Clara Oswald was having a perfectly normal day so far. She had gotten up, had breakfast, and was now preparing to leave for the store.

Just as she was about to step out the door of her flat, she heard an all too familiar mechanical grinding noise. "Oh boy." She mumbled, turning around.

She watched as a blue police box, or the TARDIS, materialized in the middle of her living room, throwing papers about with the wind it created. The door opened, and steam billowed out. The Doctor stumbled out with it, coughing, his hair askew, his face and clothes smeared with ash.

Clara started forward. "Doctor, what happened?"

"Oh, nothing for you to worry about." He said, smiling.

"It looks like something."

He ran his hands through his hair, making it stick up even more. "Well… I may have gotten into a little bit of trouble."

Clara smirked. "What kind of trouble?"

"I can't explain right now, okay? I need to ask you for a favor."

"Okay. What can I do?"

The Doctor vanished back into the TARDIS, returning a few minutes later, dragging an unconscious man behind him.

Clara backed up slightly. "What did you do to him?"

The Doctor looked down at the man. "Uh… I sort of had to knock him out. Can I leave him here for a few hours while I go see to some… unfinished business?"

"Let me get this straight. You want to leave an unconscious man alone, with me, at my house, while you go off to who knows where?"

"He's not a man! He's a Time Lord!"

Clara looked down at the apparent Time Lord. His hair was blonde, almost white, and his face had a bit of stubble on it. He was dressed in a black hoodie and ragged jeans. He had dark rings under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in weeks, but he was undeniably handsome.

He didn't look like a Time Lord.

"I thought you were the last one!"

"I lied. His name and the Master and he was a childhood friend of mine."

Clara shrugged. "I suppose I could take care of him."

The Doctor smiled. "Thank you. Also, I'll need to tie him up."

"What? Why?"

"He's a criminal."

"Doctor!" Clara shouted. "You could have told me that before I agreed to let him stay at my house!"

"Of course I didn't tell you that!" He laid the Master on the floor and walked back inside the TARDIS, his voice echoing from the inside. "You never would have agreed otherwise!"

Clara sighed in frustration. "Fine…"

The Doctor came back out, holding a messy array of chains and rope. "Now, let's tie him up."

Fifteen minutes later, the Doctor stood back, admiring his handiwork. He had tied the Master to a support pillar that was in Clara's living room, using various chains and ropes bound about his middle and arms around the pillar.

"Are you sure that's going to hold him?" Clara asked, looking down at the unconscious Time Lord nervously.

The Doctor puffed out his chest proudly. "I'm absolutely positive!"

"Doctor, is he dangerous?"

His smile faded. "He is sometimes. Not all the time, though he is a madman." He took her by her shoulders. "I promise, as long as you don't talk to him and stay away, you'll be absolutely fine. Got it?"

She nodded. "Got it, but just one more thing. You said he was your friend, so why are you did you knock him out and tie him up?"

The Doctor looked down at him. "He was my friend. He's stone cold brilliant, trust me, but we've gone separate ways." He headed back to the TARDIS and opened the door, turning back to face Clara. "I'll be back soon."

She smiled. "Bye."

He waved and stepped into the TARDIS, shutting the door. The mechanical sound started up, and the blue police box vanished from view, and the noise left with it.

Clara sighed, staring down at the Master. Some day this had turned out to be. She was harboring an insane, dangerous alien criminal in her house. What next?

She looked closer at the Master's face. Upon closer inspection, she saw it was absolutely filthy with ash and bruised, just as the Doctor's had been. Always one for cleanliness, she decided to go against the Doctor's orders and clean him up a little.

Preparing a wet cloth, she started cleaning his face gently, hoping that he didn't wake up during the process. While she cleaned, she couldn't help but admire his features. He was rather handsome, she would admit, but she had to remember that he was some sort of criminal, and he was dangerous. His chest rose and fell softly, exhaling through his mouth with every breath.

Curious, Clara paused in her administrations and laid her ear to his chest, listening to his heartbeat. There it was.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

It was the all too familiar four beat cadence of a Time Lord's heartbeat. He was a Time Lord for sure. She resumed her work, her mind wandering to other thoughts. She wondered what could've beat the Master and the Doctor so much. She had a feeling she didn't want to know. Who knows what it could have been; she had seen her fair share of scary things.

She finished her work, looking down at the Master, whose face was now much cleaner than it had been. Surprisingly, he had not awoken during her work, which was good for her.

As a pastime, she decided to attempt to make a perfect soufflé.

After quite a few failed attempts, she gave up. She looked back at the Master, who was still unconscious, and then back at the clock. She had started around nine AM, and it was now close to eleven. Honestly, how long could a boy sleep?

She debated on whether or not she should take a nap. It might not be a good idea with a renegade Time Lord tied up in her house, but then again, he wasn't escaping from that mess of chains and rope, was he?

Finally, she decided it would be a good idea. After all, she had gotten up quite early. She laid down on the couch and curled up with a sigh.

After a while, when her breathing slowed, the Master inched open one eye. Seeing that she was asleep, he smiled and sat up as best he could. The foolish girl thought he was still unconscious, when in reality, he had woken up ages ago when she was washing his face. It had been hard to stay still for that long, but it had been interesting to watch her at least.

He had actually found it quite soothing to feel her gentle touch on his face. She had laid an ear on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, but wasn't confused about it. She must've been a friend of the Doctor's and had some sort of knowledge on Time Lords.

He looked over her. She was curled up tightly in a ball on her couch, breathing softly. Her brown hair was splayed out over her face, vibrating with every breath she took. She actually looked quite…

No.

No. He was the Master. He did not have emotions. He shook his head, attempting to clear it of the never ending drums. But, of course, it didn't work.

Now, he needed to figure a way out of the bonds that held him.

Clara was sleeping. Throughout her sleep, she heard a constant drumbeat. One, two, three, four. Over and over again it came, seemingly inside her head. She rolled over and groaned, attempting to rid herself of the maddening never-ending sound.

She slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a finger, attached to a hand, drumming out the beat of four on a chair arm. Then, further up, she saw a cheeky smirk and brown eyes glittering at her.

The Master smiled wider. "Hello."