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

[locker_monster]

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.

Comments

[honorh.livejournal.com]

Mal has a knack for looking after young girls who appear out of boxes.

*Snerk!*

Figures Inara would instantly see how devoted the Doctor is to Rose. *Sigh* I need to get back to work on "Out of Joint" myself . . .

woohoo

[kefira.livejournal.com]

I think its about time for me to snag some of your icons for this crossover. I am totally sucked in.

[ertheuponerthe.livejournal.com]

I loved Inara's last comment to the Doctor and his usual avoidance of the topic. Good part, can't wait for the next one. :)

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

I couldn't resist. Women just seem to pop out of boxes around Mal. :-D

You did leave us hanging with "Out of Joint". Does Mal find out about Jack and Inara? Inquiring fan girls need to know. ;-)

Re: woohoo

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

I guess I'm just a big sucker for Firefly/Doctor Who crossovers. :-D Those icons were so fun to make. The parallels you can draw between the two shows is uncanny.

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

I didn't realize just how much he does that until I sat down and re-watched the DVDs to capture Ten's voice. It really comes back to bite him in the butt at the end of Doomsday.

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

That's the fun part of putting Inara and the Doctor together. As a Companion she's been trained to be perceptive and say the right things to her clients. It just not working too well with the Doctor. :-D

[aryas_zehral]

This is neat. I'm going to friend you so I can keep an eye out for new parts, if that's ok?

[goldy-dollar.livejournal.com]

Ahhhhh! That? Was awesome! Ten and Inara for the win. :D

Mal has a knack for looking after young girls who appear out of boxes.

Heh! That's a line of genius. *G*

And I LOVED that Inara was perceptive enough to question the Doctor about Rose, hurrah! And he... avoided the topic, which is typical, being, as he is, the most commitment phobic alien ever. *hugs Ten*

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

That's totally cool. I'm glad you're liking the story. I'm trying to post a part a day so keep an eye out.

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

That's the thing I took away from writing this fic. Inara's trained to notice a man's behaviour and body language and go off from there. At the same time, the Doctor doesn't like talking about himself or relationships so they do make quite a pair. I really like writing Ten/Inara scenes. Is it too early for me to be thinking about writing a sequel? :-D

[aryas_zehral]

shall do.

[elflore.livejournal.com]

Too early to think about a sequel? Never!

Thinking about it, I'd love to see a post-Doomsday Ten run into Inara--see how she handles the gloomier, lovelorn Doc. She's a bit of a relationship therapist, after all. (And it'd be a great opportunity for more flirting between them, something I think all your readers would love to see. *g*)

Also, I third the adulation for the 'girls in boxes' line. (And dangnab--where I can I find myself a box with a River or a Rose, yeah?)

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

That's why Inara goes so well with the Doctor. She's someone who will listen and say the right things. Plus, they both have commitment issues, with him being a 900 year old Time Lord and her being a Companion.

Well, I don't know where you can get a cryogenic box, but I hear there are still some police boxes in the UK. Maybe one comes complete with a Doctor and a Rose? :-D

[sunstar77.livejournal.com]

Mal has a knack for looking after young girls who appear out of boxes.

Right. At least this one won't be spouting philosophical jibberish. :-)

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

Well, Rose could go and absorb the energy of the Time Vortex again. Then she could give River a run for her money. ;-)