Firefly/Doctor Who crossover fic: A Different Kind of Companion (8/20)

[locker_monster]

Title: A Different Kind of Companion (8/20)
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Ten, Rose, Ten/Rose, Mal, Inara, Mal/Inara
Timeline: A week after "Heart of Gold" for Firefly, and just before "Army of Ghosts" for Doctor Who
Summary: After an encounter in the 26th century, Inara and Rose find themselves in unfamiliar settings.
Disclaimer: Firefly and Doctor Who belong to their respective creators and showrunners. Too much awesome would happen if Joss Whedon and Russell T Davies ever worked on something together.
A/N: The biggest thank you goes out to browncoat_2x2 for betaing this story and helping with the minor changes.

Chapter One. Chapter Two. Chapter Three. Chapter Four. Chapter Five. Chapter Six. Chapter Seven.

            The harsh sunlight assaulted Rose’s eyes and it took a moment for her vision to adjust. When she could see clearly, she found herself standing in a town that looked like it belonged in one of the western movies Mickey used to make her watch. There were no paved roads, just dust. Most of the buildings were made out of wood but a few were completely covered with a reflective material, almost like tin foil.

            “Get moving.” One of the policemen rammed his elbow into Rose’s back.

            “All right,” she grumbled. Clouds of dust were kicked up as she walked along, two policemen flanking her at all times. The man in brown coat walked ahead of her with two policemen of his own.

            Sweat formed on her brow and Rose was very glad she hadn’t decided to keep her jacket on. People peeked their heads out of their homes as they passed by and whispers were exchanged. It felt like she was on parade. Along the way, she spotted a few horses tied up to a hitching post and laundry being aired on a line. It wasn’t a question of where she was, but when.

            The police station was a large building, and the only one made out of stone that she had seen. The single window at the front of the building had English words and, what Rose assumed to be, Chinese characters. They filed in through the door one after another.

            Inside, things were very different from what she had seen in the bar. Modern light fixtures lit the room; the floor was concrete, not wood; an officer behind the front desk worked with a keyboard and a kind of holographic screen. It was as if she had stepped through the TARDIS doors into another time.

            “Get them booked,” the oldest of the policemen said to two of the younger officers. “The rest of you get statements from the locals. I’m headin’ back to the bar.”

            More pushing and prodding followed as Rose and the man in the brown coat were brought around to the other side of the desk. They shoved the man back against the wall and told him to stand still. The desk officer came round with what looked like a digital camera. Rose peeked over his shoulder as the desk officer took a picture of the man in the brown coat.

            Instead of an image appearing on the camera’s screen, a scan of some sort came up. Rose couldn’t tell what it showed but the desk officer seemed satisfied and he pushed a button on the screen. There was a beep then a file came up, a picture of the man in the brown coat on the right hand side. The rest of the screen seemed to be a record. Leaning in ever so slightly, she caught the man’s name from the top of the screen.

            Malcolm Reynolds.

            “You’re next.” One of the policemen pushed Rose forward, making her stumble.

            “Oi! Stop with the pushing.” She traded places with the man in the brown coat, Reynolds, who looked rather bored with all this.

            Rose felt like she was getting her picture taken for her passport. She stared at the camera, wondering what would happen next. No psychic paper to get her out of this one. The officer took her picture and then looked to the screen. Same as before, he pushed a button on the screen. He waited a moment. And then he frowned.

            The officer exchanged a whisper with the policemen closest to him. The policeman then spoke with his partner. Rose shifted nervously.

            Finally the officer spoke, but not to her. He turned to Reynolds. “She isn’t in the system. What’s going on?”

            “What?” the man exclaimed. “I don’t even know her. I was just sittin’ in the bar with a friend, chattin’ with a guy named Jannik.”

            “Who’s now dead, along with everyone else in the bar. We’re you trying to get her a new identity? Did you have her file erased?”

            Reynolds shook his head. “Are you even listenin’? I don’t know her.”

            The officer sighed. “Throw them into the cells,” he told the two policemen. “I have the girl’s retinal scan. I can pass it along to the Alliance.”

            “The Alliance?” That didn’t sound good. Rose looked to Reynolds. “What’s going on?” He didn’t reply as he was shoved passed her. The other policeman approached her, his hands ready to grab her. “I can walk on my own.” She followed the other policeman down a long corridor.

            The end of the corridor opened into a large room filled with jail cells, though they were rather low-tech, with bars instead of a force field. Rose was pushed into one while Reynolds was shoved into the one next to hers. The policemen removed their handcuffs before stepping out and slamming the doors shut.

            Rose rubbed her sore wrists. In his cell, Reynolds plopped down on the flimsy cot in the corner. She approached the bars. “What’s happening? What do they mean that I’m not in the system?”

            Reynolds looked over at her, annoyance shining in his eyes. “You don’t exist is what they mean. And now they think I had something to do with it. Were they even lookin’ at my record? I smuggle, I ain’t into identity grifting.”

            “S’what happens now?”

            “We wait for the Alliance to come.” Reynolds sounded less than thrilled.

            “And that’s bad?”

            He looked straight into her eyes, the intensity of his gaze making her flinch. “Who are you?”

Comments

[kefira.livejournal.com]

The more I read, the better this gets. You tend to post late in my night, so this is one of the last things I read before bed :)

Keep up the good work. I can't wait to see what happens next.

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Posting at night just works best for me. And now I'm nighttime reading. Cool. :-D

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're enjoying it. I wasn't sure I could write Doctor Who, but from the feedback, I guess I'm doing okay. :-)

[sunstar77.livejournal.com]

I'm really loving in this series. Can't wait for the next part.

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

The next chapter will be up tonight.

[kheetor84.livejournal.com]

I am LUVIN' this crossover idea! It SOOOO fits with both universes.

Can not WAIT for the next chapter! This should be in webcomic form. XD

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

It's so true. Doctor Who and Firefly were made for each other.

Web comic. A tempting idea. If only I could draw. :-D

[goldy-dollar.livejournal.com]

Hooray! There is jail. And there is Rose being a non-identity. AND ROSE AND MAL BONDING, OMG. (Well, sort of.) And the Alliance coming. ACK. I hope the Doctor has a plan. (A good plan would probably be too much to ask for, though, right?)

ANYWAY. I can't wait for the next chapter! Inara and Ten again, right? I anticipate it eagerly!

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

You're happy for jail? ;-)

There'll be bonding all around in the coming chapters. I suppose being stuck somewhere does that to people.