A/N: I just sat down and started typing, and this was born lol. Enjoy.
Bad Loser
'Okay, now this is it.' The Doctor said, his expression solemn and eyebrows slightly drawn together in concentration. 'Be all and end all if you will. If this goes wrong then that's it. Wipe-out. Ka-blamo.' He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes.
'For God's sake,' Ashley sighed, rolling her eyes. 'Just pick a bloody card will you?'
The Doctor opened his eyes again and looked at the deck in front of him. Ashley was already sitting opposite him, cross-legged on the floor of the console room like he was, already holding her two cards in her hand. He took another breath again and, letting it out again slowly, reached out and snatched a card from the top of the deck. He quickly put it with the other in his hand and looked at them anxiously. Then he grinned.
'Ha!' he cried, slapping the two cards down on the floor. 'Twenty!'
Ashley tilted her head, taking a moment to regard the cards in her hands, and then lay them down casually. 'Twenty one.'
The Doctor looked at the Queen of Hearts and the Ace of Spades in alarm. 'What?' he cried. 'But… No! You're cheating!'
Ashley chuckled and gathered all the cards to shuffle them. 'Nope. I'm just really, really lucky.'
The Doctor frowned. 'You get twenty-one ten times already! The probability of that is just-'
'Oh don't give me the probability malarkey.' Ashley laughed at him while she shuffled quickly and professionally. 'I knew a bloke who always used to say that and it never got him anywhere. Even if it's a million to one chance of me pulling the Ace of Spades out every single time there's still the chance that I will, so it's not impossible. Nothing is impossible.'
The Doctor watched her shuffle closely, his forehead creased up. 'You're shuffling weird.' He pointed out.
'What?' Ashley laughed. 'No I'm not!'
'You are!' he insisted. He reached forward and snatched the cards from her. 'I'll do it.'
Ashley raised her hands and shrugged. 'Okay, if it makes you feel better.'
The Doctor turned around away from her, making her laugh again and shuffled the cards. Once the deck was completely shuffled to his satisfaction, he turned around again and put it down.
'There,' he said, sounding slightly less annoyed. 'Again.'
'Can you just admit defeat?' Ashley asked, grinning. 'I'm beating you fifteen to five.'
The Doctor shook his head and pointed vigorously at the deck. 'Just pick!'
Ashley shrugged and picked two cards. She looked at them, but didn't allow her expression to give her away. The Doctor studied her reaction before picking up his own cards. He looked mildly disappointed, but then looked to Ashley.
'Put them down on three.' He told her.
Ashley chucked again. 'You really want to win, don't you?'
'Of course I do!' the Doctor replied sharply. 'I've played poker with the greats and won! I don't want to lose a game of twenty-one to a human who can't even shuffle properly!'
'Hey, I can shuffle better than you,' Ashley replied, pointing a finger. 'You never shuffle the bottom properly.'
The Doctor frowned at her and then looked at his cards again. 'One, two… three.'
Both of them laid their cards down. The Doctor frantically looked at her cards, but she didn't bother looking at his. She leaned back, looking at her nails.
'Wipe-out.' She grinned.
The Doctor looked at his seventeen and her twenty-one, and then let out a frustrated growl. 'You're cheating!' he accused.
'How could I be cheating? You shuffled and dealt!'
'I don't know! You're just… You've got cards hidden on you, haven't you?' He moved forward to her and checked the floor around her, and then pulled on her sleeves. Laughing, she pushed him away.
'My god you're such a sore loser! Admit it, you're just crap at Twenty-One!' She pushed herself to her feet. 'I'm off to get a drink.'
'You can't go!' the Doctor cried. 'We have to play again!'
'Admit defeat, Doctor.' Ashley told him as she headed towards the door. 'It's not attractive to be a bad loser.'
'One more game. All or nothing.'
'We're not playing for anything!'
'We're playing for dignity!' the Doctor insisted.
'You're not going to get that back in a hurry.' Ashley told him, pausing in the doorway. 'Now do you want a cup of tea or something or are you going to sulk?'
The Doctor gathered the cards together irritably and began to shuffle them again. Ashley smiled in amusement, and then left. The Doctor laid the deck back down and then picked up two cards from the top. He looked at them; a two of hearts and a three of clubs, and then tossed them away in disgust. Then he sat with his arms crossed and sulked.
