A/N: Okay, so this chapter is… extra long. But there is a reason for that, honestly. I'll explain later, go, read, enjoy!
"So, where to next then?" The Doctor asked Kari as she returned from a rather nice and rather relaxing bath. All that tension had been washed away and she was definitely feeling a lot calmer now.
She shrugged her shoulders at him as she plonked herself down in the chair by the console. "I have no idea. Where do you want to go to next?" She asked, leaning back and making herself comfortable.
Rose had gone to unpack and get some sleep, they had actually been up all night saving the Earth, it was slightly tiresome. Except Kari and the Doctor were far from tired, okay, so maybe she was a little worn out, but she didn't feel like going to bed and getting some sleep. She wanted to spend some more time with the Doctor, she really did treasure the moments that they managed to get alone, and with her leather jacket wearing, big-eared Doctor, those moments were rare.
"Well, we can always go and do a little bit of exploring while Rose is catching up on her sleep." The Doctor said to her, wondering what Kari was going to say to that. Usually she didn't like heading out while they had someone with them, but occasionally she did. "Humans need so much sleep, waste half their lives asleep."
"Oh, be quiet, you." Kari said, rolling her eyes at him. At least he wasn't being too insulting to humans, even though she knew he could be really bad when he wanted to be. "I really don't mind what we do."
"Right, come on, then." The Doctor said, getting up from where he was sitting and taking Kari with him. "I know what we haven't done in a while, and Rose will never know we've gone."
Kari just frowned at him as he dragged her around the console with him while he pulled on levers and pushed different buttons. "Done what exactly? What are you planning, Doctor?" She had absolutely no idea what he was planning, but she was kind of excited inside. There were times when she really did enjoy not knowing, and the slight rush that it brought. That was one of those times.
He simply smiled at her, that big, stupid, goofy smile, as he pulled down the lever and sent them hurtling through the time vortex. Kari couldn't help but smile back at him, before her smile got bigger and bigger, and the giggles broke out, for no reason at all. But her laughing set of the Doctor, and soon enough the pair of them were both laughing, until the TARDIS landed, and they were both thrown off their feet.
The Doctor was on the grilled flooring, lying on his back, and Kari was lying on top of him, biting her bottom lip, trying to not laugh again. But the moment the Doctor smiled at her, the giggles came back out again. "Oh, you and your giggles." He ended up saying, not annoyed, but more in an endearing way. "Come on, you need to go and get changed." He told her, pushing himself up a little and planting a quick kiss on her lips, silencing her.
"Wait, what? Why have I got to get changed, what's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Kari asked him, letting him help her up and looking at her jeans and jumper. For some reason she felt a little cold when she finished her bath, and she wanted to be wrapped up nice and warm.
"Nothing, you look lovely, but you need to get changed."
Kari eyed him suspiciously. "Well, if you tell me where we're going, I'll know what to wear." She told him, before freezing on the spot. Those words were familiar to her, like she had heard someone say something like those to her before.
Then it suddenly hit her, where she had heard those words before, and they just kept on ringing in her head. Until the Doctor noticed her distracted state. "Kari? What's wrong?" He asked her, knowing that something had caused her to drift off into her own little world.
She quickly looked up at the Doctor. "Nothing, everything's fine." She replied, not knowing that she had actually being staring into space for almost ten minutes. For her, it had been mere moments, but in reality it had been slightly longer.
"Nope, everything is not fine. You've been in your own little world. Come on, Kari, what is it?" He could see straight through her, he knew with something wasn't right.
Although Kari didn't want to tell him, she knew she had to say something. "It's just… something I remembered." The look on the Doctor's face said that he wanted to know more than that, and Kari let out a sigh. "It was something that happened with the Trickster. I can't tell you any more than that, because it's all in your future, Doctor. So please, just… just leave it, okay?"
The Doctor nodded at her, before pulling her closer and giving her a comforting embrace. "Now, go and get changed. We're wasting time standing here, when we could be out there having fun." He told her, kissing the top of her head, before turning her around and pointing her in the direction of the spiral staircase.
Kari shook her head as she made her way to the gigantic wardrobe on board their magical ship. She was glad that the Doctor hadn't pushed to know more, because that whole event with the Trickster was something that she would rather forget. It still wasn't all that long ago for her, so everything that she had seen was still fresh in her mind.
She was still trying to forget all about it when she finally reached the wardrobe. "Well, I have no idea where we are or what we are doing, so I have no idea what to wear." Kari grumbled, wandering around rather aimlessly and looking at the rails of clothing. There was a slight hum from the ship and Kari turned around. "Oh, you are simply the best, Sexy." She said, knowing that the rack of dresses that had just appeared was thanks to the marvellous ship.
Her hand brushed over the dressed of all different colours. There were different shades of blue, purple, green, yellow, red, and even pink. But none of them were really catching her eye. It probably didn't help that she was still unaware of exactly what they were going to be doing. It was only as she was about to turn around and go take a second look when she noticed something dark, and catching between the red and pink dressed.
When she pulled it off the rail, she realised that it was a black dress that reached just past her knees. It wasn't one that was going to cling to her body, the skirt was more loose and flowing than that. The back of it was only slightly cut away, not too low to make her feel self-conscious, another thing that made her smile.
"Okay, a little black dress it is." Kari said to herself, before rushing to get changed, grabbing a pair of small heeled black shoes on her way. She knew that she had to hurry, because she had a habit of losing all sense of time when she was in the wardrobe.
It didn't take her too long to get changed into the dress, and to quickly slip on the heels. But when she looked in the mirror, she realised that her hair was a complete mess. She had let it dry naturally, which had resulted in the curls going slightly frizzy. Kari hadn't actually planned on going anywhere, so she hadn't bothered with her hair.
After tugging a brush through it, and trying to make it look at least a little more presentable, she gave up and tied it into a messy bun, pulling a few strands out to frame her face. It didn't actually look too bad in her opinion, and given more time she probably would have made it better, but her time was running out, and the shaking TARDIS reminded her of that.
Kari ended up almost running to the console, knowing that the Doctor was going to be annoyed with how long she was taking, but when she arrived, he wasn't there. With a sigh of relief, she threw herself down in the chair, wondering where the Doctor could have been.
"Right, come on." His voice suddenly called, as he appeared behind her. "Sorry, couldn't find my tie."
When Kari turned to look at him, she noticed that he was wearing a suit, again, complete with tie. "Uh, you're… you're wearing a suit. Again." She said slowly, as if not believing what she was actually saying.
"And what's wrong with that?" He asked her, straightening up his tie. All she could do was put up her hands in defence and shake her head at him. "Well, come on, we're wasting precious time." He told her, grasping a hold of her hand before bouncing down the ramp and towards the doors.
Kari didn't really have much choice but to go with him, he had a hold of her hand was not going to let it go any time soon. She hadn't even had a chance to ask him where they were, and it was slightly annoying that she was being pulled around everywhere.
When the Doctor pulled open the doors, Kari was a little disappointed. They seemed to be in an alleyway somewhere, which was not what she was expecting. "So, uh, where exactly are we?" She asked him, closing the door behind her as she stepped out.
"Oh, somewhere in London." He told her, really not planning on telling her much else.
"Right, well that's really helpful, Doctor." Kari replied, rolling her eyes at him as they began to walk down the alley and towards the main road. "What year?"
"2011… ish."
"Ish? Doctor, do you actually know what year it is, or did you just set some random date?" Kari asked him, really wishing he would just tell her where they were and where they were going.
The Doctor just shrugged at her, pulling her out of the alleyway and out into the high street where people were wandering around. It was only now that Kari noticed that it was dark out, and the stars were shining brightly in the sky above them.
She kept quiet as he led her through the people and away from where their little blue box was, and where Rose was peacefully sleeping. Kari hoped that they weren't going to be wandering around too much, or getting too far away from the TARDIS. She was worried that Rose would wake up and panic that the pair of them had disappeared, or think that something had happened to them.
They only stopped when they reached a rather posh looking restaurant, at least it looked posh to Kari from where she was gazing through the window. The women inside were all dressed elegantly, and the men all had suits on. She was starting to feel a little out of place, and they hadn't even gone inside yet.
A few minutes later and she found herself sitting down at a secluded table, away from the windows and away from the other diners. "Wine or water?" The Doctor said, causing her to look up at him and trying her best not to feel so awkward.
"Uh… whatever, I don't mind." She responded meekly, the waiter hovering at the table, waiting for a decision.
The Doctor pointed to something on the wine list, before the waiter disappeared and they were left alone. "Are you all right? You look like you've gone all nervous." He said, noticing the way she was fiddling with the hem of her dress and keeping her eyes locked on that particular spot she was playing with.
Kari nodded at him. "Yeah, I'm all right." Even when she answered, she kept on twiddling with it and didn't bother to look up at him.
"Liar."
With a rather large sigh, Kari stopped her fiddling and looked up at him. "I feel really out of place here, Doctor. Just look around you. This has got to be a really posh and really expensive restaurant. All those women look so classy, I mean, just look at their clothes, and all those diamonds." She hadn't failed to notice how they all seemed to be flashing the jewellery as well. They all had on sparkling necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings. The only jewellery she had on was the ring the Doctor had given her, and even that failed to compare to what the others had.
The Doctor reached over the table and took a hold of both her hands. "Kari, all those other people are nothing compared to you. You are the most beautiful person I have ever met, and you don't need all that flashy jewellery. You are perfect just the way you are, don't even try to compare yourself to them." He told her softly, knowing that she was doing exactly that. "You are worth more than all of them put together."
Her face flushed from what he had said. She still wasn't used to that particular Doctor being so sweet with her, she was too used to the arguing. "I really wish you wouldn't say things like that." She mumbled, wishing that she could cover her red cheeks somehow.
"Why not? It's true." He replied, not understanding that he was just embarrassing her by saying things like that. "None of them can compare to you, and that is all there is to say." That did nothing but made her cheeks go a deep shade of red, which in turn only made the Doctor smile even more. It was a vicious cycle that Kari was now stuck in.
"Why? Because it's embarrassing." Kari informed him, just as the waiter came back with a bottle of white wine. She kept silent while the man filled their glasses before leaving them alone again. "More alcohol? Do you have a drinking problem, Doctor?" She hoped that changing the topic of conversation would help her to calm down a little.
His glass was almost touching his lips when he stopped and looked at her. "Why would you think I had a drinking problem? It's only a glass of wine." It seemed that he saw no problem with having some wine.
"Well, when we were at Downing Street you were drinking all of that port, and now you're on the wine. Last time we went out for something to eat we had way too much to drink." Kari told him, remembering when they had gone dancing and for dinner. They had been drinking wine and champagne that night, because that was when he proposed to her, again.
The Doctor simply rolled his eyes at her. "I have no idea what you're talking about. And besides, I didn't have that much port, I don't really like port that much." He told her, finally taking a sip of the wine. "We're having dinner, there is nothing wrong with having a glass of wine with it."
Kari just eyed him suspiciously. She distinctly remembered saying something about laying off the alcohol for a while after that time, but she wasn't exactly sure how long ago that was for the Doctor. It was before they had met Rose, but it was so hard to tell how many other things had happened since then, how many unknown adventures had taken place. "Well, just the one, and that is it." She told him firmly, picking up her own glass without breaking eye contact with him. She was never really sure of the Doctor's drinking habits, she knew that there were certain regenerations that didn't drink at all, so she just assumed he wasn't a big fan of alcohol.
"Just the one bottle, cross my hearts." The Doctor replied, using his free hand to draw a cross over one heart and then the other. "Anyway, we're meant to be having a nice meal, so let's not worry about anything else."
Reluctantly, she let it drop, but it wasn't going to stop her from making sure to keep him away from alcohol for a while after the meal. "So, what's the food like here then?" Kari asked him, picking up the menu and taking a look at it.
"Well, it's not as good as it used to be. Oh, I knew the best chef that used to work here." The Doctor told her, looking over his own menu. The look that Kari was giving him was saying that she wanted to know more. "Lenny Flynn, best chef in the whole of the England. Now, one of the top chefs around the world."
Kari still wasn't too sure what to think about his answer, but there was something that was playing on her mind. "Hmm, and I wonder, did you have anything to do with that?" There was definitely some suspicion in her voice, and her eyes.
"What exactly are you accusing me of?" He sound hurt, but Kari could tell by the way he was dramatically holding his hand over his chest that he was only play at it.
She opened her mouth, and then closed it again. "You know what, I have absolutely no idea." She admitted, before they both burst out laughing, earning a few glares from the other diner in the room. "Seriously, Doctor, did you help this Lenny Flynn become a top chef?"
"I may have given him a little nudge. The lad was shy, but fantastic with food. He lacked self confidence, so I may have given him a bit of encouragement." The Doctor admitted to her, knowing that he would get caught out if he tried to lie to her. "But anyway, the new one here isn't too bad, still got a few things to learn, but it's a work in progress."
Kari couldn't help but roll her eyes at him once more. "Is there anything on the menu that you would recommend then?" She asked him, not really sure what half of the things on there actually were. Even the food sounded way too posh for her, she was happy for them to just go and have a pizza or something, but no, the Doctor had made her dress up, and taken her to a fancy restaurant.
The Doctor looked at her and chuckled a little. "Tell you what, I'll just order for both of us, and if you don't like it, you can order something else. Sound all right to you?" Kari didn't really know what to say so she simply nodded at him. "And, if you're lucky, I might even let you order desert."
"Oh, you'll let me, will you?" There was no way she as going to let anyone stop her from having desert if she wanted it, and that included the Doctor. "No one stands in the way of my and my chocolate." She warned him, leaning forward on the table a little.
"Really? No one stands in your way?" The Doctor asked her, copying her and leaning forward on the table as well.
Kari stared at him directly in the eyes. "No one. Not even a fleet of Daleks could get could get in the way of me and my love of chocolate." It seemed that the Doctor found that comment rather amusing, as a smirk spread across his face as he tried to hold in his laughter. "And the only reason that you're trying not to laugh is because you know that it's true."
It didn't take long for him to cave in and let a few laughs slip out, once again causing people to turn and look at them with disgust. "Don't these people know how to laugh?" He whispered to Kari, causing her to let out a few giggles. The Doctor soon managed to fix that by reaching right over the table and planting a quick kiss on her lips.
Before she could say anything, the waiter came over, ready to take their order. The Doctor was quick to tell the man what they wanted, while Kari hastily tried to hide the red cheeks that she now had, again. She ended up trying to hide behind her glass of wine, while looking anywhere but at the Doctor or the waiter.
Her eyes ended up scanning the room, and all the other people there. Kari still felt rather out of place, and she was glad that they were actually out of the way of everyone else. It was a place for the wealthy and those who liked to flash their cash as far as she was concerned. They all looked so posh and fancy in their clothes, apart from the man in the suit who was standing over in the corner, where there was a corridor that led to the restrooms.
"You have got to be kidding me." She muttered into her glass. "I'll, er… I'll be back in a minute, just need to use the bathroom." She told the Doctor, getting up and rushing away from the table before he even had a chance to reply.
The man had disappeared into the corridor the moment she had locked eyes with him, but she knew he wouldn't have gone far. When she actually made it to where the restrooms were, she saw two people standing there, apparently waiting for her. Kari simply stood there, and folded her arms across her chest.
"So, fancy seeing you here."
Kari rolled her eyes. "Hmm, yeah, because you had absolutely no idea when I was going to be here, did you, Doctor?" She told him, before a smile broke across her face and she threw herself at the man.
"Oi! Don't I get a hug as well?" The ginger woman standing behind the Doctor said, standing there with her hands on her hips.
The Doctor let Kari go and straight away she grabbed hold of the woman and hugged her tightly. "How you doing, super temp?" Kari asked, actually rather pleased to see her friend. It had been a while since she had last seen Donna, so it was a nice surprise for her.
"Oh, I'm all right. What about you, are you okay?" Donna asked her, both of them smiling away.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Out having dinner at the moment, can't say I expected you two to show up." Kari was still curious as to why the Doctor and Donna were actually there, especially when he knew she was with a different regeneration of him.
Donna just shrugged at her, having absolutely no idea why they were there, she was just going where the Doctor took her. "Well, it wouldn't be a surprise if you knew about it, would it?" The Doctor told her, flashing her a cheeky smile as he winked at her.
"Oh, of course, why didn't I think of that?" Kari asked him, smacking herself on the forehead lightly. "Seriously, what are you doing here, Doctor? Not that I'm not glad to see you, I am, trust me, I really am. But it's just…"
"Date night." He said, causing her to frown at him. "It's date night, I know. You're out on a date with big ears."
Kari couldn't believe what she had just heard him say. "Did… did you just call yourself 'big ears'?" He nodded at her, that smile still on his face. "Well, okay then. Yes, I am out on a date with 'big ears', and what of it?"
"Nothing, I just… well… I just…"
The time it was Donna who rolled her eyes. "He just wanted to come and spy on you. He said something about how much you kept blushing and how that made you look even cuter." The woman told her. "Honestly, he was acting like a love sick puppy the moment that you left."
That was something that Kari could actually believe. She knew that he had a tendency to mope about when she wasn't there, she had found that out form Martha. "That's nothing new. I take it he was being a right pain in the backside until you managed to find a way to shut him up?"
Donna nodded at her. "Yeah, I told him that it wouldn't be long until you came back, and he said 'why what when we can go to you'. And here we are, crashing your date." The last part of that was actually aimed at the Doctor, and he also received an elbow in the side at the same time.
"Hey, this is my date as well you know." The Doctor protested.
Kari put on her thinking face. "Yup, this is a totally messed up kind of relationship. My date night gets crashed by my date, without my date knowing. Does that sound normal to you, Donna?"
Her super temp just shook her head at her. "Nope, that really isn't normal. I don't know how you manage to keep up with it all, have you even gotten married yet?" This time Kari shook her head. She had no idea when the time would come when she actually would be married, but she was okay with that. "Right, well I think you should get back to your date then."
"Uh, yeah, I probably should. I did say that I was going to the bathroom, someone is going to start getting suspicious if I don't hurry up and get back there." Kari said, before giving Donna another hug. "I'm glad you came, I miss you, Donna."
"Nah, you'll see me soon, so no need to keep missing me." Donna told her, hugging her back just as tightly.
Then Kari whispered something to her, something that she hoped the Doctor wouldn't be able to hear. "Keep him out of trouble for me, yeah?" She did worry about him, and about the trouble that he could get into when she wasn't there. She knew that sometimes things happened that she didn't know about, and she just wanted to make sure that there was someone to look after him if that happened and she wasn't there.
"Course I will." Donna whispered back, before letting her go.
The Doctor just stood there, and Kari threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Stay out of trouble, mister. Please, just stay out of trouble."
He chuckled slight as his arms wrapped around her waist. "Me? Keep out of trouble? Is that even possible?" He asked her, causing her to laugh at little as well.
"No, I guess not." She replied, before looking up at him. In his eyes she could see a sparkle, a sparkle that she had only just started to notice. But she also saw a hint of sadness as well. "Don't worry, Doctor, I'll be popping in to see you soon."
The Doctor nodded at her, before reaching down and capturing his lips, causing Donna to roll her eyes and turn away. She wasn't going to tell them off, even though she usually would, because this was just a brief passing for them both.
When he finally let her breathe again, she was blushing, like she always did when they kissed. All he could do was smile at her. "Don't be long, okay?" He told her softly, tucking a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. Kari nodded at him in response, not yet able to find her words. "I love you."
"I love you too." She whispered to him, before watching as he and Donna walked to the other end of the corridor, disappearing through one of the doors. She stood there, waiting, and then she heard it, the sound of the TARDIS leaving. Once she heard that, she knew they were gone, and made her way back to the table where her leather jacket wearing Doctor was waiting for her.
She could see him frowning at her as she walked back over. "You took a while, everything all right?" He asked her, the worry seeping into his voice.
"Yeah, everything's fine, I just bumped into someone on the way and we ended up chatting." Kari told him, actually telling him the truth and not trying to spin him a lie. She knew there was no point lying to him, he would catch onto it at some point.
"You sure? You're look a little flushed. You're not coming down with something, are you? The last thing I want is for you to get sick." The Doctor said, reaching over the table and placing the back of his hand against her forehead.
Kari reached up and took a hold of his hand. "Doctor, I'm fine. I… uh, well, I didn't expect anyone I knew to be here, was a bit of a shock. Got myself into a fluster because of that."
"Well, as long as that's all it is. If you start to feel unwell, then make sure you let me know, okay?" It was easy to see that he was worried that something was wrong, and Kari actually found it rather sweet.
"Honestly, I'm all right, and if anything was wrong then I would tell you. I promise." Kari hoped that he would leave it at that, because she really didn't fancy telling him that she had just been down the corridor kiss a future regeneration of him, one that she found rather sexy. "Anyway, what did you order?"
The pair of them chatted away until their food arrived, and Kari was actually rather impressed with what the Doctor had ordered her. It was chicken, in some sort of creamy sauce, with potatoes and vegetables on the side. Along with their food, they had managed to drink a little more wine than Kari had wanted, as they were now on their second bottle.
Because of the amount of wine they had consumed, Kari desperately needed the toilet, this time to actually use it and not to see the Doctor. "Right, I'll be back in a few minutes, and then we can order desert." She told the Doctor, smile at him as she got up and dashed towards the bathroom.
She was just washing her hands when she heard an all too familiar noise coming from close by. "Really? Are you really going to do this to me?" She groaned, before opening the door to the ladies restroom and coming face to face with her bowtie wearing Doctor.
"Oh, hello. Fancy bumping into you here." Her fish finger and custard eating, fez loving, bowtie wearing Doctor said to her, a stupid grin on his face.
Kari really wanted to just put her head in her hands and let out a groan, but she managed to control herself. "Oh, yeah, considering you were here not so long ago, and you're still here anyway waiting for me to get back so we can order desert."
"Well, it's date night, I thought I'd come and see you."
"Right, of course you did." Kari said, wondering what the hell he was playing at. She was able to handle being with one Doctor and having a surprise visit from another, but having a surprise visit from two Doctor's was a little bit more difficult to deal with.
The Doctor didn't say anything, he just wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. "I forgot to tell you something earlier." He told her quietly, gazing into her eyes.
Kari could feel her chest pounding like mad. "Yeah, what was that?"
"You, are absolutely beautiful." He told her, before taking her by surprise and leaning down, his lips crashing against hers. Kari had no time to even predict what he was going to do, not that she was going to complain, she just kept getting surprised by him.
"Oh… oh, get a room!" A familiar female, and Scottish, voice called from behind the Doctor.
The Doctor and Kari both let out a groan as they broke apart. "Oi, shut up, Pond!" Kari called back, glancing over the Doctor's shoulder and spotting Amy and Rory both standing there. Rory was looking a little more awkward than Amy, because she was just standing there, arms folded across her chest as she watched the pair.
That was when the fiery red-head took a step away from the blue box. "What, are you going to make me?" There was a smirk on her face as she said that.
Kari gently pushed the Doctor to one side so that she could reach the woman. "Yeah, I'm going to make you, Amelia Pond." She said, before pouncing on the woman and embracing her. "You all right, Amy?" Kari then asked, hugging the woman rather tightly.
"Well, I was. I think you've just crushed my ribs." Amy moaned. "No, seriously, you're crushing me." Kari quickly let her go and looked at her sheepishly. "So, I take it you've missed me the most then?"
"Oh, well obviously, Amy. You know that you're the only reason I ever pop by." Kari replied, making sure to roll her eyes. "Do you want a rib crushing hug as well, Rory?" She then said, looking towards the man that was still standing there awkwardly.
He took a few steps forward. "Do I really have a choice?"
"Not at all." She told him, before hugging him just as tightly as he hugged Amy. "Now then, what are you all doing here?" Kari asked once all the hugging was over with.
Amy and Rory both pointed at the Doctor, which resulted in Kari frowning at him. "What? I already told you, date night."
A groan made its way out of Kari's mouth. "Yes, date night with a different you. I've already had another you show up, now I've got you here as well." Having one different Doctor show up was surprise enough for her, and she didn't mind that too much, but a second one was a little too much for her head to handle.
"We won't be here for long, I promise, I just wanted to stop by and see you, that's all." The Doctor told her, wrapping his arms around her once more. "I just wanted to make sure that you were okay, after everything that's happened."
"Wait, how far along are you?" She didn't even think about that when she had first seen him, or when she had heard Amy and seen Rory there. She didn't know if he had rebooted the universe or if they were before then, before Rory was erased from time.
The Doctor didn't seem to want to answer her for some reason, so Amy decided to jump in. "The Doctor promised to take us somewhere amazing for our honeymoon, but so far, he has failed to deliver that." The red head said, looking slightly annoyed with the Doctor.
Kari rolled her eyes, knowing that they were going to have a few disastrous honeymoon destinations come from the Doctor. "Now that I can believe. Doctor, why don't you just take them to Rio and leave them there for a few days?"
"Because you promised that you would get them to Rio." The Doctor replied, lightly tapping her on the nose. "Anyway, we should go." He added, after a quick look at his watch. "You've been gone for a little too long."
"Hmm, I wonder why." Kari said, before wrapping her arms around the man that was standing in front of her. "Look after yourself, and please try not to get into too much trouble." She mumbled, holding onto him and for some reason not wanting to let go. That Doctor was always so caring and protective of her, there was just something about the way she felt when they were together.
The Doctor chuckled slightly. "I always look after myself. I can't promise not to get into too much trouble, because you know it just follows us around." He replied, putting his arms around her as well. "I want you to stay out of trouble, and make sure that you look after yourself."
"I always look after myself." Kari mumbled, feeling her eyes starting to sting a little.
That didn't go unnoticed, as the Doctor slowly lifted her chin up and gazed into her eyes. "Hey, why are you crying?" He asked her, brushing away the tear that had managed to escape with the pad of his thumb.
"I'm just… I'm just happy to see you, and sad that you have to go. The last time I saw you… well…" She didn't know what to say, but she knew he had been there, and she knew she could tell him if she really wanted to. "Trickster."
That one word was all she needed to say for the Doctor to understand what she was talking about. "Oh, it's all right, Kari. All that is over with now, you haven't got to worry about it, okay?" He told her softly, causing her to nod her head a little. "Now, come on, no more tears. I'm going to get suspicious if you go back out there with red eyes and a wet face." He told her, wiping away some more of her tears.
Kari felt someone else touch her arm and looked to see Amy and Rory standing there. "We'll see you soon, okay? And we'll wait for you to take us to Rio." Amy told her, smiling at her before her husband dragged her into the TARDIS.
"Everything is okay, isn't it, Doctor?" Kari asked him, confusing him slightly. "I… I mean, with us."
"Oh Kari, of course everything is. No matter what happens, we always pull through it. Remember that, Kari, we always pull through." He told her, before kissing the top of her head. "Come on, you need to get back out there. I'll see you soon, all right?"
She nodded at him as she sniffed, trying her best to pull herself together. "I love you, Doctor." Kari managed to say to him.
He smiled at her in return. "I love you too, Kari." He told her, reaching down and leaving a light kiss on her lips. "You'll see me soon, I promise." Those were the final words he said before disappearing into the TARDIS, leaving her standing there as the blue box faded right in front of her eyes.
She had to wait a few minutes before making her way back to the table, where the Doctor was sitting with a worried expression on his face. Kari noticed that he kept glancing at his watch and was starting to fidget, as if he was getting a little restless.
When he looked up, he noticed Kari slowly plodding towards the table. "Hey, are you all right? You were taking so long I was about to…" He stopped when he saw the redness of his eyes. "What's the matter? You've… you've been crying." He was out of his seat in an instant and standing in front of her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I had something in my eye, and I kept rubbing it and making it worse before I finally managed to get it out. It was just an eyelash. Nothing to worry about." Kari told him, giving him one of her best smiles.
He looked at her with suspicion at first, but said nothing as he led her over to her seat and they both sat back down. "Kari, are you sure there is nothing else wrong? First you were a bit flushed, and now you look as if you've just spent the past half hour crying."
"Doctor, honestly, I'm fine, I promise." Kari told him, knowing that she couldn't tell him the truth. "I really didn't mean to worry you, I swear."
"All right, as long as you're sure. So, do you want desert, or are you ready to go now?" He was still worried, he always worried about his Kari. But he just felt that there was something going on that she wasn't telling him about, and that just made him worry even more.
Kari looked at him with an expression of mock horror on her face. "I've been waiting all evening to get my double chocolate fudge cake with fresh homemade vanilla ice cream. I am not leaving until I've had my cake."
That just set the Doctor off laughing a little. "Good job I already ordered it for you then while you were in the bathroom, poking your eye out."
"Hey, I was not poking my eye out, thank you very much. I was just rubbing and rubbing at it, thank you very much." Kari told him in protest, actually managing to put a smile back on her face. She knew she shouldn't have gotten upset when her bowtie wearing Doctor was there, but she had already been thinking about that time with the Trickster earlier, and that was the last time that she had seen that version of him.
By the time they had finished desert, they were both absolutely stuffed. The wine had been left alone, which Kari was pleased about, and they had both been getting some glares from those who didn't appreciate their laughing.
"And then he jumped in, no clothes on, nothing." The Doctor said, trying to contain his laughter as he told Kari a story about something she had or would miss. "And the next thing, he's standing on top of it, the diamond in his hand. Well, he thought it was the diamond. Turned out the whole thing had been a huge prank played on him by his older brother."
"No way! Seriously?" Kari asked, smiling away as she held in her giggles. "If it wasn't a diamond, what was it?"
"It was just glass." The pair of them both cracked up laughing, neither of them caring about the looks that they were getting.
"And he really didn't know?" Kari asked, the Doctor shaking his head in reply. "That is some really evil prank to play. Did he ever get his own back on him?"
The Doctor was talking, but Kari couldn't hear him. She had been distracted by something that she had seen, or rather, someone she had spotted standing by the doors to the kitchen, watching her. "Oh, come on. You have got to be kidding me." She mumbled, before getting. "Uh, be back in a minute, think there is another lash in my eye." She explained before dashing over towards the kitchens.
When she got there, she saw a big blue box for the third time that night. After taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. The interior of the TARDIS was different, it was grey and metal and a little cold feeling. And the man, standing by the console looking at her, was wearing all black, apart from the white shirt. His boots were black, his trousers were black, and his mid-length jacket was black as well.
"Hello, Kari." He said, a Scottish accent coming from his mouth with the words.
Kari just stood there gazing at him. She hadn't met this man yet, and this wasn't exactly how she thought their first meeting would go. "Hi, Doctor." She replied quietly.
"I just thought I'd pop by and say hello." He told her, not moving from where he was standing.
She wasn't moving either, she didn't think she could even if she wanted to. "Yeah, because it's date night, right?"
"Well, there is that, but I just wanted to see you." The Doctor told her. Kari took the time to look at him, to look at his grey hair, the lines on his face, and the ring on his finger. "I take it you've been well?"
Kari quickly pulled herself back together. "Uh… yeah, yeah, I've been good. What about you?"
"Oh, the same. Travelling the universe, fighting monsters." To Kari, the Doctor didn't sound happy, he actually sounded really rather sad. She could see it in his eyes as well, they were older, older than she had ever seen them before, but he just looked so sad as well.
She didn't know whether to move closer towards him or not, so instead she stepped towards the console and rested her hand against it, hearing that reassuring humming coming from all around her. "So, you travelling on your own, or…"
Before he had a chance to answer, a voice floated into the room. "Doctor, who are you talking to?" a woman caused, making Kari look up to where someone had just entered and joined them. "Kari! When did you get here?"
"Hey, Clara. The Doctor just crashed my date night, for the third and final time tonight." Kari told her, letting the woman hug her once she was in range.
When Clara let her go, the woman frowned at the Doctor. "You said you needed to see Kari, you didn't say you were going to crash her date." She said, before turning to face Kari. "Who were you on a date with?"
"Him, well a younger version of him." Kari replied, nodding towards the Doctor. "Anyway, I… uh, I should probably be getting back. This is the third time that I've disappeared on him now." She was actually slightly nervous, because she hadn't spent any time with that Doctor yet.
It seemed like the Doctor was slightly nervous as well, his body language just said it all. "Yes, of course. Wouldn't want him to get into a panic and think you've been kidnapped." He told her, finally stepping towards her.
"Uh, yeah." Kari managed to mumble as he stopped right in front of her. "So, I'll… uh, I'll see you soon then, yeah?" She was then taken by surprised when the Doctor wrapped his arms around her. "I thought you weren't a hugger?" She whispered to him knowing that he said something about not being a hugger before.
"Only a hugger for you." The Doctor whispered back to her, before letting her go. "Well, off you go then, don't want to keep your date waiting." He told her, leading her towards the doors of the big blue box. "Stay out of trouble, and don't wander off with any strange men."
Kari couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at him. "I wandered off with you, didn't I?"
"Point taken. Just don't go off with any men stranger than me, do you understand?" The Doctor asked her, his tone actually sounding a little playful.
It was going to take some time, but Kari knew she would get used to that regeneration, she just needed to spend some time with him. "I promise not to go off with any men that are stranger than you. But I'm not making promises about wandering off with strange women." She said, causing the Doctor to roll his eyes at her. "Catch you later, Clara. And keep this one out of trouble."
Clara saluted at her, before disappearing somewhere further into the depths of the TARDIS. "Keep yourself out of trouble, and me as well." The Doctor told her, before surprising her even more by gently placing his hand under her chin and tilting her head up a little, before leaving a light kiss on her lips.
A few minutes later, after getting over her shock, she was standing in the kitchen of the restaurant, watching the blue box fade from existence. She almost jumped out of her skin when she felt someone place a hand on her shoulder. When she turned, she saw the Doctor standing there, her big eared Doctor.
There was a soft smile on his face, and she knew that he had just seen the TARDIS leaving. "So, there wasn't something in your eye, there was someone in the kitchen."
Kari nodded at him. "Uh, yeah. Sorry, it's just… it's future you, I couldn't tell you, could I?"
"Oh, it's all right, I know what I'm like. Anyway, come on, time for us to get back to our TARDIS." The Doctor said, taking a hold of her hand and leading her out of the posh restaurant.
He had no idea that their date night had been interrupted three times, by him, but it was something that Kari was never going to forget. She actually thought it was rather sweet that he had enjoyed the date so much that he wanted to do it all over again, but it was a headache to deal with all of them in the same time. Now, all she wanted to do was get back to the TARDIS, put on some comfy clothes and just laze about. She didn't mind so much if she got pulled away from the Doctor, as long a she got to sit down in the TARDIS first. She was exhausted from that date, and it was possible that she had eaten a little too much.
A/N: Ta da! 4 Doctors, with 4 Companions, and only 1 Kari. I was issued a challenge, and told that there was no way I would be able to do it, surprise! I managed it.
Yeah, okay, so it might have been a little fluffy in places, but hey, Kari got to meet 12 for the first time! At least we've had a slight glimpse of him. As the new episodes have aired, I have been thinking hard about he episodes and how Kari would get along with 12, my notes are getting longer each week.
Big thank you to everyone who has favourited/followed the story, I'm so happy to see people like the story. Also, I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has taken the time to leave a review. I can't tell you enough how much I love reading them and how excited I get when I get that notification.
Next week, we have Clara! I'm sure some of you are really excited for that. I guess I had better make sure I've got it written perfectly for you all, so until then…
Pippa.