locker_monster | Firefly/Doctor Who crossover fic: A Different Kind of Companion (12/20) (Reply)

Title: A Different Kind of Companion (12/20)
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. Chapter Nine. Chapter Ten. Chapter Eleven.

“Why were you and your friend in that bar?” Rose asked after a moment.

Reynolds’ shoulders heaved with a silent sigh. He turned, his hands on the belt of his now empty holster. “We were havin’ a drink. Fellow by the name of Jannik started chattin’ with us.”

“Is Inara, like, your girlfriend?”

“My who friend?” Reynolds stumbled over the words, like his mouth couldn’t comprehend what his brain was thinking. His tough exterior gave way to a very confused expression.

“I just figured, you and a pretty lady in a bar. Sounds like a date to me.”

“Inara ain’t my–” Taking a breath, Reynolds composed himself. “She rents a shuttle from me. It’s a business arrangement.”

“Yeah? You were arranging business in a bar?” For the first time during this whole ordeal, Rose felt a grin tug at the corners of her mouth. “I would have chosen something nicer. Watching a match in a pub isn’t a way to flatter a girl.”

“Who says I was even flattering anyone?”

“Come on. If you take a girl to the bar, it means one of two things. You either want to meet with your mates or you want to smooth things over with a few drinks.”

“Ain’t nothing to smooth over,” mumbled Reynolds.

“You could at least make the eff–” Rose was cut off as Reynolds suddenly approached the bars.

“There ain’t nothing to smooth over because Inara’s leaving the ship. Business done.”

Rose stared at Reynolds through the bars. Annoyed as he seemed, there was sadness in his expression, too. She had seen it more than enough times with the Doctor when he confronted people doing things they shouldn’t have. “You should say something,” she offered. “If you don’t want her to leave.”

“Why am I even talking to you?” He took a few paces away from the bars separating them, but it didn’t do much to put distance between them.

“Don’t got much of a choice in the matter,” said Rose. “S’not like we’ve got walls to keep out the noise.” She grabbed two of the bars and leaned her face in between the gap. “Look, the Doctor will be back with your friend and he’ll get us out’ve here.” And while Rose did believe her own hype, a part of her was wondering where he was. It may have been ten minutes since the TARDIS dematerialized but time was relative. Did he decide to go on a side trip with Inara?

The thought made Rose pause. She didn’t consider it a serious possibility but she knew the Doctor had left behind companions before.

Rose’s foul mood came right back.

“Well, your Doctor friend better get a move on.” At Reynolds’ words, Rose looked up. The man had moved to stand at the front of the cell. Whatever he was looking at, he was blocking her view. Rose stood, moving to the bars so she could see.

The desk officer was back. He glanced at Reynolds before his gaze fell on Rose. Instinctively, she took a step back.

The officer walked over to her cell and produced a hand held screen from behind his back. Her scan from before was displayed along with some text. “I sent your retinal scan to the Alliance. Lucky for you they have an outpost on a nearby moon. They had their experts look it over. There’s no sign of tampering. No contacts to mask your eyes. No retinal transplant.”

Reynolds watched the exchange from his cell. “I told you I weren’t involved.”

The officer ignored Reynolds. Rose bit her bottom lip. “Would you care to explain how a citizen of The Union of Allied Planets doesn’t have a file?”

Rose remained silent. Even if she told the truth, she could only imagine it would get her into even more trouble. After a minute, the officer turned on his heel and walked away. “Fine. The Alliance is on their way to collect you. You might feel more talkative then.” He paused in front of Reynolds’ cell. “Your case isn’t looking good either.”

She listened to the officer’s retreating footsteps, vaguely aware Reynolds was saying something else in Chinese. Leaning up against the bars, she dug around in the pockets of her jeans. When her fingers brushed up against metal, she clutched her hand around the item and pulled it out. Opening her hand, she stared down at the TARDIS key sitting in her palm.

“Light up,” she willed it in a whisper. “Start glowing.”

The key didn’t respond. It made no indication that the TARDIS was coming.