"You're looking well, Professor."
"Thank you, Ace," the Doctor replied, raising his hat politely to the maid who had just brought in their tea.
"I like the new threads."
The Doctor looked down at his tweed jacket, patterned waistcoat and check trousers as if seeing them for the first time.
"My other clothes got ruined," he explained. " A very nasty business. I'll tell you about it, sometime."
Ace smiled slightly as she poured the tea. "It was a nice surprise, seeing the TARDIS parked by the fountain this morning," she commented.
"Well, I did promise to visit."
"And I'm glad you did. It's always nice to see you."
They both smiled, fondly remembering past adventures. The Doctor was the first to break the silence.
"Ace, I've got something for you."
"And it isn't even my birthday!" she quipped.
The Doctor reached into his inside jacket pocket and produced a small package that looked like it had been wrapped in the dark.
"I never was much good with paper and ribbon," he said, handing it to Ace.
"Too busy worrying about saving the world," she replied, removing the ribbon to reveal a small box. Inside the box was a necklace with a blue stone at it's centre. The stone glowed slightly.
"It's a fragment of blue crystal from Metabelis Three. I picked it up on a recent visit."
"It's beautiful," breathed Ace, her eyes drawn into the depths of the crystal.
"And very rare," the Doctor told her. "In fact I thought they had all been totally destroyed."
"I'm glad this one survived," Ace said, holding the necklace up so the blue crystal caught the sunlight.
She got up from her chair and hugged the Doctor. He looked a little uncomfortable as she pulled away. She laughed lightly.
"It's not just for you," he said. "It's for your decendants as well."
Ace glanced down at her stomache then back up quickly. The Doctor was grinning at her.
"How did you know?" she asked. "Only Alexie and I know and we only found out a few days ago."
The Doctor tapped the side of his nose with one finger. "Time Lord intuition?" he tried innocently.
They both laughed at that. "It will be our first," Ace told him.
"I know," he replied. "Will you pass the gift on to her? Or him."
Ace gave him a sideways look. "How much do you know?"
"Nothing, honestly," he said, raising his hands in mock surrender. Then his face became more serious. "It should be passed on to the first born of each new generation. Promise me, Ace."
"I promise. Now, what is this all about? What are you keeping from me?"
"Nothing," he repeated. "It's just a little insurance for, or should I say against, the future."
Ace sighed. "I don't suppose there is any point in asking you to explain that." The Doctor shook his head. "Thought not."
The Time Lord smiled at her and gestured to the table between them. "Come on,Ace, the tea's getting cold."
She lifted her cup and looked into his eyes.
"There's something else, isn't there?" she asked.
The Doctor looked uncomfortable for a moment, then sighed.
"Did I ever tell you about my fourth regeneration?"
"When you fell off a radio telescope while dealing with The Master?" He nodded. "Yeah, you did. You met a future you, didn't you?"
"My companions called him The Watcher. He was a sort of amalgam of my possible future selves."
"And?" promted Ace.
"And, since then I've dreamt of The Watcher just before each of my regenerations. On my way to Androzani Minor with Peri and again when I promised to take Mel to The Eye of Orion."
Ace nodded. "You've had the dream again, I assume."
"Yes, last night. I wanted to visit you one last time. As myself, I mean."
Tears were starting to form in the corners of Ace's eyes. "You mean I"ll never see you again?" she asked, her voice cracking.
"Of course you will," The Doctor reassured her. "I'll just look different."
"How different?"
"Impossible to tell. But I do know two things."
"What's that?"
"I'll still be The Doctor. And I'll still be your friend."
"Good," she said, getting up to hug him again. This time he didn't look uncomfortable when they parted.
"You'll visit us, of course?" she asked.
"Of course," he replied. "Didn't I once tell you that alien swords are ten a penny, but Ace's are rare?"
She laughed. They embraced once more and he turned to go.
"Doctor?"
He turned and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Take care."
He smiled. "Always, Ace. Always."
Next: The Visit
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