nearest sun, I'll be more than happy to accommodate you."

"No, I'd rather go where you wanted to take me," Rose said, walking up the ramp.

"Fair enough," the Doctor said.

Rose walked over to the console and watched while the Doctor did his usual manic dance around it, inputting their destination.

"So…where are we going?" Rose said, following him as he finished up.

"Secret, shhh…" the Doctor said, putting his finger to his lips.

"Come on, tell me."

"Secret," the Doctor said emphatically.

Rose feigned annoyance and smiled when the Doctor patted her head on the way around her to another part of the console. He finished and walked over to the jump seat. He picked up his Stradivarius and put the end under his chin. He began to play a soft slow song while Rose walked over and sat down beside him.

"So…I s'pose you played professionally at some point?" Rose said. "Played in the London Symphony Orchestra or Carnegie Hall?"

"Nope, I only play for my own enjoyment," the Doctor said.

"Really? I didn't think you did that. I thought every talent you had must be shown off to anyone within range of ya," Rose teased.

She giggled when the Doctor stopped playing and eyed her for a moment before playing again.

"Are you going to play that thing all through my birthday celebration?" Rose asked.

"Perhaps. Why? Would it upset you if I did? I thought I'd provide background music for your day today. You don't want background music?"

I'd rather have you, Rose thought to herself. I'd rather have you in my bed naked. That would be the perfect gift for me.

"No, I'd rather have your company," Rose said aloud.

The Doctor stopped playing and gazed at her.

"Would you be heartbroken without my company?" he finally asked her.

"Um…yeah," Rose said, a bit taken aback at the question. "I love your company."

And I love you, she thought.

The Doctor stared up at the ceiling again in reflection and Rose figured he would start playing again but he laid the Stradivarius carefully on the seat beside him, scooted over until he was next to her and put his arm around her shoulder. Rose watched him for a moment and then leaned back while the Doctor closed his eyes and let out a contented sigh. It was times like this that she wished the Doctor would really say what he was feeling since she was sure he felt the same way about her that she did about him. He showed her over and over that he did care for her but she just wished once in awhile that he would say the words. But for the moment, she was happy that he was so close to her and that he cared deeply for her.

The Doctor opened his eyes when the TARDIS landed and powered down.

"Aha, now to your birthday celebration," he said, hopping up.

He extended his hand to her.

"Shall I help you to stand, birthday girl?" he asked her.

"You may," Rose said.

She took his hand and gasped when the Doctor jerked her to his feet.

"Didn't say it would be dainty," he said with a devilish grin.

"You're going the right way for a smack bottom, mister."

There it was, that split second when the Doctor would get a lustful look on his face before he masked it back behind his cheerful grin. It was times like this that Rose felt the Doctor really did want to be with her as a true lover, but she figured it was the whole stupid curse of the Time Lords thing that held him back. She wished, not for the first time, that there was some way she could turn herself into a Time Lord so she could be with him and not have to worry about the curse thing.

She took the Doctor's hand and he led her to the front door.

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