Author's Note: The rewrite is finally DONE! If you read the original version of this story, I highly encourage you to reread it as it is DRASTICALLY different from the original, including a whole new ending.

CO-WRITTEN WITH SSS979

Disclaimer: I do not own or have any rights to any characters associated with Doctor Who and its subsidiaries. Anything not directly from the show are my own ideas.

Chapter 1

Coffee. Kari needed coffee. Thank the gods the smell of it greeted her before her eyes were even open, as it did most 'mornings.' This morning, she was also greeted with the smell of eggs, bacon, and hash browns. She sniffed again. Was that biscuits and gravy? Her stomach rumbled, telling her to go find out. She drowsily sat up and put her feet on the floor.

"Well, that's a start."

It had been about three months since Kari had started traveling on the TARDIS. It hadn't completely sunk in yet. Just a few months ago, this had all been a TV show. That was all it had been - until the Doctor and Rose had shown up at her door at two in the morning due to rift activity. She had barely hesitated when the Doctor asked her to join them.

She'd told her parents and a few close friends what she was doing. Thankfully, none of them wanted to have her committed. Her cat, Paxton, was the only real holdover from her former, 'linear' life. The cat had settled in quite well. Kari cast a glance toward her and smiled as she saw her curled up on the bed. She reached a hand out to pet her.

"Don't see why you wouldn't settle in just fine here. You're more spoiled now then you ever were before, what with your own garden and gourmet food supplied daily."

Kari stood and headed to her dresser to grab clothes. She smiled as she looked over the pictures she had already acquired from their adventures, her favorite being the one of her and Jack on the planet with the giant bazaar. Kari had a brightly colored scarf wrapped around her head while Jack was wearing a fez and they both had huge grins on their faces. He had stayed on for a bit to help Kari adjust, and, well, how could he really pass up traveling with the Doctor again?

She remembered another adventure, forever memorialized in photo, for a very different reason. In the top left corner was a snapshot that was taken shortly before Kari got her first real broken bone - her left wrist.. They'd been running from some very angry natives on a planet that apparently didn't much like that Jack didn't have brown eyes. Poor Jack and his baby blues; always getting him in trouble. The Doctor was able to mend her arm most of the way in the infirmary, but she still had to wear a brace for a week.

Kari was grateful that none of the adventures they had matched up to the show any more. She knew some things might still happen, but not necessarily in the same way. It had been decided that, unless absolutely crucial, she wouldn't share any information. The only adventure aside from Canary Wharf Kari had felt needed to be shared was the discovery of the Master.

This had been the hardest conversation she'd had with the Doctor since coming on. Outwardly, he had blown it off, saying it was impossible that any Time Lord had escaped, human or not. However, the flash of hope and fear that went through his eyes betrayed how he really felt about it. He would occasionally ask Kari about what had happened that led them to the Master or how he'd gotten to Earth. That, she figured, had nothing to do with the Master and everything to do with the Doctor. There was no way he would simply ignore the possibility that there were any Time Lords still out there.

Finally dressed, Kari wandered to the kitchen.

"Do I smell…" She was cut off as she walked in to find the Doctor and Rose in the kitchen with huge smiles on their faces, balloons all over the place, and a giant "Happy Birthday, Kari" banner.

"Happy birthday!" they both cheered as Rose handed her a cup of coffee.

Kari blinked as she accepted it. "Um, thank you! This is great!"

Birthday? It was her birthday? One of the biggest adjustments she'd faced aboard the TARDIS had been figuring out the timelines. They had decided that it would be easier to shift Kari's "calendar" to match Rose's, with the exception of the year. This made it the end of August for all of them, only it was August 2007 for Rose and August 2012 for Kari. They made it work. That would also mean it was near Kari's birthday.

The Doctor swept over and pulled her chair out. She sat down, still in a daze at the scene in front of her.

She then looked at the table and saw it piled high with all sorts of fantastic breakfast foods. The Doctor and Rose sat down and started filling their plates.

"Come on, then, tuck in! We've got a full day ahead of us." Rose said, nudging Kari with an elbow.

Kari blinked out of awe and started filling her plate. "Full day? What's the plan?"

"Well, first, Rose here has insisted on a spa day," the Doctor said around his toast. "While I could've sworn there was one in the TARDIS, we can't seem to find it. So instead, we're going to a resort planet."

Kari raised an eyebrow. "It's not Midnight, is it?"

The Doctor frowned. "No, not that one. Why do you ask?"

Kari tapped her head. "I have my reasons."

"Right." The Doctor eyed her warily for a moment before pulling his thoughts back on track. "Moving on then…"

Kari took a bite of toast to hide her smile as she waited for him to move on.

"Once you two are good and pampered, we're going to find a town and paint it red!"

"Oh, and presents!" Rose announced, bouncing in her seat. "Lots and lots of presents!"

Kari smiled and blushed. "Thanks you guys!"

"Oh, don't mention it!" the Doctor said, grinning.

"No, really. This is fantastic! You didn't have to!"

"Of course we did!" Rose laughed. "We love parties."

"You've just given us an excuse to have one."

"What's the name of this resort planet?" Kari asked after a few minutes.

"That's a surprise," the Doctor said with a smirk.

Kari glared at him, though there was no heat behind it. "Fine, be that way. Just as long as there's no running, I don't much care."

After a while, the Doctor stood up and started clearing dishes. "Alright, you two, shove off and get ready to go. We land on the resort planet in an hour."

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Rose and Kari said with mock salutes, garnering them an eye roll from the Doctor as they turned to leave, giggling all the way.