This was a really hard chapter for me to write, took a while to get it right. It is a longer chapter, and there is a big info dump here. Thanks to all of you who PM'd and reviewed to give me your support. I appreciate the love, and would welcome more!

"HE was so…" Tish turned her head away from Martha, as if the words she was looking for were written on the opposite wall.

Martha nodded and touched her hand to her sister's arm.

She sniffed into a sigh, and turned back to face her sister. "He was so all over the place. One moment he was his normal ego-maniacal self, the next her was quiet and pensive. Then, the next moment he turned into this charming, normal bloke."

Martha nodded again, she knew the drill.

"He made Mum and Dad into virtual slaves. Do you know what that feels like? To spend a year watching your parents live in absolute servitude? Every day we were degraded on a constant basis. "

Martha had not been there, but she lived it to some extent. "How did everyone stand it?" she asked through the mask.

"Dad always had a joke and a smile. He said, we were better off here than out there. At least on the Valiant, we were scratching for a life. Little did he know, right?" she intoned sadly.

XXXXX

She found him in the lower level, strapping Jack back onto the post he was held on. Jack had been held downstairs for the three months they had been there. The Master seemed to enjoy seeing how many different deaths he could inflict upon the immortal man.

"Oh, look now Jack," her father smiled up at the American. "Tish is here to sing for us.' He smiled. It was an old family joke. Tish couldn't carry a tune across the street. When she was in school, she had been booted to being a curtain puller for the school play.

"Oh I would love to hear a song right now." Jack smiled.

"No," Tish smiled, "I don't want him to find out any more means of torture for you."

Jack laughed. "it can't be all that bad." He shook his now manacled hands. "Captive audience."

She shook her head, but the three shared an honest laugh. It was something not often done. Something that the three of them relished in; something that he could not take away from them.

One of the guards peered around from his post to see what was going on, only to find the three had already replaced their stoic looks.

XXXX

"Yeah, everyone else had the benefit of forgetting. There was nothing to remember. But, us…" Martha trailed.

Tish nodded quickly. "Mum was as surly as possible. She gave almost as much as she got." Tish offered a faint grin.

"Mum is a beast." Martha agreed.

Tish dipped her head. "She often went without eating. She would haul off at him, and he would take away her food for days."

XXXXX

"Mum, you have to eat." Tish implored as she held her plate out to her mother.

The older woman shook her head and raised her chin higher. "I will eat when I am ready to Leticia." She answered.

"But, Mum.."

Francine pushed the plate of food back to her daughter. "This will not break us." Francine Jones insisted. "This is not going to break us, do you understand? If I accept that plate, then I accept that what I have said and done was wrong. I will not accept that. I have done nothing wrong. None of us have."

"Its just food, Mum." Tish said.

"It's a bargain for something that was already bought and paid for." Francine huffed. "No. These bones are still moving. " She offered her daughter a rare smile. "It will take for more than a few missed meals to kill me off Tish."

XXX

It was hard to hear these things, and yet, there was a comfort in the words. She knew how bad had been on the other side of the Valiant; she had lived in her own hell for a year. But, Martha was learning that somehow, the knowing was better. 'Tish…"

Tish raised a hand to halt any words that Martha was attempting to falter over. "There is nothing you can say Martha. It's done. The experience was bad, but it's over. I know that. Mum knows that. AS hurtful and humiliating as the whole thing had been for us, somehow, we Jones managed to prevail."

"We always do." Martha added softly.

"Yeah, we do." Tish said. "I just wanted you to know that we are all getting past it."

"Do they know?" Martha asked, surprised at her own blunt tact.

Tish sighed loudly. "They know that I was set aside from everyone else. They know that he flattered me and treated me differently. They know that I spent time with him. Alone."

XXXX

He met her at the door to the common room. He wore a tuxedo and a charming demeanor. "Hello Gorgeous."

Tish ducked her head, not sure whether she was talking to Harold Saxon, or The Master. "Sir," she answered.

"Ohhh," he tsked. "So formal now, are we?" He gave her one of his thousand watt smiles before offering an arm out to her. "You really should smile more Gorgeous. You have a beautiful face."

Tish did not smile, in fact, she fought everything within herself to smile. There was nothing to smile about, this was the eye of the storm. The moment where you never, ever run out of the house; false safety always lead to property damages, or worse. "Sir," she simpled.

"Gorgeous?" he asked. "I'm hungry."

"I'll have Mum set something out for you, Master." She turned to get his dinner, but the Master held his her arm.

"No," he grinned, "I'm hungry and I thought we could have dinner. Together."

She ducked her head further down. "I'm not hungry."

"Of course you are Gorgeous, why wouldn't you be? I practically starve you all. "

He led her by the arm to the table in the corner. "Oh, Fran, be a dear and bring us something. Something good, not the slop I feed you." He sneered.

Francine gave her daughter a look before nodding and leaving.

"How are you enjoying the Valiant?" he asked as if they were spending the summer in Provence.

Tish offered a noncommittal shrug; it was easier than lying.

"Oh come now." He spoke breezily as if he was not holding all of humanity by the short hairs. "There is plenty to do here."

"We have plenty of work to do here, yes Master." Tish answered.

"Work, work, work." He spread his arms out and grinned."What do you do for fun, Gorgeous?"

Her mother saved her by arriving with their dinner. Tish thanked her mother but the Master merely shooed her away. HE tore into his meal, but Tish made no move toward her steak. "You aren't very chatty." He grizzled between bites. "Do you think the waitress spit in it?"

Tish shrugged again.

"Oh come on now Gorgeous. I came down here for some intelligent conversation. Heavens knows I don't get that from the little woman. She has all the personality of...well a human." He dug into his meal and smiled at Tish. "You know, you really are a beautiful woman. I can't see what everyone says about Martha, but you."

Tish still sat stoicly, neither raising her head, nor touching her food.

"And, anyway, she will be even less beautiful once I get my hands on her." He shrugged. "But you needn;r worry yourself about that. I am sure one less sister won't even matter in the grand scheme of things….hmmm?"

XXX

Martha shuddered under the intensity of the memories. Seeing her sister's reaction, it was Tish's turn to squeeze her sister's hand. "If you don't want to hear it Martha." She spoke softly.

Martha shook her head vigorously. "No, no Tish. It's ok." She sniffed back something in her throat. "Look at me, you're the one that lived through it, and you are consoling me."

"One thing I got out of all of this Martha, one thing I cling to now." Tish spoke evenly. "Strength. Its like Mum kept saying. It was about being broken. We did not come back the same, but we did not break."

Martha nodded. "I bet she had a plan didn't she?" Martha added trying to add lightness to the dark conversation.

"She always had one," Tish affirmed. "But, he was always smarter, somehow. Guess it was that whole Lord of Time thing." She added sadly.

Shaking her head, Martha spoke. "No, Tish. You can't compare the two…"

"Oh, no I would never Martha. The Doctor is the opposite. Even on the valiant, he was there and he did what he could. When the –when he changed him, the Doctor could not speak, but he was a great listener."

"Really?" Martha asked with a smile she found impossible to suppress.

XXXX

"Mum, there is nothing going on." She insisted for the twelfth time that day.

"I am saying, if there is, it may put us into a good position. Men are the most vulnerable with their pants around their ankles."

"Mum, I—I don't think I could do it."

Francine looked at her daughter with a glare only seen on the Serengeti "You can't go all bleeding heart on it now Tish. This may be a good chance to get away from that maniac."

Tish was dumbstruck. "Are you telling me to sleep with him?" she fumbled.

"No, " Francine shook her head and rubbed the tired out of her brown eyes. "I am saying to watch yourself. Don't let this become something that can trip you up Tish. Eh means none of what he says to you..,"

"I know that!" Tish insisted "Don't you think I know that?" It was almost a plea to herself rather than assurance to her mother. "I really miss my flat." She sighed. "And normal life. How did this become normal?"

Francine said nothing, instead she turned and pointed at the thing in the birdcage.

"How is this his fault, Mum?" Tish ask quietly. "I don't see how you can even place this at his feet?"

"I don't see how it isn't." she returned.

"Mum," Tish reasoned. "Harold Saxon lied to you the whole time. He had you convinced that Martha was in danger. He monitored us for months. How can you think that the Doctor had anything to do with this?"

Francine folded her arms crossly. "He had everything to do with this. He took Martha off and this crazy man was after him. If he had not taken Martha, we never would have been in all of this."

"No, you're right Mum. We would be down there, decimated. Running from those…things. We may not have it great here, but at least we are alive."

"Define alive." Francine said.

Neither one of them really said what the heart of the argument was. Tish was there, but Martha and Leo were down in the mess that had become planet Earth. While they were assured of Martha's ongoing existence, Leo and his family were still unaccounted for. "Mum, you have to look at the positive."

Francine held up one hand to halt any further Polyannic reassurances from the younger woman. "I will look at the positives when they are in front of me." She fired. "Right now, I have to go clean the toilets in the Master's Suite."

XXXX

Tish turned from her, stood and made to get up. Martha took her arm in a grip. "Tish," she started.

"I just need to use the bathroom, get a little distance for a mo, yeah?" she smiled sadly at her sister, and it was then that Martha knew that the worst would be told, but Tish needed to gather a little more strength.

It was half an hour before Tish emerged, red faced and noticeably determined. In that time, Martha had put away breakfast and made tea.

"Was it all bad?" Martha asked when Tish sat again.

She shook her head. "Well, that is a matter of perception, innit?" she asked huskily. "I mean we were there as servants. We had no idea about Leo or Angela or Boxy, or any of our friends and family. You have to understand Martha; none of us knew that the year would be reset. We had no idea that all those lives would go back to normal and we would be the ones left to carry the memories. Things were far more…desperate than they should have been. "

Martha nodded. "But," she hedged.

XXXXX

He always came to her after everyone was in bed. It was a known fact that the Master only slept every few days and even then for an hour or two at a time. He never came without a guard, someone in the room to both bear witness to her shame, and to keep her from harming him.

One sided conversations about his home, and his life. Tish realized at some point that she had become his confessor and an unwitting collaborator in his madness. He was fixated on her, she realized. His eyes often sought hers to see if she was listening, even if not speaking. Maybe it was her silence that kept him talking, most everyone talked under him, but she never spoke at all.

He brought her silly things that meant nothing in their position, he promised things she knew he never intended to make good.

Five months into their nightly 'conversations,' and he leaned in and kissed her on the mouth. Disgusted at her lack of return, he slapped her.

When she slapped him back, Tish Jones was sure she would be seeing the other side of that laser pen of is. Instead, he threw back his head and laughed. "You hit like a girl." He intoned, then kissed her again.

This time, he did not slap her for indignantly shoving him away. He seemed to regard her with a look that Tish had no idea he was even capable of. Caring. It was pointless to mention his wife. She was nothing more than a means to an end. He often referred to her as the crazy one. It was laughable had it not been such a horrible situation. She had known the kiss was coming, had been surprised it had taken him so long to attempt something.

"What can I do to get that smile back onto your sweet face, Gorgeous?"

"End this." She returned.

"Anything but that?" he smiled.

"Let us go."

He laughed then, a real honest to God hearty laugh that went on for minutes. "Gorgeous, I absolutely no intention to let you go." He answered finally. "But, if you like I will let your parents out, send them out into the world, such as it is. "

Tish glared at him. "Really?" she asked trying to keep the hope out of her voice.

"Really." He smiled. "Of course, I cannot vouch for their personal safety out there. I don't know if you know this or not Gorgeous." He leaned into her conspiratorially. "There is a mad alien destroying that planet, anything could happen to them."

She shuddered, and her voice gave away to the fear. "You are insane."

"Of course I am, Gorgeous. Now, kiss me like you mean it, and maybe I will find that rascally brother of yours."

XXXX

Martha soothed her sister's arm again. "Did he find them?" she asked, not really wanting the answer, but somehow knowing that it was pivotal.

Tish nodded, "Oh yes, he found them."

XXXXX

"I Have a present for you." He smiled. Tish knew that charm, she knew he was the Devil wearing his best Cherub suit for show. For her.

She said nothing at his announcement, and he led her to tone of the seats in the conference room. "This is just for you, Gorgeous." He smiled. He opened up his laptop and displayed a live feed. Tish could see her brother, his partner and their five month old daughter. The three of them were huddled in the corner of a dilapidated room. Leo was singing to the little girl, as Angela held both of them.

"They don't look too happy, do they?" he smiled. "I suppose, they shouldn't be either. You see, I have them in a building, I know their exact location at all times. There are thousands of Toclafaine just waiting for the right command from their Master."

Tish continued to watch the scene on the feed. The three of them looked dirty and disheveled. She wanted to cry, shout, and hit the thing next to her. But, she held all of her reserve. "What are you going to do to them?"

HE leaned back with all the ease of Donald trump after a lucrative deal. "What should I do with them?" he asked.

"Leave them alone,"

The Master put his hand to his ear, "I'm sorry?" he asked.

"Leave them alone. Master." She added.

He nodded, then turned his smiling blue eyes upon hers. "And why would I do that?"

She placed her hand on his arm, summoned all of her strength and smiled into his eyes. "Please," she spoke openly, but she had to keep the bile from rising into her mouth to garble her words.

"Oh, Gorgeous. You know how I feel about you."

She knew, and it turned her stomach even more. "Please, Master.'

He brought his arm around her and kissed her. This time, she managed to not gag, and Tish congratulated her acting abilities.

XXXX

"Oh, Tish," It came out as a sob, Martha had sworn not to feel pity for her sister, but there was no other emotion she could claim.

It was Tish's turn to soothe her. "No, Martha. God, please not pity. Anger, loathing, disgust, hell even apathy, but please, not pity. This was my decision,, do you understand that? I had the power. After that, after we started to…." Her voice trailed off again, and then Martha knew. She understood.

She brought her sister into her arms. "I understand Tish."

The two sat together on the couch, in the near silence of her London flat, Martha understood. There was power to be gained, even if barely tangible. She could not say she would have been any different.

"But," Tish started again, "Somehow it turned on me."

XXXX

"You never respond to me.' He spoke as they lay in her bed. "You never give everything to me. Why is that?"

"Well, you are holding me and my family hostage." She spat. "Not to mention, the whole of humanity."

EH laid his hand on her breath. "Oh Gorgeous, I love how you always tell me the truth. Lucy is so….blah. But you. It's like having vanilla ice cream for years before discovering Rocky Road."

"I hope that is not a racial dig." She pulled away from him.

HE laughed then. "No, no, this is not about me off to get a little strange. If I want that, I have a million different ways to go about it. This is…special."

"I don't see how special it is." He drew her closer to him, against her struggle. "This is me wanting to be inside of you."

"Think you have that covered." She tried to make it an off comment, but the disgust in her voice came through.

He said nothing, but brought his hand to her temple, he gently stroked his index finger along one side of her face.

Something, somewhere, a fire was lit, a twig caught fire and burned. The fire became an inferno as she brought him to her again, and kissed him ardently. She wanted him, wanted him to touch her, to breate her, to be with her forever.

XXXX

"I don't know why Martha, I don't know how it happened, but after that. Things were different for me."

"Do you think he did something to you?" Martha asked. "The Doctor mentioned something about his people having certain abilities…"

Tish nodded. "Yeah, he told me about that. It makes sense, here." She pointed to her head. "But not here." She placed her hand on her heart. "I am so disgusted with myself, every time I think about it. But, there is still an echo of it. There is still that feeling of missing something, someone."

"Is that why you begged him not to kill it?" Martha asked, and was surprised at the contempt in her own voice.

"Him, Martha." Tish insisted. "It's a boy."

"I know that Tish, but it's still not alive." She insisted.

Tish rose and began to pace the length of the room. "I wanted him to keep him alive for him. For the Doctor. All that stuff the Master told me in that year, a whole culture decimated. There is nothing left of them."

Martha shook her head. "That can't be the only reason."

Tish drew in a deep breath. "No," she admitted. "That echo is still there. Like his drums. That constant echo of him and his drums."

Martha said nothing and Tish went on.

"The Doctor says he does not know if it will ever go away, but he says it will maybe get better. I can't go on with anyone. I don't know if it is because of what happened, or what was done to me. I don't want anyone else, and I don't want him."

"I know Jack fancies you." Martha smiled. "It will get better Tish."

"Jack fancies everyone." Tish smiled.

"He retconned me." Martha said.

Tish stopped pacing and moved to sit next to her sister. "No way!" she insisted.

"Yes, he spiked my coffee while I was trying to find you after you left with the Doctor."

Tish let her head fall into her hands. "I did not know he would do that. I was in a state when I found out I was pregnant. I was terrified. Jack was concerned about paradoxes and timelines. He said that the only person that could help me was the Doctor."

"He was right about that, but I still don't understand why he would do it."

"He offered it to me, said I could forget it after I got rid of it. I told him he was insane to even think about it."

"But there was no paradox?" Martha asked.

"No, I got pregnant the night he captured you. Well, no I got pregnant after the reset. "

XXX

He was in her bed after she had heard the news about Martha. "Did you kill her?" Tish asked.

"Gorgeous?" he feigned with his hand dramatically over his forehead. "I would never harm a hair on any of your family's heads."

"You are a liar." Tish insisted.

"Of course I am." He smiled. "But you have no say about Martha. Our deal involves Leo and his little family." He rose off the bed and took her in his arms.

She tried to fend him off, but he had her in his grasp. He was insatiable that night, as if he knew it was the last. He took her three times, and seemed to relish in her fight. It was late morning before he left her alone naked, and hating herself.

XXXXX

They cried together for an hour. "I'm sorry I was not there for you Tish." Martha sniffed wetly.

"No pity, Martha." Tish insisted.,

Martha nodded and Tish headed off to the bathroom again. Twenty minutes later, she emerged from the loo with what Martha could see was a genuinely affable demeanor.

"You were with the Doctor. Did he explain everything then?" she asked with a smile.

What do you mean Tish?" Martha asked.

"You'll do it then, right?" she asked. "I mean, I can't so it has to be you."