A/N: Hi everyone! I hope you are all well. I have a few days off coming up (The Queen's Jubilee, extending Bank Holiday weekend!) and I am hoping to get a few chapters written. I have a load of stuff to do, but I feel that this is my time to focus on my writing. It is just me and the bunny, with some lovely sea air. We are going to make the most of it.
Okay, so I'm rambling a little. Here is the next chapter, I hope that you all enjoy it!
"You need to call your brother." The Doctor announced, pulling Kari's phone out from inside his jacket pocket.
Kari wondered when he had taken it, it must have been when she was in the bath, not that it bothered her or really mattered. "Do I have to?" She asked, resting her head on his shoulder as she continued to look at the view before her.
"Yes, you do." He replied, holding the phone out in front of her, waiting for her to take it.
She let out a sigh as her hand reached for it. "Did you tell him anything?" She wasn't sure she wanted to talk to Jack if he knew everything that had happened. She really didn't need him to give her a lecture as well.
The Doctor lightly kissed the side of her head, "I told him that you took on too much, that I thought I was really going to lose you this time." He said, pulling himself away from her. "Now, you call your big brother to let him know that you are okay. I'll be back in a few minutes."
A frown formed on Kari's face as she watched him head past the console, up the stairs and deeper into the TARDIS. That left her with no option but to call Jack. She scrolled through her call list and hit the last number that called her. As it rang in her ear she wished that the call actually went through to a different Jack, the one who wasn't waiting for her to call.
"Hey, how are you doing, Princess?" The voice of her brother called cheerfully.
"Hi, Jack. I'm okay. How are you and the rest of the team?" She asked him, trying to sound as normal as she possibly could. She didn't need him to be worrying about her as well, the Doctor was doing enough of that on his own.
"I'll be much better when I see you." He said, raising her suspicion a little. "I'm worried about you. I spoke to the Doctor and he told me… some things had happened."
Kari couldn't help but let out a sigh. Of course, she had gotten through to the right Jack. That would be her luck. "Yeah, stuff happened. Bad stuff, and I still have a load of bad stuff to come because of all of this, or that started all of it." She knew that she wasn't making sense. "It's too complicated, and my head is still all messed up."
Jack knew that it was pretty bad, he could tell by the tone of her voice. "Talk to me, just let it all out. I'm not going to judge you, I'm not going to make any comments. I'm just going to listen, okay?" He knew that she needed to unload, that it would help her if she could just release some of her built up frustration and feelings.
"I think… I think I almost died, Jack." She ended up whispering, still unable to really believe it herself. "Something happens in my future, something that has already happened for the Doctor. It all had to do with the time vortex and I had to control it all or something. The details are still a little fuzzy." Kari was still trying to piece it all together, and she was slowly getting the fuller picture. "I remember the Doctor saying something about my hearts and one of them stopped beating. He was so scared, Jack, he was terrified."
Of course, Jack already knew that something bad had happened, and how scared the Doctor had been. "And how are you doing now?" He was treading carefully, he didn't want her to think he was prying too much, that he was trying to get information from her. He didn't want her to shut herself down and refuse to talk about what happened.
She thought about what had happened when she had woken up, and what the Doctor had done for her. "The Doctor made me a bath. I mean, he ran a bath for me and it was the most amazing bath I have ever taken." Kari admitted. "I have no idea what he put in there, but whatever it was helped. I don't feel completely better, but I am better than I was."
Jack was glad that she was talking to him, and telling him the truth. "What else?" He asked, knowing from her tone that there was more she wanted to say. "Come on, you know you can tell me anything, Princess."
"I'm scared Jack." It was hard for her to admit that, but she knew she needed to talk about it. "I am scared for so many reasons."
"I'm listening." He knew that was what she wanted, for him to just listen to her. She needed to get it all out.
This was her chance to let it all out, without having the Doctor worry. "The place where we've just been, something bad is going to happen, really bad. I ended up having a conversation with myself, and it is going to be worse than…" she paused, not knowing if he had been through what had happened with the Trickster yet. "something else that happened. I have to go back there."
Straight away he understood what she was trying to say. "I get it, Princess. But hey, the Doctor has already been there, right? He is never going to let anything happen to you, and you know that. Whatever happens there, it will all be okay in the end, because he will be there with you." Jack had every confidence that the Doctor would always protect her, always.
"Yeah, but that just gives me something else to be scared of." There was so much running through her head and she was trying to get it into order. "Jack, I have never seen the Doctor so worried before. He was scared, and that scared me." Even now she could still sense how worried and scared the Doctor had been, it was something that was never going to leave her. "He thought I was going to die."
"The Doctor is always going to worry about you, he will always be scared for you, Kari. I know and he knows that you are not trying to worry or scare him." He assured her. He wished that there was something more that he could do, he really just wanted to give her a big hug and tell her that everything was going to be fine.
Kari knew that what he was saying was true, but she still felt just so guilty for all of it. "I just… I don't want him to worry so much. If you had seen the way he looked when I woke up, Jack, he just looked so worn down and tired." She couldn't remember a time when she had seen him like that before, where the Doctor had looked in such a worn out state.
Jack completely understood what she was saying, but he also knew it from the Doctor's perspective as well. "It's because he cares, Kari. There are so many people that care about you, but none more than the Doctor. He would tear the whole universe, the whole of reality, apart for you. He loves you more than anything else." He told her, knowing that her head was in a bit of a mess and she just needed some reassurance.
"I'd do anything for him as well." Kari admitted, not realising that the Doctor had just stepped back into the room. "For every version of him. I know what he is like, I know the trouble he gets himself into, even though he is only trying to help." She let out a sigh as she thought about the amount of trouble and danger he would get in, with or without her there. "I just want to keep him safe."
There was a slight chuckling coming from her brother. "Just like he wants to keep you safe. You both love each other to the point that you would do anything for them. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that."
Kari let out a sigh. "I love him so much, Jack. I don't want anything to happen to him. Knowing that he is worrying about me so much, it hurts. I don't want to put him through all of that, but I don't know how to stop it." Now that she had started, she wasn't sure she was going to be able to stop. "How do I stop him from worrying about me so much?"
"You don't, you can't. Because he is the Doctor and you are Kari, his Kari." Her big brother replied. He knew just how much the Doctor worried and cared about her, he had seen it for himself. There was nothing that would ever stop him from worrying like he does. "He loves you, and that is what happens when you love someone."
"Yeah, I know." She answered quietly. "I just don't like seeing him like that. I mean, I'm okay. A little tired and my head is still messed up a bit, but apart from that, I am fine." Kari needed her madman with a box back, the one who threatened a fleet of Daleks with a jam biscuit.
"Then tell him, okay? Go and be honest with him. Tell him that you are tired but fine. Just remember, it is not going to stop him from caring, and he will never stop worrying." Jack just wanted her to see that it was a good thing the Doctor was worried, it was just one of his ways of showing that he cared about her and needed her. "Okay?"
There was silence from Kari for a few moments before she answered. "Yeah, okay." She knew she didn't really have a choice in the matter now. "I'll come and see you soon, Jack. I promise."
"I know you will, Princess. Just make sure you take care of yourself and the Doctor, okay?"
Even though he couldn't see her, Kari still nodded. "I will, I promise. I love you Jack."
"I love you too, Princess. I'll see you soon." He said softly, before the call ended.
Kari ended up just sitting there with her phone in her hand for a few minutes. She knew that the Doctor cared, but she really did have to find a way to stop him from worrying so much. He had plenty of other things to worry about, such as the Daleks, Cybermen, and all the other aliens and threats that were out there. She was so lost in her own little world that she failed to notice the Doctor come and sit back down beside her. It was only when he wrapped an arm around her that she noticed his presence.
"So, how was Jack?" The Doctor asked, not wanting her to know that he had heard a bulk of her conversation.
She rested her head back against his shoulder as she replied. "He is okay. Didn't really talk about him and the team much, we were just talking about what had happened and how I was feeling." Kari admitted, surprising the Doctor slightly. "I'm tired and worried about you. Before you ask."
Honestly, the Doctor hadn't expected her to be honest with him, to tell him that she was not only tired but worried as well. "I know you are. So what do you want to do? Go and see your brother or go back to bed?"
For her, it was no competition at all. "Bed. Definitely bed. Please." Kari was still tired and exhausted and just wanted to curl up in bed and sleep. They were in a time machine, they could go and see Jack at any point, but right now she needed some more sleep.
The Doctor actually chuckled a little beside her. "You know, I had a feeling you might say that." He told her, pulling himself away from her a little. "Come on then, bed."
Kari didn't struggle or waste any time. She let the Doctor help her up from where they had both been enjoying the view and then let him lead her through the corridors of their magical ship. They ended up back at what Kari always knew to be the Doctor's bedroom and a frown formed on her face. It didn't go unnoticed as the Doctor opened the door. "I want you where I can be with you. I'm not allowed in your room, remember. How can I stay with you if I'm not allowed in?"
That was something that Kari hadn't thought about. She knew that the Doctor wasn't allowed in her room, she just didn't really think about that being one of the reasons why she always seemed to be in the Doctor's room now. "Sorry, I… I didn't think of it like that." She admitted to him.
"Ah well, it's nothing to worry about." The Doctor told her as he started unlacing his boots. "You get to sleep as much as you want and I will be here with you the whole time." All he wanted to do was make sure that she was okay and to keep her safe. Right now, the Doctor just didn't want to let her out of his sight. He knew that she had been through a lot where they had just been, and he knew there was so much more to come.
She really did need to get some more sleep. Her head was still fuzzy and while the bath had most definitely helped her, she was starting to feel a little achy again. "Wake me up in a few hours and we can go have an adventure." Kari said to him as she got under the soft covers on the bed.
The Doctor smiled at her as he too got under the covers, before pulling Kari closer towards him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her as she made herself comfortable against him. "Okay, you have a few more hours of sleep and then we'll go have an adventure. Any requests?" He would take her anywhere she wanted to go, anywhere in the whole of time and space.
"I'll let you and Sexy decide." Kari replied, her eyes closed and her body completely relaxed. "Just as long as it's not too dangerous." All she wanted was a little more sleep, and the Doctor was willing to give her that.
Kari didn't know how long she had been asleep for, but when she woke up the Doctor wasn't there. While it caused her to frown a little, she didn't worry or panic. She knew that she was still in the TARDIS and the lack of headache told her that she hadn't been pulled somewhere else. At least she hoped that she hadn't. Instead she just sat herself up and took a moment to really look at the room.
It was only then that she noticed little things that didn't really fit in the room. Kari remembered it being very simple, without there being any decorations or anything around the place. Now that she was looking, she could see some trinkets, things that she was most likely to find and keep. It seemed like she was going to be spending more and more time in that room rather than her own in the future, if what she was thinking was correct.
She was pulled from her thoughts when the door slowly creaked open and the Doctor came in, holding a tray in his hands. "Ah, good. You're awake." He said with a smile on his face, coming over to the bed, placing the tray down and sitting on the edge beside her. "I made tea."
"I can see." Kari said with a smile on her face. "And what else have you been up to?" She asked, not actually being serious. However, the way that the Doctor froze made her smile falter for just a moment. "Planned somewhere for us to go?" Kari quickly said, trying to move the conversation along and not dwell on what she had just said and his reaction.
The Doctor cleared his throat as he poured her some tea. "Ah, well, I've got a whole list of ideas." He told her, glad that she wasn't going to press him on being up to something. "But we can decide on that after tea."
The way he answered just made her suspicious. She knew something was going on, but in all honesty, she didn't care. Kari knew that after what had happened, if he was up to something, it wasn't going to be anything bad or anything that she disapproved of. Besides, she had put him through enough pain and heartache, Kari knew that he would need time to heal from it all as well, just like she did.
After drinking their tea in a comfortable silence, Kari went to her own room and got herself changed. She was ready to try and face the universe again, even if she wasn't feeling completely herself again just yet. She wasted very little time in throwing on her favourite pair of jeans and blouse before yanking on a pair of Converses. As she strolled through the corridors of the TARDIS, a strange feeling washed over her. She stopped and closed her eyes, trying to understand what it was that she was feeling.
There was something familiar in the air around her, like a scent that she knew but couldn't quite place. "What is it?" She ended up muttering to herself. "That feeling, that smell…" Her eyes suddenly snapped open. "No…" Kari rushed along the corridor, heading straight for the console room. That feeling, that smell, she recognised it, she knew what it was.
She didn't slow when she reached the top of the stairs. Instead she threw herself down them and headed straight for the person standing beside the console, their back to her. It was only when she was almost right behind them that she spoke to them. "Oi, Harkness!" Kari said, a big grin on her face as he turned around and saw her.
The smile that spread across his face was big enough to match her own. "Hey, how are you doing, Princess?" He asked, opening his arms and reaching out for her.
"I knew he was up to something." Kari muttered, as she held onto Jack tightly. It had been him that she could feel, his pheromones that she could smell. "I always know when he is up to something."
Jack let out a chuckle. "Yeah, and how did you know that it was me?" He asked her, noticing that she was holding onto him a little tighter than normal.
"Those pheromones of yours, Jack. I only let them get to me that one time, but I'll never forget. It will always remind me of my big brother." Kari replied, actually feeling really glad that Jack was there. Although she had spoken to him on the phone, she had been thinking about wanting to see him for some time now. "I'm so glad you're here, Jack."
"I'm always here for you, Princess. And going from what you've been through the past couple of days, I need to be here." he said, before the Doctor quietly came down the stairs.
Without letting go of Jack, or even turning around, Kari knew that he was there. "Well, the Doctor must be really worried about me if he's convinced you to join us." She said, wondering what the Doctor was going to say to that. "But he shouldn't be." Kari added, before turning her head and looking over her shoulder and at the Doctor who was standing there watching her.
A slight frown formed on his face. "How did you…" He started, confused as to how she knew he was there, and exactly where he was standing. "Nevermind. Yes, I am worried. I am always worried about you. What has just happened, what that woman did to you…"
Kari seemed to know exactly what the Doctor was going to say. "Was nothing like what happened with Trickster." She announced, finally pulling away from Jack a little. "I am not going to have a breakdown. Yes, it was awful, yes I almost died, but this is not the same, Doctor." She assured him, taking a step away from her brother now. "Things are different now, okay? What happened back then was on the back of something else. I was a complete and utter mess. I had already had my head messed with by Balavin, I had hurt you! I did the one thing I had always been so scared of doing, hurting you. Then instead of having time to process it all, there was Trickster playing with my head, with you and Jack and Amy." Kari was trying her best to reassure him, to make him see and understand that she was okay.
The Doctor let out a sigh. "Kari…"
"No, Doctor. Stop." She said, knowing exactly what he was going to say. "I know how worried you are about me, right now you are scared about what side effects I could suffer from absorbing that much of the time vortex." Kari told him, watching his eyes widen a little. "Yes, it drained me, yes I almost died, but I am better now, okay?"
There was a hint of shock on his face as he looked at her. She seemed to know exactly what he was thinking, how he was feeling, and the Doctor didn't really know what to think of it all. "Okay." He managed to say, causing Kari to smile at him.
"Good." She said, before reaching up and giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Now, I have my favourite Time Lord and I have my favourite immortal. Where do you boys want to go?" Kari was doing her best to put on a smile and keep things happy, but she could still sense the Doctor's worry. He was worried about her having a breakdown, about her getting sick, about her hearts stopping or beating out of rhythm again. He just couldn't stop.
Kari glanced over at Jack and saw an odd smile on his face. He was worried, but not in the same way as the Doctor was. He was worrying about both of them. He didn't fully trust the way Kari was acting, she got the sense that he felt something was a little off, that there was something she wasn't telling either of them. He was also worrying about the Doctor, about how he was coping with everything. She couldn't help but look between the two men, the two most important men in her life. "Right, you both need to stop worrying." she announced, before bouncing around to the other side of the console. "I'd hold on tight instead if I were you." She called, before pulling down the lever and sending them off, hurtling through the vortex.
Both of them held on, this time Jack was wearing a genuine smile while the Doctor's still showed a hint of concern. Kari knew that there was nothing she was going to be able to do about that, she just needed to reassure him as much as she could.
A few moments later, they landed and a smile stretched across Kari's face. The look on Jack's was one to match her own, but the Doctor's seemed forced. Kari ended up letting out a sigh and she marched over to the Time Lord. "You need to cheer up." She said to him, before grabbing the lapels of his tweed jacket and pulling him towards her. Kari kissed him passionately, hoping that she could get through to him, to make him see that they needed to move on, move forward from what had happened. They only broke apart when Jack cleared his throat. The Doctor was blushing madly while Kari just couldn't contain her grin.
Jack noticed the grin on her face and simply shook his head. He knew exactly what she was doing and why she was doing it. He couldn't blame her. "So come on then, are we going out there or what?" He asked, trying to get the Doctor to focus, to pull himself back together.
"Yes!" Kari called, grabbing the Doctor by the hand and literally dragging him towards the doors. He was clearly still in a daze, but she didn't care. "I have no idea where she has taken us." There was so much excitement in her voice as she spoke, "there could be anything out there, anywhere."
"Then why don't we go and take a look?" Jack asked, wondering why the Doctor was still being so quiet.
All Kari could do was smile at him as she put her hand on the latch before turning it. Then she opened the door and the three of them stepped outside. "Oh…" she said quietly as her face fell. "Well this is…"
"Earth." The Doctor said, finally coming back to his senses. "England, 1990's I'd say." He added, looking around them. It was pretty obvious that it was somewhere around the 1990's from the clothes people were wearing, and the hair.
"I was going to say boring." Kari muttered as the Doctor pushed her forward a little and shut the TARDIS door.
"Oh, the 90's were great." Jack announced, looking around and taking it all in. "The Spice Girls, The first Harry Potter book, the rise of the mobile phone, NASA's Pathfinder lands on Mars…"
While Jack has been spilling all of that off, Kari just looked around with complete disinterest. "Yeah, sounds like so much fun." Kari grumbled, having no idea why the TARDIS had decided to take them there.
Kari had been hoping to have some fun, to have an adventure where they would be running and saving lives. Something a bit more exciting than just Earth. That was when she felt it, some kind of energy, something odd, something that should not have been there. Everything around them looked normal, but Kari knew it wasn't. "Um, actually, does anyone else get the feeling that something isn't right?" She asked, wondering if it was only her that was getting that feeling.
Both the Doctor and Jack looked at her. "What do you mean?" Jack said, a curious look on his face.
"I… I don't know. I just have this feeling… There is something here that most definitely should not be here." Kari couldn't explain it, she couldn't explain to him what she was feeling. It was like a kind of electricity in the air, something that was making her feel very uncomfortable. "Please tell me you feel it too, Doctor?" While she wanted him to say yes, she knew just by looking at him that he didn't. She looked into his eyes and saw the worry, she was certain she knew exactly what he was thinking. "No, I am not just imagining things. It is not because of stress. Something here isn't right."
"Kari… how did you know that was what I was thinking?" The Doctor asked her suddenly and slowly, looking at her very carefully.
She blinked at him, confused. "What do you mean? You always let your thoughts wander a little." Kari told him, before reaching out for his mind, for that connection that they had. She froze, her face falling. "Why are you…" She couldn't reach him.
The Doctor gently placed his hands on her cheeks, holding her head still, and gazed deeply into Kari's eyes. "I blocked the link back when we were on Terra Earth." He told her, searching her eyes for something. "There is too much that you can't know. I had to."
"So… so why have you kept it blocked?" Kari asked him, now starting to feel panic rising in her. If she didn't think something was wrong before, she certainly was now.
"Because when it was all over, you were dying." He said, whipping out his sonic screwdriver. "I had to protect you, from me, from the emotions that I was feeling." The Doctor had not wanted her to know exactly what he was feeling, to know just how scared he really was, how terrified he had been that she was going to die. It would have just made the whole situation so much worse.
Kari didn't know what to do, what to think, as the Doctor scanned her with his screwdriver. "Doctor, you are scaring me." She admitted, trying so hard to keep that fear under control. "What is going on?"
All he could do is frown at her. "I don't know. I guess the connection is stronger than I thought." The Doctor told her, confused by it all himself. He had thought that she was just good at guessing how he was feeling, and what he was thinking, but now he wasn't so sure. "Scans normal." He then announced after looking at his screwdriver. While everything said normal. He still didn't believe it.
Neither of them really knew what to say. Kari felt absolutely fine. Yes, she seemed to be a little sharper with her senses at the moment, but that was nothing. She had actually had some decent rest so she was fully refreshed and alert. There was no flare up from the vortex, no headaches, nothing. She felt perfectly normal, more normal than she had done in a very long time now that she thought about it.
Jack could see that something was right. "Look, why don't we just go and have a look around. See if we can find somewhere to grab a coffee or something." Whatever was going on, it was not going to be resolved with the three of them just standing on the street.
The Doctor had still been gazing deeply into Kari's eyes, still trying to work out what it was that he was missing. Then he finally nodded. "Yes, good idea. Come on, let's go." He said, taking a hold of Kari's hand, giving it a squeeze as he did. He knew that she was starting to worry now, and it was all because he was worrying. The Doctor knew that he had to just let it go for the moment or it could just make matters worse.
A/N: I really do hope that you enjoyed this chapter. As you can see, their relationship is changing, Kari is growing. I had a look through some of the earlier chapters and it is amazing how much my writing has developed and how Kari has grown as well. I'm actually really chuffed with myself.
As always, a big thank you to those why have left a review, I really do appreciate it.
I am going to be working hard over the next few days to get some more chapters knocked out. I will not be rushing, believe me, I want these to be perfect for you all.
So until the next time,
Pippa.