A/N: Sorries, for some reason the computer screwed up my formatting the first time this was uploaded...smooshed all the paragraphs together. --;; Here it is again, correctly this time.

Saturday came and went, and Sunday was also passing uneventfully when Tai's cell phone rang. Shifting in his seat on the couch where he was watching TV with Kari, he dug his cell phone out of his pocket. "Hello?"

"Tai, it's Matt."

"Oh, good! I wanted to ask you for some help on my physics assignment. This professor—"

"Tai, I need to meet with you. Now."

Tai heard the grim note in Matt's voice, and he knew then that something was wrong. "Uh, sure. Come on over."

"Great. See you in a few minutes."

Bleep. Tai tapped his chin thoughtfully with the phone's antenna. He knew that a cell phone was not a place to discuss delicate matters, and Matt had sounded tense enough for him to figure that whatever had happened was pretty touchy. If Matt wouldn't talk about it on the phone . . . His eyes narrowed slightly in thought. I wonder . . .

"Who was it, Tai?"

He quickly turned his head to look over at Kari. "It was Matt. He's coming over here for a while."

"Oh," was all his sister said aloud, but her eyes spoke volumes more. She abruptly rose from her seat on the couch. "I think I'll go start supper." Maybe it will get my mind off the problems at hand.

About ten minutes later there was a quiet rap on the door. Gatomon looked out from the kitchen as Tai opened the door a crack and had a quick, whispered conversation with Matt. After listening for a moment, she scampered off to Tai's room. After their hushed exchange of words, Matt hurried off. Tai closed the door after him, a pensive look on his face; sitting down at the table, he drummed his fingers apprehensively until Kari came in with their bowls of soup. Noting his troubled expression—

"What was that all about?"

Tai hesitated. "Kari, we're gonna have to clean this place up really quick." Though puzzled, she agreed, and the apartment was sparkling in under twenty minutes. Not long after, another knock came on the door. Tai answered it again, and Matt and T.K., with Patamon in his arms, quickly slipped in, each carrying a backpack, a duffel bag, and a guitar case.

"You guys are staying in my room," Tai said, taking the duffels and leading the way down the hall.

"But where will you sleep?" T.K. asked.

"Probably on the couch!" Matt laughed, following Tai down the hallway.

"Hey, if you want to trade me, keep it up!" Tai threatened, though he smiled as he spoke.

Kari, hearing their voices, came out of her room and almost ran into T.K.. "T.K.! Matt?" She gaped at them, then looked after Tai, who hadn't paused in leading the other two into his room. "What—?"

"We're spending the night!" Patamon said brightly as all three disappeared into Tai's room.

"A couple nights, actually," Matt corrected as Kari followed them in. "It'll be easier to protect both you and T.K. if we're closer together," he explained.

"Didn't Tai tell you?" asked T.K., starting to unpack a few of his things.

"No," Tai cut in, catching Kari's eye and giving her a roguish wink. "I wanted it to be a surprise!"

Kari's only reply was a heavy sigh.

¤ ¤ - ¤ ¤

After Matt and T.K. had settled into Tai's room, the four relaxed in the living room, watching TV and chatting about school and life in general. Gatomon padded up to Tai and whispered something in his ear. "That's a great idea!" he exclaimed. "Go get it set up, okay?"

Gatomon smiled. "I already did," she purred.

"Hey guys, Gatomon had a really great idea," Tai said, clicking off the TV to ensure the others' full attention.

"What?"

"She suggested that we go to the DigiWorld and bring back Agumon and Gabumon."

"They could help us protect T.K. and Kari," Matt said practically.

"Yeah, good ol' Gabumon and Agumon! It's been a while since I've seen them!"

"We'll practically be having a party here!" Kari laughed. "I'd better go fix something for us to eat."

She started to get up when Tai said, "I don't think we should all go—what if someone called, or came over or something? It's almost midnight! If someone told our parents we weren't at home while they were gone, they'd flip!"

"Don't worry, Tai. I can stay here," Kari offered. "I have some things to do anyway."

"But we were going to take Gatomon, too, and T.K. has to go because we need someone with a D-3 to open the portal."

"I'll be fine alone. Besides, I can reach you by the D-3 or the D-Terminal if I need to." She smiled. "Go on, guys! Get out of here!"

The three boys reluctantly agreed, and soon Kari was by herself. She busied herself in the kitchen, and soon she had fresh bread in the oven, fried rice and a stew that she herself had made up on the stove, and oatmeal with applesauce warming in the microwave; she was elbow deep in a batch of the special recipe double chocolate chip cookie dough when her D-Terminal let out a insistent beep.

Oh, brother. I bet it's Davis asking if I've changed my mind. Kari disinterred herself from the cookie dough and was just reaching for her D-Terminal when the doorbell rang. It's a good thing I stayed here, or else someone would know something's up. Still drying her hands on her apron, she hurried to opened the door--and immediately wished that she had gone with the guys: Davis was kneeling on her doorstep. As she stared at him in open-mouthed astonishment, he grabbed her hand.

"Davis?! What--?!"

"Kari, please! I'm begging you, reconsider! Come with me to the Dance! It would be a lot safer, both for you and for T.M.!" Plus, it would be me and Kari, just the two of us alone . . . Davis sighed inwardly at the thought.

"Davis, how many times to I have to tell you that I'm not going to change my mind?" She made an unsuccessful attempt to free her hand. "I want to go with T.K.!" Besides, if I did change my mind, it would be me and Davis, just the two of us alone . . . She shuddered inwardly at the thought. "I'm going with T.K., and that's final!"

"But Kari—"

"Didn't you hear her? I believe she said 'that's final'." Kari turned quickly, and her mutual surprise and relief found T.K. standing right behind her. Davis' jaw dropped, and his eyes went as big as silver dollars. Kari took the opportunity to reclaim her hand from Davis' grasp.

"T—T.K.?! It's, like, 12:30 at night! What are you doing here?!"

The lanky blonde shrugged, casually draping an arm around Kari's shoulders. "I'm spending the night."

Davis' eyes got even bigger, and for a second Kari thought he might pass out from the shock. But slowly he got to his feet, and with one last, jealous look at Kari and T.K. standing together in the doorway, he hurried off down the hallway.

"Bye, Davis!" Kari called after him, then closed the door and turned to look up at T.K..

Both burst out laughing.

"I can't believe," Kari gasped when she could speak again, "That you told him you were spending the night!" They both started laughing again, and it was a while before they got their mirth under control.

Kari wiped a tear from her eye and looked up at T.K. with a smile. He smiled back down at her, and both suddenly realized how close they were standing in the narrow entryway. T.K. moved a little closer and was bringing his face nearer to hers when his D-3 crackled. The moment broken, he stepped back, pulling his Digivice off his belt. "T.K. here," he said into the device's mic.

"Hey, T.K.." Tai's voice resounded through the speaker. "Hope we're not interrupting anything—" If only he knew . . . "—But could you come back and open the Portal for us?"

"Did you find Agumon and Gabumon?" Kari asked, speaking into her own D-3.

"The mission was a success! Over and out!"

"Good," Kari said, tucking her D-3 away. She angled a smile up at T.K. as she slipped past him, heading back into the kitchen. T.K. watched her go regretfully, then headed for Tai's room and the computer.

¤ ¤ - ¤ ¤

It was, as Kari had predicted, practically a party. At first, of course, all anyone wanted to do was eat, but after a while Matt brought out his guitar, then tried to convince T.K. to be his backup. T.K. reluctantly agreed: he still wasn't confident of his skill as a musician, even though Matt said he was great on the guitar. Tai turned on the radio, and the brothers started playing along with it. Tai pretended to be the singer, making everyone laugh; Patamon and Gatomon started dancing, Agumon and Gabumon kept eating, and Kari just sat back and watched it all, smiling happily. They kept the music low, not wanting to wake their neighbors, but they played, danced, and 'sang' far into the night.

¤ ¤ - ¤ ¤

The next morning T.K., who had somehow ended up on the couch, was awakened by the smell of pancakes, eggs, and bacon, and the sound of Kari's clear voice singing softly as she made breakfast. He groaned and sat up, then slowly got to his feet, rubbing his eyes sleepily as he shuffled into the kitchen.

Kari looked up from the bacon as he came in. "Good morning, Sunshine!" she said brightly. T.K. just blinked owlishly in response, easing down into a chair and trying to stifle a yawn. How could she be so chipper this early in the morning? He scrubbed his face with his hands. How late had they been up last night? It must've been at least 2 a.m. He glanced at his watch. 7:00. That meant they had only gotten about five hours of—

"Kari! Is it really 7:00?"

Kari looked puzzled. "Yeah . . ."

"What about school? We're gonna be late!"

Kari looked down at herself. "I'm ready to go . . ."

But T.K. had bolted from the room.

¤ ¤ - ¤ ¤

The three guys didn't take long to get ready, and after a hurried (but still undeniably delicious) breakfast they agreed to meet back at the Kamiya's apartment as quickly as they could after their classes: they had to work on their plan of action. T.K. walked Kari to school instead of Davis, and Kari found it to be a much more pleasant trip when she walked with him.

The next three days were uneventful, at least as far as Matt and Tai knew; by that time T.K. had picked up on the fact that everything wasn't alright, that there was something bothering Kari, bothering her deeply. There was something about her eyes . . . a blank, vacant stare that, if he snapped her out of it, was always replaced by a strange, haunted look. She was also having trouble sleeping; often she woke up in the middle of the night, her body shaking and covered in sweat, and once she had even cried out in her sleep, bringing all three boys tumbling (quite literally) into her room. Tai had decided then that she should be moved to his room to sleep in the lower bunk; that way the person in the upper bunk could be close to her to calm her down, and protect her if it came to that. They rotated nights, and when it was his turn to sleep in Tai's room, T.K. stayed up all night with Kari, watching her sleep and listening to her moan and toss and turn restlessly. Once, just when he had been nodding off in the chair where he sat beside her bed, she jerked awake with a gasp, panting.

Instantly T.K. was wide awake and at her side.

"Kari! What is it? What's wrong?"

Without a word, she buried her face in his chest, her whole body shaking. Startled, T.K. sat down on the edge of the bed, a deep flush coloring his cheeks (though the darkness hid this), awkwardly putting his arms around her shoulders comfortingly. He held her until the violent shudders that wracked her delicate frame faded away, held her until he knew by her steady breathing that she was lightly sleeping. Gently he broke contact, laying her back down on the bed; he smiled down at her still face for a moment before starting to rise, intent on returning to his chair.

"T.K.."

Her eyes were only partially open, sleep weighing heavily on her lids, but they were clear, and she was definitely lucid. Turning back, he knelt beside her bed.

"Yes, Kari?"

"Thank you . . ."

He smiled. "What are friends for?" he said lightly, though truly he wondered if Kari's heart had been beating as fast as his had.

"And T.K. . . ."

"Mmm-hmm?"

She looked away quickly. ". . . Please . . . don't tell Tai or Matt about my dreams."

He frowned slightly at the odd request. "Alright," he said with a little shrug.

"Promise?"

He hesitated for a moment--what if their brothers could help in some way?--then nodded once. After all, they were just dreams . . . and what could Matt or Tai do about them, anyway?

But after that night, he knew his fears were justified, though he said nothing to Matt or Tai, knowing they could do nothing about it.

And after all, he'd promised.

Kari hid all evidence of her nocturnal torment completely: only T.K. knew that dark creatures stalked in her dreams . . .

¤ ¤ - ¤ ¤