Chapter Twenty-One

The Doctor lay in the tarp staring up at what passed for the ceiling. He rarely slept even though his old age had sapped most of his strength. He spent most nights tuning into the satellites and planning for the day when he would put a stop to all of this and bring everything back to normal. When he wasn't doing that, he would think of Rose, passing the time imaging her face and her voice and relieving every kiss, every hug she had ever given him. He smiled softly, anticipating their morning routine. It was one of the few things that kept him going nowadays.

He glanced over when his sensitive hearing heard the gentle whoosh of the conference door opening in the stillness of the room. He frowned. Had Rose risked his double's wrath returning to him? He knew for certain that it wasn't time for her to come yet. It had only been an hour tops since she last left him.

He groaned softly when he looked up and saw his double's silhouette through the tarp. Now what did the git want? He was getting tired of his stupid, asinine jokes. At least, he had a respite from them during the night, but apparently his double was about to put a stop to that. Sighing, he braced himself for the obligatory poop your pants comment.

"I expected more from you."

The Doctor was taken aback. He hadn't expected him to say that.

"What do you mean?" he said watching his shadow.

"I expected you to put up more of a fight." The alternate Doctor replied. "Your precious planet Earth is in ruins, your friends are imprisoned, Martha is on the run and your lover lies in my bed and yet you lay there in your tent tolerating it all. It's been two months now and not a single shred of resistance from you. You just sit there in your wheelchair and watch everything happen around you and frankly I'm a little surprised since I've seen what you're capable of. You've beaten me twice. You killed that Slithra and got away from the Artaxis. Old age is not gonna stop you now, so why haven't you fought back yet?"

"There are other ways besides physical means to fight back." The Doctor replied.

"Such as?"

The Doctor snorted.

"What makes you think I'm gonna tell you?" he asked.

"Because I wanna know why you put up with everything. Aren't you the least bit upset that Rose is in my bed? Don't you hate that she's lying beside me every night. I mean, come on, surely these little morning rendezvous of yours don't placate you."

"Maybe because I'm too old and tired to fight back."

"Don't give me that. You aren't beaten yet, not by a long shot. You were near exhaustion when you jumped over that Slithra's body and chopped its head off. You can muster up the strength when you feel like it."

"Are you actually praising my abilities?" the Doctor said.

"I'm acknowledging that you are an amazing fighter and a worthy adversary. As for being my equal, you are far from that."

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Why are you so worried all of a sudden about my not fighting back?" he asked as he watched his double's shadow. "Like you said, it's been two months and you haven't said a word until now about my passiveness. Why?"

"Because if I were you, I would fight tooth and nail for Rose."

"What makes you think I'm not doing that? I told you there are other ways to fight someone. You just don't realize that since all you do is maim and kill anyone who gets in your way."

There was a long pause. The Doctor watched his double through the tarp.

"It was a mistake to let you have your freedom."

"What makes you think I'm free?"

"You aren't under lock and key. You're allowed to live here in this conference room without any supervision. The Master is a fool for doing that. If it were up to me, you'd be chained down in the depths with the freak."

The Doctor grinned.

"But, it isn't up to you, is it?" he said gleefully. "This is the Master's show and that's why I haven't been put to death yet. You can't touch me because your lord and Master said so. See, you are as much a slave as I am, maybe more so."

"I am no one's slave."

"Then, kill me. Defy the Master and shove me out the door. Let me fall to the ground and break every bone in my body. Show the Master who is the better, stronger Time Lord!"

He paused and waited while the alternate Doctor hovered above him.

"Well? Do it! Show me you're not a slave here!" he said.

"You have guts, Doctor. I give you that." The alternate Doctor said.

"I just know the truth. I know that you are imprisoned here like I am. The difference is your prison cell is a lot bigger than mine. You are the fool, Doctor. You were a fool to get mixed up with the Master. You were a fool to think that you could just join up with him and assert your authority when the time was right. The Master won't let you do that, trust me. When the time comes, when you've outlived your usefulness to him, you will find yourself in the same position as me and Rose and everyone else on this ship and that position is on your back six feet under the ground. The reason Rose is still with you and not in the Master's clutches is because he is using her to shut you up and keep you under his thumb. If he can keep you occupied with her, then you won't have time to question your situation and fight back. Don't think for one moment that he's not using her in that way. The Master uses everything and everyone around him to his advantage. He is a master manipulator and you are just one of many chess pieces on his game board. Someday soon, the Master will yell checkmate and you will lose not only your position in this whole grand scheme, but your life as well."

He paused and stared up at the shadow.

"Is this whole delusional vision of a Time Lord empire worth being his lackey?" The Doctor said when his double didn't reply. "Are you willing to sacrifice everything to yield to his demands and kowtow at his feet? Because, trust me, if you don't die, that's how you'll end up. A sniveling, little butt kisser who becomes nothing more than another thug in his service. I've fought the Master before and I know exactly how he does things."

"Is that why you haven't fought back?"

"Yes, because I know better. I know there is a time to fight and now is not the time. So, if you came out here hoping for an arena rematch, sorry I'm not interested. I'm not as stupid as you are."

"I wouldn't talk since I'm the one who's not a million years old." The alternate Doctor said to him. "You claim to be so much smarter, yet you walked right in here wearing a perception filter hoping that would work against Time Lords. We both saw you. The Master saw you when he was at the airport. We aren't stupid apes. And because of that, you're now an old man. So, if you are so clever, why did you make such a stupid mistake?"

"Because I was hoping things were different this time." The Doctor said.

"Different? In what way? You just got through telling me that the Master always does everything in the same predictable way. Why would you think he'd be different now?"

"Because circumstances have changed since he and I last fought."

"What circumstances? You mean the whole destruction of Gallifrey thing?"

"Yes, that."

"Why would that make a difference?"

"It's complicated. You wouldn't understand."

Try me, Doctor."

"Why do you care?"

"Because I'm intrigued here. I just want to know why you haven't done anything. If he's so evil and despicable, why did you let him ruin Earth? You could have done something to prevent everything, I'm sure of it. Why didn't you kill him when you had the chance?"

"I'm not here to kill him."

"Oh right, sorry, the whole goody two shoes thing, I forgot. You don't kill for sport. And once again because of your weakness, you have gotten yourself into a tight spot that you can't get out of."

"My spot isn't as tight as you think it is."

The alternate Doctor sighed.

"Yeah, you just continue to work on that whole nonviolent passive aggressive plan of yours. In the meantime, I'm gonna go back and comfort Rose. She's probably cold now without my body warming the bed. I may be a slave, Doctor, but at least I'm a slave with benefits."

He paused.

"And as for the whole Master dominating me, Doctor, I wouldn't get your hopes up that I'll turn on him and take care of him for you. See, I know you're just as much a master at manipulation as he is and sorry, I'm not falling for it. You want the Master out of the way, you'll just have to get up off your saggy baggy elephant butt and do it yourself. So, night night, Doctor. Have fun lying in your dog house. I'll be sure to send Rose your way in the morning."

The Doctor watched as he started to walk off. He paused and turned back to him.

"Oh and about that whole fighting the Master by yourself; I'd watch that if I were you. Wouldn't want you to overexert yourself and crap your pants. It would be a shame if Rose had to clean the floor afterwards. See ya!"

The Doctor sighed angrily as his double walked away.

"Damn, I was hoping for once he'd lay off that." He muttered.