| In Her Shoes |
Doctor Who | Rose Tyler, The Doctor, Jackie | fluff/gen | G | 679
In every woman's life there is something sacred, something they prize above all else. And for every child that belongs to that woman, there is a mission. The biggest and most important thing in their little lives: to find that one sacred thing. For Jackie Tyler, that sacred thing was a pair of ridiculous, red high-heeled shoes, the kind that you could fall flat on your face the second you stood up in them. Rose had only ever seen her mother wear them once, and attempt to recover as gracefully as one could while flat on ones behind in a crowded show store. She never did understand why she bought them, if all she'd do in them was fall over.
"Sweetheart," Jackie had told her once, as Rose asked her about Jackie's sacred thing, "When you're older, and have enough money lying around to waste on a good pair of shoes, or preferably when you find someone rich and stupid enough to buy them for you, you'll understand why." Rose still didn't understand why. But she did understand that she just had to find out. So one cold afternoon, while her mother talked on the phone on their couch about someone's husband not being where he should, young Rose Tyler saw her chance. Sneaking into her mother's bedroom, she carefully dragged the small stool she used to reach things, over to where her mother kept her prize shoes. Peaking over the rim of the shelf, she saw them, sitting in the middle and surrounded by similar shoes of ridiculous colours and sizes. Glancing to the door Rose bit her tongue as she reached with all her little strength to grasp the shoes. Standing on tip toes, Rose finally felt her target in her chubby hands. Smiling, she carefully withdrew the shoes, plopping off her stool. Glancing one last time at the door, Rose tip toed over to the window where the late afternoon sun peaked in through the curtains. She placed the shoes down near the window with something akin to reverence, and placing her hand on the wall, she gingerly put her left foot into the shoe. She teetered slightly, grabbing onto the wall with both hands to stop her from falling over all the way. After steadying herself, she placed her right foot into the other shoe, standing with hands on the wall, staring at the shoes like they were about to fly out from under her and make her fall flat on her face, any moment now. Leaning over slightly, she let one hand go of the wall. When no fall came, she pried her other hand off, staring in wonder at the shoes her little feet were standing in. Toes scrunched up in the end of the shoes, sending little shivers and cramps up and down her feet. But she didn't care about that. Looking at those sacred shoes she could see her life before her, well at least what her life would look like to a little mind. Swirling dresses and massive parties. Movie stars and more ice creams than she could possibly count. Puppies and kittens and balloons and little ponies that danced. She giggled as she moved her toes around, watching her future self, dancing with the ponies, among the flowers and with flowing ribbons in her hair. And among the dancing ponies and little blue birds that sang, stood a man in a funny brown coat, watching her and smiling. Oh, but that wasn't the future that she saw him, because what would a funny looking man in a long, brown coat be doing with dancing ponies and little blue birds that sang? Glancing out the window in her revere, rose saw the man. Well, at least she should have. He was standing under a large tree across the road, watching her dream of her future self, ponies and ice creams, smiling. But rose was too busy with her ruby red shoes to see the funny looking man. But he saw her. Her future, his past, their lives. And he smiled.