trans_9 | Holes and Patches [OPEN FREE FOR ALL]

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Holes and Patches [OPEN FREE FOR ALL]

After the battle, the warriors' task was over. Their job, for now, was to rest and recover for the time being.

The healers' job, on the other hand, was far from over. Some exhausted from the battle, others rotating in, they took to their bay and continued the process of treating the wounded. Some patients were free to leave in a few minutes, while others would have some time (or quite some time) on the cots. Their mission: relax. Stay as still as possible.

Unfortunately, the temptation of so many familiar faces alive and about would ultimately prove to be too great. Keeping track of this group was going to be a third task all its own.

[this is a free for all for all your injured! Have them socialize, be thorns in the medics' side, try to escape, or bring the medics together for some action. Just note in your post if you'd like a medic to visit your character---if not, it's time for a chat!]

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Blame it on the overwhelming crush of people, or the joy of victory, but Martha was paying less attention than she should have been. It was all autopilot at this point, really. Check patient chart, check vitals, small talk, rinse, repeat.

Now would have been a good time to pay attention.

Walking up to the Master's cot she grabbed the chart and gave it a good study, speaking as she checked.

"Right, how are you feeling?"

His fingers halted for a few beats, the Master lying there frozen in mid-tap. Oh, perfect. Saint Martha Jones as his nurse. He'd be surprised if the Doctor hadn't orchestrated this as some sort of passive-aggressive payback.

He smiled widely, staring her straight in the face until she happened to notice with whom she was dealing. "Oh, much better now," he purred.

To those who heard no drums pounding away in their heads, the only sounds was the patient clipboard slipping from Martha's fingers and clattering to the ground.

"You ... no, no, no, you're dead! I saw you die!"

A great first thing to say, Martha. Of course, this man had been her nightmare, the thing that tortured her and her parents, Jack, and the Doctor with glee for a year. His death had kept her going after she left the Doctor, knowing "life can't get worse now, he's gone."

Well, how wrong she was.

The Master's smile graduated to a full-on grin. He only wished he could sit up, get closer. Throttle the living daylights out of her. Then this would have been perfect. He'd have to settle for, well, unsettling her from here, and hope she didn't notice quite how vulnerable he was at the moment.

"Hmm. Well, I decided death was so boring. Much more interesting things to do here, wouldn't you agree?" He chuckled, ignoring the pounding in his head that wasn't entirely drums.

"Oh, Martha, Martha, Martha Jones. You still don't know the first thing, do you? As if one little bullet could stop me."

Well, that plan for unsettling? Working marvelously. He'd gotten her with the upper hand in this one, and all at once she wanted to run and scream. But she wouldn't, not in front of him. That was a satisfaction she wouldn't give. With a shaking hands she crossed her arms, putting on a stance of rage rather than fear. The effect was probably mixed at best, but hell she had to try.

"Interesting things. Whatever your ideas of interesting, they won't happen I promise you that."

The Master breathed in deeply, closing his eyes. Along with the smirk it must have looked like a comfortable sigh from the outside, but on the inside his head reeled and screamed.

"You seem so sure." He cracked open an eye. "Still living in the TARDIS?"

"I am sure. For one you're on a hospital bed. Or are you plotting to use up all our medical supplies?"

Ha, take that. A small jab, but a revelation to her. He clearly had to be here for something, unless it was of course to make her day hell. That mission was already accomplished. But he wasn't getting up or causing a ruckus. He very well may be sick or wounded after all. And that meant Martha had the upper hand.

She told herself that, anyway. It certainly made her feel better after the blow that he was still alive.

"That's really not anything I'm going to tell you."

"So that's a yes, then," the Master flashed a rather cheeky smile. As much as Martha may have physically had the upper hand, he wasn't about to give in so easily. And that meant poking as many holes in her false sense of complacency as he could.

"'Sfunny. I don't remember running into you earlier."

She frowned deeper at her response, considering somehow it was still possible. But slowly everything was getting into place in her mind, the snark survival kicking in. It was the same way that day on the Valient. The day they beat him.

Nonchalantly she crouched down and picked up the chart she dropped, not taking her eyes off him for a second.

"This is a big ship."

"I wasn't talking about this one," the Master replied, watching her closely.

There's just a moment as her eyes flash in realization. Oh, just what wasn't the Doctor telling her anymore? First the regeneration and now ...

God, she should have given him more than one smack. A load of them in a row. Leave a signature "With No Love, Martha."

Her fingers gripped the clipboard tighter, but her tone remained even with just enough sass.

"Well, that's also a big ship."

The Master lived for moments such as those, brief as they were. Oh, Martha Jones could sass all she wanted, but it wouldn't change the fact that his presence alone scared her. Absolutely terrified. And his presence in the TARDIS?

Oh, that had to be so much worse.

"My, you're certainly taking this in stride. Good for you."

Stride, yes. The stride being a mix of terror, confusion, anger, and memories. All those memories. The genocide, the torture, the nights alone praying to a God she wasn't sure existed to keep the Doctor safe. All those memories she had because of him.

She wanted to kill him.

Martha wanted him to feel the same things she felt. The loss, the fear, the thought at any moment it all could be lost. And a sideways glance to the medical tools nearby, things so easily used to kill as well heal.

It took all her strength and will to walk closer, beside his bed now. She raised her hand almost zombie-like towards the tools. And paused in thought.

Then Martha punched the Master square in the jaw, with all her weight and strength behind it.

"Yeah, suppose I am."

She couldn't disappoint the Doctor, not like that. Killing him wouldn't end anything. But a punch like that? Well, it could certainly make her feel better.

Of all the things she could have done to him, the Master hadn't been expecting a blow to the face. He recoiled from it, head snapping to the side, with a little yelp. The Master stayed with his face turned away from her for a few pained gasps, blinking in surprise and trying his hardest not to retch in front of her.

Once he'd caught his breath, he forced another grin.

"Now that wasn't very doctorly."

God, that felt good. In fact she went at it with a bit too much gusto, as the tingling in her hand now told her. But it was worth it. And as she looked around, seeing all other doctors and patients currently occupied, she realized that she got away with it.

"Doctor's orders, it's exactly what you've been needing."

But the adrenaline of victory faded, and she realized just how close she actually was to him. Stepping back, she dropped his chart back at the foot of his bed and took a deep breath.

"And if I ever see you on the TARDIS you can expect the same."

"Oh, looking forward to it, Ms. Jones," the Master retorted. She'd only get away with it for so long. Once he was out of this bed, he was well and prepared to make life hell for Saint Martha.

"I think I'd rather keep your treatment a surprise, though. Women do like surprises, don't they?"

She gave him nothing but a look, as scathing as possible, before turning away against all better judgment and walking off. Her eyes were wide, her hands shaking, but somehow she did it. She overcame the fear.

But it wouldn't be the only time they would meet, that much was clear. And she was too prideful to call on the Doctor for support. But until then ... it was time to focus on the patients and get the shaking to stop.

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Holes and Patches [OPEN FREE FOR ALL]

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