The Master spent most of the afternoon in surgery. He repaired the man's leg with the help of Marta. The man's life would be limited from now on, but he would keep his leg. They took him into a secondary recovery room for him to awaken from the surgery. Martha came into run through his vitals while the Master headed to the Doctor's room. He wanted nothing more to spend time with his lover, but he wasn't sure that he could yet. Jack was still sitting by the Doctor's bed and not in it as they normally did.
"Has he been awake yet?" The Master questioned in concern.
"Twice," Jack answered with a smile. He reached out and brushed the Doctor's hair off his forehead. "The first time he only had a drink of water. The second time he was only awake long enough to explain to me that he didn't need to open his eyes to drink water."
"I don't," The Doctor informed them. He opened his eyes a crack to see who Jack was talking to, a smile spreading across his face when he saw the Master. The Master came over to him, giving him a kiss on his cheek.
"How are you feeling," The Master asked as he sat down on the side of the bed.
"Sleepy," The Doctor answered, turning so that he could lay his head on the Master's leg.
"You need to keep still, you just had surgery," The Master said as he stopped the Doctor from turning. He moved closer to the Doctor's head so that the Doctor didn't have to turn. The Doctor smiled sadly as he laid his head on the Master's thigh. The Master gently ran his fingers through the Doctor's hair as the Doctor closed his eyes again. "No, stay awake for a moment we need to talk."
"Why," The Doctor moaned. Jack looked at the Master.
"Can't it wait?" Jack wondered on the Doctor's behalf as he watched the Doctor struggle to keep his eyes open. He was still sleeping off the anesthesia, but something else seemed wrong with how sleepy the Doctor was. Martha had informed Jack that it was just due to the amount of medications that he was currently on. Jack couldn't help but worry though. He reached out and took the Doctor's hand in his own.
"I am sorry Jack but it is important," The Master apologized to Jack. Jack nodded as the Master turned his attention back to the Doctor. "We need to discuss your surgery. As you know we took you into surgery in order to remove the blockage from inside your liver. We managed to remove the blockage, but your body wasn't healing your liver correctly from the bullet wound. You liver was swollen and inflamed it was only a matter of time before your body rejected it. In order to give you a fighting chance, we removed all of the damaged sections. Unfortunately, that left you only %25 of your liver."
"I can't live with only %25," The Doctor spoke up showing that he was listening. He sounded panicked as he squeezed Jack's hand tightly.
"I know. I still think we can save this body but in order to do that, you need to go into a healing coma," The Master told him.
"I haven't been able to achieve one in this body," The Doctor answered the Master. He felt tears filling his eyes. He didn't want to regenerate. He had avoided the ood in order to keep alive and now he was going to regenerate because his body didn't heal itself correctly. The energy that healed his body had been wrong ever since he had woken up early due to Rose needing help.
"If you trust me to enter your mind, I can help you. Then you only need to maintain the coma until your body has healed itself. You will be monitored the entire time and give medication to help support your body in healing," The Master explained to him.
"I trust you," The Doctor told him. The Master leaned in and kissed the Doctor gently on the lips. As he did he moved his hands to the Doctor's temples and closed his eyes. The Doctor opened his mind allowing the Master to enter it. Jack watched the monitors as the Doctor's breathing slowed, his mind showing less and less activity as his body temperature rose. The Master moved his hands away. Getting out of the bed, he turned the Doctor onto his back.
"How long will it take?" Jack questioned. The Doctor's hand had gone lax in his, but he refused to let go.
"I don't know. His body doesn't heal correctly. In normal circumstances, he would be able to heal it within an hour or so. I expect he may be in the healing coma for longer. Then he will need a few days to recover and be back on his feet. It is better then the weeks that we were predicting for his body to heal. That is if it works. If not he is going to regenerate and we will have to support him with that too," The Master told Jack.
"I won't leave him. Regardless of whether or not he regenerates. I am going to stay by his side as long as he lets me," Jack informed the Master.
"We both will." The Master sat down in the chair beside Jack. He put one arm around Jack's shoulders. With the other, he reached out and put his hand over the Doctor's and Jacks. Together they sat quietly waiting for the Doctor to heal.