Hi there and merry christmas to y'all! Here's a fanfic I wrote for souffles-against-thedaleks on tumblr, as part of the Classic Who Secret Santa :)

They were around a dozen, half human, half machine, and all coming dangerously close, their red eyes staring at the Doctor. Said Doctor was slowly forced to step back, until his back hit a wall. He sighed quietly, as his mind was rushing to find a quick way to escape. But his usually neverending pile of wits seemed desesperatly empty.

"State your name, intentions, and place of origin." resounded a metallic voice.

The Gallifreyan's mouth twiched into a amiable smile. He could always try to stall for time an old tactic, but it had worked oh so many times.

"I'm the Doctor, and I came here for my assistant's wellfare. You see, she happens to be sick, and your planet's air has a reputation of-
- We know the reputation of our planet, thank you very much, cut one of the creatures. And if you are telling the truth, then where is your assistant?
- Resting on my ship, as-
- Then take us to our ship."

The Doctor felt a small rush of panic. He certainly didn't want to bring his hostile interlocutors to the TARDIS. If Iotore's atmosphere did wonders to help with all kinds of diseases, same couldn't be said about its inhabitants, who happened to be ruthless warriors.

"Well, I'm afraid it won't be-
- DUCK, PROFESSOR!"

There was a loud bang, and next thing he knew, two of the creatures were on the ground, wailing, their comrades running to help them. It only took the Doctor a few seconds to see Ace's frame, both hands busy holding her trusty Nitro-9 cans. The Gallifreyan rolled his eyes, as he started advancing towards her. "Of course she wouldn't listen, he thought. Even with a fever. Especially with a fever."

He felt a sudden pain in the shoulder. One of the creatures had thrown a rock at him, and yelled:

"This is a warning. Surrender now, or else-
- Or else nothing! You won't get him!"

The Doctor instincively threw himself on the ground, as a can of Nitro-9 flew right over his head. A happy shout from his companion let him know that she had managed to bring the entire brigade down. "Impressive, he admitted to himself, how being sick apparently manages to improve her already outstanding aim."

Knowing he had time before any reinforcement came in, the Doctor peacefully walked the rest of the distance separating him from the TARDIS. Ace was waiting in front of it, still in her nightgown, her hair messily tied in a high ponytail. Her rucksack was resting on her right shoulder, and though her eyes sprinkled with fever, her smile was as genuine as it could be.

"What were you thinking, going out there all alone?
- Come inside, you need a lot of rest,
- As if! I'm not the one who almost got killed by a bunch of ridiculous robots!"

—-

Sitting on a comfortable chair, a pack of ice on his shoulder, the Doctor was eating a sandwich and sipping on some tea. Ace, lying on the bed right next to the chair, was looking at the sandwich with envy.

"Why couldn't I have some?
- Because you're sick, my dear Ace, and need some food that will stay in your stomach.
- Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure sick people don't go on throwing explosives at strange creatures menacing their best friend, and look, here I am."

If the Doctor was touched that Ace had officialy named him her "best friend", he didn't show it.

"I'm sure I could have gotten out of here all by myself, thank you very much.
- That's ridiculous, Professor, and you know it. What, you, against twelve weirdos? Come on. You needed a little help.
- Ace, sometimes, violence isn't necessary, and words can be enough to get out of a nasty looking situation.
- Uh-uh. And sometimes, just a few cans of Nitro-9 can make the difference, right Professor?"

The Doctor shot her a dirty glance. He knew there was no way he was winning this argument - he didn't even fully believed in his own justifications. But he kept going on, just for the sake of it. And because maybe he could have done it all by himself. Maybe. With an enormous amount of luck.

"You were supposed to be sleeping in this very bed. Why did you even get outside?
- Because I had a bad feeling about you going alone. Turns out I was right.
- You won't ever listen to me, will you?"

Ace looked at him, eyes full of malice.

"Only when I'm sure both of us will be safe. And maybe not even in that case.
- I expected that kind of answer.
- Mmh. Well, I don't know 'bout you, but that mess sure got me tired, so I'll be having a nice nap.
- Please do. whispered the Doctor, as he took away her untouched bowl of soup and placed the covers over her.
- Are you going to stay with me? asked the girl, already sounding sleepy.
- Just to make sure you don't cause any more trouble."

Ace's lips curled into a smile. Both know how false those words were, and as the Doctor got under the covers, Ace turned to face him. She gave him a quick peck on the lips, and quickly fell asleep.

"Sleep tight, Ace."