A/N: Hi everyone, sorry that it has been a few weeks since the last update, I didn't mean for time to just slip by like that. Here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it!
"Kari, you have to stop." She heard his voice, but ignored it. She couldn't stop, not now. "Kari, please. It's too much."
"No, Doctor. I have to fix this. Just a little more, I promise." Even though she was exhausted and in so much pain, Kari kept going, kept calling the time vortex to her. "Let me end this." She had to make sure that she pulled back every single piece, that none of it was missed or forgotten.
The Doctor kept a hold of her hand but said nothing more. He could feel the pain that she was in, he knew that she was struggling, but he didn't stop her. He let her carry on reabsorbing the time vortex. The light that was surrounding her was just getting brighter and brighter, and it was hurting him to see her have to go through all that pain.
It felt like hours had passed when eventually the glow began to fade a little. The Doctor looked around them and noticed the lack of golden wisps. Then he looked at Kari and the colour drained from his face. He grabbed a hold of her just as her eyes fluttered closed and her legs gave out. His hearts were pounding in his chest wildly as he checked her over. There was a lump in his throat as he listened to her heart beats. He could only hear one.
"No… no, Kari, no… come on…" He said in a panic.
Suddenly Bruno was beside him. "Take her and go." He told him urgently. "She has saved us, now you need to save her. Go, Doctor."
The Doctor didn't need telling twice and he scooped Kari up and rushed into the TARDIS. The moment he stepped foot into the magical ship the lights almost blinded him and he had to close his eyes tightly. He heard the engines grinding as he held Kari tightly against him. The Doctor didn't know what to do, his mind just went blank from fear and panic.
The Doctor heard a groan, breaking him out of his thoughts, and he quickly looked down at the woman he was cradling in his arms. "Kari? Hey, come on, you're okay." He said softly. "You're okay."
He kept replaying what had happened over and over in his head. He had been so scared. The Doctor honestly thought that he was going to lose her and he had no idea what to do. It was something he hoped that he would never have to feel ever again.
Kari didn't wake. The groan she had let out was not because she was starting to finally come to, so the Doctor just held her even tighter, not wanting to let her go. There was still a chance that something terrible would happen, that she wouldn't be okay. While both hearts were now beating, they were beating wrong. So he just stayed on the glass floor of the TARDIS, keeping her as close to him as possible, hoping with everything he had that she would be fine.
The hours seemed to just slip by and he still hadn't moved. The Doctor's thoughts had just kept on wandering, he couldn't stay focused on a single thing. He was only pulled back to reality when he heard a voice quietly calling him. "Doctor…"
He looked down and gazed at Kari. "I'm here, you're okay. You're okay Kari, I promise." The Doctor told her, wondering if she had really spoken or if he had imagined it.
"Something… something doesn't feel right, Doctor…" His eyes widened as he saw her lips moving as she spoke. She was awake. Kari was talking to him. "Something's wrong…"
"Hey, shush…" He replied, trying to keep her calm. "It's fine, okay, it's all fine. You just took on too much, that's all. Everything is okay, you're going to be fine." The Doctor was lying to her. He had no idea if everything was okay and if she was going to be fine.
It seemed like Kari knew that as well. "Liar. Tell me." Even now he couldn't get it past her.
The Doctor let out a sigh. "Kari, one of your hearts stopped. It's started again but…" He didn't know how to say it, if he even should say it. "One of your hearts isn't beating properly."
"You're a Doctor, fix it." Kari muttered, trying her best to hide the pain that she was actually feeling in her chest. Everything was feeling wrong, her head was fuzzy, her chest was hurting and she just felt so tired. "You're my Doctor."
There was only one thing that the Doctor could think of to help, to try and get her hearts back in rhythm. "Kari, it will hurt." He warned her, knowing that she had already been through enough pain and suffering already.
Kari just scoffed at him. "Ha! I feel no pain." She said, still attempting to mask the pain that she was already in. "Just do it, Doctor. Whatever it is, you need to do it."
Instead of replying, the Doctor just nodded at her, before carefully getting himself off the floor, taking Kari with him, and heading to the medical bay. When they got there he noticed that everything he needed was already set up and ready for him. He gently placed Kari down on the bed and started hooking up the machines. He couldn't help but worry about her, about what she was already going through and what he was about to put her through.
"Doctor, stop worrying, just do it." Kari could feel it, she could hear his worrying thoughts. "Please, the sooner you do it, the sooner it's over." She knew what he was going to do, and she knew it was going to hurt. But there was no other way, it had to be done.
Everything was ready and the Doctor stopped. "Are you ready?" He asked, not at all ready himself to do it.
Kari let out a groan. "Do it." She said, just wishing it was all over with. She wanted to sleep, she wanted to just pass out for a few days and rest.
"I'm sorry…" The Doctor said, before turning on the machines around him. He watched as Kari bit her lip, doing her best to hold everything she was feeling back. Then the first shock came and a small scream escaped her lips. It was breaking the Doctor's hearts to see her like that, to know that he was causing her pain.
It took several very strong shocks for Kari's hearts to finally both be back in rhythm. Both the Doctor and Kari were exhausted and he carried her to their bedroom, placing her down on the bed. Even though she had tried so hard to be brave and hide it, the screams she had let out from the pain had shattered him. Now she was resting and the Doctor was exhausted as well.
He pulled his boots off, hung his jacket over the chair and lay down on the bed, pulling Kari close towards him. There was no way that he was going to let her go. He would hold onto her tightly for as long as he could. "You're going to be fine, Kari, I are going to be absolutely fine" He told her, kissing the top of her head as wrapped his arms around her even tighter.
The Doctor eventually fell asleep. He hadn't realised just how tired he really was. The whole day had utterly drained him and he just couldn't stop worrying about Kari. He would wake up sharply and check on her. Making sure she was breathing, that her hearts were both beating still and beating properly. He was terrified that he was going to wake up and she was going to be gone. Either taken through time and space or… well, he couldn't think of that.
This went on for hours, until the Doctor heard a familiar noise coming from somewhere in the room. It took him a moment to realise that it was Kari's phone ringing. While he didn't want to move he knew that he needed to silence the phone and see who it was. To his surprise he saw that it was Jack calling and he answered the call.
"Hello, Jack." The Doctor said, keeping his eyes focused on the sleeping Kari that was still in his arms.
"Hey Doc. What are you doing answering? Is everything okay?" Jack asked, knowing that it was strange for the Doctor to be answering Kari's phone.
The Doctor let out a sigh. There was no point in lying to him. "Kari almost died. She's resting." He told him honestly.
There was silence at the other end of the line for a moment. "What did she do?" Jack asked, knowing that it was more likely that she had tried to do something stupid.
"What she usually does. Take on far too much to save everyone." The Doctor told him, watching as Kari continued to sleep. "I thought this was really it, I thought this time I was going to lose her, Jack."
"Hey, come on Doc. She's safe now, right? Everything is okay, yeah?" Jack asked hopefully. He didn't like the way the Doctor sounded. He just sounded so broken and it didn't sit right with Jack.
Instead of answering him, the Doctor quickly checked Kari over. Just to make sure. "Both hearts are beating again. Both beating normally." He told him with relief. He was still worrying that something was going to be wrong every time he checked on her.
Jack did not like the sound of that one bit. "Doctor, is she really okay?" Now even he was getting worried. He knew the kind of things that Kari would do, but hearing the Doctor say one of her hearts stopped, that was not okay.
"She will be, Jack." The Doctor replies, still holding onto her tightly. "She just needs to rest and recover. She'll be fine in a few days." He hoped. Until she woke up properly he wasn't going to be sure of anything. There could be something else wrong that he didn't know about and that worried him.
While Jack didn't quite believe the Doctor, he accepted his response. "Okay, Doc. But when Kari wakes up, when she's better, you get her to call me? Okay? I wanna have words with her myself." He wanted to speak to her and make sure she really was okay. And find out everything that had been going on. Jack knew that the Doctor wouldn't go into details, but his Princess would tell him everything if he asked.
"I will, Jack. I'll bring her to see you, how does that sound?" The Doctor said, knowing that it would make his Kari happy to go and see her brother. "Better than just a phone call, eh?"
It was at that point that Jack realised it was far more serious than he thought, for both Kari and the Doctor. "Doctor, look after her, and look after yourself as well. How are you meant to protect my Princess when you're not taking care of yourself." Something was telling him that the Doctor was in a bit of a mess as well, even if he wouldn't admit it.
While the Doctor wanted to argue with him, to tell him that he was fine, he knew that there was no point. "I will, Jack. You take care of yourself and that team of yours. Keep on protecting the Earth." He said, watching Kari's chest rising and falling.
Once the call was ended, the Doctor put Kari's phone on the table beside his side of the bed. When Kari was better he would take her to see her big brother, he knew that would make her happy. But he needed to make sure that she was well first, he needed to take care of her, and himself as well. He wouldn't be able to look after her if he ended up too worn down to do anything. So the Doctor closed his eyes once more as he tightened his hold on Kari, hoping that the next time he woke up she would be awake as well.
Unfortunately that was not the case. Several days had dragged by and she was still sleeping. Every scan that he did came back the same, showing that there was nothing wrong with her. Her hearts were now beating stronger, her pulse was fine, blood pressure, all of it was okay. But she still hadn't woken up. He knew that she was going to need to rest but it was worrying him just how much rest she needed. The Doctor was always very impatient, he didn't like waiting around, sitting still for too long. He always had to be on the move. He had hardly left her side during all that time.
The Doctor was in his own little world when a sound disturbed him. A slight moan. At first he was sure he imagined it, but then he felt the woman he was still holding onto moving a little. Both of his hearts started racing, hoping that this was real and that she was finally waking up. "Hey, Kari?" He whispered, brushing some of the hair away from her face. "Hey, come on, time to wake up now." He said gently, hoping that she could hear him.
She let out a groan as she fidgeted a little. "What… I don't… what…" Kari mumbled, not making any sense at all.
"Hey, it's okay, shush." He understood that she was confused, but that didn't matter, she was waking up and that was what was more important. "Don't worry, you're fine, Kari, you are absolutely fine." The Doctor assured her, reaching down and kissing the top of her head.
"Such a bad liar…" Kari muttered, trying to clear the fog that was flooding her head still. "My head…"
"It hurts, I know. It will for a few days, I'm sorry. There is nothing I can do. Reabsorbing that much for the time vortex all at once is going to make you feel a little off for a few more days." The Doctor told her, glossing over the part about her hearts. He didn't know if she remembered it and he wasn't going to bother her with it if she didn't.
The problem was, Kari knew him far too well to believe what he was saying. "Yeah, really bad liar." Kari replied, trying to force her eyes open. "I don't… I don't really remember everything." She admitted, trying to pull all the pieces together. She had fragments scattered all over the place but not the bigger picture.
The Doctor was actually relieved by that, that she couldn't remember it all. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that you are okay."
Kari finally managed to open her eyes, squinting a little as the light burned them a little. "Hi…" She whispered, noticing that the Doctor was looking unkempt and had bags under his eyes. "You look tired. And worried."
"I'll be fine now that you're awake." He replied, trying not to let her see just how full of relief he was. "Hello." The Doctor then added, reaching down and lightly pressing his lips against hers.
While Kari knew there was something going on, something he wasn't telling her, she just didn't have the energy to push him to find out just yet. "So what did I miss?" She asked, wondering how long she had been out for this time. It seemed to be happening rather a lot, her being asleep for days on end because something had happened.
"You're brother called. I promised we'd go and visit him when you were up and ready." The Doctor told her, trying to calm his racing hearts. "So how are you feeling really?"
"Definitely feeling a little off. My head is full of fuzz and I am really achy everywhere." Kari told him. The way she was feeling there was no way she was going to poke and prod for more detail, she just didn't feel right at all.
The worry that the Doctor was trying so hard to hide was still there. "Well, once you feel a bit more normal you can go take a nice long bath and then we can go and see your brother." He told her, watching as she rubbed her head a little. "Tell you what, you wait here and I'll go make us a nice cuppa. What do you say?"
Kari gave him a slightly suspicious look before answering him. "Tea would be really nice. Thank you, Doctor." She could do with a few moments to pull herself together, to just try and get her head straight.
The Doctor smiled at her, kissed the top of her head and pushed himself up and off the bed. "Good, I won't be long. Do not move." He warned her, slipping his feet into his boots before heading out the door.
The moment he closed the door, Kari frowned and looked around the room. Everything seemed different for some reason. She knew that her head was feeling fuzzy, but it was like she could see an aurora around everything she saw. It was actually making her feel kind of queasy. As her eyes scanned the room she noticed her phone over on the side where the Doctor had been. She reached over and picked it up, turning it over and unlocking it. She noticed the most recent activity, a call from her brother that had been answered. It didn't bother her, she had no problems with the Doctor answering her phone and speaking with Jack. After all, he did mention to her that he had called.
Kari placed the phone back where it had been and sat herself up in the bed. She was still trying to get her head straight. "The Doctor is okay, isn't he?" She whispered, glancing at the ceiling. She was talking to the ship, like she always did, and received a hum in response. "He has been really worried about me, so whatever I did was really stupid or really dangerous. Or both" Once again the ship hummed. "I just…I don't remember it all at the moment. Do… Do I want to know what happened?" There was another hum, only this time a lot softer. "Yeah, I'll leave it alone for now, promise."
She sat there and waited for several more minutes until the Doctor returned, a tray with tea and biscuits in his hands. "Here we go, a nice cuppa and some biscuits as well. Lovely." He said, putting the tray down on the bed and starting to pour the tea.
He passed a cup to Kari and she thanked him quietly before taking a sip. She waited until he had his tea and had settled back down before talking. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry." She told him, seeing the worry still there on his face. "Right now I don't remember it all, but I know it must have been bad, and I'm sorry."
All the Doctor could do was look at her. He could see how much she meant it, how sorry she was even though she didn't know what she was saying sorry for. "It doesn't matter, Kari. All that matters is that you are okay. Do you understand?" He said, causing her to nod at him. "Everything that happened, I will tell you, but not now. Not until you're ready. Deal?"
Once again Kari nodded at him. "Okay. As long as you stop worrying. You shouldn't be going grey for another few hundred years yet at least." She said, before a wave of déjà vu came over her. "I've said that to you already, recently, haven't I?" Kari asked him, trying to work it out.
"Yes, you did. I was worried because you were unwell. Now you are awake, I know that you are getting better. Okay?" The Doctor wasn't telling her everything, but just enough to keep her in the loop a little. There was no way he could tell her everything just yet, it was far too soon.
When she looked into his eyes, she could see that he was pleading for her to just accept it and move on. Even now he was still worrying about her. "Okay. Tea and biscuits followed by a bath, and then maybe a nap." She wasn't ready to face her brother yet, she wasn't ready to face anyone.
The Doctor couldn't help but smile at her. "Tea and biscuits followed by a bath. Then a nap, if that is what you want, then that is what you shall get." He said, before disappearing through a door on the other side of the room.
While she sat there drinking her tea, she could hear the Doctor mumbling to himself in the other room. She had no idea what he was doing there, but she wasn't worried. He didn't seem to be causing any problems or trouble, so she just left him to it and finished off her tea. She had just placed her cup down on the tray when the Doctor popped his head around the door frame and looked at her with a big smile on his face. "Everything okay there, Doctor?" Kari asked him as she tried to work out exactly what he was up to.
"Yup, all good. You finished your tea?" He asked, a slight twinkle in his eyes. Kari simply nodded at him and a smile stretched across his face. "Good, perfect timing." He announced, coming back into the bedroom and over to where she was sitting. "Come on then, bath time."
The Doctor held his hands out, waiting for Kari to place hers in them She did, smiling at him the whole time. She knew that he was up to something but she really didn't care. Whatever she had put him through had been bad, if he was up to something then that was okay.
She kept quiet as she let him lead her into the bathroom, his bathroom. She couldn't remember ever being in there before. Most of the time when she had woken up in his room she had taken herself off back to her own room to have a bath and get some fresh clothes on. It was very different from her one, very plain and simple. But the Doctor had clearly been trying his best to make it nice for her as the bath was already filled and overflowing with bubbles. Beside the bath was a pile of fluffy white towels and the air was smelling like vanilla.
Kari had to admit, she was a bit stunned. "You… you did all this, for me?" She asked, knowing that she did not deserve to be treated that way at all. "Why?"
"Why not?" The Doctor replied, still smiling at her. "You can take your time, relax, enjoy your bath."
"And what are you going to do?" Kari asked. She never really knew what he got up to when she had her long and extra long baths. Kari just assumed he hung around by the console, tinkering with something that he probably shouldn't.
He looked at her, slightly bemused. "Oh, well…" He had not expected her to ask him that. "Well I…"
Kari could see him floundering, not knowing what to say. "Look, I'm going to be here for a while. By the time I'm done I'm going to be starving. Why don't you think of somewhere to take us for dinner?" She was throwing him a bit of a lifeline, while she did find it amusing when he got caught out or flustered, now was not the time for it.
The Doctor nodded at her, trying to keep his composure. "Yes, of course. Any requests?"
"Somewhere peaceful, that's all. Just… somewhere nice and peaceful where we can have something to eat and just… not worry about anything." Kari told him, keep a small smile on her face. "Now go, so I can enjoy this amazing bath that you have prepared for me."
"Right, yes." The Doctor replied, before reaching out and holding Kari tightly in his arms. "Enjoy your bath." He whispered to her, kissing her forehead and then dashing out of there.
She watched him leave, shaking her head a little as he closed the door behind him. He was embarrassed, not that she really understood why. "He is far too good for me." Kari said, before turning her attention back to the bath. "The things I put him through, I really don't deserve him."
While Kari got herself in the bath, the Doctor was still in the bedroom. He had heard what Kari had said, about him being too good for her, and he didn't agree with a word of it. He knew that she had been through a lot because of him, he was lucky to have her in his life. The Doctor was going to show her that, he was going to take her somewhere spectacular for dinner, somewhere that he has never taken her before.
Kari really had taken her time in the bath and the Doctor was starting to get a little worried about her. He kept popping into the bedroom, listening at the door to make sure she was okay in there. Eventually he walked into the bedroom to find her sitting on the edge of the bed, brushing her hair. He was relieved to see her, she looked much better than she had before. "Ah, good. You're almost ready. How are you feeling?" He asked, plonking himself down next to her.
"Better. Whatever you put in the bath really helped." She told him, wondering what he had actually slipped in there. She knew it had to be something alien, because there was no way that a normal bubble bath would make her feel like she was now, completely refreshed and in very little pain.
The Doctor couldn't help but smile at her, he was just glad that she was feeling better. "Lovely, now, do you want to go and have something to eat?"
There was still a twinkle in the Doctor's eyes, and Kari hadn't missed it. "Yes, I am most definitely ready to get something to eat." She replied, a huge smile on her face.
While she had been soaking and relaxing in the bath, some of the pieces had come back to her, parts of the puzzle about what had happened recently. She still didn't have the complete picture but she was getting there. Kari knew that she had been to some planet where the Doctor and she had visited before. She knew that she had done something stupid with the time vortex. What Kari also knew was that she had almost died, and it had scared the Doctor badly.
When they reached the console room the doors were already open and Kari could see nothing but swirls of colour. The Doctor helped her to sit on the floor of the TARDIS, right by the doors while her eyes scanned all over. "Where are we?" Kari whispered as the Doctor sat beside her.
"The Eros Nebula." He told her, pulling over a picnic basket and opening it. "You said you wanted somewhere nice and peaceful. Does this meet your requirements?" The Doctor was hoping that she would say yes. It took him ages to think of somewhere, and it hadn't been easy to get the TARDIS parked at the perfect angle that they were.
"Doctor, it is perfect. Thank you." Kari replied, before reaching over and lightly kissing him on the lips. However, the Doctor was not going to settle for that and his hands held onto her tightly. He was so relieved that she was okay, that she was alive and there with him. He was not going to let her go any time soon.
A/N: Well i hope that you all enjoyed that chapter. I know that many of you are really curious as to what happens there to Kari later in the story, when she goes there again with the Doctor. I will tell you this, it is not going to be a fun trip. For anyone.
A big thank you to everyone that has left a review, be it positive or negative. If you like my story, I am really happy about that. If you don't then that is fine, we are all entitled to our own views and opinions. I don't like Marmite, but my friend loves it.
I also want to say thank you to all those who have sent me a PM. I've had a fair amount recently asking me questions, which I am happy to respond to if I am able to.
Anyway, enough of me chittering on. Take care, and until the next time,
Pippa.