The Master and Mrs. Pond Part 2
Oct. 17th, 2011 08:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dragonofmemoryThe Master and Mrs. Pond
By: Memory Dragon
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, nor do I make any claim to.
Characters: Delgado Master, Amy Pond, Third Doctor, Brigadier, Sergeant Benton. A small bit of implied Doctor/Master.
Warnings: There is a lot of sheer and utter crack in this. Also, some angst. And some Master torture by the monster of the day, because I really do like beating him up for some reason. Nothing he can't handle though.
Notes: Part 2
Thanks: Many thanks to![[info]](../../img/userinfo.gif?v=3)
narwhale_callin for betaing, even if she types at me in capslock on occasion. XD Also, for a bit of the dialogue concerning the monster of the day. I say again though, this does not excuse you from writing your own drabble with it. <3
The original fic, The Sea Devils and Mrs. Pond, can be found here.
Part 1 can be found here.
~
"I see someone has been enjoying themselves while I've been working," the Doctor said as his face appeared on the screen.
Amy, who couldn't stop laughing, merely waved the Doctor off. She was, truth be told, very put out that the Doctor had finally called. The Master's stories were getting good.
It was the Master who answered, smiling wryly from behind his cup of tea. "Simply passing the time, Doctor. Do you have any news for us?"
"It'll take me a few days to get all the materials together, old chap," the Doctor explained. "It's not all easy to come by, you know. And I've had to tell UNIT that you insisted I came alone or Amy would be hurt to make sure they didn't get involved."
"Well, excuse me for thinking outside the box that everyone could just get along," Amy said. "What's wrong with asking politely?"
The Doctor ignored her in favor of more pertinent information. "Give me a week, and I'll meet you out at the abandoned Thompson farm, some 20 miles away from here. Do you know it?"
The Master nodded. "We'll see you there."
Amy was disappointed this time on how short their conversation was. She was even more disappointed when the Master immediately started to set the coordinates. "Shouldn't you let your shoulder heal first?" Amy asked, hoping to get more of the Doctor's childhood escapades from him.
"The quicker this is over, the sooner it can heal," the Master said.
She supposed she shouldn't blame him for wanting this whole thing to just be done with, not with how tired he looked earlier. However, that didn't mean she was giving up. "Can't you at least finish the story about how the Doctor used the Krynoid as his botany project before we-"
The TARDIS shook, sending both of them flying across the console room. The tea clattered to the floor as well, but it didn't spill. The Master refused to chance good china with constant and irregular interruptions, so they both had been drinking from durable sealed cups. "I'm afraid that will have to wait," the Master said grimly as he got back to the console, only a brief wince as he started to use his bad hand to reach for the controls giving away the fall had hurt.
Amy sighed, watching the time rotor rise and fall with resignation. She'd been having fun, and it was a lot better than passing the Doctor test tubes all day. She had to go back sometime though, because she doubted Rory and her Doctor would be able to find her like this. "Fine. What's the plan then, Teddy?"
"The plan, Mrs. Pond, is to disrupt the creature's brain waves and reseal it where it won't harm anyone else."
Ignoring the jab at her name, Amy picked the tea cups off the floor. "Is that what the holly is for?"
"Holly was a delicacy to the Eronidons. When I mix it with some selenia pollen, which will put it to sleep, it won't be able to resist it. Unfortunately, it only digests things when it hears sounds at a certain frequency. Hence the sonic cerebral disruptor."
"And do we have any of that?" Amy asked, since he hadn't asked the Doctor to get pollen.
The Master went over to the filing cabinet, grabbing a container that managed to stay on top of it even through the worst of the attacks. It was fairly big and as he handed it to Amy, she realized it was much heavier than it looked. "Indeed I do. May I leave the task of mixing the pollen and the holly to you? I should like to check on the Doctor's work when we get there. He has been known to purposefully sabotage equipment for me."
Amy nodded, looking down at the container thoughtfully. "So I just mix the two together? What do we do with it after that?"
"We wait until it is confused by the cerebral stimulator and put the holly out where it can get to it. Once it digests the mixture, the sonic waves will activate the Eronidon's brain to make certain the chemicals in the pollen put it to sleep," he explained.
"Sounds complicated," Amy said, wondering why they couldn't just use a regular sleeping pill. Still, she took the container and the ear plugs offered to her. Once the TARDIS had materialized, Amy and the Master walked out into a sunny English summer. She looked back automatically as she exited the TARDIS, surprised to find that it wasn't a tree any more. It was a little lean-to that fit right against an old barn.
The Doctor and the Brigadier were in front of the barn, setting up some kind of machine on a group of tables. Setting the container down, Amy practically tackled the Doctor with a hug.
"Ah, there you are, Amy! I'm glad you're safe," he said, patting her fondly on the head as he beamed down at her. That was one thing this Doctor did very well, hugs. She always liked how he smelled too.
"Never better," she said as she pulled away.
"Then our part in this ridiculous charade is over," the Brigadier said. "We can leave as soon - Mrs. Pond! This is highly inappropriate."
The Brigadier was much more awkward about the hug. And Amy laughed as she pulled away and saw his eyebrows inching higher. She had become very fond of the Brigadier, despite the Doctor's grumbling, and it was always fun pushing his ideas of what was 'proper' for a young married woman to do. "Alright then, I've got my boys and it's time to get rid of that monster!"
"As I was saying," the Brigadier said, detangling himself and moving a proper distance away from Amy. "That is none of our concern. Now that you are free, we can leave. Isn't that right, Doctor?"
"I'm afraid that is rather impossible, due to our query having Mrs. Pond's scent as well now," the Master said as he walked forward. "My dear Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Now this is a pleasant surprise to see you here. I was quite sure I requested the Doctor come alone."
"He insisted that he come along as well," the Doctor said, not altogether as displeased as Amy thought he would be. "And if you put her in danger because of-"
"It was my fault," Amy said, calling everyone's attention back to her. "I tried to escape and the monster came after us. It got my scent then."
"Well, there's no helping that," the Doctor said finally. Amy went back to pick up the container as the Doctor motioned towards the machine. "I suppose we'll have to stay and make sure things work out after all. We were just putting on the finishing touches."
"Then allow me to assist you, if the Brigadier won't mind being replaced. I'm sure he could help Amy with mixing the selenia pollen and holly."
"Is that your plan then?" the Doctor asked as they both started going over to the machine without bothering to see if the Brigadier objected. Amy watched them continue to bicker, surprised when the Master started complimenting the Doctor on the craftsmanship.
"Selenia pollen?" the Brigadier asked her after he cleared his throat, clearly not at all displeased to do the more manual labor.
"Oh, right," Amy said, opening the container. She launched into the simple version of the plan, since she didn't think the Brigadier would care for the more complex one. "We're supposed to mix the holly and the pollen, and this will put it to sleep, or something like that. Then they can seal it away again."
The Brigadier raised his eyebrows, but he shrugged. "It's a surprisingly straight forward plan from him," was all he said as he showed her where the holly was. Putting on gloves to avoid getting the pollen on their skin, Amy and the Brigadier set to their task.
As they mixed the pollen and the holly, Amy continued to watch the Time Lords. They were getting along fabulously now, talking and smiling at each other. In fact, they were pretty touchy-feely too. Any time the Doctor moved around, he'd put his hand on the Master's back or the Master's hand would brush against the Doctor's as he reached for-
"Oh, my God," Amy said, interrupting their conversation.
"Is something wrong?" the Doctor asked, looking over at her.
"You two aren't just old friends, are you?" Amy asked, her eyes widening in realization.
The Doctor and the Master exchanged glances, each just as baffled. "We went to school together, yes. That was a long time ago though."
Oh, yes. They went to school together alright. "He's your ex-boyfriend, isn't he?" she asked, scarcely able to believe her luck. He was never living this down.
The result of this question was rather comical. The Doctor sputtered, the Master looked speechless, and the Brigadier simply raised an eyebrow as he continued to mix the green leaves with the yellow powder. "I'm right. Oh, my god, I'm right."
"You are most certainly not," the Doctor said finally.
"My dear young lady, we are sworn enemies," the Master agreed. "We were once good friends, but that has been over for decades."
"Sooo, it's unresolved sexual tension? Actually, that's pretty hot too." She couldn't have gotten this wrong. She called it on River Song, she was certain, and she knew she had these two nailed as well. They were protesting way too much.
"Brigadier, if you could explain the situation to her," the Doctor said, too affronted by Amy's sudden betrayal to explain.
The Brigadier raised the other eyebrow, managing to silence both protesting Time Lords with some super power that Amy was jealous of. "It's none of my business if you were. What matters now, Mrs. Pond, is that we get this trap set up before whatever it is comes to kill us all."
"Yes, quite," the Doctor said sulkily when he didn't get the firm denial he was looking for.
The Master, for his part, was already very focused on connecting the last few wires and ignoring this humiliation completely. Amy noticed they didn't touch anymore after that either. "I called it," Amy whispered conspiratorially towards the Brigadier.
"A lot of things could have happened in the past, Mrs. Pond," the Brigadier rebuked. "What matters is the present."
"Yeah, I suppose so." She looked over at them again, noticing how neither of the Time Lords were looking at each other this time. "But if there were a betting pool..."
The Brigadier spared a quick glance at the Time Lords, as if he were looking at a map for where to best place troops. "If there were a hypothetical betting pool and they are 'unresolved' as you say, I might have just won twenty pounds from your predecessor, Miss Grant. She was most insistent on your original conclusion."
Amy looked back at the Brigadier in shock and surprise. He met her gaze, eyebrows poised and quite sternly telling her that no one else was to be privy to this information. She knew she liked the Brigadier for a reason. None of his business, her foot.
Her daydreams of hot Time Lord sex were interrupted by that monster's terrible screaming. Her hands nearly went to her ears before she remembered she was still wearing the gloves.
"The holly!" the Master called out, motioning to both of them to hurry up.
They gathered the tablecloth together and the Brigadier tied their mixture in a neat knot, carrying it over just as a huge purple monster flew over head. Everyone ducked, despite how it cleared the barn easily. "Good grief," the Brigadier said as they reached the machine where the Time Lords were. "What the devil is that?"
The Doctor looked positively thrilled that the Brigadier had asked. "My dear Lethbridge-Stewart, that is a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater."
The Master looked about ready to hit the Doctor for that comment, and Amy decidedly didn't blame him. "I don't think it's here for the Rock and Roll, Doctor," she said in hopes of deterring the Master's temper. She pulled off her gloves as the monster wheeled around for another pass, which was when she noticed one particular detail. "And it has two horns."
"Oh," the Doctor said, looking vaguely disappointed. "So it does."
"Brigadier, can you toss the holly a safe distance when it flies by?" the Master asked, attempting to bring the topic back to its proper place.
"I believe so," the Brigadier said, checking the area and the Eronidon for his direction.
"Then put your headphones on, everyone!" the Doctor said as a loud screech proclaimed the monster's fury. The last thing Amy heard him say before she put in her much higher tech ear plugs, was 'I always thought the Eronidons were more of a blue-ish green color" with the same enthusiasm of a three-year-old who had discovered a new toy. She had thought her Doctor was a nerd, but this one occasionally went over and above expectations.
She helped the Brigadier with his headphones since he was still wearing the gloves, then took cover. The creature swooped by again, and Amy had to hold on to the table as the gust of wind from its wings nearly knocked her down. How the Brigadier managed to throw the holly in all of that was beyond her, but it flew off a safe distance, right past the creature's nose. Then he stumbled forward as the wind hit him, but the Doctor caught him and helped to steady the Brigadier to his feet.
The giant, bushy purple creature wheeled again, this time on the holly. It worked like a charm and now it was tearing at the table cloth greedily to get to its snack, ignoring everyone on the ground. She looked back to motion that it had worked, but the Doctor wasn't paying attention. He was looking down at the Brigadier's gloves.
Suddenly, he started motioning angrily at the Master. There was a flurry of hand movements and signals, none of which made any sense to Amy. It didn't even look like normal sign language. Then the Master stopped signaling and reached over the machine to turn it on.
The Doctor sprang into action, tackling the Master and driving him away from the button. They grappled on the ground as the Eronidon finished the holly and pulled back its head for another scream.
Someone had to turn the machine on! But why would the Doctor stop the Master from doing so? That didn't make sense, not unless the Master had done something to it. But it was the Doctor who built the machine.
The creature launched itself into the air and this time it intended to strike at them. Amy looked around for the Brigadier, who started shooting as soon as it was airborne. The bullets weren't doing any good and it would only distract the monster for so long. It flew low, readying its long claws to tear the Brigadier to pieces.
Amy didn't have time or the choice. She raced over to the machine and pressed the button the Master had been reaching for.
The machine started to vibrate and Amy was glad for the ear plugs. It was so loud that she could feel the vibration and it felt like she was going to be shaken to bits. Amy knew she must have screamed, though she couldn't hear anything beyond the constant shaking.
She saw that the Doctor was furious, but it was the Master who shook him off and took her by the shoulders to draw her away. The vibration lessened the further away she got and Amy found she could breathe normally once she wasn't at the epicenter of their man-made earthquake.
The Eronidon wasn't fairing so well. It crashed into the ground, the Brigadier barely having time to jump to the side before it hit him. It clawed the ground in agony, screeching at the top of its lungs. It was horrible watching it, like some movie with the sound muted, since she couldn't hear the noise.
The Doctor turned off the machine, shouting angrily as he turned to face them. He tore off his head phones, motioning for Amy and the Master to do the same to their earplugs.
"-little fool! Do you understand what you've done?" she heard finally.
Amy looked at the Eronidon who was in obvious pain, suddenly not so sure of what she'd done. "The pollen was supposed to put it to sleep so-"
"Selenia pollen is white!" he yelled, cutting her off.
If that wasn't selenia pollen, then what..? She heard the creature scream again, though this time it was a more pitiful sound. Her hands flew to her mouth as she realized.
She had poisoned it.
"I'm sorry," she said, feeling numb. "I didn't know that... I thought-"
"You didn't think, no, or you'd have realized I was stopping the Master for a reason!" the Doctor said, turning away from her to walk towards the creature.
She watched as he pet its side, smoothing the purple fur over its one massive eye. "It was going to kill the Brigadier," she said, though the person she was trying to talk to wasn't listening. She had killed it, even if it was going to hurt people. It hadn't been its fault either, being locked away for so long by the Time Lords. And she had killed it.
"It was a mercy," the Master said, coming up behind her. "Confining it again would have been just as bad, if not worse. The Doctor knows that. He's the one being a fool."
"You lied to me," she said, wheeling on the Master as she finally found her anger. "You said the pollen would put it to sleep. We could have helped it!"
"And maybe it could have killed all the people in London before we could get close," the Master said, his eyes turning hard. "Not that human lives matter to me one way or another, but I prefer not to accumulate such a waste when it's unnecessary. It's kill or be killed, Mrs. Pond."
Amy didn't respond to that. She didn't know how to respond. This time he didn't wipe her tears away as she started to cry. "Now, you'll have to excuse me," he said when she didn't say anything. "I should leave before the Brigadier gets it into his head to arrest me."
The Master left after that, back to the little lean-to shed. She could hear the noise of the TARDIS taking off, but she couldn't move to stop him. Maybe she should have yelled for one of the others, but right now she never wanted to see the Master again. It was better if he was just gone.
Though her eyes were blurred, she saw the Brigadier picking himself up out of the bushes he had landed in. She went over to help him, since he appeared to have twisted his leg. "Are you alright, Mrs. Pond?" he asked, before she had gotten close.
"I killed it," she said quietly, not bothering to wipe the tears away.
"And I take it that scoundrel took off as soon as the coast was clear?"
Amy nodded, waiting for the reprimand she knew was coming. However, as she moved to support the Brigadier, she found him offering her a handkerchief. "You did save my life," he reminded her gently.
She accepted the handkerchief, finally rubbing her eyes. "The Doctor doesn't see it that way," she said. It wasn't even the first time, after what happened with the Sea Devils. This time he might not forgive her.
"It was the only thing you could have done," the Brigadier told her, patting her shoulder in awkward reassurance. "He'll realize that eventually. Now, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to help me walk."
Amy helped the Brigadier over to one of the tables, watching as the giant creature closed its big, purple eye one last time.
* * *
Amy came in the next morning, despite the Brigadier's insistence that she take a few days off. He wasn't resting at home, though he had to move around UNIT HQ in crutches, so she didn't see why she should be out too, other than for emotional things. And since she really didn't want to think on that anyway, coming in to work sounded like a good idea.
Captain Yates and Sergeant Benton threw her a welcome back party, complete with military grade hot coco and some homemade biscuits from Benton's sister. They tried to cheer her up, but she was still in a subdued mood, mulling over a biscuit and glancing at her cell phone.
She couldn't help but think back to the Star Whale that the Doctor had nearly killed, but she had saved. He had blamed her and all the other humans for not being able to save it at the time. Except, this time it was the opposite. He had been trying to save the Eronidon, and she had killed it. This time, it really was her fault. She should have listened to the others about not trusting the Master.
She avoided the Doctor's lab, running errands for the Brigadier so Benton could stand guard and make sure he stayed off his feet. It wasn't bad work, being a general assistant for UNIT. Not something she wanted to do for the rest of her life, but she wasn't unhappy here and the people all looked after each other and her. She just wished she could tell Rory about what happened, so he could comfort her.
When she'd done everything that she could find to do, Amy slipped out and went outside for a walk. There was a small park not too far away from HQ and it was a nice enough day out. Amy walked through it, not really seeing any of the trees or flowers. It was a pretty place, and she and the Doctor occasionally had a picnic lunch out here.
Taking a seat on one of the wooden benches, she stared down at her cell phone in gloomy silence. She still couldn't get through. The Doctor had fixed her phone so that it worked anywhere, so why wouldn't Rory pick up the stupid phone?
She sat there for twenty minutes before someone slid into the seat beside her. She didn't look up.
"You'll get home," the Doctor said after a few moments. "It's not like I don't know where you are."
"Yeah, I know," Amy nodded, sending another text message to Rory. Nothing important, just another text about how she missed him. She had already bleakly explained what happened, not expecting a response, but she couldn't stop trying.
They sat in silence for a while longer, before the Doctor sighed. "I'm sorry for yelling at you before," he said finally, a little awkward as he apologized. "It was out of line, and there was nothing else to be done by that point."
"I honestly didn't know about-"
"Yes, Amy, I'm aware of that."
Amy finally looked up to see the Doctor had closed his eyes, looking weary. Gingerly, she leaned against his velvet shoulder, closing her own eyes against the smooth fabric. She wanted Rory to hold her, so very much, but if she couldn't have that, snuggling with the Doctor was the next best thing. "What are they going to do with the Eronidon's body?" she asked quietly.
"I'll take care of it," the Doctor said. "I can think of a few places that would be a suitable burial place. After what the Time Lords did to it, I owe it that much. Would you like to come with me?"
"Yeah, I think I do," she said. She hadn't managed to say sorry to it while it had been dying. She wanted to see it off, if nothing else. There was still something she needed to know, though. "Doctor, was there another way?"
"I don't know," he said honestly. "There might have been, or maybe there wasn't. But I suppose we'll never know now."
She had been afraid of that. She also knew it wasn't her fault, but the Master's for not even taking that chance. But that didn't make her feel any less guilty. "Was he always like this?" Amy asked after a more comfortable silence.
"The Master?" the Doctor asked, and she nodded. "No, he used to be much less twisted. He was a very dear friend once, though that was a long time ago. Sometimes, it's hard to remember how much he's changed."
"I thought..." Amy started, pausing as she tried to collect her thoughts. "I heard about him from Sergeant Benton and the others, so I knew he wasn't to be trusted. But he didn't seem that evil. He was nice to me, and I liked him up until... And he'd planned that all along, hadn't he?"
"Yes, I'm afraid that he did," the Doctor said sadly. "He couldn't risk it coming after him again."
"Is it bad, to still like him anyway?" Because even after all of that... He had saved her, and talked with her. He'd even tried to cheer her up when she was missing Rory, and reassured her when the Doctor was angry at her. He might have been a rubbish kidnapper who tricked her, but he also made her laugh.
Amy looked up to see the Doctor smiling down at her. "No, I don't think so. Between you and me, I'm still awfully fond of the idiot when he's not plotting. Don't you let that information get around though." His voice was teasing, but she could tell he meant it. "That doesn't mean we condone what he did. Just that it's possible to forgive him, if he ever gets some sense knocked into him."
How much would it hurt, to have such a close friend doing such awful things? Amy tried to imagine what she would do if Mels ever did something like that. It felt like betrayal. Mels was a real pain in the backside sometimes, but she wasn't evil. And for the Doctor to want to look past that betrayal in hope that the Master would someday change back... He must have been a very dear friend to the Doctor.
"I'm glad you got along with him," the Doctor said, bringing her out of those thoughts. "It's good for him to interact with other people normally. I still hope that someday he'll wake up from these foolish ideas."
"Where there's life, there's hope?" Amy quoted from what this Doctor often told her. Except, the Master was dead in her Doctor's time line. She wondered if they ever did become friends again before the Time War ended everything. She hoped they did.
"Let's skip out on the rest of the day's work, shall we?" the Doctor asked with a smile. "What do you say I show you Centauri Prime during the Great Empire?" He stood up and offered her his arm.
She could do this. She could wait. Rory waited for her, so she could wait for him, especially if the Doctor was going to wait on the Master. "It's a date then," she said, giving one last sniff and a smile. Amy took his arm and they walked back to HQ.
Benton waved them through to get to the TARDIS as they passed through the lab check point. "I see you two have made up," he said, grinning at both of them. "Oh, and Mrs. Pond, there's a package for you on the table. It arrived a few minutes ago."
"A package?" Amy asked, going in the lab and regarding the box with curiosity. "Who would send me a package in this time period?"
The Doctor picked it up and shook it, then looked back to Benton. "It passed all the security checks?" When Benton gave an affirmative, the Doctor passed the package back to her. "Well, go on and open it then!"
Honestly, he was worse than a five-year-old at Christmas! Amy laughed and started to tear at the neatly wrapped box since it was expected of her. Inside was a very expensive-looking box of chocolates.
"Looks like you've got an admirer, Miss," Benton said as he looked on.
"A very wealthy one," the Doctor said, stealing a chocolate and popping it in his mouth.
Amy pulled the remaining chocolates to her, only reluctantly offering one to Benton as he looked at her with those puppy eyes. "I'm not complaining," Amy said as she tried one of the chocolates herself. It was... Oh, God, this was good. The chocolate was an orgasm for her tongue and she savored it as it melted in her mouth. "That settles it. I'm having an affair."
"With the secret admirer?" Benton teased.
"With the chocolate!" Amy said.
"There's a note in here," the Doctor said, once she slapped his wrist away as he tried to pilfer another chocolate. He was so not stealing these.
Amy looked to Benton to make sure it wasn't just some ploy to get her to lower her guard, and then reached down in the box to pull out a small note.
She didn't recognize the handwriting, but it was in a very neat cursive that flowed over the paper gracefully. "Here is the chocolate, as requested. I apologize for the delay," she read aloud.
"As requested?" the Doctor asked, taking the note from her and studying it. "It's not signed."
"Nope, it's not," Amy said as she popped another chocolate in her mouth to cover a grin. She already knew who it was from, but that was her secret for now.
The Doctor looked like he was about to ask anyway, so she thought of a quick way to throw him off the scent. "I'm going to go share some of these with the Brigadier, since he's wounded," she announced, slapping the Doctor's hand away again. She laughed as he pouted, taunting him with one of the chocolates. She might give him another one later, if he actually asked nicely.
And maybe she couldn't forgive the Master right now, but he at least knew how to treat a girl. Maybe one day he would change. Until then, she was more than willing to accept his chocolate.
~FINI~
Quote of the Fic:
"Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit."
-Peter Ustinov
By: Memory Dragon
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, nor do I make any claim to.
Characters: Delgado Master, Amy Pond, Third Doctor, Brigadier, Sergeant Benton. A small bit of implied Doctor/Master.
Warnings: There is a lot of sheer and utter crack in this. Also, some angst. And some Master torture by the monster of the day, because I really do like beating him up for some reason. Nothing he can't handle though.
Notes: Part 2
Thanks: Many thanks to
narwhale_callin for betaing, even if she types at me in capslock on occasion. XD Also, for a bit of the dialogue concerning the monster of the day. I say again though, this does not excuse you from writing your own drabble with it. <3The original fic, The Sea Devils and Mrs. Pond, can be found here.
Part 1 can be found here.
~
"I see someone has been enjoying themselves while I've been working," the Doctor said as his face appeared on the screen.
Amy, who couldn't stop laughing, merely waved the Doctor off. She was, truth be told, very put out that the Doctor had finally called. The Master's stories were getting good.
It was the Master who answered, smiling wryly from behind his cup of tea. "Simply passing the time, Doctor. Do you have any news for us?"
"It'll take me a few days to get all the materials together, old chap," the Doctor explained. "It's not all easy to come by, you know. And I've had to tell UNIT that you insisted I came alone or Amy would be hurt to make sure they didn't get involved."
"Well, excuse me for thinking outside the box that everyone could just get along," Amy said. "What's wrong with asking politely?"
The Doctor ignored her in favor of more pertinent information. "Give me a week, and I'll meet you out at the abandoned Thompson farm, some 20 miles away from here. Do you know it?"
The Master nodded. "We'll see you there."
Amy was disappointed this time on how short their conversation was. She was even more disappointed when the Master immediately started to set the coordinates. "Shouldn't you let your shoulder heal first?" Amy asked, hoping to get more of the Doctor's childhood escapades from him.
"The quicker this is over, the sooner it can heal," the Master said.
She supposed she shouldn't blame him for wanting this whole thing to just be done with, not with how tired he looked earlier. However, that didn't mean she was giving up. "Can't you at least finish the story about how the Doctor used the Krynoid as his botany project before we-"
The TARDIS shook, sending both of them flying across the console room. The tea clattered to the floor as well, but it didn't spill. The Master refused to chance good china with constant and irregular interruptions, so they both had been drinking from durable sealed cups. "I'm afraid that will have to wait," the Master said grimly as he got back to the console, only a brief wince as he started to use his bad hand to reach for the controls giving away the fall had hurt.
Amy sighed, watching the time rotor rise and fall with resignation. She'd been having fun, and it was a lot better than passing the Doctor test tubes all day. She had to go back sometime though, because she doubted Rory and her Doctor would be able to find her like this. "Fine. What's the plan then, Teddy?"
"The plan, Mrs. Pond, is to disrupt the creature's brain waves and reseal it where it won't harm anyone else."
Ignoring the jab at her name, Amy picked the tea cups off the floor. "Is that what the holly is for?"
"Holly was a delicacy to the Eronidons. When I mix it with some selenia pollen, which will put it to sleep, it won't be able to resist it. Unfortunately, it only digests things when it hears sounds at a certain frequency. Hence the sonic cerebral disruptor."
"And do we have any of that?" Amy asked, since he hadn't asked the Doctor to get pollen.
The Master went over to the filing cabinet, grabbing a container that managed to stay on top of it even through the worst of the attacks. It was fairly big and as he handed it to Amy, she realized it was much heavier than it looked. "Indeed I do. May I leave the task of mixing the pollen and the holly to you? I should like to check on the Doctor's work when we get there. He has been known to purposefully sabotage equipment for me."
Amy nodded, looking down at the container thoughtfully. "So I just mix the two together? What do we do with it after that?"
"We wait until it is confused by the cerebral stimulator and put the holly out where it can get to it. Once it digests the mixture, the sonic waves will activate the Eronidon's brain to make certain the chemicals in the pollen put it to sleep," he explained.
"Sounds complicated," Amy said, wondering why they couldn't just use a regular sleeping pill. Still, she took the container and the ear plugs offered to her. Once the TARDIS had materialized, Amy and the Master walked out into a sunny English summer. She looked back automatically as she exited the TARDIS, surprised to find that it wasn't a tree any more. It was a little lean-to that fit right against an old barn.
The Doctor and the Brigadier were in front of the barn, setting up some kind of machine on a group of tables. Setting the container down, Amy practically tackled the Doctor with a hug.
"Ah, there you are, Amy! I'm glad you're safe," he said, patting her fondly on the head as he beamed down at her. That was one thing this Doctor did very well, hugs. She always liked how he smelled too.
"Never better," she said as she pulled away.
"Then our part in this ridiculous charade is over," the Brigadier said. "We can leave as soon - Mrs. Pond! This is highly inappropriate."
The Brigadier was much more awkward about the hug. And Amy laughed as she pulled away and saw his eyebrows inching higher. She had become very fond of the Brigadier, despite the Doctor's grumbling, and it was always fun pushing his ideas of what was 'proper' for a young married woman to do. "Alright then, I've got my boys and it's time to get rid of that monster!"
"As I was saying," the Brigadier said, detangling himself and moving a proper distance away from Amy. "That is none of our concern. Now that you are free, we can leave. Isn't that right, Doctor?"
"I'm afraid that is rather impossible, due to our query having Mrs. Pond's scent as well now," the Master said as he walked forward. "My dear Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Now this is a pleasant surprise to see you here. I was quite sure I requested the Doctor come alone."
"He insisted that he come along as well," the Doctor said, not altogether as displeased as Amy thought he would be. "And if you put her in danger because of-"
"It was my fault," Amy said, calling everyone's attention back to her. "I tried to escape and the monster came after us. It got my scent then."
"Well, there's no helping that," the Doctor said finally. Amy went back to pick up the container as the Doctor motioned towards the machine. "I suppose we'll have to stay and make sure things work out after all. We were just putting on the finishing touches."
"Then allow me to assist you, if the Brigadier won't mind being replaced. I'm sure he could help Amy with mixing the selenia pollen and holly."
"Is that your plan then?" the Doctor asked as they both started going over to the machine without bothering to see if the Brigadier objected. Amy watched them continue to bicker, surprised when the Master started complimenting the Doctor on the craftsmanship.
"Selenia pollen?" the Brigadier asked her after he cleared his throat, clearly not at all displeased to do the more manual labor.
"Oh, right," Amy said, opening the container. She launched into the simple version of the plan, since she didn't think the Brigadier would care for the more complex one. "We're supposed to mix the holly and the pollen, and this will put it to sleep, or something like that. Then they can seal it away again."
The Brigadier raised his eyebrows, but he shrugged. "It's a surprisingly straight forward plan from him," was all he said as he showed her where the holly was. Putting on gloves to avoid getting the pollen on their skin, Amy and the Brigadier set to their task.
As they mixed the pollen and the holly, Amy continued to watch the Time Lords. They were getting along fabulously now, talking and smiling at each other. In fact, they were pretty touchy-feely too. Any time the Doctor moved around, he'd put his hand on the Master's back or the Master's hand would brush against the Doctor's as he reached for-
"Oh, my God," Amy said, interrupting their conversation.
"Is something wrong?" the Doctor asked, looking over at her.
"You two aren't just old friends, are you?" Amy asked, her eyes widening in realization.
The Doctor and the Master exchanged glances, each just as baffled. "We went to school together, yes. That was a long time ago though."
Oh, yes. They went to school together alright. "He's your ex-boyfriend, isn't he?" she asked, scarcely able to believe her luck. He was never living this down.
The result of this question was rather comical. The Doctor sputtered, the Master looked speechless, and the Brigadier simply raised an eyebrow as he continued to mix the green leaves with the yellow powder. "I'm right. Oh, my god, I'm right."
"You are most certainly not," the Doctor said finally.
"My dear young lady, we are sworn enemies," the Master agreed. "We were once good friends, but that has been over for decades."
"Sooo, it's unresolved sexual tension? Actually, that's pretty hot too." She couldn't have gotten this wrong. She called it on River Song, she was certain, and she knew she had these two nailed as well. They were protesting way too much.
"Brigadier, if you could explain the situation to her," the Doctor said, too affronted by Amy's sudden betrayal to explain.
The Brigadier raised the other eyebrow, managing to silence both protesting Time Lords with some super power that Amy was jealous of. "It's none of my business if you were. What matters now, Mrs. Pond, is that we get this trap set up before whatever it is comes to kill us all."
"Yes, quite," the Doctor said sulkily when he didn't get the firm denial he was looking for.
The Master, for his part, was already very focused on connecting the last few wires and ignoring this humiliation completely. Amy noticed they didn't touch anymore after that either. "I called it," Amy whispered conspiratorially towards the Brigadier.
"A lot of things could have happened in the past, Mrs. Pond," the Brigadier rebuked. "What matters is the present."
"Yeah, I suppose so." She looked over at them again, noticing how neither of the Time Lords were looking at each other this time. "But if there were a betting pool..."
The Brigadier spared a quick glance at the Time Lords, as if he were looking at a map for where to best place troops. "If there were a hypothetical betting pool and they are 'unresolved' as you say, I might have just won twenty pounds from your predecessor, Miss Grant. She was most insistent on your original conclusion."
Amy looked back at the Brigadier in shock and surprise. He met her gaze, eyebrows poised and quite sternly telling her that no one else was to be privy to this information. She knew she liked the Brigadier for a reason. None of his business, her foot.
Her daydreams of hot Time Lord sex were interrupted by that monster's terrible screaming. Her hands nearly went to her ears before she remembered she was still wearing the gloves.
"The holly!" the Master called out, motioning to both of them to hurry up.
They gathered the tablecloth together and the Brigadier tied their mixture in a neat knot, carrying it over just as a huge purple monster flew over head. Everyone ducked, despite how it cleared the barn easily. "Good grief," the Brigadier said as they reached the machine where the Time Lords were. "What the devil is that?"
The Doctor looked positively thrilled that the Brigadier had asked. "My dear Lethbridge-Stewart, that is a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater."
The Master looked about ready to hit the Doctor for that comment, and Amy decidedly didn't blame him. "I don't think it's here for the Rock and Roll, Doctor," she said in hopes of deterring the Master's temper. She pulled off her gloves as the monster wheeled around for another pass, which was when she noticed one particular detail. "And it has two horns."
"Oh," the Doctor said, looking vaguely disappointed. "So it does."
"Brigadier, can you toss the holly a safe distance when it flies by?" the Master asked, attempting to bring the topic back to its proper place.
"I believe so," the Brigadier said, checking the area and the Eronidon for his direction.
"Then put your headphones on, everyone!" the Doctor said as a loud screech proclaimed the monster's fury. The last thing Amy heard him say before she put in her much higher tech ear plugs, was 'I always thought the Eronidons were more of a blue-ish green color" with the same enthusiasm of a three-year-old who had discovered a new toy. She had thought her Doctor was a nerd, but this one occasionally went over and above expectations.
She helped the Brigadier with his headphones since he was still wearing the gloves, then took cover. The creature swooped by again, and Amy had to hold on to the table as the gust of wind from its wings nearly knocked her down. How the Brigadier managed to throw the holly in all of that was beyond her, but it flew off a safe distance, right past the creature's nose. Then he stumbled forward as the wind hit him, but the Doctor caught him and helped to steady the Brigadier to his feet.
The giant, bushy purple creature wheeled again, this time on the holly. It worked like a charm and now it was tearing at the table cloth greedily to get to its snack, ignoring everyone on the ground. She looked back to motion that it had worked, but the Doctor wasn't paying attention. He was looking down at the Brigadier's gloves.
Suddenly, he started motioning angrily at the Master. There was a flurry of hand movements and signals, none of which made any sense to Amy. It didn't even look like normal sign language. Then the Master stopped signaling and reached over the machine to turn it on.
The Doctor sprang into action, tackling the Master and driving him away from the button. They grappled on the ground as the Eronidon finished the holly and pulled back its head for another scream.
Someone had to turn the machine on! But why would the Doctor stop the Master from doing so? That didn't make sense, not unless the Master had done something to it. But it was the Doctor who built the machine.
The creature launched itself into the air and this time it intended to strike at them. Amy looked around for the Brigadier, who started shooting as soon as it was airborne. The bullets weren't doing any good and it would only distract the monster for so long. It flew low, readying its long claws to tear the Brigadier to pieces.
Amy didn't have time or the choice. She raced over to the machine and pressed the button the Master had been reaching for.
The machine started to vibrate and Amy was glad for the ear plugs. It was so loud that she could feel the vibration and it felt like she was going to be shaken to bits. Amy knew she must have screamed, though she couldn't hear anything beyond the constant shaking.
She saw that the Doctor was furious, but it was the Master who shook him off and took her by the shoulders to draw her away. The vibration lessened the further away she got and Amy found she could breathe normally once she wasn't at the epicenter of their man-made earthquake.
The Eronidon wasn't fairing so well. It crashed into the ground, the Brigadier barely having time to jump to the side before it hit him. It clawed the ground in agony, screeching at the top of its lungs. It was horrible watching it, like some movie with the sound muted, since she couldn't hear the noise.
The Doctor turned off the machine, shouting angrily as he turned to face them. He tore off his head phones, motioning for Amy and the Master to do the same to their earplugs.
"-little fool! Do you understand what you've done?" she heard finally.
Amy looked at the Eronidon who was in obvious pain, suddenly not so sure of what she'd done. "The pollen was supposed to put it to sleep so-"
"Selenia pollen is white!" he yelled, cutting her off.
If that wasn't selenia pollen, then what..? She heard the creature scream again, though this time it was a more pitiful sound. Her hands flew to her mouth as she realized.
She had poisoned it.
"I'm sorry," she said, feeling numb. "I didn't know that... I thought-"
"You didn't think, no, or you'd have realized I was stopping the Master for a reason!" the Doctor said, turning away from her to walk towards the creature.
She watched as he pet its side, smoothing the purple fur over its one massive eye. "It was going to kill the Brigadier," she said, though the person she was trying to talk to wasn't listening. She had killed it, even if it was going to hurt people. It hadn't been its fault either, being locked away for so long by the Time Lords. And she had killed it.
"It was a mercy," the Master said, coming up behind her. "Confining it again would have been just as bad, if not worse. The Doctor knows that. He's the one being a fool."
"You lied to me," she said, wheeling on the Master as she finally found her anger. "You said the pollen would put it to sleep. We could have helped it!"
"And maybe it could have killed all the people in London before we could get close," the Master said, his eyes turning hard. "Not that human lives matter to me one way or another, but I prefer not to accumulate such a waste when it's unnecessary. It's kill or be killed, Mrs. Pond."
Amy didn't respond to that. She didn't know how to respond. This time he didn't wipe her tears away as she started to cry. "Now, you'll have to excuse me," he said when she didn't say anything. "I should leave before the Brigadier gets it into his head to arrest me."
The Master left after that, back to the little lean-to shed. She could hear the noise of the TARDIS taking off, but she couldn't move to stop him. Maybe she should have yelled for one of the others, but right now she never wanted to see the Master again. It was better if he was just gone.
Though her eyes were blurred, she saw the Brigadier picking himself up out of the bushes he had landed in. She went over to help him, since he appeared to have twisted his leg. "Are you alright, Mrs. Pond?" he asked, before she had gotten close.
"I killed it," she said quietly, not bothering to wipe the tears away.
"And I take it that scoundrel took off as soon as the coast was clear?"
Amy nodded, waiting for the reprimand she knew was coming. However, as she moved to support the Brigadier, she found him offering her a handkerchief. "You did save my life," he reminded her gently.
She accepted the handkerchief, finally rubbing her eyes. "The Doctor doesn't see it that way," she said. It wasn't even the first time, after what happened with the Sea Devils. This time he might not forgive her.
"It was the only thing you could have done," the Brigadier told her, patting her shoulder in awkward reassurance. "He'll realize that eventually. Now, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to help me walk."
Amy helped the Brigadier over to one of the tables, watching as the giant creature closed its big, purple eye one last time.
* * *
Amy came in the next morning, despite the Brigadier's insistence that she take a few days off. He wasn't resting at home, though he had to move around UNIT HQ in crutches, so she didn't see why she should be out too, other than for emotional things. And since she really didn't want to think on that anyway, coming in to work sounded like a good idea.
Captain Yates and Sergeant Benton threw her a welcome back party, complete with military grade hot coco and some homemade biscuits from Benton's sister. They tried to cheer her up, but she was still in a subdued mood, mulling over a biscuit and glancing at her cell phone.
She couldn't help but think back to the Star Whale that the Doctor had nearly killed, but she had saved. He had blamed her and all the other humans for not being able to save it at the time. Except, this time it was the opposite. He had been trying to save the Eronidon, and she had killed it. This time, it really was her fault. She should have listened to the others about not trusting the Master.
She avoided the Doctor's lab, running errands for the Brigadier so Benton could stand guard and make sure he stayed off his feet. It wasn't bad work, being a general assistant for UNIT. Not something she wanted to do for the rest of her life, but she wasn't unhappy here and the people all looked after each other and her. She just wished she could tell Rory about what happened, so he could comfort her.
When she'd done everything that she could find to do, Amy slipped out and went outside for a walk. There was a small park not too far away from HQ and it was a nice enough day out. Amy walked through it, not really seeing any of the trees or flowers. It was a pretty place, and she and the Doctor occasionally had a picnic lunch out here.
Taking a seat on one of the wooden benches, she stared down at her cell phone in gloomy silence. She still couldn't get through. The Doctor had fixed her phone so that it worked anywhere, so why wouldn't Rory pick up the stupid phone?
She sat there for twenty minutes before someone slid into the seat beside her. She didn't look up.
"You'll get home," the Doctor said after a few moments. "It's not like I don't know where you are."
"Yeah, I know," Amy nodded, sending another text message to Rory. Nothing important, just another text about how she missed him. She had already bleakly explained what happened, not expecting a response, but she couldn't stop trying.
They sat in silence for a while longer, before the Doctor sighed. "I'm sorry for yelling at you before," he said finally, a little awkward as he apologized. "It was out of line, and there was nothing else to be done by that point."
"I honestly didn't know about-"
"Yes, Amy, I'm aware of that."
Amy finally looked up to see the Doctor had closed his eyes, looking weary. Gingerly, she leaned against his velvet shoulder, closing her own eyes against the smooth fabric. She wanted Rory to hold her, so very much, but if she couldn't have that, snuggling with the Doctor was the next best thing. "What are they going to do with the Eronidon's body?" she asked quietly.
"I'll take care of it," the Doctor said. "I can think of a few places that would be a suitable burial place. After what the Time Lords did to it, I owe it that much. Would you like to come with me?"
"Yeah, I think I do," she said. She hadn't managed to say sorry to it while it had been dying. She wanted to see it off, if nothing else. There was still something she needed to know, though. "Doctor, was there another way?"
"I don't know," he said honestly. "There might have been, or maybe there wasn't. But I suppose we'll never know now."
She had been afraid of that. She also knew it wasn't her fault, but the Master's for not even taking that chance. But that didn't make her feel any less guilty. "Was he always like this?" Amy asked after a more comfortable silence.
"The Master?" the Doctor asked, and she nodded. "No, he used to be much less twisted. He was a very dear friend once, though that was a long time ago. Sometimes, it's hard to remember how much he's changed."
"I thought..." Amy started, pausing as she tried to collect her thoughts. "I heard about him from Sergeant Benton and the others, so I knew he wasn't to be trusted. But he didn't seem that evil. He was nice to me, and I liked him up until... And he'd planned that all along, hadn't he?"
"Yes, I'm afraid that he did," the Doctor said sadly. "He couldn't risk it coming after him again."
"Is it bad, to still like him anyway?" Because even after all of that... He had saved her, and talked with her. He'd even tried to cheer her up when she was missing Rory, and reassured her when the Doctor was angry at her. He might have been a rubbish kidnapper who tricked her, but he also made her laugh.
Amy looked up to see the Doctor smiling down at her. "No, I don't think so. Between you and me, I'm still awfully fond of the idiot when he's not plotting. Don't you let that information get around though." His voice was teasing, but she could tell he meant it. "That doesn't mean we condone what he did. Just that it's possible to forgive him, if he ever gets some sense knocked into him."
How much would it hurt, to have such a close friend doing such awful things? Amy tried to imagine what she would do if Mels ever did something like that. It felt like betrayal. Mels was a real pain in the backside sometimes, but she wasn't evil. And for the Doctor to want to look past that betrayal in hope that the Master would someday change back... He must have been a very dear friend to the Doctor.
"I'm glad you got along with him," the Doctor said, bringing her out of those thoughts. "It's good for him to interact with other people normally. I still hope that someday he'll wake up from these foolish ideas."
"Where there's life, there's hope?" Amy quoted from what this Doctor often told her. Except, the Master was dead in her Doctor's time line. She wondered if they ever did become friends again before the Time War ended everything. She hoped they did.
"Let's skip out on the rest of the day's work, shall we?" the Doctor asked with a smile. "What do you say I show you Centauri Prime during the Great Empire?" He stood up and offered her his arm.
She could do this. She could wait. Rory waited for her, so she could wait for him, especially if the Doctor was going to wait on the Master. "It's a date then," she said, giving one last sniff and a smile. Amy took his arm and they walked back to HQ.
Benton waved them through to get to the TARDIS as they passed through the lab check point. "I see you two have made up," he said, grinning at both of them. "Oh, and Mrs. Pond, there's a package for you on the table. It arrived a few minutes ago."
"A package?" Amy asked, going in the lab and regarding the box with curiosity. "Who would send me a package in this time period?"
The Doctor picked it up and shook it, then looked back to Benton. "It passed all the security checks?" When Benton gave an affirmative, the Doctor passed the package back to her. "Well, go on and open it then!"
Honestly, he was worse than a five-year-old at Christmas! Amy laughed and started to tear at the neatly wrapped box since it was expected of her. Inside was a very expensive-looking box of chocolates.
"Looks like you've got an admirer, Miss," Benton said as he looked on.
"A very wealthy one," the Doctor said, stealing a chocolate and popping it in his mouth.
Amy pulled the remaining chocolates to her, only reluctantly offering one to Benton as he looked at her with those puppy eyes. "I'm not complaining," Amy said as she tried one of the chocolates herself. It was... Oh, God, this was good. The chocolate was an orgasm for her tongue and she savored it as it melted in her mouth. "That settles it. I'm having an affair."
"With the secret admirer?" Benton teased.
"With the chocolate!" Amy said.
"There's a note in here," the Doctor said, once she slapped his wrist away as he tried to pilfer another chocolate. He was so not stealing these.
Amy looked to Benton to make sure it wasn't just some ploy to get her to lower her guard, and then reached down in the box to pull out a small note.
She didn't recognize the handwriting, but it was in a very neat cursive that flowed over the paper gracefully. "Here is the chocolate, as requested. I apologize for the delay," she read aloud.
"As requested?" the Doctor asked, taking the note from her and studying it. "It's not signed."
"Nope, it's not," Amy said as she popped another chocolate in her mouth to cover a grin. She already knew who it was from, but that was her secret for now.
The Doctor looked like he was about to ask anyway, so she thought of a quick way to throw him off the scent. "I'm going to go share some of these with the Brigadier, since he's wounded," she announced, slapping the Doctor's hand away again. She laughed as he pouted, taunting him with one of the chocolates. She might give him another one later, if he actually asked nicely.
And maybe she couldn't forgive the Master right now, but he at least knew how to treat a girl. Maybe one day he would change. Until then, she was more than willing to accept his chocolate.
~FINI~
Quote of the Fic:
"Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit."
-Peter Ustinov
