A/N: Hey guys, hope you're all still enjoying the story. Got a few new tricks up my sleeve, hope you're going to like them. Now on with the chapter!
Kari groaned a little as she pushed herself up from the cold ground. She couldn't help but wonder if travelling by the touch of and angel was any better. But then again, she'd rather never have to find that out. She liked travelling by TARDIS, and occasionally Vortex Manipulator, except she was stuck with just being dragged through the time vortex.
"Okay, so now where the hell am I?" She asked herself, looking up and down the street. The first thing that she noticed was the clothing that people were wearing. "Uh, okay, so still on Earth. I think."
She started to make her way down the street, not really knowing where she was going or what she was doing. This wasn't something she had been expecting, she had thought she would be able to save the Doctor and Martha with Sally and Larry. But it appeared that she was wrong there.
Her phone started to ring, and she quickly slipped down an alley to answer it. She could tell that mobile phones hadn't been invented yet, and she didn't want to cause problems because of hers. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was once again Jack. "What do you want this time, Jack?" She asked him, sounding rather bored.
"Oh, that's nice. I call to say hello and I just get your attitude, Princess." He called to her, but not really sounding too hurt by the way she was acting.
Kari let out a sigh. "Sorry, hi Jack."
He chuckled slightly on the other end of the line. "So, want to tell me where you are?"
"Uh, some alley, somewhere. I just jumped and now I am totally lost." She said, leaning against the wall of the alley and slowly sliding down it.
"Well, where do you think you are? Look around you, what can you work out about that place?" Jack said, trying to encourage her to work out where she was.
She sat there thinking for a few minutes, remembering what she had seen when she had been out on the street. "At a guess I'd say late 60's to early 70's. But I really don't know, I'm not the Doctor, I can't tell what time it is just by sniffing the air."
Kari heard Jack chuckling on the other end of the line, knocking up her level of irritation. She was lost and he was not really helping in her opinion. "Come on, Princess, we both know that you are just as good as the Doctor. Hey, sometimes I think you're a better then him. Cuter as well, but you really do have a temper."
"Yes, fine. What is your point, Jack?" Kari practically growled down the phone. All she could think about was how much Sally would now be panicking since she had just disappeared and that the detective wouldn't be too far behind. She had just been pulled in the middle of an adventure, something that had never happened before, and that worried her as well as annoyed her.
"Well, someone is in a really bad mood today." Jack told her, realising that she really was in no mood for his charm and attitude. "Just take a few breaths and keep calm, okay? Then talk to me."
Kari nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see her, before doing what he had said. "So, uh, I had just found the TARDIS with a new friend of mine. We had been investigating Wester Drumlins and the place was, or is, crawling with Weeping Angels." She told him when she felt herself calm.
There was a noise at Jack's end of the line, it sounded to her that he was yelling at Owen, nothing new there. "Okay Princess, 32 Bricker Lane. I know where you are now, so just trust me and go there."
A groan slipped past her lips. "You were serious about that?" She moaned, rubbing her head a little, a slight pounding building up from the stress she was feeling.
"Yes I was. Come on, Princess, get out of that alley and get there now. Everything is going to be fine, I promise you." Kari could tell from the tone of his voice that he was actually worried about her but trying extremely hard not to let her hear it.
"32 Bricker Lane. Got it. Anything else I should know, Jack? Am I about to walk into the middle of another adventure? Or have I got to go and save the Doctor from some terrifying monster? Maybe there is an alien trying to take over the planet, again, that I need to stop?" She rambled.
Once again Jack started to chuckle at her. "You're starting to sound like the Doctor more and more you know. I think maybe your rambling is getting worse then his. Just go there. There are no monsters or aliens waiting for you, and no Doctor to save."
"Okay." She whispered, only now realising that she had been rambling like the Doctor. "Sorry for being so… weird today. Heads a little all over the place at the moment." She admitted to him.
"Hey, don't worry about it. I'll see you soon, Princess."
"Thanks. Bye Jack." She said, before finally ending the call and putting the phone back in her pocket and walking back into the main street.
It was only as she started walking that she realised that she still had no idea where she was and therefore no idea where Bricker Lane even was. She looked at the people passing her by, no one even paying her any attention, considering she stuck out like a sore thumb with her strange clothes.
"Excuse me, sorry, but do you know where Bricker Lane is?" Kari asked a man as he was passing. "I'm a little lost and have no idea where I'm going."
The man just smiled at her. "Sure, just down there, second on the right." He told her, pointing in the direction that she needed to walk.
Kari smiled back at him. "Thank you so much. Hope you have a great day." She called to him, before charging off in the direction she was told. Once more no one seemed to be paying much attention to her, which she was really grateful for.
The moment she turned the corner and into Bricker Lane, her jaw dropped as her eyes widened. The houses were large, old, Victorian style, all neatly lined next to each other. The whole street looked amazing, expensive cars sitting in the drives and the trees lining the pavement.
She started counting the house numbers as she walked, making sure that she was on the right side for the place that she was looking for. Kari was still in awe at what she was seeing and couldn't help but wonder why on Earth Jack had told her to go there. She knew it couldn't be for the Doctor, there was no way he would be able to stay still in a house. Plus she just had a feeling in her gut that he wasn't around there, that he was off somewhere else.
When she finally reached the house she was looking for, she stopped and looked up at it. There was a basement, and four other floors on top of it. The place look immaculate, the windows sparkling and the purple door gleaming.
She made her way up the few steps and to the front door, slightly nervous as to what was going to happen when she rang the doorbell. After taking a deep breath, she pushed the bell and waited.
The noise rang through on the other side of the door, before she had feet pounding on the wooden floor inside. The door was quickly pulled open, and Kari's mouth hung open for the second time. "Well, you certainly took your time." The familiar voice said to her.
"Oh my God, Jack!" Kari shouted, before actually throwing herself at him.
He wrapped his arms around her tightly, kissing the top of her head as he did so. "Nice to see you too, Princess. What took you so long to get here?"
She pulled away a little so that she could look up at him. "You were expecting me?" Jack just nodded at her, answering her question. "Oh great, something else to figure out and put on my to do list." She grumbled, making Jack laugh slightly.
"Come on, let's get inside. No point standing on the doorstep when we have this whole house to ourselves." He told her, ushering her into the grand house with a smile on his face.
Soon enough Jack had led her through the house and they were now sitting at the breakfast bar in the kitchen with a hot cup in their hands. "So, how long have you had this place for then?" Kari asked him, looking around and absolutely loving the whole house. The kitchen was designed exactly how she would have done it.
"Oh, I've had this place for years. Although, technically, it isn't mine. I'm just looking after it for a friend." He told her, taking a swig of the black coffee he was drinking. "You know, as a bit of a favour for them."
Kari looked over at him, sipping at her scalding hot tea. "And who is this friend of yours then? And where are they, since you're here looking after the place?" Her eyes just couldn't stop wandering over everything, even though she had only seen the hallway and the kitchen, she was sure she was in love with the house.
"Oh, they're around. They kind of have a really busy life, they never know where they are going to end up." Kari didn't miss the smirk on his face as he spoke, which just made her a tad bit more suspicious than she already was.
She narrowed her eyes at him, glaring a little as she did. "Out with it. You're up to something, aren't you, Jack? I know you, and I know when you're up to something, and you, Jack Harkness, are up to something." That just made his smirk grow bigger.
"Come on, I might as well show you the rest of the house." Jack said, putting down his cup, snatching Kari's away from her before puling her up and leading her through the house.
Kari was pretty much speechless throughout the whole tour. The floor that they originally started on consisted of the kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom and even a study. The first floor they moved up to had two large bedrooms that each had their own bathroom as well. There were more bedrooms with bathrooms on the floor above that one as well, each of them decorated and designed completely differently and absolutely perfect as far as she was concerned. But it was when they reached the top that she really felt amazed. The whole floor was basically one room, one gigantic library.
"So, what do you think of this place then?" Jack asked her, seeing how amazed and silent she was.
"I want this house. Seriously, it is just totally amazing. Everything is just so perfect, and I am really jealous of whoever owns this place." She told him, running her hand along a row of books. She recognised most of them, having read them at some point in her life. "But I know that is never going to happen." Kari added, letting out a sigh. "My home is the TARDIS, travelling through time and space. This… this isn't my life any more."
The next thing she knew, Jack's had wrapped his arms around her and was holding her tightly. "Hey, come on, Princess." He said quietly, trying to keep her calm and reassure her. "You love your life with the Doctor, can you honestly say that you would want it any other way?" Her head shook against his chest, as she tried not to let herself get too emotional. "I got a few more surprises for you, so let's go back downstairs, okay?"
Jack led her back down all the stairs, and stopped when they reached the set that led down to the basement. He gave her a smile before taking her down there, stopping when they reached the bottom and a closed door. "Okay, now close your eyes." Kari did as she was told and yet Jack still covered her eyes with his hands. She heard him open the door and led her inside. "Okay, open them." He said, moving his hands away.
Kari blinked a few times as she looked around, it was like a little flat, and they were in the living room of it. She looked over to the ornate fireplace and her eyes landing on the photographs there. She stepped over to them, and took a closer look, before turning back to Jack, waiting for him to explain what she was looking at.
All he could do was smile at her. "I already moved anything that could be a spoiler for you. There was actually a lot."
"Jack, I'm still confused, can you please just explain to me what is going on? I mean, this picture, it's us, and there's even more of me with everyone else. I'm getting ready to start freaking out." Kari admitted to him.
He took a step over towards her, tugging the frame out of her hands and putting it back where it was. "The basement is my own little apartment. The owner of this beautiful house is a very close friend of mine." Kari just continued to look at him blankly. "She's my little Princess."
Her eyes widened at his words. "Whoa, back up a second. The owner of this place is your little Princess?" She said, getting a nod in response. "But… I thought I was your Princess?"
Jack couldn't help but chuckle at little at her confusion. "You are my only Princess, Kari. This is your house. That's all I'm going to tell you, the rest would be spoilers, and I know just how much you despise them."
She was still standing there in shock. "This is my house? Since when the hell did I have a house?"
"Like I said, spoilers." Jack told her, before kissing the top of her head once again. "I take it you like it? I mean, you know, you did decorate it."
Kari's shock quickly disappeared, and she jumped at Jack, quite literally. "Oh my God! I love this house! And it's mine. It really is mine right? You're not just making this up are you? I have a house?"
"Yes, Kari, this is your house. Now, how about we go and catch up properly?" Kari just nodded at him, a little dazed from all the information that Jack had just given her. It was a lot for her to process, considering she had never even thought about owning her own home since she started travelling with the Doctor and accepted that she could never live a normal life again.
"So, what exactly are you doing here then, Jack?" Kari asked him, as they sat out in the immaculate back garden of her house.
He smirked at her as he took a sip of the amber liquid in the glass he was holding. "Waiting for you. I knew you were coming, so I decided to take some time away to wait for you."
Kari held onto the wine glass, looking at the deep red drink before looking up at the man who was one of her best friends and brother. "You mean you came from Cardiff to come see me? Still waiting for the Doctor to show up?"
"Yeah, basically. Your extremely complicated life tends to give me a few good excuses to take a few days away from work to come and visit. But I can't stay for long, tomorrow you start with a different adventure." He told her, smiling but trying his best not to give anything away.
"Why, what happens tomorrow? And how do you know about it?" Kari asked him, giving him a suspicious look.
"Oh, I know everything." He told her smugly, which just make her intensify her gaze on him. "You tend to keep me up to date with everything that has happened or will happen, to make sure I'm in the right place at the right time."
Kari shrugged her shoulders at him. "Okay, that makes sense. But why do you have to go? Can't you stay for a little while longer?" She asked him with pleading eyes.
The smug grin had now transformed into a sad smile. "I'd love to, Princess, but I can't. I have to get back to monitoring the rift, and you, well… you're just going to have to wait and see tomorrow." That was when Kari decided to use her pouty puppy dog look on him, only it just made him laugh a little. "Not going to work on me this time, Princess. Everything will be okay, and you know where I am if you need me."
The pair of them stayed outside in the garden talking until long after midnight. There was a wood burner set in front of them, the flames flickering in the light breeze. "I miss the Doctor." Kari said suddenly, looking at her empty glass. "The things that have happened recently, they've made me break. I saw my best friend die, found out more about why I'm here, watched the Doctor regenerate. Not to mention being stuck in a dream world where I didn't exist and nobody knew me. Not even you knew me, Jack."
"It was only a dream, Princess. I can never, and will never, forget about you." Jack assured her, plucking the glass from her hand, setting it on the small table before grasping both her hands tightly. "You changed my life, Kari, for the better. I'm a better man because of you. You saved me, in more ways than one. And you will forever be my little sister, my Princess. " He told her, before pulling her out of the chair so that he could give her a proper hug.
Kari gladly accepted it, since she felt like she was ready to once more have a complete emotional break down. She seemed to be having so many of them recently, but then so much had happened and she didn't know how to deal with it all. This whole life was new to her, the feels she was experiencing was new, and it scared her, more than the Daleks or the Weeping Angels ever could.
"Come on, you've got a long day ahead of you, you need your sleep." He told her, keeping his arms around her as he directed her into the house. "Now, which room do you think is yours?" He asked her, stopping on the first floor.
She looked at the doors to the bedrooms, and there was a strange feeling she was getting from the one to her left. "That one." She said as she pointed to the door. "I don't know why, but I just feel like that's my room."
Jack nodded at her, led her into the room and gave her another hug before bidding her goodnight and heading back down to his own little living quarters in the basement. Kari rummaged through the draws, finding herself a pair of pyjamas before going and getting cleaned up.
A short while later she was curled up in bed, her psychic paper in her hand. She couldn't stop thinking about the Doctor, wondering where he was and what he was doing. She really did miss not being there with him, and she just wanted to see his face, any of his faces, and hold his hand.
She looked at the paper, thinking a message to send to the Doctor. 'I miss you. I love you xx.' Kari watched, as it burned brighter before fading away, a sigh slipping past her lips. She wasn't really that tired, not physically at least. Her mind just wouldn't stop running over everything that had happened. Kari didn't even know how long she had been with the Doctor for now, but it felt like she had been with him forever.
Whenever she tried to think of her life before, her life with her dad living in Cardiff, she only got fragments. She had forgotten so much, and she did miss her father, but she was happy now, so happy. She was thinking about when the Doctor appeared in her garden, with Amy and Rory watching as she tried to act like she wasn't freaking out on the inside. It was with those thoughts in her mind that she finally fell asleep, a small smile tugging at her lips.
Kari was only woken when someone started to gently shake her, making her groan a little at the disturbance. "Hey, I've got to go now, Princess." Jack whispered to her as she slowly opened her eyes.
"What time is it?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes with a fist.
"It's just gone 10am, and I really need to be heading back now. I've made you breakfast, and your tea is down there waiting for you as well." He said, leaning over and lightly kissing the top of her head, like he always did. "You're keys are on the table. I'll see you again soon, Princess. And behave today, okay?"
"Hmm, yeah. I'll behave, I always do, right?" She said, making him chortle. "Bye Jack, and thanks." He smiled at her, before heading out of her room, down the stairs, and out the front door. Kari waited until she had heard the door close before dragging herself out of her warm and comfy bed and into the land of the living.
The bathroom was just as perfect as the rest of the house, and she quickly turned on the taps to fill up the bathtub. She sat on the edge, pouring in the honey and vanilla bubble bath and enjoying the calming sound of the water running. It was strange how even though it was her first time in the house, it already felt like a home to her.
Just over an hour later and she was washed, dressed and had eaten the breakfast that big brother Jack had left for her. "I wonder what is so special today?" She mumbled to herself, looking out of the kitchen window and at the garden. She wasn't so keen on the fact that she still didn't really know where she was, and that she was now on her own once more.
After sitting there for a while longer, Kari found that she was getting rather bored. She needed something to do, something that didn't involve just sitting around and waiting for something to happen. She grabbed her coat and the house keys that were sitting on the table and made her way outside.
She walked along the streets, completely lost in thought, when her stomach turned and felt a slight thumping in her head. That wasn't normal for her, it wasn't the kind of thumping she would get when she was about to be whisked off somewhere else, and it wasn't how she had felt when the TARDIS Matrix had been pulled away. It was something different, something new, and it scared her.
"I wish Jack was still here." She whispered to herself, wondering if she was starting to come down with something. "I don't like being on my own any more." That was when she heard two very familiar voices heading her way.
Kari's head snapped up as she followed the sound of the voices, and her eyes widened at the pair she saw, dusting themselves off and getting on their feet. The next thing she knew, she was barrelling towards them, both of her hearts pounding in her chest as she went. Her eyes were set on one person and one person only, and her feet were taking her towards them.
"Oh, I hate travelling like that." The man said, patting down the pockets of his coat. "Nasty way to travel." Before he could say anything else, Kari had charged into him, knocking him off his feet as she grasped hold of him tightly. "What the…" He managed to say, before looking down at the mass that was clinging onto him. His frown turned into a smile when he saw the golden hair, hiding the face of whoever it was.
"Doctor…" Kari mumbled into his chest, trying to keep herself together and not start crying. She didn't realise that he might have been the whole reason why she was there, none of that ever occurred to her. She just thought it was something else, since she had met Jack there.
Still with Kari holding onto him, he pulled himself up a little so that they weren't both lying on the ground of the alley they were still in. "Hello to you as well." The Doctor said softly, brushing Kari's hair away from her face. "I take it you're happy to see me?"
She managed to nod a little. "Yeah, I am. I've been walking around aimlessly, not knowing what to do or why I was even here." Kari told him, before pulling away and looking over at the woman standing and watching the pair. "Hi, Martha. You two been having fun?" Kari asked, a small blush creeping up her neck and to her cheeks.
"Well, we were." Martha replied, giving the Doctor a firm and rather annoyed look.
That was when everything clicked into place for Kari. "Uh, would I be right in saying that the pair of you were at Wester Drumlins, leaving messages before being sent back in time by the touch of an Angel?" She asked, frowning at the Doctor.
"Oh, you know everything already, don't you?" Martha asked her, her eyes gleaming a little. Kari just nodded, letting her know that she did. "Great, so where are we?"
Kari pushed herself off the Doctor and he helped her to stand up properly. "Welcome to 1969. Richard Nixon becomes the 37th President of the United States, the start of Seasame Street, the internet, and how can we forget the moon landing as well. So much to look forward to." Kari told them, keeping a rather large smile on her face as she held onto the Doctor's hand tightly.
"So, you know what's going on and what's going to happen then?" The Doctor asked her, just making sure that she wasn't rambling for a more serious reason.
"Yup, I do. Actually, I'm surprised that I'm here. I mean, you saw the message painted on the wall, it was for me as well as Sally. And yet, now I'm here." Kari told them, dragging the Doctor out of the alley and back into the main street with Martha trailing behind a little.
"Ah, you haven't actually seen everything she gave us, have you?" The Doctor asked, a few more things starting to make more sense to him now.
"No, I haven't. I was just there, at Wester Drumlins with Sally. We went to the police, they had the TARDIS in an underground car park with all the other cars. I kind of sneaked into the TARDIS and showed up here last night." Kari explained, leading them towards Bricker Lane. "I didn't know I'd end up having to deal with it from both ends."
The Doctor could only smile at her. "I wondered why I had to leave the message for you as well. I thought that you'd be stuck there until we got the TARDIS back." He admitted to her.
"Well I wasn't. Our dear old sexy decided to let me in without a key, like she always does, and then the universe decided to send me here." Kari was happy, because she now got to finish the adventure with the Doctor. "Anyway, we're going to be here for a while so we need somewhere to stay, and I know the perfect place." She told him, dragging him with her as she turned into Bricker Lane.
"So what else can your all knowing power tell us, Kari?" Martha asked, as she tried to find a distracting from all the extravagant houses they were walking past.
"Spoilers, Miss Jones, spoilers." Kari told them, stopping outside of number 32. "And here we are. 32 Bricker Lane. Lovely house, I know the owner." She said, pulling her keys out of her coat pocket and opening the door. "So make yourself at home. Bedrooms on the first and second floor, and Doctor, there is a fantastic library at the top."
They three of them stepped inside and straight away the Doctor and Martha were investigating while Kari put the kettle on to make some tea. She couldn't help but hum to herself a little as she wandered around the kitchen, her kitchen. She almost jumped out of her skin when someone wrapped their arms around her waist from behind her.
"Okay, I give up. Who owns this house?" The Doctor asked her, pulling her closer towards him. Kari couldn't help but smirk, he didn't have a clue that she owned that house. "I'm sure we've been here before, but I don't remember."
"Jack's little Princess owns this house." Kari told him, keeping her tone natural as she tossed the tea bags into the mugs.
A frown then form on the Doctor's face from her comment. "But you're his little Princess." Kari just nodded and carried on waiting for the water to boil and the kettle to flick off. "And if this is his little Princess's house, and you're his little Princess, then that means…"
He was cut off as Martha came into the room, completely awe struck at the size of the grand house. "I am so jealous. I love this place. Who ever owns it is really lucky, and has to have a fair bit of money."
"Nah, I don't have that much money, I just know people who do." Kari said, finally pouring the water into the mugs. "I was jealous as well, until I found out that it was mine."
The Doctor spun her around the moment the kettle was put back in place. "This… this is your house?" He asked, making her nod as she grabbed a mug and tried to hand it to him. "Since when do you have a house? Why do you need a house? I thought… well, I thought…"
"Doctor, calm down. I'm not planning on leaving the TARDIS and living here, I would never do that." Kari told him, seeing the fear and sadness in his eyes. "My… big brother got me this house. He knew that I would need it one day, and here we all are." She told him, not mentioning Jack's name since Martha was there and hadn't actually met him yet. "I'm not leaving you, Doctor. Never."
He smiled at her, before reaching down and giving her a quick kiss on the lips. "Okay." He whispered to her, before finally taking the mug from her.
"Well then, now we are all here, all we have to do is wait for Billy to show up. Once he does, we record the 'Easter Egg' for Sally and wait." Kari rattled off, handing Martha her tea before sitting down next to her at the breakfast bar. "The Angels will be quantum locked forever and we will have the TARDIS back. Easy. Well, mostly easy."
"What do you mean, mostly?" Martha asked her curiously.
Kari couldn't help but smirk at her. "Because now we have to live in a house, with the Doctor, while he makes a device to let us know when Billy has arrived. He's going to be destroying all of my kitchen appliances." She said, her face suddenly dropping. "Oh no, I should have asked for some cash as well." She groaned, wishing she had asked Jack for some money so that Martha didn't have to go out and get a job to support them.
"Oi, I am not that bad, thank you very much." The Doctor cried, giving Kari a nudge as he sat on her other side with his tea.
Kari was truly happy. She had the Doctor there with her, and she had Martha there as well. She hadn't spent much time with Martha yet, but she was really looking forward to it. The time they had from now until they had the TARDIS back, she was going to make the most of it. Kari was determined to spend some time with Martha and get to know her better, and to spend some time with the Doctor when they aren't trying to save the universe. She couldn't help but feel that for once, everything was perfect.
A/N: So who saw the coming? Apart from me, of course. There is a really really good reason for me doing it all like this, and you will find out one day.
I really couldn't help but bringing Jack in, he is just too awesome to be gone for so long.
Anyway, thank you to everyone who has favourtied/followed the story. I love knowing that there are people out there who are reading this and enjoying it as well. And also, a massive thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I love reviews, they make me smile every time I get the notification, and even more when I read them. So please, keep them coming.
Until the next time, or next week I should say.
Pippa.