Chapter 26 – Out And About (Posted June 23rd 2010)

The Master and the Doctor were walking in a little park, with To'mfa traipsing daintily in front of them. They talked to other couples taking strolls, and let To'mfa sniff the other dogs. They walked close, but didn't touch, because they both knew how humans could react to that sort of thing.

But when they sat on a bench, the Master took a risk laid his head on the Doctor's shoulder, and it was fine. They weren't really scared of anything the humans might do to them, but they didn't feel like having any kind of trouble today. Not the first day that the Master had been allowed to leave the TARDIS.

The Master had never been so happy to see Earth. He'd never been happier to see the plainness of the trees and the dullness of the sky and sameness of the inhabitants. Because, in his freshly opened eyes, it all looked fresh, and new, and every individual was unique because he really looked at them. Because he had to look. His eyes had been closed, in darkness for so long, all he'd seen was a dream and a memory, images in his head. And he had to take everything in, and find beauty in all of it. Even if he didn't want to admit that to the Doctor.

"I hope something exciting happens while we're here." the Master said, lifting his head off the Doctor's shoulder.

"So do I. I've been trying to avoid everything while you were asleep. I knew if anything would happen to me, you'd wake up all alone, and I couldn't let that happen." the Doctor smiled at the Master.

"Too right, because I need you." the Master said seriously. But he didn't want to get into a deep conversation, so he didn't continue. The Doctor looked like he was about to give some of his Almighty Doctor Wisdom, but, luckily, the Master's stomach gave a loud rumble.

"Are you hungry, Master?" the Doctor laughed.

"Starving. That's odd, though, I didn't even realize until now."

"It's because you had other things on your mind when you first woke up, you didn't even care about hunger or anything like that. But, you haven't eaten in a long, long time, so we should find you something."

"Like what?"

"Well, there're tons of cafes here, we could go into one of those."

"We haven't any money."

"Oh yeah. I usually go with someone who does have money." the Doctor digs in his pockets. "Nope, I don't have any. I forget what time we're in, I don't know if anyone around here would know me..."

"Someone always knows you on Earth, Doctor, no matter what time it is."

"True." The Doctor looked around. "Maybe we should just keep walking. I could go in and check the monitor in the TARDIS, we could even just get you something from the kitchen if you want."

"No, let's just keep walking. It's more fun if we don't know. If we still don't find anything, then we'll come back."

"No, let's go inside the TARDIS. I'm not going to have you faint from hunger, that's the last thing you need. Come on, To'mfa probably needs water anyway."

"Can we come back, though?"

"Out here?" the Doctor seemed puzzled.

"Yeah."

"You do know we're on Earth, right?"

"I haven't seen Earth, or any planet, in a long time." the Master followed the Doctor back to the TARDIS. Then he mumbled "I missed being here."

But the Doctor heard, and he beamed. "You missed Earth? Well, that's wonderful! Now I don't have to feel too bad when I want to visit."

The Master felt embarrassed, but then it didn't matter. The Doctor liked Earth, and the Master really didn't hate it that much, so this was just one more thing they could share.

Back inside the TARDIS, To'mfa ran straight to his water dish and drank. The Doctor tied him to the pillar and the Master looked confused.

"Why do you still tie him up? Can't the TARDIS just tell him not to get into trouble?"

"No, we tried that. He flew off into the hallways and ripped up a chair in one of my libraries. It wasn't an important chair, thankfully, but he is a strong little thing and the TARDIS couldn't influence him while he was curious, so I keep him tied. But the leash is long enough so that he can be comfortable. He'll grow out of it eventually."

"What's he doing now?" the Master asked, looking at To'mfa. He was sitting with his nose pointed straight up.

"He's talking to the TARDIS. That's how he looks when they talk."

"Does she ever tell you what they talk about?"

"Not really. I think he likes to listen to her tell stories, mostly." the Doctor said.

The Master's stomach let out another booming growl and the Doctor laughed again. "Come on, let's go to the kitchen."

They were about to walk through the hallways when the TARDIS started making noise.

"Is that a distress signal?" the Master asked as the ship started shaking.

"Yeah, I haven't gotten one for a while. Want to check it out? They might have food."

"Sure, maybe we'll have ourselves a real adventure this time."

They hurried back to the main controls and went toward the call for help. Landing a few moments later, they ran out the door. They had landed in the middle of a lawn, in front of a white house.

"Are we still on Earth?" the Master asked.

"Can't be, this doesn't smell like Earth. Doesn't feel like Earth. I don't think I've ever been here before." the Doctor sprinted back into the TARDIS and read the coordinates on the screen. "No, not Earth. Close. Well, not close as in distance, close as in relativity. This is a manufactured planet, made to look just like Earth; it's a vacation spot for space travelers."

"Who brought us here?"

"I'm guessing, whoever is inside that vacation home."

"And who's that?"

"I don't know. Shall we find out?" the Doctor walked out of the TARDIS with an intrigued grin upon his face. The Master followed, also curious but wondering if it was really safe to just mosey up to the door and knock.

But the Doctor didn't see any danger. They went up on the porch, and the savory smell of someone cooking wafted through the air. The Doctor pushed the glowing button to ring the buzzer, and they heard light footsteps quickly approaching the door.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: who's vacation home have the Doctor and Master stumbled upon? Will the poor Master ever get fed? Are there more surprises lurking around the corner? It's all coming up in chapter 27!

PS – I posted this today because I started it, and figured I should post it now while I still can. Why would I be unable to post for a while, well, I'll tell you (even though it brings tears to my eyes lol). The charger for my laptop has broken, and my computer's battery is dying. So, until I can buy another charger off of Amazon (because buying it from the apple store for eighty bucks is ridiculous), I won't be able to update. Might only be a week or two. Sorry :(