Wow, I apologize with how long it's taken for me to write this chapter. Dealing with these two being angsty is always difficult for me to handle. I want to thank everyone that's stuck with me from the beginning to the end, and all my readers that joined in later on. You guys are awesome, and you've encouraged me to keep going with this. I apologize that it took me so long to finish, but it's been an exciting journey and it's turned out pretty dang good, if I do say so myself. Again, thank you so much for being there for me and my boys. I'm thinking about writing a sequel for this one, so keep your eyes open.

The Master woke up.

At first, he was thrilled. Though his eyes were still closed, he could feel how solid and real this world was as compared to the one he'd just left. This meant one thing: he was alive.

His eyes opened quickly. His vision was a little blurry at first, but after blinking a few times, the world came into focus. He was inside the Doctor's TARDIS, the console room, he would guess. The mess was incredible, but he didn't dwell on that. The next thing he did was check over himself. Same hair, same hands, same nose…he hadn't regenerated. Wonderful! He did like this body, after all.

He wanted to jump up and dance, sing, run around in circles, but a low moan from his left cut through his euphoria in a matter of seconds.

The Doctor was barely conscious, slumped against the TARDIS wall and shaking slightly. The Master was instantly at his side, pulling him into his lap and searching for a wound.

"Ahh…don't bother," the Doctor panted, looking up at the Master through heavily lidded eyes. "You can't stop it."

A jolt of horror shot through the Master as he realized what the Doctor had done. "You bastard, you traded your life for mine, didn't you?!"

The dying Time Lord nodded slowly, a tired smile on his lips as he reached up to pat the Master's cheek. "Not gonna…live without you. I refuse. Seemed fitting to…mmh…not waste the regenerations I had left."

"No. No." The Master was panicking, terror rising up in his chest as he clung to the Doctor a little harder. "No, I won't let you do this, you can't..."

"Shhh…" One long finger pressed against the Master's lips. "It's…it's okay. Let me do this…please." He winced sharply, biting back a sound of pain. "S-sorry. Gonna…hurt you one more time…but then…it'll be over."

A frightened laugh burst from the Master. "You're joking. You've got to be. No. There's…You can't seriously think that you dying is going to do me any favors! I don't care that you've hurt me before, Thete, I still fucking love you!" Tears were streaming freely down his cheeks, and he shook the Doctor hard. "The choice was already made, Doctor! You had no right to sacrifice yourself, do you understand me? I've saved your skinny arse so many times when I could have killed you! Your lives belong to me!"

The Doctor's hand slid down to the Master's hearts, fingers splayed out on his chest. "I…gave them to you. Nnnh…you…have three now…"

"No!" He roared with anger and grief, making the Doctor cower in his arms. "You selfish prick! I don't want your fucking regenerations, I want you!"

But the Doctor was fading now, only a strip of chocolate brown visible beneath his eyelids. All color had faded from his cheeks, and each breath came in a noisy gasp. He was crying as well, biting his lip hard and stroking the Master's cheek with what little energy he had left.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I…couldn't…couldn't let you die…not when I could…take your place…" He shuddered. "K-Kosch…"

He shuddered again, and his hand fell limply to his side, eyes closing as a great sigh escaped him. And then he was still.

"…Thete?" Panicking, the Master shook him, but there was no response.

"Theta!"

Still nothing.

"No, no, no, no!"

He sobbed, holding the Doctor's body close and rocking back and forth. This was wrong. It was so wrong. He should have died. He was supposed to die, but because of his own stupidity and the Doctor's damn hero complex, it had gone all wrong!

"You can't, you can't leave me! Trading your fucking lives for mine, I—"

Abruptly, he froze. Wait. He held the Doctor's last three regenerations inside him. Pure life energy. He could give the Doctor his life back.

Grabbing the lifeless Time Lord roughly by the shoulders, he kissed him hard. A golden glow illuminated the dark room, the light moving steadily from the Master's body to the Doctor's. The TARDIS hummed around them, her lights flickering on as she did her part to help.

When the Master had given as much of his life to the Doctor as he dared, he pulled back, keeping him in his arms as he watched him anxiously. He hardly dared to breathe as the minutes ticked quietly by.

He'd nearly given up hope when it happened. With a loud gasp, life returned to the Doctor. He swallowed in air greedily, trembling in the Master's arms. He didn't wake, but it was enough. He was alive.

"Bastard," the Master whispered, and carried him to bed.

.

.

.

The Doctor never was very good at regeneration. He dragged it out too long or rushed it too much, but most of all he was too fond of his bodies. He clung to them as hard as he could, afraid to let go and let the process take place. Death scared him more than anything else in the universe. Despite all his self-sacrificing, he never actually expected to die. Not truly.

This time, he really had died. Only for a moment or two, yes, but his body had been genuinely dead. Coming back from that was much more difficult than a regeneration. While he kept the same body, he was fighting death. The sickness that followed was more intense than his usual. He shivered and sweated and ran up a terrible fever.. The Master never left his side for more than a few minutes, keeping a close watch on him. The Doctor didn't wake for almost an entire week, though he talked and rolled over in his sleep, almost crushing the Master a few times. He would smack the Doctor before remembering, then mutter a quick apology and kiss the spot better.

The Master was asleep when the Doctor's fever finally broke, his face buried in his shoulder and an arm thrown over his stomach to keep him close. The Doctor whined a little, stirring slightly as his eyes fluttered open.

"Mast—oh.." He immediately quieted himself, not wanting to wake the other up. His body felt heavy and tired; not surprising, considering he'd been in a near-coma. Content with staying like this, he reached out to brush his fingers gently through the Master's hair, just watching him sleep.

The touch was enough to wake the other Time Lord, and he stirred sleepily, mumbling something incoherent into the Doctor's shoulder. The Doctor smiled, his hearts warming at the sight.

"Good morning."

The Master's head snapped up. Relief flashed briefly through his eyes before he covered it up with anger. "Good morning? Good morning? That's all you have to say to me after I saved your arse again? You f—!"

The Doctor silenced him with a hard kiss, pulling him close and pressing his lips insistently to the Master's. Unwilling though he pretended to be, the Master yielded quickly. He'd missed him, after all, not that he'd ever admit it out loud. When the kiss broke, they were both a little breathless. There wasn't much point in talking when they'd already communicated exactly what they couldn't say. The Master pulled his lover close to him and the Doctor sighed into the Master's collarbone, nuzzling gently.

"I snore in my sleep."

The Master raised an eyebrow. "I know."

"And I'm terribly messy."

"…I know."

"I can't cook anything either."

Silence.

"Sometimes I run around the TARDIS naked singing and dancing to Thriller. And when I'm alone, I like to pretend I'm Bilbo Baggins and—"

The Master took hold of the Doctor's chin, tilting it upwards and forcing him to meet his eyes. "Doctor dearest, what the hell are you on about?"

To the Master's immense surprise and pleasure, the Doctor blushed. "I…want that life we had," he admitted softly. "I know it wasn't real, but…it could be."

His words were met with a blank stare. "…You actually want to be domestic?"

The Doctor flushed again and looked away, choosing not to answer.

"Doctor, answer me."

He met the Master's eyes a bit reluctantly. "I want to be with you. I want…I want that happiness we had there. I've never felt like that before, not since the Academy. I want to make up for what I did wrong."

A tiny smile lifted the corners of the Master's lips. "Marry me, then," he said.

"What?" The Doctor stared, eyes searching the other's face. "…Seriously?"

"You said you wanted that life, didn't you?" the Master pressed. "Prove it to me. Prove you can actually make a commitment and keep it. Marry me."

The Doctor hesitated for only a moment before meeting the Master's gaze. "Okay. "

The Master was startled for a moment at the answer. He had expected the Doctor to make excuses, to find some way to say no. Rassilon knew the man had commitment issues. "…Really?"

The Doctor smiled hesitantly, tracing shapes absently into the Master's chest with a fingertip. "Yeah. Let's get married. After all, we were engaged for a long time in Kronos' world. It's about time we made it official, don't you think?"

The Master abruptly burst out laughing, giving the Doctor a fond kiss on the forehead. "Oh Theta Sigma. I do despise you."

"I love you too, Koschei."