Disclaimer: I think even if I had a million dollars, I wouldn't own Doctor Who. 'Tis sad.
A/N: Based off that little comment to Rose the Doctor made in "The Doctor Dances," that went something along the lines of "red bicycle when you were 12" when she implies he isn't Santa Clause. Enjoy =)
Red Bicycle
Christmas Eve1997. Central London. Parked in the middle of…well, a park. He'd dimmed the lights in the TARDIS ages ago when Rose had gone to bed, tired from defeating what they had come to call the Tickle Me Aliens, who had been trying to take over the world by brainwashing children using toys. Not the most brilliant bunch, but tiring nevertheless.
Now he had a mission of his own to complete. He closed the TARDIS door fully behind him. Half an hour later, he stood before the Powell Estate, hands buried in his pockets. He didn't dwell much on the domestic, but he knew what it meant to be in financial straits. And whenever he was around for long enough, Jackie regaled him with her whole financial past, notably in 1997.
As he was climbing the stairs toward the Tyler flat, he heard Jackie's voice, miraculously hushed, coming from outside her door. He stepped out onto the landing below her floor and tiptoed forward until he could hear her fairly clearly. He didn't feel as bad eavesdropping on Jackie as he might have anyone else, as she'd have provided the information free of charge given the chance. He strained his ears to listen. Not surprisingly, she sounded stressed.
"I feel plain rotten, Debs," she was complaining. "I didn' have enough to get 'er that bicycle she's been eyeing for ages." She paused, as if listening to the other end of the line. "That's the one. In the shop window with the basket and the red and white ribbons." She paused again. "Oh, no. I couldn't. God knows you've got enough mouths to feed tomorrow yourself. Speakin' of which, I better go check on them cakes before I burn 'em."
She hung the phone up, and he listened as she dragged the cord back inside and closed the door. Then he turned on his heel and made his way downtown.
The next morning, Jackie woke to what she thought was an earthquake but was, in fact, Rose jumping on her bed like a loon. "Thank you, mum! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I love it!" Out of breath, she bounced to her bottom, kissed her mother's cheek and ran back into the hallway.
Frowning, Jackie pulled on her dressing robe. "'S only a doll," she said grumpily. But her mouth fell open as she approached their Christmas tree to see her twelve year old daughter fawning over a shiny red bicycle with a basket and red and white ribbons. She turned to hide tears from Rose. "Oh, Debs, you shouldn' have," she said under her breath. Later, when confronted about it, Debs would deny it no matter how hard Jackie tried to get her to admit to it.
And sometimes, Jackie wondered.
A/N: Couldn't resist when the idea just came to me. It's always the smallest details in that show that hold the most potential. Review!