The Doctor has spent most of the morning trying to fix the damage that had been done to the TARDIS . Most of the controls were working fine but lack of a navigation and teleport system was a problem and there were pieces of glass embedded in the doors of the TARDIS which he was yet to remove. She was NOT happy about it either.

The hot water had cut out twice in his quarters alone and the lights. The TARDIS could be a demanding little minx when she wanted to be. As he bent to connect two wires a spark lept out and burnt his finger.

"Bloody Bastard!"

"You called?"

The Doctor looked up to see The Master standing much to close wearing nothing but boxers.

The Doctor did a double take.

"Great Rassilon's rear! Put some clothes on!"

The Master strode casually across the room, The Doctor could not help but notice ( and God knows he tried not to.) that the seat of the boxers were a bit worn making them quite transparent. He ran a hand over his face and groaned.

" I can't do that I'm afraid." Said The Master, scratching himself in a very improper place. " My Jackets burned, my shirts rubbish and the pants have a split up the.."

The Doctor held up his hand like a drowning man, " No no! Please. I think I get the picture. The last thing I need is more graphic images."

The Master turned and held out his arms. " What's the matter? Does this offend you? Are we shy?"

"No, I just want to keep my breakfast down. Go …go back to your room I'll get you something of mine to wear."

"Fair enough." The Master turned, but then he turned and pointed at The Doctor "No bow ties!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes and turned on his heels.

He hadn't gone very far when he heard the doors swish open and The Master came in wearing dress pants and a designer shirt.

"Where did you get those?" asked The Doctor .

The Master shrugged and with a little smirk simply said. " She likes me!"

" Can you put in a good word for me?" asked The Doctor rolling his eyes.

" Mad at you is she? I don't blame her. Can I come closer or are you going to hit me?"

"You hit me!" said The Doctor, " And yes, come over here . You might as well make yourself useful since you seem to be so recovered."

The Master took a seat beside The Doctor. Having his nemesis in this close a proximity made the hairs on The Doctor's neck prickle. However he played it calm though his body language may have betrayed him.

"Are you sure you trust me to be doing this?"

"You saved my life, that counts for something."

"Do I get my screw driver back?"

The Doctor pointed a finger at him "Don't push your luck!"

They worked side by side for a time and suddenly something hummed to life.

The Doctor gave a triumphant laugh.

"There we go! At least that's working. Let's see what it is."

The Master followed the cable to one of the monitors. " Oh Brilliant! We can watch the soccer match now!"

The Doctor's face fell. "You mean to tell me , after all this time I've only fixed the television?!"

" Don't be so hard on yourself. You fixed the wi fi connection too. You can put that finger down, no use making yourself more of a conductor."

The work continued for a time, then The Master spoke carefully.

"Um..Doctor..if you put the input wire over there it might…here let me."

Suddenly there was a chorus of things humming to life. The Master's triumphant laugh sent chills up The Doctors spine.

"What have you done?" he asked hurriedly looking at the controls. "You fixed the navigation system? Just by doing that? My God, if you weren't so crazy you'd make a damn good co pilot!"

The Master turned to The Doctor, his eyes narrowed like an animal sensing a trap.

"I hope you don't think I'm turning good or any of that rubbish." He said, " This helps me too."

The Doctor held up his hands " I know, I know, it's just…for a moment I thought I saw something familiar in your eyes."

"I was about to say the same about you, my dear Doctor." Said The Master, purposely letting his new voice fall into its old cadence. He leaned toward The Doctor his breath brushing his cheek, " You know I can't change who I am any more then you can change who you are. And do you know what? I don't want to."

The Doctor pulled away, "But I have changed, you said so yourself. "

"You're confused."

"No. I know exactly what I'm doing."

The Master's mouth was a thin line, "No you don't. You are not this person isn't in you. One day you will wake up and realize and it will destroy you."

" So now you're the font of wisdom? If there's one thing I've learned from you is you can't fix something that doesn't want to be. So stop trying."

The Master moved away from the console, "I'm not trying. You never listen to me anyway. I'm just stating a fact. You..are not..a..villian."

"We're all villians. You, Me, bloody Rassilon himself. We're all heroes too. It's all in us, it's just a matter of choice."

The Master looked at him out of the corner of his eye. " And you are choosing to become a villain?"

"It worked for you." Said The Doctor acidicly.

The Master turned quickly, a low smolder in his eyes The Doctor knew all to well. When he spoke his voice was every inch the time lord he was.

"You think I chose this? You think I chose to be alone? To be hated? Sure, I may enjoy what I do, I may even convince myself it's what I WANT to do. But in the end it all comes down to one thing: I'm a villain and I just can't help myself! Believe me Doctor if there was a choice I'd…" he stopped, " You know what? I don't care do what you want!"

The Doctor smiled, "Oh you care. You're scared to death I might make a better villain then you. Spare me your sob story, everyone has one. It's not an excuse it's an opportunity. It's not my fault if you weren't happy with your decision! My hearts are broken as much as your mind is so why shouldn't I be like you?"

The Master's eyes widened and he gave a little gasp, " My God…" he whispered, "I just realized…I don't want you to be like me! I've spent centuries trying to turn you evil and now..I don't want it. What have you done to me?"

The Doctor didn't look up, "What I do to everyone. Haven't you heard the gossip? Hang out with The Doctor and you get damaged some how. Everyone who gets close to me gets hurt or changed some how and they're never quite right again. You had the unfortunate luck of being my friend…look where it's gotten you. "

" Don't you dare take credit for who I am, bad or good I've done it on my own! My Good God, Doctor what happened to you?"

" I stopped running. I finally saw myself for who I really am. A coward, hiding in a box trying to make up for his mistakes by fixing every one except the one person he can never fix. Himself. I'm not going back to that life, it hurts too much. What have you got to say to that?"

The Master stared at him. When he spoke his voice seemed stunned, "Nothing."

" I thought not. Ok..conversation over. Back to business. "

"What can I do?" The Master's voice was small and sad. It was clear he wasn't talking about mechanics. The Doctor ignored it, if he even heard it.

" You can stop being a prick and hand me that..that..thingy over there."

The Master seemed to snap out of his trance and with a quick shake of his head he was himself again, " Is that the technical name for it? I might not be able to keep up with your level of…ugh!"

The Doctor looked up sharply at The Master's sound of pain. He tried hard to make his voice dismissive, but it didn't work.

"What's the matter with you?"

The Master waved him off as he settled gingerly onto a stool. "It's nothing…just a twinge..just need a minute." The Doctor watched as The Master layed his head on The Console and closed his eyes.

" I think you may have gotten up a bit soon."

"No, really…" The Master rose with some difficulty, "There it's gone. I will go to my room though…I think I need a lie down."

The Doctor watched him as he wobbled and tottered toward the door like a fawn on ice.

" You are not ok. Let me.."

The Master gave a bitter smile. " Careful, Doctor…Your hero is showing."

Then the door shut behind him.