Disclaimer: Yes, I think we all know by now really, don't we?

A/N: Sorry again for the long delay with the update. Slightly stressed right now. Anyway, thank you to all you lovely, wonderful, brilliant people who have reviewed/favourited/followed. You guys are just awesome.

Kari sat down in the chair by the console, preparing herself for the worse. She knew that as soon as the adventures were over, she got pulled somewhere else. That was what she was waiting for, she had noticed the pattern, she had only ever been pulled when she was in the TARDIS. Except she didn't always arrive in the TARDIS.

It would appear that the Doctor had noticed that something was wrong. "Kari, what's the matter? Have you got a headache?" He asked in concern as he stopped wandering around the console and sat beside her.

"No, not yet. But it's only a matter of time now isn't it really?" Kari told him quietly. She wanted a break, she needed food and she needed rest. She wasn't used to so much running and danger, and excitement. Her body wasn't used to it and she still needed her sleep.

"What do you want to do?"

"I'm tired, and I'm hungry. But I don't want to go to sleep in case I just disappear on you."

The Doctor frowned at her. "How many times have you seen me now?"

"This version of you? This is the second time. And a future you twice as well." She told him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"So this really is very early for you then." Kari could have sword she heard sadness in his voice. "How about we go somewhere for something to eat then?" He suggested.

"That would be… fantastic." Kari said, letting a smile form on her face.

"Any requests of where to go?" The Doctor asked, jumping out of the chair.

"Nope. Any where, any when. I don't care. As long as we're not in the TARDIS." Kari clamped her mouth closed and threw her hand over it. She hadn't wanted to tell him that. She didn't want him to know she had her suspicions of how the jumping worked.

"Why? What's wrong with the TARDIS?" He asked her curiously.

"Nothing. I love her to bits and she knows that." There was a happy hum. "See, she agrees. I just want to go somewhere, the two of us. Take a break from all the running and everything."

"You are such a bad liar. But I'm not even going to bother to ask." The Doctor told her, running around the console some more. "Somewhere calm, for dinner." He said, pulling the final lever on the console.

Once they had landed, the Doctor grabbed hold of Kari and pulled her to the doors. He had a mad grin on his face, and she could only smile back at him. "So, where are we then?" Kari wondered, tugging at his arm.

"Well, take a look." He said before pulling the door open and letting Kari step out.

She didn't know what to say. She was standing in what she could only describe as a giant glass tube. Everywhere she turned she could see out into space. "No way." She whispered, still trying to get over her initial shock.

"This is the best space food court in the galaxy. Food from all over the place, all served here. And, the views are pretty good as well. The whole place is made out of a glass like material, although it is much stronger." The Doctor told her, a smile on his face. He was happy, because Kari was happy.

"This is absolutely bloody fantastically brilliant." Kari exclaimed, jumping on the Doctor and hugging him. The Doctor just wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back tightly and beaming away.

"Come on, let's go." The Doctor eventually let her go and took hold of her hand, heading towards one of the food stands.

"So, how big is this place?" She asked as they stood in a queue.

"Oh, there's 284 floors of dining, and the top floor is something even more amazing." He told her, still beaming away at her. The Kari he was with was the same as she would be later on in her life. He was still able to amaze her and make her smile and laugh. Only this wasn't her yet, so he had to be very careful.

"I take it we are going to the top floor later?" Kari asked, her eyes shining.

"Well, I suppose we could. If you behave yourself."

"I always behave myself, thank you. It's you that gets us into trouble all the time." Kari protested, whacking him lightly on the arm.

"No, I'm pretty sure you have caused enough trouble on your own. Or you will, at least."

Kari let out a laugh. "Spoilers?" She asked him.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Yes, spoilers. I'd love to know where you picked that word up from. Sometimes you come out with the strangest things."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't be me if I wasn't strange would I?" The Doctor let a small laugh slip out. "And you know how much better it is to be strange. Being normal is no fun at all."

"No, and you're perfect the way you are." He replied, kissing the top of her head quickly.

It didn't take then long to get their food and find a table against the window. Kari kept getting distracted from her food by the view, even though she was absolutely famished. The only thing's she had seen from space so far had been the Earth. She had viewed it from the moon and seen it being created, so the sight before her now was something new, and wonderful.

"I can't get over how amazing this place is. I mean, there are so many different species, foods, it's just brilliant. And do I even have to mention the view?" Kari asked as she took another mouthful of the food on her tray. It looked very similar to spaghetti and meatballs, but an alien version. And even though it looked similar, it tasted far better to anything she had ever tried back on Earth.

"Yeah, the view isn't bad at all is it?" The Doctor said, not taking his eyes off Kari. She hadn't even noticed him staring at her while she ate. "Tell you what, once you've finished that, we'll head up a few floors, try something else. Maybe get desert. If you have room."

Kari stared at him with wide eyes. "Of course I have room! I haven't eaten since the next time you meet me." Her hand flew over her mouth to stop her from saying anything else.

The Doctor shook his head at her. She still had a big mouth. "And how long ago was that for you?" He asked.

"Oh, now you're asking." Kari said, moving her hand and thinking. "It has to be at least 4 days. I think."

The Doctor frowned at her. "And I take it you haven't slept in just as long?" Kari nodded at him. She knew that the adrenalin would keep her awake if she really needed it to. She just wanted to satisfy her stomach. "Best make sure you get some sleep after you have stuffed yourself."

Kari looked at him, frowning. "I am not stuffing myself thank you very much. I'm just enjoying some rather nice food, with a rather nice alien."

It was the Doctor's turn to frown again now. "Why are you calling me an alien?"

"Because, technically, you are. I'm a human turned Time Lord, or Lady if I really want to be correct. You're a Time Lord, born and lived on Gallifrey. I'm… I was…" Kari took a deep breath, trying to gather her words together.

The Doctor noticed, and leaned across the table, taking hold of her hands. "Kari, you are a Time Lord."

She shook her head. "No I'm not. I'm just an echo. A Time Lord is so much more." She paused, decided whether she should carry on or not. "A sum of knowledge, a code, a shared history, a shared suffering."

"Kari, stop this. You're my Kari, my beautiful, brilliant Kari." The Doctor was starting to worry now. "One day you will see that you truly are a Time Lord."

Kari let out a laugh. "Oh, I very much doubt that. I'm not Time Lord. I'm human plus."

The Doctor let out a groan. "Why won't you believe me?"

"Because I know, Doctor. It's not possible for me to be a Time Lord. You can't just make yourself a Time Lord, fact."

"But you are, Kari. You need to accept it." The Doctor insisted.

"Can we not do this? I call you an alien because a far as I'm concerned, to me, you are an alien." Kari said, pulling her hands away from the Doctor and getting up from her chair.

"Where are you going?" There was concern in his voice.

"Restroom. If that's okay with you?" Kari snapped. She needed a few minutes to just take a time out and clear her head.

"Yeah, sorry." The Doctor replied meekly. He could see that she was starting to get annoyed, and he knew form experience to just let her go and cool off.

"Back in a few then." Kari said, giving him a small smile before she walked off. She had no idea which direction she should be walking in, but she didn't really care, she just needed her space for a while.

She eventually found what looked like the restrooms. She took a chance and just stepped in. She seemed to have been right and headed for an empty cubical. Once she had locked the door behind her she leaned with her back against the door and put her head in her hands.

"Stupid bloody Time Lords." She mumbled.

"No, I'm sure it was her. No, you can't come in here. Just wait outside, and behave!" Kari's head shot up when she heard that voice. She recognised it, but there was no way she could be there. Was there?

Someone knocked on the door to the cubical Kari was in, making her jump away from the door. "Anyone in there?" The woman's voice called cheerfully.

"No." Kari said moodily, pulling the door open and frowning at the woman in front of her.

"Ha! I told him it was you." River cried, hugging Kari.

"Please don't tell me you're with the Doctor." Kari moaned.

"Well who else am I going to be with, darling?" River asked her in confusion.

"Well, I'm with a different Doctor. This isn't going to end well." Kari told her, knowing that the Doctor she was with didn't know anything about River Song.

"As long as we keep them away from each other it's fine. He knows he is here anyway. He warned me. But I knew as well and wanted to come here and see you."

Kari frowned at her. "Why did you want to come and see me?"

"Ah, because there is something I want to give you." River said, pulling a something wrapped in blue paper out of her pocket. She handed it to Kari who carried on looking at her in confusion. "Happy Birthday, Kari." River was grinning away.

"Birthday? What are you talking about? It's not my birthday. Is it?" Kari was completely lost now. She hadn't even thought about her birthday, she didn't even remember when it was.

"Yes. I know you don't remember when it is so every year I just pick a random day and surprise you." River told her excitedly.

"River! Will you hurry up. People are starting to stare at me." The Doctor's voice called through the main door.

"You better get out there, River. You know what he's like. I'm surprised he has actually stayed put and waited." Kari started pushing River towards the door.

"Oh, come on. You can at least say hello to him." River grabbed Kari's hand and pulled the door open, throwing her out and straight into the Doctor.

"River!" Kari cried, spinning around to look at the woman. River was laughing away. "I am so going to…" Kari stopped when someone put a hand over her mouth.

"Kari, be nice to River." A voice whispered in her ear. Her eyes grew wide and a smile took over her face. "Shall I move my hand now?" Kari nodded and the hand slowly moved from over her mouth.

She turned around to see the Doctor wearing his bow tie and tweed jacket. "And what brings you to this part of the galaxy?"

The Doctor grinned at her. "Well, I remember coming here once with someone very special. Thought I'd come back and relive some good times." Kari saw a glint in his eye and knew it was more than that.

"Oh, very nostalgic of you, Doctor. I thought it was because River wanted to see me." Kari said before jumping at him and hugging him.

"She did. But so did I. So, how about you spend just a few minutes catching up with me before I start looking for you in about…" He looked down at his watch. "Oh, 7 minutes."

"I guess I can manage that." Kari told him, smiling away. She was genuinely surprised to see both of them there, and it was even more of a surprise to know they came just to see her.

They walked over to a table, out of view of the other Doctor, and sat down. The whole time he didn't let go of her hand and River just kept grinning away.

Kari looked at the blue wrapping, wondering what was inside. River had noticed her looking and pulled something else out of her pocket. "Here, take this." She passed Kari a small shoulder bag. "It's bigger on the inside, and has a perception filter on it so he won't be able to spot it." River nodded to the Doctor.

Kari took the bag from River and thanked her. "So what have you two been up to?" She asked them.

"Oh, this and that." The Doctor answer,

"He just blew up the universe. And then rebooted it." River told her, knowing that the Doctor wasn't going to tell her.

"Ah, big bang 2." Kari said, a grin on her face. Then she remembered, back on the Byzantium, the Doctor. She turned to him and bit her lip, not wanting to say anything in front of River.

"I'm going to grab a drink." River said, noticing the way Kari was looking at the Doctor. "I'll be back in around 2 minutes. Chat amongst yourselves until then." She got up and winked at Kari before heading over to one of the stands.

"Why did you kiss me?" Kari said, before thinking. The Doctor shifted his gaze so he wasn't looking at her. "Back on the Byzantium, you kissed me, why?"

"It doesn't matter." The Doctor told her, gazing out of the window.

"Yes. It does. Because you kissed me, and you said something as well. You said that there was something you never told me. What was it?" She asked him, not getting her hopes up of getting an answer.

"I can't tell you. It's too soon." The Doctor said, finally looking at her.

"But it wasn't too soon on the Byzantium?" She questioned. Why would it have been okay for him to tell her then but not now?

"It's complicated. But I promise you, I will tell you. You will find out. From my perspective, I've already told you.

"Told me what?" Kari pressed. Her determination was starting to set in now.

"Kari, don't. I can't tell you."

"Tell me what?" She asked firmly.

"Stop it." The Doctor said quietly.

"Stop what? Asking for answers? You know me, and I know you. I know your future and past, without even having to have been there. I know. And what I also know is that the timelines are changing, things aren't how I know them to be. What's going on?" Kari wasn't going to give up. She was not going to give in. She wanted answers and she was going to do whatever she could to get them.

"Time can be rewritten. Time is always being rewritten. I told you that before." The Doctor told her, still not comfortable with looking at her.

"And sofa's can read. Yes, I know. You said that before as well. But I'm so fed up of not knowing what's going on. I know about events that are going to take place. I don't always know about the other things." Kari told him, trying to hold her emotions in. She was trying to be strong when all she wanted to do was cry from frustration.

"Oh, Kari. I wish I could tell you, I really do, but I can't. But I promise you, I do tell you." He insisted.

"Yeah, you keep saying that, Doctor. But I'm just getting so fed up of not knowing."

"I know that. You're not the only person that all this is affecting. I don't like that fact that you don't know, that you have no idea about certain things. The timelines between us are so messed up." The Doctor let out a sigh.

Kari could see that it was all upsetting the Doctor as well. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be pushy, I just want to know. I want to know where I stand, who I really am. My whole life was turned upside down not so long ago. Everything I thought I knew was wrong."

"Kari, listen to me. Everything will be fine. In time, you will know everything. And maybe one day the jumping will stop." The Doctor assured her, taking her hands and holding her gaze.

"Everything alright here?" River asked as she stood at the side of the table.

"Yeah, everything's fine, River." Kari said, her voice was slightly shaky.

"Okay, what's he done?" River asked. Both Kari and the Doctor just looked at her. "You're upset, and there is a lot of things that he can do to upset you. What was it?"

"Nothing, we were just talking. I was telling him what I've been up to." Kari told her as she sat back down.

"You're such a bad liar, darling." River told her, frowning at her. "Now are you going to tell me the…"

"Kari? Kari? Always wandering off. I always tell them, rule one, don't wander off." A familiar voice mumbled.

Kari let out a sigh. "I guess you're looking for me."

"Yeah, I… um, guess we better be going now then." The Doctor told her, getting up from his seat.

"Come visit me more often, okay River?" Kari said, standing up and hugging the woman.

"Oh, of course darling." River hugged her back tightly. "And try to keep him out of trouble. I know it's hard, but you do such a good job of it." She seemed to notice the awkwardness between the Doctor and Kari again. "I'll wait in the TARDIS. Bye Kari."

They watched as River weaved through the mass of humans and aliens until she disappeared. "So… I guess I'll see you again at some point." Kari stood there, playing with her hands, like she always seemed to do when she was nervous.

"Oh, yeah. You'll see me in a minute or less." The Doctor was trying to cheer her up a little, but he knew it wasn't going to work.

"Well, that's a past you. Slightly different. You're not as kooky in that regeneration." Kari told him, barely even paying any attention to his face.

"Kooky? You're calling me kooky?" He was pretending to be hurt.

Kari finally decided to look at him. "Yes. I am calling you kooky. My Doctor with the bow tie and tweet jacket, who seems to have a thing about owning a fez."

"Fezzes are cool." The Doctor said, pouting a little at her.

"Kari? Come on, where are you?" They heard the other Doctor call. He was starting to sound really worried now.

"I better go. Sounds like you're about to freak out with worry." Kari told the Doctor in front of her.

"Oh, no. That happens much later." He told her with a grin. "Anyway, you'll see me soon, Kari." He told her as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

"Look after yourself, and please behave. No more blowing up the universe and then restarting it, okay?" Kari asked, as he finally let her go.

"I'm not making any promises." The Doctor told her, still grinning at her. "And I really need to go now, I'll be coming around that corner any second." He kissed the top of her head and quickly disappeared, leaving Kari standing there, staring into space.

"Kari, are you okay?" Someone asked as a hand was placed on her shoulder.

She turned and smiled at the Doctor in his pinstripe suit and tie. His converses on his feet. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm really sorry about what happen earlier. I'm still trying to get used to everything."

"Don't worry about it. I understand. It must be pretty hard for you still, I mean, it's a lot to get used to and you haven't really had the time to get used to it have you?" Kari shook her head at him. It was always running, never stopping and talking about things.

"So, you got room for desert then?" The Doctor asked her, as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Sure." She answered quietly. She was still thinking about the other Doctor, him in the bow tie. He seemed to know so much but just wouldn't tell her. It really was starting to bother her.

"Kari, are you sure you're okay?" The Doctor asked her, noticing how she was a little quiet and distant.

"Yeah, sorry. My brain is slowing down, I blame my lack of sleep due to you and you're adventures. So yes, this is all your fault." She told him, poking him in the chest.

"Hang on, how is you being tired my fault?" He asked her as they walked towards the glass type of lift in the centre of the floor they were on.

"Well, I've not been able to get any sleep, because it's all one adventure after another. You never bloody sleep, so apparently, neither do I." Kari grumbled as they stepped into the lift.

"Sorry. After this you can sleep for as long as you want. I promise." The Doctor said to her, kissing the top of her head.

"Yeah, promises, promises. Something tells me that is not going to happen." She mumbled. She wasn't going to keep her hopes up that she was going to have a decent sleep. She was expecting to be whisked away to somewhere else instead.

"Oh, come on. Let's go and get some desert." He led her out of the lift and over to another food stand. They sat down and eat what looked like chocolate eggs, filled with ice cream, toffee, fudge, and so many other sweet treats.

Kari couldn't eat all of hers, so the Doctor decided to finish it off for her, after he had eaten all of his. The sight of him stuffing his face with so many sugary foods was enough to make her stomach turn.

"How can you eat that much? Oh, you are going to be on such a sugar rush for hours now aren't you?" She moaned, only just thinking about how hyper he could get.

"Nah, it's fine. I'm not a human child, I don't have sugar rushes." The Doctor told her, wiping the mess from around his face.

"Oh, so you're just naturally hyper then. That's explains it." The Doctor gave her a light whack on the arm.

"So, want to go and visit the top floor then?" The Doctor asked, his eyes wide and shining.

"Yes please." Kari had been waiting to go there. He hadn't told her what was up there and she had been hoping so badly that he would take her there.

Several minutes later, they were on the top floor. The Doctor insisted on taking the TARDIS up there, because apparently she liked the view up there as well. Kari had gone up in the lift, not wanting to risk going back to the TARDIS just yet. The Doctor had questioned her about it at first but eventually settled for her reasoning of wanting to look around some more.

Kari stepped out of the lift and the Doctor was already up there and waiting for her. He instantly took hold of her hand and they walked away from the lift.

"Wow. This is just… wow." The roof was made of the glass like material the Doctor had told her about earlier. Outside she could see space, all the stars and comets. The different colours that were swirling around. It was amazing. She had thought the view from the sides had been something, this was even more spectacular.

"Not bad, is it?" The Doctor said, as he stopped walking and looked at Kari. After a few moments of just gazing at each other, the Doctor pulled some strange device out form his pocket.

"What's that for?" Kari asked as he started playing with it.

"Environment bubble." He said before placing it in the ground.

Kari looked around and noticed that others were using the environment bubbles as well. Inside one she could see what looked like a purple and yellow tree. Another contained a pair of strange looking aliens who were both sitting in what Kari could only describe as metal bowls.

She had been so busy looking around at everyone else that she had failed to notice the bubble encase her and the Doctor. "Kari?" The Doctor called softly, touching her arm to get her attention.

She turned to him, a smile on her face. "Okay, I can't actually think of any words for this." She said before her eyes were drawn to the ground. Her eyes widened when she saw she was standing on red grass. And she knew of only one place where there was red grass.

The Doctor pulled something else out of his pocket, a blanket. He spread it out on the grass and sat down with Kari. "So, what do you think then?" He asked her as she kicked her shoes off.

"I repeat what I said earlier, I'm actually speechless." She told him as she let her feet be tickled by the blades of red grass.

"Speechless? I never thought I'd see the day when my Kari was speechless. This really is a momentous occasion." The Doctor said to her, earning a whack on the arm.

Kari made herself more comfortable and forced the Doctor to lay down on his back. It wasn't actually that hard for her to do it, he was already leaning back, resting on his elbows. All she had to do was pull at one of his arms and he went back.

She snuggled herself up to him, looking up and out into space. She still couldn't believe that it was all real, that this was her life. It was fantastic, but scary. She was spending time with the Doctor, and she loved it. The only thing that worried her was how close to him she was getting. She was still breaking all the rules she had set for herself. It couldn't end well.

Eventually she started to doze off, but the time had come for her to be disturbed, much to her annoyance. "Come on, Kari. I think it's time we headed back to the TARDIS now." The Doctor said, nudging her lightly to wake her up.

"But I don't want to. Can't we just stay here for a little while longer?" She mumbled, really not wanting to go to the TARDIS.

"No, we can't. You're falling asleep out here. You're better off in your own bed, in your room, in our TARDIS."

"I'm not going. I'm staying right here." Kari told him. She kept her eyes tightly shut and refused to move again.

"Right, well if you're not going to walk, then I'm just going to have to carry you aren't I?" He said, pushing her off him and standing up.

Kari opened one eye to look at him. "You wouldn't dare." She saw a mischievous grin spread across the Doctor's face. "Oh, God. You would wouldn't you?" The Doctor just kept watching her. "Fine. You're going to have to carry me. I am not moving." And she closed her eye again.

The Doctor didn't hesitate. As soon as her eyes were closed he was gathering her up in his arms. Kari tried to be awkward and wriggled around as he tried to get hold of her, but he seemed to be wise to her games.

Kari gave in and let out a sigh. "Have you done this before with me?" She asked, wondering how he knew exactly what she was trying to do.

"Yup. You never change." He told her cheerfully. Kari let out a sigh of defeat, there was no point wasting what little energy she had by fighting him.

That all changed as they got closer to the TARDIS. At first, Kari thought she was just imagining things, paranoia setting in. She blamed her tiredness for the slight pounding she could feel in her head. She half opened one eye and saw how close they were to the TARDIS, and then she panicked.

"No, I don't want to go back yet. I want to stay here some more. Please, can we stay for a little bit long?" Kari begged, now struggling in the Doctor's arms.

The Doctor frowned at her. "Kari, what's the matter? Why wouldn't you want to go in the TARDIS?" He asked her, not knowing about her theory.

"Please, Just put me down, we can stay for a bit longer, can't we?" She could feel her head starting to pound even more now. She was starting to think that her theory was right.

"Kari, you're tired. You need to get some proper sleep. I'm sorry, but it's time to go." The Doctor told her as the doors to the TARDIS opened by themselves.

As soon as they were inside Kari felt the pain in her head get even worse. The Doctor eventually put her down in the chair by the console before dashing around the console and sending them off into the vortex.

Kari looked down at her hands and saw them starting to glow. The golden mist beginning to surround her. "Doctor…" She whispered.

The Doctor poked his head around the time rotor and his face fell when he saw her. "Oh, Kari."

"Looks like I still won't be getting any of that much needed sleep, does it?" She said, letting a tear fall down her face.

"Kari, it's okay. I'll see you soon, yeah?" The Doctor said, walking over to her. "I promise, everything will be okay." He kissed her lightly on the lips and stepped away from her.

"Doctor, I don't want to…" Kari's sentence was cut off when the glow completely over took her and she was pulled from the TARDIS.

A/N: And so we have another chapter. Coming up next, even more fun! So let me know what you fantastic people thought, I get all excited when I get that little email telling me I have a new review. Or drop me a PM if you want to, I don't mind.

Now, here's the big question. When should Kari find out what everyone else seems to know? Should it be soon? Or should she have to wait a little longer? Poll will be up on my profile. Or you can tell me you're views in a review, or a PM. whatever way suits you best.

And thank you again, without you guys, I wouldn't even be posting this, or any other story. So I thank you.

Pippa.