(Whispering is in the squarey brackets [ ], thoughts are in italics. Mr Smith's dialogue is in bold)
"It's amazing; ancient and run-down, but amazing all the same. When was the last time you had a girl's touch in this place?" Amelia said, running her hand along the corridor wall as they walked.
"It's not simply 'this place'. This wonderful ship of mine is sentient, alive. This is the TARDIS, and TARDISes were grown, not built. TARDIS stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space."
"Amazing; you know everything and the TARDIS and yet you failed the driving test. And the exams to get to the driving test." The Master said, smirking.
"How did you get the TARDIS if you're not licensed to drive it?" Amelia said quizzically.
"He stole it."
"Borrowed, Master, borrowed. I borrowed it from the repair station."
"Yes, and never returned it. You never borrowed it, you stole it."
"Fine, whatever, but I did it fair and square."
"Are you two always like this?"
"More or less."
Amelia inhaled nervously, "Didn't Mr Harkness say something about a day out?"
"Ah yes. First we'd like to visit another old friend of ours."
"Hello! Didn't expect to see you two so soon; and who is this?"
Amelia studied the woman with curious eyes. "You're old."
"She's called Amelia Pond, she's our potential foster child," the Doctor said to her "[very young and very cynical.]"
"Well, Amelia," Sarah-Jane said "would you like to see the attic?"
"Why the attic? Why go to the top of the house first?"
"Oh, there are some marvellous things in my attic."
"Hello, Sarah-Jane."
"Hello, Mr Smith. Right, I'm going to put the kettle on."
"I'll join you," the Master said, following her out of the attic while Amelia stood there transfixed and gawping at the wondrous machine before her.
"What are you?" Amelia asked.
"I am Mr Smith, a sentient Zygon computer. Who are you, may I ask?"
"Amelia; Amelia Pond. What are you doing built into a chimney?"
"I am here to protect the planet from invasion forces and near-apocalyptic events, things like those. It is how Sarah-Jane programmed me."
"So, you're programmed? And yet you're capable of free thought."
The Doctor enjoyed the conversation between Amelia and the Zygon immensely, because it showed she was very intelligent for one so young… and not afraid of talking alien computers, considering she'd just encountered the TARDIS moments before.
"You wouldn't have just followed me down here for the prospect of tea; there's something on your mind."
"…I need someone to talk to about it, someone who knows me and the Doctor more than Jack or Martha, and you're the perfect person."
"What's the problem?"
"I would have hoped a child would bring us closer – you know about the recent trouble we've had as a couple – but it doesn't seem to be working. He seems to want to keep his mind off the subject, even when it's staring him in the face."
"Well, you know admitting his love was one of the hardest decisions he's ever faced, adopting a pet even more so. Perhaps you should just bring out a whopper of a challenge and see his reaction."
They heard the clods of feet coming down the stairs, and the Doctor came in with Amelia in his arms, her arms around his neck, "You two make the tea yet? I couldn't smell any teabags."
They (Sarah-Jane and the Master) both looked down at the empty teacups she'd laid out, "Sorry, guess we got side-tracked chatting," and she began to sort out the tea situation.
"Chatting about what?" the Doctor narrowed his eyes jokingly, a small smile on his lips.
"Oh, what you've been up to these past few months, and I suggested you should stay for your tea," she lied, winking at the Time Lord next to her when she thought the other wasn't looking.
"Oh, that's a brilliant idea," he looked at Amelia, who had fallen asleep in his arms due to the long conversation she'd had with the Zygon. He smiled adoringly then, bringing her hair out of her face, and the Master felt a spark of hope that they really could be a family, that the Doctor wouldn't be unhappy with the idea of adoption forever. That they might have bonded, or that he had seen something in her that he valued. It meant hope, and he'd had so little of that emotion lately.
"Where's that pet of yours? To'mfa's his name, isn't it?"
"Yep, Jack's pet-sitting for us."
"You can put Amelia in Luke's room; he's only here in the holidays."
So Amelia was left to sleep, and the adults ate and conversed over platefuls of spaghetti.
Sarah-Jane left to wash up, so the two men were left alone at the table.
"What's on your mind?"
"Why does everyone always assume there's something on my mind?"
"Because there usually is,"
"…Do you still love me?"
The Doctor looked horrified, "Why would you ask such a question? I love you and always will, you know that!"
"Well I haven't quite known it the past few months, can you blame me? We've become so torn apart…"
"We became so torn apart, we're fine now."
"Are we? When I first suggested another try at adoption, I just needed something to fill the void that Matthew left in my hearts. Then you decided against it and let us fall apart, and I wanted it because I thought it would bring us back together, but it hasn't. I know its early days yet, but it hasn't worked and I'm worried for our future. You can't look me in the eye even now! Because you don't like to hear the truth when someone tells it to you straight, and I'm sorry but it would just destroy us more if these things weren't said."
The Master hadn't even noticed he'd zoned out during his rant, but when he zoned back in the Doctor was looking him in the eye and he was crying. He (the Doctor) grabbed him and clung to him tightly, hugging all the air out of his lungs. He sobbed and repeated "I'm sorry!" over and over amidst the rolling tears. The Master held him as he poured his hearts out, crying along with him.
"You don't have to be sorry." His face was serious, despite being damp, looking off into nowhere with pain in his eyes; pain at his love's pain. He was incredibly grateful to Sarah-Jane for keeping out of their way at that time.
"You know the food was just a ploy so we could talk. Wasn't my idea, but it worked. Jack had an idea as well, but you may not like it since I've already initiated phase one of the plan."
"And that is…?"
"Divorce. I got us a divorce."
The Doctor promptly went white as a sheet.
"Remember when you were in the infirmary and I was in the library, on Valentine's Day? I wasn't in the library. I parked us on Diligo-Ortus and told Rayray and Sraexoa we were splitting up."
"But…? Why would you do that if there was still hope?"
"So we could remarry," the man in front of him just gave him a confused look, "Remember that Simpsons episode wherein Homer worries about his marriage and so gets a divorce so they can get married with a proper wedding?" he got a nod in reply, "Well, Jack's idea was much the same. Get a divorce and then get married properly."
"We were already married properly."
"We can always remarry on Diligo-Ortus if we want to, but I was thinking that first we could be wed on a planet that you cherish even more than you ever did Gallifrey," he got a confused stare yet again, "Oh, you daft man, we're going to remarry on Earth. We might as well if we're going to adopt, make at least one thing in our fake human lives a reality."
The Doctor had the biggest beaming smile anyone had ever seen on him, and the tears he was crying were now tears of joy, "You'd do that for me?"
"Of course, I love you. And despite what I've said about Earth in the past, I don't mind it much anymore."
And they hugged, true love intertwined in its simplest form. Then, and only then, the universe shed a tear. And it was happy.
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