rec [fic]: Don't Worry Ace, I'm Only Dying by Kate Orman

[justmcshane]

 Rec bingo (card!) for the second row, fourth column prompt: 'it's not what it seems'.

Title: Don't Worry Ace, I'm Only Dying

Creator: Kate Orman

Rating: None given. I'd say it's Teen and up. 

Word Count/Length/Size: about 700 words

Summary: So. There was the phone. What was it you were supposed to do, exactly?

Characters/Pairings: Seventh Doctor, Ace McShane

Warnings/Notes: Violence, death.

Reasons for reccing: I tried to find a non-Wayback Machine link for this story, but I could not. Which is really quite a shame, because, in addition to being very hard to find, it's also very good. (And yes, this is the same Kate Orman that wrote several excellent Doctor Who novels, and if you don't know who she is, you really really should go and find out. I'm very fond of Unnatural History.) I've found a few examples of her earlier fanfiction work scattered around, but this one in particular grabbed my attention from the beginning. Maybe it was the title (because honestly? Nothing can top that title), or maybe it's the simple yet emotionally piercing prose. It's only a snapshot of an adventure - clearly, a lot more happened before this story takes place, and there will be a lot that takes place after - but it's all that's needed. I wish I could say more here, but it's such a short story that I'll inevitably end up spoiling something if I do.

(God, I love Kate Orman.)

Link: http://web.archive.org/web/20010228222824/http://209.164.116.107/archive/fiction1-99/dying.txt