Synopsis: A new beginning for Kershia and David.

The Kindred Spirits universe is dedicated to the late Philip Gilbert.

This is the twentieth and final story of the Kindred Spirits sequence. Essential reading order is:

1. Kindred Spirits - Two Aims, One Destination
2. Kindred Spirits - Double Bluff
3. Kindred Spirits - Slipping the Net
4. Kindred Spirits - Consumed by Fire
5. Kindred Spirits - The Stair
6. Kindred Spirits - Stara Majka
7. Kindred Spirits - ZD28-FV6
8. Kindred Spirits - Darkness and Lust
9. Kindred Spirits - Abandoned
10. Kindred Spirits - The Path Ahead
11. Kindred Spirits - Serpent's Tooth
12. Kindred Spirits - Grand Central Station
13. Kindred Spirits - Luna Yuletide
14. Kindred Spirits - Resolutions
15. Kindred Spirits - Catharsis - The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
16. Kindred Spirits - Catharsis - Level Sands
17. Kindred Spirits - Catharsis - Coming of Age
18. Kindred Spirits - Catharsis - Every Step You Take
19. Kindred Spirits - Catharsis - Betrayal of Trust
20. Kindred Spirits - Catharsis - Full Circle.

Disclaimer:
This story is based on the television series 'The Tomorrow People', created by Roger Price and owned by Thames Television/Freemantle Media. It also features original characters and situations created by, and the intellectual property of, Jackie Clark and Elizabeth Stanway, October 2003.

Previous stories can be found in the TPFICT archive or on our websites at http://www.oocities.org/tiylaya/KS/ or http://www.effdee.demon.co.uk/tp/Stories/stories.htm

Comments would be welcome to Jackie@effdee.demon.co.uk

November 2025

Kershia shuffled uncomfortably as she sat on a small stool in the corner of the bathroom. She had remained in this position for the past ten minutes, and knew that it was time to stand and face the world.

With a quick flick of her eyes, she glanced at the small plastic tube sitting conspicuously on the side of the sink unit. No, not yet, she thought, dragging her gaze away from the device.

Turning towards the shower cubicle, she used a short burst of TK to stop the noisy flow of water she had used to mask her activities. She stood up - shaking her tired limbs as the circulation returned - and crept across the room, cracked open the door and peered into the bedroom beyond. David was lying on the bed still fast asleep, just as she had left him. Mouthing a silent thank you, she let out the breath she had been holding and turned back into the room.

Looking up at the mirror, Kershia raked a hand through her un-brushed mop of dark hair. For a long moment she just stared at her own image, tracing the outline of her face, noting the tired expression in her eyes, and the pallid colour of her skin. Well, girl, you can't put it off any longer, she chastised herself. You've been avoiding the truth for months, and as they say, 'time and tide wait for no man' . or woman.

With a decisive movement she stepped forward, grabbed the tube and stared at the clear plastic panel. The breath caught in the back of her throat. The blotch of bright pink dazed her senses, and the most absurd thought sprang into her mind. I wonder what the weather is like at the lake this time of year? Visualising Travin's country retreat by the cool Canadian lakeside, she smiled to herself. Now, I'll have to go and visit him. And he'll have to accept David as a part of our 'family', whether he likes it or not!

Falling in love with David for the second time had not been part of Kershia's plan when she picked up the pieces of her shattered life. Although, she knew now, she'd never really fallen out of love with him in the first place. It had taken Jimmy's deteriorating mental health, and untimely death, to push her into seeing reality for what it truly was. And only then did she also see what she'd been running away from for all those years. Yes, in the beginning David had been one of the enemy, but he had also been so much more. A lot had happened since the days of the Malthus raid. The Malthus children themselves had grown almost to adulthood, and she'd convinced herself that caring for them was the closest thing to parenting she would ever experience.

But she had been wrong - about a lot of things.

The word 'enemy' reverberated around her mind. What a strange word it is, she thought, with its implications of rivalry and antagonism. The word had been bandied about in both Sap and TP circles for years. Used as a label, used as a threat, used through ignorance and fear just because people were different.

Brushing these painful thoughts aside, she tried to decide what to do next. Suddenly another weird thought sprang into her mind - 'it takes two to tango'.

Throughout her childhood that phrase had been nothing more than a passing comment made by a regular visitor to her father's shop. But in recent years, it had struck her by its relevance - especially since she began work on the Novus relocation committee. There are two sides to every argument, she mused. Everyone knows that one group can't make war alone. Antagonism only occurs when there are two factions. And if it took two sides to start this flirtatious dance with power and supremacy, then it will also take two to finish it. Sap and TP together. The world - the future - belongs to both groups, neither one nor the other.

Looking up into the mirror once more, Kershia shook off the heavy thoughts of government and politics. It had indeed taken two to tango in her world, and just look where the dance had led them both.

She reached out telekinetically and pulled a huge fluffy bath towel around her naked body, then flung open the door and padded across to where David lay. "Wake up, sleepyhead," she called, bending down to kiss him on the forehead. "You can't still be tired!"

David grunted and stirred. "Wha.." he said sleepily, as he opened his eyes and looked up into her smiling face. "What's happened? What time is it?"

"It's nearly ten o'clock." She grabbed a nearby pillow and swiped him playfully around the face. "Time for us to visit a couple of old friends."

David groaned and rolled onto his back, pulling the pillow over his face. "Do we have to? Can't we have just one Sunday on our own? I don't think I can take another of those stilted dinner conversations with Thomas and Marc."

Ignoring his muffled complaint, Kershia walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out some fresh clothes. Smiling to herself as she dressed, she was aware of his eyes studying her. "We're not going to Abby's. We're visiting someone else." She said, struggling to conceal how unbearably tight her blouse and jeans were, as she tried in vain to fasten them.

David sat up in bed abruptly. He looked at her struggling with the zip in her hand, then up into her large childlike eyes. "Mrs. Barton, are you putting on weight? I knew that all those chocolate bars would catch up with you one day."

She smiled down at him warmly. "Chocolate's got nothing to do with it."

Discarding the ill-fitting jeans, Kershia pulled a long, patchwork - and thankfully elasticated - skirt from the back of the wardrobe and began to dress again. Meanwhile David watched her movements with a growing frown on his face. "If I'm not mistaken you're hiding something. I don't need to be a telepath to read your mind; it's written all over your face. Why are you suddenly dressing like some half-baked hippy? And who exactly are we visiting?"

Stopping her activities, Kershia turned to face him. "David." she began hesitantly, "there's something I have to tell you." As the anxiety in her voice increased, she made a grab at the brush sitting on the dresser and rapidly brushed her long brown hair, tying it into a neat bun on the crown of her head. "But not here. Give me a few minutes to collect my thoughts." She dropped her gaze to the floor, coming to a decision. "I'll go make us some coffee and food while you take a shower." Turning around, she winked at him and trotted happily towards the door. "We'll talk over breakfast. If I can stomach it."

"But you never eat."

David couldn't have crossed the room any quicker if he had jaunted. One moment he was sitting half covered by the duvet, the next he was sweeping her up into his arms in a powerful embrace. "Are you sure? When's it due? What is it? Can you tell, yet?" The questions tumbled from his mouth so quickly he hardly took a breath.

Kershia smiled and nodded slowly. "I'm as sure as I can be. Travin will be able to tell us more." She paused as he placed her back down on the floor, thinking carefully about how she should respond to his other questions. "I don't think even he'll be able to tell us whether the child is Homo sapiens or Homo novus. Even after it's born we may still have to wait and see whether it breaks out."

David let out a huge laugh. "No, you silly woman. I don't care whether it's Sap or TP. That really isn't important to me. What I want to know is whether I'm going to have a son or a daughter."

Kershia's face lit up with a broad grin. "You really don't care?"

Pulling her into his arms, David stroked her hair soothingly. "Genetics doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that this baby is ours. Yours and mine."

And in that moment, as they stood in a silent embrace, Kershia and David Barton crossed the gulf that had existed between them - between their two divergent species - and their lives started anew.

© Jackie Clark, August 2005