Chapter 8
Ace had said nothing as she looked into the Doctor's eyes.
She just kept on looking at him, remembering every moment they had ever spent together, every nightmare, every adventure, every moment of his crazy paving life, shared with her – and then she gave a sob and put her arms around him, clinging to him as she wished she could hold him forever and defy the sickness inside him that was slowly snatching him away.
"Ace?" his voice was trembling, "Ace…say something, please…"
He ran his hand over her hair as she held on to him, and then she drew back and looked into his eyes.
"Of course I will!" she said tearfully, "I'll marry you, Professor! I'll marry you and look after you until…forever, I'll be with you, I love you."
And then as she held him again, he closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of her hair as he felt relieved to know Ace would be his wife, and at the same time sadness filled his heart as he wondered how long they would have together, and he wished he had asked her a long time ago, so they could have had more time:
Time had meant little to him as he had travelled the universe in the Tardis – until he had found out the very thing that used to be at his fingertips to use as he wished, was finally running out…
A short while later they stood side by side in a private room on the upper deck that had been set aside for the occasion.
Ace had often wondered if she would marry one day, and what her wedding would be like.
She had not imagined it would happen out in deep space in a plain metallic room while she sat beside the Doctor and the ship's captain held the ceremony while Carla Bailey and one of her medics sat in the room to be witnesses to the occasion.
They exchanged their vows quietly, and when Ace repeated the words In sickness and in health, her voice trembled, but she held it together, because she was determined not to break down and sob in the middle of her vows.
She had no idea where the rings had come from, both were plain gold bands that were on the table in front of them in a dark velvet box, and she slid the Doctor's ring on his finger easily, but he had not been so careful, his hand shaking as he took up her ring, then he dropped it and it hit the floor and rolled but Carla reached down and grabbed it and handed it back to him as his face flushed.
"Sorry," he said, and turned back to Ace and as his hand still trembled, slid the ring on to her finger.
Their vows complete, he leaned closer and kissed her, and then he smiled.
"I love you Ace," he said softly.
"Love you too," she told him, and then she kissed him again.
They got up from their seats and walked out of the room hand in hand, and again Ace thought how she never would have guessed her marriage, when it did happen, would be so rushed, so low key, it was nothing like she had expected, but then she looked at the Doctor and she knew in her heart she had done the right thing – she had married the man she loved, and it was all he wanted to do before he died, to make her his wife, and that made perfect sense to both of them…
Carla joined them in the corridor, smiling as she noticed they were still holding hands.
"Congratulations," she said, "I expect you'll want me to disappear now – I don't want to take up any more of your time, I just wanted to remind you, Doctor – don't leave the ship without letting me know. I'm working on the drug therapy idea and as soon as I come up with a treatment plan I'll be letting you know. Have you decided what you want to do?"
He looked back at her and said nothing, shaking his head as he wondered if she ought to have brought that subject up now, moments after he had married Ace.
"Yes he will do it," Ace replied, "As long as you're confident the analysis the Tardis came up with can be helpful."
The Doctor turned his head sharply and felt no pain thanks to the shot Carla had given him a short while back. He glared at his new wife.
"That's up to me, Ace!"
But this time he saw no startled look in her eyes as he remained visibly angered.
"I'm your wife now," she reminded him, "I want a say in decisions that affect your life. If there's a chance she can help you to live longer, I want you to take it."
"I'm not discussing it now," he said to Carla, "Take a look at the Tardis report on the toxin and see what you think. We'll speak more tomorrow."
And then he let go of his new wife's hand and pointed towards the end of the deck with his question mark umbrella.
"I'm going back to the Tardis," he said to Ace, "I hope you're coming too."
And then he walked off, without her.
Ace wondered if she ought to have said nothing about Carla's offer to try a new treatment, and then she wondered if their wedding night would be spent quarrelling over it.
"I think I've upset him…"
"It's been a very emotional day," Carla reminded her, "Just go easy on him."
Her remark reminded Ace she had a question that needed asking before she joined the Doctor in the Tardis.
"Dr Bailey…" Ace paused, feeling awkward, "This toxin…is it okay for us to…I mean, are we safe to –"
"It's not contagious," Carla assured her, "The toxin is designed to attack Timelord blood. It stays within the victim; it's not transferred by touch, or via body fluids of any description. The only risk is how weak he is, so remember he tires easily. He may seem almost back to his usual self but he's not. He's very fragile, even though you can't tell by looking at him."
Then she smiled.
"So don't wear him out, and don't let him wear himself out, either!"
Ace returned her smile.
"I'll take good care of him," she promised, and then she turned and walked away in the direction of the Tardis.
Ace found the door of the police box ajar, and she pushed it open and stepped inside.
"Professor?" she called out, but got no reply.
She closed the door behind her, and then turned back to the console hearing the familiar hum of the place, yet some how it seemed at a lower volume than usual.
She made her way out to the corridor, and paused by the door to his room.
"Professor?" she said softly.
And he opened the door.
He looked at her fondly as he smiled. His jacket was off, his tie was off and his waistcoat was open and he looked tired all of a sudden.
"Sorry I snapped at you," he said, "I just heard her talking about more treatment and I thought about how futile everything else had proved to be and I panicked…I didn't mean to be so sharp. Come here."
He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, and in that moment she knew she was forgiven.
"I didn't mean to try and push you into something that you didn't want to do –"
"Shh…"
He briefly placed a fingertip on her lips.
"It doesn't matter now," he told her, "My choices are limited. And all I want to do is stay alive to be with you. That's my aim now."
Ace felt hopeful once more. Anything had to be worth a try, even if all other treatments before had failed…
"As long as we have hope, it's all we need," she said.
The Doctor took hold of her hand and led her into his room and closed the door.
"Let's not talk any more about my problems," he said, "I want to forget everything."
He had led her over to his bed, it was big and looked soft, the lights were dim and the drapes around the four posts and the canopy above it cast the room in a gentle shade of restfulness as a fire glowed in the hearth across the other side of the room.
"Come to bed," he whispered, sliding his hands over her hips, feeling her through the fabric of her dress, "Let me hold you and be with you and forget everything but you."
They sat down together on the bed and as he drew her closer she hesitated.
"We need to be careful…not too much excitement."
The Doctor thought about it for a moment.
"Don't worry, Ace," he said, "I'm aware I'm many centuries older than you, and with much more experience in the bedroom – but I think you'll survive!" And his eyes sparkled playfully.
Ace laughed, and then he pushed gently on to the mattress and took her in his arms.
For a while, they could both forget everything.
He had kissed her as his hands gently slid over her body until their kisses had grown more passionate – and then he had reminded her that he could not lay on his back because the cybernetic implants were painful, and after some shifting about and Ace discovering the importance of pillows in the right places, they had shared their love tenderly, slowly, and then afterwards as the Doctor slept, Ace stayed awake, her arm draped around him as he lay on his side snoring lightly.
She watched him sleeping, reached out to gently brush a lock of dark hair off his face, and then she leaned closer and kissed his cheek.
"I love you Professor," she whispered, "I love you so very much…"
And the Doctor, exhausted from the exertion of making love, slept on soundly.
Two hours passed.
Then the Doctor turned on his back, frowned as he felt discomfort from the implants set close to his spine, and he opened his eyes.
He looked at Ace and smiled warmly.
"Sorry I fell asleep so soon…I'm not usually like that, I just feel so tired."
And then his smile faded.
"Eventually I'll be too weak to do this with you…I don't want to think about that…"
Ace shifted closer and rested her head on his shoulder as he put his arm around her.
"Then don't think about it. Just think about you and me, and this moment."
But the Doctor had started to think, and his expression had become serious once again.
"I don't care how hopeless it seems – I'm not giving up without a fight. There has to be a cure for this thing."
Ace recalled her conversation with Karen.
"The security guard I spoke to –"
"Oh Ace, what does a security guard know? I need a scientific opinion –"
"But that's what I was trying to tell you – I don't think she is a security guard."
The Doctor blinked. His eyes widened and then he sat up in bed, alert as his mind turned over many possibilities.
"Tell me now, I'm listening."
Ace sat up too. The covers slid down to her waist and his gaze briefly wandered over her body as he wondered if he had rested long enough to take her in his arms again, but then he cancelled that thought as she began to explain.
"She was working down in the retail section. I just sort of bumped into her. She seemed to know about you and me. I told her about the toxin and she said the Master could be behind it. She said, to create a toxin to kill a Timelord, the person would need access to Timelord DNA."
"But I left him on the Cheetah Planet, and the planet was breaking up!"
"But if he got away, he would have used his knowledge to counteract the power the place had over him, he would have eradicated it – using chemistry, that's what she said. She seemed to know a lot about him, and she said I should keep away from Morgan Vanrik, but I'm not sure why –"
"What did she look like?"
His question had taken her by surprise, he was fixing her with a dark, intense stare as his voice filled with urgency.
"Well, normal, not alien…"
"No, Ace – what did she look like? Describe her, this is important!"
Ace thought for a moment.
"Tall, slim, long blonde hair tied back…why?"
He ran his fingers through his hair, and then he scratched his head.
"Let me see...who is she…" he muttered, and then he started to smile.
"Yes, of course!"
He snapped his fingers.
"I think I've got it. Come on, we're getting up – we need to pay a visit to this security guard!"
And he got out of bed and opened up his wardrobe, taking out a spare suit that was a duplicate of his usual attire.
He paused to look back at Ace.
"She's on our side, but he's not. If I'm right, Morgan Vanrik doesn't exist. Get dressed, Ace. Dress for a fight, you'll have to forget this is our wedding night. And bring your bat, you might need it."
Ace got out of bed.
"Are you sure about this? Because I met Vanrik, he's real…I've spoken to him…"
As the Doctor put on his shirt he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror, and saw a body covered with cybernetic implants, a reminder of all the pain he had suffered because of one man, and his face darkened as he recalled his old enemy.
"He's not Morgan Vanrik, it's a disguise. He's the Master, I'm sure of it. Get dressed, Ace. We've got work to do."
She nodded, saying nothing, and then she hurried from the room, trying to forget this was her wedding night as she hoped the Professor was right about his theory…
"Hurry up!" the Doctor called out.
He was standing outside her bedroom door, and the door was open, and as she stepped into a tight fitting body suit that looked like a sleeveless cat suit but also had a bullet proof coating, she tugged up the zip quickly.
"You've seen me naked, we've had sex – more than once – and you're waiting outside while I get dressed?"
He glanced in as she grabbed her rucksack and stuffed her baseball bat into it, and he briefly smiled.
"If I came in we wouldn't be getting much done tonight, Ace. Hurry up, I want to get to the bottom of this poisoning. If it is him, he wouldn't be stupid enough to develop a toxin like that without creating an antidote in case he was accidentally exposed to it."
Ace suddenly felt a spark of hope for the Professor. She left her room and as she joined him in the Tardis corridor, her eyes lit up with optimism.
"We'll find the antidote first."
"First?" he asked, "And then what?"
The look in her eyes turned to one of anger.
"And then I'm going to kill him for what he's done to you, and for disturbing us on my wedding night!"
"Let's just find this security guard first, then we'll deal with the Master. And you know I don't like the idea of killing anyone."
Anger still raged in her eyes.
He thought about the hell he had gone through because of the toxin, and then his own expression darkened once more.
"Perhaps, just this once I'll make an exception to that rule!" he said in a low voice, "Come on Ace, let's go…"
And they made their way up the corridor, through the console room and stepped out of the Tardis, and headed for the lift that would take them to the retail floor.
As they stood together in the lift, the Doctor glanced at Ace and noticed rage was still burning in her eyes.
He didn't blame for feeling like murder; he was pretty close to it himself, as much as the thought repelled him. He had always thought violence was never the answer, that a peaceful solution was always the preferred route to solving a problem, no matter how big that problem may be…
But since he had suffered such pain and had the experience of learning even a Timelord's life could be cut short, he had truly grown to hate the Master in a way he had never known hatred before. He now saw all his potential lives ahead of him dashed away, his current incarnation spent in pain until his death – all because an old enemy wanted the ultimate revenge…
Yes, today he could easily lay aside his principles.
Killing the Master was not such an abhorrent idea now…
"You're thinking about it," Ace said quietly, "I know you are, I can feel it… I can see it in your eyes. You want him dead too."
"Maybe," he replied, "But right now I just want to know there's an antidote. I'm saving myself before I make my mind up about his miserable life!"
And then the lift came to a stop and they stepped out into the dimly lit retail sector.
Ace led the way through the closed down food court as the Doctor cast a glance around, looking into the shadows for that which could not be seen by the glow of the electrical lighting.
"I think he's been here," he said darkly, "I can feel him, a trace of him…"
"I thought I saw someone on the second level last time I came here, but Karen checked it out –"
"And he was gone?"
She nodded, and then confusion filled her eyes.
"How would you know that?"
"He was watching you. I don't like this, Ace. I don't like it at all…"
"Why would he be watching me?"
They stopped walking. Anger burned deeper in the Timelord's eyes as he answered her question.
"Because he knows you're with me. It's not enough for him to kill me, he wants to harm you too! And I won't let that happen!"
Her eyes softened as she looked at the man she had just married – it was still strange to think that the Professor had suddenly become her husband, one moment they had been friends whose love had deepened and the next they had married quickly with little ceremony about it, because he was dying. She could see reminders of how weak he was just by a single glance; his face was pale and shadows hung beneath his eyes. But his eyes still burned with the fire of a life that refused to give in and be snuffed out. Her Professor was determined to fight, and now he knew who the enemy was, she hoped it meant the fight had just become that little bit easier…
"Remember you're not very strong," she said, "But I am. I can fight for both of us if I have to."
"And I've no doubt you will."
They both turned to see a woman step out of the shadows.
Ace breathed a relieved sigh as she recognised her at once.
"This is Karen," she said to the Doctor, "The security guard I told you about."
And she looked to Karen as she spoke again.
"Tell him what you told me – about your theory about the Master."
She stepped closer and looked down at the short man in the question mark jumper and smiled.
He looked up at her and smiled back.
For a moment all trace of his anger, along with all thoughts of the Master, had disappeared.
"It's been a long time," he said warmly, "A very long time."
She untied her hair and it tumbled long and fair past her shoulders as she smiled back at him.
"It certainly has, Doctor! You've changed a great deal –"
"I've had a few regenerations along the way," he replied.
And Ace felt confused, along with a slight rising of the green-eyed monster as she noticed a warmth pass between them, like an old spark re-igniting…
"Who are you?" she demanded.
The woman smiled and looked back at the Doctor.
"I'll let him explain," she said.
The Doctor smiled at her again, which made Ace prickle with envy, and then he told her everything:
"This is Romana, a Time Lady from Gallifrey and my travelling companion several lifetimes ago."
"Oh…okay." Ace replied, unsure if her feelings of jealousy were justified or not.
Then the Doctor frowned as he turned back to her.
"But that was when I was in my fourth life – what brings you here?"
"Well our Tardis picked up a signal, from a time not too far from this time and place – a change in the timeline, a rather big change."
She paused, glancing around to be sure no one else was about to hear here, and then she continued:
"This ship is the Cassandra - Aurora. In the original timeline it exploded just before it reached earth. But of course, the Tardis was not on board. We were passing through this time zone and our Tardis picked up a signal to suggest a future Tardis was on board the ship – yours. And something else is on board, too…if it's a second Tardis, it's well cloaked against scanning material and possibly has an active chameleon circuit because it's not visible to our systems."
"So your Tardis could have been dragged into this trap instead of mine?"
"No," Romana replied, "The Doctor – my Doctor – already looked into that possibility. There was a distress code sent out – to be received loud and clear on your frequency only. What's happened, have you and the Master had a bitter fight?"
He recalled their battle on the Cheetah Planet.
"Something like that," he replied, "He's wanted me dead for centuries any way."
"I decided to come over and warn you. I'm due to leave soon, the Doctor wants me out of here, and way ahead of the explosion. "
"What causes it?" he asked.
"I don't know," Romana replied, "Historically, it's a mystery. A sudden explosion most likely triggered by the self-destruct command. That's all that's known about it."
The Doctor recalled the images that had flashed through his mind before he collapsed while working on the main system.
"A ghost ship…I knew there was more…an explosion in space...that's what I was remembering! This ship is destined to self destruct before it reaches earth!"
Ace stared at him.
"So everyone on board is going to die? We can't let that happen!"
"Perhaps not," he replied thoughtfully, "We have yet to uncover the reason why…Do you know how long we have until the disaster?"
"Twenty four hours," Romana replied, "As of now."
And she reached into her pocket and drew out a small golden disc that began to flash.
"I'm gone soon. Be careful – Vanrik is the Master, he's disguised beneath cyber skin."
And she looked to Ace.
"You were right not to trust him."
Ace felt cold shoot through her blood as she recalled how close she had been to him, how she had sat with him and poured out her troubles…
"I feel sick!" she exclaimed, and turned away and wandered over to a seating area, where she sat to take some deep breaths as she tried to rid herself of the feeling of shock that had washed over her.
Now there was a distance between Ace and the Doctor, Romana stepped closer and lowered her voice as she leaned a little closer to his ear.
"Choose wisely, Doctor. I've travelled forward in time and heard whispers about you, about the Seventh Doctor and the decisions he makes. I also know the path you walk is not an easy one. The Master would rather die than hand you the antidote. It's going to be a struggle for a while, but eventually, there is hope. Don't give up. And please think before your heart makes decisions you may regret. This ship exploded with all on board lost, it happened for a reason. Don't change history, remember ripples through time can have consequences."
And then as she looked at him, compassion filled her eyes.
"I'm sorry for your struggle. But in the end, it will be worth it. Stay strong and remember Ace loves you."
The Doctor was speechless as he took in all she had said.
Then she embraced him tightly.
"Stay strong," she reminded him, and then as she let go and stepped back, the device in her hand flashed, and the glow became brilliant white, and she disappeared.
Ace got up from her seat and walked over to the Doctor, looking at the spot where Romana had stood.
"What did she just say to you?"
"She warned me about the future," he told her, "That's all…we've got twenty-four hours to find the Master and the antidote."
And he turned away and headed for the lift.
Ace ran to catch up with him.
"But what else did she say?"
The lift doors opened and the Doctor glanced at Ace and he wished he could tell her everything. But as much as he loved the woman who was now his wife, he was not prepared to tell her more than she needed to know, because he already saw fear in her eyes.
"Nothing," he replied, "She just told us to be careful."
And then they entered the lift and the doors closed and the Doctor hit the button for the staff quarters, and as the lift descended he said no more about Romana's warning of all that was yet to come…
