Rose is Disciplined.

Physical abuse didn't have the same touch as verbal and mental abuse. At least, that was what the Master believed. While he was willing to inflict serious injuries on people, he didn't do it without reason, even now he was in this new, and slightly crazier than normal incarnation, regeneration, but he believed regenerating in the Doctor's clapped out old TARDIS may've had something to do with it, in this new incarnation, he didn't lash out without good cause.

Unfortunately, his wife didn't follow that philosophy.

The Master was waiting outside the medical bay for the report on the unfortunate maid who angered Rose for no apparent reason. The Master had been under considerable strain recently. It had been 6 months since his takeover, and the building of the factories for producing the vortex manipulator engines, the black hole converters, the meson disintegrators were already producing their stock. The launch pads for the rockets were also nearing completion. The Master had been spending more and more time visiting each and every site around the world, checking on the progress of the building, and making sure the Humans were working on his schedule. He'd held back the order to slaughter more humans, the loss of workers at this stage was more a hindrance than a help, especially if he wanted to keep his deadline for the launch.

The Toclafane had been hovering on a knife edge, since the attempt to assassinate him had failed they had been more diligent, hell they were now taking over security of the Valiant like never before. The Master suspected, even though he didn't care, that they were frightened he'd lash out again. If that kept them from making another mistake, then that was okay with him.

The Master was drawn from his thoughts by the doctor that came out. The medic removed his gear, " I've checked her over, she's fine and will be working again soon."

The Master nodded, " I see, what happened ? I didn't get the full story."

The medic closed his eyes and sighed, " To be honest, I don't know either. But I did hear that the girl made a noise behind your wife whilst she was putting on her makeup. Your wife assaulted her. Luckily, a guard stopped her and called us in."

The Master nodded, assimilating the information. He wouldn't discipline the maid, it wouldn't have any purpose. But he would certainly see to Rose.

" Keep her in for as long as you need." The Master ordered.

The medic admitted to him, " I was going to keep her in all night, actually. Your wife caused a significant head injury."

" Is it serious ?"

" Not presently, but she needs rest and sleep. Besides, when she's working again, she'll need to wear a bandage." the medic replied. He privately thought the Master shouldn't play loud music, and he decided against giving the Master such advice. Even if the evil despot was in a more calm mood, the doctor was aware the Master had a nasty temper.

The Master was, fortunately for the medic, thinking of something else. " Where is my wife ?"

" In your quarters."

The Master nodded, and walked away, gesturing to his bodyguards to fall in behind him. Even though the assassination attempt on his life sometime ago, the Master was still paranoid enough to realise that he should keep the soldiers on hand. They were a symbol that the Master, and the Master alone, was in complete control, and there was nothing they could do about it. As he walked through the corridors of his base, he was going over the things he needed to do. One of them was to make Rose understand that he was far too busy to play her games, and that from now on, he was going to keep her on a leash.

When the party reached the Master's quarters, the Master could hear Rose shouting and screaming at some unfortunate person. Slipping his hand to his side where the holster for the laser screwdriver, he opened the door. He found Rose, his beloved wife, shouting at a guard. The guard was frazzled and terrified.

" Ah, here he is. My husband'll make you regret locking me in here with you." Rose smiled smugly. The expression angered the Master more. To piss off his wife, he looked at the guard, " Thank you for bringing her here and keeping an eye on her. Take a break. You've earned it."

The Master had to hide his expression at the sight of the two humans, truly he really didn't know which one was funnier. The guard looked shocked and fearful he'd entered some parallel reality, and Rose looked like she just couldn't believe what she was hearing.

" You heard me," the Master said to the guard once more, " Leave, take a break. I'll handle this."

The guard was the only one to notice the laser screwdriver in the Master's hand, then decided to get out before he wound up dead, or worse.

" Yes sir," the guard saluted before he left the room in a hurry. The Master watched him go with a smile that showed how hilarious it had been to terrify the pathetic Human soldier. Then he turned his attention back to his wife when she started talking.

Rose was speechless with rage, " Why did you do that ? He kept me locked up, is this 'cos of that little whore you've been making eyes at."

The Master lost his patience, and slapped her across the face, " Insolent primitive." he hissed at her as her head snapped backwards. Rose staggered back from him, realising for the first time the pure fury in his face. The anger that the Time lord was feeling exploded. He aimed the laser screwdriver at the petrified Rose and triggered it.

The Master had spent a lot of time reading books of this time period, and had been hooked on the Harry Potter stories, even though he felt nothing but contempt for the short-sightedness of Lord Voldemort. But he approved wholeheartedly of a number of things in the novels. One of them was the cruciatus curse, the torture curse. It gave the Master the idea and the means of punishing his enemies and servants who failed him. His laser screwdriver had a number of special properties, the genetic manipulation setting that had already turned the Doctor into Gandalf was only the tip of the iceberg. Like other screwdrivers the Master had included the usual properties, but he also installed a synaptic scanner to calibrate the screwdriver setting with the species he was torturing. The tips of the screwdriver were capable of generating a field that moved from one nerve cluster to another, keeping the victim - oh, how the Master loved that word, in a state of absolute pain.

Rose fell to the ground as the field pushed what felt like white hot needles into her nerve clusters. She screamed louder than she'd ever done in her life. Time seemed to slow down for her.

The Master meanwhile was enjoying this, his wife, the whore who painted her face each day with more and more junk, the bitch who wouldn't shut her bloody mouth, was twisting and turning on the ground, her mouth open as the musical sound of her screams filled the air. Maybe he could run that sound into MP3.…

Then the Master stopped the screwdriver. Rose gasped loudly in relief, her throat was raw, her lungs felt like a blacksmith's billows, needle like made her stay on the ground.

The Master lowered his arm, and kicked Rose in the stomach. Rose folded into herself, gasping loudly as the wind was knocked out of her. She hadn't been prepared for the attack. When the Master spoke, his voice was icy.

" I hope you are still listening to me, I'm only going to say this only once. I have spent the past few months preparing this planet for war, building a new empire. The last thing I want to hear is that one of my servants has been beaten for no rational reason. I don't hurt people without good cause. If I hear that you've gone and done it again, then there will be longer torture sessions."

The Master thought over what he'd just said, and then added, " You will stay in this room for the next week, under guard at all times. Your meals will be served here, and you will eat all of it. It will not be wasted under any circumstances. The guards will be told to not let you out, and if you throw another tantrum like the one I found you indulging in when I came in here, I will let the guards know that they can beat you."

The Master smirked when he saw the look of shock and horror in Rose's eyes, he was enjoying himself enormously.

" Don't ever cross me again, Rose. You are not my equal, you are my Human," Rose, even in her most delusional state, couldn't mistake the disgust the Time lord had used when he used her species name, " Wife. Nothing more."

While the Master was disciplining his wife, the Doctor was sitting in his wheelchair, knowing that the Master would be stopping by shortly. The Master was predictable, he would arrive back after hearing about the attack Rose had carried out on Michelle, punish her, then come down here and make everyone's life a misery.

The Master came into the room, everyone saw he was in a right mood. That made everyone wish they were tiny so then they wouldn't be noticed. But they needn't have worried themselves, to their relief and concern, the Master headed over to the Doctor.

Whilst the Master was hated, the Doctor was well liked, he was charming in his way, he was incredibly kind and gentle, he was also encouraging, telling everyone that the Master was not like his wife. Oh, no, he could be worse. But even the Doctor had been stunned by the vicious and senseless way Rose had attacked Michelle.

The Master took the Doctor's wheelchair and wheeled him over to the window. Dragging a chair for himself over to sit on, the Master and the Doctor started to have a chat.

" You never loved her, did you ?" The Master asked quietly.

The Doctor knew how much the Master hated admitting his mistakes, he had certainly been prideful and unrepentant all those years ago when he unleashed the power of Logopolis without doing careful research. But the Doctor knew his old enemy well enough to know he wouldn't try something like that again. In this case the Doctor thought he understood, " You mean Rose ?"

The other Time lord nodded, " I brought her back because I watched the TARDIS datafiles, I thought I'd discovered your weakness."

For the Master to admit this was astounding enough, but the Doctor had already worked out the rationale behind the Master bringing Rose Tyler back in the first place. But too hear him admit his mistake….the Doctor knew that to do that the Master must've truly swallowed his pride.

" Well, you didn't," The aged Doctor wheezed painfully, his lungs gulping massive amounts of air just to keep up with the Master.

The Master looked at him quietly, his eyes and face blank. The Doctor had never seen a person resemble a Cyberman in all his life, but the Master certainly came close in that second.

" Of course," the twisted Time lord whispered, " Of course, there was a rumour that you fancied Lady Romana. A renegade Time lord attracted to someone who's family were one of the cream of Time lord society."

The Doctor knew nothing he said would convince the Master otherwise, besides he'd double his efforts to locate Romana and Martha, but he knew Romana, she wouldn't make it easy for the Master.

The Master carried on, he knew that the Doctor wouldn't give anything away, " And then again, there was the way you shouted at me over the phone. Very protective of you, Doctor."

The Doctor's voice was as cold as he could make it, " Leave them both alone."

" Now why should I do that ?" the Master asked mockingly, " Lady Romana, one of the last of the Time lords, the last pure Time lady in existence. You wouldn't want anything to happen to her, would you ?"

The horror the Doctor felt in his chest had nothing to do with his emotional state, clutching his chest to control his hearts, the Doctor saw the images in his mind as the Master forced himself onto Romana, or the sickening image of him torturing her….

He must not let that happen. If it killed him, the Doctor wouldn't let Romana suffer a fate worse than death…

Tish Jones was on the nightshift. Cleaning the main control room was given in shifts to the maids, the Master expected the room to be clean and tidy at all times. The job wouldn't normally take long, around two hours. This was because the staff were terrified of the Master's anger.

Besides, Tish was a woman on a mission. The Doctor was kept in a tent in the corner, and the Maids, the guards and the rest of the staff usually avoided that part of the room, particularly if they wanted to keep the Master happy.

But Tish wanted a word with the Doctor. She finished cleaning the room in a short amount of time, an hour and a half, and used the final half hour to talk to the Doctor. The Master was presently on the surface of Earth, supervising the works. So she was safe, unless Rose found out. Mrs Saxon was a jealous, manipulative, heartless bitch, who wouldn't hesitate to kill Tish.

Tish knelt down near the tent, and whispered, " Doctor, can you hear me ?"

There was a scrambling inside the tent and a tired voice replied, " Tish, is that you ? What is it ? What's going on ?"

" We need to talk."

The Doctor opened the tent flaps, his eyes tired. Time lords needed less sleep than humans, but that didn't mean they weren't meant to get any. Besides, in his current state, the Doctor knew that his body needed all the peace and quiet he could get. Luckily, the time the Master was on the planet gave him that peace, Rose being confined to her room was an extra bonus.

" A talk ? What about ?"

Tish got down to business, " I know that you and mum haven't been talking, but surely you can make the effort."

" Tish, your mother chose information from a source that was second hand. Besides, she chose to trust someone she didn't know over her own daughter. That's what the Master does, he takes someone close to the target, and he uses a few well placed words and bends them to his will. Its his nature, he can't help it."

" I barely spoke to your mother that night I met her, partially because I had nothing I really wanted to say to her. I've had bad experiences with mothers of my friends, and I wasn't about to repeat mistakes. The second reason is because of Lazarus. He meddled in things your species need to leave alone. Extending life shouldn't mean tearing your cells apart to do it."

Tish shuddered as memories of how she was going to kiss Lazarus filled her brain, the fact he planning on draining her dry made her shudder more. It was bad enough when Annalise came along, she sucked her father dry of everything he had, but at least he would still be alive.

The Doctor carried on, " I risked my own life to stop him, then I was accused of being behind most of it. All by your mother. I called out to Lazarus, who was looking at your brother and mother like they were happy meals. Would I do that if I was evil ? No, I wouldn't. I care about life, sentient or not."

Tish absorbed everything she was hearing, she knew the Doctor was right.

The Doctor carried on, " Your mother listened to someone, someone who had an agenda. Did she bother to speak to Martha about it ? No, she didn't. I saw your mother and father arrested, Tish. They were with a bunch of people whose whole bearing screamed " government " to me. Your mother almost, almost, lead your sister into a trap. Do you really think I care about her at this point ? Don't interrupt, I haven't finished." he added when the Jones girl was about to speak.

The Doctor gathered his breath and voice, " I think when your mother saw those guns, she realised, truly realised that Harold Saxon, " he empathised the name, " wasn't the second Churchill. That he didn't care about her, that he'd manipulated her. The Master is a genius when it comes to manipulation, when your father blew her cover, he had your family arrested."

" But can't you give her a chance ?"

The Doctor eyed Tish, making the Human woman feel like she was a bug under a microscope, " Why should I ? Your mother put the word of strangers, empty promises, above the word of her own child. Didn't it occur to her to call Martha, to find out what was happening ? Why didn't she bother following us when we went after Lazarus, like you did ? She could've, should've, but she didn't."

" I don't plan on forgiving anyone for their mistakes, I've just found that the Master, one of the last of my kind, and one of the most psychotic, married someone I travelled with. Rose betrayed not just me, she's betrayed everyone on Earth. Rose is responsible for the deaths of millions."

Tish looked down, she knew that the Doctor had raised a number of good points, but she wasn't going to give up.

" Can't you at least think about it ?" She asked.

The Doctor sighed, " Look at me, go on look. What do you see ? You see the results of your mother's treachery, I don't blame her completely, but if she'd trusted me and your sister, then I could've dealt with the Master. Instead, I'm locked up and aged to a point where I can barely move, let alone crawl around on the floor, you're a servant, your parents are enslaved, one of my former companions is married to a monster, your sister and the woman I love are on the planet below, trying to clean up the mess the Master has made."

Tish glared at him, " My mother isn't completely responsible for this."

The Doctor nodded, " No, " he agreed, " It isn't, partially its my fault, Martha can also take some of the blame, but I know that you Humans are so small minded you can't accept that outside your cosy, barren little world, other things maybe possible. Time travel, aliens. The Master, me and Romana fall under those categories. Martha knew, that if she told the truth, you wouldn't believe her. Only if I'd learnt from my experiences with Rose's mother then I would've shown your mother and you the TARDIS, then half of this disaster wouldn't have happened."

Tish walked back into the slave quarters. Her parents were still awake, knowing she would be back. The slave workers knew that even with the Master away for the next few days, they were taking advantage of that. But that didn't mean they weren't going to keep the Valiant clean.

Her parents jumped up when she came in.

" What took you so long ?" her father asked.

Tish sat down on her bunk, boy she missed her bed back home. " I was talking to the Doctor."

Francine looked up, guilt filling her body the name, " What did he say ?" she asked quietly. Clive wrapped an arm gently around her shoulders.

Tish looked at her sadly, " I don't think he's gonna forgive you mum, at least not yet. He did point out good reasons."

Clive was angry that the Doctor would callously disregard his ex wife, but the janitor had barely seen the other Time lord. It had been a shock to learn the Master and the Doctor came from the same planet. Before he could speak up, Francine asked nervously, " What are they ?"

" That you didn't trust Martha, that you didn't try to follow him and us to Suffolk Cathedral after Lazarus, that you placed your trust in strangers, even government strangers." Tish said.

Francine looked down at her hands. She knew the Doctor was right there, she hadn't had a good reason to trust government agents, even if they had given her reasons for what they were doing. Francine had let them fill her head with lies, let them into her home, let them tap into her phone when she was contacting Martha, she'd even brought in her estranged husband to help her.

But when they showed their true colours, she couldn't believe it. Now, they were paying the price; Francine and Clive and Tish were enslaved by their own prime minister who was in fact an alien from another world, who was intent on building an empire out of the blood of the human race.

How could the Doctor forgive her for that ?

Tish leaned forward, " The Doctor also added that some of the blame can be given between you, him and Martha." both Jones parents looked up at that, wondering why there would be blame on Martha's door. Tish carried on.

" The Doctor said we were small minded, that our race don't have the ability to see things outside our cosy little world. Time travel, aliens, invasions….the Doctor's right. We are so tiny when compared to other worlds and times. Martha knew that, that's why she didn't say anything. I bet she regrets it now."

Tish stared her mother in the eye, " I think the Doctor will forgive you, just give him time. Don't pester him, get to know him. It might work."