A/N: Thank you for the reviews and the follows/favourites. I love you all. Anyway, on with the show!
When she blinked the spots from in front for her eyes, she saw she was in the TARDIS, the one with the glass floor and the console made from random objects. "Look's like no one is home." Kari said, not being able to see the Doctor anywhere.
"Well, he can't have gone far. Shall we take a look outside?" River suggested.
"Actually, I'm quite happy to just wait here for him. I've had enough adventures for the moment, thank you very much." Kari said, plonking herself down in the chair.
River just looked at her in shock. "You're turning down an adventure?" Kari just shrugged her shoulders, like it was no big deal. "That man really does have some explaining to do." River was getting annoyed now, Kari never turned down an adventure.
"Please, River. There really is no need. It was a long time ago for him, I doubt he will even remember what happened." Kari insisted.
"Remember what?" A voice called from the stairs behind them.
Kari turned around to see her bow tie wearing Doctor standing there, arms folded across his chest and a frown upon his face. "Never you mind." Kari called. She didn't feel much like telling him what was going on.
River, however, was not going to let it drop. She walked over to the Doctor and slapped him hard across the face. "I take it that was for something I haven't done yet?" He asked, rubbing the cheek that she had hit.
"No, that's for something you done life times ago." River spat at him.
"River, please. I told you to drop it." Kari shouted.
"No. He needs to understand." River told her, not moving away from in front of the Doctor.
"What do I need to understand? Can one of you please tell me what's going on?" It was clear that he was confused, and his eyes were pleading with Kari to explain everything.
"It really doesn't matter. It's over and done with. It was life times ago for you, Doctor." Kari told him, trying to keep calm and act like everything was fine. She really didn't want there to be any trouble, she was already on bad terms with one version of him, and she didn't want to cause problems with this man as well.
"So, it's something that happened in a previous regeneration. Can someone please tell me what it was?" The Doctor asked, walking away from River and over to where Kari was sitting. "Kari, where have you been?"
Kari closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "1941." She whispered.
Instantly the Doctor seemed to understand everything that was going on. "Oh, Jack."
"Do you know what happened? She sent me a message on the psychic paper, telling me you had dumped her on Earth." River shouted. She wasn't going to hide the fact that she was angry with the Doctor. "I found her in Leadworth, on her own with nothing but the psychic paper in her hand."
"Kari, I think we need to talk about this." The Doctor said, trying to ignore the angry woman standing behind him.
She nodded at him. "Yeah. I guess we should." She said before standing up and moving to River. "Thank you, River. I'd still be stuck in Leadworth if it wasn't for you." Kari said as she hugged her.
"You know where I am if you need me." River whispered back to her.
"I know. Thanks." Kari smiled at her as they broke apart. "I expect you to behave yourself Dr Song." River saluted at her before glaring at the Doctor. He didn't dare say anything to her, she was angry with him enough. The next moment there was a crack and a flash and River was gone.
"Kari, are you okay?" The Doctor asked her quietly.
She nodded at him. "Yeah, I'm fine."
The Doctor knew that wasn't true, he knew that she was still upset. "I went back for you, but you had already gone. I never wanted to leave you there. I was an idiot."
"At least now you know why I had to save him. And yes, you were a complete idiot. I tell you now, I wanted to just hit you, but River has done that for me." Kari told him, trying her best to avoid his eyes.
"Why did you send a message to River and not me?" He asked her curiously.
"River sent you a message that arrived too early, I couldn't face seeing that version of you again so soon. I knew River could get me to you, but I knew this was the only regeneration I could get her to take me." She finally pulled her eyes up and looked at him. "I haven't seen you for a while, and this has been the only time I have had a choice of where I wanted to go."
"Well, I'm glad you came to me." He told her, giving her the biggest smile that he could. "So, now that you're here, what do you want to do?"
Kari thought about it for a moment, she wasn't exactly sure that she wanted to leave the TARDIS just yet. She was still slightly annoyed with the Doctor, even though the man in front of her wasn't really to blame for it. "Since this is too early in my timeline, I have no idea."
"Kari, I really am sorry for what happened. I honestly never meant for it to go as far as it did. You know what I was like back then, and I really can't excuse my behaviour." The Doctor said, taking hold of both her hands.
"I know. And I don't hold anything against you for it. I'm sure I'll give you hell for it the next time I see that version of you." Kari told him, making him laugh a little. "I'm guessing from your reaction that I actually do give you complete hell at some point because of it then."
"Yes, you do. But I really am sorry. If I could do it differently I would, but you know I can't." Kari could see how sincere he was being, this version of him always seemed to be so caring and concerned. That was not something she had seen with his 9th regeneration, he had been stern and jealous, and maybe a tad nasty to her as well.
"It's fine. Let's just move on now, shall we? Tell me, what have you been up to? I need to work out where we are." She smiled at him properly for the first time.
"Well, since you said this is still early for you, why don't you tell me what we have been up to?" He asked her, stilling holding onto both of her hands.
Kari frowned at him. "Do you really think I am going to fall for that? I may have done something in your future, so I don't think so. Why don't you make a suggestion and I will let you know."
He sighed in defeat, she was just as bad as River for giving away spoilers. "Okay, Angels?"
"On the Byzantium, yup. Been there, done that, barely made it out alive."
"Okay, that was a while ago. Let me think…" Kari was sure she could hear the cogs turning in the Doctor's head as he tried to think of something else they had done together. "Vincent?"
"Nope, but looking forward to that one."
"Right, still early. Oh, this is difficult." He started thinking again, but Kari decided that it would be better if she put him out of his misery. Although she was enjoying watching him pull funny faces as he thought and mumbled to himself.
"Doctor, I've seen this you only three times. This is the fourth. So tell me, do you know when I first met you yet?" She knew that was something safe to ask. That would have been after Amy and Rory had gotten married, so it was after the honeymoon fiasco on the crashing ship.
"When you kept insisting it was all a dream, and that your name was Karianne Conner? I remember that, that was some time ago now actually."
Kari's face lit up. "Well then, I know exactly where we are now. It would seem that what you have to come in the future, I still have to come as well."
The Doctor looked at her a little shocked. "So, you haven't been this far in my future yet?" He asked her.
"Well, I may have seen you further along a little, but that was for around five minutes. No, wait a second… River said that was after you rebooted the universe." Kari watched him as his smile grew bigger. "You know, I still don't know what this big secret is."
"Ah, don't worry. You'll find out sooner or later. I've already told you, not going to tell you again, well not right now." He rambled, not letting his grin fade. "So, what shall we do then? Anywhere you want to go, it's up to you."
Kari thought about it for a moment. She hadn't really spent much time with this Doctor, unless they were running from Angels, or he was avoiding his past self. "I'm happy to just hang around in the TARDIS with you actually. From my perspective, I haven't had my fish fingers and custard that you promised me back on the Byzantium."
"Yes, fish custard, as promised, and a nice cup of tea as well. Perfect idea." He said, pulling Kari out of the chair. "
"Good, because I didn't get breakfast this morning." She said, as she held onto his hand tightly.
"Well, come on then." He smiled at her as they made their way through the impossible ship and to the kitchen.
It was long till they were sitting there, a clear plate and empty bowl sitting on the table in front of them. "Ah, finally. That was awesome." Kari said, leaning back in the chair, a satisfying smile on her face. "I don't care how disgusting people think that is, I love it."
The Doctor chuckled, he was glad to see her happy after everything that had happened. "Right, what do you want to do now? We can go anywhere you want."
Kari shrugged. "I don't mind. As long as I'm with my favourite Time Lord, I really don't care."
The Doctor frowned at her. "I'm your only Time Lord." He reminded her.
"Hence why you are my favourite." She told him, trying not to break out in laughter at the look on his face. His expression quickly changed, and Kari was sure she could see a gleam in his eyes. "Oh, no. I know that look." She said, taking the plate and bowl over to the sink. "Nothing good ever happens when you have that look."
"What look?" He asked her, a little surprised that she had noticed.
"That look." Kari said, nodding towards him. "That look that says 'I have a plan' but in reality it has something to do with you getting your own way."
"Actually, I was only going to suggest we go and watch a few movies today. You know, relax, take some time out." He said calmly, as he watched her turn the taps off and started to do the washing up.
Kari couldn't help but giggle. "You? Relax? That's a first. And that is how I know you are up to something."
"Kari, sometimes even I want to just sit down and do nothing. Make's it even better if you're there as well." There was something in the way he was speaking that made Kari think that he was up to something even more.
Eventually she relented. "Okay, fine. Movie day, if that's what you want." She told him as she started to dry her hands on the towel. "But it better not be anything boring. No sappy romance or anything like that."
"Okay, Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings?" He asked, as she sat back down.
"Which ones?"
A grin spread across the Time Lords face. "All of them."
Kari looked at him in shock. "All of them?" He nodded at her. "But that… that will take up the whole day, and most of the night as well. Are you sure you can handle sitting in one place for that long?"
"Hey, I was in Harry Potter, thank you very much." He told her, grinning madly. "I'm sure I can sit through my own movie. Come on then, what do you say?" He was starting to bounce around the room now.
"Calm down, evil Barty Crouch Jr. I don't remember seeing you in Lord of The Rings though?" Kari told him letting him drag her out of the kitchen.
"Oh, I was working behind the scenes. Peter could never get the settings right. I just helped him a little." The Doctor bragged before stopping outside a red door that had appeared. "So, what's it to be then? Hogwarts or Middle Earth?"
"Take me to platform nine and three quarters, I have an acceptance letter for Hogwarts." Kari was beaming away at him. Spending time with this Doctor was always so much fun.
They had just finished watching the second film when Kari made an announcement. "I'm hungry." She moaned, not really caring that she was sounding like a little kid.
"Well, we can't have that now can we? What do you want to eat?" The Doctor asked, grabbing her hand and pulling her off the sofa that had been watching the films from.
"Pizza!" She shouted, dragging him to the kitchen. When they arrived, they found that the TARDIS was one step ahead of them. "Oh, you sexy thing. You are brilliant." Kari said, looking at the pizza bases already on the counter, waiting for them to top.
"Did you just call her sexy?" The Doctor asked quizzically.
"Yes, I did. Because we both know she is. She is sexy, and wonderful, and magnificent and completely majestic. Never been another like her." The TARDIS let out a loud and happy hum. "Now come on, what crazy things are you putting on your pizza? I hope you're not planning on using custard as the base sauce and then topping it with fish fingers."
The Doctor looked at her as if she was mad. "Why would you even think I would do that?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Because you are completely weird." Kari looked and saw the dejected look on the Time Lord's face. "But I love you anyway." Suddenly both her hands went flying to her mouth and her eyes widened in shock as she realised what she had just said.
"Kari, it's okay. Just breathe." The Doctor said, realising she was shocked by the words that had come from her mouth. "Kari, move your hand's before I move them for you." She still just stood there in shock. The Doctor had no choice but to take her hands in his own and pry them away from her mouth.
"Oh my God, I'm sorry. I am so sorry." She rambled, finally coming back to her senses. "I don't know why I said that, I really don't. I'm so sorry."
The Doctor laughed at her a little. "Kari, it's fine. Forget about it. Now, shall we get on with these pizza's?" Kari nodded at him, afraid of what would come out of her mouth if she spoke another word.
Once the pizzas were cooked, they took them with them back to finish off their movie marathon. "Kari, there's no need to be so quiet. I've heard worse thing's come from your mouth." He told her as they placed the pizzas down on the small table in front of the sofa.
"Doctor, I really am sorry. Can we please just forget it ever happened and move on? We still have to get to your appearance in Harry Potter." Kari said, keeping her gaze firmly away from his.
"Come on then." He said, pointing his screwdriver at the wall, which doubled up as the screen. The next film started and Kari finally began to relax. She still couldn't believe what she had said. But she was grateful that the Doctor laughed it off.
They were just getting started on the fifth movie when Kari started slouching more and more on the sofa. Most of the time she had been sitting with her feet up and her head resting in her hand, which was resting on the arm of the sofa. But now, her head was pretty much on the arm of the sofa.
"Kari, are you tired?" The Doctor asked her softly, brushing some of her hair away from her eyes.
"No, I'm just resting my eyes a little." She mumbled, not noticing how close he was to her.
"You can go to bed if you want to."
"No, I'm watching the film." She replied. Not moving or opening her eyes.
"You're watching it with your eyes closed?" He asked her, slightly amused at the way she was acting.
"Yes, I'm listening to what they are saying and watching it in my head. Have you never seen a film so many times before that you can do that?" She asked quietly.
The Doctor was confident that she was falling asleep, but Kari was stubborn and he knew that she was not going to admit to being so tired. "Right, so what's going on now?" He asked, turning the sound off, putting the subtitles on and waiting for her to tell him what was playing out on the screen.
"Disciplinary hearing of the 12th of August, into offenses committed by Harry James Potter, resident at number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of…'" Kari told him confidently.
Much to the Doctor's surprise, she had been right, word for word perfect. "Well, that was slightly impressive." He confessed.
"Told you I was watching it in my head." She said smugly.
"Fine, I believe you." The Doctor said, letting a small smile creep across his face. "You know, that looks rather uncomfortable. Come here." He pulled her up off the arm and forced her into his arms. He laid back and took Kari with him, getting her to rest her head against his chest.
"Hmm, you were right. That was uncomfortable. You're definitely more comfortable." Kari said, making herself just the little bit more comfortable.
The Doctor just stayed there with a smirk on his face. He didn't care that she was falling asleep, he knew that she had been through a lot. He could completely understand why she was upset and angry with him, she had every right to be, but he was grateful that she didn't hold it against him.
He knew that one day soon she would tell him exactly what she thought of him, and that he was going to deserve everything she threw at him. But that wasn't until she saw him back where she had just come from. What the Doctor also knew, was that she would eventually forgive him.
"Kari, you still resting your eyes?" He asked her quietly. When she didn't respond he looked down at her. Her chest was slowly rising and falling, she was most certainly fast asleep now. He knew there was only one thing he could do now, and that was take her to her room.
The Doctor gently managed to gather her up into his arms and the TARDIS kindly opened the door for her. If what Kari said was true, and they really were at the same point in time, he could finally settle her down in her own bed in her own room. It wasn't very often he had the chance to do that.
As he reached her room, the door opened by itself. "Thanks, dear." He whispered as he entered the room. It looked much the same as it had when he had first been in that room, except for a few extra times and the laptop of hers being moved.
He knew that laptop meant a lot to her, and she never took it out of her room. He put Kari down on the bed and pulled the covers over her before heading over to the table where the laptop was sitting. Every bone in his body was telling him not to touch it, but he was the Doctor, and he never listened to reason.
"If you touch that, I am going to cut up every single one of your bow ties." Kari mumbled from the bed.
The Doctor turned around and frowned at her. "I thought you were asleep?" He asked curiously.
"I am asleep. But someone told me that you were touching something that you really shouldn't be." She still hadn't moved, and she still hadn't opened her eyes. "So if you want to keep your bow ties, I suggest you move your hands away from that laptop, right now."
"I take it there is a reason I'm not allowed to touch it?" He asked, going and sitting on the side of the bed.
"Yes." Kari mumbled, pulling the covers tighter around herself. She didn't want to admit just how tired she really was. Plus she didn't want to fall asleep and wake up somewhere else, that was actually the last thing she wanted. She was happy here, and she didn't want to have to face anyone else just yet.
"And are you going to tell me the reason?" He asked, making himself more comfortable next to her.
"Spoilers. Now shut up and let me sleep." She mumbled back to him. The Doctor decided that it was best if he left her alone to sleep, even though he would much rather stay there and just be with her while she slept.
"Sleep well, Kari." He said, planting a light kiss on the top of her head. He turned away from her and was about to head for the door when someone latched onto his hand.
"I told you to let me sleep, not leave." Kari said, yanking on his arm and pulling him back down onto the bed. The Doctor wasn't going to protest, if she wanted him to stay, he was going to stay.
"Better?" He asked, lying on his back on the bed next to her.
"No." She said, before shuffling over closer to him. The Doctor seemed to realise what she was doing and opened his arms, letting her rest her head against his chest again. "All better now." She whispered.
"Well, I'm glad you're comfy." The Doctor said, trying not to laugh at the way she was acting. Sure enough, he had seen her this way before, but that was in her future. There was still so much that she had to get through first, and nothing he could do could stop the pain that she was going to feel.
When Kari woke up, she found that she was cuddled up to the Doctor. What surprised her even more was the fact that he was sound asleep. She knew that he hardly ever slept, he was always running around, saving planets and people, and generally getting into a lot of trouble. She couldn't help but smile as she watched him sleeping so peacefully.
She managed to slip out of his arms and crept over to the desk where her laptop was sitting. Kari knew that she was going to have to find a hiding place for it now, it wasn't safe to be left lying around with the Doctor able to go into her room. That's when she had an idea. The bag that River had given her, it had a perception filter on it so that the Doctor wouldn't see it.
She rummaged through her wardrobe as quietly as she could until she finally found the bag. Kari smiled to herself when she realised that it was bigger on the inside. The laptop slipped into it perfectly and she hid it back in the wardrobe.
While she was there she grabbed some clean clothes and made her way into the bathroom. She only had a quick shower, after all, she hadn't been running around, fearing for her life for once. When she was dressed she stepped back out to find the Doctor sitting up on her bed, smiling away at her.
"Finally decided to wake up then, Doctor?" She said, tugging her brush through her hair.
"I wasn't sleeping. I was resting my eyes." He told her, giving her his best grin.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Oh yes, of course you were. Those were just fake snores I was hearing then, yeah?"
"Hey, I do not snore." He called to her defensively. "So, what do you want to do today?" He asked, getting off the bed and watching her as she tied her hair back.
"I really don't mind. We can do whatever you want." As soon as she had said that, she regretted it. "Oh come on. You have got to be kidding me." She said as she nearly stumbled over.
The Doctor was quick to catch her. "Kari? What's wrong?" There was panic in his voice.
"I am not bloody going any where. Do you hear me?" She shouted at no one in particular. "Nowhere!"
The Doctor let out a sigh. "You've got a headache haven't you?" Kari just nodded at him as best she could. "Come on. I shouldn't be in here when you leave. She locks this room and hides it away from me until the next time you show up. I don't really feel like being trapped in here." He said, helping her to her feet properly and walking her to the door.
"I really am not going anywhere." She cried, trying to ignore the burning pain that was growing in her head. "I refuse. You can't make me."
"I'm sorry, Kari." The Doctor said, lightly kissing her on the lips as they stood in the corridor. "I'll see you soon, okay?"
"No, I'm not going. I am not going." She yelled, tears streaming down her face. She was scared that she was going to end up back with the Doctor she wanted to get away from. She wanted to stay there, they were at the same point in time, and neither of them knew when that was going to happen again.
"I promise you, Kari, I will see you soon. Everything will be fine." He said, backing away from her as the golden light started to take her over.
"Please…" She begged, their eyes meeting. Even the Doctor looked like he had tears in his eyes just before Kari vanished from his sight. Everything had been going so well, and now she was gone again.
A/N: Okay, so the poll is closed. The decision has been made, and the result will be revealed in time. Don't worry, you won't have to wait too long to find out what people wanted. I promise.
As always, reviews are most welcome and greatly appreciated. I promise to update again soon.
Pippa.