locker_monster | Firefly/Doctor Who crossover fic: A Different Kind of Companion (9/20) (Reply)

Title: A Different Kind of Companion (9/20)
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. Chapter Eight.

The outside of the TARDIS, as the Doctor had explained to Inara, was stuck in the shape of a police box from Earth-that-Was from the era of the mid 1950s. Even up close she couldn’t tell that it was a ship. She could feel the weathered grain of the wood against her hand. When she put her ear to the door, she couldn’t hear any of the noise from the inside. If she had walked by it, she would have thought it strange or out of place, but nothing more.

Her gaze kept returning to the sky. She had been on numerous planets but none of them had looked like this one. Even the grass was unfamiliar. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was a strange shade of green, almost bordering on aqua.

This was turning into a more interesting trip than she’d expected.

The doors to the TARDIS opened and Inara looked over her shoulder. The Doctor was leaning against the side of his ship, his hands in his pockets, brown hair sticking up at all angles. Not for the first time, Inara studied the pinstripe suit he wore. The outfit seemed formal enough but the white shoes on the man’s feet contradicted the look. Serious and informal; it suited the Doctor perfectly.

She walked over to him. “Something else is bothering you.”

The Doctor lifted his gaze. “I tried to cobble together a new circuit by cannibalizing other bits of the TARDIS, but I don’t have the right parts on board. The circuit’s job is very precise. Can’t have the TARDIS landing on top of people.”

“Are there cities on this planet? You could fly the TARDIS to one and look for the parts you need.”

“There are no cities. This entire solar system is uninhabited. The closest inhabited system is light years away. And the TARDIS isn’t one for flying through space. I usually travel through the Time Vortex and materialize where I want to end up.”

Inara frowned. “Wait? Time Vortex?”

“Oh, she’s also a time machine. I didn’t mention that?”

Inara looked at the TARDIS with new eyes. It was a time machine. That certainly explained a few things. “You and Rose travel through time.” Just saying the words helped to solidify the idea in her mind.

“It’s the best way to travel. You never know where you’ll end up or when.”

“It’s a bit like Serenity. I never know where Mal will take the ship next.”

“Is that the ship you travel on?” asked the Doctor.

“I’ve been on board almost two years now.” She was twisting her words, but Inara didn’t feel the need to tell the Doctor she was planning to leave Serenity.

“And this Mal, would he be the one in the brown coat, the one shooting everything?” At Inara’s nod, the Doctor added, “Seems like a nice chap. Reminds me of… Well, he reminds me of someone who used to travel with me. Hold on. Browncoat. Serenity. He named his ship after the Battle of Serenity?”

“You seem to have a good grasp of our history,” remarked Inara.

“I do live in a time machine,” the Doctor said with a grin. He did that a lot, she noticed.

“I don’t claim to understand Mal, but he commands a fine ship and a wonderful crew.” Inara fell silent. Would she ever see them again? “What about Rose?” she asked instead. “It’s just the two of you?”

“It’s certainly easier to keep an eye on one human than two or three. Most of the time.” The Doctor’s tone shifted.

It brought Inara back to what she had been thinking initially. “Rose should be fine. Mal has a knack for looking after young girls who appear out of boxes. He’s probably returned with her to Serenity.” Or so she hoped. Quietly, Inara added, “You don’t like being separated from Rose. You’re very devoted to her, aren’t you?”

The Doctor made no comment. He pushed off from the TARDIS and headed inside. “I’ve got a wardrobe on board, if you want to change. I can’t imagine dried blood is very appealing.”

The thought hadn’t occurred to Inara, but he was right. She followed the Doctor inside but she wondered to herself just how much did he care for Rose.