Hello all, and happy holidays! I hope everyone has been having a wonderful December.
Anywho, this idea sort of hit me out of the blue. I wasn't planning to do anything for this universe so soon after 'One Last Trip Home', but the brain had other ideas. Also, I'm still compromised by Hell Bent. That episode made me cry a lot. Also, still wish I knew what had been said in the cloisters.
Hope you all enjoy this lovely Christmas-y story. I've had this headcanon for a while, and I'm glad I finally found a way to write it out. There are a few tie-ins to 'He's the Doctor' too.
December 24, 1973
Phil Coulson curled up underneath his covers, unable to sleep. Most children his age were probably already asleep by now, their thoughts filled with excitement for Christmas morning. Tomorrow was exciting for him, but it was also going to be the first Christmas without his dad.
In years past, Phil and his father had gone sledding in the park every weekend as long as there was snow on his dad's old wooden sled. The whole family would build a snowman in the backyard, make cookies together, and curl up on the couch to watch a Christmas special. But this year was different now. With his father gone, his mother had needed to take on extra shifts at the hospital so they could still get by. So Phil ended up sledding down the hill all by himself during the weekends, and ended up making the snowman on his own this year.
His mother still managed to make cookies with him though.
Sighing, Phil rolled over in bed. As he did so, he heard a peculiar noise. It was like a sort of wheezing groan. He'd never heard such a noise before, but he decided to ignore it. However, the loud crash that sounded like it had come from the garage changed his mind a few minutes later. Jumping out of bed, Phil grabbed his baseball bat before going to see what had happened.
"Hold on, Skye!" the Doctor shouted as he slid around the TARDIS's console.
"No, really?" Skye shouted as sarcastically as she could while clinging to the railing for her life. When she first found out that Fitz was really an alien called the Doctor and started to travel with him, she had expected a lot of things. The TARDIS going all wonky while they were on their way to have a Christmas adventure was not one of those things. "Doctor, what is going on exactly? What did you do?!"
"Nothing! Something's gone off with her," the curly-haired man yelled back, grabbing one of the screens that was around the console. "Ohhhh…"
"What is it? And please don't tell me we're crashing."
"We're not crashing."
"Oh, well thank goodness for that," Skye shrieked as a bump made her cling tighter to the railing. "So what is happening?"
"Well, we're, uh, crashing."
"But you said we weren't!"
"You told me not to say that we were!" The Doctor shrieked back at her.
Skye opened her mouth to say something else when the TARDIS seemed to crash to a halt. The Doctor stumbled back from the console. Skye found herself getting thrown forward until the Doctor caught her arm.
"Thanks," she sighed as he straightened her up.
"No trouble. Wonder where we've landed."
"Well, let's just pop out and see."
"Now wait just a moment! Just let me check the monitors because we don't know what's outside. For all you know, there might not be oxygen to breathe. Or even worse, we could be on Skaro!"
The Doctor ran and slid over to the console in his red and green Christmas socks, flashing a grin at her. She responded by raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, come on! Socks are brilliant for transportation," he chuckled as he tried to slide over to one of the screens. However, his foot slipped and he had to grab the console to prevent himself from falling onto the floor.
"Okay, cut it out before I have to fly you to a space hospital," Skye giggled, walking over toward him. "Now, where did we land?"
"Earth. December 24, 1973. Oh, Christmas Eve! That's lovely, isn't it, Skye?"
She shrugged and was about to reply, but a boom from beneath them stopped her. White smoke started to billow out from underneath the console. When he saw it, the Doctor's eyes widened.
"Out, out, out of the TARDIS!" he ordered, grabbing his sonic screwdriver and her hand to drag her over to the door. "We've got to get out now!"
As soon as they had exited, the Doctor slammed the door shut. "Short version: alien parts go wonky, toxic smoke happens. I'm going to need a gas mask or something if I want to get back inside there."
"Great. So we're stuck here?" Skye grumbled, trying to figure out where they were. It was dark though, and she could barely see a thing. "Wherever here is."
She saw the light from the sonic and heard the familiar noise before the lights turned on. They appeared to be in some sort of garage. Next to the TARDIS was a really nice red car. Unfortunately, the front that was closest to them had a dent in the hood, and she could see parts of the headlight on the ground leading in a trail to where the TARDIS was.
"Oh no," she murmured, running her hand over the damaged front. "I think the TARDIS might have done this."
The Doctor grimaced when he saw the car. "I don't think you're wrong."
"Can we get out of here?"
"Unless I can see what's wrong with the TARDIS, we can't. And there's no way of doing this unless I get a gas mask because of the-"
"Toxic smoke, I remember," Skye finished with a sigh. "But we've got to get out here before-LOOK OUT!"
She shoved the Doctor out of the way before the baseball bat slammed into the side of his head. The boy holding the bat raised it again, prepared to take another swing.
"Easy, kid," Skye said calmly, holding her hands up. "We're not going to hurt you."
"How did you get in here?" he asked, not dropping the bat.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
To her surprise, the boy didn't say anything and actually lowered the bat. Without having to worry about getting her head bashed in, Skye took a quick observation of the kid. He looked around nine or ten, with brown hair all mussed up from bed. His blue eyes were serious, and also somewhat familiar to her. She did crack a smile at his pajamas, which were blur flannel with tiny Captain America shields scattered about the fabric.
"Nice pajamas. Do you like Cap?"
The boy grinned timidly and nodded before steeling his gaze again. "Who are you, and how did you get in my garage?"
"In this," the Doctor announced, jumping beside Skye and patting the side of the TARDIS. "I know it doesn't look like much, but believe me when I say it is the best and most incredible ship in the universe! It's bigger on the inside, travels through time and space, and it's blue. No monkeys though, which is a slight disappointment, but oh well. Now, I would show you the inside, but at the moment, there is a slight issue and if I open this door for too long, a bunch of toxic smoke will come out and kill you. This doesn't happen often though."
Skye nodded alongside him, silently panicking inside. The boy was probably going to think they were insane.
Lil' Cap lowered the bat. "I believe you."
"You do?" Skye asked, stunned.
"He's not lying. I'm really good at telling if people are lying to me, and he's not. But who are you?"
"I'm the Doctor, and this is Skye, who is from the future. Now, I've got a question for you, young man."
"Shoot."
"Who might you be?"
"I'm Phil. Phil Coulson."
Skye clapped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming. She was actually standing in front of a little AC in his family's garage on Christmas Eve. Now she knew why his stare seemed so familiar. It was because she had witnessed that stare so many times in his future. Things felt so strange, seeing him as a child.
He did have really great pajamas though.
And that car…it was a Corvette.
Oh dear.
They'd hit Lola. Coulson's rule made a lot more sense now.
"Hello, Phil," the Doctor grinned, holding out his hand for Phil to shake. "You wouldn't happen to have a gas mask, would you?"
Phil shook his head.
"What about duct tape, coffee filters, twine, and a pair of swim goggles?"
"We've got those."
"Think you can round them up for me so I can fix the problem with my box."
Phil nodded and scurried out of the garage. As soon as he was gone, Skye grabbed the Doctor's arm.
"What?"
"We just met Coulson as a little kid."
"Yes, we did. Funny how that happens, eh? I actually did that with my mother-in-law too. It was way before she became my mother-in-law, but still funny. This does explain how he knew me, although I'm not sure about Melinda May."
"Doctor," Skye said sternly, interrupting his rambling. "We just hit Lola with the TARDIS."
"Guess we must be the reason he makes the rule."
"What rule?"
Phil had returned, holding an armful of things and a confused expression on his face.
"It's quite a long story," the Doctor explained, taking the materials from Phil. "Thank you very much, Phil."
The little boy who would one day become her boss grinned. Then he noticed the red Corvette's damage, and the smile faded. "My car…"
"Oh," The Doctor looked sheepish. "Happened when we crashed. Sorry about that."
Little Phil Coulson looked so heartbroken at the damage that had been done.
"He can fix it though," Skye told him, shooting the Doctor a look. "Can't you, Doctor?"
"Ah, yes," the Doctor replied, his cheeks still flushed with embarrassment. "Absolutely. It'll look brand new in no time!"
This perked Phil up. "Can I help?"
"Of course you can!" The Doctor grinned, ripping off a large piece of the tape. "Just have to fix this smoking mess and then we can work on the car. Skye can keep you entertained until then. I think you two will get along brilliantly."
Phil looked up at her. Skye gave him a weak smile in return. Talking with your boss before he becomes your boss. Yet another thing she never expected to go through when she started time travelling with the Doctor.
"Sure, Phil. Can we sit in the car?"
He nodded, opening the door on the driver's side for her to get in before running around to the other side and getting into the passenger side.
"So," Skye said, reminded of the time that Coulson had found her in the SHIELD vehicle having her own alone time. "How old are you?"
"Nine."
"Wow, almost double digits. Little young for a car though."
"I can't drive yet, so I can't use it. But Mom says that when I get my license, it's mine to drive."
The thought of parents in the house suddenly made Skye concerned. "Your parents, are they asleep?"
Phil shook his head, his expression slightly more sad. "Mom's got a shift at the hospital, and she's not going to be back until two or three in the morning."
"And your dad?"
"He's dead."
"Oh," Skye murmured. "I'm sorry."
"S'okay."
"Are you at least excited for Christmas?"
"I guess," Phil mumbled with a shrug.
"Oh, come one. Christmas is great!" Skye enthused, nudging him gently. She really did love Christmas, especially the most recent one she had shared with the team. "What do you want for Christmas?"
"Doesn't matter, because I won't get it."
"Can you tell me anyway?"
Phil sighed. "I want my dad back."
Oh.
Skye was at a loss for words.
"It's never gonna happen though, because he's dead," Phil mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "And when you're dead, you don't come back."
"Give it a couple decades," Skye thought to herself. Poor Coulson though. Losing your dad at nine was rough.
"Do you remember your dad?" she asked after a minute of silence.
"Uh-huh."
"And do you remember all the things you did together during the holidays, or any other time of the year?"
"We would go sledding in the park together. Then Mom would come make a snowman with us, and we'd all bake cookies together. He also had me work with him on the car. I hated it at first, but it turned out to be fun in the end."
Skye smiled. "See, you've got those memories that you two spent together. Your dad still lives in them. He might not be alive anymore, but he lives in every memory you have that the two of you spent together. And that's a wonderful thing."
Phil bobbed his head pensively. "Do you do that with your parents?"
"Can't, because I never knew them. I was raised in an orphanage."
"That stinks," Phil murmured. "Does the Doctor have a family?"
"He told me he used to, but not anymore. He lost them. He's lost a lot of other people he cared about too."
"But he's got you," Phil said. "At least you have each other for Christmas."
The TARDIS doors opened just then. The Doctor stepped out, wearing his strange, makeshift gas mask. It looked pretty funny, and Skye laughed a little before he pulled it off.
"TARDIS's all fixed," he told Skye happily. "So, car next, right?"
"I'm helping with that," Phil declared, getting out of the car and walking over to the Doctor. "It's gonna be my car someday."
"I wouldn't be able to work on it without your help," the Doctor responded, grinning at Phil. "Just let me pop into my box to get some tools, and then we can have some fun."
An hour later, Phil's hands and face were smeared with grease. The Doctor was the same way, although he'd lost his monkey bow tie and his shirt had black stains on it from where he'd been wiping his hands. But the car was fixed and returned to its original, pristine condition. The Doctor had been really good, although he said something about meeting Henry Ford once. Phil remembered the Doctor said the box could travel through time, but it was still a little bit weird.
"Well done, Phil Coulson," the Doctor cheered, wiping his hands on the rag Phil had passed to him. "You've been brilliant with this."
"Thanks," Phil blushed. "Beats having to explain this to Mom. Everything works now, right?"
"Oh, yeah. It'll drive just fine, and it'll fly even better."
"That's- fly?"
"Yes, fly?"
Phil looked back at his red Corvette and then to the Doctor. "It didn't fly before."
"It didn't?"
"No. It didn't."
Skye clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes widened as she looked between the car, Phil, and the Doctor.
"Well, it does now," the Doctor chuckled, pointing to a set of switches by the gear shift. "You shouldn't have issues with that though, as long as you don't play with those on the road. Better to play with them someplace private, like a field."
"Okay," Phil said, nodded. His car could fly now. All the other kids were never going to have a car as cool as him in seven years.
"We might want to head off now," Skye suggested, stepping closer to the blue box. "Lot of stuff to do, like the Christmas adventure."
"Ah, yes. That," the Doctor nodded, holding his hand out to Phil. "Farewell, Phil Coulson. Don't have too much fun with your flying car."
"I won't."
"But do have a little fun, okay? Don't be boring and never fly it."
Skye came forward, and he shook her hand too. Skye had been really nice to him. She'd made him feel a bit better about Dad not around anymore. But he was a bit sad for Skye and the Doctor and how they didn't have families. He hoped, one day, that they might be able to find new families.
"Can you two wait here for a minute?" he asked, suddenly getting an idea.
Both nodded, and Phil dashed out of the garage. He ran back to his bedroom and squatted by his bed. From underneath it, he yanked out a shoebox. After digging around in it for a few minutes, Phil found what he was looking for and headed back to the garage.
"Merry Christmas," he said as he re-entered the garage and presented the Doctor and Skye each with a Captain America trading card.
The Doctor's face lit up when he saw the card. "A Captain America trading card! Oh, I've only seen these in museums! Getting to have one while they're still coming out, that is brilliant! Thank you, Phil!"
"Are you sure you want me to have this?" Skye asked. "You really seem to like Captain America."
"It's Christmas. You gave me a present, so I'm giving you guys one."
Skye's face broke out into a grin. "Thank you. Thank you so much, Phil."
"We'd best be off now," the Doctor said, pushing the door of the police box open. "So long, Phil Coulson. And don't crash that car of yours."
"No way. I'm the only one who is touching my car from now on."
The Doctor chuckled and disappeared inside the box. Skye watched him go in before turning back to Phil and smiling at him.
"Thanks for the card. And you know, a car like that…she really deserves a name to set her apart from other cars."
"She?"
"Seems like a girl car to me. Any ideas on names."
Phil thought about it, but shook his head. "I'll think about it though."
"Cool. Good-bye, Phil."
"Bye, Skye."
Skye also disappeared into the box. A moment later, the same wheezing groan he had heard earlier filled the garage. The light at the top of the box began to glow brightly. Phil watched in amazement as the box slowly faded until it was completely gone.
Phil smiled at the red Corvette one last time before shutting out the garage lights and leaving. He stopped by the bathroom to clean up from working on the car before returning to his room. On his way, he caught a glimpse at the clock and smiled. Midnight.
Merry Christmas.
"So that's how Coulson knew us."
"Seems to be the case," the Doctor agreed. "I can't believe it. We hit Lola, and we made her fly. And he gave us each a Captain America trading card!"
"Yeah, that was pretty awesome," Skye laughed, staring up at the rotors of the TARDIS. "Something's still bugging me though."
"And what's that?"
"How did May know us?"
There's always a mystery in Doctor Who, so why not one in this universe? How does Melinda May know the Doctor?
Please leave a review and tell me what you think of this newest addition? Any ideas for future ones?
Happy Holidays to all! And a Happy New Year to come!