Chapter 7
"So tell me what brought you back down here."
Ace blew on her hot tea and sipped it.
"The Professor thinks who ever poisoned him is on board this ship. He asked me to check out this archaeologist bloke…he seemed normal enough to me. But there was something about him that seemed a bit…I dunno, creepy? "
Karen smiled.
"Lots of people come across as a bit odd for many different reasons – we can't label them would-be murderers because of it!"
"I know that, but he just seemed…fake?"
"Perhaps he is. Or not. Who knows? Maybe you should keep away from him, just in case he is involved. I'm sure when the Doctor's feeling stronger and he investigates, the truth will come out. But it might be better not to throw accusations around just yet. This toxin, you said it was destroying his ability to regenerate?"
Ace frowned. She had been so distraught on their last meeting that she couldn't recall what she had said about the toxin….
"I think I said that, yes, it's attacking his Timelord DNA."
She arched an eyebrow.
"Then surely it would have been designed in a lab. In order to make a weapon like that, the person who created it must have extensive knowledge of such things – and would need access to Timelord blood in order to develop it."
Ace stared at her.
"You think someone from Gallifrey did this?"
Karen looked at her intently.
"What's the Master up to these days?"
Her jaw briefly dropped as she looked back at the security guard.
"How could you know about him?"
Karen answered the question without hesitation.
"He's well known to Earth security forces, listed A1 on their most wanted intergalactic terrorist list. It's public knowledge. I was just wondering if the Master had something to do with it."
The Master was a name Ace had not heard for a long time, bringing back dark memories of Perivale and how the place had been stalked by a large black cat that took her friends one by one as they were drawn into the pull of the Cheetah Planet. She knew she would have been lost to its influence too, had the Doctor not persuaded her to turn away from the urge to fight…
"He tried to make the Doctor fight him. But he refused. He left him to die on the Cheetah Planet."
"And knowing the Master he doubtless had some kind of plan to get out."
Ace shook her head.
"The planet was breaking up. He's dead. He is dead."
And then she fell silent for a moment, turning over many thoughts as she considered Karen's theory.
"But I suppose if he did get off that planet, he would have been affected by its power, changed…"
"And he would have needed to combat that change…perhaps using chemistry? If he could flush that from his system who says he can't develop a toxin capable of killing the Doctor?"
Ace stared at her again.
"You're not a security guard, are you?"
Karen smiled.
"I've been many things, Ace. Here, I'm a security guard and I'm just making some observations."
Ace was still looking at her.
"I want you to meet the Doctor."
"I will," she agreed, "But not right now."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm on duty. Now maybe you should go back to the Doctor before he starts to worry."
Ace got up.
"You're right… I've been gone for ages! I don't want him to worry about anything, I just want –"
"To keep him safe?" Karen smiled.
"Yes," Ace replied, feeling as if the woman may as well have read her mind, "Yes, I need to do that. So I'll see you soon, then?"
"I'll be around," Karen promised, "Now you had better get back to your Professor. He needs you."
Now Ace could only think of the Doctor and how long she had been away.
"I'd better go," she said, and then she left the room, quickening her pace as she made her way through the closed food court and back to the lift.
The Doctor was having a nightmare:
The Tardis was on fire.
They had crash-landed and flames licked across the console, blackening controls as the heat made the metal walls start to buckle and glass roundels blew out. Smoke filled the air and he coughed and turned around, looking down the long winding Tardis corridor as he called her name, but heard no reply.
The heat was stifling and as the flames grew nearer, the Doctor stumbled on through the smoke, going deeper into the ship, still calling her name:
"ACE!"
A cold fear swept though him along with the thought that she was already dead, that he would never see her again. He looked back to see flames had covered the exit, he was too deep into the vast interior of the ship to find his way back out now, but at least he would find Ace, at least he would die clinging to her, he would not be alone.
He didn't want to die alone…
That thought woke him with a jolt and he snapped his eyes open.
"Ace!" he called weakly, and tried to sit up but his body felt too heavy to comply.
Then he recognized Dr Carla Bailey, who was at his bedside. She had placed her hands gently on his shoulders to keep him still as she looked down at him.
"It was just a bad dream. You've had surgery to remove some infected tissue from the bite wound. Do you remember?"
He blinked and slowly focused on Carla's face, recalling how he had been set to leave - until she had found the infection. Then he felt a mix of relief and fear; he had not been trapped in a burning Tardis searching for Ace, that had been no more than a nightmare. But recalling the reality of his situation made him feel as if he had simply swapped one bad dream for another…
Tears filled his eyes as he weakly spoke again.
"I want Ace…"
"And you will see her very soon, Doctor. Try and take some deep breaths and stay calm, you need to rest."
He looked up at Carla as fear remained in his eyes.
"Why do I feel so weak? I thought it was minor surgery…"
"It was supposed to be," she told him, "But when I opened up the wound I found the toxin had gone much deeper than I first thought. I had to remove some tissue and use a laser to burn out the worst of it. I'm sorry, I couldn't go any deeper because it would have been too risky. For now the implants are holding the toxin at bay, but only by a fraction. Obviously this means the implants will not work for much longer. You will feel stronger soon, but it won't last. I can't say how long you have left, Doctor. I'm truly sorry, I'm trying everything I know to save you and I'm sorry it's not enough."
He was not caught between waking and sleeping now, and had understood every word she had said.
"I'm sorry," she said again, and took hold of his hand.
The Doctor dragged in a sharp breath and gave a sob, and as he quietly wept, Carla ran a gentle hand over his hair and then wiped his tears away.
"You will feel much stronger in the next hour," she told him, "I can help with any pain you may be experiencing, but there's nothing else I can do. Please make the most of the time you have left. And tell Ace. Tell her the truth."
The Doctor drew in a couple of deep breaths and blinked away the last of his tears.
"I'm not in pain," he said quietly.
"That's because I gave you a shot just before you woke up," she replied, "The wound has been sealed and covered with a dressing and you should remain pain free for around eight hours. I've got some pills you can take, it will wipe out the discomfort when it starts to return."
"What happens when the implants fail?" he asked in a hushed voice.
"When the toxin overcomes the signal, I'll have to remove the implants. Then you will be moved to isolation –"
"No," he said, looking into her eyes as he spoke with final determination, "I want to be with Ace. I want to leave in the Tardis with Ace. I'll find a quiet planet where I can stay until the end, it's my life and if it's ending I demand to choose the place to die – and it's going to be on a peaceful world, and in her arms."
Then he wondered why Carla was blinking away tears.
She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and let go again.
"If that is your wish, I wont stand in your way."
Then she leaned over him and kissed his cheek, another gesture he had not expected.
"I wanted to save you," she said, "I still do."
He managed a smile, purely because he hated seeing her so upset.
"Thank you for trying," he told her, "You did your best."
She stepped back from his bed.
"I'm sure she won't be long. She's probably gone for a walk to kill some time…she doesn't know you've had more surgery yet."
"What's happened?"
They both tuned to see Ace standing in the doorway. She looked utterly devastated to see the Doctor back in bed and looking so pale and weak.
"What's happened?" she demanded, glaring at Carla,"What have you done to him, you said he was well enough to leave –"
"Ace!"
The Doctor had summoned enough strength to raise his voice, and now he looked weary for it.
"The bite wound was badly infected. She had to remove some tissue. You should be thanking her, not yelling at her!"
Confusion briefly clouded her eyes, and then Ace went over to the Doctor's bed and looked at him sadly.
"So you're okay now?"
She had sounded as if she was pleading for him to agree.
"Tell her," Carla said quietly.
Ace turned sharply to her.
"Tell me what?"
The Doctor shot Carla an angry look that seemed to contradict his weakened state, then he took hold of Ace's hand and she looked back at him.
"What's happening, Professor?"
She sounded scared.
That decided it for him; he would not tell her everything yet…
"Dr Bailey just wants to be sure you understand the seriousness of my condition. The implants are holding the toxin at bay, but only just. I'll be feeling stronger soon. Then I'm going back to the Tardis to see what the computer can come up with. I still haven't given up on the analysis turning up something Carla's technology may not be able to spot."
"But you're going to be okay, I mean, you're not going to -"
"Die?" The Doctor forced a smile.
"Of course not, Ace. You worry too much!"
Carla gave a sigh as she shook her head.
"You can leave the hospital as soon as you feel well enough. But don't leave the ship without telling me first, you may need to take some pain meds with you."
Then she left the room quickly.
As Carla walked out, Ace turned back to the Doctor.
"What's wrong with her?"
"She's just frustrated that she can't eradicate the toxin from my system. I'm not surprised; it's got to be alien manufacture – very hard to destroy. A bit like me."
And he smiled again, and so did Ace.
The Doctor then settled back comfortably against his pillows and looked fondly at her.
"So did you find the archaeologist?"
Ace nodded.
"He seemed okay – a nice bloke. He told me he grabbed this flight because he found some valuable cave paintings to take back to earth. But there's something about him. I don't know what it is, he seems innocent enough but I just don't feel comfortable around him."
The Doctor looked at her intently.
"That's something worth considering, your instinct could be right."
"But I don't think he's got anything to do with the toxin – he was shocked when I told him what happened to you."
"He asked about me?"
"You're the Doctor, he's from earth. Why shouldn't he have heard of you?"
Ace had made a valid point.
"I'll make up my mind when I meet him," he told her, and he cautiously sat up.
Ace looked worried until he smiled, and one look in his eyes told her he was already regaining his strength.
"I'm getting dressed now," he told her, "It's time I got up."
"And there was something else – I was talking to Karen –"
"Karen?"
"She's a security guard, she had a theory –"
The Doctor was too busy struggling quickly into his clothes to listen.
"Tell me later. I've got other things on my mind. I want to get out of here before something else goes wrong and I'm stuck in bed doing nothing for another day! Where's my shirt?"
Ace was smiling as she handed him his shirt, and she carried on smiling as he started to get dressed, noticing he was definitely showing no more sign of weakness now.
"I need to go and speak to Carla Bailey," he said, "And I want you to go back to the Tardis and wait for me there."
Ace looked at him in surprise. The Doctor was showing much more energy now he was slipping into his shoes and zipping up his trousers and grabbing for his shirt.
"What's the rush?"
"No rush," he replied, and then he looked down at his shirt, realised the buttons were in the wrong holes and laughed, opened the shirt and carefully closed the buttons again, and then he grabbed his question mark jumper.
"You seem in a hurry. Why do I have to meet you back at the Tardis?"
He put on the jumper and smiled.
"You'll see!" he told her brightly, "Just go there and wait for me."
"Sounds mysterious," Ace replied, but she smiled again as she saw a sparkle coming back to his eyes once more.
"Just do it, Ace. I'll explain later."
Ace cast a curious glance back at the Doctor, and then walked over to the open door way.
"See you back at the Tardis," she told him, and then she left the room.
The Doctor slipped on his jacket and straightened his tie, then turned back to the bed and snatched up his hat and umbrella.
He paused for a moment as he put on his hat, and he thought about the decision he had just made as he had been lying in bed coming to terms with bad news. His mind was made up now, he knew what he wanted to do and he was going to do it, and although he was yet to tell Ace the whole truth, he knew Carla was right about one thing:
He had to make the most of the time he had left, and that was exactly what he intended to do…
Carla Bailey was not difficult to find.
Her office was a short walk down the hall from his room, and as he knocked on the open door she looked up from a computer screen and surprise registered in her eyes.
"Doctor?" she exclaimed, "What are you doing here? I thought you couldn't wait to get back to the Tardis…"
And she got up from her desk and walked over to him, and he tried not to think about that kiss they had shared or the way her dark clothing clung to her curves as she moved. He liked her, he was also grateful to her for the determined fight she had put up to try and save his life. His feelings for her did not diminish the love he felt for Ace, but he knew what he thought about Carla was definitely something private that needed to remain unsaid, for the sake of all he held dear, especially now, when time was so short…
"I'm going to study what the Tardis can make of the toxin," he told her, "And I'll have the results translated into English so you can take a look at it too. I haven't given up."
She started to smile.
"Neither have I."
The Doctor looked at her intently.
"Don't make me false promises, I already know the situation inside out and it's no better from any angle I look at it!"
"There may be another option," she told him, " I was just looking into it…The antibacterial agents in the sealant spray are proving effective at sealing your wounds."
"For twelve hours," the Doctor reminded her, but his pessimistic tone did not dampen her mood.
"So if I could come up with a much stronger cocktail of chemicals to destroy the toxin, or at least diminish it significantly, you could stand a greater chance of survival, perhaps its not a cure but it could certainly extend your life significantly if it proves effective. I've been running through a list of possible drugs and it's looking like a viable possibility."
The Doctor looked at her doubtfully.
"You want to pump me full of toxins to destroy a toxin?"
"It's a chance."
"I need to think about it," he said, "I'm guessing it's going to be debilitating. If it doesn't work I could spend my last days in pain when I could be enjoying them with Ace instead."
"Just think about it as an option. And talk to Ace! She needs to know."
He looked away for a moment, but when he looked back at her no trace of anger showed in his eyes.
"That's up to me. It's all up to me."
"And I hope you make the choice that's right for you," she said kindly, "If there's still a chance you should grab it while you can."
"Let's wait until I find out what the Tardis makes of it the toxin," he said to her, "Then I'll think about what happens next. And I didn't come here to talk to you about this, I wanted to ask something else."
"I'm listening," she replied.
And the Doctor explained his plans.
She listened, and then she nodded.
"Of course, if that's what you want, I can arrange it."
"I was thinking about today," he added, "I'm not wasting time, I can't afford to."
"Fine," she said to him, "And I take it you will be telling her the truth before anything else happens?"
The Doctor glanced at her and then looked away.
"Of course I will, " he replied quietly, "And it's nothing to do with you, that's between me and Ace."
"Well I'll make arrangements," she told him, "And I'll give it a couple of hours – hardly enough time really, but you'll need to explain everything, won't you?"
The look in her eyes was questioning.
The Doctor forced a smile.
"I'm going to talk to Ace," he replied, "I'm doing it as soon as I get back to the Tardis."
Ace was already in the Tardis, she had gone straight to her room and left her rucksack on her bed before taking off her coat and then the rest of her clothes and standing under a hot shower, where she stayed for a while, wishing she could wash away her problems as easily as the hot water ran over her body.
When she got out she dried herself and then opened up her wardrobe and run a hand over the rail of clothing, deciding after all he had been through the Professor deserved to see her in something that would catch his eye and perhaps make him feel a little better.
Then Ace's gaze fell on a pale yellow dress that she had never seen before. It was made of silk and shimmered in the light as she took it off the hanger and looked at it. She went over to a full length mirror and held it up against herself, feeling surprised that it suited her so well – the sleeves were long and the skirt came just below her knees, the cleavage swept low, but not too low, and was embroidered with gold thread. She had found new items appearing in her wardrobe before – gifts from the Tardis – but never anything as pretty as this. Ace was not the kind of girl to go for delicate, overly feminine clothing, but this dress was just right.
"Thanks," she said, and she heard a vague hum in the background, as if the Tardis had known she would say that on finding it.
She looked down and smiled at the sight of a pair of matching shoes with low heels. She picked them up, went over to the bed and placed the shoes on the covers next to the dress while she paused to put on underwear, and then she slipped on the dress and the shoes and went over to the mirror, and she smiled again.
"This is a nice surprise, " she said, "The Doctor will love it!"
And then she heard a door close heavily.
Ace ran to her own door and opened it.
"Professor?"
"I'll be with you shortly…just stay where you are."
His voice had come from somewhere in his own room, and then she heard the sound of running water.
"Do you want some help in there?" she called out.
"No, I'm fine, I just want to have a bath and change my clothes before I do anything else. I've been ill, sweating, and bleeding and I don't smell too good either! I just need to get cleaned up. I won't be long."
"Okay…" she replied, wondering why he had not invited her in, and then she went back into her own room, stood in front of the mirror and began to brush her hair, deciding the dress alone was not enough - she wanted her hair and make up to match her outfit, she wanted to look her best, because that would really help the Professor to forget his problems for a while…
The Doctor had bathed and thought about putting on another of his duplicate suits along with another question mark jumper, but instead he had decided on a dark suit with a dark red waistcoat. Ace rarely saw him in different attire, but today he wanted her to see him looking his best, even though he knew he didn't look quite so good with his clothes off – before dressing, he had paused to turn and inspect his upper body in the bathroom mirror, and he had seen the heavy dressing on the back of his neck and the many implants fixed to his body, a visible reminder of the truth.
He still didn't want to tell her.
But after carefully combing his hair to cover the silver implant fixed to the side of his head, the Doctor opened the door of his room and called to Ace.
He heard her footsteps a short distance away and he went back inside and took in a slow breath.
His mind was made up now.
He was going to tell her everything, because he had to – time was running out…
Ace stepped into the room and as he looked at her his hearts skipped a beat.
"You look lovely."
Ace smiled, noticing he was wearing a different suit.
"You don't look too bad yourself, Professor."
He took her by the hand and led her from the bedroom into the library, where a fire was burning warmly and the firelight cast a soft glow around the room.
They sat together on a sofa near the fireplace and the Doctor looked into her eyes.
"Professor?" Ace asked, "What's this about? Why are you being all mysterious, I'm not sure I understand what's going on?"
He drew in another deep breath and looked down, avoiding her gaze as he began to speak:
"It's not a question of if the implants fail, its when. It was never a long term solution. I was hoping Dr Bailey might come up with a cure but I just checked the analysis of the toxin and the Tardis can only identify eighty percent of the formula – there's an unknown quantity that can't be identified. I've got one chance left to prolong my life – Carla thinks she can put some drugs together to hold off the toxin's progress. But it won't be forever. Eventually the toxin will take over and kill me and my ability to regenerate. I'm dying, Ace. I'm dying."
She said nothing.
As he turned his head and looked at her, he saw tears had filled her eyes.
"No…" she said in a voice choked by tears, "No, you can't be –"
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I kept hoping for a miracle so I'd never have to tell you, but it didn't turn out that way. Please don't cry, not now, not today."
He reached out and brushed away her tears, and then looked deeply into her eyes as he gently took hold of her shaking hands.
"Ace," he said softly, "There's something else I need to say, and it's important."
She was still distraught.
"You should have told me – I needed to know –"
"And now you do –"
"But you hid it from me –"
"And I'm sorry! Please listen to me, this can't wait!"
She blinked.
"What can't wait?"
"Ace…"
He fell silent for a moment, pausing to gather his thoughts.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she said again, sounding hurt.
"Ace, I'm trying to –"
"You should have told me!"
He gripped her hands tighter, looking into her eyes intently, holding her gaze as he raised his voice sharply demanding no interruption.
"Dorothy McShane."
She stared at him. He always called her Ace, never by her real name…
He had her attention now.
He kept a tight grip on her hands as he spoke again, this time softly:
"Dorothy McShane," he said fondly, "Give me your hand."
Ace stared at him.
"Professor…you're asking me to –"
"Be my wife," he said, "Today, Marry me today…"
