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Not The Last. (5/6)
The next part, since it's done...
Setting: AU post-'Sound of Drums'.
Spoilers: S3.
Rating: PG.
Characters (in this part): The Doctor, the Master, Martha.
Feedback: Please, please read? *begs* I am very, very fond of my little fic, and it makes me sad that it gets next to no love...
And as usual a thank you to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kathyh for the read-through. :)
Previouslies here.
Part 5
Spring 2012
“Doctor! Doctor! Look!” Martha burst through the door to the TARDIS kitchen, holding up her hand where a large diamond ring was sparkling.
“What did I tell you? Congratulations!” he answered, scooping her up in a warm hug. Only when he put her down did she notice the Master reclined on a chair. Lifting his mug he raised an ironic eyebrow.
“To the happy couple! Milligan is his name, yes? Well Martha, my dear, you’ll alliterate. Hope you have a brilliant life together!”
Martha looked back and answered, voice frosty. “It would mean so much more if you hadn’t murdered him in front of my eyes!”
The Master suddenly looked interested. “Really? I did? When?”
There was a brief moment’s silence, then Martha replied. “Back when I’d been walking around the world, and you came down to ‘pick me up’. You were about to kill me, and then...”
“Ooooh - he ran out to save you! Oh yes, I remember that... was that really him? Well done girl, you got yourself a real hero there!”
Martha stared at him with ill-concealed disgust in her eyes. “You killed him, and then you laughed! Don’t be expecting a wedding invitation!” She took a deep breath, turned back to the Doctor.
“However, we would love for Alex to be a pageboy!”
The Doctor smiled. “Of course - he’ll be delighted. Do you want to tell him yourself? I’m picking him up soon.”
She considered this, then shook her head. “Sorry - I have a lot of people to call and my mum is over the moon, already busy planning the flowers and the catering and the dress...” she threw her hands up. “I’ll see you later, OK?”
She left, phone already to her ear, and the Doctor sighed. He was happy of course, but weddings were always the harshest reminder of all of what he couldn’t have. He hoped Rose had married by now - that she would have grasped life and lived it truly. He thought back to Joan, and his brief stint as human... and then his thoughts turned to Alex yet again. Just a happy child, busy with friends and school (although of course he was way, way ahead of everyone else), not yet grasping how fundamentally different he was. Of course he would have been more challenged in a different environment, but the Doctor had wanted to give him a happy childhood at least...
What would he do when he grew up - marry a human, like his father? What if he had children? How much could they mingle their blood before they lost what they were? (He never thought he’d understand Cassandra, but there it was...)
He was torn out of his musings when the Master spoke, an amused look on his face. “Now see that’s a girl who knows how to hold a grudge. None of that forgiveness rubbish that you keep peddling Doctor.”
Turning shrewd eyes on the Doctor he suddenly asked, “Tell me - if I’d killed your precious Rose, would you have forgiven me that?”
“No.”
The answer was immediate - so much so that it almost took the Doctor himself by surprise.
The Master chuckled.
“Aw, a Timelord in love! How sweet.”
The Doctor didn’t raise to the bait, and had almost decided just to walk away, when the Master continued.
“But why her, Doctor? I looked her up, and she was just a cute little girl with a few GCSE’s who worked in a shop. Was it her bravery? Looking into the timevortex takes guts, I’ll give you that, but Martha is hardly lacking in that department, and she has the brains too! Could have beaten Rose in any pub quiz - not to mention University Challenge. So could Sarah Jane for that matter.”
The Doctor found himself back at the table, hand under chin, mind wandering back to times he tried not to dwell on, because it still hurt too much.
"She saved me," he said, quietly, almost speaking to himself.
"Well you have a habit of getting into stupid fixes," the Master shrugged.
"No," the Doctor sighed. "I don't mean that she saved my life, although she did plenty of that. She saved me!"
"Now that really makes no sense at all!" the Master stated, before taking a sip of his tea and then pulling a face because it had gone cold.
The Doctor studied him silently for a moment, then made up his mind. No one else would ever understand...
“The first thing I ever showed Rose was the end of the world.”
The Master looked at him sharply, but the Doctor shook his head. “Not Utopia. The end of this world. Year 5 billion. Earth go boom. Nothing left except rocks and dust floating in space... Just like Gallifrey. I’d been alone ever since the war, barely speaking to anyone, and then when she took a chance on me, I showed her that everything ends. Just like you did with Lucy...”
He stared ahead, remembering the moment when his world had changed...
“What sort of date are you? Come on then, tightwad, chips are on me. We've only got five billion years before the shops close...”
Slowly he looked up, met the Master’s eyes.
“And she showed me that the fact that things end, means that we have to live now. She - she taught me how to live again... gave me something to believe in.”
The Master was studying him silently, clearly puzzled at this sudden openness. The Doctor shook his head, smiling. “And she wouldn’t let me run away - moved heaven and earth to get back to me. Oh you should have seen her when she destroyed the Daleks...”
Then impulsively he reached out, fingertips to the Master's temples. “Look! Look what she did to the Emperor that you fled from...”
The Master closed his eyes and there was a moment of silence, until a smile slowly spread across his face. “Wow... Atta girl!”
Then suddenly his eyes snapped and he stared at the Doctor, shocked and delighted.
“Holy f- you never slept with her!”
The Doctor tore his hands away as though scalded, but the Master’s face was still a picture of glee.
“That’s enough!” the Doctor replied, scowling, but he knew it was useless. Trust the Master to use his one chance of peering into his mind to look for anything dirty.
The pterosaur chose that moment to sweep through the door, landing on the table and devouring what was left of the scone on his plate.
The Master reached out and scratched its head. “You think he’s crazy too, don’t you Leia? Girl like that and he only kissed her to save her life...” The reptile shook its head a little and started on the rest of the scones. The Doctor frowned.
“Why’s it so friendly? It’s done nothing but attack people ever since it hatched...”
The Master smiled. “Oh I fixed it a little - I mean what’s the point in having a pet if you can't pet it? And Alex was so disappointed that he couldn’t tame it.”
“Why? Why do you always have to do that?”
“Do what?” The Master looked genuinely confused.
“Control everything. Fix it, change it, make it fit to your world view...”
The other smiled, tilting his head. “It’s who I am. Should I tell you to stop helping people?”
The Doctor sighed. Every time there was a connection, it was snapped in half - sharp reminders everywhere of why this man was his enemy. His eyes narrowed. “Just know this: if you try to do anything - anything - to Alex...”
The Master looked back, suddenly cold. “I would never harm my son. Ever.”
“That’s not what I said,” the Doctor replied, and walked out.
A little later he was standing in front of the TARDIS console - he really had to go pick up Alex from school now... Although of course he could go halfway across the galaxies and still be on time. Yes - he had all the time in the world, and yet he could feel it moving past him, too swiftly, too swiftly by far.
Their little boy was growing up and the Doctor knew that there would soon come a day when he would begin to ask questions in earnest. The last of the Timelords - but without a home, without a people.
And what would he say when he finally understood what that meant?
As the Doctor mechanically typed in the co-ordinates, he couldn’t help thinking:
‘Will he hate me too?’
Part 6.
Setting: AU post-'Sound of Drums'.
Spoilers: S3.
Rating: PG.
Characters (in this part): The Doctor, the Master, Martha.
Feedback: Please, please read? *begs* I am very, very fond of my little fic, and it makes me sad that it gets next to no love...
And as usual a thank you to
kathyh for the read-through. :)Previouslies here.
Spring 2012
“Doctor! Doctor! Look!” Martha burst through the door to the TARDIS kitchen, holding up her hand where a large diamond ring was sparkling.
“What did I tell you? Congratulations!” he answered, scooping her up in a warm hug. Only when he put her down did she notice the Master reclined on a chair. Lifting his mug he raised an ironic eyebrow.
“To the happy couple! Milligan is his name, yes? Well Martha, my dear, you’ll alliterate. Hope you have a brilliant life together!”
Martha looked back and answered, voice frosty. “It would mean so much more if you hadn’t murdered him in front of my eyes!”
The Master suddenly looked interested. “Really? I did? When?”
There was a brief moment’s silence, then Martha replied. “Back when I’d been walking around the world, and you came down to ‘pick me up’. You were about to kill me, and then...”
“Ooooh - he ran out to save you! Oh yes, I remember that... was that really him? Well done girl, you got yourself a real hero there!”
Martha stared at him with ill-concealed disgust in her eyes. “You killed him, and then you laughed! Don’t be expecting a wedding invitation!” She took a deep breath, turned back to the Doctor.
“However, we would love for Alex to be a pageboy!”
The Doctor smiled. “Of course - he’ll be delighted. Do you want to tell him yourself? I’m picking him up soon.”
She considered this, then shook her head. “Sorry - I have a lot of people to call and my mum is over the moon, already busy planning the flowers and the catering and the dress...” she threw her hands up. “I’ll see you later, OK?”
She left, phone already to her ear, and the Doctor sighed. He was happy of course, but weddings were always the harshest reminder of all of what he couldn’t have. He hoped Rose had married by now - that she would have grasped life and lived it truly. He thought back to Joan, and his brief stint as human... and then his thoughts turned to Alex yet again. Just a happy child, busy with friends and school (although of course he was way, way ahead of everyone else), not yet grasping how fundamentally different he was. Of course he would have been more challenged in a different environment, but the Doctor had wanted to give him a happy childhood at least...
What would he do when he grew up - marry a human, like his father? What if he had children? How much could they mingle their blood before they lost what they were? (He never thought he’d understand Cassandra, but there it was...)
He was torn out of his musings when the Master spoke, an amused look on his face. “Now see that’s a girl who knows how to hold a grudge. None of that forgiveness rubbish that you keep peddling Doctor.”
Turning shrewd eyes on the Doctor he suddenly asked, “Tell me - if I’d killed your precious Rose, would you have forgiven me that?”
“No.”
The answer was immediate - so much so that it almost took the Doctor himself by surprise.
The Master chuckled.
“Aw, a Timelord in love! How sweet.”
The Doctor didn’t raise to the bait, and had almost decided just to walk away, when the Master continued.
“But why her, Doctor? I looked her up, and she was just a cute little girl with a few GCSE’s who worked in a shop. Was it her bravery? Looking into the timevortex takes guts, I’ll give you that, but Martha is hardly lacking in that department, and she has the brains too! Could have beaten Rose in any pub quiz - not to mention University Challenge. So could Sarah Jane for that matter.”
The Doctor found himself back at the table, hand under chin, mind wandering back to times he tried not to dwell on, because it still hurt too much.
"She saved me," he said, quietly, almost speaking to himself.
"Well you have a habit of getting into stupid fixes," the Master shrugged.
"No," the Doctor sighed. "I don't mean that she saved my life, although she did plenty of that. She saved me!"
"Now that really makes no sense at all!" the Master stated, before taking a sip of his tea and then pulling a face because it had gone cold.
The Doctor studied him silently for a moment, then made up his mind. No one else would ever understand...
“The first thing I ever showed Rose was the end of the world.”
The Master looked at him sharply, but the Doctor shook his head. “Not Utopia. The end of this world. Year 5 billion. Earth go boom. Nothing left except rocks and dust floating in space... Just like Gallifrey. I’d been alone ever since the war, barely speaking to anyone, and then when she took a chance on me, I showed her that everything ends. Just like you did with Lucy...”
He stared ahead, remembering the moment when his world had changed...
“What sort of date are you? Come on then, tightwad, chips are on me. We've only got five billion years before the shops close...”
Slowly he looked up, met the Master’s eyes.
“And she showed me that the fact that things end, means that we have to live now. She - she taught me how to live again... gave me something to believe in.”
The Master was studying him silently, clearly puzzled at this sudden openness. The Doctor shook his head, smiling. “And she wouldn’t let me run away - moved heaven and earth to get back to me. Oh you should have seen her when she destroyed the Daleks...”
Then impulsively he reached out, fingertips to the Master's temples. “Look! Look what she did to the Emperor that you fled from...”
The Master closed his eyes and there was a moment of silence, until a smile slowly spread across his face. “Wow... Atta girl!”
Then suddenly his eyes snapped and he stared at the Doctor, shocked and delighted.
“Holy f- you never slept with her!”
The Doctor tore his hands away as though scalded, but the Master’s face was still a picture of glee.
“That’s enough!” the Doctor replied, scowling, but he knew it was useless. Trust the Master to use his one chance of peering into his mind to look for anything dirty.
The pterosaur chose that moment to sweep through the door, landing on the table and devouring what was left of the scone on his plate.
The Master reached out and scratched its head. “You think he’s crazy too, don’t you Leia? Girl like that and he only kissed her to save her life...” The reptile shook its head a little and started on the rest of the scones. The Doctor frowned.
“Why’s it so friendly? It’s done nothing but attack people ever since it hatched...”
The Master smiled. “Oh I fixed it a little - I mean what’s the point in having a pet if you can't pet it? And Alex was so disappointed that he couldn’t tame it.”
“Why? Why do you always have to do that?”
“Do what?” The Master looked genuinely confused.
“Control everything. Fix it, change it, make it fit to your world view...”
The other smiled, tilting his head. “It’s who I am. Should I tell you to stop helping people?”
The Doctor sighed. Every time there was a connection, it was snapped in half - sharp reminders everywhere of why this man was his enemy. His eyes narrowed. “Just know this: if you try to do anything - anything - to Alex...”
The Master looked back, suddenly cold. “I would never harm my son. Ever.”
“That’s not what I said,” the Doctor replied, and walked out.
A little later he was standing in front of the TARDIS console - he really had to go pick up Alex from school now... Although of course he could go halfway across the galaxies and still be on time. Yes - he had all the time in the world, and yet he could feel it moving past him, too swiftly, too swiftly by far.
Their little boy was growing up and the Doctor knew that there would soon come a day when he would begin to ask questions in earnest. The last of the Timelords - but without a home, without a people.
And what would he say when he finally understood what that meant?
As the Doctor mechanically typed in the co-ordinates, he couldn’t help thinking:
‘Will he hate me too?’
Part 6.
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