A child returns...a child is lost...the Master does what his is so very good at...and the Doctor no longer forgives.
Soldiers scurried around the flight deck, their commanders barking out orders. It wasn't the imminent arrival of the Messiah's son that made them nervous.
It was the fact that the Messiah and his Lord were on the deck.
All the soldiers doubled their efforts; hoping to catch the eye of the Messiah, if not him, then his Lord.
Those closest tried not to listen to their conversation.
"The Farsai home world isn't going to surrender," the Master said.
"Oh, I hope not," The Doctor replied. "The confessor's are getting restless."
"We shall have to see what Seska says," the Master said. "We will of course have to tell him you're pregnant again."
The Doctor didn't answer at first, then he sighed.
"Then he'll go all physician on me, and I won't be able to raise an eyebrow without him wanting to take my pulse."
"So be it," the Master said. "I want this pregnancy to go to term. You will need Seska's help."
The sound of the flight deck opening stopped their conversation; their oldest child was returning.
Seska was anxious to return to the fleet, and his parents. His covert trip to the Farsai home world had been informative and disturbing. He knew what he was going to say would not go down well.
But that could wait; he was just happy to be back.
As he approached his parents, he noticed there was something different about his mother. He looked…well, he supposed he was glowing.
Then it struck him…could he be?
He stopped opposite his parents and bowed his head.
"Father, Mother," he said and then found himself in his mother's embrace.
When his mother finally let go, he narrowed his eyes.
"Mother, are you pregnant?"
His mother just smiled.
"Then I want to see you in the med-bay and today, not in ten months when you're about to drop."
His mother looked at his father, a look that said 'told you'.
His father steered the conversation away from the subject.
"So, how does it look on Relgar?"
Seska was about to answer when a shout went up from Seska's shuttle. The three of them looked over, but they should have looked to the side.
A figure threw itself at the Doctor with a cry of, "Death to the Messiah!"
There was a flash of metal and the Doctor recoiled from the blade. The Master and Seska moved to take the assassin down, but they were not quick enough.
The assassin collided with the Doctor and they went down.
It was Seska that hauled the would-be murderer off his mother. He was about to snap his neck, when his father roared.
"No, I want him alive!"
It was only the Master's order that stopped the soldiers ripping the man apart.
Seska found himself herded out of the flight deck, along with his parents. His father was snarling orders and the soldiers that had surrounded them began running in different directions.
It was then that he realised his mother was very quiet, and was trailing behind; he turned.
"Mother, are you alright?"
His mother blinked before saying, "I'm not sure…I think….."
He suddenly seemed to lose his balance and fell against the wall.
"Father," Seska said.
His father turned and only just managed to catch his mother before he fell to the floor.
"Eresh'ala?" he said and his mother's response was to throw up on his father's jacket.
Seska knew exactly what was wrong…but he hoped he wasn't right.
"Get him to the med-bay…now!"
It had seem like it took an eternity to get his mother to the med-bay, as he was violently sick several times and was now experiencing abdominal pains, and Seska's fears rose.
His hearts were beating overtime as he ran the scanner over his mother's stomach; he was almost sick when it showed him what he didn't want to see...how was he going to tell them?
He didn't need to as his mother let out a loud sob and said in a barely audible voice.
"It's gone…isn't it?"
Seska swallowed and tried not to look at either of his parent's faces.
"Not yet….but soon. The weight and force of the fall must have triggered a miscarriage, and I'm sorry mother, but it will hurt. Father, I suggest you hold him down."
The Master's rage had reached incandescence; it had been ratcheting up for the last few hours.
Until the incident he'd been amused at the way the Doctor had reacted to Seska's order. He was also pleased that the Doctor was in a better mood; it bode well for their planed assault on the Farsai home world, and if he admitted in the bedroom as well; a pregnant and happy Doctor was a horny Doctor.
Then it had all gone wrong and he ended up having to hold his mate down whilst their baby died inside him. Thankfully the Doctor had passed out; he couldn't stand the look in his eyes anymore.
Soldiers and civilians had the sense to get out of his way. The word had spread quickly about an attack on the Messiah, and the whole fleet was teetering on a knife's edge…waiting, waiting for word to rain down revenge on whoever dared commit such a sacrilege.
The Master threw the cell door open and snarled at the guards to get out.
The man chained to the table glared at him.
"Is the Messiah in pain?" he spat the question, disdain clear in his voice.
The Master scowled, "Pain, you have no idea what pain is…but you soon will. Tell me, who do you work for?"
The man said nothing, only looked at him; the contempt clear on his face.
The Master reached out and grabbed on the man's hands and crushed it. He kept hold of the hand and put his face right up to the man's. He could see the strain on the man's face, as he struggled not to cry out.
"Tell me, are you in pain…no."
He bent the arm of the ruined hand and snapped the bone.
This time the man did cry out and the Master smiled.
"Again, who do you work for?"
He put pressure on the broken limb, enjoying the feel of grating bone under his hand; it had the desired effect.
"The Farsai government and the Valacian Royal family hired me," the man confessed.
"Assassin," the Master snarled.
He smiled again, but there was no warmth in it.
"Thank you for your co-operation."
He turned and walked towards the door.
"Aren't you going to kill me?"
The Master turned back, "Me, I wouldn't dirty my hands…now, the Messiah, he most certainly would."
The Doctor had been so happy to see Seska, even though he'd turned all doctor as soon as he knew he was pregnant. He really didn't mind, it meant they could spend more time together; there were things they had to talk about…especially Cairo.
Then it had all gone wrong.
He'd sensed more than seen the person that went for him. He managed to avoid the blade that came his way, but he hadn't expected the person to collide with him and bring him down.
After that it had been pretty much blurry. He thought he'd come out of it unscathed, until they were hurried to the safety of the corridors.
Pain started to radiate from somewhere near his mid-riff and he felt decidedly nauseous. Then the pain crystallised and he knew exactly what was happening…no…no.
Then his world was pain and the Master holding him as he felt his baby die; then he felt nothing.
When he came back to reality, he came back to pain and a hollow space inside.
He was back in their bed, and the Master was sitting in a chair next to it, eyes closed in sleep.
Anger mixed with grief overcame him and he said.
"Ni'ala."
The Master was instantly awake and on the bed.
"Ni'ala…who ordered the attack?"
The Master told him and he said with a voice devoid of emotion.
"I want then to burn."
When asked by their grandchildren why the Messiah never spared the Farsai or the Valacians, they were told that it was life for life…a child for a child.
But the Messiah has children, their grandchildren said.
Yes, he does…but there was one that was lost and those that came after were forever in the shadow of it.
Some say it was when the Messiah became less forgiving.