DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own Doctor Who. Yes, I wish I did. No, I don't earn any money from this. Yes, David Tennant is My Doctor.

ALL PRAISE TO THE MIGHTY BBC! ;)

SUMMARY: Starting at the end of Utopia, things change for the Doctor and the Master. But in a good way, I promise! Doctor/Rose. (This is my first fic, so take it easy on me, please!)

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The Master sat up and forward, throwing his legs over the side of the infirmary cot and sighing heavily. He scrubbed his hands across his face and dropped his arms and gaze to his lap.

"It started back on Gallifrey. Oh, so many years ago," he smiled thoughtfully and said, "You were right, Doctor."

The Doctor cocked his infamous eyebrow, encouraging him to go on.

"You were right to try to stop me all those years. The madness in me, the burning, the drums..., " he grabbed at his head. "It never stopped, never once, in all that time. Not once."

He sighed again and turned his face to the ceiling. "Then, the war came, and I was at The Cruciform, defending Gallifrey." He barked out a short laugh. "For what it was worth then. And then, She came."

The Master's eyes glazed over as he remembered. "She burned like the sun, Doctor."

He missed The Doctor pale and tense.

"For a few minutes, a few blessed, quiet, golden minutes, it stopped. Time stopped. And She was there. I heard singing, Doctor. I heard Her Song. I saw The Cruciform fall, Gallifrey burn, you… I saw you, old friend. You would have died, too, and everything would have been lost. Gone. Dust."

He reached out for The Doctor's hand and held it like an anchor before twining his fingers in his own.

"I saw Her save you," The Master whispered and looked The Doctor in the eye, deep into him. "She kissed you and saved you, saved us all," and looked down to their conjoined hands.

"And then I was back on The Cruciform, explosions all around me frozen in time, so many of our old friends and classmates and family fighting, dying, regenerating only to die before the change could be completed. She never said anything, but I heard Her. That beautiful, timeless voice."

He glanced back at The Doctor, who stood frozen and transfixed. "You know the one. That voice."

The Doctor just nodded once, slowly.

"She said one word. Just one. 'Run.' And I did. Time moved again and I fell to my knees. Just barely missed being exterminated."

The Doctor loosed a rough chuckle at 'Run' but flinched at 'exterminated'. The Master dropped his hand then.

"Found a battle TARDIS, ran, crashed on the Silver Devastation, and managed to use the Chameleon Arch to make myself human. I'd regenerated into a mere child, then was lost, with no memory, no TARDIS, nothing but the fob watch. I kept running, too, because even then the drums never stopped. Occasionally, I'd hear that word sound in me, 'Run!' and I'd be off again. Saved my life too many times to count."

The Master straightened his posture and slowly climbed off the bed. "And the rest is, shall we say, history," he smirked.

He reached a hand out to grasp The Doctor's bicep. "So, thank you, Doctor," and hugged the man fiercely. "Thank you for everything." He kissed The Doctor's cheek and walked past him and Jack, who stood silent at the infirmary door.

"Sleep sounds good now. Good night."

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Thank you thank you thank you so much for the great reviews so far. I honestly did not expect any, so thanks! I hope the rest of the story goes well. To be honest, I'm thinking about working on a 'sequel', too. Already working on something else, too.

Oh and Fair Warning: And yes, I 'ship Rose and the Doctor so hard. So the majority of my stories will revolve around them. Hope ya don't mind!