Chapter 5
Ace was comfortable, even though she was on the edge of his bed and sleeping out of pure exhaustion brought on by worry for the Doctor.
Her head was on his shoulder, it had slipped there as she slept on and she had briefly stirred, felt the rise and fall of his chest, and then remembered as long as he was breathing easily she could hold her deepest fears at bay, and then she had slid back into sleep, comforted by the scent of his skin and the warmth of his closeness.
Even as she slept, she knew he was weak and she knew his life was still in the balance.
But in her dreams they had just stepped out of the Tardis and all around were green fields and a sky that seemed impossibly blue.
"It should be morning around now, on earth," the Doctor said, briefly pointing his question mark umbrella towards the horizon, "Birds singing in the trees, waking to a new dawn, tides rolling back and forth from the shores, the planet turning from darkness into light just as it does every morning. The sun will be shining and that world of yours will be waking to another day with no threat of alien invasion. I love your world, Ace."
And then he turned his head and smiled. She smiled back at him, thinking how much better he looked here, in this other world, this place in her dreams where the toxin couldn't ravage his body.
"I just want you to wake up and be well again," she said, "I don't want you to die, Professor. I'd be lost without you."
"There's a planet not too far from here," he said, looking back to the horizon, "It's called Sabra. It's uninhabited but it will be the next human colony planet after Eden Earth. But for now it's an unspoiled paradise, it would be prefect for me… it has natural warm springs that have healing properties. I'll take you there one day…"
She felt an ache in her heart as she shook her head.
"You can't go anywhere, Professor. You're too weak."
He stepped closer and looked into her eyes, and then as the gentle breeze blew he brushed her hair off her shoulder and then pulled her close.
"We will go there one day," he whispered, "It can be our heaven. You and me…if you want to come with me."
"I do want to," she told him, and he ran his hand over her hair as they stood together on the wide green space beneath an impossibly blue sky as Ace wished the dream was real.
"We will go there," he said again, and this time his voice seemed clearer, as if he was speaking right into her ear.
Ace opened her eyes.
She was still on the Professors' bed and her head was resting on his shoulder.
"Did you hear me, Ace?" he asked her.
For a moment she didn't move, she stayed beside him with her head on his shoulder as he stroked her hair.
"I was saying," he continued, "About the planet Sabra. It's a beautiful place. I'm going to take you there one day, Ace."
She raised her head from his shoulder and stared at him.
"Does that sound like a good idea?" he asked, "You and me, the only two people alone in paradise?" And then he smiled and playfully touched her nose.
"I've had enough of the ugly side of the universe," he added, "It's time I showed you its beauty instead. And I will, one day, when the time is right, when I'm out of this bed and back on my feet…that's what I'm aiming for, that's the plan."
Ace started to smile.
The Professor looked so much better and stronger now. He was still pale, but he was wide awake and felt warm and showed no sign of discomfort despite his ordeal.
"I had a dream we were on a beautiful planet," she said to him
"I was just telling you about a beautiful planet," he replied, "I was talking to you for a while but you didn't want to wake up. I think you might have been dreaming. I hope it was about me."
And then he smiled and gave her a wink.
Ace laughed as relief shone in her eyes and she put her arms around him and gently hugged him.
"I've been so worried about you!" Tears were glazing her eyes as she looked at him, knowing at once the surgery had been a success, because he was showing no trace of the weakness that had caused his collapse.
"You don't need to do that," he told her, "Carla did a good job – this ought to fix me for a while."
Her smile vanished.
"I thought it was a permanent cure?"
"I meant until I can find a better solution," he said quickly, covering up his mistake, "It's nothing to worry about."
And then he sat up and grabbed the needle buried in the back of his hand and quickly tugged it out.
"You shouldn't be doing that –"
"I know what I'm doing," he replied, rubbing at the back of his hand, "I'm strong enough to get up without falling down again. That's good enough. Get my clothes, I won't achieve anything sitting around in here."
Ace went over to a metal locker and opened it and took out the Doctor's suit and hat. As she handed him his clothing she frowned.
"I'm not sure you should be doing anything yet. You don't realise how ill you've been!"
He met her gaze, and gave her a look that seemed to go right through her.
"Yes I do," he replied in a low voice, "I'm fully aware of my situation."
And then he grabbed his clothes and started to get dressed.
As the door opened and Carla walked into the room she stared in disbelief at the Doctor, who was half dressed and reaching for his shirt.
"You can't get out of bed so soon!"
As he faced her and turned his back on Ace, she stared at the row of metallic discs that ran the length of his spine.
"Professor-"
He put his hand to the back of his neck, found the wound was still covered and that turning his head caused him mild pain once more.
"Keep out of this Ace."
"But Professor –"
"I need to speak to Carla!"
Ace was still staring, and he had no clue why, nor did he care as he looked back at Carla and briefly held on to his neck for a few more seconds as the pain vaguely throbbed, and then he let go.
"Yes, the implants have worked. Thanks for buying me this time and now I have to use it wisely! I've been doing a lot of thinking and I've come to the conclusion it was no coincidence your systems stopped failing around the time the Tardis came on board! I've been poisoned by a dangerous toxin and your ship happened to be nearby – in distress, and so I answered the call!"
Carla shook her head.
"I don't understand –you encountered the toxin on the colony planet –"
"And came straight there! I think who or what ever decided to poison me had your ship figured in the plans – we've both been set up, Dr Bailey."
Her dark eyes were filled with confusion.
"But why my ship? I can understand you've no doubt got some enemies, Doctor – but I'm a top rated surgeon who runs a centre of excellence. You have no links to any rival companies who might want to grab the Eden Earth contract."
As he replied his voice darkened.
"Perhaps it's not a business rival. Perhaps this goes deeper. The cost to refit a vessel of this standard, to enable it to become permanently docked at the colony, must run into billions. Who paid for it?"
She hesitated.
"Myself and three other partners - and a passenger who needed urgent transport back to earth. He paid a substantial sum towards the refurb costs in return for the journey home and a ten percent stake in the company. It was lifesaving as far as business goes, Doctor, his money enabled me to book the refit and won me the contract."
The Doctor felt a slight chill as something wet trickled down his back, and he shivered.
"Professor –" Ace had spoken quietly, and he detected something in her voice that suggested something was wrong, but he continued to ignore her as he spoke to Carla.
"Who is he?" he said darkly.
She thought for a moment, and then she shook her head again.
"I can't give out sensitive information, this is not relevant at all…"
"Oh yes it is!" he snapped, and the sharpness of his tone took her by surprise as she looked back at him with startled eyes.
"You think he's the one who poisoned you?" she exclaimed, "No Doctor, no…he's an archaeologist, he found some ancient cave paintings on a neighbouring planet and had them removed to take back to earth. He said the paintings are worth a vast fortune both financially and culturally."
"Who is he?" the Doctor asked again.
"Dr Morgan Vanrik, " she replied, "And he has nothing to do with the toxin!"
"You can't be certain."
The Doctor shivered again and pain vaguely registered on his face as he drew in a sharp breath.
"Something's wrong…"
Ace went over to a dispenser on the wall and ripped off a paper towel, and then she folded it and gently patted it against his back.
"I've been trying to tell you, but you didn't listen!" she said, and her voice sounded tense.
The Doctor turned around and she handed him the towel. It had been crisp and white, but was now stained scarlet.
"You're bleeding," she said in a hushed voice, "It's coming from under the implants."
Then he felt something run down through his hair and briefly touched the warm wetness and then saw blood on his fingertips.
He looked back at Carla as a trace of fear registered in his eyes.
"I have to spray the implants to artificially seal the wounds," Carla reminded him, "Your body can't heal. It never will."
The Doctor looked back at her and for a moment his urge to fight back against the poisoner was gone.
"I remember, you told me that before," he said quietly, "Sorry I forgot…I had so much on my mind…"
"Lie down, Doctor," she said to him, "This won't take long."
He met her gaze with a look of reluctance, and then complied with her request.
Ace joined Carla at his bedside.
The Doctor's shirt was still off and now he was face down with his head turned towards Ace, and she saw a frightened look was back in his eyes.
"It's a bit of a shock," he said, "Even though I was warned before…it's the thought that I'll never heal… I never knew there was a poison in existence that could do something like this…"
"Neither did I," replied Carla as she paused to put on latex gloves.
"It's okay, Professor," Ace said softly, "We can handle it."
And she looked to Carla, who had taken the top off a small silver spray can.
"This is something we can handle, isn't it? I mean, something I can help the Professor with? He doesn't need to stay in hospital because of this, does he?"
"I'll apply the first dose and then you can do it for him next time he needs it. The sealant lasts around twelve hours, so he's going to need it applied twice a day."
Ace nodded.
"Just show me how it's done," she said.
"I'll start with the largest implant," Carla replied, "Hold still Doctor – and remember this contains sealant and very powerful antibacterial agents to fight off infection, so it's going to burn when it's first applied. Just try and take some deep breaths, the pain won't last."
The Doctor closed his eyes as Carla parted his hair to expose the implant set at the side of his head.
"It has to be applied closely in a single short burst," she said to Ace, and as she applied it the spray coated the implant and the liquid turned white and ran over metal and on to flesh, fizzing as it reached beneath the implant to the open wound.
The Doctor gave a sharp cry of pain and then another, but sounded weaker the second time as pain throbbed.
"It's important to cover every implant," Carla said to Ace, "The biggest threat he faces may not be the implants failing, it could be infection, he's at huge risk of that. If the toxin overcomes the electrical pulse, it will advance and then fight against the antibacterial properties of the spray. If that worst case scenario happens, the Doctor will have to be placed in isolation to protect him from further infection."
She was still looking at the Doctor.
"Ace?" Carla said, "Did you hear what I just said to you?"
And Ace briefly glanced at her and nodded as her eyes grew glazed and she blinked to clear her misty vision. Pain was still registering on the Professor's face, he was shaking and a tear ran from his eye as the sealant continued to burn.
"I heard you…" Ace whispered, and then she stepped closer to the bed and took hold of the Doctors hand.
"It won't take long," she said quietly, "I'm here for you, Professor."
His eyes were still closed as sweat ran from his face, but the fever was gone, this was purely a reaction to the pain.
"I know that," he whispered, "I know you won't leave me, Ace…"
Then he tensed as Carla gently touched his back.
"I'm going to seal the rest of the implants with a single burst along the length of your spine," she told him.
"Get it over with please." The Doctor's voice had trembled as he made his request.
As she activated the spray again, and Ace held on to his hand tightly as she wondered how she could face inflicting such pain on the one she loved, but at the same time she knew she had to follow Carla's instructions; the sealant was potentially life saving and protected him from infection - but even knowing that made the task no easier…
The Doctor was shaking and sweating as she helped Carla to turn him over, and then as he lay on his back he cried out again. Carla applied final bursts to the implant at the side of his neck and then to the one in the centre of his chest.
"Do you think you can handle this?" As she asked that question, she looked intently at Ace, who nodded slowly.
"I have to," she said quietly, and then as the Doctor took a deep breath, his shaking began to ease off as the pain caused by the sealant faded away.
"I'll get used to it," he said, "And you're right, it does fade quickly."
He made a move to sit up and the room lurched violently and Ace caught his shoulders and lowered him back against pillows.
"Don't get up you're not ready…" Ace cast an anxious glance to Carla.
"What's wrong with him now? I thought the treatment had worked!"
"It has," she promised her, "But the pain from the sealant was a massive shock to him – and he's still quite weak."
She glanced at the Doctor.
"I'm going to have some food brought in for you. After you've eaten I want you to rest for a while longer. I'm not letting you leave here until I know you're strong enough."
The doctor gave a frustrated sigh.
"Fine, I'll wait. But as soon as I'm able to leave I'm going back to the Tardis. I want to see what the analysis of the toxin comes up with. And when the sealant wears off I'm going to run a test on a sample of my own blood before Ace gives me a second dose of the stuff. I still think the Tardis can come up with a solution."
"Maybe I should go back to the Tardis now and see what it's come up with, Professor?"
He smiled kindly.
"Ace, you won't understand the information, it's complicated. I'll do it later when I'm out of bed."
She gave a sigh and he caught a look of frustration in her eyes, it was that now old and familiar look that reminded him not to treat her like a child.
"I wasn't patronising you," he said, and the remark had come as unexpected to Ace, who had not expected him to say something like that in front of Carla, "I'm well aware you're a grown woman, I've watched you get older and I'm not surprised the day eventually came when I fell in love with you. And you're intelligent and beautiful, amongst your other fine qualities – but you will not understand the results on the toxin because they will be displayed in Gallifreyan. "
Ace fell silent and nodded.
The Doctor sat up cautiously, and then smiled and as his eyes shone with familiar warmth, Ace smiled too – he had finally recovered from the pain of having the wounds sealed.
"I'll eat some lunch and then I'll rest for a while," he said to Carla, and he reached for his shirt and slipped it on easily now the pain was gone.
"That's great," Carla replied, "I'll tell the kitchen staff to have some food brought up to you."
She turned for the door.
"Just a minute, Dr Bailey…"
She turned back.
"What is it, Doctor?"
"I was just wondering…this guest of yours…Doctor Vanrik… is he staying here at the hospital?"
"No, in the staff quarters," she replied, "The main hotel is shut down like most of the ship, so he has to make do with standard accommodation."
The doctor smiled.
"So this archaeologist fellow has expensive taste, does he?"
"With his kind of money, I would imagine so – but he hasn't complained yet," she told him, "And he's a very private man. So don't go bothering him when you are well enough to get out of bed!"
The Doctor laughed, and then he took hold of Ace's hand and kissed it fondly and continued to hold on to it as he spoke again.
"I won't be going anywhere, Carla. My Ace is going to take good care of me."
"That's nice to know," she replied, and then she left the room.
As soon as Carla had left, Ace turned to the Doctor and smiled.
"That was such a sweet thing to say, of course I'll take care of you, Professor!"
Then she noticed a devious gleam in his eyes.
"Actually I want you to take care of something else while I'm resting," he replied, "I want you to go back to the Tardis, pick up your rucksack – but leave out the nitro nine because explosions on a space vessel can prove lethal – you did think of that, didn't you?"
"I'm thinking of it now!"
"Good," the Doctor replied, "Because I don't want you to do anything remotely dangerous. But take your bat just in case. Then go over to the staff quarters and find out all you can about Morgan Vanrik."
She started to smile again.
"Sounds like a plan!"
"It is!" he said fondly, and then as she turned to leave he caught her hand and pulled her back.
"Come here."
"What for?" she asked.
He leaned in and kissed her.
"Be careful," he said softly as he let go of her hand.
"I will," she promised, and then she walked out of the room.
The Doctor rested against pillows once more as pain vaguely flickered through the wound at the back of his neck and he wondered how long the implants would last, and if he would find his killer before the poison got to him first – and there was still the matter of making a confession to Ace. That was still a thought that filled him with dread, when she found out the harsh reality of his situation…
His only hope of survival was finding the person who produced the toxin, they had developed a poison designed to kill a Timelord, and he hoped this also meant there would at least be evidence somewhere of its composition, that could perhaps be hiding clues to a formula that could serve as an antidote. The clock was ticking, and he knew his time could run out very soon - and still his hearts felt heavy as his thoughts once again turned to Ace:
He hoped she would still love him enough to forgive him when she learned the truth. He knew her well enough to work out that she would feel betrayed, and then he would have to suffer the added pain of seeing her cry for him when she learned that he was dying. He guessed it was no more than he deserved, to eventually have to face the music for hiding the truth...
"I'm sorry Ace," he said quietly, and then he closed his eyes and gave a weary sigh as he tried to rest and regain his strength, and all the while a vague pain flickered at the back of his neck, serving as a reminder that a real recovery from the toxin was highly unlikely to happen…
Ace had gone straight back to the Tardis, and after pausing to see writing in Gallifreyan, and then more scrolling data on the screen set in the console, she guessed the ship was still working on analysing the toxin.
She grabbed her rucksack and paused to take out the cans of nitro nine and leave them in her room.
Then she closed the door and went down the corridor to the next bedroom, where she opened the door to the Doctor's room and paused to stand there looking in:
So much had happened since their visit to Eden Earth.
She had looked forward leaving with him in the Tardis, to waking every day in his arms in this bed in his room, something she had thought of doing for such a very long time, but now all she could imagine was the Professor lying there in pain as she sealed up wounds that would never heal. He had been immortal in her eyes, and now the tables had turned it was hard to accept, to know that her Professor was not as invincible as she had imagined him to be…
But the implants had fixed his problem, at least until a better solution could be found, that was what he had said, and Ace clung to that hope:
It wouldn't be easy, watching him deal with so much pain.
If she was honest about it, the thought of watching him suffer like that would break her heart on a daily basis.
But she would deal with it and help him to cope, and everything would be okay.
At least he was going to live, he had assured her of that…
Her heart suddenly ached sharply for him, and she ran into the room and grabbed at the fabric of a spare jacket he had left draped over the back of a chair. She crushed the fabric in her hands tightly as she brought it up to her face and inhaled the scent of him as tears filled her eyes. Then she let go and smoothed the creases out and straightened up the jacket and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Ace left the Tardis and stepped out on to the metal walkway of Level Two.
The area was deserted as she made her way towards a lift. It was smaller than the one that had led up to the medical centre, she guessed these were the kind used by staff - and she hoped her assumption was right, because if it was, it could lead her straight to where she needed to go…
Ace pressed the call button and the doors slid open.
She got into the lift and heard no electronic voice speak as the doors slid shut once more.
She turned to a panel on the wall and smiled as she noticed labels beside each button, Maintenance, Kitchens, Staff Quarters, Cargo Hold…then she hit the button and the lift began to descend.
She had no idea how many floors she had passed, but the lift glided smoothly and quickly before coming to a stop.
Then the doors opened and she stepped out into a dimly lit corridor.
Here the lights flickered and shadows danced.
Doors ran off the corridor left and right and the whole level seemed to be deserted.
She guessed most of the few staff that were on board for this journey to earth were working, there was certainly no sign of life down here at all.
As she walked slowly down the corridor, she began to try doors but they were all locked. She looked up as the lights flickered but saw no sign of security cameras down here, and guessed that perhaps a good old fashioned lock on the door was the usual precaution to keep rooms secure in the staff area.
Then the lights went out, someone walked on further up the corridor, and the lights flickered back on.
Ace drew in a slow breath wondering if she really had heard a sound somewhere up the end of the corridor, where the lights were now dead and the corridor was swallowed up by blackness.
She carried on walking, feeling thankful the Professor had advised her to go back for her baseball bat, because she had a feeling she might need it - because it seemed that perhaps she was not alone down here after all…
