Beatrice woke to find herself lying in the Master's arms. Memories of the previous night's events came back to her and she smiled. Beatrice twisted in his arms to face him and found him watching her a soft smile on his face. She loved when he smiled like that. Finally, he spoke.

"Good morning my dear." Oh, how Beatrice enjoyed that term of endearment. She had noticed she was the only person whose name he didn't tack onto the end of the first two words. She was always simply, "My dear".

"Good morning," she said softly. "Last night was wonderful."

"I quite enjoyed it myself," he replied. She nestled closer into him and she felt him tighten his hold on her.

"I could get used to waking up in your arms," she said still smiling.

"I could get used to having you in them." A feeling of warmth spread through Beatrice at his words.

"I meant what I said last night. It wasn't a spur of the moment thought," she said thinking of her confession the previous night. The Master propped himself up on one arm and with his other hand tilted her chin up so that they were looking each other in the eyes.

"I know. You may be a hopeless romantic but you are also the most genuine person I know. You wouldn't have said it if you didn't mean it," he paused. "I hope you know that I care for you just as much." A small feeling of relief filled Beatrice at this final verbal confirmation of his feelings. She also propped her self upon her arm. Brushing back her now rather messy hair.

"I do. Your actions have more than proven that you care for me. The way you always try to take care of and protect me. Even before we admitted that we cared for each other. All the way back to when you stopped the Axons duplicating me. You may pretend to be heartless but I know it isn't true."

"You really do try to see the best in others," he said gently toying with a strand of her hair.

"Only those I care for."

"You're right though. Even back then I couldn't stand the thought of you being hurt. Though I didn't know why." he told her.

"It's funny, but I always feel safe when I'm with you," she said. He might not be a knight in shining armour. But she knew he wouldn't let anything hurt her if he could help it.

"Few people would," he told her quietly. The expression on his face was difficult to read. He often looked so dour and solemn that anything else was hard to place at times. She leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to his.

"Well, I'm not most people am I?" she said a small smirk on her face as she pulled away.

"No, you aren't. And I'm glad for that," he replied. The Master gently began trailing his hand down her spine. They were silent for a moment before something Beatrice had been curious about popped into her mind.

"Master, who was Ailla?" she asked. The Master paused for a moment.

"Where did you hear that name?" he asked his tone was slightly sharp but not angry.

"The Doctor mentioned her when he told me he knew about us. He said she was your previous companion but wouldn't tell me anything else."

"That man needs to learn when to keep his mouth shut." muttered the Master as he resumed the stroking of her back.

"Sorry to bring up a tough subject," said Beatrice. It was clearly a somewhat painful memory. The Master shook his head.

"It's alright my dear," he sighed. "Ailla was indeed my former companion from about 200 years ago. I met her in the 28th century on Earth. She appeared to be smarter than your average human. I was admittedly surprised by her extreme intelligence and inquisitiveness. She seemed tolerable enough and I decided there couldn't be much harm in travelling with her." Beatrice must have looked slightly insecure because the Master then said,

"You may both be intelligent but that's where the similarities end. She had none of you bravery, kindness, or charm. Nor was she quite as beautiful." Beatrice felt herself blush and relaxed.

"So what happened with her?"

"Well, we travelled together for a while. I did grow rather fond of her and she seemed to care for me. And then she betrayed me. It turned out she was a Time Lady sent by the Celestial Intervention Agency on Gallifrey to spy on me. She attempted to arrest both myself and the Doctor. I escaped. The last I heard the Doctor managed to trick her and she was stranded Rassilon only knows where."

Beatrice felt a rush of anger towards Ailla. Double-crossing the Master the way the Doctor had done with the Axons to save the earth was one thing. But pretending to care for someone only to turn around and betray them was just plain cruel. Toying with people's emotions was something Beatrice found nearly unforgivable.

"So that's part of why you're so wary of truly trusting people. The last time that you did that person turned around and betrayed you. That's why you haven't travelled with someone since." The Master nodded.

"Until you." Beatrice was touched by his words.

"You truly trust me?" she asked.

"Implicitly," he confirmed and she could see the truth in his eyes.

"I'll never betray you like that. Never for as long as I live. I care for you too much to ever bring myself to break your trust." The Master pulled her closer.

"I know. You don't have a traitorous bone in your body," he said gently kissing the top of her head. "My faithful companion." Beatrice closed her eyes resting her head against his chest. She could hear the steady sound of his hearts beating.

In that moment, as she lay in the arms of the man she loved, Beatrice vowed to herself that she would never hurt him the way that Ailla had. Not for anything in the universe.

Author's Note: Aww:) He trusts her. I know this is sort of a short chapter. I have to say that Ailla was not my own creation she appeared in the story The Dark Path which is a Delgado Master story the BBC published in book form. Ailla was his companion and the backstory I related is what occurred in that story. I found out about her and I thought it would be interesting for them to discuss. I'm going to try and update soon but I am backed up a bit with work so it might be a week or so before I get to update. Just keep checking in for notifications. I promise not to abandon the story. PLEASE PLEASE COMMENT! I kind of hoped the I love you scene would get some feedback but I haven't heard anything. So please take a few minutes to let me know your thoughts on the story. They do impact my writing and I always love reading them. It's kinda tough to write a story without knowing how your readers are perceiving it. Thank you so much for reading and supporting me. I am having a lot of fun writing this. Until next time Whovians!