Fic: Kinship (Doctor Who, Firefly)
Title: Kinship
Fandoms: Doctor Who, Firefly
Disclaimer: Firefly is all Joss's, Doctor Who is all Russel's. Those guys rock, I'm just playing in their backyard.
Rating: G
Summary: The Doctor is aboard Serenity and faced with River.
Author's notes: this was written for yodah, who wanted to read about how the Doctor and River would interact. Hope you like it, and welcome back!
Author's notes 2: This is probably gonna be part of a much bigger DW/Ffl crossover (which is why I'm not posting this anywhere else than here), since I can't just shut my muses down and they had me write how come the Doctor and Rose got aboard Serenity, and I have so many ideas about how to deal with the whole River thing, but I can't really make sense of the whole thing yet. (I suck at plots! Also, River is so hard to write for. Thanks for your advice, randomling!)
Kinship
River was sitting in a corner of the mess, facing the bulkhead and whispering to herself. She did so expressively, with hand gestures and decisive movements, which resulted in giving the impression that she was having a particularly heated argument with the bulkhead. Which was, after all, entirely possible.
"Can you help her?"
The Doctor dragged his eyes off of her to look at her brother, who had just walked up to his side in the hatchway on the other side of the room. Doctor Simon Tam had talked softly, so as not to disturb his sister, but the Doctor doubted that the level of his voice could have changed much. Either River would be aware of them no matter how low they talked, or she would be shut off, mind taken up by other matters, and how loudly they might talk would change nothing to that.
"I don't know," the Doctor answered, because he didn't feel like lying.
"What she said to you earlier," Simon started, clearly hesitating over the right words to use, "it's as clear a description as she's ever made of - of what it's like for her. She barely knows you -"
"You're wrong there," the Doctor interjected, looking back at the teenager. "She knows me more than Rose does, in her own way." He grinned at Simon, but the grin didn't feel real and he could only wonder whether it looked any convincing. "Your sister's quite special, Doctor."
Simon's small smile was bitter, and the Doctor had to wonder that he was used to seeing such bitterness in someone so young. "She's always been special. Even before... Do you know what they did to her?" The young, handsome features held such hope.
"Not precisely," the Doctor answered, "and I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you what I suspect. It involves a time vortex," he added when he saw Simon was about to protest.
Simon closed his mouth, frowned, then let out, "Oh."
The Doctor clapped him on the shoulder with another grin. "But I can try and find out for certain." He walked into the mess, headed for River. As he got closer, he could hear her muttering about lost chances and some of the human equations that led to the discovery of time travel and the creation of the Time Agency.
"River," he said softly as he stood behind her, hands thrust in the pockets of his jacket.
She craned her neck to look up at him, sitting in a lotus position at his feet. She hesitated, but he did not know between what. Finally, she just answered on the exact same tone, down to the accent, "Doctor."
He crouched down, not so much to put himself on the same level as her as because he could bear to stand no longer. He crossed his fingers together in front of him, looked at her and felt torn inside. "I'm so sorry."
She looked as if she were about to cry, then smiled, and raised a hand to his face, stroked his cheek. Her gesture betrayed infinite tenderness and exquisite pain. "I know."
He could not prevent himself from grabbing her hand when she brought it back down, holding her delicate fingers like a wounded bird, afraid to crush them. "I'll figure out what they did to you, exactly, and I'll help you best as I can."
"The oncoming storm," she said with a sad smile, and his grasp loosened on her hand in surprise. "You'll do what's best for her, they always do. But it's not up to you..."
"The oncoming storm, that's what the Daleks call me," the Doctor cut in. "What do you know about them? About the time war?"
She frowned, tilted her head to the side, then abruptly shrieked with terror as she scrambled away from him and crashed into the bulkhead in her haste. "Don't!" The Doctor stood up and took a step back, raising his hands in a peaceful gesture, watching her with deep sympathy. "Don't," she pleaded as tears welled up in her eyes. "I don't want to be... extermin-"
"What's going on here?" Mal asked as he strode into the mess, hand on the gun at his belt. "What you doing to the girl?"
River walked close to the bulkhead, all the way to the hatchway, and ran off with a frightened glance behind her. The Doctor looked where he had left Simon to notice the young man was gone; he had probably left to give the Doctor some privacy with his sister, a show of faith if there was any. He looked back at Mal and the weight of the centuries must have shown in his eyes, although nothing in the man in front of him suggested he had noticed.
"I was trying to help," he confessed earnestly. He broke into a grin. "Looked like I made a right mess of it."
Mal relaxed slightly, let his hand fall from his gun. "She does that once in a while, freaks mightily out. Nothing personal." He turned and walked back out where he came from.
The Doctor let the grin fade from his face, his features slide into grim acknowledgement, and still some of his eternal sadness remained. "Oh, but it was. It was personal."
~~ the end ~~
Fandoms: Doctor Who, Firefly
Disclaimer: Firefly is all Joss's, Doctor Who is all Russel's. Those guys rock, I'm just playing in their backyard.
Rating: G
Summary: The Doctor is aboard Serenity and faced with River.
Author's notes: this was written for yodah, who wanted to read about how the Doctor and River would interact. Hope you like it, and welcome back!
Author's notes 2: This is probably gonna be part of a much bigger DW/Ffl crossover (which is why I'm not posting this anywhere else than here), since I can't just shut my muses down and they had me write how come the Doctor and Rose got aboard Serenity, and I have so many ideas about how to deal with the whole River thing, but I can't really make sense of the whole thing yet. (I suck at plots! Also, River is so hard to write for. Thanks for your advice, randomling!)
Kinship
River was sitting in a corner of the mess, facing the bulkhead and whispering to herself. She did so expressively, with hand gestures and decisive movements, which resulted in giving the impression that she was having a particularly heated argument with the bulkhead. Which was, after all, entirely possible.
"Can you help her?"
The Doctor dragged his eyes off of her to look at her brother, who had just walked up to his side in the hatchway on the other side of the room. Doctor Simon Tam had talked softly, so as not to disturb his sister, but the Doctor doubted that the level of his voice could have changed much. Either River would be aware of them no matter how low they talked, or she would be shut off, mind taken up by other matters, and how loudly they might talk would change nothing to that.
"I don't know," the Doctor answered, because he didn't feel like lying.
"What she said to you earlier," Simon started, clearly hesitating over the right words to use, "it's as clear a description as she's ever made of - of what it's like for her. She barely knows you -"
"You're wrong there," the Doctor interjected, looking back at the teenager. "She knows me more than Rose does, in her own way." He grinned at Simon, but the grin didn't feel real and he could only wonder whether it looked any convincing. "Your sister's quite special, Doctor."
Simon's small smile was bitter, and the Doctor had to wonder that he was used to seeing such bitterness in someone so young. "She's always been special. Even before... Do you know what they did to her?" The young, handsome features held such hope.
"Not precisely," the Doctor answered, "and I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you what I suspect. It involves a time vortex," he added when he saw Simon was about to protest.
Simon closed his mouth, frowned, then let out, "Oh."
The Doctor clapped him on the shoulder with another grin. "But I can try and find out for certain." He walked into the mess, headed for River. As he got closer, he could hear her muttering about lost chances and some of the human equations that led to the discovery of time travel and the creation of the Time Agency.
"River," he said softly as he stood behind her, hands thrust in the pockets of his jacket.
She craned her neck to look up at him, sitting in a lotus position at his feet. She hesitated, but he did not know between what. Finally, she just answered on the exact same tone, down to the accent, "Doctor."
He crouched down, not so much to put himself on the same level as her as because he could bear to stand no longer. He crossed his fingers together in front of him, looked at her and felt torn inside. "I'm so sorry."
She looked as if she were about to cry, then smiled, and raised a hand to his face, stroked his cheek. Her gesture betrayed infinite tenderness and exquisite pain. "I know."
He could not prevent himself from grabbing her hand when she brought it back down, holding her delicate fingers like a wounded bird, afraid to crush them. "I'll figure out what they did to you, exactly, and I'll help you best as I can."
"The oncoming storm," she said with a sad smile, and his grasp loosened on her hand in surprise. "You'll do what's best for her, they always do. But it's not up to you..."
"The oncoming storm, that's what the Daleks call me," the Doctor cut in. "What do you know about them? About the time war?"
She frowned, tilted her head to the side, then abruptly shrieked with terror as she scrambled away from him and crashed into the bulkhead in her haste. "Don't!" The Doctor stood up and took a step back, raising his hands in a peaceful gesture, watching her with deep sympathy. "Don't," she pleaded as tears welled up in her eyes. "I don't want to be... extermin-"
"What's going on here?" Mal asked as he strode into the mess, hand on the gun at his belt. "What you doing to the girl?"
River walked close to the bulkhead, all the way to the hatchway, and ran off with a frightened glance behind her. The Doctor looked where he had left Simon to notice the young man was gone; he had probably left to give the Doctor some privacy with his sister, a show of faith if there was any. He looked back at Mal and the weight of the centuries must have shown in his eyes, although nothing in the man in front of him suggested he had noticed.
"I was trying to help," he confessed earnestly. He broke into a grin. "Looked like I made a right mess of it."
Mal relaxed slightly, let his hand fall from his gun. "She does that once in a while, freaks mightily out. Nothing personal." He turned and walked back out where he came from.
The Doctor let the grin fade from his face, his features slide into grim acknowledgement, and still some of his eternal sadness remained. "Oh, but it was. It was personal."
~~ the end ~~