Disclaimer: I don't own Dr. Who or any of its characters, if I did, I'd do a spin off called "The Saxons". This contains spoilers up to "Last of the Time Lords". This is my first story I've uploaded. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 1: Till Death Do Us Part

Lucy Saxon pulled the up collar of her elegant, red cashmere overcoat, her heels clicking on the ancient stonework of the large, dank, poorly lit tunnel she had entered. She loathed Cardiff, and being underground made it even worse. So deep was the tunnel, that she couldn't even hear the traffic above, which would have been better than the occasional dripping of water against the stones. She carried a black leather satchel that was slung over one shoulder.

As she approached her destination, she recalled the events that brought her to this point, trying to rethink them, see the flaws. And there were definite flaws. Of course, everyone on the Valiant could recall those events, the events of "the year that never was". However, especially she could since everything that had been done and then undone had been for her. Harry had told her so. The Toclafane were her people, one hundred trillion years in the future; a pointless, sad future. She had seen it, the furnaces and conversion factories; the ones that turned people into childish killer spheres. They worshiped him, their Master and she loved him for what he was trying to do, rebuilding his world, and hers. She still loved him, even now. She missed him so much.

She remembered how wonderful things had been on the Valiant, primarily at the beginning. Harry had showered her with gifts ransacked from the decimated Earth below. He was always trying to impress her, to please her. Fine artwork, expensive wines, delicate perfumes, and beautiful jewelry and clothing, he gave it all to her. The red dress that he gave her, she remembered that vividly. He adored that dress and she was proud to wear it for him.

"I have something for you," Harry called out in their bedroom, dressed immaculately in his dark suit and tie. He was grinning like a schoolboy. "It just came from the surface, you see."

"Oh Harry," Lucy said as she entered from the adjacent water closet. "It's not another painting is it? We've already got the Mona Lisa hanging in the lavatory." She was dressed in a prim gray tweed dress suit, her hair pulled up conservatively.

He smiled, "Well, from the Louvre to the loo! No, actually this is even better." He held out a large, fancy wrapped gift box.

Lucy regarded the box, her deep blue eyes shining. She glanced up and looked into the dark pools of his eyes. She slowly moistened her lips and a small smile played upon them. She took the box and sat it on the bed and tore into the wrapping paper. She took off the lid and pulled back the tissue paper. Her face lit up and her smile widened. She carefully took out the beautiful silken red gown. She went to the dressing mirror and held it up.

"Oh, it's just lovely, Harry!" she exclaimed as she went over to thank him properly. The kiss was hot and passionate. While they kissed, his hands went to her hair and he took out the clips, letting it fall to her shoulders.

"Wear your hair down. Please, for me?" he asked, whispering in her ear.

"Anything for my Master," she said smiling losing herself in his wondrous eyes.

He had told her the dress complemented her hair of spun gold. He had actually used that phrase. And she wore her hair down from then on. He was lovely to her then, but she could tell things were wrong, over time. He enjoyed torturing the Freak, but he actually got bored with killing him after so many times. He enjoyed gloating to the aged Doctor, but even that didn't seem to please him as much after awhile.

The worst of it, what seemed to finally eat away at him inside was a combination of things. Designing the warships and black hole converters was child's play for Harry, but the drumbeat never went away, nor did the childish ramblings of the Toclafane. The pressure was getting to him. She could see that. He stopped knotting his tie properly and wouldn't let her help him with it. Then there was Martha Jones surviving his traps and the rumors of the UNIT/Torchwood Time Lord anti-regeneration weapon. That's what truly pushed him over the edge. He became obsessed with it, with the possibility of him dying and not returning.

"It's possible, they've had Torchwood long enough and with all the artifacts they've accumulated… it could be done. I sense the Brigadier had something to do with this!" he said sitting at a large computer, trying to search what was left of the UNIT database. In frustration he slammed his fists on the desk.

Lucy rested her delicate hands on his shoulders and began to massage his very tight muscles. She kissed the top of his head. The Master closed his eyes and relaxed a bit. Then the paranoia returned.

"The ring, Lucy!" he said pulling away from her touch and standing. "You know what to do if, they succeed?" His dark eyes gleamed.

"Of course," she nodded. "But everything is going according to your plans. The countdown is on schedule. Six months from now, we leave this pointless world forever."

The Master smiled. His faithful companion and wife; he had chosen wisely. He knew that. Being human for a time had taught him to love, and he was glad for it. "Still, there is a chance. And never discount the Doctor. He's beaten me in the past…"

"He's old, useless. You've beaten him, Harry," she said trying to get him back from the brink of insanity.

"But if by chance they do manage to kill me, the ring, that is the key," he said in a low whisper now, pulling close to her, his eyes wide and intent. "No matter what, you must get the ring. And use it. But they'll arrest you… try you for crimes against your own race… We'll have to fix that bit. You'll need protection, an alibi, as they say." He was quiet, a small wicked, clever grin on his face. She wanted to take him then and there, but knew now simply wasn't a good time. But she'll recall that smile later that night…

"What do you mean, Harry?" she asked. "I mean everyone's all ready seen me. When you switched on the Paradox Machine we danced. It was beautiful. We kissed as the Toclafane killed one tenth of humanity. Just how will you convince them? I'm no prisoner here, I've made that choice and I'd do it again. No regrets."

"Ah, but you could become but a puppet on a string," the Master mused, walking around her melodramatically. "Why you'd be nothing but a helpless plaything, a toy for my amusement. I could help you with that; help you appear lost and bewildered."

"Hypnotize me?" Lucy asked quietly. She wasn't afraid of being hypnotized. He had done it once to help her get over her fears of being interviewed. She had actually asked him to do it since she was terrified of making a mistake. That was early on in the campaign. By the time Mrs. Rook died, it was easy. But, even then she had worried, worried about failure.

"Yes, but you'll be in complete control of yourself, Oh ho!" he laughed. "It will also enable me to link telepathically with you, which could come in handy. You'll be able to even fool the Doctor; he'll be able to sense the latent effects of my power over you! They'll let you go and even feel sorry for you!"

Lucy nodded. "But two conditions, Harry."

"Name them," he said coming up to her and caressing her arms with his fingertips.

"I will be completely aware and able to be fully normal when we are alone?" she asked, honestly intrigued by the idea.

"Yes, of course, Darling," he said with affection. "If I wanted a robot, I'd have married an Auton!"

She smiled and licked her lips in her usual sensual way, then became serious. "You told me that Time Lords were telepathic, well, I want you to share the drumbeat with me. I have to know what's destroying you."

The Master scoffed. "It's not destroying me, and no, I will not do that to you, absolutely no!"

"You must. We've shared so much, Harry. Why not this? Please?" she pleaded. She had to know.

The Master considered it a moment. "No secrets. I'll show you. Prepare yourself," he said touching her face with his hands.

She was ready, yet how could she be truly ready? Ready to sense something alien to her that was driving her husband insane. He shared with her the drumbeat, the never ending throb that called him to war, to destroy. And she understood. But she wanted more. Before he broke contact, she tried reaching out. It had caught the Master off guard and she was able to see a memory. Of all the memories to see that were locked up inside the Master's tortured mind, she saw one of the very earliest. The memory was of him standing, a mere eight year old boy, before the Untempered Schism on Gallifrey. She saw what he saw: the endless vortex going on and on and on. The concept of eternity overwhelmed her. She screamed and screamed. She understood now. She knew how he felt for now she could hear the drumbeat as well.

He hypnotized her, giving her the suggestion to appear will-less and broken around all the others, but not him. She'd be his Lucy when they were alone together. It had worked and she became his broken puppet wife, whom all pitied. She had even suggested something to her Harry, which horrified him. She found it amusing that she could do that to him.

She had worked for several charities after she had graduated from St Andrews, and one of those charities was for domestic abuse. She explained this to him, how it would make their charade more believable. He didn't want to do it, but she convinced him it was best. He agreed grudgingly. It did make sense. He wanted to entrance her so she wouldn't feel the pain, but she refused. So periodically he struck her, thus making her appear even more broken. So the act continued and she'd be free of any repercussions.

On that last fateful day of the year that never was, she had to do the most difficult thing in her life. The Master, her Harry had been defeated and he stood there before his former captives. He was goading Martha Jones' mother to shoot him but the Doctor talked her down and she dropped the gun. She was surprised by Harry's look of disappointment. It was then that he contacted her telepathically. He was desperate, especially after learning he's be a prisoner in the Doctor's TARDIS forever.

She remembered the exchange. It had happened so quickly, the very speed of thought.

"Lucy, pick up the gun," he said in her mind.

Lucy picked up the gun; no one was watching her but her husband. "Harry, shall we try to escape?" she thought in her mind, waiting for his response, to see what he had planned. She wasn't prepared for what he was about to ask.

"Lucy! Shoot me! Shoot me now, before it's too late! Please, I beg of you, do it!" he suddenly bombarded her mind.

"No Harry, I-I can't…" she told him in her mind.

"Do it!" he shouted back deep inside her brain. The shot rang out and he fell to the floor.

Even as the Doctor begged him to regenerate, he refused. The Master sent one final thought to Lucy before he died, "Thank you, Lucy… Get the ring…" The Master then savored his brief victory over the anguished Doctor with his last moments of life.

He died and the thoughts faded from her mind. She nearly collapsed after that. It was horrible and she was alone and she could feel it, feel that his presence was gone. She watched the Doctor cry over his body and it sickened her. She knew she couldn't grieve, that would ruin all the work that she and Harry had done. She saw the fallen laser screwdriver and carefully picked it up, not calling attention to herself. The Doctor and the others had taken Harry's body away before she could get to the ring, but that was also prepared for.

After they all returned to English soil, they made sure she had gotten help. That help was in the form of medical staff that actually was in the employ of Harry Saxon. They were his thugs disguised as medical staff, even down to forged papers that fooled the UNIT troops. Upon his death, they were to see that his wife was well cared for and that they did just that, obeying her as they would him. The tracking code Harry had given her allowed her to use a tracking device to locate his body. Her staff took Lucy to the pyre that the Doctor had used to burn his body. It had been left unattended, so she watched it burn, paying her respects and praying to whatever Time Lord gods might be listening. At first she was shocked and appalled that Harry's body had been burned and fearful that the ring would be destroyed. But then the flames died down and she saw it within the ashes, completely undamaged. She picked it up and heard Harry's insane laughter in her mind. It was such a comfort.

The tunnel continued on and she could tell she was getting closer. She looked at the walls and noticed pipes and wires attached to the walls. They were new and didn't look like the normal things one would see in a dank tunnel. She passed by a glowing panel and knew she had been scanned, but her DNA would register and none of the defense mechanisms would activate. She began to hear a faint hum in the background. She was nearly there. Her single heart pounded with excitement as she approached.

She came to the end of the tunnel and found herself inside a very large, dingy warehouse basement room; the stone walls of that room were lined with machines; machines that hummed and blinked, giving off an eerie light. Cables hung down from the high ceiling. She walked over to a workbench. Circuit boards and pieces of electronic equipment were strewn haphazardly about the table. She placed her satchel on the workbench and waited.

"Why have you come?" a harsh, weak voice hissed at her. A dark, hooded figure limped away from a strange looking platform in which many of the cables fed into. As the figure came out of the shadows, she could see his face. Sallow eyes burned out of sunken sockets. Shards of dead flesh hung from the ruined face. She could see his teeth protruding from his lipless mouth because there was only a scant amount of tissue left on his skull. A gaunt hand clutched the silver and gold laser screwdriver.

Lucy was saddened and happy, both at the same time. "Because I missed you and I love you, Harry."

Well chapter one is done. Please let me know what you think. I'll get chapter two up as quickly as I can. Thanks!