A/N: Yes, I live. I'm just a little tired. Theater, I love you but you do kick my ass sometimes. This chapter has been bugging me for so long, and the next one is even worse. The Master is being just as cryptic about his end game with me as he is with everyone else!


The street was empty. Only a few lonely cars broke the silence as they drove past the house with the picket fence. Rose sighed and turned away from the window to take the kettle off the stove. The Doctor was late again. If Rose didn't know him better she'd think he was avoiding her. Maybe he was. He had been acting strange ever since the Master visited almost a year ago and she never did get him to explain all of the Master's cryptic remarks.

The front door opened and Rose eagerly flew to the hallway.

"You," she hissed. Instead of seeing the Doctor take off his coat she found the Master calmly removing his black leather gloves.

"Me," the Master agreed. "The same person it always is. We've been through this hundreds of times."

"What are you talking about?" Rose demanded, trying to block the doorway where the children were.

"We have work to do, Rose," the Master said, smiling expectantly when Rose's eyes glazed over and a distant smile appeared on her face.

"Oh," she said. "Right. Hello Master."

The Master easily moved past her into the living room. James was playing with the new car set they had bought him for his birthday and Evelyn was curled up on the sofa with a book. They both looked up at the Master and smiled.

"Master!" James cried, getting up and running to him. His tiny arms circled around the Master's legs and the Master patted him gently on the head.

"James. Do you two want to help your mother and I surprise your father?"

"Daddy loves surprises!" James cried, eagerly bouncing up and down. "I wanna help!"

"Why don't we go into the den and hide quietly?" the Master suggested. "When he comes home we'll jump out and yell 'surprise!'"

"Sounds like fun," Rose said, her face maintaining her blissfully oblivious smile.

"Oh it will be," the Master replied before pulling a small vial out of his pocket. "Be a love and put this in his tea."

"Will it hurt him?" Rose asked, doubt beginning to worm its way into the pleasant fog surrounding her senses.

"He'll just sleep," the Master said, putting a finger to her temple and sending another mental suggestion for good measure. "He looks like he needs a good rest."

"A good rest," Rose repeated, once again under the Master's control. The Master turned to the front window as headlights flashed across it and the family car pulled into the driveway.

"Let's hide," the Master told the two children and guided them to the den. They went willingly and the Master smiled. This was going to be fun.

--

It had been such a long day. This universe's Torchwood was just as trigger-happy as the Jack's but they didn't have a leader with the same noble ambitions. He was finally beginning to get them to use guns as a last resort and not a reflex, but it was an uphill battle.

He opened the door and was more than relieved to see Rose waiting for him, smiling warmly with two cups of tea.

"I saw on the telly the thing with the fish," she told him. "Thought you might want some rest. I sent the kids to Mum's for the night."

"You are amazing," the Doctor told her gratefully, allowing her to guide him into the living room and press a cup of tea into his head. He took a long drink, the warm liquid soothing as it went down his throat. Rose sat next to him on the sofa, smiling. He frowned, noting the distant look in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" the Doctor asked, putting his cup down as it seemed to get very heavy. "Sorry for what?"

"Surprise!" he heard and turned to see James and Evelyn eagerly jumping out from the hallway, the Master behind him.

"I've come to visit!" the Master announced, cheerfully waving his hands like he was an old friend. Well, a welcome old friend.

"Get out," the Doctor hissed. He quickly jumped up only to find the world move from underneath his feet. He heard James and Evelyn worriedly ask "Daddy?" before he felt the Master's hands pushing him back down onto the couch.

"Careful, Doctor. I had Rose add a little something extra to your tea."

"What did you do?" the Doctor demanded, testing each of his limbs only to find them growing heavy.

"It won't kill you. I used a drug strictly human-friendly." The Master continued to smile before feigning surprise. "Oh, did you mean about hypnotizing Rosie here and befriending your children? I can't tell you that, it'll ruin the ending."

"Don't you dare lay a hand on them," the Doctor hissed.

"I have been nothing but lovely to your little rugrats. Couldn't even if I wanted to. Okay, that's a lie. I could, but then Rose's little maternal instincts would override any hypnotic control I have over here and that would just be counterproductive."

"I'm going to stop you," the Doctor promised, growing alarmed as his speech began to slur.

"No, you won't. My issue is not with you. I am aiming for the real Doctor. You're just as wronged by him as anyone else in this room, being forced to take the slow path and be domestic." The Master took an envelope out of his pocket and placed it on the side table next to him. "This is for the Doctor. Have him read it when you wake up."

"You can't-" The Doctor struggled against his eyelids as they began to close.

"The Doctor must follow all my instructions carefully. I know other people's well being doesn't exactly factor into many of his decisions, but maybe this once he'll do the right thing."

"What's wrong with Daddy?" Evelyn's face swam on the edge of his vision as he desperately turned to look at Rose.

"He's just going to sleep," Rose's voice said.

"Nighty-night," was the last thing the Doctor heard before the darkness claimed him, the Master's voice ringing in his ears.