Imaginary Worlds

"No noisy pets, understand? Me and the Doctor will discuss this as well. Something quiet and small," the Master warned with a firm look before getting to his feet and rolling his eyes at his brattish son.

Sometimes Koschei was an awkward kid, really he was. The Master headed down the stairs with a small sigh, hoping to track down the Doctor in time to warn him that the boy was after loud pets. "Doctor?2

"Marnal has a loud pet!" Koschei called softly, slumping back with a glare. He'd deal with it. He would get rod of that creature. If he had to hypnotize Marnal to get rid of the frog, then he would. Period.

Kids weren't easy. Hence why the Doctor was kneeling on the floor, scrubbing at the wall sharply. "Yes?" he asked slowly, not bothering to look from his current task. He didn't need to look at the Master in order to talk.

"Koschei wants a loud pet because Marnals frog is making noise. Just to warn you, say no. He's not having a loud pet for the sake of having a loud pet," the Master informed him. Because if he wanted a pet out of actually wanting it, sure. Wanting one to be a annoying just was not acceptable in this house.

"Marnal drawing on the walls?" the Master winced and started to clean up the bits of paper, just to help him out. No one ever said having two kids was a picnic. It was actually very annoying.

The Doctor sighed softly and shrugged a bit. "Sorry. It's fine. See? I have it completely under control. I just need to clean ip up. I'll be done in a jiffy." he assured, sighing softly as he worried his lip, toying with the sponge he was using.

"Sorry. I just...Bare with me for a moment? But are we really doing this? Whacking up and raising two kids together? Don't get me wrong! I'm happy with this. But it is odd to think about." the Doctor stated softly.

"Well yeah, we kind of agreed to it, didn't we?" the Master remarked, just a little confused as to why they were suddenly discussing this. It was just a little odd but hey, if he was having doubts, it was a bit too late.

"I know Koschei is awkward and annoying and Marnal is a handful but they're our kids, we don't have much of a choice now. Besides, we hardly had much else going on," the Master pointed out because it was entirely the Doctors idea to play happy families.

The Doctor sighed softly and shrugged. "Sorry. It was just a curiosity. That's all. A lot to take in on occasion. I don't meant anything by it. I just...I don't know." he murmured, running a hand through his hair as he sat back.

It was all so odd. How was he meant to take it all in? One moment they're having problems and the next...Well, he wasn't quite sure. "Sorry I'm not rethinking anything. And I'm not doubting anything. Just thinking." the Doctor assured.

"Did we do something to ourselves?" the Master asked, sitting on the edge of the sofa, holding one of Marnals toy dinosaurs in his hand. He wouldn't ask but it was hard to ignore the note left on his desk.

"All I know is that I need to make you happy, love you and not over think things. Oh and get milk... whoops," Well, he had done most of it. That had to count for something right? "But, if it helps, I am happy and I want to make you happy. And if something happened to use, if the Time Lords did something-- well, tell me and let me help."

And that answered more questions than he'd of liked. The fact that the Master asked over the Timelords spoke miles. "No. Nothing. They didn't do anything. I've just been thinking is all. Sorry to bother you." the Doctor murmured, standing and leaning in to kiss the other's cheek.

Damn. He was near positive the Master lobotomized himself. He didn't like that much. But he couldn't exactly do something to change that. Not without risking complications. "I'm fine. Sorry about that." he murmured.

The Master kissed the Doctor back and then returned to cleaning the living room. He had just wanted to make the Doctor happy, changing the Doctor and the setting hadn't helped. So he changed himself somewhat and now they could both be happy.

The Master put all of Marnals toys away and started on dinner. Or more he put some toast in the toaster, course they should of remembered Marnal would wake up alone. And that kid had a mind of his own that wasn't always clever. Which is why he went in Koschei's room, despite being told not to. Holding out a coloured mess of what appeared to be himself and Koschei holding hands, he presented it to his big brother proudly. "Feel better Koschei!"

Koschei turned his head to regard the other kid with a dark glare. Oh how cute. Marnal made him a card. He took the card slowly and set it aside, glaring pointedly at the television screen. "Your bloody frog is keeping me up." he hissed slowly, bristling.

He wasn't going to play nice. Why the hell should he? "An' you shouldn't be in my room." he added coldly. The Master shouldn't have left the two of them alone. Period. Because things with Koschei never ended well.

"But I made you a card," Marnal protested, in his little four year old mind, that was a green light to go in and present his handy work. Very carefully he clambered up and onto the end of Koschei's bed, looking around his room with interest because usually, he only got to see it when he was being kicked out as fast as he got in. A blurred motion of models and puzzles.

"Froggie is loud cause he's talkin', he wishes you to feel better too!" Marnal declared, sitting happily on the bed, not even thinking of the clear danger. Oh it was never gong to end well. "Do you have a bad tummy?"

"No. An' he keeps me awake. You don't want that. Do you want him going out the window also?" Koschei asked slowly, sitting up as his eyes narrowed. Marnal was lucky he was sick. That wouldn't stop him from acting out like this.

Because he'd been doing so well! He'd been being good! But now? Growling, he sharply whacked Marnal over the back of the head. "Get out!" he snapped, stifling a cough and glaring. He just wanted to be left alone! He didn't feel well and Marnal wasn't helping with being there and the little brat was bouncing the bed.

Marnal yelped and took a tumble, covering his head and whimpering pathetically in pain because why could he never be in Koschei's room without being hit. Or threatened. His frog was in danger... what did he do to save the poor thing?

"'M sorry, Koschei," Marnals lower lip was trembling as he made a hasty retreat, scampering along the hallway and scurrying under his bed to try and hide himself and Froggie from the terror that was his big brother.

It was hearing the thumping that had the Doctor heading up. It also had the Doctor rather irate upon discovering what had taken place. Could Koschei no just...Behave already? He didn't even bother with there oldest at first. No. He headed into Marnal's room and sighed softly.

"Hey. Wanna come out of there for me?" the Doctor asked softly, kneeling upon the floor with a soft frown. He could fix this. Easily. It needed to be done already. But first he wanted to see that Marnal was alright.

"Koschei hit me and he's going to throw Frog out the window!" Marnal protested... on the plus side, he hadn't thrown the card out the window so that was always a good thing. But he hadn't even seemed happy with the card which left Marnal as miserable as ever.

Why could the Master cheer Koschei up but whenever Marnal tried, he made Koschei angry. He didn't mean to. "I don't want my frog to die and my head hurts so I'm stayin' under here."

"Your frog will be fine. Promise. But...I'll be back." the Doctor murmured, heading back down to the kitchen. "Alright. I give up. I can't deal with him. He just threatened to throw the damn frog out the window." he said slowly as he regarded the Master.

He didn't know what to do at this point. It wasn't as though Marnal provoked Koschei. "You need to deal with this. Marnal is cowering under his bed right now because he was hit. I officially give up on the little psychopath bedridden upstairs." the Doctor stated firmly.

"I'll handle it," the Master sighed and headed upstairs, peering into Marnals room and yeah, the kid was cowering under the bed with his frog contained safely in the box. Rubbing at his eyes, he turned around and went into Koschei's room, shutting the door behind him.

"So your four year old brother makes you a card and wishes you to get better... your logical response is to hit him and threaten to throw his frog out the window," the Master sighed and slid down the door and onto the floor, looking at the bedridden boy with a drained expression. "Koschei, I will always love you, you know that? But I can't help you. I'm try and I can't. You're just-- you make everything worse than it has to be and how can I even hope to help you?"

Well. This conversation sounded familiar. Koschei tenses up at that one. "I told him he shouldn't be in here. I told him the frog was being loud. He stayed an' said the frog was just talking! I warned him first! 'M behaving!" he protested sharply, moving up his bed a bit as he eyed the Master.

That was the same thing the Doctor told him when he was sent away. He wasn't going to be sent away again. "I'll leave! I'll...I'll run away again! You're not sending me back!" Koschei snarled, almost hysterical at that point. He couldn't go through that again.

The Master ran his fingers through his hair before pulling himself back upright and heading over to his son. Because as much as he wanted to hate him sometimes like the Doctor did, he couldn't. Koschei was him, all of him. The worst parts of himself and the Doctor were hide away inside him and he did feel bad for the boy and always had.

He pulled Koschei closer and forced the boy into a hug just because the Master had to calm him. "I don't want, I really don't. So I won't... for now, all right? Because I could give up on you easily but I never will because you're my son. But you have to understand that you can never hit your brother. You have to learn to accept him, understood? And you can never kill that frog either. If you kill that frog.... its the finale straw," Koschei would have to go away. The Master had laid down his terms and all Koschei had to do was try to follow them.

"You're lying. I know you are. He wants me gone an' I'm going to get sent away again 'cause he has Marnal an'--" Koschei caught off abruptly with a couch, shaking his head as he shoved away. Alright. So he was always a little paranoid. Being sent to an institution didn't help him.

Because now he firmly believed that he was being sent away again. And he really didn't like that. "I warned him! He didn't listen! Marnal wouldn't be hit if he listened when I told him." Koschei pointed out. Did that mean nothing?

"He's four! How many times do I have to tell you that?! He barely listens to me and the Doctor. Do we hit him when he won't listen? No," the Master e3xhaled before dropped down on the edge of Koschei's bed, putting his head in his hands. Why couldn't Koschei just listen to him? Why couldn't he take any of this in and at least pretend to try?

"Koschei, the Doctor doesn't hate you, he loves you. He just doesn't think you love him and can you blame him? You did say you didn't! So yeah, maybe Marnal is someone that he loves now but he hasn't stopped loving you. Just like I love Marnal and I still love you," the Master informed Koschei because the boy just wasn't getting this. "Look, Koschei, why don't you talk to the Doctor?"

"Doctor won't let me. He only scolds since I came back an' he doesn't listen. What's the point?" Koschei asked slowly, shaking his head slowly. He regarded the Master with a scowl, glancing toward the window as he crossed his arms. Like hell he was making this easy on the man.

"Just...Go away. I wanna be left alone. I don't feel good an' 'm not happy." Koschei ground out, making an attempt at squirming beneath of his blankets. Yeah. He was at that point. He just wanted to curl up and hide away from the world.

Well, it seemed there was a possible way to fix this. And that was better than nothing. The Master heaved a sigh and got to his feet, heading downstairs to where the Doctor was. How to go about this the right way?

"I think he thinks you've replaced him with Marnal. From the sounds of it, he's very paranoid and very sick. Just... don't scold him, don't yell, just remember that boy you knew originally and try to be nice to him for my sake," the Master requested because no, he wasn't willing to get rid of Koschei. He loved the psycho.

The Doctor stared at that one and sighed. Really? "Alright. I'll talk to him. You know well enough that I did nothing to cause that, right? I didn't mean to anyway." he murmured, turning off the burner. He had taken over the Master's cooking and finished the task, leaving him to wait.

Shaking his head lightly, he headed up to deal with Koschei. It wasn't...Pleasant. Koschei wasn't all too willing to talk and the Doctor didn't have the patience. He returned shortly with Marnal in his hold so that they could eat. "So. He's officially on restriction." he murmured sheepishly.

"So it went well then?" the Master remarked sarcastically as they got seated. They would never solve their problems with Koschei, it was madness really. It would never get fixed. "Maybe... Maybe he does need to go somewhere to sort him out. We could send him back to the hospital if he doesn't improve in a month?"

"You can't send Koschei away!" Marnal cried, because even though he was sprouting a bruise and still cling to his frogs box, he didn't want to lose his brother. He loved Koschei, even if Koschei didn't love him. "Please, he needs to be with us!"