Author's notes: My 1st real story up. Tad bit excited. So, enjoy and I hope to find more 7th Doctor fans out there! -BBC owns all

*Recently revised and kind of self-beta-ed if possible*

REVERSION PART 1

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The entire world shifted. This was not a normal event on most evenings.

Ace was thrown off her bed and quickly rolled across the room. The new tilt of the floor sent her slamming into the metal chair. Clothing of various types of cleanliness tumbled onto her as she struggled to catch her breath, along with something sturdy.

"Oi! Brill' wake-up!" Ace shrieked, her hands freeing themselves from the death grip on the chair's legs. Pushing the clothes off her, she got to her feet and stumbled to the door. All the while, trying to get her brain to realize that, yes indeed, the floor was no longer a floor as much as a wall.

The TARDIS door creaked open, revealing more of the same shift in the corridors. A distinctive wheeze echoed towards her.

Ace's stomach churned, she felt a warmth under her skin and suddenly it all was put right. She knew it was all still tilted, but, the Cheetah virus had slipped out.

"Professor!" She shouted, her voice slurred by the fangs. Her bare feet slid her down to the lowest point on the wall and she crouched there a moment.

Sweat began tickling the back of her neck, the TARDIS seemed to be getting warmer. She started to straighten, the TARDIS disagreed with this movement. It swiveled the corridor to further complicate things. Ace fell back into a crouch again and ran across the doors that once had lined the TARDIS walls.

Ace didn't have time to worry about her sneaky transformation, and rather, jumped over a stray coat rack. Sure footed, she ran as the hall continued in wobbling indecision.

Her feet hit the quickly warming metal and she saw the lights switch to a pale amber, almost a sickly colour.

A door below her feet opened, Ace scrambled over it, stumbling as she landed beyond it. She spun and popped her head down the door."Hello? Professor?" Her voice echoed in a room that was completely pitch. Backing slowly from the open door, she watched it close of it's own accord.

Turning her attention back to the corridor ahead of her, she saw all the doors were opening and closing.

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"Something's gone very wrong." His 'R's' growled a little as he spoke. The Doctor's fingers clutched to the control as he hung over the wall below him.

The door on what was now the floor, opened. Ace climbed through it. Her motions smooth as she approached below him.

"What's wrong now, Professor?" She quipped, her eyes scanning him with a hint of amusement in their yellowed depths.

"Quiet Ace! Now's not the time..." He announced, his back was beginning to drip sweat and his fingers were losing their grip. "Look out below!"

She obediently moved and allowed him to fall the 10 feet to the wall.

He noticed her eyes probing him still. "Ace, we have more important things to worry about!" Snappy, he scurried over to his umbrella, dropping to his knees. Using the tip to pry the cover off one of the circular designs now underfoot. "Pop as many of these off as you can, Ace."

Sweat dripped into one of his eyes and he dabbed it away with his arm. It did little good though, because his flesh was already moist there too. His fingers scrabbled at the edges of the circle until it was free and looked into the mass of wires.

There was a loud 'clang' that shuddered the whole TARDIS. "Cloister bell?" He muttered, his hands deep into the colour coded wires. He spared a glance at Ace, who had been doing as he asked, and was now crouched in a tense position a few feet away. Watching him.

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Ace saw him swipe at his forehead, trying to staunch the seemingly feverish flow of salty-liquid that had soaked his hair and under arms. She tilted her head a little. Her cat-eyes letting her see the warmth on him as a slight blur around his body. It was just a shade of deeper amber then the lights that now darkened the TARDIS.

She wanted to lighten the mood with a quip, but, the Doctor looked so frustrated and panicked. His upper half had been shed of clothing except a white under shirt, while his lower half was sock-less and his braces were absent.

Now that she thought about it, his clothes were in a heap across the room on the floor…or, wall rather.

She straightened, hair standing on her arms. His head lifted, with one of those, 'I'll figure it out, don't worry' smiles. It was his way to cover the fact he was almost scared.

Ace closed her eyes a moment, packing away the fright and the Cheetah virus influence. Blinking a few times, she adjusted to the nearly black room. The amber lights must have been fading and her eyes had been compensating for it.

"Can you see?" She slipped her away around the exposed holes. He nodded and gave a mild grunt, moving to the hole to his right. Ace knelt next to him, watching his fingers twitch over wires.

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The Doctor leaned back on the heels of his feet as the lights began to flicker back on. "Ah, good girl!"

He reassured Ace with another smile, the wall began to tilt him backwards. "Oop! Look out, Ace!" He tumbled to the floor, ducking the hubcap shaped covers.

He took a moment to recover his senses before sitting up. There was still a slightly pink-ish milkiness to the lighting.

"What's going on, Professor? I woke up to the world going all topsy-turvy. Not to mention, a serious power outage!"

"I don't know yet." Evasive, his voice was a bit rough. He pulled himself up, with some help from the control panel, and then offered Ace a hand.

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Ace felt his skin hit hers, and she frowned. "Professor, your skin feels like you've been playing with the sun!" She pulled away. He'd never broken such a sweat before, if anything his skin was always cool to the touch.

He looked at her blankly. "Oh?" It appeared to have dawned on him that he was out of sorts at the moment.

Ace watched a hand wander his damp hair, tracing his fingers through the dark , his attention turned to the TARDIS, hands flying across the consoles. "No, no, no!" He was swift, his actions displaying his worry.

"What is it?" She peeked over his shoulder at the multitude of flashing buttons.

Even though she had no idea what most of them did, the fact they were all blipping colours at the same time was probably not a good thing.

"I'd rather you weren't breathing down my neck." He was frowning, his eyes flashing as he peered at the console. She backed away. He looked awful.

He slowly focused on her and the corner of his mouth twitched with a small smile. A handkerchief was produced from his pant pocket and he mopped his brow.

"Nothing to worry at Ace. I was up late-" He trailed off, and reached over to tap her nose. "-just a silly nightmare. Got myself worked up. The TARDIS was just over reacting." His tone was jovial, but, Ace was watching his eyes. He was lying to her again.

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The Doctor watched the console room door shut behind his young companion. She'd almost put up a fuss, she was concerned; he could see it in her bleary eyes. He leaned against the central control panel, he needed a moment to sort this out.

He felt his knees lock, forcing him to retreat to the floor. It was too humid. The metal was hot to the touch. Pain trailed along his stomach, hunching him over. A spasm caught him off guard, it ran down his spine, he arched in attempt to ease it.

Another twinge pulled his stomach into a knot and he moaned as it ran along his sides. He ended up bent in half, clutching his waist, trying to catch his breath.

The TARDIS was thrumming beneath him, sending the waves of empathy to him. It wasn't doing any good though, he felt a pipe burst beneath the floor he was sitting on. Smoke seeped between the tiny cracks in the metal panels. She was not doing well either.

The pain moved to his shoulders, he tried to roll them to make sure it wouldn't get unbearable.

The Doctor's eyes flew open. Ace burst into the room, her eyes wide and feet shifting on the hot metal. "Professor! There's smoke pouring in from the walls and I swear it wasn't Nitro this time!"

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Ace crouched, the Doctor was shivering. He'd slipped downwards, flopped completely on the floor. Ace noticed the lights in the TARDIS dimmed as he seemed to go unconscious. "Professor?" She felt her voice squeak in a childish manner, she swallowed to rid herself of the fear clogging her throat.

Ace felt a cold tingle, panic. She wasn't expecting a reply, so, when one came, she started a little.

"Have we landed yet?" His voice was low, as if conspiring towards something, but, his eyes were dilated and unfocused.

Ace scowled at him, "You scared me half to death!"

"Yes…" His voice trailed off.

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The Doctor saw his companion's face harden as he awoke.

"What is going on, Professor?" Her question was a demand and the Doctor had to think a moment.

Truth or lie? Truth or lie? Ah, the elusive -if not completely honest- half-truth.

"Just a nightmare, like I'd said, hmm?" He winced as a twinge of pain cut through his chest. The TARDIS floor was now far too hot to sit on. His bare skin was going to get blistered if it got much warmer.

She was jumping, trying to not scald her feet. "At this rate all my Nitro is going to go off!"

Another burst of smoke leaked out of the floor beside her, it was coolant. The frost lined the edge or the small rupture in the floor only a moment, before melting, then, evaporating.

The Doctor realized that was indeed a possibility, the Nitro could explode, if it got much hotter.

His hands began tampering with the controls again. But, the knobs were hot. The switches were steaming. The rotor was wheezing.

The fact the cloister bell had stopped…it was becoming worrisome.

His stomach sent a wave of pain and he closed his eyes. What was this? He hissed through his teeth as a sharper pain came, right behind his knees. It threatened to make him collapse again. Muscle spasms.

"Somehow, that's not reassuring…" He growled as he felt his fingers burn on the console. "I'm trying to reroute power from the unused sections of the TARDIS to gain environmental support again and get the coolant flowing more efficiently to correct the damage of the..." There really was no need to tell Ace, she would find out in due time. But, a little reassurance was needed sometimes.

"Professor-" Ace was standing on his jacket, no longer hopping. He gave her a short glance.

"Not now, Ace!" He spat the words at her. A spark from his internal control switch sent a jolt through him. A shower of multi-coloured lights spewed out, and the light flickered in the ceiling above.

The Doctor wrapped his hands around the lever that would begin emergency support and pulled it down, before he could jerk his hands away.

The TARDIS began tilting again. "Oh, no you don't…" He whispered to her, freeing his reddened hands from the lever and switching the stabilizer on.

"I'd rather not end up on my head, unless it's my choice, thank you." He curtly told the old girl, waiting for her to react. The tilting began to get worse. In exasperation, he wailed his fist on the console.

Normality was restored.

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Her wits, (as well as the loads of Nitro-9 in her room) couldn't have taken much more of that heat. She knew the Doctor hadn't wanted her storing mixed Nitro in the TARDIS without his being aware. Besides, this latest batch was a real head turner, and she wanted to surprise him-

"I do hope you realize before we died of the heat, we would have blown up. Poof!" He made a hand gesture to remind her of the explosion.

How did he know what she was thinking? Was it some kind of Time Lord 'I will be, so I am' thing?

"It would have been a jolly big surprise though!" Ace muttered, attempting wit to get him to stop scowling at her. She gave him a small smile, and he only closed his eyes and sighed.

Ace drew out of her thoughts, the Doctor looked shaken. Suddenly flushed again. "Oi, Professor, you look awful." She tentatively stepped off his coat onto a floor that was cooling rapidly

He was always in control, wasn't he?

"A man always does with out his jacket and brolly." His voice was spry, and he regarded her with bright eyes. Not so much bright as…moist. Glittering with liquid, like he was about to cry.

Ace tilted her head a little, "You should go to the infirmary-"

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He raised both hands, "Not now. I have to figure out what's going on."

His hands were trembling a little as he held them up to cut his young companion off. He had no coat to tuck them in, so he brought them down quickly, hoping she hadn't noticed. Having Ace tweedling him for information was not the most pleasant of options.

"Professor."

He softened a little. If he did go to the infirmary, perhaps... he could get something, just to lessen the pain.

"Alright. If it makes you feel better." He drew out his 'R' in his first word and gave her a small smile. She responded with a bigger one, teeth and all.

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The Infirmary was still, warm and sticky. The stickiness was from all the little vials smashed on the floor. Powders and colorful liquids were drizzled up the walls.

"You need a maid, Professor." Ace quipped, her eyes never leaving him

His eyes looked up and surveyed the mess. "I take it you're volunteering?"

Ace gave a cheeky grin, "Not a chance, me in one of those stupid outfits? 'Sides, this room's just getting homey." Messy was organized in a certain way. If it was on the floor, you knew where it was.

"You need some aspirin or… somethin'?" Ace offered, heading back to where he'd climbed onto a bed.

A sharp snort made her back up. A chuckle. He shook his head carefully. "No. No aspirin, thank you -" He paused, seeming to collect his words. "- allergic, I'm afraid."

Ace felt her eyebrows rise. "You're allergic, to what? Aspirin?"

"There should be a milky grey liquid in the wall. It says 'The Healer'. Fill a syringe-" His words squeaked out on the last part and he winced again, his body tensing, back arched. The TARDIS was responding, lights flickered, a wheeze came from the air ducts.

"How connected to this heap are you, Professor?" She wondered if the 'keep them talking' thing was applicable right now. And just maybe, he would actually let on what was happening.

"Very." An elusive reply.

Slightly disappointed, Ace fumbled with the latch on the wall, pulling out several vials, all labeled, 'The' something.

There it was.

Ace saw a syringe roll towards her from an upper shelf and she caught it before it went shattering on the floor.

The Doctor was watching her with scrutiny, he reached out for the vial and needle. Ace was about to comply, when she saw his hands were quivering. "Maybe, you should let me do this bit."

He seemed to notice the problem, and nodded. "Half-full, into my arm. Gently, if you can…"

Ace watched him tense again. Alright, play nurse it was.

"If I can blow things sky high, I can do this." Ace said with a fading smile.

The Doctor's eyes had finally released a trickle of liquid. "You'll do fine, Ace." He nodded, flipping his arm over to bare a dually pulsing vein.

Metal, through skin, into vein. Yeah, her medical training stopped at plasters and aspirin, and now one of those was out of the game.

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The Doctor watched the approaching tube and nodded again to Ace. Keep her calm, let her be calm.

Her fingers splayed over the flesh of his upper arm, pulling it a little taunt. She glanced at him. A jolt of what felt like electric made him shudder, his entire torso urging him to fold up into a ball and whine for a while. Ace was backing the needle away.

"It's not you, Ace."

Her eyes locked onto him, he could see her loyalty flair. He'd asked, she would comply, she was 'watching his back'. As always.

She pressed the needle down, looking at him for reassurance. He nodded grimly as she pressed harder, finally pushing it in. He wanted to yelp, she'd made it worse by taking her time. He watched 'The Healer' empty into his body.

It was a swift jerk, the needle was out and blood followed it. Ace gave a slightly more confident smile. "Plaster! I can do that bit."

The Doctor felt a bit of relief as the medicine pulsed through him. "My body will settle again. Just need a bit of rest. Both of us do, don't you think?" He tapped her nose and hopped down to the floor. It was a good drop.

He'd last been in here when he was a lot taller.

"No more nightmares, though. You nearly made us into the next big-bang!" Ace said sourly, although she was still smirking.

The Doctor laced an arm over her shoulder, and nodded to the door. "Who's to say we weren't the 1st?"

Author again: I hope I have the voices right. I try to be sure I can see the actor (Or actress) saying the line. I have the feeling this will be a bit long, so a few more chapters to come! Enjoy!