A/N: 3200 words. Really. I know. I'm sorry :o

Chapter 16 – The Debt

The front garden was a bit of a mess, the Doctor noted as his footsteps crunched around the gravel, lonely in the night. The bushes were out of control and a couple of very sad-looking gnomes were try to fish concrete to the sides of the path. He reached the front door, taking a breath before he reached up and knocked three times.

There was a brief pause before the handle turned and the door swung inward to reveal the Master standing there, in a t-shirt and jeans. He froze at the sight of the Doctor.

For a moment there was just silence.

"You're blond," the Doctor said, staring at him.

"You're standing on my doorstep," the Master responded, staring at him in return.

Another lengthy silence.

"Can I come in?" the Doctor asked, hands in his pockets.

"... All right," the Master finally answered, not really knowing what else to do. The Doctor stepped through the doorway and glanced around the house as the Master shut the door behind him.

The Master beckoned him through the hallway. "Sorry the place is a bit messy. That's what humans say, right?"

The Doctor just stared at him, following him into a large, well-decorated sitting room where the TV was buzzing away in the background. The Master cleared a dog off of the settee, who barked in disgruntlement and moved to nap on the floor instead. The Master gestured for the Doctor to take the clear seat, before standing there, slightly awkward.

"Umm... Do you want a beer or something?" he asked, as if not really sure what he was offering exactly.

"No, thanks," the Doctor replied, still staring around at the house, struggling to compute. "You have a house... and a dog."

"He's called Cujo."

"You're cultured."

"Well, I realised I had nowhere to go so I thought I'd try the human life again since you're so big on it. It's been fun so far. Did you meet the neighbours? Lovely couple. Can barely understand their accent. Just can't place my face."

"Hmm," was all the Doctor replied to that.

The Master sat down on the other settee, gazing at the Doctor. "How did you find me?"

"Traced your parcel."

"Ah," the Master muttered.

They fell into silence.

"Look at us," the Doctor suddenly said, resisting the urge to laugh. "I've got a human wife and a child and you've got a house on Earth and a dog called Cujo." He paused, looked at the floor, then back at the Master. "I never imagined it would be like this."

"You getting sentimental on me?" the Master wondered.

"No, really. Do you remember when we were kids? We wanted to grow up to travel the Universe..."

"We did," the Master pointed out.

"Not together."

"Well, that wouldn't have worked."

The Doctor laughed. "Suppose not. But you were pilot, I was co-pilot. I've still got our plans, somewhere."

"You kept them?"

The Doctor looked at the floor, his hands clasped together. "I suppose I thought one day it might still happen."

The Master smirked. "And when did you give that dream up?"

"About the third time you tried to kill me.

The Master laughed. "Oh good times, they were."

The Doctor smiled slightly, and pressed on. "Do you remember when we were kids, the prank on Cardinal Sendok with the taipan?"

The Master recalled it with a laugh – a genuine laugh of happiness at a long forgotten memory. The Doctor hadn't seen that for almost 900 years. "He was so shocked he had a hearts attack and regenerated!"

The Doctor laughed with him. "The look on his face, I still remember that!"

"That was the best prank of the lot."

"Everyone said it was you," the Doctor continued, grinning. "But I said it had been me, and they believed me."

"I didn't see you for four months," the Master recalled, remembering things he'd long forgotten. "You never said what happened."

The Doctor looked at the floor again, suddenly uncomfortable. The atmosphere quickly changed. "I was disciplined."

The Master's smile quickly died on his face. "How so?"

"I still have the marks," the Doctor said quietly. "Skin pigmentation throughout all of my bodies."

The Master stared at him for a moment, a kind of sadness in his eyes that now seemed so unfamiliar. "Can I see?" he asked.

The Doctor nodded and unbuttoned his jacket, pulling up his shirt to expose his abdomen. "They're faint, but still there."

The Master leant forward, and peered at one of the faint white lines Rose had noticed so quickly before. Then he saw another. Then another. He gestured for the Doctor to turn around and there were even more on his back. There were even two faint white spots either side of the base of his spine... The Master very quickly realised that the faint white marks actually covered most of the Doctor's body.

"Oh, Theta," he breathed. "I never realised."

"You didn't know," the Doctor replied, somewhat cheerily considering the situation as he lowered his shirt again.

"Why didn't you tell me?" the Master asked, the gentleness in his tone one the Doctor barely recognised. It was hard to know what the Master was thinking or feeling. Was he sympathetic? Or was he laughing inside? He hoped to Rassilon it was the former.

"They made me promise not to tell anyone what they did," the Doctor said quietly. "I was so scared that I never told anyone. Not for 900 years."

"And you told me first."

"You had the right to know, Koschei."

"Does your wife know?"

The Doctor shook his head. "I told her it was regeneration related. I think she believed me."

The Master smiled a cheeky smile. "Sounds like you've got trust issues, to me."

The Doctor laughed. "There's so much I haven't told her. Everything that you know about me, she doesn't... not yet, anyway. I will tell her. But I think in small doses."

The Master laughed that genuine laugh again. "That's probably for the best. Small doses of crazy." The Doctor laughed at this as the Master suddenly paused, and regarded the Doctor again. "I was scared for you."

"When?"

"When you didn't come back for four months. I thought they had..."

The Doctor grimaced. "After a few days... I wanted to end it all."

"Why didn't they force you to regenerate?"

"I was only a child. I didn't have the control. So they had to find another means. The method was never approved by the High Council."

"I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

"I doubted you. I thought you would've told them it had been me. I was already treading on thin glass. I don't know what they would've done to me if I was caught."

"You were my best friend," the Doctor said simply. "I would have never told them no matter what they did."

They gazed at each other, not as the Doctor and the Master, but as Theta and Koschei – the two boys who had played for so long together on the planet that no longer existed. After a few moments the Master seemed to realise he was getting a little bit sucked into nostalgia, and consequently brought himself back to earth with a small, embarrassed cough. "So, why are you here?"

"Do you remember what you told me?" the Doctor suddenly asked. "After I got back?"

The Master paused for a moment, thinking. "That I really owed you one."

The Doctor smiled just a little. "Koschei... I really need that favour now."

The Master raised an eyebrow. "You need my help?"

The Doctor nodded. "As I'm sure you've noticed, I'm a fugitive and the Shadow Proclamation are on the hunt for me."

"What did you do to them?"

"Nothing, they want my daughter. They say she's a whole new species that needs to be confined and catalogued, possibly either executed or raised in a restricted environment..."

The Master pursed his lips, but said nothing, letting the Doctor continue.

"They want to take her away from me. I can let them have her. They've already got my wife. I'm going to turn myself in so they stop threatening Earth... it's not fair on the humans."

The Master looked disgusted at this. "You're putting the humans over yourself? You're a Time Lord, Doctor, humans are nothing more than pests. Stay here and hide and let them all die in your place!"

The Doctor's eyes alone seemed to sadden at his response. "I can't do that. But once they catch me they're gonna try and use my DNA to find my daughter. This is where you come in."

The Master stared at him for a moment. "You want me to hide her."

"I know you can do it," the Doctor's voice had dropped to a whisper. "You have a gift for hypnotic, you can shield her from them."

There was a very long pause.

"Wow... This is really big," the Master breathed, hand on his forehead. "What makes you think you can trust me?"

"What makes you think I can't trust you?" the Doctor countered. "Master, I know times have changed. Concerning Gallifrey... concerning us. There's so much that's changed but the only things that haven't changed are Koschei and Theta. They're both still alive, and fighting. Theta needs Koschei... just one more time."

The Master swallowed. "How long for?"

"Until I sort this whole mess out," the Doctor said in a lighter voice, realising he was getting through... "A couple of days, a week at the most?"

There was yet another pause as they gazed into each other's eyes... the Doctor's pleading, the Master's considering.

"Okay," the Master finally said. "I'll do it."

The Doctor's eyes lit up and he physically had to stop himself from kissing the Master, and after some fumbling he managed to settle on an enthusiastic handshake with both hands, beaming from ear-to-ear.

"Thank you, thank you so much," he whispered. "I'll never forget this."

The Master almost felt guilty at the fact he was already planning to betray the Doctor.

Jack was watching the clock, the minutes slowly ticking by. It was almost quarter past. He was just considering phoning the Doctor, when there was a knock on the window and he brought it down to reveal the Doctor standing there, smiling broadly.

"Good news?" Jack supposed.

The Doctor nodded, enthused. "He'll do it."

"I'll get Leah's stuff," Jack said, climbing out of the car to go around to the boot. The Doctor nodded, opening the back door to reveal Leah was sitting up, rubbing her eyes.

"Come on, sleepy head," the Doctor said, undoing the seatbelt and lifting her into his arms. She yawned and clung onto him tightly as Jack reappeared with bags in hand.

The Doctor noted the extra bag. "Are you staying?"

Jack nodded. "You might trust him Doctor, I don't even know why you do, but I don't. He's gonna pull something, I know it. I'm staying to protect Leah."

The Doctor looked at him for a moment. "Okay," he finally said, and with that he turned to go back into the Master's house, Jack following.

They emerged into the sitting room where the Master was waiting for them. He seemed to be looking over the Doctor's shoulder until he noticed the toddler in his arms, and his brow somewhat furrowed.

The Doctor looked up at the Master and caught his expression as he set Leah down onto the floor. "What?" he asked.

"I thought she'd be... taller," the Master said flatly.

"She's two," the Doctor replied, before looking down at Leah who still looked very sleepy. "Leah, this is your Uncle... err..." He turned to the Master, suddenly at a loss.

"Harry!" the Master chimed happily, beaming from ear-to-ear in anything that didn't resemble happiness. "I'm your Uncle Harry, nice to meet you little Leah." He stretched out his finger for Leah to shake. Leah just stared at the finger, then at him, then turned her father and buried her face into his leg. The Master looked a little surprised.

"Aww," the Doctor said, running his hand over her head affectionately. "It's okay, Leah." He glared at the Master, who made an innocent face and shrugged.

"You're gonna be staying here for a little while, okay?" the Doctor told his little girl, who nodded up at him, still clinging onto his leg. "Uncle Jack's gonna stay too, and Uncle Harry's going to make sure you're okay."

"Will you stay?" Leah asked hopefully.

He shook his head. "I've got to go and get your Mummy."

"Oh," Leah replied, disappointed.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," the Doctor assured her, kissing her forehead before he turned to Jack, about to speak...

"No!" Leah suddenly wailed, her eyes tearing up. "Why you leave, Daddy?"

The Doctor turned back, surprised. "I'm really sorry, Leah..."

"You always leave!" she sobbed.

"But I always come back, Leah. I will always come back."

"You said you never go away, and you lied!" she yelled. "You keep lying and I don't like it!"

The Doctor was taken aback by this sudden, unexpected outburst. "Leah..."

"You don't like me anymore," she gasped through bitter sobs. "You go and leave me behind!"

The Doctor's eyes widened, his hearts breaking at her words. "Leah," he said calmly, dropping to his knees in front of her. "I know I've disappointed you, and I know I should be better than this – you have every right to be angry at me because I've broken my promise and that was very, very wrong of me. I know you just want both Mummy and Daddy to be with you and believe me, if I could stay, I would. If I could take you with me, I would. But if I did either of those things you might get hurt, and if you ever get hurt it would make Daddy cry really, really hard. You are the best thing I've ever done with my life and I have to protect you with everything I can muster. Don't say I don't like you, because that's just really hurtful and completely untrue. I love you, I will always come back, and you know what? If you're that angry at me, I give you permission to punch me. Go on." He offered out his arm.

Leah looked at his arm, then his face. "Really?" she asked through shiny teary eyes.

"Yep," he affirmed. "As hard as you can. And only because I'm letting you."

She pulled back her fist and punched his upper arm as hard as she could. It was barely a thump, but the Doctor acted appropriately and winced loudly, holding his arm.

"Oh I've learnt my lesson," he said through his wince. "I am never crossing you again."

She giggled, wiping at her eyes. He leant forward and held her tightly, feeling as though he might cry, too.

"Me and Mummy love you, don't forget that," the Doctor said gently. "This will be the last time I go away. I will come back with Mummy, and we can all do whatever you want together."

"Promise?" Leah asked.

"Promise," the Doctor confirmed. "And this time I'm not going to break it."

She nodded. He pulled back and picked her up to place her on the sofa.

"Now go to sleep," he said gently. "I'll be back really soon."

"Bye bye," she said sadly as he put a cushion under her head and covered her with the blanket. He finally turned to Jack.

"Car keys," the Time Lord said, holding out his hand.

Jack rummaged through his pockets until he found them, and gave them to the Doctor. "What's your plan?"

"I'm gonna go back to the TARDIS, go to the Shadow Proclamation and try and find out who's doing all this," he said, glancing at the very uninterested Master, and then the little girl curled up under the blanket.

"Jack," the Doctor whispered, staring at his young daughter. "Please, please look after her."

"With my life," Jack assured him, drawing him into a comforting hug. "She'll be okay, I promise."

The Doctor swallowed, before pulling back from Jack and kneeling down next to Leah, brushing back her hair and kissing her head. Jack's eyes flickered to the Master, who was staring at the Doctor with a raised eyebrow. Finally the Doctor drew back, turning to the Master.

"Thank you for doing this," the Doctor said. The Master gave a mock salute. After a few more moments the Doctor finally got up and took a deep breath, rolling back his shoulders before heading to the front door. He gave one last look at Leah before he opened it, stepped outside, and closed the door behind him.

The Master let out long breath. "I thought he'd never leave."

Jack ignored him, hand checking that his gun was in his holster. It was. He'd loaded it before they'd left. He wasn't taking any chances with the Master.

The car engine started up from outside, a door closing. Then Jack suddenly froze, realising he'd just given his car keys to...

"Wait!" he yelled, pulling open the front door and waving his arms to get the Doctor's attention.

The Time Lord wound down the window, sticking his granny-disguised head out. "What?" he yelled.

"Do you even know how to drive a car?"

"I successfully failed my test!" the Doctor assured him, and with the accompanying sound and smell of burning rubber he pulled off with wheel-spin and drove off down the street, his shawl flapping in the breeze as he went.