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It was a jolt in his hearts.
The Master was confused for a moment, worried that there was something wrong with him. He checked his pulses, his lungs and respiratory bypass, checked nothing had failed.
And then it dawned on him, that the problem was far worse than that.
He was vaguely aware- had been vaguely aware that he and the Doctor had never actually closed their telepathic link after Paris. However after, it had become a sort of test of will. A race to see who would break first, who would coward away and close the link.
The Master refused to be that person. It just meant he had to keep better check on where his thoughts ran too, for fear of letting something slip.
It became helpful sometimes, though.
He knew when the Doctor was crying. He knew when the Doctor was smashing things up in a rage. He knew when the Doctor was pretending, and he knew when the Doctor was running.
Annoyingly, this worked both ways too. The Doctor had caught him thinking about her, on more than several occasions, felt his urges to murder her with his bare hands, and cherish her.
The link came with it’s ups and downs, but this was neither.
The Doctor had been hurt.
He could feel it.
Not just that, but this was bad. Whatever had happened to her, she was struggling to get over it.
The Master drummed his fingers on his console for a little while, contemplating going to her. He didn’t know wether he really wanted to intervene. Realistically, the Master knew all the kinds of trouble the Doctor got into, and was sure she’d be fine in a bit.
That was, until, the Master cried out in pain.
His hand went to his chest, and he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, before it subsided.
This was bad. Really bad.
One of the Doctor’s hearts had stopped.
The Master didn’t think twice about it. Stabbing his palm deeply with a free wire, the Time Lord closed his eyes and thought about the Doctor, thought about her hurting, alone. Without him.
His TARDIS set off on its own, whirring and whining.
Drumming his fingers impatiently, the Master encouraged his ship to go faster. He knew he was about to flush all sense of pride and self worth down the drain, but there wasn’t space in his mind to think about that.
The Doctor was in danger. The Doctor was in pain.
The TARDIS jolted to a halt, and the Master strode over to his door, opening it slowly.
He was in a lone corridor, in what looked like a ship- if the blue stripped lighting was anything to go by.
The Master stepped out of his TARDIS, and began making his way hesitantly up the corridor.
His footsteps were loud on the pristine floor, and the Time Lord breathed in, trying to reach out to the Doctor in an attempt to find her.
The door opened when he reached the end of the corridor, and the Master stepped through of it, fingers clasped around his TCE, heavy in his pocket.
The corridor opened out into a larger room, with doors lining the walls- almost like cells.
All standard doors, nothing more than a spin lock.
Still, the one at the end of his corridor was the one that caught the Master’s attention.
Heavy duty metal made up the door, with about seven different locks along the surface, some futuristically technical, some painfully old fashioned.
He stepped towards it, raising an eyebrow.
If the Master had to guess, he’d say the door was maybe six inches thick, probably more.
Nothing wrong with blowing it up then.
The Master grabbed a small explosive from his pocket, taking off the back and sticking it to the door.
He glanced behind him, pressing the button at the top of the small circular device, and stepping back to the other side of the room.
The Master waited.
The door blew, thrown off its hinges and swinging open.
Couldn’t beat explosives sometimes.
When the smoke cleared and the ringing in his ears subsided, the only noise that filled them were quiet groans and whines.
He strode through the room, and pulled the door open the rest of the way.
The Doctor was on her stomach, clearly in the middle of trying to pull herself up, when the door had been blown off it’s hinges.
“Doctor.” He said cooly.
“Mas-“ she tried, heaving with breath. “Wh- what are you doing here?”
“I felt your heart stop working.” He muttered, dropping to his knees and helping her up. The Doctor groaned, and let herself be shifted into his lap.
“Didn’t think you’d- ah- care.” She winced, the Master frowning at her deeper.
He moved a little hair from her face, and took a proper look at her.
The Doctor’s face was twisted in pain- and covered in bruises and scratches. Her lip was cut and her cheekbone purple.
Rage set off like someone had lit a match and set gasoline alight with it.
“Who did this to you?” He muttered coldly, pressing a gentle hand to her forehead and pushing her hair backwards.
“It’s- n- not important. I- I need to find- the- other- my god!” Her back arched, and the Doctor groaned. “How do humans do this?! It is pitiful!” She spat the word, blood flying from her mouth as she cleared it next to her.
“Tell me who did this, Doctor.” He stroked her hair, coaxing her back down.
“No.” She refused.
“Tell me.” He demanded.
“Find the others.”
“Tell me. I’ll burn them to the ground for you, my love, you know I will.” The Master said gently, running his fingers over her bruised cheek.
How dare they. How dare they hurt the Doctor? His Doctor? The only thing he had left- no one would lay a finger on her, if he had anything to do with it.
“Don’t you dare.” She grit her teeth.
“You can’t stop me.” He said gently.
“Yes. Yes I ca- ah!- can.”
“You’re dying, dear, I can feel it. Not really in the position to negotiate.”
She chuckled quietly.
“I won’t regenerate.”
“Yes you will.” He snapped immediately, not even wanting to imagine the concept. The Doctor wouldn’t do that. Kill herself to have mercy on the race that was already killing her? She wouldn’t.
“You wanna find out? Cu- cuz it’s coming. I can’t start my heart again.”
“So let it come.”
“N- no. If I can’t make it start again- I- I’ll stop the other one.” Her words were firm, furious.
“You’re lying.” The Master didn’t sound sure of what he was saying.
“You know I’m not.”
“Let me heal you then.” He offered.
“No. Not until the others are by my side.”
“Fine. Stalemate.” He narrowed his eyes. “What do you want?”
“F- find my friends. Get back here. Let me de- deal with the Jerat.”
“The Jerat?” He raised an eyebrow. “What do they want?”
“To kill the last time lord.” She muttered, wincing in pain. The Master wanted to ask, unpack that, but he knew he didn’t have time. “What do you want?” She asked.
“Prolong the inevitable. And keep this open.” He gently tapped her temple, and the Doctor nodded breathlessly. “How long have you got?”
“I’m thinking..twenty two min- Jesus! Nevermind! Nineteen.” She grit her teeth together, and reached up the pat him on the upper arm. “Go.”
“Keep your promise.”
“Only if you keep yours.”
The Master hated to do it, hated to tear himself away from the Doctor, leave her curled up in pain, but he didn’t have a choice. He’d find her friends, and then he’d make the Jerat pay.
Promises were made to be broken.
He just hoped the Doctor didn’t share that mentality.
-
The Doctor took a few deep breaths in and out, before pushing onto her elbows. Crying out in effort, she hauled herself up onto her knees.
“Are you serious?” She hissed, punching her chest a couple times in hopes to start her second heart. Nothing. Her first was struggling- it wasn’t designed to work on its own. The Doctor knew if she couldn’t find some way to start the other in the next sixteen minutes, she was dead.
Hauling herself up, gripping to the wall, the Doctor cursed herself for getting into this situation.
It had been going fine. The TARDIS had heard something was wrong, and had taken them here. But that had been the plan. The aliens- the Jerat had found a hostage, knowing the Doctor would come at a cry for help.
She and the others had then accidentally run into the hall, miles wide, and filled with the entire Jerat race.
They were a merciless species, as she had discovered when they’d immediately killed said hostage.
She’d demanded to know what they wanted, and they hadn’t held back.
Their leader- President, was what he called himself, had told her that there used to be millions of Jerat, leading peaceful lives with no outward influence from other races. That was until their planet had been destroyed, caught in the crossfire of the Time War.
Then, they had pledged to kill the Time Lords. To make sure her race couldn’t do any more harm.
The Doctor had told them they were already dead, and President had told her she was wrong, that there was still one left.
And if they couldn’t kill all of the Time Lords, they’d have to settle for finishing off the last one. In the most painful way possible.
And then they’d stopped one of her hearts, and left her to rot in a cell until she was on the verge of death.
Her friends had tried to help, but they’d been taken away. The Doctor didn’t even know if they were alive. She hoped, that they were though. And maybe, even if she wouldn’t make it out of this, the Master would take them home safely.
She hoped he’d make it out, wouldn’t hurt them.
As long as he survived, the Jerat lost. It was all for nothing if he made it out. So she would make sure he would.
“Doctor,” she glanced up, from where she was bent double, heaving with breath.
The Jerat was a humanoid creature, regalia similar to the Time Lords, but with plain, black robes and antenna perturbing from their heads.
“I must say,” President sighed, “this is rather pitiful. Especially for a Time Lord.”
“You’re early.”
“Am I?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Still got fifteen minutes.”
“You blew off my door.” He pointed out dryly, and the Doctor shrugged.
“Got tricks up my sleeve.”
“Clearly.”
“Where are my friends?”
“Oh I wouldn’t worry. They’re fine, for now. You didn’t think we’d have the execution of the last time lord without her little companions present, did you?”
-
The Master would have much rather marched up the corridors of this huge ship, but he had to be careful.
If the Jerat wanted the Time Lords dead, he was more helpful not being noticed, rather than blowing stuff up.
He listened for humans. He heard nothing.
So he kept going. The Master knew he had to be quick, knew the Doctor didn’t have long, so he became frustrated after five minutes when he had nothing.
“How big is this pile of junk?” He hissed to himself. “Come on, where are you?”
“Help! Doctor!” The voice cleared his head completely. That was Yaz.
The Master took off quickly down the corridor, hand flat on the wall to keep him guided if he needed to get back to the Doctor.
The Master came up to a door, which opened when he got close. This Jerat lot needed to work on their security.
An identical room, lined with cells like the one he’d found the Doctor in faced him. This one was louder though.
There was an insistent banging on three doors, along with yells of ‘let us out!’ ‘Where’s the Doctor?’ And ‘Doctor!’
The Master wandered over to the first door he saw, frowning at it. A simple keypad. He just had to enter the right numbers.
The Master was out of explosives, and even if he wasn’t, the doors were nowhere near thick enough to protect the person inside, who he was pretty sure was Yaz.
“Hm.” He considered quietly, frowning at the keypad. If this ship and race were dedicated to killing the Doctor, there was one possible combination, but a part of the Master hoped they weren’t that stupid.
‘Doctor’, in numbers. 4153201518.
He inputted it quickly, and rolled his eyes when the door beeped and the light turned green.
He yanked open the door, Yaz tumbling out.
“Doct- Ah!” She leapt back. “You!”
“Yaz?” Ryan asked, stopping his yelling in the cell beside her. “What’s wrong?”
“I should’ve known you were behind this!” The woman glared at him, throwing up an accusing finger.
“Frankly I’m offended. I’m not stupid enough to be involved with this lot.” He drawled, sauntering over to Ryan’s cell and opening his too.
“Is that the Master?” Graham frowned from in his cell.
“Yes.” The Master replied, turning his back on Ryan’s stunned face to open Graham’s cell.
That was until he was slammed against a wall.
“What have you done to her?!” Ryan hissed behind him, pinning his arms behind his back.
“Ryan!” Yaz yelped.
The Master’s jaw set.
“Get off of me, you blithering idiot.” He hissed.
“You killed the Doctor!”
The Master rolled his eyes, kicked at Ryan’s knee and sent the man crashing to the floor. He brushed himself down and stepped back, as Yaz rushed to her friends side.
“Next time you touch me, I’ll kill you.” He muttered calmly, striding over to Graham’s cell and opening it.
Graham stepped out, confused and suspicious, joining Yaz in helping Ryan up.
“I’m not with the Jerat. I came because the Doctor opened a telepathic link with me in Paris, and I felt it when her heart stopped. She told me to come and get you, so I’ve done that.”
“Is she alive?”
“She won’t be in approximately eight minutes, so if you want to hurry this up and stop accusing me of things, I would greatly appreciate it.”
He turned on his heel and started out of the room, back towards the Doctor.
Her companions followed after a moment of hesitation.
“Why is she dying?” Graham asked, hurrying along behind her. “I mean- we manage just fine with one heart.”
“The hearts aren’t the only way Time Lord biology differs to yours.” He answered absently, focusing on going back the right way. The ship was annoyingly similar everywhere. More worryingly though, was the fact that the Master hadn’t seen a single Jerat. Where were they all? “Respiratory bypass, three brain stems. More functions, more places blood has to get too, therefore, two hearts.”
“Three brain stems?” Graham repeated, dumbfounded.
“I don’t understand.” Yaz said. “You were trying to kill the Doctor a few weeks ago. Why do you care now?”
“I’ve always cared. I’d never actually kill her.”
“You don’t try and blow up someone you care about.” Ryan grumbled.
“I care more about her than you do. She may be your Doctor, but she was my wife long before your grandparents were born.”
“Your what?!”
-
The Doctors feet were dragging, as she was carried between two Jerat. She knew that. Her pride wasn’t exactly in tact at the moment, but then again, neither was her body, so she figured she had a good excuse.
Six minutes.
She hoped the Master hurried.
She was dumped, unceremoniously at the feet of President, and she glanced up, recognising the room as the hall. Everywhere she looked, Jerat grinned at her pain.
“Why can’t I start my heart again?” She asked, and President chuckled.
“A poison. You didn’t think we’d been planning this for hundreds of years, for us to make it easy for you, did you?”
“I’m not the time lords that destroyed your planet. Killing me makes you as bad as them.”
President slapped her, and the Doctor didn’t give him the satisfaction of wincing.
“Your pristine race murdered millions of my people. Killing one of your measly kind does not compare.”
The Doctor heard a question in the back of her head, and focused on it.
‘You’re not in the cell. Where are you?’ The Master asked. The Doctor breathed in deeply, focusing on replying. She had to get it right. Even if it did take a lot of her strength.
‘The hall. The others know the way.’
‘Hold on.’
He was gone, and the Doctor’s head ached. She was dying, really dying. And it hurt.
It wasn’t the first time of course, but she found it never got easier.
“Don’t fight it, Doctor. Give in.” President grinned wickedly, and she glanced around to find all the other faces in the room matched.
“It doesn’t matter.” She whispered.
“Sorry?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Her voice wavered, but the Doctor pushed it down, hauling herself onto her knees from where she’d been keeping her hands flat on the floor. “Killing me won’t make a difference.”
“Yes it will.” President scoffed. “The Time Lords will be gone. It will be a better world.”
The Doctor chuckled.
“No.”
“It will be. It will be beautiful.”
“No. You misunderstand.”
“What?” He snapped. “What are you talking about?”
“The Time Lord’s won’t be gone.”
“...what?”
She smiled a little.
“Sorry, Mr President. But I’m not the last one.”
“Now then!” President looked behind her, and gasped, eyes widening. The Doctor chuckled. “Which one of you bastards stopped my wife’s heart?”
“Sorry to ruin your plan.” The Doctor whispered.
President shot up, and the crowds roared- with fear, anger, the Doctor couldn’t tell.
“Anyone want to own up, or do I just shoot randomly?” The Master boomed. The Doctor’s chest clenched and she cried out in pain, falling back on her side.
She could see him, holding a gun that he’d clearly knocked out a guard for, and hundreds of Jerat with their hands up.
She saw her friends rushing towards her.
“Doctor!” Yaz crouched beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “It’s ok, you’ll be ok.”
“She won’t be.” The Master snapped. “And it’s your fault!” He roared, pointing the futuristic gun at President.
“Who are you?” The Jerat scowled, hands coming up reluctantly.
“I’m the Master.”
“No..” President frowned. “You can’t be. You died.”
“That’s a habit.”
“You’re outnumbered. A thousand to one.” He pointed out.
“Do I look like I care? I’ll shoot every last one of you, starting with the one that stopped her heart.”
“No,” the Doctor whispered, trying to push herself up again. It was fruitless though, and her arms gave out. “Master, don’t.” She tried to make her voice firm, but it didn’t work. She reached out and took the nearest hand to her. Graham looked down, eyes wide. “Please, stop him.”
“How?” Graham whispered, looking between Ryan and Yaz for help.
“Tell him this.”
-
“Let me guess, it was you.” He pointed the gun at the one that looked like the leader.
“Yes. And if your shoot me, you will be murdered.” He replies coldly.
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take.” He cocked the gun. The Jerat winced, those in the stands gasping and cowering in shock.
“Stop!” Graham shot up, and the Master sighed.
“What?”
“The Doc’ said, ‘promises were made to be broken.”
He paused.
“She wouldn’t.” He muttered.
“Master,” Yaz whispered, pale. “She’s not breathing.”
His breath caught. That couldn’t be. She’d broken her promise.
“No!” He yelled, frustrated and immediately panicking. Ok, think, think, think.
He strode over to the Doctor, shoving the gun into Ryan’s arms. “Shoot anything that moves.”
“But- the Doctor says-“
“The Doctor’s not in control right now, I am. And if you don’t do as I say, I won’t save her.” He spat, “got it?”
“Yes.” Ryan swallowed, standing and aiming the gun at the leader.
Ok. Now what?
He checked her pulse.
Nothing.
Fuck.
What could he do? He could bring her back, or he could at least try. He wasn’t sure wether he had enough power to get her to regenerate.
But maybe he had enough to get her to do it herself.
He breathed in and out a few times, and smacked Yaz’s hands away, replacing where they’d been on the Doctor’s cheeks.
He felt around for a spark, for anything. Even a tug of energy.
“Come on.” He whispered, growing more frantic. “Come on!”
The Doctor didn’t wake.
“This isn’t how it ends.” He muttered to her. “That is one promise I refuse to break. You won’t do this to me.”
Anger set off a spark, and the Master latched onto it, let it grow into a flame and then a fire.
“Come back to me.” He murmured, hands lighting with energy at her face, illuminating her features.
“Oh my god.” Yaz whispered beside him, as the tendrils flickered their way between the Doctor’s lips, as if she was breathing them in. The Master breathed out.
“You will not bring her back!” The Jerat roared.
“Shut up!” He yelled, letting his soul float into the Doctor.
He sat back, exhausted, as the last he had was sucked into her body.
Nothing.
She didn’t stir.
“Master?” Yaz whispered, afraid to ask the question hanging in the air.
“No.” He spat, tears beginning to cloud at his vision. “No, no no no!” The Master shifted, gathering the Doctor in his arms and cradling her close. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t. She couldn’t be gone. “Not you, please not you.” He whispered, sniffing. “Please, please, God! Please Theta.” Holding her back to look at her lifeless body, fury raged inside him. How could she do this to him? “Regenerate!”
Nothing.
The Doctor’s back suddenly arched, and she sucked in a huge breath, eyes shooting open. She coughed over his shoulder, the Master immediately holding her close to his chest, tighter than he’d ever done before.
The Time Lord let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, eyes widening.
“Doctor!” Graham gasped.
The Doctor coughed, and the Master grabbed her wrist, feeling for her pulse.
One heart.
She needed to reset.
The Master looked up at Yaz.
“You need to get out of here. The three of you go to the TARDIS, and wait.”
“What? Why?”
“She’a going to reset, and she won’t be able to control it. If you’re here, it’ll burn you up.”
“But-“
“Go!”
Yaz nodded, grabbing Graham and Ryan, who was still looking nervously at the Jerat with a gun, and took off out of the room.
“Koschei.” He heard a whisper.
As soon as the threat of the gun was gone, the Jerat began towards them. The Master didn’t notice.
“I’m here, my love.”
“I don’t want to do it.” She whispered. “I don’t want to hurt them.”
“I know. But you have too.” He stroked some hair from her face.
“Why?”
“Because if you don’t, all the other millions that you are still yet to save will die.”
“They’re the last of the Jerat.”
“And how many other species might we lose if you’re not there?”
“Don’t make me do it.” A tear rolled down her cheek.
“You have too. You don’t die here, you know that.”
The Doctor closed her eyes, as if it would protect her from the truth.
The leader of the Jerat tried to drag him backward, but the Master knocked him off.
“We’ll do it together.” He hugged her close to his chest, cradling her head with his hand, and the Doctor took a deep breath.
The Master closed his eyes.
It was like being at the epicentre of an explosion.
The hundreds of Jerat around them were thrown backwards, immediately killed as the windows of their ship shattered, throwing them, screaming into the darkness of space.
The Master covered her ears, tried to shield the Doctor from her own destruction.
Yells and cries filled his own ears, and the Master felt as he always did. He hated that it didn’t bother him. He hated that he’d been given no capacity to hurt, and the Doctor had been given it all.
She cried as she burnt up, grieved and hurt as her own self-preservation ate up another species.
The Master cradled her, let her cry until it was over.
When the blinding, golden light disappeared, what was left of the room was deathly quiet.
The Doctor looked around, eyes way too knowing and tired than was ok.
“We’ve got to go, Doctor. This place won’t survive the explosion.”
She nodded, stumbling slightly as she got up.
“Mines closer.” He took her hand.
“What about the others?” She frowned, as the Master took off.
“It’s your TARDIS. Tell it to meet us somewhere.” He shrugged. The Doctor followed him out of the hall and back down the corridor.
He lead them back, footsteps thundering through the deathly silent corridors.
They ran, and the Master let go of her once the Doctor had stopped stumbling.
She would be fine. The heart just had to get back into the swing of things again.
Suddenly, there was an explosion behind them. The ground shook and the time lords stumbled, the Master steadying himself on the wall. He looked back at the Doctor, and she nodded, pushing herself off of the wall again.
They kept running, breath heavy.
The Master rounded a corner, and was suddenly knocked off of his feet.
The explosion behind him opened a vacuum, and the lack of gravity all of a sudden was almost enough to suck him out into space.
The smoke cleared and the Master looked back to see the Doctor pulling herself up, hanging onto the wall to stop herself from being swept out.
The ringing in his ears was blindingly loud, the Master couldn’t even hear himself telling her to jump.
“I won’t make it!” He watched her mouth, and the Master tried to shake out the ringing.
“I’ll catch you.”
“It’s a vacuum!”
“It’s a promise.” He held a hand out, and the Doctor rolled her eyes, a slight exhilarated smile on her face. It was almost like old times. Almost exciting to be running, hand in hand with the Doctor, through a ship that was exploding.
“God you’re crazy.” She stepped back a few paces, and took a deep breath in.
The Master gripped the wall, and braced himself.
The Doctor ran, she ran and then she jumped.
The vacuum grabbed ahold of her, but it wasn’t quick enough.
The Master grabbed her hand, tighter than the universe had, and heaved with the effort.
He let out a small grunt of strain as he gripped her, pulling her backwards into the reducing gravity.
One step back. Another.
The Doctor was flung forward as the vacuum relinquished it’s grip, and the time lords landed in a heap on the floor with an thump.
“You ok?” He asked.
“Been better. Also been worse.” She scrambled off of him and up, extending a hand. The Master took it, and she pulled him up.
The Doctor didn’t let go.
He whipped her round and carried on up the corridor, setting off into a run again.
His TARDIS became visible and the two time lords bolted towards it.
There was explosions behind them, smoke and rubble and fire to either side, but they kept running, hand in hand until they reached the door.
The Master let go and skidded towards the console as soon as they were in, clicking to shut the doors. The Doctor followed him and yanked a cord towards her, stabbing her palm with the end and focusing.
“Earth. Sheffield. January 30th, 9:42 am, 2020.” The Doctor said, eyes closed.
The Master set his co-ordinates for that exactly, and as soon as they had set off, the Doctor unplugged herself.
“They’re following.” She said, taking a hand to her head.
“You should sit down.” He murmured, flicking a switch.
The Doctor nodded, sitting herself down in the chair besides his console.
The Master sighed, drumming his fingers on the console. Now that it was over, and he had time to catch his breath, he let his anger forge.
“Why did you do that?” He asked sharply.
“You were going to break your promise. So I broke mine.”
“I was trying to protect you!” The Time Lord snapped.
“You were going to kill.”
“For you!”
“I never wanted that. You know that, I’ve never wanted you to kill for me.” She muttered. He turned to her, fury clouding his eyes.
“How dare you.”
“What?”
“How dare you do that to me? Leave me alone like that?”
She looked astounded for a moment.
“Oh, so not like what you did to me all those years ago then?”
“That was different. I was going to come back.”
“I didn’t know that!” She snapped. “I thought you were dead. I thought my best friend was dead, for four hundred years!”
He didn’t reply. He only knelt down in front of her. The Master noticed tears in her eyes, as she scowled at him.
“Thought it might be time that you got a taste of your own medicine.”
He took her hands.
“I can’t live without you.” He murmured.
“I know.” The Doctor replied shortly. “That’s why I did it. Because you forced me to live without you.”
“I..” for once, the Master didn’t know what to say. He’d never really thought about it before, not properly. What it must have been like for the Doctor, thinking she was truly alone in the world, for half a millennia.
“I’m sorry.” He murmured.
“You don’t need to say it. I already forgave you.”
“When?” The words hurt. But he supposed that was why she’d said them.
“The moment you did it.” The Doctor leant forward. “I won.”
“You always win, my dear.” He sighed gently, hand coming to her cheek. “And if I have to keep letting you win forever, to keep you alive, and with me, then I will.”
“Doctor!” The door flew open and the Doctor jerked out of his touch, clearly caught off guard.
Her humans ran towards her, almost knocking her off her feet that she’d stood up on, with a bone crushing hug.
“Thank god you’re safe.” Yaz breathed out in relief.
“Are you ok, Doc’?” Graham asked.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be fine.” She reassured. “Are you all alright?”
“Shaken, but fine.” Ryan nodded. “What happened to the Jerat?”
“They’re gone.” The Doctor looked downcast, and Yaz squeezed her arm, offering her a sympathetic glance and moving the conversation on swiftly after a moment of silence.
“Did you take us here? The TARDIS just, left?”
“Yeah. Plugged myself into the telepathic circuit.” The Doctor nodded, her friends finally stepping back.
Graham sighed a deep breath out.
“God, I’ve been way too stressed today.”
“Take care of yourself, Graham. Go lie down if you need too.” The Doctor said gently.
“I might have a nap if that’s ok with you, Doc. And some food.”
“Sure, take all the time you need.”
Graham turned to the Master, warily.
“I guess I should thank you.”
“I can do without.” He said dryly.
“Great news. I imagine I’ll see you around.”
“You will.”
“That is not terrifying, at all.” The man muttered to himself as he left the Master’s TARDIS.
“I’ve got a question, Doctor.” Yaz said, glancing between the two time lords.
“Ask away.”
“You should rest.” The Master pointed out beside her.
“You should let someone know before disappearing for four hundred years but that didn’t stop you.” She shot him a pointed look.
“Are you going to keep bringing that up?”
“Until I can’t use it against you, you bet.”
“This is what I mean.” Yaz butted in, and the Doctor glanced at her. “The Master mentioned...you were married?”
“Ah. Yes.” The Doctor nodded. “Sorry, did I never mention that?”
“No!” Ryan frowned. “You didn’t mention you were married to the man that blew up the plane we were on!”
The Master rolled his eyes.
“You know I’m a lot more three-dimensional than that.”
“You’re a terrorist.”
“Not my fault your stupid country voted for one.” He grinned. The Doctor smacked him in the arm.
“You’re confusing them.”
“Yeah, you are.” Yaz frowned. “Doctor, why didn’t you tell us?”
“In all honesty, it just never really crossed my mind.” She shrugged a little. “It never seemed relevant. And I knew you wouldn’t react very well.”
“I mean yeah, you’ve got to have a pretty good reason to marry this lunatic.”
“I do. But, you could never understand it.”
“Rude.” Yaz frowned.
“No, true. Yaz, Ryan, I’m two thousand years old. Somethings, I just don’t have words to describe.”
“He blew up a plane.” Ryan pointed out again.
“He saved my life.”
“He tried to kill the whole human race.”
“He saved your life.”
“Because you asked him too.” Yaz added.
The Doctor sighed.
The Master watched her, almost fondly. Wether she knew it or not, it would always be them against the world. She would always defend him, wether she realised she was doing it or not. The Master supposed it was probably mutual.
“And what do you mean,” Ryan turned to him, “about voting for a terrorist?”
“Your parents. Were they fans of Harold Saxon?”
Ryan and Yaz glanced at each other.
“...yeah.”
“Come and get your autographs.” He gesticulated grandeur, and watched the Doctor roll her eyes.
“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”
“You’re Harold Saxon?!”
“You don’t look like him.” Ryan muttered.
“Well, Ryan, thats because of this really crazy thing, called regeneration.” He snapped back dryly.
“Did you know about this?” Yaz asked the Doctor, who nodded.
“Yep.”
“Kept you hanging in a cage for a while, didn’t I?” The Master leant on his console, nudging the Doctor, who didn’t look impressed.
“And then you got shot. Not exactly very impressive.”
“It was dramatic though, wasn’t it?”
“I am so confused right now.” Ryan muttered. “Like my head seriously hurts.”
“Tell me about it.” Yaz replied, glancing between the two time lords. “Have you got any more stories?”
The Master glanced at the Doctor, who shrugged, sitting back down.
“Well, there was that one time, Y’know when Cyberman were in all the graveyards?”
The Master watched his wife as she explained, fondly and sadly.
He sighed slightly.
It had been too close, he’d almost lost her. The Master didn’t want to let her out of his sight, even if he knew he had too.
Still, there was one promise they’d always have.
Their story would not end. Not here. Not anywhere.
Wether the Doctor was going to break that or not was unknown to him, but the Master knew he wouldn’t.
He would always save the Doctor.
That was a promise he would never break.