Almost three hours passed as they sat watching the Doctor. On the surface, nothing was noticeable as he continued to breathe slow and steady, but his energy was dropping steadily. Soon he would reach a point where they would either have to wake him or put up high nutrient drips in order to continue to support his healing process. The Master debated with himself which path to take as he sat holding Jack. In the end, though he chose to wake the Doctor. Not only because it would be better for him to have a break from the healing but also he wanted to spend time with his lover.
"I am going to wake him in about a half an hour," He informed Jack as he quickly calculated how much energy the Doctor would lose in that time frame. In order to make sure the Doctor's energy would renew itself, it had to stay about %45. Right now, it was sitting closer to %55 but the Master wanted to make sure he didn't actually get to %45.
"Is he done healing?" Jack asked hopefully.
"I don't think so, but he needs to renew his energy before he can continue. Waking him will allow him to eat and rest. We will also run several examines and x-rays on him to see if he actually needs to go into another coma or if he can continue to heal successfully without it," The Master explained.
"He is going to be cranky when he wakes up with his energy so low. I am going to make him a cup of tea and grab a few bananas for him to eat until we can coax more food into him," Jack told the Master. He stood up, stretching his sore body.
"I would bring a thermos of tea as I think it is going to take more than one cup to make him happy again," The Master suggested. He didn't have a lot of experience with this Time Lord beyond him needing to be held when he didn't feel well. He was going to take Jack's word that tea and bananas would cheer him up faster. He waited until Jack was gone before he stood and went to the Doctor's side. Carefully he peeled the bandage on his side back revealing a thick red scar. The wound itself had been closed and the stitches sat darkly against the pale skin. Grabbing a pair of scissors, the Master removed the stitches from the Doctor's side. He cleaned the area with antiseptic just in case.
"How is he?" Jack wondered as he came back into the room and saw the Master standing over the Doctor.
"He has healed his incision. I am going to wait and perform the ultrasound and x-rays until after he is awake," The Master answered. He climbed up onto the bed beside the Doctor and motioned for Jack to get in on the other side. Together they held the Doctor between them as the Master placed his hands on the Doctor's temples.
"It's time to wake up now," The Master cooed as he gently pushed into the Doctor's mind. He coaxed the Doctor out of the coma and his mind back to the surface without fully waking him. Removing his fingertips from the Doctor's temples he turned to look at Jack.
"Sweethearts, I have a nice cuppa for you," Jack informed the Doctor softly as he kissed him on the head.
"No," The Doctor moaned, turning into the Master more.
"Yes, it is time for you to wake up. Now open those eyes for us," The Master whispered. The Doctor forced his eyes open to look at the Master. His eyes were filled with tears at being woke up and it was obvious he was still miserable. Before he had time to whine though, he was pulled into a sitting position and the tea was pressed to his lips by Jack. Carefully he tilted the cup allowing the Doctor to drink the hot liquid. Once the Doctor had drank the first mouthful it seemed to trigger how thirsty he really was and Jack had to stop him from chugging the rest.
"Easy. You don't want to make yourself get sick," Jack told him as he tilted the cup back.
"Fine," The Doctor sighed crankily. The Master and Jack didn't comment on his attitude as they continued to let him wake up. "Did it work?"
"I don't know. Your energy had fallen too far for you to stay in the coma. Once you wake up a little more we will perform an ultrasound to see how your liver is healing," The Master answered him.
"What if it didn't work?" The Doctor asked him fearfully. He stopped drinking the tea, raising his hand to push Jack's down.
"Then you will get your energy up and we will try again," The Master said more calmly than he felt. "Now finish your cup of tea and have a banana."
"But," The Doctor began. The Master put a finger to the Doctor's lips.
"Trust me," The Master told him. The Doctor nodded.
"I do," He replied. "I trust both of you."
"Then eat," Jack told him. He opened one of the bananas he had brought with him and handed it to the Doctor. The Doctor ate the banana quickly and reached for a second. Jack looked at the Master who nodded. Jack handed the Doctor a second banana, watching him devour that one as well. He then finished off his cup of tea with a happy slurp. His eyes lit up as Jack poured him a second cup from the thermos beside the bed. They quickly narrowed though as the Master stood up.
"You are going to poke me," The Doctor complained.
"Just a little. Now I need you to lie back so that I can look at your liver," The Master answered. The Doctor laid back, holding onto Jack as he did so. He had already lost the warmth of being sandwiched between his lovers and wasn't willing to lose Jack's warmth as well. Jack made sure to lay so that he wasn't blocking the Master from his work as he held onto the Doctor in return. The Master turned the monitor away from them as he squirted the cold gel onto the Doctor's abdomen. Running the wand along his skin he found his liver quickly. He couldn't help the smile that crossed his face as he saw that the coma had worked. Though the Doctor hadn't healed his liver completely it was just over half way there.
"It worked?" The Doctor asked a little anxious as he saw the smile on the Master's face.
"It did," The Master turned the screen so his two lovers could see it. The Doctor's smile matched his own as he saw that he wasn't going to have to regenerate. He could stay in this body and finish healing. He turned to Jack, pressing his lips to his. He moaned as Jack kissed him deeply and passionately. "Easy now Jack, he still isn't completely healed."
"Soon," Jack informed the Doctor as he broke the kiss. He kissed the Doctor softly on the lips again as the Master laughed.
"At least another week regardless of whether or not he goes into the healing coma," The Master told them. He put the ultrasound machine away and then took the Doctor to have x-rays performed. Despite both of their protest, he made Jack get out of the bed for them. The x-rays came back showing that the Doctor had almost completely healed his damaged rib where the bullet had lodged itself. He was well on his way to recovery. Once recovered though they had to return to Gallifrey for the trial of the Master and his companion Rose Tyler. The Master decided not to mention it though as he climbed back on the bed with Jack and the Doctor and took solace in the knowledge that he had accomplished something that he never could have with the Outlaw. He had saved the Doctor.