Disclaimer: I own nothing but the words on this document, really thats about it...
A Different Disclaimer: If this is absolute rubbish, it may be because it's my first fic, but it might also be I'm a terrible writer...
He never understood why he did it. Oh he understood what drove him to do it initially, which was blatantly clear. It was why he never stopped even though it was messing with timelines that his massive brain couldn't comprehend.
The first incident had occurred a few months ago with a different face.
Cheery reminiscing about childhood memories, drudged up some tinted with sadness. She had been poor, no doubt in that. Ends didn't always meet, sacrifices had been made and a little girl had been more understanding beyond her years.
This had resulted in the resolution to brighten one year up.
Just one.
What was the point if you couldn't help the ones you love right?
Just one red bicycle was all it took.
He never dared to do it more than once in his 9th self, he feared that there was a chance that maybe, just maybe the little girl would catch a glimpse of him, or worse than that her mother would see him.
That would be the worse case scenario if she saw him. An adult Jackie would most likely remember his face. When he would enter their flat for the first time (wibbly wobbly) there could be too many questions, too many questions with a loud voice, no he could not have that. The one intervention would be all that he would do.
He really couldn't risk rewriting anything to do with their meeting. What if Jackie prevented her from joining him, or, or, or, the potential timelines were infinite and really any timeline not involving the Doctor and Rose was not one worth EVER pursuing.
And then it happened. Some things changed, and some did not. Some acted different, (he definitely acted different) and some did not. Few recognized him, while surprisingly some others did (An interesting future at least, from what he could tell). Regeneration was always a bit tricky like that.
After though, there was nothing that was stopping him. Oh whenever she was asleep he was manically planning away. He could never completely undo the past but there were a lot of points in time that were not fixed that he could adjust.
A Christmas tree here, Easter eggs hidden in the apartment there, the most beautifully carved pumpkin. He muddled in all the holidays he could, nothing too big but here and there a few things to make it better.
…
She had a hard time as it was, alone with a vibrant little girl who was willful and hard to tame. Not that she would ever want to tame her. Maybe just calm down a little bit and refine sometimes. She wouldn't deny her anything she didn't have too, and a childhood was one of those things. The holidays were hard, Rose would come back from school bouncing about everything all the other kids where talking about, casually inquiring if they too could participate in such splendor.
It was a fine line, working hard to find the money, but not so much to not be apart of her daughter's life.
And then it started.
One Christmas morning she awoke to a squeal of delight and many kisses. Jackie didn't understand what the little girl was saying at a hundred words per minute; there was nothing spectacular about this Christmas, if anything she had just scraped by to be honest.
So she did what any mother would do and allowed the giddy child to pull her out of bed to see what she was kicking up such a commotion for.
There with bow and all sat a red bicycle.
There was no explanation for it, it was just there and all she could do was go along with it, cause who was she to break her child's heart?
As the years went by, the mysterious kept happening, at that point Jackie had given up trying to find an explanation.
Somewhere they had a guardian angel.
Who apparently could not deny miss Rose anything (heck they'd probably give her the stars if they could she mused) Although she gave up trying to find a logical explanation (apart from angel) that didn't stop her from trying to catch a glimpse of this miracle giver, because Rose did not get her sense of curiosity from no where.
And Tyler's, they were a stubborn group of people.
And so traps where laid out and glimpse where made, a corner of what looked like red converses from under the door here, shadows of spiky hair there. She never addressed the visitor out right in fear that he would stop.
She couldn't stand to imagine the face of disappointment if he didn't help out. She was sure it was a he by now. OH she didn't like the idea of stranger traipsing around her flat, especially a male stranger or the thought of charity, but once again she let it go for the sake of her daughter.
One year, the last year it happened she had accidentally caught a good back view of their angel. Just enough to see a tall thin blur of brown pinstripes dash off into the shadow. And that was it, her little girl was not so little anymore, reality of their situation had sunk in by then.
Little did Jackie know that darker days where afoot.
Her not so little girl found herself on a perilous slope that sent Jackie reeling in fear and followed with stern lectures. Those lectures had never worked, only pushed the divide between the two and then she was gone.
Off with a worthless boy who was bound to break her heart. It was those nights that she prayed it was only her heart that would be broken, not her physically, or worse her spirit. It was also those nights that she wondered where their angel could be?
He had seemed concerned about her happiness before.
Why not save her from this pain, heck save them both?
The fateful day finally arrived out of the blue when she came home. Tears flooding the apartment from both of them, apologies hung heavy in the air, this darkness they could… would overcome together.
Nothing like this would happen again she vowed.
It had happened again.
She was gone.
Last she saw she was with a strange man in leather. It was worse this time, she know she wasn't as innocent and naive this time, knew better... what had taken her this time?
Was it her own will?
No she would not repeat her last mistake again. All she could do was pray for her safety.
When she turned up a year later, she could not find a way to forgive this man. He was trouble all gruff and taciturn.
What even proved that he cared about her?
That he was even going to be interested in her beyond a few years?
Or even a few months in their twisted confusing life?
Eventually she accepted their life, kind of, she never let that man feel at ease, why should she?
What had he ever done to warrant anything different?
And then the day happened he changed his face and something in the back of her mind stirred. Something was familiar but she couldn't place it. Then when he walked into the flat for Christmas, hair spiked up, red shoes on, with that brown suit it clicked.
She had heard enough stories from her daughter about being careful with timelines and foreknowledge. Jackie never thought she would really have foreknowledge. It was them that were jumping around not her; she was on what they described as "linear time" (oh how they looked smug when they said that word). But she did, she put it together, it had been that fool, messing with their past for the better. Oh that stupid git, he loved her, why else go back and do that?
It was with this realization that she could no longer hassle this man. She could only describe her feelings as nothing less than fondness for this ruddy alien.
…
It caught him by surprise, she was nice to him, warm, friendly, motherly even, and he didn't trust it. Jackie she was an odd creature, and that was saying something if he thought it.
Completely barmy.
What had he ever done to warrant this change?