Chapter 8

The Doctor and Nita were sitting outside the house next to the blacksmith shop. They were looking at the stars through a telescope. "And that crater in the middle northwest, out there all by itself like a starburst?" asked Nita.

"That one's called Copernicus," replied the Doctor. He laughed. "Listen to me, I feel like I'm teaching school."

"Oh, please, continue your lesson. I never found lunar geography so facscinating."

"You're quite knowledgeable."

"When I was 11, I had Chicken Pox. I was quarantined for three weeks, so my grandfather bought me a telescope and put it next to my bed so I could see everything out my window. Doctor, do you think you could take us to the moon one day?"

The Doctor smiled. "Definitely."

"I always wanted to go to the moon. Though I'd hoped to get there the traditional way."

"You mean in a rocket that creates giant explosions that are so powerful that they…"

"…they break the pull of the earth's gravity and send their projectile through outer space." The Doctor stared at her, and she laughed. "Doctor…I read that book too. You're quoting Jules Verne, From The Earth To The Moon."

"You've read Jules Verne?"

"I adore Jules Verne."

"So do I, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, my absolute favourite. I never known a woman who liked Jules Verne before."

"I've never ever…known a man like you before."

Before she could stop herself, she kissed the Doctor.

The next morning Ace woke up and looked around for the Doctor and Nita. "Doctor! Nita!" She realized that they were not inside the house. "I hope you know what you're doing." What Ace didn't know was that Nita had fallen asleep outside looking at the stars with the Doctor. Then at dawn they had gone for a walk into town. She looked down and spotted the Colt Peacemaker. She picked up the gun and faced the mirror. "You talking to me? You talking to me, Jones? Well I'm the only one here. Go ahead…make my day."

Later, Ace was walking down the street and people she didn't even know were saying good morning to her. "Hey, good morning, Miss McShane!"

"Morning."

"Have a cigar, Miss McShane. Anything I can do for you today, Miss McShane?"

"No, no, it's…fine."

"Good luck tomorrow, Miss McShane! We'll be prayin' for ya!"

"Thanks."

The undertaker approached Ace. "Good morning, Miss Mcshane. Interest you in a new outfit for tomorrow?"

"Ah, I'm…I'm fine. Thanks."

She turned and spotted the Doctor. She headed over to him. The Doctor was smelling a flower that was given to him my Nita before she returned home to freshen up.

"Professor. What are you doing?"

He stopped sniffing. "Oh, nothing…just out enjoying the morning air. It's really lovely here in the morning, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it's lovely Professor. Listen, we gotta finish loading up the TARDIS. We gotta get ready to roll alright…" She spotted the tombstone from the picture. "Hey look at that, the tombstone."

"Ace, have to got that photograph?" Nita had given it to Ace. She handed it over and the Doctor examined it. He sighed. "My name…it's vanished."

"Hey, that's great Professor! Don't you get it – we're leaving tomorrow, so everything's bein' erased!"

"But only my name is erased! The tombstone itself and the date still remain. That doesn't make sense. We know that this photograph represents what will happen if the events of today continue to run their course into tomorrow."

"Right and so?"

The undertaker came over and began measuring Ace. "Excuse me, Miss McShane, I just need to take your measurement."

"Hey, look, mate, I don't want to buy an outfit!"

The undertaker laughed. "No, this is for your coffin."

"My coffin?!"

"Well, the odds are running two to one against you. Might as well be prepared." He walked off.

"So…it may not be my name that's supposed to end up on that tombstone, it may be yours."

Ace was shocked. "Oh, my giddy aunt!"

"I know, this is bogus."

Ace and the Doctor started walking again.

"Ace, why are you wearing that gun? You're not considering running against Jones tomorrow!"

"Professor, tomorrow morning I'm leaving with you. But if Suzette Jones comes looking for trouble I'm going to be ready for her. You heard what that bitch called me last night."

"Ace, you can't go losing your judgement every time someone calls you a name! That's exactly what causes you to get into that accident in the future."

Ace stopped in her tracks and turned to look at the Doctor. "What? What about my future?"

"I can't tell you. It might make things worse."

"Wait a minute, Professor…what's wrong with my future?!"

"Ace…we all have to make decisions that affect the course of our lives. You've gotta do what you've gotta do. And I've gotta do what I've gotta do." He walked away.

That night Ace was helping the Doctor to load equipment from the wagon into the TARDIS. Nita had stayed behind to pack some more boxes.

"Ace."

"Yeah?"

"I've made a decision. I'm going to ask Nita to marry me."

"What are you talkin' about, Professor?!"

"There's no point in denying it. I'm in love with Nita."

"Oh man. Professor, you can't just suddenly ask her to marry you! That's not how humans do things! You have to date her first!"

"Date her?"

"You know, courtship!"

The Doctor thought about it and sighed. "You're right, Ace."

They deposited the last of their load into a storeroom in the TARDIS. "Right, that's it for this load," said Ace.

"I'll ask her if I can court her,' said the Doctor.

"What are you gonna say to her, 'I want to court you'? I mean, she's not used to that phrase, Professor. She's from the 1980s remember." She paused. "Maybe you should…I dunno, maybe tell her that you've come to like her as more than a friend and would like to pursue a relationship with her."

"Really? Thank you for advising me, Ace. I'm way out of my depth here. Time Lords usually don't pursue romantic relationships, especially not with humans. They think it would destroy the web of time or something. This is very frightening." He walked away.

Ace stared after him before following him.