Karase didn't know what to say. It wasn't that she couldn't express her feelings in words. It was that she didn't know how she felt. Karase certainly wasn't happy to hear about Daisy's experience, but she couldn't help but feel a little irked that her host would be so distraught over a mere encounter.

It wasn't as though Daisy had encountered Jarath again. Just his old host.

Karase?

The voice was quiet, timid. They had already reached Daisy's car. This time, Karase had managed to drive home even while looking through Daisy's memory.

What.

All right, not the best response in the world, but Karase had her reasons. She did need to keep her concentration, after all. Parking was not the easiest thing in the world.

Never mind.

Daisy withdrew again, sinking back into her depressed state.

Had Karase been human, she probably would have edged to the nearest door, muttered a hasty, "Good bye" and then avoid Daisy fervently for the next few days.

Unfortunately, Karase was a Yeerk and did not have that choice.

It's late, she announced. You should go to bed.

Okay. Pause. What are you going to do tomorrow?

Probably nothing Sharing related. I'll let you sleep in for awhile. I know you don't get to do that during the week.

No, Daisy agreed. Although she did not direct her next thought at her Yeerk, Karase heard it anyway. But until recently, I haven't slept at all.

Karase shut her host's eyes, trying to clear her own head, before leaving the car.

That night, Daisy had a terrible nightmare. She had been sleeping fairly well until Karase's rule…perhaps it was because of relief or some sort of shock. Since Daisy's mind hadn't slept, except while Jarath fed at the Yeerk pool, for days on end, it was not entirely surprising that the horrors of Daisy's path did not immediately surface.

Karase had been hoping that they wouldn't. She would not be the first Yeerk who hoped this. Even Yeerks who didn't make an effort to be civil to their hosts never exactly enjoyed torturing them. It was a myth, no doubt spread by the Andalites, that human emotions and memories held no effects on Yeerks. Karase experienced everything that her host experienced when she replayed memories. If the memory was especially painful, Karase would feel the pain as well.

Not as much as her host, of course, because it wasn't personal. Yet, at the same time, it was because the Yeerk knew their host so well that the host became a part of them. That is why, during the fugue, all of the Yeerk's memories pass through their mind and get transferred to their host. They become part of the beings that they inhabit.

When Karase first looked at Daisy's memories of infestation, she did so in a quick, cursory sort of way. Just enough to see what was going on, but not enough to see the details. She wanted a sketch, an outline, not the painted version.

Yet by living inside of Daisy, Karase was receiving part of the painting.

The nightmare was the most vivid painting that Karase had seen of her host. She did not want to see it. She wanted to pull away from Daisy's mind, disconnect from the human so that she would see and hear nothing. She couldn't, though. Perhaps it was part of a Yeerk's biology, that they could not let go of their hosts in the middle of sleep for some sort of safety reason. Perhaps it was because she was so transfixed by the images. In any event, Karase watched the entire thing.

It was too terrible to put into words. Karase thought that if it had been a scene in a movie, the movie would automatically be rated R or even NC-17 because of the dream.

Daisy had endured that every day of her life for the past two years.

The dream seemed endless. Karase tried to wake her host up. She knew the risks, of course. She knew that if she startled her host, she certainly wouldn't kill Daisy, but she could destroy the sleep patterns for weeks to follow.

Karase did not care. She just wanted the dream, the images, to end. She wanted the painting completely erased from her mind.

She couldn't have it that way, though. Even if Daisy's memory was erased, even if Karase infested another human being the following day and blocked out the dream, it would never be gone. It would always linger in her mind.

It was then that Karase knew that Jarath needed to be put on trial. It was not for revenge, as she had thought, so pettishly, before. It was because he was a danger and he needed to be stopped. Right now, he was contained, but he could rise again at any moment. He needed, if not to die, at least to be sentenced to a lifetime in prison.

His actions towards his hosts alone should merit that, but Karase thought that anyone who could treat their hosts like that must have a darker secret.

Karase would find it.

Daisy finally woke up, crying out from the pain. Sobbing inside of her mind. Screaming, though she did not know what she was saying.

Karase felt compassion reach her, more than ever before when she had dealt with Daisy. She was only dimly aware of what she was doing, but comforting words were coming out of her head.

Karase realized that, somewhere along the line, Daisy had taken control. Perhaps she had let go of it when she was trying to wake her host.

Daisy's whole body was shaking. Sweat was pouring from her forehead. Her teeth were chattering. Her hands trembled as they tried to grab hold of the blankets, but failed. The blankets slipped between her hands. Her breathing was heavy.

He can't hurt you, Karase whispered. He can't hurt you.

I know…but the memories…

Daisy simply was unable to calm down. The tears had died down, somewhat, but the host's mind was in a very bad place.

Karase closed Daisy's eyes, still whispering to her host, not even aware of what she was saying. For all Karase knew, she could have been telling her host to shut up, or muttering nonsense words. Karase honestly didn't know.

Except for Daisy's eyes, Daisy still controlled the rest of herself. She tried to take a deep breath, tried to calm herself.

Karase had never felt such pity, not even for the five year old who had been infested against his will and, even now, probably still cried for his mom.

I wish I wasn't in you. I wish I was another human, standing next to you, so I could help you with your pain. So I could hold you instead of just being in your mind.

Karase didn't know if she had uttered these words out loud. Perhaps they had been formed as a whisper, too quiet for her host to hear.

Karase had a thought. Carefully, very gently, she took control of Daisy's left arm. Not her whole body, just the arm and the fingers. Daisy's right arm was still shaking. Her fingers seemed to be moving a million miles a minute.

She brought Daisy's left hand so that it touched her right arm. Slowly, she urged the right hand so that it was cupped in Karase's left hand. It was, most likely, the most intimate a Yeerk could be with their host while remaining instead of their head.

Daisy's right hand was still shaking. Karase used the fingers of her left hand to hold it up, while she used her left thumb to stroke the hand. She sent calming thoughts to Daisy as she did this.

At first, the shaking merely slowed, but then it stopped. Karase did not release control, but instead continued to hold Daisy's hand in hers, smoothing the wrinkles. Daisy's free thumb reached out towards Karase's hand. Her fingers stayed as they were, relatively powerless in Karase's hand.

But safe.

I will never hurt you, Karase promised as Daisy's heart rate slowed down. Her breathing became heavy; she was starting to fall asleep again. I will never let anyone hurt you.

I love you, Daisy murmured. She added, "Mom" to it, but this was only in her thoughts, which Daisy could not control. It meant nothing.

Of course, Daisy was half asleep by now, anyway. Karase reasoned that the host probably did not know what she was saying.

Even so, Karase had never been told that she was loved before. Yeerks die before their children are born. She was not especially close with any of her brothers and sisters. Surely, her sub-visser would never claim to see her as a daughter. It was unheard of.

Was it possible for Karase to see Daisy as a sort of adoptive daughter? No one would need to know, of course. Daisy was certainly loving enough. Karase already provided many of the tasks that a parent would perform.

The other Yeerks would laugh at her, tease her, mock her. Probably say that she was a traitor. Yet, hadn't Karase already crossed the line when she swore revenge on Jarath?

It's too late, she thought to herself, watching her host dream.

But whether she meant it was too late for her or too late in the night to think of such things, Karase did not know.

Karase did not respond to Daisy's comment, partly because her host fell asleep seconds after she thought it. Also, partly because Karase was not sure if the comment had been directed at her or at another figure in her life.

She couldn't be a parent to Daisy. She could be compassionate, understanding.

She could, with effort, become Daisy's friend.

No, she couldn't. Friendship meant equality; it meant respect on both parties. Karase pitied her host but did not respect her. She was the one in charge, partly because Daisy was in no state to exist without a Yeerk, and partly because…well…

Because she was a human and Karase was a Yeerk. And Yeerks were parasites, and humans had a centralized brain, and ears, allowing for infestation. So humans were there to serve the Yeerk empire.

Karase reconsidered her thought. There were so many humans, at least five billion. There were less than twenty million Yeerks in the entire galaxy. The Yeerk population increased by five percent every year, though recently it had been closer to 6.5 percent.

Young children, disabled humans, babies, and old humans set aside, there would still be at least one billion humans to choose from.

It would take centuries for all of these humans to receive Yeerks. The human population advanced at a rate slightly larger than the Yeerk population, so there would always be a good deal more humans than Yeerks.

If all Yeerks were forced to reproduce, the Yeerk population could expand as much as ten percent each year. Even that meant that it would be decades before the Yeerk population matched the human population for suitable hosts.

There was no way even one percent of the human race could be infested. There would always be free humans.

The choices were simple. They could kill the extra humans. Perhaps infest all of the humans necessary for the Yeerk population, and then set off an atomic bomb to destroy the others. The problem with this solution was that the majority of humans would still be free, and with the Andalite Bandits around, Karase doubted that the Yeerks would be able to achieve this.

Then there was the second option. Form some sort of alliance with humans. Get rid of all the Yeerks like Jareth, but infest whoever was willing to accept infestation.

There were so many humans, after all, that it seemed nearly impossible that several million, out of billions, could be persuaded.

Daisy had, after all, started out as voluntary, and she remained one even now.

But was there no other option? Extermination or partnership? Was the Peace Movement right after all?

Impossible. Those Yeerks were lowly, weak, and not fit to infest any creature brighter than a Gedd. An old Gedd, at that. They acted on their weakness, driven by guilt at having been born without an acceptable body. Those Yeerks were the kind who would be driven mad by an involuntary host and, eventually, abandon their host and their people.

Just like Aftran 942.

The traitor.

Karase looked into her host's mind, frustrated. Daisy was sleeping once more.

One thing was certain. Jareth would pay.

Another thing was less certain. Daisy would heal.

Though Karase had been determined to sleep in, Daisy's bodily functions had other plans. Just after 5AM, Karase found herself having to go to the bathroom. She swore silently as she made the trip, hoping Daisy would remain asleep.

After she made her way back, she realized that Daisy's body was much harder to move than usual. Every muscle seemed to ache. Even her senses seemed off.

Mental pain contributed to physical pain. As one of Daisy's college professors had once said, "Oppression hurts."

Karase and Daisy had been so tired recently because of Daisy's mental trauma. Somehow, Jareth managed to tune it out, or focus the hurt to her mind. Or he thrived on it, sickening as it sounded. He was, after all, a sadist. But Karase was not, and she was in almost as much pain as Daisy because of Jareth's twisted sense of humor.

She swore again.

This time, her host's mind stirred. Instantly, as though ashamed, Karase hid these thoughts and turned her attention to her host.

What time is it? The human mumbled.

Karase dragged her host's eyes trailed towards the large, digital clock beside her bed. 5:12.

I'm late for school, Daisy muttered, still not fully awake.

It's Saturday, Karase reminded her.

She pulled the covers over her host, positioning her body so that every part, face excluded, was buried in the blankets. Her host body could hardly move, but her host's mind felt secure and warm. She felt so comfortable that Karase found it easy to turn her mind to other matters.

A key question was what the two would do that day. Karase had spent the last several days playing the role of an English teacher. School days started early, ended late, and allowed very little time for anything not academic. Daisy used to read at nights when she had done her student teaching, often recreational reading that was far less challenging than what she taught, but helped her fall asleep at night.

She had done this ever since she was a child, but less often during the academic year in college. Her English classes seemed to drain the ability to read for fun out of her. It was not until her senior year when, plagued with uncertainty about her future, Daisy began to read for herself once more.

Karase had other plans. Her other hosts had been the type to zone out in front of the TV after a long day at work. Karase first continued the practice because it was part of her role, but soon found herself very interested in human TV shows. She would never have considered herself an addict, but often discussed the latest plot twists with her hosts and theorized what would happen next. Most interesting to Karase were the reality TV shows because they seemed more realistic. Each new host had added another show of interest to Karase's memory, and often it was the only thing the two beings had in common. "Vegging out", as hosts called it, in front of the TV secured Karase at least an hour of peace, freedom from screaming and other forms of host resistance.

Other Yeerks felt the same way, though they never expressed their pleasure to their hosts. At least, not at first. Karase remembered hearing Yeerks gossiping to each other about the latest episode of the current popular show. Her Yeerk friends analyzed the show even more than Daisy's hosts, and Daisy's hosts were certainly TV junkies. The new Yeerk would try to preface the discussion by some nonsense about how this represented the human race and could further their infestation, but this never lasted long. The discussions lasted hours, beginning when Yeerks crawled out of their hosts and ending (very reluctantly) when the appropriate amount of time spent feeding was completed.

Some Yeerks allowed this bond to unite them with humanity. Karase knew of the most resistant human hosts who became fairly docile after a few months of watching a favorite show with their Yeerk. Even Yeerks who tried to separate themselves could not do so for very long. Living with someone was something Yeerks knew all too well, but sharing interests and concerns with someone was something else entirely. It forced intimacy and helped dissolve hatred. It created a common bond.

Even if it was only for an hour a week.

Karase realized that this would be a winning situation for her and Daisy. Her because it would allow her to keep up her hour a day of TV ritual. Daisy because it would give the two time when conversation would not be forced. They would not feel so aware of each other's presence. Daisy could form her own thoughts and her own interests without being so aware of Karase's reactions.

Memories hadn't done that because they existed in the past. This would be ongoing.

This would work.

Daisy, Karase whispered.

Mmm?

I have an idea that will help with your nightmares.

Among other things.

The host's eyes opened as though on instinct.

Karase reached across the bed to the table, fishing for the remote.

Daisy groaned. I never watch TV, Karase. You know that.

Karase laughed. I'm in charge, Daisy. You have to do what I say.

Daisy groaned again, but this time it was good natured.

Now, let's see what's on.

(Quick A/N: Even though Animorphs ended in 2001, I'm making this fic contemporary, simply because it's easier to use TV shows, and movies, that are popular today rather than six years ago. Also, I'm in the process of reformatting/editing the entire fic so when that's done it will be considerably shorter in terms of length, and far fewer chapters.)

And what shows would those be? Daisy sounded amused as she rolled over on her side.

Karase blushed. She was quite the addict, and there was very little that she wouldn't watch at least once.

Well, unless it was one of those criminal investigation shows. Why did the police care so much about finding a murderer? They'd all become hosts and then justice would be served.

Well, what are you interested in? Karase questioned, trying to change the subject.

Daisy laughed. I don't watch TV.

Clearly. Karase pouted, causing Daisy to giggle. Are you interested in reality TV? Science fiction? Documentaries—which, by the way, I find very dull so if you make me watch them, I could go insane—or history shows? Sitcoms? Soap operas? Another genre I hate, by the way, but "Desperate Housewives" has potential. What are your preferences?

Daisy didn't say anything for the next few minutes, but it was clear to her Yeerk that this was because she was trying to figure out the answer to that question. It was like asking someone their favorite flavor of ice cream when they almost never ate it. Daisy, sadly, was immune to this type of popular culture.

Then again, she was an English teacher. Books obviously sparked her interest over staring at a large box with pictures and sound.

Finally, Daisy spoke. I don't know.

Karase laughed again. Do I have to expose you to everything? she teased. I'm excluding the history channel if I have to do that.

Daisy shifted so that she was lying on her stomach and staring into a pillow stuffed into a blue pillow case.

You can exclude the history channel. I'm not a History teacher, Daisy pointed out. I've never even heard of reality TV but that sounds boring. I'm not into soap operas. I can't stand science fiction. What's left?

Normal shows. Karase took control, searched for the remote, and turned on the TV, ready to channel surf.

Nothing good was on. This didn't entirely surprise Daisy, since her favorite shows tended to appear during the afternoons and primetime, but she thought that out of sixty something channels, there would be something worth watching.

Apparently not.

Daisy, who had been watching this whole exchange with the air of watching someone approach a wild animal, was relieved when Karase swore and turned off the TV.

Well, that's over with. Now what? Daisy couldn't help but gloat.

Her Yeerk glared at her. Now we go to the library and rent TV seasons on DVD.

Are you kidding? Daisy whined. She buried her head under the covers.

Would you rather buy them? prodded Karase.

I'm a teacher. I don't have money to waste spending twenty dollars on a TV season that I've never seen before, Daisy whined.

Actually, it's closer to fifty. Hearing her host's wail, Karase added, But you can get used shows for much less on the web. Usually, it's a little over thirty. Well, minus shipping.

Daisy sighed, resigned. Fine. We'll go to the library. I just hope no one sees me…

We'll just be there for a little. We'll check out what's available and then bring it back home, Karase soothed. It shouldn't take longer than an hour.

Daisy whimpered pitifully.

Come on. Time to get dressed. Karase took control and threw the blankets back. Inside her mind, Daisy shivered.

Meanie, she muttered as Karase dragged her to the bathroom for her morning shower.

It's to help you, Karase explained.

And entertain you, Daisy retorted.

Well, living with you is hard, Karase sighed as she pulled off Daisy's nightgown. We both need outside entertainment.

I guess it's better than Jareth's version of entertainment…

Karase smiled and turned on the water. Exactly. You'll thank me for this soon enough.

Hmph, Daisy responded.

They didn't get further than this because Karase chose that moment to have her host enter the bathtub (which doubled as a shower) and Daisy found herself too busy enjoying the warm water to care about anything else.

Karase, on the other hand, was busy plotting which shows were best to expose/corrupt her new host.

This would be fun.