Imaginary Worlds

"You have trouble keeping promises. That's what you told menlast time. An' 'm back now. I don't believe you." Koschei admitted softly. He didn't trust the Master with this. He really didn't trust the Doctor on it.

He laid down again and closed his eyes with a sound of annoyance. Too much effort to sit up any longer. "'M tired. I dun like it." he murmured softly. Koschei really hated it.

"Fine, don't trust me. Have faith in me," the Master offered, shrugging his shoulders before shuffling up so he could lie the other side of the bed with the boy. "Well, sleep? I mean, you don't want to be with me so just sleep, I'll sit here and when epsilon comes, I'll wake up and by then I'll leave."

"Just relax, kiddo. You just need to learn how to relax. I know you don't trust me but some things are important. Like this. I'm not going to let you down," the Master offered he could fix Koschei... even if it meant having a meddle in his mind.

Koschei sighed softly and shifted about to cuddle up pathetically with the Master. "Doesn't matter. He wakes me up at six for dinner." he murmured softly. That was one nice thing. Epsilon would come around and just sit there. If Koschei was sleeping, he waited. And it allowed Koschei to be able to keep up with homework.

That was the only positive. Koschei slowly nodded off, already figuring that the Master would go to meet up with the Doctor and Marnal again. But what did that matter? It was expected from the man.

The Master didn't leave. Marnal and the Doctor could wait, he finally had some time with his little boy. Pulling Koschei close, he let the lad sleep against him and simply sat there patiently.

It was a long boring wait but it was getting on to five when one of the staff members poked their head in to check on him. The Master just smiled and tried his hardest not to move until the damn man finally left them in peace again.

((Off to bed))

(Night!)

It wasn't too long after before Epsilon wandered in, a look of surprise crossing his features as he sat down his stack of papers. Huh. He hadn't expected to see the Master there. At all. It made sense, he supposed, but no matter.

"Sorry, sir, but I didn't know he had visitors. Would you prefer I come back later?" he asked softly. Not exactly easy. Verica just dropped him off for a few hours and picked him back up at the end.

"Its not sir," the Master corrected with a bored expression. Honestly, some kids just didn't learn. He was, at the very most, Master. It was a name he preferred instead of 'Sir'.

"And don't be daft," Pulling himself free from Koschei, he gave the lad a gentle shake. He'd gotten an hours sleep at least and he did say he was having dinner with Epsilon. "Kosch, Epsilon is here."

Koschei whined softly, even as he stirred. He immediately went to get up, Epsilon simply easing the kid back down against the pillows. "No. You know what happens when you try to be up and about while sedated. I brought you your assignments instead to do together." he chided gently, fetching the papers and moving to sit beside Koschei upon the bed.

Glancing toward the Master, Koschei offered a tired smile. "Are you gonna go now? Or are you staying?" he asked slowly. The Master had said that he would overrule Epsilon being there. It wasn't something he looked forward to.

"You have Epsilon, you don't need me right now, huh?" the Master offered before climbing to his feet and adjusting his clothes. He straightened his tie and flattened his head before giving the two boys a frown.

He knew that friendship would be important to Kosch and Epsilon was his Theta Sigma... and the Master wouldn't interfere. "Have a good rest and I'll see you when I see you. Focus on getting better."

(Gotta run to the bank and whatnot. I'll be back in a few hours.)

Koschei nodded softly as he settled back once more. This wasn't the most ideal situation to be in. "Kay. An' I am trying." he added with a frown. He was trying to get better. He wouldn't let them drug him to such an extent otherwise.

"I'll tell my mother you said hi when she picks me up tonight. She's worried about how you guys are all doing." Epsilon stated softly, adjusting his position a bit so that he was lounging out beside Koschei as he took to explaining shaft eye been going over in class.

((Thats fine, see you soon!))

The Master just nodded and took his leave. He couldn't really be bothered to try and make conversation with either of them. He just left them too it as he ducked back into the hallway and had a little search around.

Marnal was waiting in reception, pulling leaflets out that looked bright and colourful and giving them to the Doctor one by one. Sighing, the Master offered the Doctor a smile. "Want to go get dinner?"

The Doctor smiled softly and gave a bit of a nod. "Alright. I won't even ask how your visit went. I'm guessing alright since we've been here over an hour. I'm glad you had the chance to spend time with him." he murmured, standing and kissing the Master's cheek.

With that, he lifted Marnal up and started for the car with a small smile. This wasn't too bad. Especially not for the first visit. Honestly, he was surprised that Koschei hadn't completely lost it the second he had entered with Marnal.

"Koschei is mad at me, isn't he?" Marnal asked, he may have been a kid but he knew when someone hated him and the way Koschei reacted to him was not pleasant. Koschei just didn't like him at all. "I'm sorry I upset him and he had to leave."

The Master sighed and put his head in his palm. That was just what they needed. "Wasn't you, idio-- erm, Marnal," the Master corrected swiftly bcause he had a habit of forgetting who he was talking to. Shaking his head, he offer the boy a smile. "Koschei is ill, isn't he Doctor? And we're going to fix him."

"Koschei is very ill, Marnal. I told you before that you and your frog weren't the problem. It's Koschei. It's always been Koschei and it always will be. I can't do anything to fix that. That's why he's had to come here for a while." the Doctor said softly.

Because he was incapable of fixing his own son and he was terrified the boy would turn out like the Master. Neither of them wanted to deal with that. At all. Unfortunately, that left them rather limited in their options.

"I have an idea we should discuss when I get home," the Master added because he had ideas, none he was proud of but it was getting a bit much and he had to help the boy get fixed and bring him home. It was only fair.

The Master started up once Marnal had his seat belt on, the boy picked up is stuffed dinosaur and looked around outside, obviously amused enough. "So are we going straight home?"

"Nope. The Master is going to take us somewhere to eat and the home where I'm going to need you to play with your frog while we discuss a few things." he murmured. He could listen to whatever proposition the Master had to offer. There was just one slight catch.

"We'll do whatever you want, Master. Koschei is admittidely more your son than he is mine. If you have something that you want to try, then we will try it. I honestly don't care." the Doctor assured with a small shrug.

"We'll discuss it at home in private," the Master agreed, he didn't want to get into it in the car around Marnal, it might set a bad example and that was pretty much the last thing he needed really.

"Where are we going to eat? In the mood for anything Marnal?" the Master asked and the boy answered with a bright expression one simple word. "Pizza?!" Rolling his eyes, the Master turned his head to the Doctor and shrugged.

"Come on. We'll go and get a pizza and we can head home to talk." the Doctor murmured softly with a small shrug. That simple. He wasn't looking forward to their talk. He honestly was trying to avoid anything discussion on what should be done.

Because he didn't want to reach a disagreement with the other. That simple. It was never fun when they ended up in a disagreement and the like. Especially since the Doctor had a small tendency to try and fix everything.

Pulling up at the nearest pizza place, the Master headed out and kept an eye on Marnal as he bounced around the place before finally taking a seat. The Master ordered a generic pizza and left them to it to get their order wile he sat beside the Doctor.

"Haven't had pizza in a while," the Master mused with a small shrug of his shoulders. It was a little odd, admittedly, but it wasn't like he could do much else. The boy wanted it. "Not our usual."

"No. It isn't our usual, but it's not that bad. I like pizza. It's good and it's easy." he said lightly, keeping his gaze directed toward Marnal. He didn't want to risk the poor kid wandering off or something. A thing he wasn't sure of being a problem or not. As such, better safe than sorry.

Sighing softly, he took the Master's hand into his own, simply trying to show some form of affection. It was hard to believe it had almost been a week. Everything was a bit...Surreal. It was just different than he'd expected and the Doctor honestly sort of loved it.

The Master gripped the Doctors hand in a tight manner, trying to be reassuring that he did indeed like it. He never was the best at responding to this stuff. The Master sighed and offered the Doctor a smile.

"Yeah, pizza is a good choice. And besides, I think Marnal could use a treat, he was well behaved at the hospital," the Master remarked, smiling at Marnal who beamed back happily and set his dinosaur on the table proudly.

((Off to bed!))

{Night!}

The Doctor smiled softly and nodded as he looked to the Master. "Yeah. He was." he murmured, shooting Marnal a small smile. Which brought him to a new point. "Hey. So, based on tonight, do you want to visit your brother next week?" he asked softly.

What? He felt that Marnal should have a choice after how Koschei reacted. If the child didn't feel like going through that again, then so be it. He wouldn't fight that decision. He would let the child do it.

"I want to see him but he doesn't want to see me so I don't wanna go back," Marnal admitted because why should he go? He just made Koschei worse and worse and he didn't like doing that. Because who wanted to upset their brother.

The Master nodded his head, well at least the boy recognised what was going on... was that good or bad? Either way, the Master shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I should visit alone then?"

"Yeah. I'll stay home and watch Marnal. That way you can still go to see him. We can see him once the weekend visits start up. But he doesn't seem to want us around him and I want him to get better. If he asks for us, then we'll go." the Doctor assured softly.

He wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that Marnal understood and recognized the issue. Shifting a bit in his seat, he offered the child a soft smile. "Here. Then perhaps we can do something on those nights together, Marnal. Draw or watch films and the like." he offered.

When the pizza arrived, the Master took a slice right away and left the others too it. Marnal snagged a piece and nodded his head, it would be nice to spend some time alone with his dad, even if he did want to see Koschei.

"Well, you guys will be just fine," the Master assured with a small shrug of his shoulders. Why wouldn't they? Koschei was the problem and the Master didn't like forcing the two of them to put up with him.

The Doctor grabbed his own slice and sighed softly. Because it wasn't exactly something he was proud of. It really wasn't. He was just...Off. He didn't want to make Koschei any worse by forcing the kid to put up with him.

He also didn't find it fair for Marnal. "It's going to be fine." he agreed with a small smile. And that was honestly that. He was officially dropping it rather than obsessing. And wasn't that an improvement.