Title: Shattered Pt. 7
Author's Note: Nope, not the end yet…still going strong on this story and still not speculating on how many chapters this series will be (learned my lesson on that). The Rating's gone down a bit but it will eventually go back up. So as always please read and enjoy. Your thoughts, feelings and comments are welcome and appreciated. Thank you to all my readers for sticking with me thus far.
Part 7:
"So where was I while you two were saving the world?" Martha asked for the hundredth time since being reunited with the Doctor and Jack.
"You were walking the earth," the Doctor repeated.
"Doing what exactly?"
The Doctor was starting to look annoyed as he answered her, "Telling a story."
"Right…and what story was I telling?"
"Martha," the Doctor replied exasperatedly, "It seemed like a good idea at the time, Ok. And in my defense, I didn't have a lot of time to come up with something before it all went chaotic so I think it was a pretty good plan under the circumstances."
"And the whole world was just supposed to chant your name all at one particular time and that was going to bring you back. Isn't that a bit like Tinkerbelle in Peter Pan?"
"Tinkerbelle…Tinkerbelle…," he spluttered, "I am nothing at all like Tinkerbelle. And we didn't have to go through with it, did we? So I guess we'll never know if it would've worked. And I would appreciate it, Miss Jones, if you would lay off the speculation," the Doctor finished testily.
Martha raised her hands in surrender, "Ok…Ok…Oh, and by the way…Thank you for saving the world," she said as she reached up and kissed him on the cheek.
"My pleasure, Miss Jones," he replied with a grin.
"Doctor," Jack joined the conversation, "Are you going to tell her?"
"Tell me what?" Martha asked suspiciously.
The Doctor looked away from her quickly and set about unlocking the door.
"Doctor?" Martha prompted again.
"Um…Yes, well…you see…Jack and I…That is the Master…He…I don't...," he continued to stammer uncontrollably as he entered the Master's Console Room, Martha and Jack on his heels.
"Doctor? What are you talking about…What happened?" Martha asked looking at him in confusion.
But the Doctor wasn't listening. He was staring at the two figures huddled together on the floor before them. The Master lay sprawled in much the same position they had left him in but with one major difference. Rose's head was pillowed on his chest and her arm was thrown protectively over him, the hypodermic needle discarded on the floor next to her unconscious form.
"Is she asleep?" Jack asked, breaking the tense silence.
The Doctor didn't answer immediately; he just stood frozen to the spot taking in the intimate picture before him. At last he blinked and shook his head to clear it.
"I don't know," he answered quietly while he made his way across the room and knelt beside the unconscious pair.
He picked up the needle…it was empty.
Behind him Martha's eyes were wide and disbelieving. Turning to Jack she asked the question that she already knew the answer to, "Is that who I think it is?"
Jack merely nodded.
"Rose…Rose, can you hear me?" the Doctor laid a hand on her arm and tried again, "Rose?"
Her eyelids fluttered and then opened. She stared at him blankly for a moment then seemed to remember who he was, "Doctor."
"Yes," he sighed in relief, "And Jack too, we're back. Everything's sorted out there. Well, nearly…Are you ok?"
She pushed herself into a sitting position and ran a hand over her face, "Yeah, I think so. Thought you two would never come back, though."
"Just sleeping then?"
"Yeah," Rose replied a bit blearily.
The doctor nodded skeptically, "Alright." He looked up at Jack and Martha, standing behind him and gave them a look that said how doubtful he was that she was anywhere near alright. He helped her to her feet and then turned to Martha, "Martha Jones, may I present Rose Tyler. Rose this is Martha. She's a…friend of mine."
Martha grasped the other girl's hand in greeting, "Hello, I've heard so much about you."
Rose looked confused, "You have?" She put a hand to her forehead, "Why would you have heard about me?"
Martha looked at the Doctor and Jack who both wore concerned frowns. "What happened here?" she asked them, "What's wrong with her?"
"The Master," the Doctor mumbled darkly.
Jack, seeing that Martha needed a bit more description than that, elaborated, "The Master somehow managed to get into the parallel universe where Rose was living and bring her on board his TARDIS. He brainwashed her."
Martha looked horrified, "That's terrible. You poor thing," she said as she pulled Rose in for a sisterly hug.
Below them the Master stirred and let out a little groan. Jack and the Doctor exchanged an urgent look.
"Right then, where to put him?" the Doctor asked the group.
"I vote dungeon," Jack quipped.
"He's got a dungeon on his TARDIS," Martha marveled.
Jack nodded, "Oh yeah, and we got real acquainted with it."
"His bedroom."
"What?" Three pairs of eyes swung towards the Doctor.
"His bedroom…He'll be perfectly safe and harmless in there once we take away his toys. And we'll be able to keep an eye on him as well as know that he's not plotting an escape," the Doctor paused for breath while the others gaped, "Well, don't look at me like that. I'm not crazy. It's a perfectly sane idea. I can deadlock the door and we'll instruct the TARDIS not to let anyone but us in or out."
"You seriously want to send him to his room for trying to take over the world," Jack replied incredulously.
The Doctor shot him a look of extreme annoyance, "You don't have to agree with me, alright. I'm the jail keeper here, not you. Now help me get him up, will you?"
"Whatever you say, Doctor," Jack replied dutifully moving to lift the Master from the ground.
Before joining Jack the Doctor turned to Martha, "Will you take her to the infirmary and look her over?" he asked her softly.
Martha nodded, "Yeah, of course."
"Thank you," he said as he lifted the Master's feet and followed Jack towards the doorway. "Oh, it's down the hall, first right, second left, down the stairs, fourth door on you right."
"So how long have you known the Doctor?" Rose asked as Martha went about her thorough medical examination.
"Oh, just a bit, not nearly as long as you," Martha answered distractedly as she checked Rose's heartbeat and blood pressure.
Rose was silent for a moment then asked quietly, "How long did I know him?"
Martha's eyes shot up to meet the younger girl's, "Um…You really don't remember, do you? I'm sorry…I…I think you were with him for two years."
"Oh," Rose replied simply and turned her gaze to the floor.
Martha continued her examination in silence for a while and then offered quietly, "He missed you…a lot. Talked about you all the time. Rose this and Rose that…You were very important to him."
Rose looked up and met her eyes, "I was?"
Martha nodded while she prepared to draw blood from Rose's arm.
"Were we…together?" she asked curiously.
"He says you were, but what his definition of that is I'm not sure. I was a bit jealous of you if I'm honest."
Rose looked stunned, "You were? But you're a doctor…I was just a shop girl before…before…," her voice trailed off into uncertainty.
"Before?" Martha prompted hopefully.
"Before him."
The Doctor sat by the Master's bedside waiting for the other Time Lord to wake up. It was a slow process, and he'd had two doses of the tranquilizer, but he was coming around. He had begun to stir restlessly and toss his head from side to side. The fingers of his left hand were unconsciously tapping out the drumbeat on the bedclothes. He was sweating profusely and looked as if he were fighting a losing battle with the drums.
Finally, the Master opened his eyes and let out an anguished groan. "So loud…So loud," he muttered in tortured gasps.
The Doctor could stand it no longer. In an effort to quiet the Master's mind he raised his hand and rested it on the other man's temple. A burst of drumbeat filled his head, "Arrgh!" It was all-encompassing, overwhelming…the drums were killing him. Quickly he broke the connection. As the drums receded from his consciousness the Doctor dropped to his knees beside the bed, gasping for air.
A harsh chuckle came from the Master, "You heard them, didn't you?"
"Yes, how do you manage? How can you stand it?"
The Master blinked a few times and shook his head as if to clear it, then fixed his cold stare on the Doctor, "Oh, you know, the usual…sex, violence, torture, destruction."
The Doctor rolled his eyes and got to his feet. "There are other ways you know…You could let me help you. Let me try and get rid of them for you."
The Master struggled to a sitting position on the bed. Through a smirk he said, "The sanctimonious healer, of course you want to help. But I won't have you prowling around in my mind, spreading your lovey-dovey, do-gooder nonsense all around. I'd rather go mad."
"I thought you already had."
The Master grinned maniacally, but remained silent.
The Doctor looked away for a moment and then plunged headlong into the subject he'd been dreading more than the drums. "We've destroyed the paradox; everything on earth is back to normal. The timeline's been reset, Lucy's in jail and Martha's family is safe at home. Jack, Martha and I are going to be taking up residence while I get my TARDIS sorted."
The Master raised an eyebrow at his fellow Time Lord, "And me?" he asked.
"You'll be staying in here...In this room. I've made some adjustments to the door and had a discussion with the TARDIS so there's no chance of you getting out. I went through everything, made sure that there was nothing you could use against us…or yourself. So you should be comfy cozy in here…no problem."
The smirk returned to his face as he replied acidly, "So I'm to be under house arrest."
"Yeah, for now at least, 'til I can come up with a better plan."
"Well…You win then."
"Stop it," the Doctor said exasperatedly, "This is not a game."
"Yes it is," came the smug reply, "It's always a game…between us…it's always a game."
"Have it your way," the Doctor said wearily as he approached the door. But before he could exit the room the Master's voice stopped him.
"What about her?"
"Her?" the Doctor feigned ignorance.
"Rose."
Without turning around the Doctor answered, "You will never touch her again."
Behind him the Master closed his eyes and leaned back on the bed as the Doctor deadlocked the door.
