locker_monster | Firefly/Doctor Who crossover fic: A Different Kind of Companion (18/20) (Reply)

Title: A Different Kind of Companion (18/20)
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. Chapter Twelve. Chapter Thirteen. Chapter Fourteen. Chapter Fifteen. Chapter Sixteen. Chapter Seventeen.

The explosion knocked Rose sideways, ears ringing, and instinctively she tried to bring up her hands only to end up sprawled in the dirt, her face pressed against the ground. The Alliance officer was screaming, the palms of his hands burned a horrible red. His gun was nothing but burnt remains on the ground.

The sounds of a fight made Rose lift her head. Taking advantage of the distraction, Reynolds slammed his head back into the nose of the Alliance officer restraining him. The man grunted, loosening his hold enough that Reynolds was able to wrestle himself free. Hands still bound behind his back, he drove his knew into the officer’s stomach and kicked him in the groin for good measure, dropping the other man to his knees. A final kick to the officer’s temple rendered him unconscious.

Another shadow suddenly fell over her. With her hair covering half of her face, she couldn’t quite make out who it was. But then her hair was brushed away by a gentle hand and she let out a sigh of relief.

The Doctor regarded her with concern in his eyes. He helped her to her feet and unlocked the handcuffs with his sonic screwdriver. The moment her hands were free, Rose enveloped the Doctor in a tight hug. He returned the sentiment, hugging her just as tightly. She allowed herself to relax, the familiar feeling of being in his arms chasing away the last few moments.

“Are you all right?” The Doctor spoke right into her ear but his words were badly muffled. Rose wasn’t even sure he had said something but she had felt the heat of his breath against her skin.

She let go of him, staring hard at his mouth. “My hearing.”

“The gun exploded very close to your head!” he said in a raised voice, but still he was barely audible to her. “I’ll get you back to the TARDIS!”

“Took your time getting here,” she said playfully.

“I think I made rather good time.”

“Better than five and a half hours.” They shared a smile. It felt like nothing in the universe could keep them apart.

Inara ran over to the fallen Alliance officer. The usually well kempt uniform the officer wore was covered with dirt and he had lost his hat during the scuffle. She reached down and fished out his set of keys from his pocket. The officer made no protest as she walked away to unlock Mal’s handcuffs.

“I think you lost something,” she said to him as the handcuffs fell to the ground. She held his gun out for him.

Mal took it back from her, looking it over once before replacing it to his holster. When he looked back up at her, he smiled. For the first time that day he seemed happy to see her. “Thanks.”

“I know it means a lot to you.”

Mal said nothing in return and simply nodded his head. He frowned as his gaze quickly traced over her. “Did you change dresses?”

“It’s a long story.”

Inara and Mal turned as Rose and the Doctor approached them. “Rose and I should be going,” said the Doctor. “The TARDIS needs repairs.”

“Same here,” said Mal. “Likely the Alliance’s out lookin’ for Serenity. We should break atmo before they realize what’s happened.”

“Oh, that’s an easy fix. The Alliance ship should still be in orbit. I’ll whip up a virus and upload it into their mainframe, erasing any evidence that you and Rose were on this planet. You can’t be charged with anything if there’s no proof.”

Mal raised an eyebrow. “You’d do that for total strangers?”

“Think of it as a thank you for keeping an eye on Rose. It’s astonishing the trouble she gets in to when she’s not supervised.” Rose elbowed the Doctor in the side. He mouthed the word “ow” but it did little to dampen his smile.

Inara reached out and placed a hand on the Doctor’s forearm. “It was quite a trip. I certainly hope the rest of your day will be uneventful.”

“You can never tell with the TARDIS. It was lovely meeting you Inara.”

Mal looked at Rose and nodded his head at her. She offered a smile in return.

“Shall we?” The Doctor held out his hand for Rose and she eagerly wrapped her hand around his. Together, they ran off, back to the TARDIS.

“Wǒmen qù ba.” Mal turned and headed back to the shuttle. Inara watched the retreating forms of the Doctor and Rose for a moment longer before heading off herself.

Wǒmen qù ba = Let's go