Chapter 25 – Missing Out (Posted June 23rd 2010)

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't really have much to say. I'm going to do something later that is going to confuse you, but it won't be confusing for long, and it's not coming for a few chapters yet. I still can't believe I have this story still going, it's kind of cool that I kept it going so long. When the Matt Smith episodes started showing on tv, they never showed any David Tennant or Christopher Eccleston ones, and I was beginning to be very angry, but a few days ago they started showing DT ones! They showed the two where he's human and Martha is watching over him as a servant. Those are sad. And one more thing, after this I won't be putting the author's note thing at the beginning, I'll only put it at the end unless there is something really important you need to know at the beginning. And I'm going to try not to write so much. The less you have to read from me, the better. But, anyway, shall we find out how the Master is holding up?

The Doctor was outside, on Earth, taking To'mfa for a walk in a park. He did this every day. On Earth, because the Master couldn't do much to stop him. He went to different places on Earth once in a while. New York City, Berlin, London, Barcelona, Tokyo, Paris, Bucharest. And he'd help a few people. Just small things, though. Ridding a flat of an infestation of insect-like aliens. Stopping a power-hungry alien-human hybrid from ruining his life and the lives of those around him. Stuff like that. All stuff the Master would have loved to help with, but was unable to.

The Master was sleeping. And the Doctor was watching over him. He checked him a few times every day, and brought To'mfa in to see him. To'mfa would sleep on the Master's belly. And when he became fidgety, the Doctor would take him back to the controls and play with him, then put him in his basket. He'd return to the Master, and hope that maybe it would be the day he'd wake up. And it hurt very much every time it turned out not to be the day.

But this day, he'd taken To'mfa on his walk in the morning. He'd put a perception filter on his wings, so he looked like any normal dog being walked by his owner. He'd chatted with other pet-walkers, and let To'mfa play with other animals, always watching closely to make sure he didn't do anything odd.

When he returned to the TARDIS, she was shouting at him as soon as he opened the door.

She was asking him where he'd been, why he'd taken so long.

"I was out walking, like I always do. Why, is something wrong?" the Doctor sounded very worried.

The Master is sitting awake right now in your room. The TARDIS said calmly, knowing what this meant to the Doctor.

"You're kidding." the Doctor almost didn't believe his ship, but he knew she wouldn't joke, not about this. "He's awake? How long has he been?" He was still holding To'mfa's leash as he ran to the bedroom.

The TARDIS said he'd woken up about ten minutes ago, and was dying to know what was going on. But she wouldn't tell him. That was the Doctor's job.

"Master?" the Doctor asked cautiously as he opened the door.

"Doctor!"

"Master, you're awake! You're really awake!" the Doctor ran over to him and jumped on the bed.

"Yes, I'm awake, and I feel better." the Master said as the Doctor checked him.

"That's what you said last time."

"Last time was different. I feel different this time. I feel better, but a different kind of better. I thought I felt better last time, but I didn't, not really. I haven't felt this good since I was Harold Saxon." the Master was feeling more like a proper, healthy Timelord.

"Really?" the Doctor finished checking the Master and looked down into his eyes. "How's your head?"

"It's perfectly clear. It was fuzzy before, but I didn't notice it, it'd been that way since I was resurrected, so I never thought anything of it, but it's clear now. Does this mean I'm done healing? I can stop sleeping now?"

"I don't know. The TARDIS can't keep you asleep, I mean, she could if she put a stronger hold on you, but she was only using a light force to keep you sleeping." the Doctor felt the Master's forehead again. "That way, as soon as your body started fighting her restraints, you would wake up, because then we would know that you didn't need any more sleep, for the time being anyway."

"You mean I might still have to sleep?"

"No. Yes. Maybe, I don't really know. I say, if you can stay awake until this time tomorrow, without showing the slightest hint of being tired, you should be fine. All back to normal." the Doctor leaned closer. "You don't know how happy this makes me. I was beginning to think you might be sleeping forever. I didn't know when you'd wake up, every day I watched, wishing I could just give you a little shake and you'd open your eyes."

"You look like you've been worrying." the Master rubbed the Doctor's cheek, making the Doctor sigh.

The Doctor closed his eyes, and squeezed them tight, but was incapable of keeping the tears from seeping through.

"Doctor," the Master sat straight up and hugged the Doctor, "why are you crying?" he sounded alarmed.

"It's just been so long since I've heard you speak, or since you've touched me. I mean, you did say a few words while you were asleep, and I'd kiss your cheek once in a while, but this, I haven't been able to actually speak with you or really feel you for so long." the Doctor's face was only slightly tear-streaked as he hugged the Master tightly.

"Are you going to kiss me, or what?" the Master asked, seeing the obvious look of want on the Doctor's face.

"I thought you'd never ask." the Doctor lunged forward and let his lips connect with the Master's for the first time since he'd gone to sleep. He didn't have to force himself into the Master's mouth, it was already open, inviting him in. Their hands roamed and the Doctor seemed like he'd missed this more than the Master expected him to.

The Master leaned back, sort of confused. Then, To'mfa, who had been sitting patiently on the floor, flapped his wings, flew up onto the bed and nudged his way in between the Master and the Doctor. He was about three times the size he was the last time the Master had seen him, but still small enough to fit in his lap. "Doctor, exactly how long have I been sleeping?"

"Um, this might be hard to believe, and you might... you might be upset, but you've been asleep for a little over six months, Master." the Doctor said sadly.

"Six months!" the Master sat up straighter. "I've missed out on six months of being with you? Six months of taking care of To'mfa? Does he even know me?"

"Of course he knows you." the Doctor said. "I brought him in to see you every day. He slept on your stomach and licked your face. See," he looked down at To'mfa who was sniffing the Master, "he knows who you are."

"And you've been taking care of him all by yourself? Watching over him and me all alone for six months?"

"I didn't mind, Master. I love you both, so I'd do it for another six months if I had to. But I'm glad I don't." the Doctor smiled.

"But I've missed out on him growing up. He's so big. And he's flying, I missed that too." the Master seemed very sad.

"I'm so sorry, Master." the Doctor rubbed his hand through the Master's now shaggy hair. "I know you're sad, and I'm sad for you, but you had no choice. If you wouldn't have slept, you would have died and you would have missed out on so much more."

"I know. I know that, really I do. But..." the Master didn't know what he wanted to say.

"But nothing. I'd rather have you miss six months and come back ready to take on the world than let you, and me, live in constant fear of it all coming to an end."

"But it's over now. I can feel it. I'm going to be alright."

"I know. Normally I would say we can't be sure until we've seen more, but I can feel a difference in you. You have more energy, more vitality than you had before."

"Doctor, are you going to keep talking or are you going to shag me like we haven't seen each other in six months?"

"There's the Master I know and love." the Doctor gave the Master a quick, appetizing kiss and hopped off the bed. He left the room, guiding To'mfa back to the controls. When he came back, he wasted no time undressing himself and the Master. He knew this might not be a good idea, they still weren't completely sure that the Master was going to stay awake this time, but he just couldn't listen to his brain right now. His hearts (and possibly some other organs) had full control of his body at the moment, and nothing was going to stop him making love to the Master. It had been so very long since they'd been intimate, such a long time had gone by and the Doctor couldn't bring himself to tell the Master to wait.

All day they were at it. The Doctor left a few times to check on To'mfa, after all, they couldn't just abandon him, but otherwise they couldn't stop. They would think they had reached their limits, but then they'd look into each other's eyes, or one would rub the other just the right way, and they'd start all over again, until the next morning.

"I love you, Doctor." the Master whispered in the Doctor's ear.

"I love you too, Master." the Doctor said, with more emotion than either of them thought he was capable of.

"I know that, I can see it, all you did for me, and look, I'm back, and even after a few rounds of extreme we've-just-been-reunited sex, I'm still wide awake." the Master's eyes were wide open, and he was trying to make the Doctor laugh. He was mildly successful.

"If you never sleep again, it'll be too soon. Don't get me wrong, you're beautiful when you're sleeping, but..."

"Beautiful?" the Master asked, interrupting.

"Yeah, beautiful. I know... I know you think I'm just a hopeless romantic," the Doctor gave a little smile, "but I get all flustered inside when I look at you, even after all this time, even after all we've been through, I still get nervous around you."

"You're all alone with me after I've just woken up from a very long sleep. And you're naked. I think you have a right to be nervous." the Master grinned devilishly.

The Doctor laughed, for real, a genuine, happy laugh, making the Master feel even better.

It got to be around noontime, the same time the Master had woken up the previous day. And the Master was still awake.

"Can I get out of bed now? I can't believe I'm not stiff." the Master saw the Doctor smile.

"I think you can stand up. But you're not stiff, I didn't just let you lay here in one position the entire time. What kind of lover would that make me?" the Doctor helped the Master stand. "I would move your arms and legs every few hours. And I'd roll you over to keep you breathing. I even massaged you to keep your bloodflow fresh and stable. It was hard, too, because I didn't know if I was hurting you or not, because you couldn't tell me. But I figured, as long as nothing resisted to the movement, you were fine."

"I sure picked the right person to fall in love with." the Master said as he tried standing on his own. He was a little wobbly, but he expected that.

The Doctor smiled at the Master. "Can you walk?"

The Master tried to take a step, but couldn't quite get it right.

"Here," the Doctor said, standing in front of the Master so he faced him and reaching out both his arms, "grab hold of me, and I'll help you walk."

The Master bent forward, grabbing the Doctor's hands, and stepped once. Twice. Three times. Four, five, six... until they were at the wall. The Doctor had backed up against it and was still pulling the Master, causing them to crash against it.

They laughed and then the Doctor walked the Master back to the bed. "You'll get better. Just keep going. Do you still want me to hold on to you?"

"Maybe just walk next to me and hold one hand. That way you're still right where you need to be if I fall." the Master said, determined to walk on his own. He felt extremely helpless, and needed to be able to walk on his own.

When nighttime rolled around, the Master was walking perfectly and still showed no signs of sleepiness. By now, they were both positive he was perfectly recuperated, but the Doctor kept watching, just in case.

They went to the controls and To'mfa was hovering in the air above them, still attached to his leash which was tied to a pillar. There was a litter box next to his basket which held a food dish and a water dish.

"Look at you, taking care of our pet all by yourself. And you even went with my idea about the litter box, how sweet." the Master bent down and rubbed To'mfa's soft fur. "Did the TARDIS influence him psychicly to use the box, or did you train him on your own?"

"Both, the TARDIS started it, and bit by bit we got him to use it on his own."

"And you clean it?"

"Yes."

"Wow. When did he start to fly?"

"Few days after you went to sleep. I was laying with you and I heard him barking. I came out and there he was, flying, pulling his leash taut, barking at the screen on the controls."

"I head you say you take him walking. How do you keep him from flying around the humans?"

"I got the TARDIS to help me with that one too. She explained to him that, when we're outside, he is not allowed to fly, or else he could get hurt."

"And he listened?"

"Yes. Apparently, he and the TARDIS spend a great deal of time talking. I think it's good she has someone to talk to when I'm busy." the Doctor patted her controls. "Hang on, how did you know I had to hide him from the humans? I never said anything about them."

"Doctor, I think I know you better than I know myself. We're on Earth. I knew you'd come here. And I'm glad you did. I bet it helped with the pain of not being able to be with me, didn't it, just a little? Earth always helps you when you're dealing with something like that."

"It's just so relaxing, to see humans living their lives, oblivious to everything. Not many worlds left like that." the Doctor got a far away look in his eyes for a fleeting moment, but it was gone by the time the Master recognized it. "I know you don't care for Earth too much,"

"Doctor, that doesn't matter at all. Whatever made you happy, whatever kept you strong, as long as it worked. You needed to be here in order to keep moving forward."

"Not really, I would have been able to do it without being on Earth." the Doctor explained.

"But not as easily."

"No, not as easily."

"Then I'm glad for Earth." the Master grabbed the Doctor's hand. "I'm glad for anything that makes you happy."

"Having you back makes me happy."

"Me too. Care to go back to the bedroom?" the Master said, standing.

"Oh, Master, what am I going to do with you?" the Doctor stood and walked back with the Master to their room. A couple more rounds and a few more "I love you"s and they were both feeling lighter and livelier.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: yay! The Master is all better now! And they are together in blissful happiness. Sorry this wasn't a more interesting chapter. Every time, I try to write something better than the last chapter, but I don't seem to be doing too well. What will happen now that the Master is not restrained by a need for sleep? Find out next time! Oh, and i know I said my updates might be coming farther apart soon, but I don't know how soon that is. Summer school starts in a few days, and I have summer workshops for the school paper (I'm the layout editor) and I work too so idk when I'll be able to write. But, as long as you guys tell me to continue, I'll keep writing.