A/N: Update slightly earlier, mainly because I couldn't sleep and it was ready and I thought why not. Hopefully there are very few grammar and spelling errors in this chapter, but if you see anything, let me know! Now, enjoy!
The pair of them had sat there for hours, just gazing outside of the TARDIS as they drifted through the Daleram System. There was so much that the Doctor want to ask her, to find out about, and just to let her know that she wasn't alone. But he couldn't do it, because he knew it would just be pushing her away from him.
Kari had just been trying to forget it all, to forget everything that had happened and to block it all from her head. No matter how much she told the Doctor that she was fine, that she was okay, she really wasn't. However, she had made a promise to herself that she was going to stop being so emotional, to stop crying and being so weak, and that was what she was now doing.
They were still sitting there when Amy came into the room, dressed but clearly still half asleep. "So, what have I missed then?" Her Scottish voice called as she covered a yawn that escaped.
Kari quickly pulled herself away from the Doctor, no longer resting against his arm. It was almost as if he was suddenly burning her, a raging fire rather than a warm pillow. The Doctor was quick to frown at her sudden action, and gave him yet another thing to worry about.
Instead of dwelling on it, the Doctor decided to greet the red head that had entered the room. "Ah, Amy, you're up. It's about time. Kari arrived last night. We've been waiting for you so we can go off on an adventure." He told her, jumping up and dashing around the console. He hadn't waited to help Kari up, he had a feeling that she would just brush him off if he did try.
"Morning, Kari!" Amy called cheerfully, as the woman finally decided to get herself up. Even she could see that there was something wrong. The expression she saw on Kari's face was not the usual smile that greeted her. "Is everything okay?"
Kari nodded at her as she wandered over to the console. "Yup, everything's fine. So, what do you fancy doing today then?" She asked her casually, making sure to keep up her act. The truth of it was, she wanted nothing more than to give Amy a huge hug, to wrap her arms around her and tell her that everything was going to be all right in the end. Unfortunately, she knew that she couldn't.
"Well, I was hoping for Rio." Amy hinted, still wondering what was wrong with Kari. "But he got it wrong. Again."
The Doctor let out a slight groan at the reminded. "Yes, okay. Thank you, Pond. Now, I know exactly where we are going, so hold on." He told them both, before pulling down the lever and sending them hurtling through the time vortex. As the ship shook, he glanced over at Kari. She was holding onto the railings, but the look on her face told him that she was thinking about something.
"What's wrong with Kari?" Amy suddenly whispered to him, having snuck around the console, even with all the shaking, to now be standing beside the Doctor.
He looked at the red head, before giving Kari yet another worried glance. "She's… she's had a tough time. Where she's just come from, it wasn't good. All the things that happened, it got to her, but she refuses to talk about it." The Time Lord let out a sigh. "I've tried talking to her, but she really doesn't want to talk about it."
The red head could hear the worry in his voice, and she hadn't missed the way he kept looking over at the woman. "What happened to her?" Amy knew that it was something bad, and she could see that it had hit Kari hard.
The Doctor could feel his hearts twisting in his chest as he thought about it all, about everything that had happened to her in that year. "There was a year, a whole year that never happened. Except for us, for those who were there at the eye of the storm. In that year, she lost all her memories, was lied to, trapped, and walked the Earth as it was destroyed. She saw terrible things, things that she can never forget." He told her, trying desperately to ignore the pain in his chest, which was worsening. "It was the year that broke her."
Amy just looked at him, wide eyed and slacked jaw. "What do we do? There has to be something we can do, Doctor." All Amy could think about was her friend, and all the horrendous things that she must have gone through. Now that she knew what had happened, it was clear to see she had been through some terrible things. She noticed how pale, and thin her friend looked. The sparkle in her eyes seemed to have faded, and the smile that was always plastered across her face was nowhere to be seen.
"I'm working in it, Amy." The Doctor assured her, just as the ship made a thump, finally landing wherever it was that the Doctor had sent them. "Right, come on then you two. Time to go and explore." He said, grabbing hold of Amy's hand before running over towards Kari. When he reached her, he grabbed her hand tightly as well, giving her a hug smile. But she didn't even look at him, she barely even grasped hold of his hand. Things seemed to be a lot more serious than he had first thought.
He held her hand tightly as Amy opened the door with her free hand, knowing that the Doctor was not going to let go of Kari's hand anytime soon. He really hadn't planned this trip just for Amy, he really had been thinking of Kari as well as all the things that she had said. "Welcome to Zen Zee Sha." He was watching Kari out of the corner of his eye, and for the briefest moment, he thought there was a hint of a smile on her face, but it was quickly gone.
"Oh… wow…" Amy managed to breathe, looking at the sight before the trio. All around them, the grass was a lush green, waterfalls reached further than they could see, and the flash of multi-coloured birds as they darted past them. A laugh slipped out as she continued to look around, still amazed with all the places that the Doctor and Kari were taking her.
While Amy was distracted with everything that was before them, the Doctor was paying close attention to Kari. She was gazing at one of the waterfalls, her eyes completely transfixed on it. He gave her a little nudge, causing her to shake her head a little before looking at him. "So, what do you think?" He asked her quietly, hoping that she was at least give him a smile.
"Uh, it's okay." She told him, trying to pull herself back together. She had not stopped thinking about everything that Amy was going through, about everything that her friend had lost. Although she knew it was going to be all right in the end, that they would eventually get back together, Kari couldn't help but think about everything that Amy was feeling, and missing.
The Doctor couldn't help but frown at her and her response. "Okay? Is that it?" He asked her, trying not to show his concern. "Okay? Are you not impressed at all? Amy certainly is."
Kari looked over at Amy and saw her smiling away, smiling and happy. "That's because she had no idea where we were going. You asked me where we should take her, it's not really that big of a surprise to me." She answered him, her voice flat and neutral.
"Ah, you made suggestions, you have no idea what this place is." The Doctor told her smugly, a grin appearing on his face.
All Kari could do was look at him, dead in the eyes. "A spa." Her answer was short and simple, and also correct. "This better not turn into another 'Midnight'."
It would appear that Amy had heard that comment, and looked over at the pair of them. 'Midnight? What's Midnight?" The confusion and curiosity was evident in her voice as she spoke.
The Doctor didn't turn to face Amy, he kept his gaze locked with Kari. "A planet."
"And what happened? What was there?" The red head asked, wanting to know more.
"Oh, nothing much. Just a leisure palace, and a tour."
Kari was also staring at the Doctor, but her expression was completely different to his. "A tour across a planet made of diamonds, turning around an extonic sun, with something living out there, something dangerous."
"When was this?"
"A long time ago. A life time ago." The Doctor replied, still not taking his eyes from Kari. He could see something there, something that he wasn't sure about, something that he didn't recognise. "They moved out. This is not going to be the same."
"Know that for certain, do you?" Kari asked, while Amy just looked at the pair in utter confusion. She had no idea what had actually happened back then, but judging from the way the pair was carrying on, it was something bad.
"Kari…"
"I'm not doing this. I'm not going to go through all that again." That was when the Doctor recognised what it was he could see. He could see that she was scared, even though she was trying so desperately to cover it up. Kari was doing everything she could to hide her emotions, to cover them up. But he had just about seen through it all.
He let out a sigh, knowing that he had to convince her that this trip was not going to be anything like what had happened on Midnight. "Kari, this place is nothing like Midnight, I swear to you. There are no monsters lurking in the wildness, nothing out in the unknown. This place is safe. I promise you, we are safe." The Doctor told her, trying to reassure her that everything was going to be fine.
"If you say so." Kari replied, giving him a disinterested look before turning away from him and breaking the little staring competition they were having. She didn't like the way he was looking at her, with those ancient eyes that were full of worry. She didn't want him to keep worrying about her, she wanted him to just accept that there were things that bothered her but didn't want to talk about. She wanted him to stop asking her if she was okay, if everything was all right, she just wanted to move on from it all.
Amy quickly cleared her throat, trying to defuse some of the tension that was building in the air. "Okay, so, what are we doing here then?" She asked them cheerfully, hoping that the mood would change and that Kari we be her bubbly self and finally start smiling.
"Ah, well, I thought it would be nice to treat the pair of you to a special day." The Doctor told them both, putting on his best smile. He was hoping that he could get Kari to just relax, even if that did mean a bit of a boring day for him. He would do anything for her, even if that did mean missing out on some amazing adventure somewhere in time and space.
"A special day? And what exactly do you mean by that, Doctor?" Amy asked, as she linked her arm through Kari's, dragging the woman forward and further away from the blue box that they had left.
The Doctor took the hint and started to walk with them, reaching out and taking a hold of Kari's hand, even if she didn't want to hold it back. "Well, Kari mentioned something about no running and monsters, somewhere safe, I believe she said." He told her, giving Kari a little nudge. She didn't look at him, or even try to smile. Once again, she looked as if she was in a world of her own. "And I just thought, after all the monsters and saving planets, we could do with a little bit of relaxation."
Amy raised an eyebrow at him, knowing that he wasn't being completely truthful, but also knowing that there was no point in asking about it. "Okay, and what exactly does relaxation mean? What is this place?"
Before the Doctor had a chance to open his mouth, Kari was answering the question. "A spa. He's taken us to a spa."
"I don't know what you're so grouchy for." The Doctor told her, giving her another nudge. "You're the one that originally suggested it." And he was right, it had been her who suggested taking Amy to the spa for the day, to have some pamper time.
Kari just let out a sigh and ignored him. She ended up blocking out the rest of the universe for a while, including when the Doctor checked them in and left the two ladies alone to get on with it. He was going off to do something in the TARDIS, or so he had told them both. Amy didn't believe him, and Kari just hadn't even heard him.
"So, what should we do first?" Amy asked her, sitting in their room and looking through the pamphlet with all the different treatments in it. "Massages, facial, a mud bath, the sauna? What do you think?"
Kari kept her gaze focused on the landscape that was outside of the window. Once again she was gazing at one of the waterfalls, lost in her own little world. "I don't know. Whatever you want, Amy."
Her friend frowned at her, putting down the leaflet and moving over to where she was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Kari, please, talk to me, tell me what's wrong." Amy pleaded with her gently. She knew that the Doctor was having no luck with getting her to open up, but there was a little bit of hope that maybe she could. "You seem so different right now, nothing like how you usually are. So please, what's wrong?"
She finally pulled her eyes away from the waterfall and looked at the red head beside her. "Nothing is wrong, Amy. It's just been a long few days, you know?"
Amy wasn't so quick to believe her, not after what the Doctor had told her. "A long few days? Really?" Kari nodded her head at her as she let out a sigh. "Well then, a day of pampering will do you some good. Now, come on!" She didn't get a chance to protest, as Amy grabbed hold of her hand and dragged her from the room. Her mission was to get Kari to relax and just calm down. Amy could see she was stressed and needed to take a break from it all, and hoped that a little therapy time would get her to open up.
The first thing that Amy dragged her along for was a massage. While Amy opted for the full body Swedish massage, Kari secretly decided to have an aromatherapy massage. There was a little bit of hope that maybe it would relax her a little, but she didn't want Amy to catch on how she was really feeling.
Amy was loving every single minute of it. She was enjoying the rest and the time away from running. Oh, she was tired of running and really did need a break from it all. What she was also enjoying, was having some girly time with Kari, even if it was only her doing all the talking. "What do you think the Doctor is really up to?" She asked her, as they headed back to their room after their messages. "Do you really believe he is just doing something in the TARDIS? I bet he's up to something."
"He is up to something, he is always up to something." Kari told her, still not really feeling any more relaxed. Although she had enjoyed the massage, the whole time her thoughts kept wandering back to what had happened. "And right now, he isn't even here. And by here, I mean on the planet. He's taken the TARDIS off somewhere."
"What?" Amy asked her in utter shock. "He… he's left us here? How do you know?"
Kari shrugged at her. "I just know. I knew the minute he left. Which was some time ago now. Don't know what he's up to, don't care right now either." She had felt it when he went, when the ship had left, but she really wasn't that bothered about it. For a start, she knew that the Doctor would come back, and she had never really expected him to stay there while she was with Amy getting the special treatment at the spa. It only made sense that he had disappeared off somewhere.
Seeing that Kari wasn't panicking, Amy decided not to panic over it all either. "Right, what do you want to do next? We've had our massage, how about we go and relax in the steam room for a while?" It was clear to see that she was going to make the most out of the day, and not let Kari get out of anything.
"Sure, why not?" There was no point in even trying to argue, not that she would try. Kari was more worried about Amy and how she was coping with everything, while Amy was worrying about her.
A few hours later, and both of them were actually rather exhausted. After the trip to the steam room, they had been for a facial, which had lasted a lot longer than either of them had anticipated. As soon as they were back in their room, Kari collapsed onto her bed.
Amy chuckled as she too threw herself on her bed. "Who knew being pampered all day would be so exhausting?" She asked, not aching at all but just completely relaxed and at ease.
"Please tell me there isn't any thing else you want to do, Amy. Please?" Kari moaned, curling up into a ball on the bed, hugging the pillow against her chest as she did. All she wanted to do was sleep, not go and have more beauty treatments or people doing things to make her relax. She wanted to be left alone for a while.
"Aw, are you a little tired?" Amy asked her, slightly mockingly.
Kari groaned into the pillow. "Oh, shut up, Pond. You said it yourself, this is exhausting. I want a nap."
"Yeah, I could do with a nap myself. Then, maybe one more thing before the Doctor comes to pick us up. What do you say?" She was hoping that Kari would say yes. During the facial, Amy had actually managed to get her to almost laugh. Kari had done well to contain it, but she had seen it, it had been there, close to the surface, and it almost came out.
Once again Kari groaned. "Go away. Let me sleep." She replied, shoving her face further into the soft pillow.
A smile stretched across Amy's face as she saw that little hint of the Kari she knew and loved. "Night night, Kari." She called, making herself comfy on her own bed, ready for her own nap.
A slightly muffled hum came from the other bed. "Night, Amy." Kari managed to say, before she drifted off to some much needed sleep. It had been a long time since she had actually had a decent sleep, too much had been going on and she had just been so stressed. Now she was rather relaxed and she actually welcomed the escape from reality. Only her escape from reality led her to a land of nightmares.
"Where is she?" The Master asked, completely ignoring everything that the Doctor had just said. Only the Doctor didn't answer him, he kept his mouth firmly shut. "Tell me where she is!" He bellowed, clearly not impressed with the silence from the Doctor. "Oh, no. Wait a minute, she's here, isn't she?" The Doctor kept his face impassive, not giving anything away. The Master just sniffed the air, taking a few short and sharp breaths through his nose. "Smell that?" He asked, sniffing once again, only much longer and deeper. "Oh, the smell of honey and vanilla."
"Leave Kari out of this. This is between you and me. So stop this, stop this right now." The Doctor pleaded.
"No, no, no, no, no. No. You see this, this is always about her. You don't get it, Doctor, you just don't see it." The Master told him, starting to act just a little more crazy. "Come on, my precious Angel, time to show yourself." He said, bouncing around the room a little.
"She isn't here. Kari isn't here." The Doctor said, hoping that he would believe him. "I swear to you, she isn't here. You took her, you had her in the TARDIS."
The Master just looked at him, what looked like a fire starting to blaze in his eyes. "No. She's here. I can smell her, the honey and vanilla. You wouldn't notice it, Doctor."
All the Doctor could do was look at him. "Her shampoo." He said, causing the Master to snap his head around and look at him. Even she was a little bewildered at what the Doctor had said. "Honey and vanilla."
On the bed, Kari tossed and turned a little, still gripping onto the pillow tightly.
The Master turned around and his eyes locked with hers. He tilted his head to the side a little, just looking at her before a smirk took over his face. "Finally, she shows herself." He said, before bounding down the steps and heading straight for her. She went to run, she tried to run, but the Master grabbed a tight hold of her arm. "Oh no, you're not getting away from me this time." The grip on her arm tightened, causing her to wince from the pain.
"Let her go!" Jack shouted, getting up off the floor, only for the Master to shoot him dead with his laser screwdriver once more.
"Please, please don't do this. You can stop this. Please, just stop." She asked him, staying as strong as she could. She couldn't understand how he had found her, how the perception filter that had been keeping her hidden could have broken.
The Master smiled at her some more as he breathed in the scent of her hair as he wrapped a lock around his finger. "Honey and vanilla. My favourite smell. And now, I have everything."
Kari stirred some more, making a complete mess of the bed, and entangling her legs in the covers that she was on top of. Sweat had started to form on her forehead, only a small amount, but it was still there.
He grabbed a hold of her wrists, before snapping a metal bracelet on each of them.
She felt an unbearable pain soar through her body, and she let out a cry as she fell to her knees. Tears began to sting her eyes, purely from the pain that was coursing through her body. She had no idea what it was, but it felt like something had been taken away from her, as if a part of her had been locked away. She was in pure agony and she had no idea why.
The Master had still been holding onto her wrists as she went down, and he soon released her hands and carefully pulled her up. "There we go, I know it hurts, but I'm not letting you get away from me again." He told her, trying to help her to stand. "Come on, up you get."
She was just in so much pain, and she choked out a sob. "What have you done to me?" She was absolutely petrified of what had just happened, and as the seconds passed by she felt even worse.
"For centuries I've been trying to find a way to tame the time vortex that flows within you. To stop you from being pulled from one place to another." He explained, slowly making his way over to the bed, still holding her up. "I remember, back on Gallifrey, how you would always say how you wished you didn't have to go, how you wished you could stop the jumping. I never stopped working on trying to find a way."
By now, her head was spinning madly. "But it hurts." She was feeling so sick now as well, and she was pretty sure that those chips that the Doctor had forced her to eat in the warehouse were about to make an unwanted appearance. "Please… take them off. Please…"
By now her tossing and turned was accompanied by mumbling, which had disturbed Amy. The red head was looking over at Kari in concern, wondering what was going on and if she was okay. "Hey, Kari?" She called softly, hoping that she could wake her up gently. "Kari?"
She didn't answer, just mumbled some more as her dreams continued to reply the events that had recently come to pass. That was when Amy got a little closer to her, noticing not only the beads of sweat that were covering her forehead and neck, but also the tears that had begun to stream down her face. Her concern for her friend was rapidly growing, and Amy had absolutely no idea what to do.
"Kari? Kari, wake up!" She called, giving her a little nudge this time. But it still didn't work, and she was still mumbling and tossing around on the bed. "Kari, it's just a dream. Come on, please, just wake up." Amy pleaded, just wishing she would wake up. "Please, Kari, please…" She grasped hold of her hand tightly, not knowing what else to do.
Kari mumbled some more, before suddenly bolting upright, her eyes wide and full of fear and panic. Her breathing was ragged, and tears were streaming down her face. She let out a scream when she felt someone wrap their arms around her, only for her to realise that it had been Amy and so let herself relax.
"Hey, shush, come on. It's okay, Kari. Whatever it is, it's over. It's okay." Amy told her comfortingly, holding her tightly and gently rubbing her back, trying to calm her as best she could. "It's okay."
The silent tears ceased, and Kari's breathing settled down. "I'm okay, Amy. I'm fine." She muttered, trying to push the woman away a little.
Amy just glared at her, knowing full well that she was not okay, and that she most definitely was not fine. "So, you scream like that often when you wake up, do you?" She questioned, wishing that the Doctor were there. She knew she was going to have to tell him what had happened later, when she managed to get him alone.
"Seriously, it's fine. It was just a bit of a bad dream, that's all. A load of stuff has happened recently, really, that's all it is." Kari told her, trying to convince the woman that it didn't matter and that she was really all right. "I sleep better when the Doctor is around, and since he isn't around, I don't sleep very well."
A frown formed on the red heads face. She knew that Kari generally did fall asleep when the Doctor was around, usually when the pair of them was just sitting around doing nothing. She would just cuddle up to him and fall asleep. "And what was this bad dream about then?" Kari quickly looked away from her. "Kari, you know you can talk to me. Whatever it was is bothering you, it will help to talk about it."
Kari quickly shook her head, not wanting to remember any of that time. It was bad enough going through it all the first time, the dreams were just wearing her down, there was no way she was going to be able to talk about it. "Amy, it's fine. I don't want to talk about it."
"But Kari…"
"I said, no." Kari shouted, pushing Amy as far away from her as she could. "I do not want to talk about it. Not with you, not with the Doctor, not with anyone! So drop it." She yanked the door open harshly, before storming out and slamming the door closed behind her. Amy just sat there, her mouth hanging open as she watched her go. Now she was even more sure that something was wrong.
Amy quickly dug through her things to find her phone, and quickly made a call to the TARDIS. "Amy, are you two finished already? I thought you'd want at least another two hours." The Doctor asked her, answering the phone.
"Doctor, something's wrong with Kari." Amy told him in a panic. "We were having a little nap, she was mumbling and kind of restless. When I managed to wake her up she was panicking, she couldn't breathe and she was crying. The moment I touched her she screamed."
She was sure she could hear the Doctor talking to someone else inside the TARDIS. "So, she had a bit of a nightmare then?" He asked, trying to piece it all together.
"Yeah, just a bit. And when I asked her about it, she totally flipped out. Pushed me away from her, shouted at me, and stormed off." Amy was actually a little hurt from the way that Kari had treated her. They were friends, great friends, and she only wanted to make sure that she really was all right.
"Right, I'm bringing the TARDIS back now. Give Kari some time to cool off, I'll have the TARDIS keep an eye on her for now." He told her, before ending the call.
Amy sat there on the bed, her phone in her hand and a tear rolling down her cheek as she thought about her friend. The Doctor had very briefly explained some of the things that had happened to Kari, of what she had been through, and all she wanted to do was help her. Amy wanted to be there for her, to help her and to support her. She wanted her to know that she wasn't alone and that she would always have people who cared about her around her. Yet all Kari seemed to want was to be left alone, pushing everyone as far away as she could.
A/N: I know this still wasn't the chapter you guys were expecting, but I do have some other stuff ready before we get to that. I'm not going to say when it will be posted, but Clara is coming, trust me.
Once again, I would like to thank all of you have favourited/followed the story. And to all you lovely, wonderful, brilliant, fantastic people who take the time to review, thank you all so much!
I'm going to keep this short and sweet, and say toodles! See you all next week!
Pippa.