Chapter Three: Can we be Friends?

Rose instantly went for his sleeve. She rolled it up and looked at the device. The lights were fading. After a few minutes, whatever it was had died. She pulled at it and pushed until it came off. Even after working at Torchwood, she couldn't place the item. Sighing, she tossed onto a desk. Something caught her eye. There was writing on the other side, but not just any writing. It was Gallifreyan. She'd know it anywhere.

For a second, she couldn't move. She kept staring at it in awe. Her hand traced the engraved circles, and she trembled. Could it be that this man was the Doctor? Obviously, he would have regenerated again. She rushed to her kit and dug out a stethoscope. With flutters in her stomach, she listened to the man's heart. Then, she moved it and listened. Another heartbeat.

This man was a Time Lord.

"It has to be you," she whispered shakily as she took his hand. "You're the only one left."

But, why didn't he remember her? Why was he in handcuffs and gut shot? And what about the regeneration? Did something awful happen to her Doctor? She hoped not. Even so, she'd find a way to remind him. After all of that time, she wasn't about to give up.

An hour passed and the drug wore off. The man came around gradually, mumbling nonsense until he saw Rose. He smiled at her hazily. "You've drugged me. Well played."

"I know who you are," she told him, trying to avoid getting emotional.

He froze. "You know?"

"Yeah. You're a Time Lord."

Ah, she must have figured that out while he was drugged, he thought. She was a clever one. And his parallel world jumper was missing! What a cunning woman. He nodded his head. "I am a Time Lord. And you're Rose Tyler. I know who you are."

She grinned excitedly. "You do?"

"Yes. He told me all about you."

That gave her pause. How confused was the Doctor? Maybe he had a head injury as well. It was possible. She didn't know what to say, so she only smiled and squeezed his hand.

"I'm sure he's told you all about me," the Master laughed arrogantly. "At some point or another."

Now, Rose was very confused and very worried. "What are you talking about?"

"The Doctor."

"That's you."

He chuckled. "Dear God, no. I'm not the Doctor. I shudder to think!"

"But…you're a Time Lord. The Doctor said that he was the last one. He wouldn't have lied to me about that. You have to be him."

"I am not the Doctor. I'm the Master."

Her brow knit. "The Master?"

Oh, how he frowned. "Are you telling me that the Doctor hasn't mentioned me?"

"No. Never. Not even once."

He threw a fit. "That is so rude! After everything we've been through! We played together when we were children. Ran around my father's estate. Grew up together, really. You said not even once?"

"Sorry, but he really didn't."

"He didn't even complain about me? About how I was so incredibly annoying?"

"No, but I certainly will."

"Oh, ha-ha. You think that you're so clever."

"I am," she smirked, suddenly scowling. "So…you're not the Doctor? You're sure?"

"Come off it! I. Am. Not. The. Doctor. Master. I am the Master. My parallel world jumper has my name on it. Bring it here."

Reluctantly, she brought it over. He pointed to the Gallifreyan. "See? That's my name. Clearly, that doesn't spell the Doctor. The letters are a genetic reader. Put that engraving to my skin and it works for me. And only me. Isomorphic controls. But, it's dead. Ah, well. It was only good for one jump."

"Parallel world jumper? So you are from the parallel world. I knew it. That explains everything."

He frowned in confusion. "Explains what exactly?"

"Bad Wolf Bay. There's a gap between universes. That's why you showed up here. But the Doctor said that it wasn't possible. If he came through, the universes would collapse."

"He would say that. It's true. Usually. I'm exceedingly brilliant. I've calibrated this to find the exact time there's a gap. That way, no destroying of the worlds. He wouldn't have dreamt of this in a million years. He's not a man that takes risks like I do. See, if I miscalculated or this malfunctioned the universes would be ripped to tiny shreds."

She glared at him. "Why did you risk that?"

"I had to escape. Now, here's a question…what were you doing at Bad Wolf Bay? No one else was around for miles. Don't tell me. You were waiting on the Doctor."

Her eyes drifted away from him. "No. I wasn't waiting. It's just. That's the last place I saw him. I mean, it was the worst day of my life. I hate that beach. Still, I feel…closer to him. He called me there to say goodbye. Burned up a whole sun to do it," she laughed slightly and grew incredibly sad. "Anyway, it's a silly human thing. You probably wouldn't understand."

The Master grinned. Evidently, she was in love with him too. How cute was that? He decided to take one last jab at the Doctor, even though he wasn't there.

"I see. You know, it's time for me to be honest with you about the handcuffs and the gunshot."

"All right…"

"The Doctor found me. I was hiding in human form. See, I ran from the Time War. I put my Time Lord essence into a fobwatch. He got me to open the watch and tada! Back to being a Time Lord. After that, I traveled with him for a while. We were best mates. After a sticky situation in London, we were thought to be criminals. While attempting an escape, I was gut shot. That's when I jumped here. But, before I left…how do I tell you this…the Doctor was shot."

Her hand went to her mouth. "Is he all right?"

"No. They got him in the head. It was too fast for him to regenerate. I'm sorry, Rose. So astoundingly sorry. The Doctor is dead."

She shook her head, blinking back unshed tears. "I don't believe that."

"What? Why not?"

"I would know, okay? I would feel it. I say he's fine. Maybe you just didn't see the whole thing."

Why was she so smart? He tried to keep his patience. "I saw the whole thing. I cradled him in my handcuffed arms. He was quite dead."

"He could have regenerated after the fact."

"Rose, the Doctor is dead."

In an attempt to convince her, he put on some fake tears. She watched him sob and felt herself crying as well. He decided to take it over the top.

"My best mate! The world is so cruel! I wish I could have saved him!"

He saw Rose's tears and painfully pulled her into an embrace. She cried into his shoulder heavily. "I can't believe it. I've been trying so hard to get back to him. One day, I was going to see him again."

"There, there. It's all right. He talked about you all the time."

She sniffed. "He did?"

"Yes. He loved you. Told me about how you took the Time Vortex into your mind to save him. All of your adventures. It broke his hearts that he lost you. It was torture for him to talk about, but he did it anyway. He's gone now. All gone. Dead. Deceased. Decomposing. Nonliving. A cadaver. A corpse. The poor chap."

That got her sobbing again. He rubbed soothing circles into your back. "Shush, Rose Tyler. It'll be all right. You aren't all alone now, are you? We have each other. We can remember him together. What do you say? Can we be friends?"

She pulled back and studied his face carefully. Something about him reminded her of when she first met the Doctor. Although she didn't completely trust him yet, he obviously did know the Doctor and obviously was a Time Lord. Maybe they could be friends. Maybe he needed her like the Doctor did. After all, she couldn't just leave the wounded man on his own in a new world. Gently, she gave him a sorrowful smile.

"Only if I don't have to call you Master."

"But that's my name."

"And it's bloody demeaning, mate. Surely there's something else I can call you."

He grinned wickedly. "Harold Saxon at your service."