Imaginary Worlds

The Doctor gave a sigh of his own as he started up the car and headed on down the road. Right. "That he will...Marnal, you do realize that was only a dream, right?" he asked slowly.

He just needed to make it clear. Because he didn't want his son afraid of something like that. It wasn't possible! "You're never going to be alone."

"I know it was a dream, dad. But... just in case it isn't," Marnal mumbled because he did worry, he worried a lot and this was not nothing that he was going to forget any time soon.

It was unlikely and near impossible but it was so vivid and he was a bit worried. No one could really stop him from being scared.

The Doctor just frowned, shaking his head as he drove along. What else was he meant to say? His son was afraid of a nightmare and there was nothing he could do about it other than let it go for now.

Which is why he fell silent until they reached the cabin. "So. Would you like something for lunch?" the Doctor offered softly as he stepped out.

"Pasta?" Marnal asked with a curious expression, not sure if his dad was up for making it but he fancied something kid of simple. "Or noodles. I like both so I don't mind!"

The Master merely shrugged, he didn't mind personally, after all, he didn't eat much and he could pretty much eat anything.

"Pasta it is." the Doctor assured as he led the boy inside. It was simple enough to make, not to mention quick. He was hoping to avoid any issue with it.

So he had a small tendency to get bored or distracted when waiting for pasta to boil. Who wouldn't have that problem? But Marnal liked it and that's all that mattered.

Marnal followed his dad into the kitchen and grinned. "I could try and help? We could make something?" the boy asked, just trying to connect. He always wanted to help like Koschei did.

The Master smiled and took off to the sofa, taking a seat and cracking open his books, leaving them too it.

The Doctor nodded lightly at that one. "That's alright. You can help." he assured, letting the lad do harmless tasks and the like. He didn't want to have Marnal make too much of a mess or hurt himself.

He was just making a simple pasta salad, a plate of which he took out to the Master, only to frown softly. "You know? Books on memory and the sort are bound to be unhelpful."

"Obviously but they might give me clues on ow to unlock things," the Master theorised as he lifted up his hand and took the plate off the Doctor, his book set aside carefully.

"You can live in denial, I won't. We're missing something, I don't know what but this is ... it's wrong," After all, they were all having the same dreams and everything had gaps in it.

"Yes. And I've read books, and I've seen professionals, and have even been hypnotized before. It's all just something that I learned to live with. It happens." the Doctor murmured as he sat beside the other.

There was no denying that something was up. But to dwell and obsess on it? All that caused was more problems."You get use to it." he assured.

"I won't get used to it, I'll fix this. I just need to sort things out," the Master insisted, he needed to start investigating all of this properly and looking for the connections.

"Your son has the same nightmares are mine. Exact same," the Master insisted, that could not be an accident, they were both scared of the same thing and that was worrying.

"And it's the same basic dream I have." the Doctor deadpanned. He just wasn't scared from it. Quite the opposite. And that was what honestly scared him.

"I stopped worrying about it. I don't understand why you're so obsessed with this. Yes, it's strange, but not anything to worry about." the Doctor murmured softly.

"You do realise odds of everyone having the exact dream with specific details that match is unreal and not simply an accident," the Master lectured in frustration, not sure how it could be brushed off.

"You can hate it all you like and live in denial all you like but I'm going to crack all of this," And if the Master wanted to stay in the dark then all right it was his problem.

"I've been where you are. When I dreamt of my life with people and events that never existed. I went and I got checked out. Nothing came up." the Doctor said softly.

He didn't want the Master to go through all of this and not get anything out of it. It wasn't fair. Not it the least.

"Because you gave up," the Master reminded him, trying to hide his annoyance. Just because the man quit didn't mean that the Master was. Something was wrong and he had to fix it.

And that meant researching and working towards it, which would be hard but hopefully worth it!

"Because three years of getting help turned out to be three years of people telling me they couldn't figure anything out that was wrong with me. You can try your hand. I just don't want to see you get discouraged." the Doctor murmured.

He didn't want the Master to be met with the same roadblocks that he dealt with. The Doctor worried. And he felt horrible in the end of all he'd been dealing with.

"Watch me, I will get answers," the Master insisted as he set his books aside and picked idly at the pasta salad he'd been offered but he wasn't that hungry frankly.

There were so many things to be worried over and he couldn't help anything, he just wanted to know what was wrong, it was driving him insane, he just needed the answers.

"It's fine. I wish you luck. Let me know if you find anything." he murmured softly. It made sense he'd want to know.

Because, denial or not, he was undeniably curious. The Doctor couldn't help himself. He just wanted to know what was wrong with them.

"If I have any luck, I will," the Master offered as he smiled and finished up his pasta salad, taking the plate to the kitchen and watching Marnal try to feed Sigma his pasta.

It was kind of sweet but he couldn't put in words why it was. He always felt like he knew Marnal as well. "We should go out later. I know its wet but ... it'd be nice."

"No feeding the dog." the Doctor said slowly with a bit of a frown. He didn't see a reason to not go out. "We can. I don't mind too much." he assured softly.

Maybe it would even dry up a bit. It would be pleasant. "What did you have in mind?" the Doctor asked lightly.

"A wonderfully muddy walk through the park? Sigma loves mud!" the Master declared with an amused look, what with the rain only recently letting up, outside was very wet and very muddy.

And that brought out the child in him and while he wouldn't wear his best shoes or clothes, he did like the idea. Marnal seemed partly bemused and partly worried by this. He didn't know how his dad would react to mud.

Poorly. The Doctor would take to the mud very poorly given the expression on his face. Not that he'd say no. He wasn't about to be rude or anything.

"That's a possibility." the Doctor granted slowly. Eh. What the hell? He could give in a little.

"Like I said before, Koschei left behind a rain coat," the Master hinted, they could always dress the lad up in it to try and keep him safe and dry. It was just easier.

"Come on, we'll be okay," the Master tried, eager to get the man to try and live a little. Let his kid be a kid and play around a bit like kids should! Including muddy things.

The Doctor sighed softly and shook his head. "I'll think about it. Alright? But I'm not making any promises right yet." he murmured softly.

He wasn't going to promise to let Marnal out and about. It wasn't happening if it started to rain and storm again. That's just how it was.

"Well I have to walk Sigma anyhow, he expects it so you can tag along in an hour if you wish or leave me to it," the master promised, smiling at the Doctor and ruffling Marnals hair.

The boy stood on his tip toes and peeked outside, puddles were fun but he wasn't going to ask or anything, it was all up to his dad and he knew better than to ask.

"Worst case scenario, you can take Marnal and I'll stay in." the Doctor granted. He'd let Marnal have some fun at least.

But himself? The Doctor hated the rain. He really did. But it was always set about and he couldn't say much about it.