Imaginary Worlds

Well, a lot of it was a bit burnt but the Master wasn't pick. He carried Marnal downstairs and gave the boy some of the breakfast before heading into the living room and sitting down in the arm chair across from the Doctor.

"Doctor? Are you getting up today? Are you going to say bye to Marnal?" Marnal might of been very upset with the Doctor but that didn't mean that the Doctor should give up parenting, surely? Kids got over these things... or kids who weren't Koschei.

"It's Saturday. There's nowhere that he's leaving to unless you're taking him." he mumbled, giving a small shrug. "Don't know if I'm going to get up or not. More than likely not. This is as good a place as any to spend a day." he mumbled.

And that was it. Be it so many bad experiences in trying to do something nice, his current state of mind, or some twisted cross between the two, the Doctor was officially defeated. Done. He honestly couldn't bring himself to bother at the moment.

Oh crap, he had to take the kid? But he worked with heavy machinery and some very dangerous things. "I'm really not meant to take kids to work... I'm going to have to phone in and take the day then."

With a sigh, the Master ducked out and took out his mobile, ringing up Verica and leaving a message on her answerphone about having to stay in with Marnal... he may have lied and said the Doctor was ill.

And just like that, he screwed up and ruined somebody's day yet again. He was simply on a rom this time around. Sighing, the Doctor shifted a bit, looking to the Master dully. Because the message he was receiving was that he couldn't take care of his own kid. That he couldn't be trusted while the Master was at work.

He probably should have expected that. "You could have gone in. I'm sure Marnal would be fine. I'm not going to take him anywhere again." the Doctor murmured softly. Why would he? There was no point behind taking the kid.

"No, I don't think you will. But look at you. You said you won't get up... and he's four. He's not Koschei and he doesn't like being left be, does he? What happens when he wants food? Will you get up?" the Master couldn't help but be frustrated, the Doctor was driving him mad today and it was hard not to get annoyed.

"Look, I can leave you if you want but I just don't want you to make this worse with the boy," the Master asserted as he turned to see Marnal attempting to sneak upstairs around them both... someone really didn't want to see the Doctor.

That just made him feel worse. "I made breakfast. I can make lunch. But stay. I'm not...I'm done. I'm done trying. Every time I do, I screw things up. What good am I when I just make matters worse?" he asked dully.

It really wasn't fair. The Doctor shrugged, absently picking at the carpet. There wasn't any need for him to get up. "You should take him somewhere. Maybe to the pool. Teach him to swim." he mumbled.

"No. When you get over your sulk, you'll teach him to swim. Just relax, go to bed. You're still unstable," And with that, theMaster headed upstairs to have a talk with Marnal. He explained that the Doctor was ill and that he made a mistake and while the kid didn't seem to accept it, he at least seemed to understand.

It wasn't till after lunch that Marnal finally approached the Doctor, tugging the lying mans sleeve to try and get his attention. He was still mad but not mad enough to ignore his dad when he was sick. "Do you want my dinosaur till you feel better?"

The Master called it a sulk. The Doctor didn't agree. He still headed up to hide in their bedroom, not findin it very easy to relax. Marnal coming to see him didn't exactly help either. Not because he didn't like the kid. He just didn't think he was cut out for this whole parenting thing.

It was rather said when he was worse at it that the Master was. "No." he murmured simply in response, shrugging a bit. "It's fine. Why don't you go play with the Master?" the Doctor suggested softly.

Which was, of course, a giant mistake. Because Marnal was under the impression the Doctor had been ill... now he just thought that the Doctor was just like Koschei. He just didn't like him.

Running out the room, Marnal spent the rest of the day hiding in his room and even the Master couldn't get him to come out and play. giving up, the Master lay on the sofa downstairs and tried to ignore this rubbish.

The Doctor didn't mean anything by it. He just knew that it wasn't exactly a good thing for Marnal to be with him at the moment. And how was he supposed to know Marnal still wanted anything to do with him so soon after the night before? It didn't exactly make sense.

He did eventually drift downstairs to make dinner. Another meal he ended up burning a bit. But no matter. "Hey. Can you fetch Marnal to eat?" the Doctor asked softly as he stepped into the living room, regarding the Master a bit.

"I'll take it up to him. That kids firmly planted himself under his blankets, I'll try and pry him out," after all, the Doctor hadn't helped at all, had he? He was not going to have a relationship with any of his sons by the end of the week.

Grabbing a plate of dinner, he went upstairs and offered it to the boy, leaving it with him and knowing he'd eat eventually. While the kid fiddled with his food, the Master headed back downstairs and rubbed at his eyes in frustration. It was times like this that he really did miss Koschei. He just wanted company.

"Would it be easier for you if I left for a few days? Long enough for Marnal to come down and for me to get better. Because it seems as though I'm just screwing up all over the place lately." the Doctor murmured, sitting down and punching the bridge of his nose.

He meant no harm. He just didn't want everybody to be more stressed out than they needed to be at the moment. And if that meant going away for a bit, then the Doctor could agree to that. Easily.

"Doctor, I have no answers. I like to think that if you were sane enough, you'd be able to use your common sense and not be this thick. Look... just go lie in bed for a while, please?" the Master asked because it seemed safe enough to keep him nearby.

"I don't want you to disappear again. Just go lie in bed. I can cook, I can take care of Marnal and I'll handle work. Just please relax," the Master begged with an earnest expression because it kept getting worse and worse.

((Off to bed!))

{Night!}

Except that he didn't want that. At all. Why would he want to just lay in bed alone? Sighing softly, he shrugged and nodded. "Alright. I just...I don't know how to fix this. I know that you're angry with me for leaving. And for coming back. But could you maybe come with me? Please?" he asked softly.

He wanted to be with the Master and was it sad that he had to ask for the other to keep him company? Probably. If the other wanted to deal with him, then the other probably would have without being asked. "Sorry." the Doctor mumbled, already retreating back to his bedroom.

The Master heaved a sigh and followed before dropping down on the bed beside the Doctor and shuffling closer so he could pull the idiot nearby and idly stroke his hair. Hey, if he messed up, the Doctor would forgive him... therefore he could forgive the Doctor.

"When the weekend is over and you're a bit better, we're skipping school for Marnal and we'll all go to the water park together to make up for it," the Master insisted because he wanted to fix thsi before it got worse.

The Doctor frowned softly at that. He wasn't complaining. Not really. But he was a bit baffled by it. "I...You said that you don't trust me anymore." he murmured softly, not quite understanding. The other didn't trust him, so why would he want the Doctor going along to take Marnal?

He did try and relax into the other's touch, enjoying the comfort offered by the contact. It was...Pleasant. "I am sorry. I just...I wanted to do something nice and I knew you wouldn't agree to it." the Doctor mumbled.

"Because you have to make allowances when someone's loony. If we didn't then what hope would I have, right? Drums made me crazy... this makes you crazy. So we forgive," the Master asserted because he was forever going to mistrust the Doctor in this state but not the Doctor he knew normally - he wouldn't hurt Marnal.

"There was a reason I'd disapprove, you idiot. You took him 12 hours away when you weren't in the best state of mind... he could of slipped, fallen and drowned at the water park and you didn't tell me... how would I of found out what was happening?" the Master pointed out with his best stern expression.

"I wouldn't let him be hurt. Something could happen to him at any point, but I wouldn't let him be hurt like that. You know I wouldn't. Even at my worse. At my worse, I was still insanely protective of Koschei." the Doctor murmured softly.

There was never any point where he would let his son come to harm. Period. Being told he wasn't trusted withthe lad honestly stung. A lot. "I understand. It's fine. You don't trust me and...I can live with that." he murmured. Didn't mean that the Doctor liked it.

"Doctor, you did. You hurt Koschei a lot. You used to hold him quite roughly and lock him in closets. You don't have to be violent to hurt them... look at Marbal, he's devastated," and there was no way t deny that the Doctor had damaged his relationship in this state,

"Give it a day at the least. Your head will clear up and you'll be better. Then you and Marnal can get back to things. But taking him to a trip, leaving early then spending today shooing him off? Not doing much for the kids morale," And it was had to deny that.

"I didn't expect you to react quite as poorly as you did. But...I don't know. I'm done trying. Every time I try to do something nice, I end up hurting people. Marnal included in that. I can't keep doing it." the Doctor muttered. The kid was not the only one with a damaged morale.

Shaking his head, the Doctor shifted away slightly with a soft sigh. "I'm not cut out for this. You're a better parent than I am, no offense, but that isn't right. I should be able to do it. Instead, I screw my kids up." he murmured with a cringe.

"No one reacts well to their partner stealing their child," the Master mocked playfully because it wasn't really something he expected, honestly. "Don't be sill either, you're a great dad... you make mistakes. I've made loads too. Different is that I don't quit."

Hell, he'd called his boy a bastard, killed his pet and left him with plenty of hang ups by constantly leaving. On top of that, he was so determined for Marnal to bond with the Doctor that he hadn't bonded at all and the only thing he can do with the youngest boy is watch TV and eat cereal. "I'm not a good dad, I just don't freak out over the little things."

The Doctor sighed softly and shook his head a bit. "I drove my son into an insane asylum. Our youngest isn't doing too much better right now. At least the two of them like you." he murmured softly with a small shake of his head.

It did hurt. He wasn't fond of having his kids hate him. Both of them did. "Sorry. It's fine. I'm over it." the Doctor assured firmly. And he would be. He just needed a bit.

"Marnal doesn't hate you... he just thinks you hate him. Want to make this right? Go prove to him that you love him? That you're not mad," the Master asserted because the Doctor spent the whole day shooing the boy away from him.

He could hardly expect the boy to do much else but sulk and be upset. "Marnal and I have no real bond. I'm that guy he eats cereal with. Koschei is my son... Marnal is yours. And I will never love him like I love Kosch so I need you with me on this one."

"Kind of hard to right now, don't you think? What do you expect of me? If I go now, he's going to want to spend time with me, which is apparently a bad thing at the moment." he Doctor deadpanned. He couldn't just...No.

He wasn't going to try and work things out, only to screw up immediately afterward. it wasn't exactly a fair trade. "It's fine. I'm fine. Don worry about it." the Doctor murmured, shakin his head softly.

"You could say your sorry? That's all. I told him you were very sick so I'll explain you can't play. I'll bring him in and take him out and at least you'll of made peace?" the Master suggested with a small shrug because he knew the Doctor needed this.

He needed to make sure that his son loved him and the Master wanted to help that. He wasn't taking blame for anything that happened but that didn't mean that he wouldn't help.