A cuckoo in the Time Lord nest...

Jason, Draz and Donna were trying to climb up the levels. It was hard going but even if they didn't find the Doctor, they knew the shuttle they had arrived on was on one of the upper levels.

Draz suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" Jason asked.

Draz held up his hand. "Can't you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Donna said.

"A bay's cry," Draz replied.

Jason shook his head. "This is a battle ship, there are no babies."

"No Jason, my hearing is ten times better than yours. There is a child, somewhere and I will not leave it."

Jason wasn't happy. "We don't have time."

"Then make time," Donna said.

An explosion somewhere was a timely reminder of their situation.

"If this ship doesn't tear itself apart, it'll be crawling with whoever did this."

"Draz nodded slowly. "It's stopped...perhaps you were right."

Donna put a hand on his arm. "If there was a baby, it might be too late...too late for a lot of people."

Jason and Draz knew she was talking about the Doctor; both of them could not imagine what hold this Master had over the Doctor to make him change sides.

They continued climbing levels and finally reached the landing bay and in the chaos of a hasty evacuation they made their escape.

They never looked back; never saw a larger shuttle leave; never saw the cruiser rip apart.

The Doctor looked at the roof of the lift; the service hatch. Despite the pain from the birth he jumped and touched the hatch...no heat, then that was his means of escape.

It wasn't easy but he managed, using the jacket as a sling to hold the baby he jumped and pulled himself through the hatch and into smoke. It wasn't ideal but he had no choice, as he could see the glow of fire beneath the lift.

He could see the door to the next level, but it was still a fair distance and he didn't think he had the strength.

His leg was now very painful and he knew he needed attention to his midriff as every time he pulled pain shot through his belly.

But he couldn't think about it, the safety of the tiny bundle tied tightly to his chest was all he cared about.

As he climbed, a part of his mind tried to contact the Master but still there no answer.

The smoke was getting thicker and the door wasn't getting any closer and now he could feel the muscles in his arms starting to protest, but he had to keep going.

He reached for his next hand hold but a sharp pain went through his arm and he knew what was coming next and he couldn't stop it.

His muscles cramped and he couldn't grip the cable and it was left to one very tired arm to hold on. He let out a grunt of pain and his little girl let out a squeak in response as if picking up on his fear.

He hung by one hand, trying to ride out the cramp; praying that the other didn't cramp too.

The door was now opposite him and the door was tantalizingly open, but it might as well been a thousand feet up. Even without the cramp he didn't think he had the strength to swing.

The smoke was getting thicker; if he didn't reach the open door, he and his only minute's old daughter would suffocate.

The cramp in his arm wasn't going and the strength in his other arm was failing...he was not going to let his new-born child die.

All the pent up frustration of the last few hours...no weeks welled up and he let out a cry that was filled with fear, anger and desperation and cried out one name; one last call to a mate who would never hear it.

"Ni'ala!"

The Master let out a growl of frustration; it seemed every corner he turned he was baulked by smoke, fire or his panicking crew.

Once again something had decided he wasn't getting what he wanted. He didn't care about the crew or the ship, he could always get replacements. What he cared about was losing the Doctor...again.

He'd learnt recently that if he'd put aside his thoughts of revenge and hatred to one side, he could have had the Doctor lifetimes ago.

But the Master wasn't one for regrets. He'd had a taste of the power the Doctor could wield and he wanted to be the one to hold the key to the Pandora's Box the Doctor had become.

But at the moment that didn't seem possible, as he was losing the battle with his own ship.

He was about to turn back and try another route when he heard it...he blinked, was that a baby?

He frowned; there were no babies on board.

He decided to ignore it but a sudden wave of what he called 'paternal protectivess' washed over him, and then an image of the Doctor and was that a baby surrounded by smoke and fire filled his mind.

A child, what was the Doctor doing with a child? But that was a stupid question...it was his child.

The image flashed in his mind again and this time he didn't question it; his child and its mother were in mortal danger.

Then he heard it, his name; a voice full of desperation and fear and it was the Doctor's voice; it was coming from the smoke filled end of the level. Without hesitation he ran into the smoke and he saw the open lift door.

He skidded to a halt and went to his knees and his hearts jolted when he looked into the shaft.

Holding on by one hand, was the Doctor and cradled against his chest was the tiny bundle that was their precious child.

"Si'arila!" he called and the Doctor's head snapped up and he could see the exhaustion and the fear on his face, but there was also that look of stubborn determination and he could do nothing but watch as the Doctor moved.

He could see the pain it caused as the Doctor lifted an arm that must have been injured.

The groan it elicited went right through the Master, as the Doctor grabbed the cable and started to swing.

When it came close enough, he grabbed it and instantly the weight of cable and people made his muscles shout in protest.

"Take the baby," the Doctor said, the strain making his voice tight.

The Master knew instantly why he said that and shook his head.

"No, give me your hand."

"The Doctor shook his head in response. "If I let go, we'll fall...please."

The Master wasn't having that.

"Look at me," he said and when the Doctor refused to look, he said it again and in that voice he rarely used on the Doctor.

"Look at me."

The Doctor couldn't disobey and the Master looked into those frightened dark eyes.

"I am not letting you or our baby die. I lost you for a year and I'll be dammed if I'm going to lose you again. Now, give me your hand."

He could see the change in the Doctor's eyes and knew he would obey and stretched out his hand and off course the Doctor took it and as he pulled the Doctor let go of the cable.

The second the Doctor let go of the cable, the Master let go and it whipped back and would have taken a limb off.

The Master steadied the Doctor as he stumbled, exhausted from holding on for god knows how long.

An explosion shook the floor and there was a groan of stressed metal.

"Time to go, Seska is waiting on the shuttle," the Master said.

They made surprising time and were soon on the Master's personal shuttle and protected by a squad of lethal fighters they flew away from the cruiser and out of sight of its destroyer.

The Master of course, as he always did had a back-up and soon another ship, not as large hove into view.

The cry of the baby distracted the Master and for a moment the question of where the baby had come from returned and then was gone as quickly as he looked into the baby's golden eyes.

"I didn't even know you were pregnant," he said, still lost in those eyes.

"Me neither, until she said hello," the Doctor replied.

"She...well, she's beautiful."

"Sisrai," the Doctor said. "Her name is Sisrai."

The Master smiled as he looked out at the cruiser and as it broke into fiery pieces, he thought what an appropriate name for a child of a storm...Bringer of Chaos.

TBC in 'Belial's Child'