[Backdated to Tuesday - RL w/ the Master - If you take him back, you'll get what you deserve]

[timey_wimey]

Well, this was absolutely typical. Saved the world, Donna was brilliant, Haruhi was brilliant, Martha was brilliant... and then they get back to the TARDIS and discover that some circuit somewhere has blown, rendering the poor old girl, at least for now, unsafe to travel in. He didn't want her spitting them out in Jordan's world, 5 trillion years into the future. Not his cup of tea, at all.

So repairs were needed. He'd sent Haruhi and Donna off with Martha to celebrate their victory - or possibly to sort out UNIT, he had no idea, really - no sense in them hanging around for the hours it would take to finish fixing her.

And to cap it all off, the bloody virus hadn't worn off yet, and he was still a woman.

He - she, rather, at least for now - sighed, scratched her head, and connected a small laptop up to the TARDIS using some loose wires before sitting outside. Might as well sit in the sun while she ran a diagnostic, she thought to herself, tying back her hair into a loose ponytail and settling down with the laptop sitting on her crossed legs. She reached into her jeans pocket - the suits didn't fit right now, of course - and pulled out the sonic screwdriver, aiming it at the screen.

"Come on, old girl, what's wrong with you, eh? Some sort of loose connection...?" she muttered under her breath, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her eyes.

Comments

[timey_wimey]

She fought to hold back a grin. So there it was. Not that she hadn't suspected that was what it was from the beginning, but there was something about driving the Master's blood pressure up that never got old, especially when she wasn't in the best of moods with him to begin with.

"Oh, come on. If that's what you really want, you're going to have to try a little harder than that. You can't just expect me to suddenly throw myself into your arms just because you feel like it."

[doyouhearthem.livejournal.com]

The Master huffed a small laugh. "It usually works. Don't give me that look," he pointed his finger accusatorially. "I don't mean human women, I mean you. Now how many times have we - and what did I have to do? Nothing. You were lonely, or you were hurting, the little bleeding-heart you are, and all I had to do was be there. Now I'm supposed to woo you just because you've got a twat?"

He stood. "You're lucky this means something to me otherwise I'd curb your bloody computer and leave you stranded. Move over." He nudged her with his foot. "Oi, move over, I'll - I'll fix your TARDIS, how's that. Is that enough?"

[timey_wimey]

The Doctor had indeed just been forming her face into "that look", and she saw no reason not to complete the action now that she was halfway through it. "Considering that you've only suddenly started showing an interest again since I got one, I wouldn't say it was that far-fetched of an idea," she said, stung. "And why would I do that? I can fix my own TARDIS perfectly well on my own," she added, stubbornly holding onto the laptop even as she budged over slightly.

[doyouhearthem.livejournal.com]

"Because you'll take hours and I don't want to wait that long," he griped, nudging her a little harder this time. "If I ran off with you now you'd be whinging about your busted-up TARDIS the whole time, and even I can't stand your complaining, much less in this reedy little voice of yours you've got now."

[timey_wimey]

It was a long time before she said anything else. Finally, her fingers relinquished their hold on the laptop and she set it down next to her.

"Alright. Fine. But don't pull any stunts," she said sternly.

[doyouhearthem.livejournal.com]

"Oooh," he said in mock-seriousness, putting up his hands. "Better not take your eyes off me, Doctor, I might whip out a tow cable and drag her away."

He sat down with the Doctor's laptop and quickly began pounding away at it. He stared at the screen intently, saying nothing for some time - though making several disapproving noises as he poured through schematics.

"...You know the fact this cobbled-together thing has even held together this long is a testament to either your engineering ability or sheer dumb luck. I'm more inclined to think the latter. In any case," he sighed as he stood up, "It's nothing serious. Your directional circuit's lost its voltage. I can repair it - or you can, if you don't trust me enough to touch your precious TARDIS."

[timey_wimey]

"Where are you going to keep a tow cable?" she said, only half-joking. "Actually, no, on second thoughts, don't tell me, I probably don't want to know." She leaned against the TARDIS while she waited, never quite taking her eyes off the Master - saying that she didn't trust him with her TARDIS was a completely reasonable statement, because she didn't. Not by a long shot. Turning it into a Paradox Machine didn't exactly lend itself to trust as far as the TARDIS was concerned.

"Oh, is that what it is?" she said vaguely. "And as it happens, you're right, I don't trust you with her at all." She threw a meaningful look in his direction as she strode back into the TARDIS, pulling up a section of grating below the console. "Stay there, and don't do anything stupid!" she called back as she settled herself under the console with a toolbox and the sonic screwdriver.