Marionette Strings:
There was no way of knowing which moment it was that the Doctor fell for his companion. The affection he had for her had grown insidiously inside him for the past few years.
If he thought hard enough he would have to admit that he had felt the first inkling of it when he found her in the rough foliage on the Cheetah planet. Even hanging upside down his hearts had still managed to leap to his throat when she came charging at him torch in hand.
"What kept you?" her simple question had conveyed all of her affection and relief at seeing him there.
Or had it been even earlier when jealously had flared in his gaze, however briefly, when she had offered to distract the guard at Millington's Base.
No, it was even further back, when he had first given her the choice to come with him. The smile she had given him at that second could have supported its' own planetary system. It had caused his hearts to summersault when he had seen it.
He pondered these thoughts as he leaned over the TARDIS consol, standing in the dark. Since he was the only one awake at the moment, he decided to let the ambiance match his mood.
She had been his student for quite a while now. For eight years she had run by his side.
She always had his back, defending him (and countless other innocent beings). When had she become more than just a pupil to him? The Doctor did not know, but what he did know was that he was in trouble.
He had fallen for his companions in the past but they had all inevitably left him. Even his own 'granddaughter', Susan, had left him to travel on his own when she fell in love and got married to her handsome Mr. David Campbell.
Would Ace leave him as well? She, too, had shown a tendency to become attracted to certain people (Mike, Captain Sorin, Hex, oh very well men) that they met and traveled with on their journeys, and the Doctor was afraid that she would eventually decide that the domestic life was for her, leaving him once again alone.
There was nothing for it. He was going to have to tell her. "I love you, Dorothy McShane." He mumbled to himself, tasting the words as he said them. To his surprise, they lifted his spirits, taking the weight he carried on his hearts away with them as they left his lips. Perhaps this time there was hope.
Ace awoke in her room and groggily brushed her hand across the empty side of the bed. Realizing she was alone as usual, she came to full awareness, letting her recent dream slip from her mind. It had been a pleasant dream for a change, but it left her questioning herself.
Surely the Professor would never think about her that way. She had been his mentee for too long. The only physical contact they had shared over the years had been friendly at best and fatherly at worst.
The phantoms of sleep held onto her focus, however, and she couldn't let the images go. Ace took a deep breath and thought back to the moment she fallen head over heels for the Doctor about three years ago.
They had landed on a small tropical planet where the natives had treasured humanoid flesh as a delicacy. Ace had been caught in one of their booby traps (thanks to her overactive cheetah virus) and the Doctor had been forced to watch as the arachnoids had wrapped her in their silk cocoon and dragged her off to the home web. She had waited five days for him, never losing hope that he would save her. Her Professor did not disappoint her in the end, though he cut it pretty close... again.
It had been the dawn of her 5th day. After her captors had forced food down her throat, they had tested her flesh, pinching her through the silk. "We shall feast tonight" clicked her captor to his companion as they scurried off.
She understood and had recognized his excited, hungry tone. A few moments after they left, she had looked up through stinging, watery eyes to see the Professor hanging upside down from his umbrella.
Somehow he still managed to keep his hat perfectly balanced on his head as he looked down at her.
"Where have you been?" she asked with a teasing smile on her face. That smile that was half smirk with the left side of her mouth curving up while the other side pulled a Mona Lisa.
"And what have I told you about staying put?" he chuckled back quietly. He slid a knife neatly out of his sleeve and cut her free.
She had to hold on to him to keep from falling down the 100 meter drop to the jungle floor below. It was a struggle, but it helped that it was him she was holding. Her Professor, her Doctor had once again risked life and limb to save her. That was moment she realized that she could never love anyone else.
They had climbed up through the canopy of dense leaves until they reached a small clearing. In the middle of the cleared area stood the TARDIS. That wonderful blue machine that was her home, the only true home she had ever had.
"Primates nested here, flattening the leaves and shaping them into large nests." explained the Doctor as he led the way.
"Professor." said Ace in a voice scarcely above a whisper. It had been enough to catch his sharp hearing and he did a quick turn-on-the-spot to walk back to her. She had been unsure, should she have told him how she felt, what he meant to her? She had been so nervous that she had hidden her emotions not wanting to destroy the friendship they shared.
"What is it Ace?" he asked as he placed a concerned hand on her shoulder. She had looked into his eyes with obvious wonder before saying, "Thank you, for saving my life, again." She leaned towards him and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek.
The expression she received in return was one of utter confusion, so Ace had decided to leave it there.
She would love him from afar. She was content to leave her affections unrequited so long as he continued to allow her to travel with him.
It had been enough these last few years just to be beside him and watch his back. However, now with even her dreams turning against her, Ace wasn't sure how much longer she could stand to be ignored.
"It's not the professor's fault". She said to her empty room, "He couldn't know how I feel because I have never told him."
She sighed and pulled her knees up under her chin and sat there for a while contemplating how to let the Doctor know that she loved him more than anything in the twelve galaxies.
The Doctor was beginning to wonder where Ace was. She was normally an early riser, but today he found himself waiting impatiently for the usually cheery "good morning" to caress his ear.
Well, at least he had time to think about where he wanted to go. They had been cruising through the time vortex for the past week and he knew that Ace was becoming restless.
Perhaps a little diversion was in order. The Doctor quickly punched in the coordinates of the planet he thought would be perfect, and then let the TARDIS pilot herself as he headed to the kitchen.
It was there that he discovered his erstwhile companion putting a kettle on for tea. "Ah, good morning Ace." He greeted as he entered the room.
She jumped at his voice, nearly knocking the kettle off the stovetop. "Good morning, Professor. I was going to surprise you with a cuppa, but you've found me out." She smiled.
"Forget the tea", he said as he tapped her nose affectionately, "how about a picnic?"
An hour later they were comfortably situated on a gently sloping hillside overlooking a vast meadow. Ace's eyes had flashed gold when she saw their idealic surroundings. Her aggressive virus took her over with her first breath of fresh air. Two steps outside the TARDIS doors she had instantly broken into a run.
It felt good to stretch her legs and her cheetah reflexes let her feel as well as see everything. She had tired slowly, returning to the Doctor when her eyes had faded back to their normal hazel. She lay back on the soft grass and closed her eyes sighing contentedly.
"You have gained considerable control since you were infected." stated the Doctor.
"Hmm, I've been practicing. I can call it at will most days and send it away pretty quick if I want." Ace's eyes flew to join the Doctor's before she added. "Today was an accident. I didn't mean to skive off and leave you to set up."
"This", the Professor gestured to the cloth laden with their breakfast, "was nothing. It was a relief to see you blow off some excess energy, you seemed to be getting a bit restless." He leaned forward into a tri-pod with his chin on his umbrella handle.
"I don't know if I would say restless, frustrated more like." mumbled Ace under her breath. She decided to take a chance. It was now or never.
The Doctor looked at her, staring straight through her as if he knew her every thought. "Doctor." She said biting her lip. He knew that she was afraid to say what would come next from the fact that she had used his name. His chosen name.
"What is it Ace?" He tried to look nonchalant so that she would not feel pressured to continue.
"Doctor, I…I have to…to tell you something." He waited patiently, urging her on with a tilt of his head.
"Please don't think I'm stupid, or some silly child and you can't laugh." He nodded in response, listening intently. She scrunched her face tight and took a deep breath.
As quickly as she could she said it. "I love you Professor, I have loved you for years, and I know I was young, a kid, when we met but I…I need more…I need you…I know that's selfish..." she trailed off and opened one eye.
The Doctor was leaning closer to her, a serious expression gracing his features.
He took off his hat and laid his brolly down beside her. He looked at her for a fraction of a second taking in the sight of her to be forever stored in his memory.
She was magnificent. Her soft brown hair shone, her eyes now fully open, gazed into and through him, and her velvet lips, so inviting, quivered slightly waiting for his response.
"Oh Ace, no, you are not selfish", he moved his hand to brush her hair back from her face. "Or perhaps you are, but no more than I." He leaned over her slowly before giving her the barest of kisses. A jolt of electric energy crashed through them both.
The Doctor pulled back quickly in utter shock.
"Doctor, what's wrong?" asked Ace as she sat up next to him.
"Nothing is wrong I just was not expecting that." He said touching his still tingling lips with a puzzled expression. "That was not supposed to happen."
"Oh", she answered, feeling that old feeling of hopelessness creep up on her once again.
She rose to her feet. "It's alright Professor, I figured something would happen. I suppose it just isn't to be." Her shoulders visibly drooped in defeat.
"What? No, no, no it's not that. Ace, what just happened is extraordinary in cross-species contact. It only occurs within genetically compatible races." He reached up and guided her back into a sitting position opposite him.
"It is something to be cherished, an unusual occurrence, it surprised me, but it only shows me how dense I have been. You are truly magnificent, Dorothy."
She blushed at the use of her given name. "Professor, you know, I would feel better if you kept calling me Ace. Dorothy is a name for those who don't know me very well."
"Very well, Ace, my dear Ace, I must tell you, I do not know of any precedent exists for this. It is widely assumed that Time Lords are incompatible with humans. What we just felt is known as a bonding." He beamed at her. "It is rare, incredible rare and has only been documented in cases where two Gallifreyans had been paired for quite awhile. There are some slight side effects that you should be aware of, though."
"Side effects, as if I don't have enough of those to worry about."Ace said as she gestured to her rapidly yellowing eyes. "Should I be worried, Doctor?" she blinked back the virus and her eyes cleared.
"No, no, not at all, from what I have heard, or read rather, they can be quite beneficial. Though I have had no experience of them myself, the concept is intriguing. However, it will be interesting to test the waters." The Doctor said lowering his voice as he reached the last sentence.
A thrill swept through Ace, making her gasp. A feeling of absolute love warmed her from head to toe and seemed to wrap her in a protective blanket. The sensation dissipated enough for her to regain her thoughts, but not enough to disappear completely. It was as if someone was gently caressing her mind. "Is that one of the side effects?"
"Apparently, did you like it?" asked the Doctor seriously.
In answer, Ace leaned forward and kissed him again. This time the shock was stronger, as if they had both grabbed a live wire. They were lost in each other.
The Doctor opened his eyes a moment later to see that Ace's were the golden yellow of her aggressive virus. At this realization, he broke the kiss and moved away causing her to nearly fall forward. She growled in protest, her cat-like tendencies taking hold of her. Her prey had to inch away from her as she began a slow crawl in his direction.
"Ace, come back." She didn't stop, continuing her sensual pursuit. "Come home." She came to a halt and hung her head. When she looked at him again her eyes had returned to normal. She had nearly been about to attack him, this man who she loved and who loved her back with such complete acceptance.
"Oh Professor, I am so sorry. I must be losing it, that's the second time today that bloody cat has completely taken over."
He reached out to her and she launched herself into his arms. "I suspect it is just a reaction to your strong emotional changes. There is nothing to be sorry about. Mind you it has been a long time since I was sized up like a piece of steak; I found it quite thrilling actually."
He could feel her smile against his chest and knew this was only the beginning of something brilliant. As loath as he was to move her, there were many more interesting things to occupy their time. "Come along Ace, we have some experimenting to do." He took her by the hand, leaving their picnic forgotten on the hillside as they returned home.
That day and into that night, strange new exciting sounds could be heard through the TARDIS's corridors.
The shadows toyed with the wheel chaired young man. They drew a striped pattern that was the only way to show that he was making progress through the dark dead drainage pipe. He assumed that this meeting would prove eventful. The other sponsors he had contacted had all run screaming when he had demonstrated his particular talent and he hoped this one was made of sterner stuff.
The tunnel was overrun with cats, all kinds of cats. The kittens tried to attack the spokes of his wheels as he rode by them, the larger cats had more sense and stayed away. A fact he was quite glad of seeing as some of the felines were as big as ponies.
"Show me," came a deep voice from the inky blackness ahead of him. Four orbs, two smaller than the others illuminated, shining like torches in the dark. "At last. Took those two long enough… a bonding… quite unexpected, but perhaps an event in our favor."
"Hello?" asked the young man.
"Ah, young Mr. Yacoub, we have been waiting." The dark tunnel suddenly exploded into light as a multitude of technologies came to life. Standing in the middle of the tangled wires and blinking control panels that spilled from a crack in a giant marble column sat a man holding a black cat. He was obviously tall and had a weight about him that was the gift of a well muscled physique. His beard/mustache combo elegantly framed his square jaw. His dark hair was plastered back from his face and did nothing to hide his bright yellow-green eyes. "Well, what do you have to show me?" he purred.
Jason Yacoub rolled closer and put his chair breaks on. He pulled off his soft leather gloves and rubbed his hands together in a quick motion. He then pointed both of his index fingers and brought them in front of his face. He took a deep breath before pointing violently at the ground in front of him.
A figure sprung from the dust, vaguely human, its unfinished form quickly evolving into a perfect reflection of the man with the cat. Jason split his hands apart causing the figure to replicate; two mirror images stood absently petting their cats. He then brought his other fingers up bringing his hands into their fully splayed positions. Suddenly there were ten. Ten men faced their original matching his expression of mild interest.
"Very good, I believe we will be quite beneficial to each other, Mr. Yacoub." said the mysterious man with a sly smile. "And my dear Puppeteer, you may call me Master."