Full Moon, Full Moon

"What do you mean, you're a werewolf," said the Doctor flatly, his cup of tea falling out of his hands to land with a clatter on the small coffee table that Ace had temporarily cleared of papers and notes. Hot dark liquid sloshed over the sides, splattering the cheap wood, but neither of them noticed. Ace winced a bit, and took a sip from her own cup, trying to avoid his eyes.

"It's a bit complicated," she admitted. "I'm not even one hundred percent sure if a werewolf is what I am."

The Doctor sighed. "Let's take this from the beginning. Why, exactly, do you think that you're... a 'werewolf'."

She could practically hear the quotation marks around that last word, and steeled herself for what was coming. It was hard enough accepting what was happening at face value, but telling someone else all about it and hoping that they'd believe you... well. That was a different thing altogether. It certainly was a good thing that she had a friend like the Doctor on hand.

"I have no idea where to start," she told him, staring into her half-full cup of hot water and soaked leaves with added cow juice.

"Try the beginning," he suggested, raising his eyebrows.

Ace took a deep breath, and adjusted her jacket around her. She exhaled slowly. "A couple of days ago, it was the last day of the full moon, right? I didn't think anything of it, and I went out with some mates. It was fun, I guess, but the important bit was what happened afterwards."

The Doctor waited for a moment. "What happened afterwards?" he asked, when Ace showed no sign of continuing.

"Honestly? I have no idea. All I know it that I crashed at Benny's place overnight, and when I woke up in the morning, I was lying half-naked in the forest, feeling like several steamrollers had taken turns going over me."

The Doctor's face displayed several emotions very quickly in succession, before closing off, and becoming blank again. "A nasty experience, for anyone," he said, a twinge of concern still lurking beneath the façade. "But what makes you think you're an- er, werewolf? Are you sure it wasn't... well-"

She caught his meaning instantly, beneath the awkward skirting around the subject, and almost laughed. "No, Professor, I'm fairly sure that someone didn't molest me and dump me out there. It didn't feel like that. Trust me, I'd know."

"Hm," he said, and finished what remained of his tea in one gulp. "Hm."

"Exactly," she said. "And to add to the evidence, Benny complained about her front window being smashed to bits. She wants me to pay for the damage."

He stared at the wall for a full minute, humming under his breath. "As far as I can tell, with my limited experience with werewolves- and by that, I mean practically none at all- the best course of action would be to wait until the next full moon."

"Brilliant," groaned Ace, head falling down to collide with the table. "And what if I spontaneously turn into a big furry mutt sometime during the rest of the month?"

"Then at least we'll know that something's wrong," he said, entirely seriously, before flashing her a brilliant smile. "Come over to my house in twenty-eight days. Until then, I'd advise you to keep away from the silver cutlery."

"Very funny," she said sarcastically, raising her head from the table. She paused. "Actually, I've never been to your house. Where do you live, anyway?"

He reached over for a blank sheet of paper, produced a ballpoint pen out of nowhere, and scribbled down an address. He pushed it in Ace's direction, and she picked it up, reading it. She frowned, and looked up. "Wait a sec, this is in-"