An Ill-Considered Wager ch. 3/? (DW/TW/Firefly/Farscape)
Title: An Ill-Considered Wager or "Dr. Fire Escape"
Characters: Read to find out! There's a lot of 'em!
Genre: Crossover, Action-Adventure
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: This takes place in DW S4 (after "The Unicorn and the Wasp"), TW S2 (just before "Reset"), Firefly after the series but before the movie, and Farscape season 2 (right before "The Ugly Truth")
Notes: When I get bored, I make lists of characters from different fandoms and then pair characters together randomly. Except this time, the results were awesome and actually spawned a story that doesn't suck.
Summary: The Doctor is engulfed in chaos as four timelines cross and converge. He must work with his companions and new friends to set things right.
I'm not skipping chapter 2; it's linked below on dwfiction.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
“I’m really startin’ to hope this is a bad dream,” Wash remarked, after being locked in a cell with Rose and Stark for a few hours.
“Me too,” Rose sighed, trying to ignore her rumbling stomach.
Stark had retreated to the back of the cell, mumbling to himself.
“I don’t even know how I got here,” Wash said, trying to laugh. “I was on my ship, and then I just appeared here with you and him.”
Rose nodded. “Same thing with me. I was at home with my family, and then I was here.”
“You said you’re from Earth?”
Rose nodded again. “Yeah. Why?”
“That’s impossible. Earth doesn’t exist anymore,” Wash said slowly, his eyes wide.
Rose raised an eyebrow. “Are you from the year five billion or later?”
Wash burst out laughing. “What?!”
Rose smiled and shook her head. “Never mind. We need to find a way out of here.” A thought seemed to occur to her as she reached under her shirt.
“Whoa, now,” Wash said, backing up slightly. “I’m a married man.”
Rose giggled, pulling a mobile phone out from under the folds of her sweater. “Then I’m sure your wife is worried sick. Let’s see if I’ve still got universal coverage.”
Wash was puzzled as she started pushing buttons on the strange device. “What is that?”
“It’s a phone,” Rose explained patiently, having decided Wash was either from a parallel universe or another era. “I’m trying to call for help. And if this works …” Her jaw dropped, and her eyes widened. “Doctor?”
~~~
The Doctor stood in the middle of the TARDIS, surrounded by Aeryn, Captain Reynolds, and Jack. But he couldn’t think about any of them or anything else. He couldn’t believe the voice he heard on the other end of the line. His hand holding the mobile was shaking.
“Doctor? Are you there?”
“Rose?!”
He could hear her burst into tears. “Oh my God, it’s you! It’s really you!”
“How … this is impossible! Where are you?!”
“Doctor, I don’t know what’s going on. One minute I was at home -“
“And the next, you were somewhere else?” the Doctor finished for her.
“Yeah! How did you - what’s going on?”
“Rose, where are you, and what are the names of the two people with you?”
“Um, Stark and Wash. We’re on a Peacekeeper Command carrier, apparently. We’ve been captured. I think they’re going to question me and Wash, since we’re human.”
“Right, is it Stark or Wash that knows where you are?”
“Wash! She’s with Wash? That’s my damn pilot! Where the hell is he?!” Mal demanded.
“Stark is a member of our crew,” Aeryn added. “Does he know where Crichton is?”
“Quiet!” Jack shouted. “I know we all want to know what’s going on, but trust me, and shut up for a minute.”
The Doctor shot him a grateful look.
After conferring for a minute, Rose’s voice came back on the line. “It’s Stark. He says he’s not sure which Command Carrier we’re on.”
“I’m coming to get you, Rose.”
“But you don’t know where we are!”
“No, but I will figure it out, and I will find you. Are you hurt? Is everyone all right?”
“Yeah, we’re fine for now. Stark keeps muttering things about torture, but -“
“We’re on our way. I’m going to give you to Jack, so you can stay on the line.”
“Jack? You found Jack?!”
The Doctor winced. “It’s a long story, but yes. Hold tight. I’m coming.” He handed the phone to Jack. “Keep her on the line. See if they can figure out any more details about where they are.”
Jack nodded and took the phone. “Rose?”
“Right!” The Doctor stuck his head out the door and into the cargo bay. “Back in a minute!”
“Doctor!” Martha cried as he shut the doors and ran back to the control panel, frantically circling around it and pressing buttons.
“What are you doing?” Aeryn demanded. “Where are we going?”
“Our friends are in trouble. They’re on a Peacekeeper Command Carrier. We both know that’s not good news. I need your help, since I’m a bit rusty on the details. What kind of engines do they use? What frequency do they communicate on?”
As Aeryn supplied him the information, he kept stealing nervous glances at Jack, who was keeping Rose on the mobile.
“Doctor, what about contacting Talyn?” Aeryn asked as the Doctor started scanning.
“When we come back, I will bring us back to exact moment we left. Then we can contact Talyn. Time machine, remember?
“Having a hard time getting used to it, actually,” Mal remarked. “So, I take it these Peacekeepers don’t live up to their name?”
“Not exactly,” Aeryn replied.
“HA! The TARDIS has picked up chatter about two human captives on one of the Command Carriers. Hold tight!” He ran around the console, setting the controls and throwing the lever to dematerialize.
“Doctor, however good you are, you can’t just land in the middle of Command Carrier and go unnoticed!” Aeryn protested.
“No, but you can,” he replied.
~~~
“Ianto, what’s this?” Crichton asked two hours later, pointing to a graph on the screen.
Ianto leaned over. “It’s … Jack’s mobile signal. It’s been active, but we didn’t receive it.”
“It looks like someone else did.”
Ianto looked closer. “You’re right! The signal was definitely answered.”
“Have you tried calling him?”
“Of course, but there was no answer.”
“So, wherever he is, he called someone, and they were able to answer. Anyway to get his call history? See if we can talk to whoever he called?”
“Tosh is a lot more talented with these things, but I might be able to.”
John moved aside, letting Ianto take the keyboard. He stretched and looked over at the others. Simon and Owen were watching Kaylee with amusement as she continued to stuff herself with strawberries.
“Got it,” Ianto said a moment later. “It looks like he called a Dr. Martha Jones.”
“I know that name,” Owen said, standing up and going to his own work station. “She’s with UNIT.”
“Why would Jack be calling her?”
“You know Jack,” Owen sad, rolling his eyes. “Hang on, maybe that’s not the reason. Most of the UNIT records are locked, but it looks like the notes say that she was involved with the Doctor.”
“Doctor who?” Crichton asked.
“Long story,” Owen replied.
“That would explain how Jack knows her,” Ianto commented. “I’ve got the number.” He picked up his own mobile and dialed.
~~~
Martha was beside herself as the TARDIS dematerialized; she jumped as her phone rang.
“Doctor?!”
“No, Dr. Jones, this Ianto Jones of Torchwood. I need to know if you have spoken to Captain Jack Harkness today.”
“Yes, I have! And he just disappeared off with the Doctor in the TARDIS! They left me behind!”
“Um … what?”
“Look, I have no idea what’s going on, and neither do the Doctor or Jack. But the Doctor just popped his head out and said he’ll be right back and went flying off with Jack!”
“Where are you?”
“In some distant part of the universe, according to the Doctor. I’m currently on a living ship called Moya. Got anything at Torchwood to help us get home? Or any ideas on how we got here in the first place?!”
“Hold on.” She could hear him speaking to someone else. Or several someones. “I have someone here who is supposed to be on Moya.”
“What? Wait, let me guess. You’ve also got someone who belongs on a ship called Serenity.”
“Yes! How did you know?!”
“That’s what’s happening on this side of the universe, too! People from our world, Moya, and Serenity are showing up in groups.”
“Is there anyone else from Torchwood there?”
“No. Just Jack.” Seeing D’Argo and Book’s expressions, she added, “Who’s there from Moya and Serenity?”
“Kaylee Frye, Dr. Simon Tam, Scorpius, and John Crichton. Dr. Jones -“
“Martha, please.”
“Sorry. Martha, who’s with you now?”
“D’Argo, River, and … Shepherd? Is that right?”
The older man nodded.
Ianto said the names back to his audience and was greeted with relieved responses.
“So, what do we do now?” Martha asked. “The Doctor did say he’d be right back …”
“Well, as he’s the only one capable of traveling that distance, I suppose we will have to wait. But at least we know who’s accounted for.”
“There’s another ship out there called Talyn,” Martha added. “But we’re not sure who’s on board yet. The Doctor was going to try contacting it when he got distracted somehow.”
“By the way, if you and Jack were in the same vicinity, why is it that we could reach your mobile but not his?”
Martha smiled. “Actually, we weren’t even in the same vicinity at first. The Doctor tinkered with my phone and gave me, quite literally, universal roaming.”
“That’s … impressive. I hope it doesn’t run up your bill.”
Martha laughed.
~~~
Rose clicked off her mobile. “They’re coming. Hopefully, they get here before the Peacekeepers.”
“So … this Doctor …”
“I used to travel with him. We got separated; there was no way to reach each other, but I was trying anyway. I can’t believe I’m back in the right universe.”
Wash blinked. “There’s more than one?”
Rose smiled. “Apparently, since Earth doesn’t exist where you’re from.”
“Well, it did exist. It just … doesn’t anymore.”
“Someone’s coming!” Stark cried, cowering in the corner.
Rose and Wash also instinctively moved away from the door. The three of them could hear sharp voices outside the door. A moment later, the lock clicked open and the door swung in.
“Prisoner, inside now!” a female voice ordered.
“All right, all right! No need to push!” the Doctor protested as he stumbled forward into the cell.
Rose held her breath as he met her gaze and winked.
The sounds of a fight came from the doorway. Seconds later, the two Peacekeepers who had been guarding the door hit the floor. The Doctor looked over his shoulder as three other people came into the cell, dragging the bodies of the other two.
“Doctor?” Rose whispered, standing up.
The Doctor looked back at her, grinning widely. “Rose Tyler.”
Rose bit her lip and then decided she couldn’t resist. “Aren’t you a little tall for a Storm Trooper?”
“Oi!” the Doctor said in mock indignation. He turned to the others, indicating his hands that were cuffed behind his back. “Can I get these off now, please? I can’t hug anyone like this!”
Jack chuckled as he stepped forward with a small key. “It’s good to see you again, Rose.”
“Jack!” Rose was still giggly from the shock. “Are those yours?”
Jack grinned, and the Doctor blushed. “You bet.”
“Mal?” Wash said incredulously as he realized that Mal was in a Peacekeeper uniform.
“In the flesh. You all right?”
“Yes. Where’s Zoe?”
“Don’t have a notion. It seems like we’ve all been scattered to the winds, but we’re gathering everyone up. We’ll find her.” Mal offered him a hand up.
Wash accepted it and then looked down at Stark. “Does … he belong to someone?”
“He’s with me,” the woman said, stepping forward. “Stark? Come on, we have to go now.”
“Aeryn?”
“Okay, further reunions will have to wait,” Jack announced as he freed the Doctor. “We need to go now.”
The Doctor nodded in agreement, holding out his hand to Rose.
She grabbed it, and the group started running back to the TARDIS. There were two more unconscious guards in the hallway. Rose noticed for the first time that Jack was also wearing a Peacekeeper uniform and decided distractedly that it kind of suited him.
The Doctor squeezed her hand before releasing it to work the controls. “Right. Have we got everyone? Back to Moya!”
To be continued ...
Characters: Read to find out! There's a lot of 'em!
Genre: Crossover, Action-Adventure
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: This takes place in DW S4 (after "The Unicorn and the Wasp"), TW S2 (just before "Reset"), Firefly after the series but before the movie, and Farscape season 2 (right before "The Ugly Truth")
Notes: When I get bored, I make lists of characters from different fandoms and then pair characters together randomly. Except this time, the results were awesome and actually spawned a story that doesn't suck.
Summary: The Doctor is engulfed in chaos as four timelines cross and converge. He must work with his companions and new friends to set things right.
I'm not skipping chapter 2; it's linked below on dwfiction.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
“I’m really startin’ to hope this is a bad dream,” Wash remarked, after being locked in a cell with Rose and Stark for a few hours.
“Me too,” Rose sighed, trying to ignore her rumbling stomach.
Stark had retreated to the back of the cell, mumbling to himself.
“I don’t even know how I got here,” Wash said, trying to laugh. “I was on my ship, and then I just appeared here with you and him.”
Rose nodded. “Same thing with me. I was at home with my family, and then I was here.”
“You said you’re from Earth?”
Rose nodded again. “Yeah. Why?”
“That’s impossible. Earth doesn’t exist anymore,” Wash said slowly, his eyes wide.
Rose raised an eyebrow. “Are you from the year five billion or later?”
Wash burst out laughing. “What?!”
Rose smiled and shook her head. “Never mind. We need to find a way out of here.” A thought seemed to occur to her as she reached under her shirt.
“Whoa, now,” Wash said, backing up slightly. “I’m a married man.”
Rose giggled, pulling a mobile phone out from under the folds of her sweater. “Then I’m sure your wife is worried sick. Let’s see if I’ve still got universal coverage.”
Wash was puzzled as she started pushing buttons on the strange device. “What is that?”
“It’s a phone,” Rose explained patiently, having decided Wash was either from a parallel universe or another era. “I’m trying to call for help. And if this works …” Her jaw dropped, and her eyes widened. “Doctor?”
~~~
The Doctor stood in the middle of the TARDIS, surrounded by Aeryn, Captain Reynolds, and Jack. But he couldn’t think about any of them or anything else. He couldn’t believe the voice he heard on the other end of the line. His hand holding the mobile was shaking.
“Doctor? Are you there?”
“Rose?!”
He could hear her burst into tears. “Oh my God, it’s you! It’s really you!”
“How … this is impossible! Where are you?!”
“Doctor, I don’t know what’s going on. One minute I was at home -“
“And the next, you were somewhere else?” the Doctor finished for her.
“Yeah! How did you - what’s going on?”
“Rose, where are you, and what are the names of the two people with you?”
“Um, Stark and Wash. We’re on a Peacekeeper Command carrier, apparently. We’ve been captured. I think they’re going to question me and Wash, since we’re human.”
“Right, is it Stark or Wash that knows where you are?”
“Wash! She’s with Wash? That’s my damn pilot! Where the hell is he?!” Mal demanded.
“Stark is a member of our crew,” Aeryn added. “Does he know where Crichton is?”
“Quiet!” Jack shouted. “I know we all want to know what’s going on, but trust me, and shut up for a minute.”
The Doctor shot him a grateful look.
After conferring for a minute, Rose’s voice came back on the line. “It’s Stark. He says he’s not sure which Command Carrier we’re on.”
“I’m coming to get you, Rose.”
“But you don’t know where we are!”
“No, but I will figure it out, and I will find you. Are you hurt? Is everyone all right?”
“Yeah, we’re fine for now. Stark keeps muttering things about torture, but -“
“We’re on our way. I’m going to give you to Jack, so you can stay on the line.”
“Jack? You found Jack?!”
The Doctor winced. “It’s a long story, but yes. Hold tight. I’m coming.” He handed the phone to Jack. “Keep her on the line. See if they can figure out any more details about where they are.”
Jack nodded and took the phone. “Rose?”
“Right!” The Doctor stuck his head out the door and into the cargo bay. “Back in a minute!”
“Doctor!” Martha cried as he shut the doors and ran back to the control panel, frantically circling around it and pressing buttons.
“What are you doing?” Aeryn demanded. “Where are we going?”
“Our friends are in trouble. They’re on a Peacekeeper Command Carrier. We both know that’s not good news. I need your help, since I’m a bit rusty on the details. What kind of engines do they use? What frequency do they communicate on?”
As Aeryn supplied him the information, he kept stealing nervous glances at Jack, who was keeping Rose on the mobile.
“Doctor, what about contacting Talyn?” Aeryn asked as the Doctor started scanning.
“When we come back, I will bring us back to exact moment we left. Then we can contact Talyn. Time machine, remember?
“Having a hard time getting used to it, actually,” Mal remarked. “So, I take it these Peacekeepers don’t live up to their name?”
“Not exactly,” Aeryn replied.
“HA! The TARDIS has picked up chatter about two human captives on one of the Command Carriers. Hold tight!” He ran around the console, setting the controls and throwing the lever to dematerialize.
“Doctor, however good you are, you can’t just land in the middle of Command Carrier and go unnoticed!” Aeryn protested.
“No, but you can,” he replied.
~~~
“Ianto, what’s this?” Crichton asked two hours later, pointing to a graph on the screen.
Ianto leaned over. “It’s … Jack’s mobile signal. It’s been active, but we didn’t receive it.”
“It looks like someone else did.”
Ianto looked closer. “You’re right! The signal was definitely answered.”
“Have you tried calling him?”
“Of course, but there was no answer.”
“So, wherever he is, he called someone, and they were able to answer. Anyway to get his call history? See if we can talk to whoever he called?”
“Tosh is a lot more talented with these things, but I might be able to.”
John moved aside, letting Ianto take the keyboard. He stretched and looked over at the others. Simon and Owen were watching Kaylee with amusement as she continued to stuff herself with strawberries.
“Got it,” Ianto said a moment later. “It looks like he called a Dr. Martha Jones.”
“I know that name,” Owen said, standing up and going to his own work station. “She’s with UNIT.”
“Why would Jack be calling her?”
“You know Jack,” Owen sad, rolling his eyes. “Hang on, maybe that’s not the reason. Most of the UNIT records are locked, but it looks like the notes say that she was involved with the Doctor.”
“Doctor who?” Crichton asked.
“Long story,” Owen replied.
“That would explain how Jack knows her,” Ianto commented. “I’ve got the number.” He picked up his own mobile and dialed.
~~~
Martha was beside herself as the TARDIS dematerialized; she jumped as her phone rang.
“Doctor?!”
“No, Dr. Jones, this Ianto Jones of Torchwood. I need to know if you have spoken to Captain Jack Harkness today.”
“Yes, I have! And he just disappeared off with the Doctor in the TARDIS! They left me behind!”
“Um … what?”
“Look, I have no idea what’s going on, and neither do the Doctor or Jack. But the Doctor just popped his head out and said he’ll be right back and went flying off with Jack!”
“Where are you?”
“In some distant part of the universe, according to the Doctor. I’m currently on a living ship called Moya. Got anything at Torchwood to help us get home? Or any ideas on how we got here in the first place?!”
“Hold on.” She could hear him speaking to someone else. Or several someones. “I have someone here who is supposed to be on Moya.”
“What? Wait, let me guess. You’ve also got someone who belongs on a ship called Serenity.”
“Yes! How did you know?!”
“That’s what’s happening on this side of the universe, too! People from our world, Moya, and Serenity are showing up in groups.”
“Is there anyone else from Torchwood there?”
“No. Just Jack.” Seeing D’Argo and Book’s expressions, she added, “Who’s there from Moya and Serenity?”
“Kaylee Frye, Dr. Simon Tam, Scorpius, and John Crichton. Dr. Jones -“
“Martha, please.”
“Sorry. Martha, who’s with you now?”
“D’Argo, River, and … Shepherd? Is that right?”
The older man nodded.
Ianto said the names back to his audience and was greeted with relieved responses.
“So, what do we do now?” Martha asked. “The Doctor did say he’d be right back …”
“Well, as he’s the only one capable of traveling that distance, I suppose we will have to wait. But at least we know who’s accounted for.”
“There’s another ship out there called Talyn,” Martha added. “But we’re not sure who’s on board yet. The Doctor was going to try contacting it when he got distracted somehow.”
“By the way, if you and Jack were in the same vicinity, why is it that we could reach your mobile but not his?”
Martha smiled. “Actually, we weren’t even in the same vicinity at first. The Doctor tinkered with my phone and gave me, quite literally, universal roaming.”
“That’s … impressive. I hope it doesn’t run up your bill.”
Martha laughed.
~~~
Rose clicked off her mobile. “They’re coming. Hopefully, they get here before the Peacekeepers.”
“So … this Doctor …”
“I used to travel with him. We got separated; there was no way to reach each other, but I was trying anyway. I can’t believe I’m back in the right universe.”
Wash blinked. “There’s more than one?”
Rose smiled. “Apparently, since Earth doesn’t exist where you’re from.”
“Well, it did exist. It just … doesn’t anymore.”
“Someone’s coming!” Stark cried, cowering in the corner.
Rose and Wash also instinctively moved away from the door. The three of them could hear sharp voices outside the door. A moment later, the lock clicked open and the door swung in.
“Prisoner, inside now!” a female voice ordered.
“All right, all right! No need to push!” the Doctor protested as he stumbled forward into the cell.
Rose held her breath as he met her gaze and winked.
The sounds of a fight came from the doorway. Seconds later, the two Peacekeepers who had been guarding the door hit the floor. The Doctor looked over his shoulder as three other people came into the cell, dragging the bodies of the other two.
“Doctor?” Rose whispered, standing up.
The Doctor looked back at her, grinning widely. “Rose Tyler.”
Rose bit her lip and then decided she couldn’t resist. “Aren’t you a little tall for a Storm Trooper?”
“Oi!” the Doctor said in mock indignation. He turned to the others, indicating his hands that were cuffed behind his back. “Can I get these off now, please? I can’t hug anyone like this!”
Jack chuckled as he stepped forward with a small key. “It’s good to see you again, Rose.”
“Jack!” Rose was still giggly from the shock. “Are those yours?”
Jack grinned, and the Doctor blushed. “You bet.”
“Mal?” Wash said incredulously as he realized that Mal was in a Peacekeeper uniform.
“In the flesh. You all right?”
“Yes. Where’s Zoe?”
“Don’t have a notion. It seems like we’ve all been scattered to the winds, but we’re gathering everyone up. We’ll find her.” Mal offered him a hand up.
Wash accepted it and then looked down at Stark. “Does … he belong to someone?”
“He’s with me,” the woman said, stepping forward. “Stark? Come on, we have to go now.”
“Aeryn?”
“Okay, further reunions will have to wait,” Jack announced as he freed the Doctor. “We need to go now.”
The Doctor nodded in agreement, holding out his hand to Rose.
She grabbed it, and the group started running back to the TARDIS. There were two more unconscious guards in the hallway. Rose noticed for the first time that Jack was also wearing a Peacekeeper uniform and decided distractedly that it kind of suited him.
The Doctor squeezed her hand before releasing it to work the controls. “Right. Have we got everyone? Back to Moya!”
To be continued ...