Chapter 43

This is possibly the last time we'll see Francine until The Last of the Timelords. By that I mean that the basic story I have planned for the rest of the fic doesn't involve her, but she might make a cameo, or I might suddenly change my mind about certain scenes (this happens sometimes).

Tish Jones is finally showing a bit of spirit. You go girl. I didn't want to have to do a scene cut, but having the Doctor present for this wasn't an option - he's too busy being on the business end of a gun at the moment. Francine needs to be taken down a peg or two. Don't get me wrong - I like the character and I adore the fact that the Doctor's manly charms don't work on her - but Tish was always the weakest of the Jones women in my opinion, and I thought it would be nice for her to finally come into her own and have a bit of character development.

The Doctor's getting a bit irritated here, but wouldn't you? He's been sitting still, watching everything go to hell (including the person he... well, you know) for seven long months. This is a man who hates sitting still, and has a huge sense of responsibility for everything that's been happening. He's determined to cut this short and save everyone today. He's determined because he has to be; because he's just taken a huge risk and he has to make it pay off or there is every possibility that the whole universe is going to pay.

"He's my responsibility."

The reasoning behind this should be so blindingly obvious that I shouldn't have to mention it. There are a huge amount of dynamics in the Master/Doctor relationship, (so many, in fact, that navigating through that psychological minefield makes my brain hurt), but this is one of the important ones.
 Finally next chapter brings us into full-swing of this escape (I think). We've been setting up the characters this whole time, and now it's time to move along. Let's give the Doctor some exercise.

I'd rather leave the Master's return a surprise, so I'm keeping quiet about that for now. In the meantime, just be assured he will return...

Link to the chapter is HERE