Booking a Master Appointment

**HELLO! I'm back! (Hopefully, maybe, probably!) I've been out of it for a year, or more, but I'm gonna try and stick with it this time, and give anyone who cares, a brand new story! So here it goes... Chapter 1: The TARDIS and the strange old man.**

Kate Lethbridge-Stewart was sat at her desk in the offices of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce. She had faced down Zygons, Cybermen, The Mistress, the Celestial Toymaker, the god of ****, and The Rani... But there was still one thing that she knew she could never handle, one thing in her life that she knew, no matter how hard she fought, she'd never be able to stop...

Mondays.

She sighed and ran her hand over her face, reaching for her mug, which was filled with her fourth cup of coffee that morning, and took a long sip of it.

"Everything alright, Ma'am?" A familiar voice asked from beside her desk. A smile crossed Kate's face, but only for the briefest of seconds, no one would have noticed.

"Ah, Petronella, did you enjoy your vacation?" Kate asked, Osgood smiled and nodded "Yes, thank you for asking, Ma'am, I went skiing." She said, with a giddy grin, Kate leaned back and gave her a quizzical look. "You? Went skiing?" Kate asked, looking a little bemused. "Well... I... Went to a skiing resort, that's... Practically the same thing, isn't it? I thought it was. I definitely took part in the activity of skiing. I think. I don't know, does handing someone one of those... Sticky... things count?" Kate raised her hand and silenced Osgood immediately.

"Inhaler" she instructed, and Osgood pulled out her inhaler. "What about your other half? How is she holding up?" She asked, and Osgood's face fell. "Well... You know we don't exactly have the best... history... with the Doctor's worst frenemy." Osgood said. "She... uh... The doctors say she... she's going to lose the hand..." Kate's face fell, "Petronella... If you need more time..." Osgood shook her head, "No, no, no, please, Ma'am.... I'm fine. I'd rather be here. I'd rather be working..."

Kate nodded her head, she could understand that, but then she sighed. "Well, I don't know how much of that you're going to be doing. I'm afraid the Vlinx has been rather efficient in his cataloging in the black archive. So there's not much for you *to* do today."

"Oh... well, I don't mind a quiet day, as long as I'm here, actually, it might be nice, to just... chat and catch up?" Osgood asked, Kate opened her mouth to reply... but...

Vworp, vworp, vworp...

The groaning, wheezing noise filled the unit office, both Kate and Osgood turned to see the large blue box starting to fade into and out of reality itself as it materialized within UNIT HQ

"Inhaler." Kate said, on reflex.

"I suppose we'll have to take a raincheck on that chat." Kate said, and waited for the doors to the TARDIS to open, and prepared her nerves for whatever world ending disaster was going to follow... But nothing happened, and nothing kept happening. All eyes were on the TARDIS but it refused to open it's doors, The Doctor refused to come out, the Disaster... refused to happen...

Or maybe it already had.

That particular thought sent chills running down Kate's spine.

She exchanged looks with Osgood, when one of the UNIT soldier's pointed to the TARDIS doors... "Ma'am.... there's... There's something stuck to the front door." He said, "What?" Kate asked, before moving towards the TARDIS, and reached for the thing that had been tacked into the wood.

It was a piece of paper, folded up as if to be put into an envelope. But when Kate unfolded the paper, her eyes widened and her stomach did summersaults.

Osgood moved to Kate's shoulder, and then she saw it too...

The note was brief, three words and then a series of numbers and strange symbols neither Kate nor Osgood could make head nor tail of. But it wasn't the symbols that unnerved them, no, it was the short message...

"**HELP The Doctor**"

Osgood and Kate exchanged looks before both moved to the TARDIS doors and pushed on them, the doors held firm though, not budging even the slightest, no matter how hard they pushed or pulled, the doors stayed shut, as if they were solid stone.

The pair backed up and Kate headed to her desk, grabbing her phone.

"Is he in there?" Osgood asked. "Do you think? What if he's suffocating? What if he can't breath or he's trapped somewhere without the TARDIS, what if it's..." "Inhaler!" Kate instructed, once again purely on instinct.

Kate brought the receiver on the phone to her ear and listened to the ringing.

"It's Lethbridge-Stewart." Kate said, having picked back up her father's hyphenation after everyone else had followed The Doctor's lead in calling her it.

"I need you up here. Code Orange."

Osgood looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow, quizzically, at Kate. "Who is that?" she asked. "Someone who can help with this particular situation."

It wasn't long before the doors at the end of the offices opened, and a familiar face came walking out.

It was an older man, with a stern face, and wearing strange clothes.

Osgood opened her mouth, a questioning stare on her face... She knew this man, she knew his face... Why did she know his face?

"Um..." She began.

"Good..." Kate interrupted. "... Curator, do you have a spare key?"

"Oh, hmmm, yes, yes, yes, I believe I do, yes, my, my, my what a predicament, eh?" The old man said, with a little chuckle. "Hmmm, this young fellow has gotten himself into some amount of trouble again, hasn't he? Ha! Never learns, never. Then again, neither did I. But then of course, that's to be expected isn't it? Wouldn't you agree?" He said, turning his head to look at Osgood, as his hand fished in his coat to find a key. Osgood just stared back at the man, and then to Kate, shocked at *Who* it was she was seeing. "I say, wouldn't you agree?" the old man said again, Osgood just nodded, two or three, or ten, times, too lost for words to form any sort of coherent sentence.

"Well don't just bob your head about like some sort of trained Alsatian." The old man snapped. "uh, right, sorry, yes... I... I agree?" She said, though she wasn't quite sure what it was she was agreeing to. "Do you? Hmmm... Yes... I wonder if you do." The old man said, putting the key, which he had found in his pocket, thoughtfully to his lips. "Yes... Hmmm..." He almost hummed, his eyes seeming to glaze over... "Curator!" Kate said, sharply, bringing him back to his sense. "Hmm? Oh, yes, of course Ma'am..." He said, then glanced at Osgood. "... I believe she has less patience for me than he father did." I said, "Not that *I* ever met her father mind you..." This supposed Curator said, as he turned a key in the lock, and the TARDIS door swung open.

"Hmmm, he's been redecorating..." The Curator said, "I don't like it." Osgood added, making the curator nod his head. "Hmm... Yes... It's.... Well... Isn't it?" The Curator added. "But where is he? Where is the Doctor?" Osgood asked.

"That, my dear, is not the question." The curator said, pulling off his monocle and pointing it at her. "The question is... Why does he need UNIT's help? Hmmm?" Osgood opened her mouth to answer his question, but then stopped and looked at the man. "Wait... How do you know he asked for our help?" She asked, Kate hadn't said anything on the phone, and he definitely hadn't see the letter since he had come in...

"If that's all Katherine?" The Curator asked, pointedly ignoring Osgood's question. "No, we need you to pilot her." Kate said, but the Curator was already heading for the door. "Wait! Curator! We need you!" Kate shouted, but the curator just raised a hand and opened the door before saying "Oh, I'm sure you have enough Time Lords to lend you a hand... Eh?" and with that, he stepped out of the door.

"Wait, hang on!" Osgood shouted, running to the door and flung it open... There was no one there. No one at all. She looked up and down the long hallway, but he was just... *gone*

When she came back into the office, Kate was on the phone again, looking serious.

"Ma'am... Kate... Ma'am... Uh... who the hell was that?!" Osgood asked, confusion on her face.

"Yes, right away, maximum security..." Kate said, into the phone, before setting it back down and turning her attention onto Osgood.

"That was the Curator." Kate told her, and Osgood chuckled, shaking her head. "Why did he look so much like..." Kate raised a hand and shook her head. "It's best not to dwell on it..." She frowned and then looked to the large security doors that led out onto the helipad outside of the office.

"Osgood..." Kate said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "... I need you to... To be brave now."

Osgood looked confused, "What do you mean? Why? What's going... *on?*" She asked, as suddenly 15 UNIT soldiers entered the room, marching with a grim seriousness, all wearing their combat gear and wielding **** rifles.

They aimed their guns on the metal doors, as they began to slowly open... And Osgood's eyes widened with horror...

behind the door, was a metal box, about the same size as The TARDIS... Completely sealed, it was floating across the floor being escorted by 4 UNIT guards and one scientist. "No! NO! No, no, no, no, no!" Osgood said. "Inhaler." Kate instructed, but Osgood ignored her. "NO! Not 'inhaler' Kate! you can't trust him! You can't do this! It's insane! Why would you... Why would you even try it?!"

"Because of what the Curator said." Kate replied, "And I'll thank you not to take that tone with me again, are we understood?" "But..." "Are we understood?" Osgood frowned and looked at the box, a shiver running down her spine....

"*We're understood...*"

"Open it."

The middle of the box began to light up, as if it were being cut open with a laser. Every soldier in the room aimed their guns at the box, a sense of dread and hesitation washing over the crowd...

As the box opened, and a man fell out of it.

He slammed onto the floor, coughing and wheezing, he was dressed like someone from the 1950s.

His hands were on the floor, his hat shielding his face as he coughed and spluttered on the ground.

"Ohhhh... Haha... Ouch... And you said that stasis wouldn't hurt..." The man said, grumbling as he began to compose himself, slowly rising up onto his feet, stretching out and let his eyes fall on Kate...

"I lied." Kate snapped back at him.

"Oh, and it's Osgood isn't it? Which one are you? I can never tell... Oh... Oh wait..." He said, smirking, his eyes flashing as he moved towards Osgood. "... I remember how to tell the difference now... You're the symmetrical one."

Osgood's hand shot up, punching the man in his face, which resulted more in her hand throbbing with pain more than his cheek, but it made her feel better.

"hahaha, see what I mean?" The man asked. "Your better half would have had to use the other hand."

"MASTER!" Kate growled, and the man's eyes locked onto her's.

"Mmmmm, I love it when you use my name. Say it again." The Master chided... then his eyes fell on the TARDIS and he raised an eyebrow.

"Blue box, but not Doctor?" he said, Kate held up the letter, and the Master's face fell.

"Where is he?" He asked. "We don't know. That's why you're here." The master raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" He asked, Kate sighed and continued, hoping that the Curator knew what he was talking about. "You're the only one we have who can pilot the TARDIS. We need you to go back to wherever the TARDIS last landed, and bring The Doctor home."

The Master snorted and shook his head. "Oh come now, Katherine, why would I do that?" The Master asked. "Because... If you help us... We let you go."

"KATE!" Osgood shouted, but was stopped by both The Master's and Kate's hands raising up to silence her.

"I see... And, I assume you're sending someone to baby sit?" The Master asked, Kate nodded. "Myself and Captain Tanaka" She said, indicating one of the soldiers, who nodded back, but never lowered his rifle.

"No." The Master said. "No?" Kate echoed, questioning him. "No." The Master repeated, then elaborated. "I want her." He pointed at Osgood, and then looked back at Kate. "And the boy scout stays." Kate grimaced, but then nodded. "Done." "Kate!" Osgood shouted again, shocked by this whole proceeding. "Petronella, we need to get the Doctor back home, safely, The Master is our only way to get to him, if he tries anything, anything at all... I will not hesitate to put five rounds, rapid, into both of his shriveled up hearts."

The Master chuckled and smiled. "Well then... Let's go save the day."