A/N: Hello everyone! I've been working to get this chapter right, but I'm still not convinced that it is. Either way, I hope that you enjoy it, and I apologise for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors that I've missed. Hopefully I will have time to stamp them out later. Happy reading!
The Doctor was holding onto Kari tightly, his jacket wrapped around her tightly. She was shivering slightly, even though she was unconscious. He knew she was going to push it too far, she didn't know her limits yet, she would let too much of her own energy deplete. The moment he had seen it he had told her to stop, tried to pull her away, but she was holding on tightly, she wasn't listening to him. In the end, he just had to wait for the inevitable moment when it would all become too much and she would collapse.
"Will she be all right?" Berny asked him, the concern in his voice showing. This was the woman that had helped him, saved him and set him free.
"She needs to rest." The Doctor informed him, keeping Kari as close to him as he could. "She drained pretty much all of her energy, exhausted herself." And now he had the added problem of worrying over her as well as all those other people that she had just decided to save.
Of course, Berny was rather intrigued with what had just happened. He had never seen anything like that before, and it really did make him curious. "How did she do it? Who are you both?" There was no hint of fear in his voice, just pure curiosity.
"I'm the Doctor, and this is my wife, Kari. We're the last of our kind, but she is even more than that." He explained, not taking his eyes from the woman that was passed out in his arms. "She's connected to the time vortex, she can do the most impossible things, especially if it means she can help people." Oh how true that was, he knew that she would always do everything she could to save someone.
Berny opened his mouth to say something, but was cut short when they each heard a groaning coming from somewhere. "It… it worked." He managed to whisper, looking over at the ice boxes and seeing that while most of them were in the process of melting, once of them had completely melted and the occupant waking up. "She did it, she really did it." A moment later and he was over to where the young girl was stirring.
With him now occupied with seeing to all of those people that he had ended up trapping, the Doctor could focus on Kari. he was going to have difficulty getting her out of there, especially when there were so many others that he was now going to have to lead back to the city. He was going to have to call Clara.
"Doctor, hello!" Clara called the moment she answered her phone. "How is it, have you managed to work anything else out?"
"Fine, everything's fine, Kari worked it all out. She saves the day once more, and almost kills herself in the process." There was a gasp that escaped Clara's lips, but the Doctor had to jump in before she started questioning, there was a reason why he had called her after all. "She's okay, just needs to sleep for a bit. But listen, tell that lad that we've found all the missing people, including his sister. I'll explain it all later, but right now we need to get all of these people out of here."
But Clara knew him better. "No, you mean you need to get Kari out of there and back to the TARDIS." She knew that he was going to be worrying more about Kari than he was everyone else, and she would never hold that against him. "Okay, I'll let them know the good news. Where exactly are you?"
"I'll send a map to your phone, just keep following that. Make sure you hurry, these people are just coming out of cryo, some of they may still be sick or injured." The Doctor informed her, before finishing the call and sending the map. He just hoped that they moved and got there quickly, Kari's body temperature seemed to be dropping even further, and that was not a good thing.
He was lucky, Clara showed up with Adrian and a rather large number of soldier sooner than he expected. Berny had grabbed a load of blankets, and a lot of animal furs, and had passed some to the Doctor for Kari before passing them out to the people who had woken up. All of them were confused, they had no idea where they were or how long they had been there for. It was something that would take far too long for the Doctor to explain, so he was planning on leaving as soon as he could.
Unfortunately, Adrian was having absolutely none of it. He insisted that the trio stayed until Kari was better, until she had woken up and he could thank her himself. "I still don't follow." The man ended up saying, trying to get his head around everything that the Doctor was telling him.
He let out a sigh, preparing to dumb it all down and try again. "Okay, a spaceship crashed here over a hundred years ago, but the weather made it impossible for the crash site to be investigated fully. The years passed by, the power on the ship started to fail, and that included the life support. Emergency program kicks in, Berny it awoken from cryo, and he has no idea what has happened." So far, Adrian was nodding his head, seeming to understand the simple explanation. "He had no idea where he was, so he uses his perception filter to blend in, but the whole system has malfunctioned and it all goes wrong. That is the start of this Snow Warper."
"But what about all the missing people? How did they end up there? What happened to them?" It was clear that he didn't have the patience to just sit there and listen to the Doctor, which was just going to delay the Doctor's explanation.
Straight away the man was shushed. "All Berny was trying to do was get help, but with the malfunctioning perception filter, people saw a monster. It wasn't his fault, he had no idea where he was, he didn't know how the people would react. Anyway, all those people that were missing, were people who had been injured, or were sick. Berny put them in cryo to help them, to heal them, but the system was almost out of power, it couldn't sustain the demand, and they were basically trapped."
But the time he had explained to them what Kari had done, they were speechless. "All of them? She healed them all?" Clara asked, still worried about her friend. When they had finally reached the cave where the Doctor was, she was filled with nervousness, and then when her eyes rested on her friend, that grew to fear. Kari was cold and pale, and it scared her.
"This is Kari, of course she did. Although, I don't think that she realised what she was doing. She was just meant to be giving the ship enough power to release them all from the cryo, instead she gave it enough power to heal them and release them." Or maybe she had planned that all along and just didn't tell him about it because she knew what he would say.
All of a sudden, a new voice joined them in the room. "Thank you, Doctor. If it wasn't for you and Kari then we never would have found all those people, and we never would have gotten Mara back." It was Nero, and he was smiling away, with his sister walking beside him. It was as plain as day that they were twins, they both had that exact same twinkle in their eyes.
"It isn't me you need to thank." He replied, looking over to the large sofa where Kari was still sleeping. There were mounds of blankets thrown over her, a fire raging a short distance away from where she was, hopes that the heat would reach her and help her. "We should really be leaving now anyway."
But there was one issue that the Doctor still hadn't addressed, and Clara had noticed that. "And what about you, Berny? What are you going to do now?" She asked him, wondering if he would want to stay there or try to find his way home.
The look on his face showed that he hadn't really thought about it. "I… I don't know. I've been here for so long now, if my ship crashed over a hundred and fifty years ago, everyone I once knew will be long gone." His family would have died while he was missing, and they most likely would have assumed that he was dead as well.
"Well, I suppose we could always take you home." The Doctor informed him casually.
"What would be the point? There would be nothing there for me now." Berny did sound rather dejected now, which was understandable in the circumstance.
Clara simply glared at the Doctor, before he relented. "No, you misunderstood, I can take you home, back to your own time." He tried his best not to smile as the other man's eyes widened. "Oh, did I forget to mention that I have a time machine?" Gasps could be heard around the room in response to his comment. "Oops, apparently I did forget."
It took a moment for everyone to get over the shock. "You could do that? You could really take me back in time to my family?" Berny's voice was quiet, it was almost as if he didn't want to get his hopes up.
"I don't see why not. I'll have to do a quick check, see what they said about your little disappearance, but that's easy." The Doctor was sounding very confident, which was not always a good thing. All he needed to do was a little check to see what history said about the missing ship and then take it all from there.
Clara couldn't help but smile at the Doctor. The man he was now was very different to who he was before, but there were always those moments, those rare times when he seemed to be back to who she had met before. She had a feeling that it was all down to Kari, and it more than likely was, because Clara saw just how much they cared about each other.
"So, all we have to do is wait for Kari to wake up, and then we can be off, yeah?" Clara asked, clarifying what she hoped was going to happen next.
Instead of answer her, he pushed himself up from where he was sitting and softly walked over to Kari. The Doctor pulled a few of the covers away and gently brushed her hair away from her face. There was a bit more colour in her cheeks now, which was a good sign. She had already been out cold for a few hours, and he hoped that it would be enough time to give her at least some strength and energy.
She really did look peaceful, and although he didn't want to disturb her, he knew that he had to. "Hey, Kari, time to wake up now." He told her quietly, running one of his hands through her hair, gently trying to rouse her from her sleep. "You saved everyone, time to get you back to the TARDIS, and you can have a nice hot bath."
He waited a few moments, hoping for some kind of movement from her, but there was nothing. But the Doctor wasn't going to give up, he knew it would be better for her if she was in the TARDIS, she would be more comfortable there. Plus, there was the fact that he really wanted to get off that planet now.
"Hey, come on gorgeous, we've got to go now." There was a slight hint of desperation in his voice now, and it appeared that was what was needed to get her to stir a little.
Kari let out a small groan. "Doctor…" Her voice came out as barely even a whisper, yet the Doctor managed to hear her.
"It's okay, Kari, I'm here. Everything is fine." He told her in reassurance.
"Did… did it work? The ship… the people… the ice…" Kari was definitely out of it still, she hadn't even opened her eyes and she was struggling to string a sentence together.
The Doctor couldn't help but smile at her. "Yes, it worked. You powered up the ship, healed all those people, and freed them from their icy prison. I am very proud of you." And he was, he was so very proud of her. "I am also a little angry with you as well. Kari, what were you thinking? That could have killed you, you decided to do more than just give the ship enough power for the cryo chambers. Kari, you have to promise me that you will never do anything like that again. Ever."
"Sorry. I had to." She mumbled, already knowing that he was going to give her a right telling off for what she decided to do. "Couldn't stop myself. Had to help them all." Even after those few hours of still, she was still exhausted. She needed more rest.
Of course, the Doctor had already seen that. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired." That was an understatement. She was so much more than just tired, Kari felt like she could sleep for at least a week.
"What do you want to do, sleep here or in the TARDIS where you can be comfortable in your own bed." He was hoping that she was going to say TARDIS. The Doctor was grateful for how hospitable Adrian was being, but it really was time for them to go. Plus, he would feel much more at ease with Kari back where she should be.
Kari let out a small sigh. "Everyone's safe?" She asked, causing the Doctor to reply to her and tell her yes. "No one died?"
"No, no one died either. You saved everyone and healed them all at the same time."
"What about…" The Doctor quickly stopped her by place his finger against her lips.
She was just rattling on a little, asking questions when she didn't need to, trying to distract the Doctor from what was really going on. He had seen her do it so much in the past, that it really didn't surprise him anymore. "Kari, it's over. Everything has been put right, and you did that. The only thing that is left is for me to look after you."
"Good. That's good. I… I just want to sleep now…" She was drifting off again, which was really no surprise to anyone. The Doctor knew it was a good thing, because it just proved that she needed more rest, and he was determined that she would get it in the TARDIS.
Three people walked towards the TARDIS, the fourth was fast asleep and safely being held in the Doctor's arms. It hadn't been too difficult to convince the rest that it was better if they left now, Kari needed sleep and he needed to get Berny back home, back to his own time. "Brace yourself, Berny." The Doctor quickly commented while Clara unlocked the doors to the ship for him.
Once he stepped inside, his jaw dropped. He tried to speak, but the words just wouldn't come to him. Eventually he managed to find something to say. "Wow, this is… it's…"
Clara couldn't help but smile at him. "Yeah, it does that to everyone, but you get used to it." She said, before closing the door behind him and bounding up to the stairs. "So, what's the plan then, Doctor? Where are we off to first?" It was easy to see that she was pretty excited. That whole trip had just turned into a mess, and she had ended up spending most of it worrying about Kari. In all honesty, she would be glad of a rest as well.
"Well, I need to get Kari settled first, then we can get Berny boy here home. Why don't you pop off to the kitchen and get him something to eat, I'm sure he could do with something decent." The Doctor told her, disappearing into the depths of the ship before she even had a chance to reply. He had more important things to worry about, his Kari needed him.
He automatically went to their room, and placed her down gently on the bed. Everything that had happened between them before they had arrived was gone from his head. What had been said didn't matter anymore, it didn't matter who was right and who was wrong, none of it mattered now. It had been a stupid thing to fall out over in the first place, at least that was what the Doctor was thinking about it all now.
The Doctor tugged off her shoes before carefully pulling the covers over her. There was more colour in her cheeks now, which was a relief for him, and Kari's body was starting to return to a more acceptable temperature. He wanted to be mad at her, to be ready to give her a piece of his mind when she woke up, but the Doctor knew deep down that he wouldn't do it. Instead, he would apologise for the way he had acted before, for how he had only seen it all through his eyes and not even bothered to think of how she saw things.
"I'm sorry, Kari." He whispered to her, lightly kissing her forehead. "I should have listened to you, paid more attention to how you were feeling. I am truly sorry." And he was, and he would tell her the same thing again when she was recovered. Until then, he had something else that he needed to do.
"This is amazing. I've never seen anything like it before." Berny said in utter awe as he continued to explore the console room of the TARDIS. He stopped when he noticed the Doctor entering the room. "How is she?" The man couldn't help but ask about Kari, she had saved him after all.
The Doctor quickly bounced around the console, twisting knobs and flipping switches. "Still resting. She's going to be out of it for a good few hours still. Now, let's get you home, Berny Brocken. It's going to have to be a few years after your ship went missing, that's what history says. But I'm sure your wife will be pleased to see you, and… everyone else." He read the article, he knew that seven years after the ship going missing that he returned, and he returned to find that his wife wasn't alone. Now he was going to be there to see his son grow up, and it was all thanks to Kari.
At the mention of his wife, Berny's face fell a little. "I never thought I would see her again. I owe you all so much, I'll never forget this, what you have done for me, especially what Kari has done. If it wasn't for her then I would still be trapped in that form on a dead ship." There was so much honesty and sincerity in his eyes, and straight away the Doctor could understand why Kari was always so determined to help people. "I wish there was something I could do to show you how grateful I am."
In his head, the Doctor heard Kari's voice, and he knew what she would say. "Just go out there and be fantastic. Live your life and do something amazing, that's what Kari would say to you." She would probably say a few other things as well if she could, about all the things he could accomplish if he tried.
Clara couldn't help but stand there with a smile on her face. She was glad to see that the Doctor was finally realising that things had been hard for Kari as well, and that sometimes he needed to stop and look at situations from a different angle. The big idiot had actually listened to her, and she hoped that meant that her friends would soon be back to being happy together.
"Thank you, Doctor, and thank Kari for me as well." They had finally landed on one of the many planets where humans had colonised, Berny's home. "She is a true angel."
There was nothing that the Doctor could say to that, he had heard people call her that so many times now, and he knew that it was true. The Doctor understood why people called her an angel, even those who had never even met her. He had heard the stories of her, of his golden angel of time. "I know she is. Have a good life, Berny."
A few minutes later and the TARDIS was gone, and Berny was reunited with his wife and the child he never even knew that he had. "Right, time for me to go." Clara announced, knowing that the Doctor wanted to spend some time alone with Kari.
"Ah yes, of course, back to a boring and mundane life."
"Doctor, Kari is going to be all right, isn't she?" There was that hint of concern in her voice now. She hadn't really asked because she knew there were other things going on, but she had been worried, and she still was now.
The Doctor couldn't help but let out a sigh. "Eventually. Clara, she almost drained all of her energy, all of it. She is going to need days to recover, weeks maybe, and I'm going to need to be here the whole time." He wasn't going to leave her, of course he wasn't.
"Then hurry up and take me home so that you can be with her." Clara said, pushing him around the console, trying to get him to move it so that she could get home and he could be with Kari. "And give me a call when she is awake, just so I know you are both okay."
He nodded at her as he sent them hurtling through the time vortex. At least Clara understood, and she wasn't pestering him about anything. The woman asked him a question and accepted his answer, she wasn't going to make a fuss over it, she was going to just leave them alone. "I'm sure Kari will want to call you to make sure I managed to get you back to the right time." He ended up saying, not really liking the silence that was hanging around in the room.
After what felt like hours, the Doctor was back with Kari, sitting on the edge of the bed and watching her while she slept. He knew that even though it wasn't early for her, there was still a big difference between what he knew and what she knew. Yes, he had seen the ring that resided on her finger, and she hadn't questioned him when he had called her his wife, but there was still something missing. He wasn't her husband.
"Clara was right, I need to talk to you more." He told her, pulling his legs up on the bed and making himself comfortable beside her. "If I had just listened to you instead of only thinking about myself, then you wouldn't be in this state. I would have been with you the whole time, you wouldn't have fallen through the ice and we would have solved it together." There was guilt filling him, for what he had said, the way he had reacted, how he had just let her walk off. "I should have gone after you, I never should have let you wander off on your own in the first place."
The woman in the bed shifted a little, and the Doctor stilled. He hoped that his speaking was disturbing her, he was talking quietly but he knew that even the slightest little bump could wake her. He didn't want that, she needed the rest. He had to stay still and silent for a few extra minutes, just to ensure that she wasn't waking up.
All she did was fidget a little, before rolling over so that she was facing him. The Doctor could feel both of his hearts pounding when she reached out for him. It was just a subconscious move on her behalf, and he knew that, but he couldn't help but smile like an idiot at it.
"You get some sleep, Kari. I'll be right here when you wake up, I promise." He told her, before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer. "I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you. Do you want to know what the benefit is of you using the time vortex like that?" Of course, he didn't wait for an answer, he wasn't expecting one from the sleeping woman. "It means I know you won't be pulled away from me. I'll get a little more time with you, even if you do sleep most of it away, I'll still get to have you here with me."
Kari didn't know it, and she probably never would, but the Doctor was always lost whenever she left. He always felt so empty whens he was gone, no matter how long it was for, minutes, hours, or days, he felt hollow without her there with him. It may have sounded selfish, but he would do anything to keep her with him for longer. Yes, he was secretly glad that she had exhausted herself, it meant he was able to hold her, he had her all to himself for a while longer.
He ended up closing his eyes and letting his head fall so that it was resting against Kari's. He was just going to make the most of the time he had with her, and just staying there with her was better than someone would think. The Doctor wasn't sleeping, he was just replying everything back in his head, thinking about ways that he could make it up to her, to make things better and let her know that he was sorry.
The Doctor quickly glanced at Kari, and saw the way that she was just taking in the scenery. Something was telling him that she didn't want to be there, that she would much rather be anywhere than there with him. "Oh, the usual, a wild beast roaming the woods, people going missing." His eyes were still fixed on Kari. He noticed her tense a little, her shoulders suddenly stiffening. "Dangerous stuff." The Doctor wondered what was going through Kari's mind, if she was scared because of what he was saying, or if it was something else.
"Everything's dangerous with you around." Kari actually muttered, her eyes scanning the snow covered trees. "Why couldn't we have just gone to a beach or something? Coffee. We could have gone for coffee. But no, we have to go investigate some mysterious and dangerous… thing." Kari didn't even know why she had suddenly said that, but she wasn't going to apologise for it.
"Where would be the fun in coffee?" The Doctor asked her, finally looking at her. "You stand there thinking about how different I am, but you're the one that's acting different." Kari just looked at him, wondering where the conversation was going to go. "You used to love all these adventures, even the ones you knew nothing about. But all you're doing now is complaining."
The Doctor knew that was his first mistake, right there, telling her that she was the one who was different. He never should have said that, he should have just asked her if she was all right, if there was something that was bothering her. Somehow she knew things weren't right, and he should have seen that. He should have know.
"I am not complaining." Kari told him firmly, trying to keep herself calm. She wasn't happy about the things that he had said to her, and so she was going to set the record straight. "This is actually the first time I've had a chance to spend time with you, this version of you, and you are the one who is acting cold and distant. That's what you are now, cold and distant. I know what you're going to be like in this regeneration, I've seen it, remember?"
The Doctor simply stared at her, while Clara stood there awkwardly. "So, that's how you really see me?" There was a hint of anger in his voice as he spoke to her, but Kari stood tall, she was not going to let him intimidate her. "Cold and distant? Detached from my emotions."
And that was where it spiralled out of control. He had let his mouth run before really thinking, and that was never a good thing, it usually got him in to trouble, and this had been no different. He could actually see the confusion and worry that was on Kari's face when she looked at him, and he should have seen it before that it wasn't because she didn't want to be near him, it was because she didn't want to upset him or do something wrong.
"Okay, first of all, that was a private conversation, you had no right listening in." She warned him, her anger starting to bubble to the surface. "And secondly, yes, that is how I see you. And do you know why I see you like that? Because I have not had a chance to spend any time with you!"
"You're the same way Clara was, you can't see me. You look at me, but you can't see me." His words made Kari freeze where she stood, her whole body feeling like someone had just thrown a bucket of ice-cold water over her.
Kari could see him, that wasn't the problem. The problem for her was how much she was still missing. He was wearing a wedding band in his finger, and she knew that her big-eared Doctor had been married as well. She could see him, she knew exactly who he was, but she didn't know who she was. Kari opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Tears were actually building in her eyes as well, his words having hurt her more than he realised. Instead of trying to fight him, or to even explain anything to him, Kari turned on her heel and began to walk away from him.
He had seen her eyes flicker to where the wedding band was on his finger, but he hadn't thought much of it at the time. Now he understood, he understood why she became to angry and upset and needed to get away from him. The Doctor knew he had reacted badly, and he really did wish that he could go back and do it all over again.
"Oh, that's right, run away." He called to her, watching her carefully with his eyes. "Go on, go back to the TARDIS and call your brother. Tell him everything that's going on." There was a hint of annoyance in his voice, but his eyes were actually filling with concern.
A moment later, Kari stopped, and turned around to face the Doctor and Clara, who had been silent throughout the whole affair. There were tears staining her cheeks, her eyes glistening with the tears that were yet to fall down. Once again she opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She wanted to tell him that she wasn't running away, that he didn't have any idea how she was feeling, but she couldn't. With one last look at him, Kari turned away again, and this time charged towards where the TARDIS was waiting.
The Doctor really was filled with regret. He had hurt her so much in such a short space of time, and to make matters even better, it was the first time that she had spent time with him. He had messed everything up so badly, and he completely understood why Kari had been so upset with him. Now he needed to find a way to make it up to her, because just saying sorry was not going to cut it, the Doctor needed to do something spectacular for his Kari. He just needed to figure out what.
A/N: Well, I hope that you all liked the chapter, we head back to a few episodes very shortly.
I would just like to say an absolutely massive thank you to all of you lovely people who have read this story, review, followed, favourited, all of that. You guys are amazing, did you know that? If it wasn't for all of you then I would have quit writing a long time ago.
On another note, I have a confession to make. I'm currently writing another story, not a Doctor Who one, it isn't fanfiction at all to be honest. I'm trying not to let it take up all my time, I originally started writing for fun, and I still want it to be fun, but that is one of the reasons why my updates have slowed a little, and I'm sorry.
Okay, time for me to stop rambling on. Until the next time...
Pippa.