Domestics and Divisions

I'm back! And, sorry I didn't get it all done but I'm working on it. This story should be coming to an end within the next few chapters or so. Thanks for the reviews for last chapter and hope you like this one…

Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me.

Part Eighteen: The Helpful Hand

Within the five minutes since the Doctor and Jonny had been taken by the Weevils, the Torchwood team had collectively brought together the CCTV footage from all of the operating cameras from around the Bay. Rose watched worriedly as the image on the computer screen switched from camera to camera as it tracked firstly the Weevils journey from their point of origin and then their journey back along with the Doctor and Jonny. Both places were the same and had the Torchwood team wrinkling their noses in distaste.

"You're joking me. They took them to the sewers?" Owen asked.

"Poor Jonny. He must be frightened to death," Gwen murmured.

Rose said nothing, the intense chewing of her bottom lip giving away her feelings. Jack wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed comfortingly.

"So… we go to the point of origin in the sewers and attempt to track them down?" Ianto asked delicately.

Jack nodded. "Gwen, Owen. You two and I will go and sort it out."

This sparked a volley of protesting from Rose and Owen. Jack held his hands out to quiet them and raised his voice.

"Owen, shut it. You're going. I need Ianto and Tosh to stay here and man the computers. Rose, honey. I don't want you to come along. You're too involved."

"So are you! I dare you to say you aren't worried to death too!" she retorted angrily, "Come on Jack. Please."

He hesitated before sighing. "OK. You can come along. But you're staying with me. The Doctor would never forgive me if you got injured."

"Well, we'll see," she shrugged, "Just don't treat me like I'm a delicate flower, Jack. I might be a mother now but I'm still tough. You know I am otherwise you'd never have let me join the team."

Jack couldn't help but smile. "You've got me there. C'mon team, get moving. Five minutes until departure."

"Thanks," the Doctor said, as the helpful hand heaved both him and Jonny out of the dark hole in the ground. He set the boy down for a moment and brushed them both off before raising his head to thank their rescuer. His mouth dropped.

"What?"

The new, slightly short and ginger haired Master smiled at him. "Hello, Doctor. Pleased to see me?"

"How can you be here?" the Doctor demanded, "How did you get here?" The last time the Doctor had seen this newly regenerated Master was when he'd heaved his unconscious body into the Sphere, which had fallen through the Void into the old Torchwood One base in London several years ago.

"With the help of your little girlfriend," the Master smiled.

The Doctor frowned. How had Rose helped the Master? She wouldn't!

"Although why she's still with you is anyone's guess," he continued.

The Doctor growled, his heart clenching painfully as he remembered that he didn't know where he stood with Rose now.

"I hear you've been having problems lately though. Separated for years by a parallel universe," the Master sighed, "So sad."

"It was," the Doctor confirmed, "But we're back together now and that's all that matters. Not that it's any of your business."

"And I see she's borne you a son," the Master said, ignoring him.

The Doctor glanced down at Jonny and felt a flicker of pride inside him that the boy was not cowering in fear but rather staring up at the Master as if he didn't quite know what to make of him. As he watched, Jonny switched his gaze to him and smiled toothily. The Doctor felt himself give in.

"Yes," he nodded, "Yes, she did." He felt Jonny's small hand slip into his and squeezed it. He smiled down at him before looking back up at the Master. "Alright, enough about me. What about you? Tell me how you're here," he demanded.

"Oooh, fierce. I do like that," the Master replied easily, "Well, I shall oblige you just this once, Doctor. It all started many moons ago when I regained consciousness to discover not only did I not look like myself anymore but I was stuck in a windowless sphere, the only exit of which was sealed so tightly I was unable to open it, even with the aid of my trusty Tissue Compression Eliminator. Well, I sat and puzzled what to do for a while and several hours had passed by before I realised that I was not feeling hungry or thirsty, despite the length of time I must have spent unconscious in the Sphere. You can imagine how happy this made me. I assumed something in the Sphere was keeping me in a constant state of equilibrium and therefore it meant I wasn't going to starve to death. This gave me a new lease of life, if you'll pardon the pun, and I suddenly noticed a control panel tucked away in a wall. After a while experimenting, I got it working and this is where my story really begins."

The Master moistened his mouth and took a deep breath before continuing.

"The Sphere detected nothing outside for quite a while, I do not know how long, but this is how I understood I was somehow in the Void. I also strongly suspected you had something to do with my imprisonment, Doctor! Suddenly, one day, activity was detected in the Void. Two holes seemed to be opening up between two versions of the same world- this planet I eventually discovered. I attempted to manoeuvre the Sphere to one of the gradually opening holes to get out but I failed, unable to move the thing. Despite this set back, I continued to monitor the situation, getting more and more readings. Things continued slowly for a while until the readings began to go crazy; more holes seemed to be opening up and things were coming into and through the Void in large amounts. Then suddenly, it stopped. The readings dropped back to lower than they had ever been and calm appeared to have been restored. This continued for a very long time."

The silently listening Doctor nodded, things making sense so far. What the Master had just described had been when the Daleks and Cybermen had invaded and he'd lost Rose. He reasoned the next bit should tell him what he wanted to know. "Go on," he prompted, caressing Jonny's head gently.

The Master cleared his throat, quickly glancing down at the small boy. "If you insist, Doctor. So, time passed, a very long amount of time and I stayed, sitting in the lonely Sphere, watching for signs of activity. It almost drove me insane, Doctor!" He gave a high pitched laugh which suggested that his use of the word 'almost' wasn't quite correct. "Then finally, the readers indicated a very small flash of activity in an otherwise deserted space. I waited patiently and then it happened. A big spike of energy appeared on the monitor. Suddenly, the sphere began to activate and it seemed to hook onto whatever was passing through the Void. Everything began shaking madly and I was moving, faster than you could ever imagine, Doctor! And then, the sphere began to open somehow and I was thrown out, thinking I was about to die. But a miracle happened and I found myself lying on the Cardiff Bay. Oh, the sunshine had never felt so good!"

The Doctor didn't reply but frowned, looking thoughtful. "And you believe Rose pulled you out somehow?"

"I know she did," the rogue Time Lord replied, "I saw her on the Bay, along with another woman. Of course, I recognised your beautiful Rose at once."

The Doctor ignored this last comment. "Bad Wolf," he muttered, "It has to have been Bad Wolf that did this."

"Indeed."

"Well, I can assure you that she didn't mean to do it."

"I am assured," the Master grinned.

The Doctor nodded.

"Daddy?"

He looked down at Jonny, who was tugging at his hand. He bent down. "Yes, mate?"

"I need a wee wee," he whispered.

"Reckon you can hold it for a bit while Daddy deals with the bad man?" he asked, the parent talk tripping off his tongue easily.

Jonny nodded, his eyes brightening.

The Doctor smiled and straightened up. "Right, well unfortunately you're here now. I want to know exactly what you're planning on doing."

"So you can put a stop to it, you mean?" the Master asked, amused.

"If I need to, yes," he confirmed.

"Well," the Master drawled, in the type of voice you knew he was about to reveal his evil plan in, "Watch and see then. Or rather, don't!"

With that, he closed his eyes momentarily and an intense pain screamed its way through the Doctor's head. He fell to his knees with a grunt, dropping Jonny's hand in the process. The next thing he registered was the sound of his son's frightened cries intermingled with his screams for his daddy. The Doctor forced his pounding head up and saw the Master running down the street; Jonny struggling in his arms, his tear streaked face looking desperately back at him with an arm outstretched as he tried to reach for his daddy.

"Leave him alone!" the Doctor roared, fighting through the pain in his head, which was thankfully receding now, "Master, bring him back!"

"JONNY!"

The Doctor looked to the side to see a white faced Rose staring after them. It looked like she had just climbed out of the sewers. Jack was close behind, also looking frantic.

"Rose!" The Doctor was next to her in a second, wrapping his arms around her for a quick, comforting hug. "Rose, it'll be OK. I'll get our son back." He cupped her cheeks with his hands. "Do you trust me, angel?" he asked softly.

She nodded, her tear filled brown eyes focusing on his. "Please get him back, Doctor," she sobbed.

"I will," he vowed, "I'll be back soon. Jack, look after her." He nodded at his friend before pressing a searing kiss to Rose's lips. "I love you," he whispered in her ear before turning and chasing after the Master.

It took Rose a few moments to come to her sense, safe in Jack's arms. She was a mother, for God's sake, and she wasn't about to let her baby be taken away from her like this! She smiled tearfully up at Jack who nodded in understanding and let her go.

"Take care. We'll track you," he murmured.

"I will. Thanks, Jack," she replied before setting off at a run after the Doctor and the Master. She didn't know how or why the Master was here but frankly she didn't really care. All she wanted was her son and her best friend and lover back.

A spark of hope was slowly growing inside her as she pounded the streets of Cardiff. The Doctor had said 'our son'. Did that mean he'd finally accepted Jonny as his son? Was there hope for them as a family after all? Rose really hoped so. She knew she'd be extremely unhappy if she really had to leave the Doctor. She just prayed that everything would work out alright in the end.

Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received.