Chapter 37 – To The Store! (Posted July 16th 2010)
"Dad, are you sure you don't want the Master to drive?" Jenny asked, scared to death that the Doctor would crash them.
"No, I'm fine, this car is just so different from all the ones I've driven, not to mention how long it's been since I operated one..." the Doctor said, trying to get the hang of driving.
"It's opposite, I told you it would be opposite, you even saw when we rode home with Jack, but you wouldn't listen." the Master said, holding on for dear life. "And you know what? We passed the store five minutes ago."
"That wasn't it." the Doctor said. "It should be further on the map."
"This map is not drawn to scale." Jenny said, frustrated.
"What?" the Doctor said, ripping it from her hands. "What good is a map if it isn't drawn to scale? That's worse than not having a map at all!"
"Doctor, just pull over and let me drive." the Master begged.
"But, I want to drive." the Doctor pouted, making the Master and Jenny laugh. "Oh, fine." he gave in, "Where should I pull in?"
"Here, in this parking lot. My, but there are a lot of fast food restaurants here, is this really a good place to raise a child?" the Master said, pointing.
"It's the same everywhere else, Master, you just haven't seen it." the Doctor said as he parked the car. "Ok, you see how hard it is to drive this... this... I can't even find the words for how much I dislike this vehicle."
"You're just missing your TARDIS, Doctor, you're an old man stuck in his ways. Get with the times." the Master laughed as he exited the passenger side of the car, which was on the right, and switched into the driver's seat, which was on the left.
"You forget," the Doctor said as he climbed into the car, "getting with the times is kind of what I do."
"True." the Master nodded with a smile.
"And I am not old."
"Don't push it." The Master drove the car in the opposite direction, back toward the store they wanted to go to.
"See, there it is." Jenny leaned forward and pointed. "That's the store. They have a money center so you can cash the check Jack gave you, and then you can use it to buy your supplies for Matthew."
"Where did you put the check?" the Doctor asked the Master.
"You put it in your coat pocket to avoid losing it." the Master said, still laughing.
"I did?"
"Yes."
"Oh, yes, here it is." the Doctor fished it out of his pocket as the Master pulled into a parking space.
"Give it here." the Master demanded as the three of them stepped out of the car.
"What?" the Doctor asked.
"The check, give it to me."
"Why?"
"Do you think I'm letting you carry the money around? Not a chance."
"That's not fair!" the Doctor whined like a child.
"Dad," Jenny gave a smile full of pity, "I think you should give it to the Master. He told me about your... issues with money."
"Oh, it's not that bad." the Doctor argued, earning pitying faced from both his husband and his daughter. "Is it?"
"Afraid so. Come on, let me do this." the Master stuck out his open hand.
"Fine." the Doctor handed over the check like he was a gamer who lost his rare mint card in a competition.
"We should probably buy toys and furniture and things like that before groceries." the Master said as they walked into the store.
"We need a television." the Doctor said.
"We do not need a television."
"Not a great big expensive one, of course not, but a small one so we can watch movies together and stuff. It can even be one of those fun kids' ones that are modeled after cartoon characters." the Doctor said.
"Fine, a little one, but if we don't have enough money for other things, we're putting it back."
"Yeah." the Doctor agreed to the Master's conditions.
The Master went into the money centre as the Master and Jenny waited on a bench outside it. He cashed the check and came back out, ready to spend it.
They walked to the toys isle and looked around at all the odd gadgets and things they were selling. "Do you two know anything about what kids like?" Jenny asked, laughing as they were baffled by the trinkets.
"...No." they said together.
"Can I help you gentlemen find something?" a voice came from the end of the isle. "You look like you can't find what you want."
"Um..." the Doctor said as she approached, "we don't really know what we want."
"Yeah, we're trying to buy things for our son, we just adopted him, and we're not exactly sure what to get for him." the Master explained.
"I think I can help you, I have two sons and a daughter myself." the woman smiled. "My name is Cindy."
"John." the Doctor shook her hand. "And this is my daughter, Jenny." She waived.
"I'm Mark." said the Master.
Cindy helped the Doctor and the Master pick out toys and movies that their son might like. They bought him a tiny bike that was on sale, a ball to play with, and a multitude of other toys that were sure to keep him busy until school started. She also helped them pick out a bed set for him, a school bag and a lunch tin, and a plastic table for him to play on.
"So, what's your son's name?" she asked as they looked at movies. The Doctor was off somewhere else with Jenny talking to a sales person about a television.
"Matthew." the Master said.
"And is this your first child together?"
"Yeah." the Master wore a huge, silly smile. "Jenny is John's real daughter, and he's had other children before, but they all... they grew up."
"So this is pretty new to you?"
"Yeah."
"You seem like you're scared." Cindy sounded like she was asking him a question.
"I'm not really scared, but I admit I'm nervous. I mean, Matthew really likes all of us, when we first met him it was like we were already connected, but I'm afraid he'll get sick of us one day. Or he'll realize one day that we're not his real parents."
"How old is he?" Cindy asked.
"He's six." the Master said. "So, he already knows we're not his parents, but when he grows up, he might look at it differently."
"I don't think so. My children are all from a previous marriage, and the older ones still accept their step-father." Cindy said. "Jenny likes you?"
"Yeah, Jenny's great. She accepted my relationship with John before it became what it did. But... John and I haven't been together that long, and she's actually pretty young, despite what she looks like."
"I'm sure it'll all work out." Cindy smiled. "You two seem like great guys. You're not from around here, though, right? Those accents are from across the pond, aren't they?"
"You could say that, yeah." the Master laughed.
"Is Matthew, too?"
"No, no he's American, which is why we're living here. We didn't want to take him away from his home."
"Aaw, see, that just proves you'll be great parents. That you were willing to come all the way here just for him. He'll see that when he's older, he won't lose touch with you. You'll do great."
"Thanks." he said as he held all the movies he wanted to take home for Matthew. "And thanks for all your help with the shopping."
"Oh, just doing my job." she said sweetly. "Take care." Cindy walked away and immediately began helping another customer.
The Master walked over to the Doctor and Jenny. They were comparing two little televisions.
"Oh, there you are, Master." the Doctor said. "Come here."
"John, you know we're not supposed to use those names when we're out."
"Yeah, right, sorry." the Doctor looked puzzled. "But can you help us? We can't decide which to get. They're the same price, but they have different things."
"What's different about them?"
"This one," Jenny said pointing to the one on the top shelf, "has a dvd player build right in. But the other one," she pointed to one near the bottom, "has a bigger screen but takes up less space."
"Get the one with the dvd player." the Master said after a moment of contemplation. "That way we don't have to buy one separately. It'll save some money."
"Yeah, you're right." the Doctor said.
"So, is that all we're getting?" the Master asked.
"We should pay for these things and take them to the car so we don't have to push the cart around while we get the groceries. And we should make sure we'll have room in the car for groceries. If not, we'll need to go back to the house and come back." the Doctor said, walking to a register. "He'll probably need new clothing for school and stuff, but he should be with when we buy it so we can be sure it fits."
"That's a good idea." the Master agreed. "I was thinking," he started putting the items on the counter, "should we have like a little party when we bring him home? You know, a nice meal, cake, and have him open some presents or something? Like a welcoming party."
"That sounds fun." the Doctor said, smiling. "We'll need to get party supplies when we get the groceries then. And we can wrap up some of the movies and toys as presents. I got him another tube of Lincoln Logs, his looked a little worn out. Plus this way we'll have more for when he asks us all to play with him."
The cashier rang up all the stuff and told them their total. It was only just over half of what they had. The Master paid and they took it all out to the car.
"We are not going to have room for groceries." the Master said as they stuffed almost all their bags into the boot and piled the rest on one side of the back seat. "We barely have enough room for Jenny." he joked.
"You'll just have to ride on top, Master." the Doctor said and laughed.
The Master got a playful look on his face and leaned close, whispering into the Doctor's ear. "Isn't that where you like having me lately, Doctor?"
Shocked, the Doctor laughed. "You had me worried, you went that whole time without saying anything like that."
"You practically handed that one to me, Doctor."
"Are you driving again?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes. No arguing. You'll just have to practice. I can't believe Torchwood would just give us driving licenses without having us take a test or something."
"They pretty much figure all aliens can drive. Driving a car is nothing compared to operating a space ship." the Doctor said.
"Like I said, you're too used to your TARDIS and using your psychic connection to make the ride smoother." the Master said.
He drove them all the way back to the house, where they all brought the bags in from the car. It took a few trips to get everything inside, but it happened eventually.
"Should we go back for groceries tonight?" the Doctor asked, noticing the sun begin to set.
"No, I think we should unpack all of this," the Master said, "and get everything set up so we don't have a mess already."
"I think you're right." Jenny said. "I'll even help you if you want."
"You don't have to do that, Jenny." the Doctor said.
"I want to. Matthew is my brother now, and I want to help."
"How long are you going to stay with us?" the Master asked.
"I don't know, until he starts school, maybe?" Jenny said. "Why?"
"Well, we were kind of hoping you'd stick around." the Master admitted.
"Oh... I don't know about that... not that I don't love being with you guys..."
"Jenny, it's fine we understand. You don't have to stay here, in this one place, but you could stay in this time, so you can come back and visit us anytime you want to." the Doctor proposed. "If you want to, that is. If not, I'll take you back to your own time whenever you want."
"I'll think about it."
"Thanks." the Doctor said, digging through the bags.
They spend most of the night setting things up, assembling things, installing things, all that good stuff. Eventually everything was finished, and Jenny yawned as they all sat at the kitchen table.
"You can go to bed if you want, Jenny." the Master said. "There's an extra room you can have while you stay with us."
"That sounds good. You sure you don't mind?" Jenny stood.
"Of course not." the Doctor said, standing to face her. "It's really great to see you."
"I know dad, it's good to see you too." she smiled and hugged him, then walked to her room.
"You really miss her?" the Master asked when she shut her door.
"Yeah. Before, when she was first born, I didn't really accept her as my daughter. But, then... I thought she died, and I felt so bad. But then I saw her fly away in a space ship, and I felt so much better knowing she was out there somewhere." the Doctor explained. "Still, I never thought I'd see her again, to be honest. And, when people come and go so often in your life like they do in mine, you just learn to accept it. But then we ran into her at the market..."
"That was the first time you'd seen her since she was born?" the Master asked.
"Yeah."
"D'you think she'll stick around for a bit?"
"No. She'll stay for Matthew, but if she's anything like me at all, she'll be ready to go by tomorrow morning." the Doctor said. "And that's fine, she's an independent individual, I want her to go anywhere she wants. But I think I've changed in the last few days. I mean, I still want to travel, but the idea of staying here, well, it doesn't bother me. If anything, I'm kind of looking forward to it, being with my family." he reached across and put his hand on the Master's, who smiled sweetly.
"Doctor, do you think we're doing the right thing, though?" the Master asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you and me are still a pretty new couple, we just got married. Are you sure we're doing what's best for Matthew?"
"Master," the Doctor said, "we've been together for almost a year."
"But I wasn't awake for most of it." the Master said sadly. "And that's not all I'm worried about. Marriage changes a relationship, and we were just married a few hours ago. We haven't even had time to adjust..."
"You don't have anything to worry about, Master." the Doctor said. He patted his lap and said, "Come over here. Come on..." and pulled the Master onto him. He held him tenderly and kept their eyes locked in contact. "We've been living like a married couple since we started this relationship. We live together, sleep together, help each other. If anything, it's going to make us stronger. And Matthew is so happy we're adopting him, you know that. We'll have Jenny to help him settle in, at least for a few days, anyway. And... I can't wait to raise a child with you, Master."
"We're going to be parents." the Master said with a bright, beaming smile.
"Yes, we are."
"Me, my husband, and our son... I can hardly believe this is happening."
"You're happy, though." the Doctor said.
"Of course I'm happy. I haven't been able to even think about not being happy since you asked me to marry you, Doctor." the Master bent his head low over the Doctor's and kissed him with gentle, warm lips. "Tell me, do I make you happy?"
"Unbelievably."
"Good." he continued to kiss the Doctor. "You know... you've still got your suit on... want me to take it off for you?"
"Not here, come on, let's go to our room." the Doctor stood and tugged the Master's arm toward their new bedroom. He sat him on the bed and climbed on top of him, kissing any exposed skin he could find.
The Master tried to undress the Doctor, but was stopped when the Doctor moved away from him.
"Something wrong?" the Master asked, touching the Doctor's face.
"We need to talk about something." the Doctor answered, sitting against the headboard. He opened his arms, and the Master crawled over to him. He laid his head on the Doctor's chest and felt the Doctor's arms tighten around him. "I talked to Martha after the wedding." he said, getting no response from the Master. "She told me what you said to her."
"Why am I not surprised?"
"You're right, you know. About one of those things, anyway."
"Which one?" the Master asked.
"Well, I would definitely be heartbroken if you ever left me." the Doctor said, running his fingers through the Master's hair. "I'm glad you know that much."
"I bet I can guess what I was wrong about."
"I bet you can." he rubbed the Master's back and pressed his head tighter to his chest. "Do you hear that?"
"Your hearts?" the Master asked. "Of course I can hear them."
"You know that's because of you, right? If you hadn't saved me, they wouldn't be beating. If you hadn't been willing to use the last of your strength to restart my hearts, I wouldn't be alive right now. And I don't know if I ever thanked you for that."
"You didn't have to thank me, that's not why I did it."
"I know." the Doctor said.
"Plus you saving me right after that was thanks enough. And everything you've done for me since then."
"You know, anything you've done because of the Drums... none of that is your fault. It's not your responsibility. You were manipulated. And even if you weren't strong enough to fight it, you can't be blamed for that either. You were one person... targeted by a whole group of Timelords... and you were only eight. There was no way you could have known what was happening, much less know how to stop it. If anything, I should feel bad for not being able to help you."
"No!" the Master sat up. "No, Doctor, you can't feel bad for that... you didn't know..."
The Doctor interrupted him by touching his lips and smiling. "See? That's how I feel when you say stuff like that about yourself. There are things that I've done that might make me think I don't deserve what I've got. I've killed, and people have died because of me. But I've learned, and I'm a good person, and I don't think I don't deserve to be loved by you."
"But I never..."
"Master, I can't stand knowing you think you don't deserve me. What are you going to do when Matthew comes home? You can't keep feeling like this, not when you have a child. You need to learn that you do deserve me. We love each other, so it really doesn't even matter if we deserve each other or not. Everyone deserves love."
"If it doesn't matter, then why does it matter if I feel that way?" the Master asked, closing his eyes.
"Because I love you, and I don't want you to lose confidence. I know what that feels like, but I've always had friends to help me." the Doctor said. "You need to know that it is not wrong to want me, Master. And until you understand that, I'm afraid you're not getting any."
"Any what?"
"Any of me. I'm not going to have sex with you. After all, you don't deserve it." the Doctor said.
"What?" the Master asked, confused.
"If you don't deserve me, why should I be giving myself to you?"
"But... you married me..."
"Because I thought you deserved me. But if you don't, then..."
"Ok!" the Master sat up and looked the Doctor in the eyes. "I get it. I see your point. I'll really try to change those thoughts, but please, don't threaten to leave me."
The Doctor kissed him, pulling his body down closer. "I wasn't threatening to leave you. I was just trying to show you how it feels when someone speaks bad about the one you love, especially if they're the one saying it. Come on, now, you know I love you."
"I love you too."
"I know, and I couldn't be happier. I need you, just remember that. I'll never stop needing you."
"So... are you still withholding sex, or can we...?"
"I was just kidding about that to prove a point." the Doctor rolled over and pinned him down, kissing him roughly, yet sweetly.
The Master continued where he left off, removing every bit of clothing. Then, he surprised the Doctor when he handed him a lumped up piece of fabric.
"What's this?" the Doctor asked, taking it.
"It's the coat from your wedding suit. Put it back on."
"No...! You wanna... with my coat on...?" the Doctor looked horrified.
"Yes. Doctor, do you know how sexy you looked in that suit?" the Master unbundled the coat and slipped it on the Doctor. "Oh, if only you had a sash..."
"That's pushing it." the Doctor joked.
"No, its your turn to do that tonight." the Master laughed. "Come on, let me see that coat."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: ok, I know you're all concerned about the Doctor and Master actually having to stay on Earth. In America. But—have no fear, I have it covered. You'll see. It's not the best plot, but it works. Kinda. I think the next three or four chapters are going to be boring as hell, but I probably shouldn't have said that because now you won't read them... but after that it's going to get good. Also, it seems I am a bad fan girl, for I have missed John Simm's birthday. Happy late birthday human incarnation of the god of sexiness :) Oh, and one more thing... I just now realized that Matthew is now Matthew Smith... I didn't do that intentionally. I just like the name Matthew. That's what I want to name my son if I ever have one. I honestly didn't mean to name him after the current Doctor's player. also, i'm not sure if i'll be able to update as regularly as i have been. it might go down to weekly or twice a week at most because i'm having some issues with my family and i just won't have time to upload them. i'm sorry, but the end is coming and you don't want it t happen all at once anyway. it'll be better spread out, trust me.