Imaginary Worlds

"I didn't wanna miss school. An' I didn't wanna be stuck in bed. 'M fine! See?" Koschei asked as he pointedly stood, expression stubborn. Right before a sneezing fit had him sitting back down upon the bed with a soft whine.

Oh, he didn't like that. He might actually cry. And that just went to show how bad off he was. Not to mention he was burning up. Another thingthat just served to make this worse for himself.

"No, Koschei, stay in bed," the Master helped koschei settle back down and pulled the sickly boy closer, putting an arm around him in a comforting manner and giving him a kiss on the forehead to show that he felt no little of the boy.

"I'm sorry you're ill but you're just going to make yourself worse if you can't relax. You've had medincine now all you need to do is rest, the sooner you do, the better you'll be," the Master reassured as he set the TV on a very low volume and left it going for Koschei to watch while he simply sat with him for comfort.

That wouldn't keep Koschei from sulking. Obviously. But he did at least settle against the Master with a sort sigh. He couldn't help it. It wasn't too long before the Doctor came in to give him his medicine and check his fever. Two things he really didn't appreciate.

"Right. I've come to relieve you." the Doctor half-joked as he regarded the Master. In other words? He needed help. Just a bit. Hyperactive kid coloring the carpet and part of the wall refusing to listen to him sort of assistance.

"Marnal colouring in the walls, is he?" the Master joked before wriggling free from koschei and giving the kid another ruffled of his hair before leaving him be with the Doctor so the two of them could handle the whole healing side.

He was there for comfort. Picking Marnal up, he tried t take the boys attention off the crayons and onto the frog. Distraction was exactly what was required in cases like this. "Marnal, come on, don't stress dad out."

It was definitely saying something when the Master was better at this than he was. The Doctor got the medicine bit taken care of, coaxing Koschei back to sleep, before he headed back down tiredly. It was amazing that he was capable of handling all of this.

"Kosch is sleeping for now. His fever is down a little." the Doctor offered softly, running a hand through his hair as he eyed the two. Did Marnal take naps? The boy probably should at this rate. "Right. So. Who wants lunch?"

The Master carried Marnal into the kitchen and set him on the table so he could play with his frog, which he had simply named Frog. The Master humoured him as always and offered a somewhat amused smile.

"I'm all up for dinner, I'm sure Marnal is," the Master remarked because if they were lucky, Marnal would fall asleep afterwards and that was just fine by him. He got a little fed up of the brat. "Do something like soup and a sandwich and you'll have him asleep in no time."

The Doctor nodded softly and took to making the food. Soup and a salad. He could do that. He could do it well enough. It wasn't exactly a difficult task for him. He served that up quick enough and frowned softly. "Marnal. No frogs at the table." he chided gently.

Sitting down, he took to picking at his own food, smiling softly. The Doctor couldn't help that one. He just didn't want any pets on the table. Especially while they were eating. That was just unsanitary!

"But dad, he'll get lonely in his box!" Marnal whined unhappily, clutching his fog away from the table but close to his person so it didn't get stolen away. "Please, please, please. He'll be good! So will I!"

The Master sighed and decided to just stay out of it, when Marnal wanted something, he knew it was bound to get awkward unless defused carefully and considering how attached he wad to that frog, he was probably going to end up having a sulk.

"It's no different than any of the other animals. I'm not letting yoh have the fronton the table. Period. You can fuss. But it won't change a thing. If you can't follow rules, then I won't get you anymore pets." the Doctor said softly, yet firmly. He wasn't budging on that.

Marnal could sulk if he wished. That wasn't the point. The point was that the Doctor was going to remain firm whether the kid liked it or not. "You can play with your frog after you eat." the Doctor stated simply.

The Master had to think of when they first got Koschei and now the cheetahs had roamed free. Boy had the Doctor hated that, especially when the ended up with a curious cub sitting in their dinner with an innocent expression.

Watching Marnal sniffle and hold his frog tight, the Master sighed and leaned over, gently taking the frog from Marnal before he could protest. "I'll put him in his box for you, you eat dinner and he'll wait fr you in the living room," Marnal nodded his head sadly, not seeming at all interested in dinner now his frog was gone.

The Doctor sighed softly and shook his head. "Come on. Eat. Good gives you energy to play. So you need to eat in order to play. Otherwise you won't be able to." he stated. He wasn't losing this battle. Not even if he went insane in the process.

He would keep all animals from the table. Period. He may nit be the favorite in the process, but he would prevail. With that, the Doctor Poitier at his own food, if only to make a point. He was not giving in.

The Master followed suit in eating his own soup and dipping his sandwich into it while Marnal still sulked, idly stirring his soup and making little effort to eat it. The Master sighed because kids were so annoying stubborn sometimes.

"Marnal, Froggie won't like it if you don't eat your dinner. He doesn't like playing with naughty kids," the Master warned with a serious expression. "In fact, they had this habit of running away from naughty children and--" Oh well that worked, Marnal was eating anyway... though perhaps his story was not the best for a four year old.

At least Marnal didn't seem the type to psychologically condition his pets. That was at least a plus. Shaking his head, the Doctor finished up and took to cleaning up the mess so Marnal could play with the frog. He refused to regret his decision in getting the thing.

"So. I was thinking that when Koschei is better, we might go away a couple of days? Just a short road trip or something. Nothing big." the Doctor offered lightly, smiling. Eh. Why the hell not? They still owed the kid a trip to the beach.

"The beach? Doesn't sound awful, we'll have to time it just as he's getting better, hopefully next weekend? I mean, he hates missing school," what a weird kid! What kid didn't enjoy missing the odd day off school? Marnal already hated the idea of school and he only went to nursery three times a week for a handful of hours!

"We can put can you imagine the car ride? That long with those two in the back," the Master smirked and playfully reached out to ruffled the Doctors hair. "Well, you could always sit in the back with Marnal and I'll take Kosch at the front."

"We can if nothing else works. I want to try music. Headphones, to be more exact. Little earbuds that go in and cancel out any and all noise so that he hears nothing but music." the Doctor admitted. Seemed like a decent enough idea to him.

"Mayebe something to entertain Marnal with as well. A toy or something. That way he's not trying for Koshei's attention. Like putting blinders on them really." he suggested lightly with a bit of a grin. Eh? Why not? The Doctor figured it could work.

"Marnal will never stop wanting Koschei to look at him and play with him, he wanted Koschei to be his friend. I made him like you... he's kind of hopelessly determined to befriend Koschei," the Master remarked, offering the Doctor a small smile. He made his own mini Doctor for the man to bond with. "Even if Koschei is an undeserving jerk."

Koschei could be a total prick sometimes and the Master knew that was probably his influence. He was Koschei, just older and meaner and a bit of a prick honestly. "We'll sort those two idiots out one day."

"Marnal needs a friend is all. Somebody he can have play dates with and have fun together. That's all. Maybe I'll take him to the park or something. If he has enough attention elsewhere, he might not care as much." the Doctor murmured softly. Eh. Worked with Koschei.

Then again, Koschei was severely obsessive in nature. "Or we can make Marnal out to be a possession. Koschei will become obsessive and possessive, buy Marnal will have his attention." the Doctor deadpanned. He wasn't completely serious.

"Marnal doesn't make friends well, remember?" Course the Doctor didn't, the Master just dropped him into this world. He didn't know how often they were called into nursery because Marnal was socialising well. Not in a Koschei way, Koschei had always been aloof. Marnal just struggled to be ... less full on. He scared kids off and that left him just as sad.

"We can keep trying, anyway. It would be nice? I mean, if Koschei would at least acknowledge Marnal. Maybe Marnal could learn to be less ... excitable?" Which was a polite way of saying 'maybe Marnal could learn to be more aloof and less like a special puppy'.

The Doctor forced his expression neutral at that. Of course he didn't know. He knew nothing. The Master hadn't kept him in the loop. And it definitely seemed as though the Master had programmed himself to go along with. Hopefully. The other scenario was he was still sleeping and this was all to keep him content while the Master up and left.

The Doctor sort of liked thinking the Master lobotomized himself over the latter option. "Right. Maybe. Maybe it's just a stage." he offered softly. He didn't even know Marnal's schedule. He didn't know his own schedule! Or the Master's life! Did the man work now? Was he still stay at home? Was there anything to be overly concerned with? And, if they both did work, was it on an alternating schedule? Oh hell, science and weekends and not taking a rest...Was the Doctor meant to be at work now? if he wasn't trying to stay together, he'd be in hysterics by then.

"Well maybe I can talk to a parent outside nursery, try to set up a play date or something," the Master remarked as he looked into the other room and sighed. Marnal had fallen asleep on the floor, head resting by the frog in a box.

"Looks like someone really needed a nap. Look, do you want to handle him and I'll check in on Koschei. Tomorrow, after you're done at work, we can discuss it? I was going to do some repairs tomorrow but I'll take the day off and watch Koschei. Maybe we can find a kid who can play with Marnal," the Master remarked, it would seem much easier to discuss a plan of action tomorrow.

The Doctor glanced to the man and nodded slowly. Alright. He worked the following day then. And the Master repaired things? Wasn't that just a hobby and nothing more? "Igbt. I'll take Marnal up to his room to nap. Koschei should be alright." he murmured softly with a small shrug.

"You may want to check his temperature. Thermometer is on the nightstand in his room. You want to go by a human temperature due to the lack of heart thing. It creates a lack of body heat." the Doctor admitted, carefully lifting Marnal and the box to head upstairs.

Marnal clung to the Doctor as they went up the stairs, resting his head against the mans shoulder and watching the Master come up the stairs behind him with his eyes half lidded, he wouldn't last much longer.

The Master smiled and headed to Koschei's room, walking to the thermometer, holding it out for Koschei with an amused expression. The boy looked insanely pathetic, it was rather sad actually to see their little criminal mastermind so ill. "Put this in your mouth, Koschei. I need to make sure you getting cooler."

Koschei pointedly sat up, glaring a bit as he took the thermometer into his mouth. He didn't want to be here like this. He didn't want to just sit there and be idle. It was pathetic. He felt pathetic. And how much did that suck?

When it beeped, he removed the device, scrunching his nose a bit. "'M thirty." he informed simply. Yes. Koshchei might not have used the bell, but he was still making hid demands. And he expected them to be fulfilled.

The Master looked over the device before sighing, it wasn't much better than before. Setting it aside, he sighed and headed downstairs, returning with a glass of water and setting it on the bed beside the boy. Well, he couldn't complain, Koschei was actually quite sick and that was never fun for any kid, especially a kid like Kosch.

"Sorry kiddo," the Master offered, ruffling the boys hair as he sat on the bed side him. "I was going to take the day off tomorrow and sit at home with you, hardly need you hear alone. So we can do something provided its inside and not too taxing. Deal?"

"I wanna go to school. My art project is due." Koschei lamented, even as he reached for the glass of water to drink it down. That was one class that he was overly fond of. That and geography. Geography he had a test to do in as well.

He couldn't miss school! "'M gonna go. I can get myself up an' everything. An' I can take the bus. Doctor says 'm not contagious." Koschei pointed out stubbornly. The Master wouldn't win this argument without some sort of a problem coming from it.