Chapter 2
Ace swung the bat and it hit the floor with a crash, then she swung it again and wood splintered.
"Ace!"
She slammed the bat down again. The thing was now on its back with eight silver legs moving like it wanted to run but couldn't turn over and right itself.
"Don't worry, Professor," she said breathlessly, eyes fixed on the silver spider, "It won't get away with it…"
"But it was just a little bite, I'm okay!"
Ace smacked the bat down again, and the spider lay broken and buckled. Liquid oozed out of a hollow interior, and the thing fell still at last.
She put down the bat and smiled at the Doctor.
"That'll teach it to bite you!"
The Doctor took his hand away from his neck as the throbbing pain subsided and then he got off the bed.
"There is nothing dangerous on this planet, nothing poisonous! You didn't have to kill it, Ace!"
She frowned.
"But it hurt you, Professor. You know how much you mean to me, I never want anything to hurt you."
"And you can't save me forever," he reminded her, and again she thought of what he had said, that one day she would be dust, and would live on…
"Sorry, I was just trying to help. I know you hate violence, you hate killing things…"
Ace sounded upset now.
The Doctor leaned closer, inspecting the broken silver spider.
"Careful!" she said in alarm, but as he picked it up by a battered metallic leg, he looked at it closely and then held it up in front of her.
"You didn't kill anything," he told her, "It's robotic…what's a robotic spider doing on a brand new colony world? It shouldn't be here, it's not part of the plan for this planet…"
Ace looked at the remains of the metallic creature.
"Maybe someone built a pet spider."
The Doctor fell silent for a moment as he turned over many possibilities in his mind.
"Maybe..." he said quietly, and then he put the battered remains on the bedside table and paused to rub the back of his neck as he became aware of a vague ache.
"I'm trying to think back to everything I ever heard about this place…I'm sure they didn't have a need for robotic creatures of any kind – they brought bees and spiders and butterflies here from earth along with other wildlife – but there was nothing in the plans about robotic spiders, I'm sure of it."
"Then I must have smashed up someone's android pet," she replied, "It's their fault – what kind of idiot makes a spider that can bite? I'm glad I broke it."
Pain flickered through the wound and pain registered on the Doctor's face as he rubbed the back of his neck again.
"I'm certain it was most likely constructed privately – and illegally. Something like that wouldn't be permitted on this planet, it's a very safe environment."
"Are you okay? "
He caught a flicker of worry in her eyes as he sat down and turned his head cautiously, still pressing his hand against the bite mark.
"I think so – I feel a bit sore…doesn't feel like a true spider bite, just like someone stuck a needle in me…it probably had metallic teeth. Maybe it malfunctioned and the person who built it lost it or let it go…"
Ace sat beside him and suddenly her eyes lit up as she thought of an idea.
"Let's have a look – does it have teeth?"
She reached for the remains of the spider and the Doctor gently brushed her hand away.
"Don't bother," he told her, "You smashed it to bits! There's nothing left of it that can tell us anything, part from the fact that it had a hollow abdominal cavity. The remains of the wiring seemed to be based in the cephalothorax…I don't know what that fluid was that spilled out when you smashed it…I doubt I could get a sample of it, certainly not enough for the Tardis to analyse. Maybe I could if I took a scraping from inside the cavity –"
"Professor, it's just a toy spider!"
Worry briefly clouded his eyes, and then it was gone.
"You're probably right," he said, "But it's the last thing I expected to find here…"
"Maybe it belonged to the person who stayed in this room before us," Ace suggested.
"No," he replied, "We are the first guests to stay here. The hotel opened yesterday and we are the first to stay on this floor."
Ace started to smile.
"We've got a whole floor to ourselves? No one to hear us through the wall…"
"Hear what?"
He was still thinking about the spider, and then he smiled as a sparkle came to his eyes.
"Oh…yes I see, no one to hear us…"
And he shifted closer to Ace and as their eyes met he spoke to her softly.
"I've missed you."
They were so close his lips almost brushed hers as he spoke.
"Missed me?" she wondered, "Why would you miss me, I'm always around!"
He looked deep into her eyes and struggled with his own emotions as he spoke again, he was not the most open of men and in the past had frequently held back from Ace in so many ways, and now the one secret he still held was about to be revealed…
"I've missed you every day, every night, from the moment we first met. I've missed you by my side like this for all that time, because I fell in love with you at first sight and I never said a word."
As Ace looked into his eyes she saw nothing but absolute truth reflected back at her.
"You've always loved me?"
He nodded, then drew in a breath and took her into his arms, hugging her tightly.
"I love you so much, Ace," he whispered, "You don't know how much, you don't know what it's been like for me, I kept it all back from you."
"You didn't have to," she told him, "It would have been okay."
And then they looked into each others eyes as they sat there embracing, and neither said another word.
Then he kissed her again and this time the kiss was deep and lasting and then he pushed her gently back against the mattress and ignored the ache in his neck left by the spider and softly ran his hands over her body, he kissed her tenderly as he started to undress her and she reached up to his shirt and tugged at the buttons.
And then they were finally in bed, beneath soft sheets as she reached for him and he took her in his arms, and then he took over completely, holding her gently but firmly as he showed her what it meant to share a bed with a Timelord who had lived many lifetimes and would live many more, and Ace brushed aside thoughts of her own fragile human existence as she finally found out what it felt like to be made love to by her Professor.
Ace slept well.
She slept in his arms, their bodies warm together as he held her and then slipped into a deep sleep. She watched him as he slept, the light was fading fast and as shadows drew in she held him tighter, smiling as he shifted position and snored lightly against the pillow.
Then she had drifted off to sleep, happy and feeling as if every day from now on would be like living in a dream and she would have to constantly remind herself that it was real, it was all her wishes come true at once – she finally had her Professor where she needed him to be, right next to her as his twin hearts beat in unison and his chest rose and fell as he rested beside her.
Then after a deep dark rest of warm contentedness where no bad dreams of old battles could reach her, she woke up with a jolt.
She heard rapid breathing and realised the sheets were damp with sweat and then reached for the bedside light and snapped it on, turning anxiously to the Doctor.
Ace looked at him in alarm as he drew in another breath and pressed his hand to the centre of his chest.
"Professor? "
He took in another breath, closed his eyes and then opened them again and shifted his hand from his chest to the back of his neck.
"Something's wrong, Ace…my hearts were racing and it was hard to breathe…it's easing up now… I was burning up…my neck hurts…"
He took his hand off the spider bite as Ace shifted closer and swept her hand over his hair, pushing it up from the back of his neck.
What she saw made her catch her breath.
"Professor, that bite…it's really red and swollen…I think you must be allergic or something…"
His head was starting to ache.
"Don't be silly, Ace! I can't be allergic to a robotic spider!"
"It looks bad." She sounded worried.
He got up and went over to the dressing table as she rifled down her rucksack and then thrust a small compact mirror into his hand, briefly smiling as he opened it.
"You keep cosmetics in there too?"
"Some…"
"Next to the baseball bat and the nitro nine? Only you would do that, Ace. Another reason why I love you."
His smile faded as he positioned the mirror and looked into the glass, seeing the bite reflected in the compact.
"We need to get back to the Tardis in the morning. I'm sure I've got something I can put on this – and I want to analyse the contents that spilled out of that spider. Maybe it contained some kind of fluid that ensured smooth contact between the working parts…some kind of machine oil…I'm definitely allergic to something!"
He put the compact down and turned back to Ace, who was looking troubled.
"I hope it's not me," she said quietly, and despite his pain he laughed.
"Of course its not you! Did you think I might be allergic to sex with a human female? My life really would be unbearable if that was true! I've been making love with human partners for centuries!"
And then he leaned closer and kissed her.
"I'm definitely not allergic to you!"
Then he caught his breath as pain flickered through his neck and seemed to shoot down his spine and up to his aching head at the same time.
"I need to lie down."
He got up and stumbled and Ace steadied him.
"Sorry…I'll be fine…I didn't mean to fall against you like that. I think I just need to rest."
As she helped him back into bed, Ace felt a flicker of panic pass through her as the wondered how he could have become so unwell so quickly.
"What if you get worse? What if this reaction doesn't wear off?"
He rested against the softness of the pillow and felt glad to be off his feet; lying down seemed to ease the pain that ran up his back and into his head.
"I'll be fine," he promised her, "I just need to go back to sleep. Come here…"
And Ace lay beside him as he gave a weary sigh and closed his eyes again.
She thought about turning out the light, but decided against it, because the light would help her to stay awake. She had no intention of sleeping while the Professor was so unwell. But the time dragged on and he slept easily, oblivious to the discomfort he felt while awake. And somewhere between five am and sunrise, Ace fell asleep beside him.
As she heard him say her name, she opened her eyes.
She looked up and saw the Professor standing over her. He was dressed and ready to leave and as he looked down at her he smiled.
"Good morning, my rare and beautiful Ace," he said fondly, "I'd kiss you but bending is little difficult. My back, neck and head hurts every time I move but I think I'm feeling better than I did last night. I had a hot shower, that did me good." And his eyes sparkled as he added, "Maybe you should have a shower too. You smell like you've been up to no good with a Timelord…"
Ace smiled too as she sat up, then she got out of bed and gave him a kiss that lingered.
"That's definitely done me good!" he exclaimed, "Thank you nurse."
And she laughed softly as she caught the playful look in his eyes.
"I don't mind playing nurse," she said, "Just don't scare me like that again! I was really worried about you last night!"
"I'm a Timelord," he reminded her, pausing as his gaze roamed over her body as he watched her walk naked to the bathroom, "I'm pretty resilient to toxins. I'll be okay."
He heard Ace switch on the shower and he longed to undress and join her, but instead he took a slow breath and sat down on the bed as pain flickered up and down his spine and started to throb inside his head once more. He had been standing up too long and the pain was definitely still present – but he had been determined to hide the worst of it from Ace simply because he loved the girl and after all they had shared, did not want this new chapter of their lives to begin with a heap of worry laid at her feet. He was hoping he had some medication in the Tardis that would put an end to his pain. He was counting on it, because if he couldn't control it, he had no clue what do about it, because analysing the unknown substance inside the robotic spider could take hours, even days…
Ace was still in the shower.
The Doctor didn't feel like food because the pain was lingering and made him feel slightly sick, but he decided they could stay a little while longer and have breakfast in the room before they left, simply because he knew she would be hungry.
He picked up the phone and called for room service, and then he sat back against the pillows and drew in another slow breath as he broke out in a light sweat and fought off another wave of pain that he wanted to hide from Ace.
A short while later, after Ace had dressed and then enjoyed breakfast as the Doctor drank half his tea and barely touched his own food, they were on their way out of the hotel.
On the way down to the ground floor Ace complained constantly about the fact that the spider bite had ruined their stay, and she was still in the same frame of mind when the lift doors opened and they stepped out.
"I've got to say something about it!" she said, and as pain flickered through his body the Doctor decided against using valuable energy reminding her it was not the fault of the hotel staff.
She went up to the main reception and hit the bell loudly, making the woman behind the desk look up sharply.
"Oi!" said Ace, "You might find a bit of damage in our room. It was me, because I had to kill something that bit the Professor! What sort of hotel lets a dangerous spider run about anyway?"
The woman looked confused.
"There are no bugs of any description in this hotel!" she exclaimed, "This is a new building, constructed to high standard –"
"I can show you what I killed in my room!"
Ace turned back to the Doctor, who had turned pale and started to sweat as he leaned heavier on his umbrella and tried to hide his pain.
"Come on Ace, we're leaving!" he said sharply, and turned for the door.
Ace noticed he was slightly pale and abandoned her complaint, turning for the exit and hurrying after him.
"Wait for me!" she called out, feeling concern for the Doctor as she thought again how pale he looked.
As she caught up with him he was heading for the path that led back through the tree-lined walkway that would eventually lead to the Tardis.
"Sorry but I had to say something, that spider made you ill, and you still don't look right!"
The Doctor stopped walking and turned sharply to Ace as a trickle of sweat ran down his face.
He was definitely unwell, and now as she took a closer look at him she saw just how pale he had become, and she also noticed he was shivering slightly.
"Professor, you look terrible!"
"Ace, it doesn't matter about the hotel, it's not their fault," he said, "And I believe they know nothing about it. Just forget about blame and let's get back to the Tardis and then I can try and find out what's wrong with me. It could be nothing to do with the bite, it could be a coincidence."
And he carried on walking stiffly up the path and Ace walked alongside him, keeping worried and watchful eyes on him as her concern grew.
"You don't look right – you said you felt better, but you look worse now!"
"I'll be fine," he said under his breath, trying to block out the discomfort as he walked on, knowing every step took him closer to the Tardis.
Ace continued to worry as they made their way across the field and towards the woodland, but said nothing more to voice her fears, because the Doctor seemed to be rapidly growing worse and she knew pointing that out to him would not help matters at all...
As they entered the Tardis the Doctor gave a weary sigh, relieved to hear the door close behind Ace as he approached the console.
He leaned heavily against it as he activated the controls and the Tardis left the surface of the planet.
"Where are we going?" she asked him.
The Doctor took the remains of the smashed up spider out of his pocket, then searched another pocket for his sonic screwdriver.
"Nowhere – not yet…I've set us on a slow course towards earth…I need time to get a sample off this spider and see what the Tardis can find out…this could take time…"
He activated the screwdriver and Ace watched as the metal heated quickly and the Doctor opened up a drawer in the console and scraped out a sliver of metal from the inside of the spider's steel belly. Then he placed it in a clear container and closed the drawer again and pushed some buttons.
"You think this will take a while?"
"Yes, it probably will."
The Doctor was reading computerised results on a small screen that began to scroll rapidly, and then he put the screwdriver back in his pocket and turned to Ace, instantly noticing the worried look on her face.
"It was only a small bite. I'm sure it can't do much harm, you're probably right about it being a robotic pet that malfunctioned. I'm probably allergic to the fluid that makes the parts move together."
Ace frowned.
"But if it was just a simple component, wouldn't the Tardis have picked it up by now?"
"I don't know, it has many toxins listed in the data base but there are still some out there I've yet to encounter…don't worry about me, I'm just a bit sore."
"And cold," she said quietly, "You're shivering, Professor."
He forced a smile, trying to hide his pain from Ace. They had just taken their close friendship to the next level and it meant as much to him as it did to her, and he was determined nothing would ruin the occasion.
"Its just an allergic reaction, "he said, "I'm sure it will wear off soon – what's that?"
He turned to a flashing light on the console.
"Has the Tardis finished analysing the toxin? Is it okay, are you okay, Professor?"
He looked up from the screen that showed a wide map of space and gave her a weary look.
"Will you please forget about me for a minute! I've just picked up a distress signal…"
He keyed in some co ordinates and the space outside the window became a blur as the Tardis shifted forward, spinning past stars so quickly they seemed to blur into rays of light. Then the Tardis slowed and the view from the window was clear once more.
Ace walked over and looked out, her eyes wide as she saw a huge silver vessel out there in space, moving in a slow circular motion, orbiting nothing. She read the lettering along the side of the ship:
"Cassandra-Aurora One Thousand?"
The Doctor thought back to the history he had once learned about this Earth colony planet and the key vessels linked to it.
"I believe the Cassandra Aurora was a vast mobile hospital," he said, "Back in the early days of the new planet. It had to return the earth for a refit before Doctor Carla Bailey could sign the big contract to permanently return the base to the colony…. I can't remember the rest…"
He paused to rub his temples and as he looked back at Ace, he seemed so weary all of a sudden that it shocked her.
"You need to lie down."
"No," he said, "That ship is sending out a distress signal for a reason – and its not too far away from the colony to turn back, so why is it stuck in orbit like that? I need to open a channel."
Ace said no more as she watched the Doctor tune in the Tardis to the ship's signal. He was perspiring heavily and his face was pale. She was afraid he might collapse, and she wondered what would happen if he did, because she did not know how to fly the Tardis…Ace cancelled that thought - if he collapsed, she just wanted to know he would be okay before she jumped ahead into imagining a situation where she would be left alone with his dead body as the police box drifted through time and space for eternity…
The screen turned to static and then the image cleared and a man looked back at them. He was around forty with short brown hair and pale eyes and as he looked into the screen, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"At last…someone can hear us! This is the Cassandra-Aurora, we are a medical ship en route to earth and our systems are failing…we cannot signal back to the colony for help, something is blocking us. Who are you, and can you help in any way?"
"I am the Doctor," he said, "THE Doctor, the Timelord from Gallifrey known to earth for many centuries…I may be able to help you. I need to come aboard and take a look at your main system."
Relief shone in the captain's eyes.
"The Doctor! What luck, of course we know of you…the history books are full of accounts of all you have done for the earth…thank you so much, I will lower shields at once. And I'll let Dr Bailey know you're on the way. I'm in charge of the flight crew, she runs everything else…I'll have her meet you when you board. Can you land your Tardis on Deck Two? Most of the ship is closed down, we're making the flight home with minimal crew, the ships going back for maintenance."
The Doctor nodded.
"Tell Dr Bailey I'll be with her very soon," he replied, and then he closed the channel.
Ace watched as he keyed in a flight path to the ship.
"Are you sure you should be doing this? Maybe we should wait until the Tardis tells us what's wrong with you."
"That could take a while," he replied, turning dials and pressing buttons, "And that ship can't stay in orbit like that forever."
He activated a lever and the Tardis wheezed and groaned in its familiar way and the view through the window of outer space beyond melted away, replaced by a solid steel wall as the Tardis landed on board the Cassandra-Aurora.
The Doctor paused for moment, both hands on the console as he rested, drawing in a slow breath as he tried to fight off the pain that flickered through his body.
"This won't take long," he said to Ace, "They've probably got a small glitch with their flight program…if I can repair it, we can be out of here in an hour and on our way to Earth…by the time we get there I'll know what's caused this reaction."
"Why Earth?" Ace asked.
He picked up his umbrella and headed for the door of the Tardis.
"Because I can't be certain what's wrong with me," he said quietly, "And if it's serious I can't be flying about the galaxy with you on board, it wouldn't be fair if the worst happened."
As the Tardis door opened Ace stared at him.
"No," she said defiantly, "Whatever happens, I'm with you. I'm not leaving you, Professor."
And she took hold of his hand and gently squeezed it.
"I'll never walk away from you," she promised, and her words warmed his heart more than he cared to show.
"I know that," he said fondly, and then he reluctantly let go of her hand, laying aside their new found closeness as he left the Tardis and stepped out into a wide passageway with metal walls and a tall ceiling. Ace joined him and paused to close the door of the police box.
"You must be the Doctor! A man of legend! This is such an honour!" said a warm female voice.
Ace turned from the door of the Tardis to see the Doctor raise his hat and then smile at the woman who stood before him in dark, tight fitting clothing. Her chestnut hair fell to her shoulders in waves and her dark eyes sparkled.
"It's a real pleasure to meet you too," she said, and Ace felt a prickle of envy as she noticed the way the Doctor looked at her so intently. She was sure she had never noticed any suggestion of him flirting with another woman in all the time they had travelled together, but of course he had…she just hadn't noticed, or been so aware of it. Now she felt as if she would be envious for the rest of her life, because she had only just caught sight of the mildly flirtatious look about his eyes.
"…And this is Ace," he said as he introduced her, "Ace, this is Doctor Carla Bailey."
Ace turned to him and lowered her voice.
"And you fancy her."
The Doctor smiled and shook his head.
"Pleasure to meet you," said Carla, and shook her hand.
"Ace is my fiancée," he added, and seeing the look of surprise on her face made him smile again and almost forget the pain he was feeling.
"I'll start by taking a look at your main system," the Doctor said, "I'm hoping I'll be able to fix the problem so you can be on your way."
Then he drew a handkerchief from his pocket and paused to wipe sweat from his face.
Ace had barely noticed as she thought about what he had just said.
"Did you mean that?"
He glanced at her.
"Of course I did - if you lose that unnecessarily jealous streak of yours!"
"I'm sorry Professor…" Ace began
"This way, Doctor," said Carla, and lead the way to the main control centre, and the Doctor quickly followed.
"Wait for me!" Ace called out, and ran to catch up with him, partly because she envied Carla Bailey, but mostly because she had realised the Professor had actually called her his fiancée, and the more she thought about it, the bigger her smile became.
