It was only as Hally was waking up, that she realised she'd been asleep at all. The ceiling slowly came into focus and she became aware of the bed beneath her. She was still in her room.

A warm pink glow shone through the window from the sunset outside. Hally pushed against the bed gently with her hands as she sat up. An uncomfortable ache pulled in the palm of her hand, she eased her weight off her right hand inspecting it. It had been wrapped up in a soft, white bandage.

She looked up and saw that the room had returned to its previous pristine condition. Any evidence of her tantrum had gone.

And she saw him.

He seemed to have a habit of being at the foot of her bed when she was waking up with injuries.

Anger smacked her in the chest and she threw herself at him, clambering off the end of the bed. He grunted as her weight collided into him, frantically capturing her wrists in his hands. Hally let out a cry of frustration as he overpowered her, the advantage of surprise gone. He turned them and her back hit the wall, her arms now trapped in between them as he wrestled with her.

Hally tried to throw her torso forward in an attempt to dislodge his grip. "How could you?!" She snapped at him, a furious growl catching in her throat.

His breath was coming out in sharp pants at the effort of holding her still, but he levelled his voice. "It's not me you're angry at."

"Yes! Yes, it is!" She screamed back at him, giving him a sharp kick to the shin.

He moved them away from the wall for a moment before throwing her back against it hard. Trying to shake the fight from her. "You deserved to know. He would never have told you."

The laugh she gave him was cold and she stilled. "Oh, and you thought that making me work it out in front of everyone was the way to do it?" She sneered. "How unbelievably caring of you." Her teeth were bared dangerously. "No. Koschei. You told me to hurt him. You did that to me, to hurt The Doctor. You used me." Angry tears had started to form once again in her eyes.

The Master fixed her with an intense stare. "He's the one who lied to you."

"Yes, I know that! But you used that to hurt me. You engineered everything for maximum effect. Maximum pain. And you did that to me." The betrayal was written all over her face.

His eyes scanned over her, his nostrils flaring.

Then he gave her a short nod. "Mmm. You're right." He admitted lowly. His eyes held a sincere heaviness.

A strangled sob forced its way up her throat. "Why?"

"You know why." He whispered vehemently.

Her face scrunched and she shoved her arms away from her. He let go of her wrists, giving her a modicum of space. Her chest rose and fell heavily as his eyes trailed down her body to her bandaged hand.

"Are you going to do that again?" He murmured, eyes flicking back to her face.

It took her a second to realise what he was referring to, looking down at her hand. It had started to throb. She looked back to him, eyes closing for a moment. His swift shifts in demeanour made her feel as if he had her on the back foot. She considered his question. While she was still furious over what she'd learnt, still betrayed and hurting, the overbearing storm has passed. The ache in her hand was now just that, pain. Inconvenient.

"No. I don't think so." She sighed softly, looking back at him.

He was watching her intently. His jaw flexed and something sorrowful crossed over his face, but he seemed to accept her answer. "I need you to know who he is."

She made a noise, something between a laugh and a sigh. "Yes, you're making it unavoidably obvious."

"The Doctor lies." His voice was low, grave.

Hally winced. "I… I know that."

"He'll never change."

Her hearts twinged painfully. An admission, to herself, that she believed him. Her gaze slid away from his.

The Master took a slow step closer to her, his hands cupping the outside of her shoulders. It was comforting but also enclosed the space between them. She couldn't back away. He was forcing her to face this.

"He would never have told you."

She shook her head. "I know." The hot ebb of anger towards The Master hadn't faded completely, it was still there. But she was tired of being so alone and he knew, he understood exactly how she was feeling. Even on this ship, he was the only one who truly saw her. And yet…

"You didn't have to do it that way…" Her voice was almost a whisper, eyes softening.

He nodded. "I know."

Hally bit her lip, a blush reddening her cheeks. "I suppose I can hardly take the moral high ground… I'm not being all that honest with him either…" She gave The Master a pointed look.

A slow smirk crept onto his face. "Oh, you mean the little secret about me being your husband?" He gave her a nonchalant shrug, his body was somehow now flush against hers. "That one isn't even that bad… He'd probably be more concerned about all the unspeakable things I've done to that troublesome mouth of yours." His fingers trailed delicately across her clavicle and up her neck. "Or that I know every beautiful detail of your skin." They stopped at her chin, tilting her head up until her lips were level with his. Hally's pupils widened, the path his fingers had taken, searing. "Every place to touch, to kiss, to bite…to have you screaming my name." With one sentence, The Master had her hearts beating loudly in her ears. Heat shot down into her core as his eyes dipped to her mouth.

She swallowed and her body curved against him. "Don't." She mewed, hating how pathetic the sound was.

"Why not." His breath fanned across her face, he sucked on the back of his teeth, eyes darkening. There was an almost primal look on his face, he radiated hunger.

A whimper managed to force its way out of her mouth. "Because… I… I'm too broken to resist you right now."

"You're not broken." He ordered.

Her eyebrows knitted together and she gave him a look that clearly told him how little she believed him.

"You could just… not resist me?" He gave her a boyish smirk, the glint in his eye lighting up his face.

Hally hummed a laugh, and whispered his previous words back at him. "Why must you make things so difficult?"

She felt the deep chuckle against her chest. His lips hadn't moved from their precarious position, just hovering in front of hers. She would only have to tilt her head forward an inch and she could kiss him. He had invaded all her senses. All she could feel was him. His wonderfully unyielding presence. It hardly mattered about anything else, what was going on around them. As long as she could exist here, with him.

Gods, I want to kiss him.

How had he managed that? In the space of minutes, he'd taken her rage and pain and he had turned it into… well…

Hally considered her options. She could give in, and kiss him. Her body melted at the thought. But once she'd crossed the line, she wouldn't be able to stop. She wouldn't be able to come back from that.

Hally sucked in a deep breath, pushing firmly on his chest. "I can't." His hands dropped from her face. "I'm still mad at you."

He gave her a small smile. "I'd be disappointed if you weren't."

Her body stung with the loss of him and she despised her level-headed decision already. Rubbing her good hand over her face, she asked. "Why do you hate him so much?"

The change in him was instant. His face hardened and the warmth in his eyes was extinguished. It had evidently been the wrong thing to say.

"Wrong. Question. Sweetheart." He growled lowly, stepping back from her as if she'd slapped him.

He turned towards the door in a move to leave.

"Wait…" She exhaled. The shift had come so quickly, he'd left her scattered.

He looked back at her, face unreadable.

"I don't want to be alone…" The admission surprised them both.

The Master's jaw twitched but otherwise, his face remained impassive. "Then let me get Armitage for you."

"No. Koschei, I…" She frowned, the words she wanted to say wouldn't come.

I don't want you to go.

Please.

Stay with me.

But she couldn't. So instead she looked to the floor, deflating. "Never mind."

She heard the door close and he was gone.

Immediately, the room was too quiet. Too cold. The lack of his presence was like a black hole.

Hally paced around her room, the last streaks of light disappearing over the horizon. Her hand hurt. She moved into the bathroom, finding the painkillers and popping two into her mouth, gulping them down with water from the sink. The person reflected in the mirror glared back at her disapprovingly. What was she doing? He had murdered millions. He was never going to stop. The destruction. And yet he had her practically begging for him to kiss her. Her reflection frowned, guilt worming its way over her face.

She sighed and forced herself into her bed, staring at the ceiling as sleep evaded her. The hours ticked by as she lay awake, thinking. She was trying to think about everything rationally, something she found infinitely harder to do whenever The Master was around. From her perspective, she had two options. She could give in and stand by her husband's side as he dominated the universe, chaos in his wake. Or she could squish her feelings and fight him, properly fight him until one of them lost, probably mortally. Neither were good options. In fact, she would so far as to say that they were both terrible options.

But existing in this limbo was also unbearable.

It was just past midnight when the alarm sounded. A loud, sirening claxon that jolted her in surprise. Her door opened and light burned her eyes. Armitage was by her side in seconds.

"Up. Now." He ordered, gruffly.

Hally scowled. She really wasn't in the mood for whatever this way, never the less she pushed the duvet off her and allowed him to pull her from her room by the top of her arm, not having the energy to fight him. Armitage marched her onto the bridge, where a small crowd were now gathered. The glass table and chairs had been pushed to the edge of the room. Guards, members of the Valiant's unwilling household staff, she could see The Doctor too and then there was Jack. The further she was dragged into the room the more she could see. Jack was being held by two guards in the centre of the room, the staff, Francine, Letitia and Clive included, were being herded into a circle, surrounding him. Armitage pulled her through until they stood just inside the front row of spectators. He placed her in front of him, giving her a stern look. She assumed he wanted her to remain still. To her left, The Doctor had now been deposited. He tried to catch her gaze but she turned away from him, forcing her eyes forward. Hally crossed her arms over her chest. She hadn't imagined that the next time she'd have to face her father, she'd be wearing pyjamas. Jack's eyes met hers and her face scrunched with concern.

Something had happened.

Jack's clothing was ripped, blood seeping through his shirt and his face was littered with dark marks.

What had he done?

The circle parted and The Master stalked towards Jack. "Many apologies for the midnight meeting." He snapped, voice echoing through the room, inciting fear in the on-looking humans. Watching on from the safety of their circle, like some kind of twisted girl guides meeting.

From the looks of things, everyone had been dragged from their beds. Even The Master, in his black hoodie and dark pyjama bottoms, looked irritably ruffled. Hally felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle as Lucy traipsed in after him, wearing dark red satin shorts that were even shorter than the pair Hally had reluctantly worn and a barely there camisole of the same colour.

The image of them sleeping in the same bed infiltrated her mind, causing her jaw to clench.

The Master rounded on Jack, face set in disdain. "Someone decided it would be a great idea to stage a breakout and try to access our security systems." He sneered. "I think a change of scenery might be in order for Mr Harkness. A nice little lock-up all on his lonesome."

Hally looked at Jack, he was glaring fruitlessly at the Time Lord, but he allowed himself to be pushed to his knees by the guards at his side.

"It would seem our resident hero hasn't quite gotten the memo. So, let me make it crystal clear for you all." The Master raised his hand, his laser screwdriver already armed and shot him directly in the head.

Hally winced and recoiled as Jack's body hit the floor. A fearful wave swept through the audience. Hally cocked her head to one side. She couldn't see the strange flowing energy around Jack that she had seen on Malcassairo. Fear sliced through her as for a moment she wondered if perhaps his immortality had run out before she remembered the band around her neck. She couldn't see it anymore because she'd been cut off from the energy inside her, the same energy that swirled around Jack and forced him back to life.

He gasped and his eyes flew open as he was wrenched back. The Master watched grimly as Jack pushed himself back up onto his knees. He raised the screwdriver and this time the beam hit Jack's chest, it took him a few seconds to die, his rasping breath the only sound in the room.

"Now, I have to admit, killing him the same way over and over again does get a little bit boring after a while…" the Master drawled. "But it's 1am and I'd rather this be done quickly."

Hally lost count.

She could see Jack was tiring, eventually, he couldn't bring himself back to his knees and he just lay there on the floor. In a darkening pool of his own blood. She eyed The Master wearily. There was nothing familiar about him, it was almost like he was barely present at all. Just a shadow of rage and contempt.

As Jack groaned against the floor, The Master crouched down next to his head. "Although, I do have to thank you, Jack. After all, without you, I'd still be stuck at the end of the universe." He whispered sharply, before rising to his feet once more, eyes catching hers.

He addressed the room. "Right. Let's see if the lesson sticks. Now, I'm off back to bed." He moved towards the door, before turning back to them all. "I don't want a peep out of any of you. I doubt the rest of you would bounce back to life so eagerly." Then he was gone, Lucy floating after him. Fear paralysed the humans and they looked to the guards for instruction. None came. No one moved. The only sound came from Jack. His harsh, laboured breathing.

Hally turned slowly to look at Armitage, an eyebrow raised in a silent question. His piercing stare gave her the answer she needed. They would not be leaving this room. She sighed in frustration and rubbed her tired eyes with her good hand.

This was not fair.

Fucking Jack, fucking Harkness.

She could feel The Doctor watching her again. He was too close to her.

Making sure she had Armitage's attention she nodded towards the far wall, hoping he would understand her request. His eyes followed hers and he gave her a short nod. Instantly she moved away from the gathering, Armitage clearing a path through the small crowd. She took refuge on the other side of the room, sliding down the wall to sit. Her guard stood to her left, back leaning on the wooden panel behind them. If she was going to be forced to stay here all night, she was going to damn well sit down.

Slowly, as if only just learning how to do it, the other staff members began to sink to the floor around the room, following her lead.

Hally let her head fall back, staring up at the ceiling above her. Despite hating him right now, Hally had to admire The Master's perchance for torture. This punishment was extremely affecting.

She was so tired.

Never before had she missed the comfort of those burgundy sheets.

As the hours dragged by, she felt Jack and The Doctor watching her. It was irritating. More than that, it was unbelievable.

She had closed her eyes and tried to will herself to sleep, but of course, it never came. The lights were too bright and even though no one spoke, the room was filled with the sounds of humans existing.

As the sun began to rise, the staff were ordered to clean the blood that had semi-dried on the floor and rearrange the room to its usual format. Once that had been completed, they were let out and told to report to their stations. Hally brought her knees up to her chest and rested her head in her arms. She felt awful, exhausted and grimy. Although, she couldn't imagine how Jack must feel, still caked in his own blood.

Finally, Armitage spoke. "Breakfast will be served soon." He offered her his hand. Hally stretched and gave him her uninjured hand letting him assist her to her feet. Her body protested at the movement after so many hours sitting on the cold floor, but she forced herself to walk over to her usual chair. The Doctor took his seat slowly and Jack somehow managed to drag himself to the table. While they waited for their 'Lord and Master' to arrive, Hally crossed her arms on the glass and rested her head down onto them, eyes closed.

She was hungry and tired and gross and The Master was late for breakfast.

"Can someone tell him to hurry the fuck up?" She mumbled into her arms.

No one responded.

She let out a dramatic sigh, sitting up and running her hands through her hair, trying to brush through some of the knots.

Around fifteen minutes later The Master arrived, Lucy following close behind, a look of smug satisfaction on her face. Of course, they were both now immaculately put together, in stark contrast to the remainder of the 'guests' at the table. Hally needed this day to be over quickly. Breakfast arrived and she pushed food around her plate, barely managing to eat any of it, mainly due to the fact she could only use her left hand, her weaker hand. But also the heavy exhaustion was making her feel slightly nauseous.

"Rough night?"

Hally's eyes flicked up to the blonde female who had spoken. Lucy's eyes were trained on her, her face a mask of quiet confidence. Hally's eyebrow quirked and before she could help it, she'd trailed her gaze to the right to connect with The Master, shooting him a look that clearly said, 'Really?'

His lip twitched.

Hally looked back to the woman in front of her. "Sorry, who are you supposed to be again?" Hally's mouth pulled into a cold smile as she stared at the woman. The question was rhetorical of course, but it did the trick. The human's face fell into one of confusion, the smug look vanishing.

The Master's voice was low, a warning. "Careful."

Hally pushed her tongue against her lower teeth, stabbing at her plate in a sulk.

As she brought it to her mouth, she could feel the unwavering attention of The Doctor. He was watching her. How did he even have the gall? What exactly was he expecting from her? For her to look up and meet his eyes and suddenly everything would be ok. He hadn't even tried to say anything.

Her patience snapped and her eyes met his, fury sizzling behind them. "What?" She cut across the table.

He looked pathetic. Old, weak and sad. The warm brown irises conveying so many conflicting emotions. And yet still, he was silent.

She rolled her eyes. "Right." She nodded patronisingly. "I forgot. You're far too high and mighty to simply talk to us."

"Hal..." It had come from her left, from Jack. A gentle reprimand.

"Shut up, Jack." She spat.

Jack frowned. "Hey…" Giving her a stern look.

How could he be taking The Doctor's side in this?

The Master brought a spoon to his mouth, watching in delight.

Hally rounded on Jack. "No. What exactly did you think you were going to achieve Jack?" She narrowed her eyes. "Were you going to single-handedly save the world?"

Jack gave her a look, one that clearly told her how little he appreciated her attitude. "No. I was… I wanted to check on you."

Hally laughed. "You're an idiot." She bit out. "I'm fine."

Jack wasn't convinced. "What happened to your hand?" His face contorted into one of hatred as he looked suspiciously at The Master.

"Me. I happened to my hand." She rolled her jaw, her answer sharp. Jack looked back at her in confusion, overbearing sympathy flickering across his face. "I did this. So you can stop with the pointless escape attempts." Hally sneered.

"…Why?" The Doctor finally spoke, his voice barely a whisper.

"Why, what?" She could feel the fire growing in the pit of her stomach. With every passing moment. The two of them, sat there acting as if she was being unreasonable. Wishing for her to calm down with their sad, sad eyes.

"Why would you…?" The Doctor looked down at the bandage. She couldn't bring herself to answer him. How could he even ask? When this whole thing had spiralled from him. He was the reason. He was why and yet he was looking at her like she'd manufactured everything.

The Master chipped in, seizing the opportune silence. "This is what happens Doctor, when you make everyone believe you're the hero."

Hally wasn't going to let him derail her this time. She kept her eyes on The Doctor. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

The Doctor's face fell and he looked down. For a second she thought he might have returned to his steely silence, but eventually, he croaked. "Rose wasn't ready."

"And after?" She shot straight back at him.

He shook his head. "Then, she was gone. I couldn't hurt you like that."

"Liar." Her eyes flashed with disappointment. His eyes remained downcast. He evidently wanted the conversation to be done, but she wasn't quite finished.

"You left me on Gallifrey." Her tone was accusatory.

He exhaled and finally raised his head to look at her. "We didn't want to… but we had to."

She shook her head. "No. You didn't."

His face crinkled, begging her to understand. "You're a fixed point… I couldn't risk altering any part of your timeline."

"Ah yes, our Queen." Master cooed, earning him a sharp glare.

"She doesn't strike me as a Queen." Lucy piped up after him. The Master chuckled lowly.

The look Hally shot the human was murderous.

The Doctor sighed, it was small as if he was simply tired of her being there. "I know you're angry… you have every right to be. But don't let him manipulate you into being something you're not." Her father tilted his head towards the end of the table, where The Master sat, smiling proudly at his chaos.

Her mouth dropped open as his words sunk in. "You're unbelievable."

The Doctor pressed on, gently. "He's using this - …"

"I KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING!" Hally exploded. The fire behind her eyes directed solely at her father. "I know exactly what he's doing, Doctor! But that isn't the point!" She screamed at him. "You lied to me!" This time, he would listen. "You let me feel like there was something wrong with me, MY ENTIRE LIFE! And now… you can't even say sorry." Her face morphed into an expression of disgust and disappointment. "You won't even accept responsibility because you're too busy trying to paint someone else as the villain for your mistake!"

Her throat burned and her chest rose and fell as she caught her breath.

The Doctor was silent.

"I couldn't have put it better myself…" The entertained smirk was audible in The Master's voice.

Hally turned to glare at him. "Don't even get me started on you." She hissed and he raised his eyebrows. "I know you think you're clever. Playing your games, scoring your points. I can see right through everything you do." Her voice was low, dripping with venom. "I'm not your 'Queen', to move around your bullshit mental chessboard. Neither of you." She shot back to her father. "You lied to me, own up to it, and you…" She looked back at her husband. "You're not going 'win' this. It's not something you can win. If you carry on like this the only thing you're going to do is lose."

"I expected better, from both of you." She finished, pushing back in her chair. The Doctor had lowered his gaze again, staring into the glass of the table. The Master's eyebrows sat high on his forehead, mouth pulled into a thoughtful pout. He was considering her. Considering her words. His attention flitted briefly towards The Doctor, noting his lack of response.

Lucy scoffed. "You can't talk to him like that." The human looked towards The Master, expecting him to turn on Hally. Instead, she received a dark, silencing stare from him. A small frown pinched Lucy's forehead.

When he turned back to Hally, his features were schooled into a calm, sincere mask. "You're right."

She presented an unimpressed look on her face, instantly seeing through his move. "Don't you dare give me some fake apology just to try and make a point."

A spark flashed behind his eyes and a small smirk graced his lips. "I'm not." He reassured her. "I'm not sorry. Like you said, I know exactly what I did and you know exactly why I did it." His eyes narrowed on hers. A silent exchange. An agreement. He leant back into his chair, resting his elbows on the armrests and bringing his hands together to rest under his chin. "I don't have any more secrets to spill if you don't…" He offered to her, his eyes filling in the gaps. She felt her face warm. It was a truce, a disguised half-apology in the form of a proposition. He gave her his full attention as she deliberated. He was giving her the choice and in doing so he was offering his silence.

"I don't have any more secrets to spill if you don't…"

Put simply, if she didn't want their secret to be known, he wouldn't tell.

It was something. She gave him an almost unperceivable nod and his face split into a smile. "Wonderful."

He clicked his tongue against his teeth and opened his hands. "Now, you really should eat something. You all look awful."

Lucy was still frowning, her eyes narrowing at Hally. She looked down at her plate and stabbed a strawberry, popping the whole thing into her mouth as nonchalantly as possible. Her hearts were beating loudly in her ears and her hand threatened to shake as adrenaline continued to scorch through her veins. Hally replayed the conversation back in her mind, anxiety squeezed at her insides. Had she said too much? She didn't think so. To the others, it had hopefully been vague enough that they could assume she was just angry at him for the same reason as the rest of them. But she would need to be careful.

Breakfast dragged into lunch and into the afternoon. Armitage appeared by her side earlier than usual, requesting she follow him. She looked over towards The Master, who was standing up on the higher bridge, he sent her a knowing smile, offering only a simple, "Behave," as explanation.

Intrigue motivated her more than anything to follow Armitage. He led her away from the bridge and into a new area of the ship. They entered a small room, two blue sofas sitting opposite one another, a wooden coffee table between them. Armitage motioned for her to sit and she did so, a room with two sofas couldn't cause her too much harm, right?

Her face echoed her surprise when Dr Pearce came through the door, giving Armitage a small smile, she sat herself down on the sofa opposite Hally. She had briefly met the tall, blonde when she'd awoken inside the facility. It was strange to see her again, in this new setting.

"Hello, again." Dr Pearce smiled at Hally kindly.

"Hi…?" The question clear in her voice. Why are you here?

The professional-looking woman in front of her offered out her left hand. "Dr Pearce."

Hally nods. "I remember." She leant forward and shook the outstretched hand.

Dr Pearce gave Armitage a small nod of thanks and he retreated from the room, shutting the door behind him. He didn't lock it.

"I'm going to assume that you're not going to be overly enthused when I tell you why I'm here, so I'd just like to ask you, for my sake, to keep an open mind." Dr Pearce met Hally's eyes with a genuine sincerity that instantly got Hally on side.

She nodded slowly, raising an eyebrow. "Alright. I'll try my best."

"Well then, I will introduce myself properly. My name is Dr Alina Pearce. I'm 31 and I'm one of the leading clinical psychologists in the UK. Or, perhaps you could say I was. I'm not sure if the UK even exists anymore."

Alina placed a certificate in Hally's hands. "I graduated from Cambridge University in 2000."

It was her practising certificate. While Hally couldn't know for sure that it was real, the notion was appreciated. Attempting to build trust. Hally looked back up at her.

"I can imagine where this is going…"

Alina nodded. "The Master employed me."

"The word employed indicates you're here of your own free will for some kind of remuneration." Hally quipped, raising her eyebrow doubtfully.

"Perhaps. Although I am being paid. I do not like my employer however, my family are safe and I am not dead. So, I guess those are the job perks." Her eyes twinkled.

Hally let out a small laugh. "I guess that's certainly a way to see the positives." She cocked her head to one side. "So… this is like, what? Enforced therapy."

"You could see it that way. Yes. I have nothing to 'achieve', we have no specific goals going into this. It's just a space for us to talk. For you to talk." Alina explained.

"I'm guessing we don't have the usual Doctor/patient confidentiality." Hally raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed." Alina gave her an apologetic smile.

Classic Master.

Hally sighed. "Did he say why he was employing you for this?"

The way Alina looked at her was refreshing. There was no judgement or preconception. "I won't pretend to know for certain, but from the little I've been told, it seems he is under the impression that you might find it beneficial."

"But you feed everything back to him?"

Alina raised the notebook she had brought with her. "He will have access to this. Plus…" She motioned to the cameras knowingly.

"Mmm…" Most of Hally was resistant, but there was a small part of her that was convinced by Alina's honest demeanour. Perhaps it could help? But then again, was saying no even an option? Could she trust this?

It could be that it was a gesture. A peace offering. An offering of help. Or it could turn out to be another way for him to spin her words against her. If she opened up, would it come back to bite her?

She concluded that she would go along with it for now, but exercise caution.

"Alright."

Alina smiled, opening the notebook and readying her pen. "Is there anywhere you'd like to start? Literally, anything."

Hally frowned. Suddenly her mind was full of possibilities, there were so many places she could start.

Her face must have shown her distress because Alina rescued her. "Or I can start? I realise you're most likely not going to be completely honest with me today. Which I fully expect. So we can start with a few basic questions. Just a baseline understanding."

"Okay… where do you want me to start?" Hally cocked her head to one side.

Alina relaxed back into the sofa, offering an encouraging smile. "Well, how are you feeling today?"

Hally snorted a laugh. "I feel extremely tired and underdressed." She motioned pointedly to her pyjamas.

Alina nodded. "Tired in what way?"

"Well, for one I got pulled out of bed at 1am for no reason and since then I've been sequestered on the bridge and then… well I guess I haven't had time to really process the bomb that The Master dropped yesterday." She twisted a piece of hair around her finger. "I'm exhausted. Playing all the stupid games. The fighting. Fighting everyone. I'm so tired of existing like this."

Alina's eyes were open, attentive. "That's understandable. To feel emotionally drained after learning about your mother."

Hally felt her face contract as she winced. "Yeah."

Alina considered her, her pen moving despite the fact that she wasn't looking at it. She changed the subject. "Is that why you hurt your hand?"

Hally looked down at the bandage and sighed softly. "Yes." She admitted. "I didn't mean to… I don't think. It just… everything was too much and I couldn't think. I didn't know what to do with all that… everything inside me."

Alina nodded again, listening intently. "I understand. And I know being here, there might be times when you feel those emotions again. Out of control. I want you to know, that even if you can't turn to the people you would usually turn you. Or if the people you want to turn to aren't listening… you can ask for me. You're always under surveillance, you're aware of that. So you ask for me and I will be there."

Hally surveyed her face. No ulterior motive. Simple fact. She nodded. "Ok."

"What is your relationship with The Master?" Alina switched to.

A frown pulled Hally's forehead. Surely the human was aware…

Alina elaborated kindly. "I know what your relationship is 'on paper'. I'm asking you, how do you see your relationship with The Master? There is no wrong answer."

Hally felt the familiar pang of guilt. "He enslaved your planet… slaughtered millions of your people."

Alina nodded as if what Hally had said didn't concern her greatly. "Does that alter how you see your relationship with him?"

"Of course it does." Hally whispered.

"How?" She asked.

Hally felt her chest deflate. She hadn't really figured the answer out herself. It seemed impossible to put it into words. "It makes me… I don't know. I don't like him." She laughed nervously. "I…" Her abdomen clenched. "I feel guilty, all the time for having any kind of 'relationship' with him. I wish I could be like Jack or The Doctor. They make it look so uncomplicated. Just, hate him. You know. That should be so easy. I could just hate the 'madman' and that'd be it."

Alina was silent, waiting for her to finish.

"But I don't hate him." Hally admitted. Perhaps also to herself.

Alina made a note, before picking up with another question. "You put 'madman' in inverted commas?"

"Mmm." Hally agreed.

"Why?"

"I'm not sure I understand the question…"

Alina smiled, eyes set on hers. "From what I've heard… from the way other people talk about The Master. I'm inclined to believe you might be the only one to put madman in inverted commas when talking about him."

Hally shrugged, thinking about it. "Maybe. But he's not… he's not insane."

"Would it scare you if he were?"

"Maybe?" Hally scrunched up her face in thought. "But he's not. I know he's not. I've literally been inside his head. He's not insane or mad or whatever other lazy terms they want to use. Right now he's just angry and powerful. Yes, he's kind of chaotic, has a pretty narrow moral compass and a ridiculously short fuse but… he's not… he's not mad."

Alina paused for a moment. Nodding slowly. "I understand your dismissal of the unhelpful terms… but, judging from his behaviour, would you not consider some of those things you listed to be tendencies you could associate with a psychopath?"

Hally raised her eyebrows, a smile creeping onto her face. "Did he ask you to ask me if I think he's a psychopath?"

Alina chuckled and shook her head. "No. He has no pre-determined questions. I'm actually just quite interested, you know him better than anyone."

Hally cocked her head to one side in thought as she voiced her musings. "I can see… how his actions would portray him as a psychopath. I'm not denying he doesn't tick probably all of the boxes." A blush painted her cheeks as she realised she was smiling fondly. "Machiavellian, impulsive, he comes across as narcissistic, changeable, without empathy. Perhaps, yes, perhaps if I had never married him, never bonded with him I might assume that too… but all those things, all those behaviours, they're just an act. Most of the time he's just fighting to stay in control. To get revenge or justice for something because he's hurting…" She trailed off, a new thought occurring to her. "All of this… has stemmed from something between him and The Doctor. Maybe if The Doctor had listened to him, understood his point of view, taken responsibil-…" Hally frowned. "Hm."

She exhaled in comprehension.

Alina watched her, curiously.

"What is it?"

"Nothing… I just… I've been asking the wrong question."