Title: Little Too Late
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ten.5
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: Buffet 2, fc_smorgasbord
Prompt: 58, Experiment
Author's Note: The human version of the Doctor is being referred to as John Smith in this fic, since it's the Doctor's human alias and his clone needed a name.
Author's Note: Spoilers for Journey's End, somewhat. This is an completely alternate take on the ending of Season Four.
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor, or his human clone. Please do not sue.

***

"I can't help but wonder just what the Master thinks of us," Jamie mused as he leaned over the Tardis' console beside the Doctor. "He must realise by now how close you and I are, and what we mean to each other. But he hasn't come after us yet."

"He will," the Doctor said grimly, his gaze scanning the console before he straightened up and looked over at Jamie. "Believe me, he's just biding his time. You have my memories, Jamie. You know how he can be when he's waiting to see the outcome of any situation."

Jamie nodded reluctantly, sighing as he did so. "I certainly do. And I can't help thinking that he doesn't even look at me as a person at all. He sees me as nothing more than some kind of experiment, probably one that won't be around for very long."

"Well, he's going to be disappointed if he thinks that," the Doctor said firmly, shaking his head. "You're much more than just an experiment, and you're going to be in my life for as long as your human life span allowed you to be here. I promise you that."

"I know that, love," Jamie said softly, reaching out to take the Doctor's hand in his. "But I can't keep from feeling that he's watching us, like we're bugs under a microscope to him. Like he feels that we're lab rats he can push this way and that, wherever he chooses."

"He's always looked at me in that way," the Doctor murmured, his brow furrowing in a frown. "And I don't doubt that he views you in the same way, since you're part of me. What I'd like to know is how he found out about you, and how you came to be."

"I'm sure that he has his spies," Jamie told him, squeezing his hand. "And even though there weren't many people who knew what happened, there might have been enough to have told the tale, and news of everything that went on got to the Master."

The Doctor nodded, shrugging. "There's not really anything we can do about it now, is there? So we just have to accept the fact that he's probably going to be a thorn in both our sides for a very long time to come, sweetheart. I'm used to it by now."

"And so am I. After all, I'm a part of you. I have all of your memories of the past -- including everything that you've ever had to deal with concerning him," Jamie reminded the Time Lord. "It's not like I don't know what a menace he is -- and how much he resents you."

"I think it goes far past resentment," the Doctor said, sighing. "For him, it's a twisted kind of love -- even though nobody in their right mind would use that particular word for what he feels for me. I don't even think it's love for him, at this point. It's a need to dominate and control."

"He's always been like that -- and now he not only has you to go after, but me too." Jamie's sigh was a mirror of the Doctor's, though his sounded more wistful. "We'll never be free of him, will we?" he murmured, knowing the answer before he'd even asked the question.

"I doubt it, love." The Doctor's tone was sober, his voice quiet. "I've had to deal with him throughout all of these centuries. I doubt you'll be free of him during your lifetime either, sad to say. Now that he knows about you, he'll come after you again."

"I never doubted that," Jamie told him. "I wouldn't be surprised if he looks at the two of us as his own little experiment now -- knowing that he has us both to choose from. And knowing that he can use me against you, now that John Hart has paved the way."

"This may sound a bit crazy, but I'm almost positive that he's in league with Hart, in some way," the Time Lord said with a frown. "Hart hates me for what he calls 'taking Jack away from him,' and I have a feeling that the Master may feel the same about you."

"Do you think it's possible that the Master may have had something to do with what Hart did to me?" Jamie asked, sounding startled. "I hadn't thought of it that way, but you could be right. Still, I think that was Hart's own personal vendetta against you."

"I'm not sure," the Doctor said slowly, his frown intensifying. "It seems like something Hart did on his own, but with the two of them, you can never be sure. I wouldn't put it past them at all to have joined forces. After all, they both have serious grudges against me."

"I'm sure that the two of them have joined forces," Jamie said, his free hand clenching into a fist. "And that the two of them probably thought of Hart's little escapade with me as an experiment, to see just how close you and I were, and how far they could go."

"Now they know," the Doctor said, his frown becoming a thunderous scowl. "And we played right into their hands." His expression lightened as his gaze rested on his lover, a soft sigh leaving his lips. "I'm sorry, Jamie. I'd give anything in the world for all of that not to have happened."

Jamie shook his head, managing a slight smile. "We really shouldn't keep going over it again and again, Doctor. It's happened, it's over and done with, and it's in the past. It's a hurdle that the two of us have gotten over. And I've made peace with it."

"I'm glad to hear that, love," the Doctor said softly, sighing again. "I've had a harder time making peace with it. I doubt that I ever will. What he did to you isn't something I can ever forget, even though I don't know if taking vengeance is the right thing to do."

"Can this be the Doctor I'm hearing?" Jamie asked, raising an eyebrow, a teasing note in his voice. "Is this the man who said that he didn't give second chances? It seems to me like you've given the Master a lot of them, Doctor. Yet you're not usually the indecisive type."

The Time Lord sighed again, his shoulders sagging. "I've always given him far too many chances," he admitted, nodding but not meeting Jamie's gaze. "And you know why, Jamie. Because he's the only other one left. The only other Time Lord. The only other Gallifreyan."

"And in a way, giving him chances to redeem himself is something of your own experiment, isn't it?" Jamie asked, his voice firm and steady. "I know it is, Doctor. There's a part of me that feels the same way, even though I can't it in quite the way you do."

The Doctor nodded again, swallowing hard before he spoke. "I shouldn't be so soft-hearted. And the next time we meet, I won't be. I know that I've said that before, but this time, I mean it. Alongside John Hart, he could cause more destruction than we'll be able to fix."

"They've already caused a lot of destruction separately," Jamie pointed out. "If only there was some way of putting them behind bars and keeping them contained, the world would be a lot safer. But I think they're both too clever for that."

"The Master couldn't survive behind bars," the Doctor said softly, shaking his head. "He's been contained before -- but I don't think it's possible to do it again. If we did, his mind would become completely unhinged. Not that it isn't already, but --"

"I think he's long since proven that his mind is unhinged," Jamie interrupted. "But that's something we both know, Doctor. Let's not go down that road, shall we?" he said, squeezing the Time Lord's hand again. "We should be figuring out a way to avoid him, rather than discussing him."

"Unless he does something that threatens the universe as we know it -- and then we'll have to step in," the Doctor said, his voice regretful. "I wish there was some way to turn him to a different path. That would be an experiment worth trying, if it could succeed."

"That's not an experiment that I'd want to attempt!" Jamie exclaimed, shaking his head. "I don't think it would work, Doctor. He's proved time and time again that he's not going to turn from the path he's on. It's a little too late for you to be able to change that now."

The Doctor didn't answer him, and Jamie couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable at the other man's silence. He knew that they would have to confront the Master, and probably John Hart as well, sooner or later -- though that was a day that he hoped wouldn't come around for a long time.

***