Make Him Merry

A Doctor Who Christmas Story

A party hat landed on his head, making him jerk. He spun round, big grin in place, to find Rose, party hat on, too, and arms overloaded with fairy lights, candles and tinsel. She even had a Christmas wreath tucked in her elbow.

‘Look what I found!’ she beamed. ‘You’ve got whole cupboards full of this stuff in those weird back rooms!’

‘And out of all that stuff, you went for Christmas decorations?’ He reached up to take the hat off, but Rose dumped everything onto the console and straightened the hat back into place. It scratched against his closely cropped hair, making his scalp prickle. 

His console was a mess and becoming messier by the minute. Brilliant. 

Rose had barged in all sparkles and excitement and blown every last thought clean out of his head. How long had she been wandering through those back rooms to dig all this out?

‘Exactly!’ she said brightly. ‘I’m in the Christmas mood. Because it’s Christmas! Well—nearly! Sort of!’ She started wrapping fairy lights around the console like she owned the place. ‘Take me to a planet with living Christmas trees, or Father Christmas’s workshop, or the best Christmas party in history. Or future. Or all of this!’

The Doctor just stood there, half-grinning, trying to keep up with her whirlwind energy.

‘Come on, don’t just stand there,’ Rose said. ‘Help me put this up!’ 

She tried to drape a string of fairy lights over one of the coral-like struts, stretching on tiptoe and still coming up short.

‘Bossy, you are,’ he said with a little laugh, already moving. ‘All right, all right.’ He helped her reach—which only made her shove the Christmas wreath into his hands. He looked at it, then looked at Rose and drew breath. 

‘Hang it on the door!’ she commanded before he could say anything. ‘Even you must know how that works!’ 

There had never been a Christmas wreath on the TARDIS door. Not in nine hundred years.

‘Have you decided where we’re going first?’ Rose asked unperturbed, looping tinsel over the cables. ‘Because that’ll decide which outfit I wear first! Oh—and do you have any Christmas crackers? We always had them at home, me and Mum.’

‘Oh, all right then.’ No stopping Rose Tyler once she’d made up her mind. Fine. He put up the wreath. If Rose wanted Christmas, they’d have Christmas.

Back at the console, he punched in coordinates. ‘We’re wearing party hats, so we’re starting with the greatest Christmas party in all of history. And the future,’ he announced. ‘You’ll love it! And you will not believe where it is. Go on then—best party dress!’

Rose cheered and bolted towards the wardrobe, glitter trailing behind her.

The Doctor stood at the console, shaking his head, chuckling. Didn’t take much to make her smile. Mad, that one. Absolutely mad. And brilliant, she was.

A few minutes later, Rose came back, wearing a white long-sleeved blouse, a red tartan minidress, knee-high socks, heeled shoes with cute little bows—and the party hat still perched on her head.

‘Well?’ she asked, beaming.

The Doctor’s grin widened. ‘Look at you! Proper festive.’ His finger hovered over the enter key for their new destination. ‘Up for a proper merry Christmas, then?’

Rose’s smile softened, her gaze on him grew warm. ‘Ready when you are.’

He slammed the dematerialisation lever down, and the TARDIS lurched into motion. 

Rose grabbed the coral strut wrapped in fairy lights.

‘Doctor?’

‘Hm?’

‘Next time you start brooding like a great gloomy thundercloud… I’m getting the tinsel out sooner.’

He barked out a laugh. ‘Wasn’t brooding.’

She arched an eyebrow. ‘You didn’t even notice I was gone.’

‘Did too.’

‘You really didn’t.’

He paused—caught out. Then his crooked, bashful grin broke through. ‘All right. Maybe I slipped. A bit.’

‘Or a lot.’ She came over to him, nudging him with her elbow. ‘You were miles away. Thought I’d drag you back.’

‘Well then. Consider me dragged.’ 

She gave him a bright, triumphant smile.

There was a final clang, and the ancient engines fell silent. 

The Doctor’s grin became broad and dazzling again. He straightened his party hat with a flick of his fingers and strode for the wreath-decorated door. ‘All right then. Merry Christmas, Rose.’

She followed him. ‘Make it a good one, yeah?’

‘The best.’ 

He pulled the TARDIS door open.