"Out of Joint" Commentary: The Penultimate Chapter!
In which Wash and Jack are adorable, Zoe cleans up real nice, and goodbyes are said:
To begin with, I really, really wanted to write a scene like this. Jack and Wash playing with the dinosaurs? Too cute! The boys got along so fantastically that I felt like it flowed naturally from the rest of the fic.
The Allosaurus and the Tyrannosaurus were having relationship difficulties.
“You devoured my dad!” screeched the Allosaur.
“I didn’t know he was your dad,” said the Tyrannosaur. “I was hungry. Come on, I’m a carnivore-I thought you liked that about me!”
Yes, I had way too much fun writing this part. So would you.
“I do like your carnivorous ways!” replied the Allosaur. “The way you tear herbivores apart is one of the things that attracted me to you in the first place. But my dad, Tyr!” She burst into sobs.
“Now, now, everyone needs to just calm down here,” said the Archaeopteryx. “It seems to me the two of you are having a conflict over whom to devour. What you need to do is find someone to devour together. It’ll remind you of why you fell in love in the first place.”
Trust Jack to suggest a threesome to fix a relationship!
The Allosaur turned to the Tyrannosaur. “He’s so right. Remember how we met? The way we tore that Dienonychus limb from limb?”
“How could I forget?” asked the Tyrannosaur. “I love you, Allie! And I’m really sorry about your dad.”
“Eh, he was old and weak anyway. I probably would’ve devoured him myself sooner or later. Now c’mere, you big lug!” The two plastic dinosaurs kissed passionately.
“Am I interrupting anything?” Mal asked?
Mal not occasionally feels like a preschool teacher. He has reason.
Wash, holding the Tyrannosaur and Allosaur, and Jack, holding the Archaeopteryx, looked up from their plastic Jurassic.
“Ah, no,” said Jack.
“Nothing at all,” said Wash.
They're so cute I can't stand it.
“Good. ‘Cause I was under the impression the two of you were supposed to be in the business of getting us up and running again,” said Mal.
“Yeah, well, we’re disconnected from the TARDIS and our nav system is up,” said Wash. “Unfortunately, the fact remains that the engine went ‘poing!’”
If you want to be technical about it . . .
Mal swore a bit in Mandarin. They’d rather overtaxed Serenity with their recent maneuvers, and the main engine went down as soon as they were free of the planetoid, shorting the nav system with it. The Doctor and Kaylee were working on the engine.
The console bleeped. Wash spun about, giving it his full attention. “Nav contact! Doesn’t look like a Reaver.”
The comm crackled to life. “Sarge! You got yourself in trouble again?” came Emmy Chao's voice.
Fastest repairs anyone ever did on Angel. Okay, so I really wanted to bring Emmy in again just to bring that subplot back around and make it feel less intrusive. They worked 'round the clock and got the ship back on her feet fast. Yeah, that's what we'll say.
Mal let out a sigh of relief. “Hey, Emmy, I think I know how you can say thanks for that tow we gave you . . .”
***
Later, after getting a tow to Angel, where they dropped off the technician they'd accidentally snagged from the Ambrose
I forgot to dispose of him the first time around. Poor guy apparently wandered off into the depths of the TARDIS and never found his way back out!
and bartered the computer components they were smuggling for some shiny new engine parts, Jack headed back down to the TARDIS. Along the way, he passed the Doctor, Mal and Zoë, who were in a serious discussion.
“Be real nice to have out here on the Rim,” Mal was saying. “Not like we’d know how to get it to do what Hendricks was, anyway. Well, Kaylee’d have to be restrained, and we might have to watch River, but--”
Discussing the transmitter, of course. You can't say it wouldn't be a temptation to keep the thing, especially for people out on the Rim.
The Doctor shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s out of the question. The technology shouldn’t be in this time or place, and it would be irresponsible of me to leave it here. Can you honestly tell me there’s no chance the Alliance would ever board your ship and find it?”
Of course, the Doctor can't let them have it, and for good reason.
“Sad to say the man has a point, sir,” said Zoë.
Jack continued on past them and down to the TARDIS. Inara, Book, Simon and Rose were chatting in the control room. Rose immediately jumped up and ran over for a hug, which Jack happily provided.
“Have fun?” she asked as she pulled back.
“Oh, lots,” he said. “I got to help fly a Firefly! And then Wash and I played with his dinosaurs, who have surprisingly complicated personal lives. I’m telling you, it’s better than Eastenders.”
Jack's a big kid at heart, especially when he was on DW. It's so much fun to write him aboard the TARDIS because of that. Is it any wonder I never get tired of Nine/Rose/Jack, either friendship or romance?
“You’re very strange,” said Rose.
Before he could say anything to that, River entered the control room from belowdecks, yawning and rubbing her eyes, obviously just having woken up. “Well, hello, Sleeping Beauty,” said Jack.
Planned, again, from the get-go. Jack inadvertently gives River her answer. He mentions Sleeping Beauty, and though River had dismissed it before with the princesses, it falls into place and she recognizes what her perception has been trying to tell her.
At that, River froze, eyes going wide. “Sleeping Beauty-Briar Rose. It fits. My conundrum has an answer!” Her face lit up. “Captain Jack, you’re a genius!” She ran to him, gracefully leaping into his arms, and as he caught her, she kissed him full on the mouth.
I thought this was a cute idea. River kisses him out of pure joy, and also because he's very handsome and she feels she ought to kiss him while she has a chance.
Jack had absolutely no idea what brought this on, but a pretty girl was kissing him, so all was right with his world.
TRUFAX!
He returned the kiss with interest.
Just as suddenly, she released him and wiggled away with a shriek of glee, running down the ramp
I'd like to say at this point that I didn't have to correct that sentence at all, because I finally got it right. Ha!
and out of the TARDIS. Jack followed her progress with his eyes-and then turned to meet Simon’s glare.
“Oh, fine,” said Jack in an exasperated tone. He grabbed Simon’s face between his hands and soundly snogged him.
Hee! Jack fulfills a fantasy, and the stick up Simon's arse gets loosened a bit.
Simon sputtered as Jack released him. Book smothered a snicker. Rose and Inara fell into each other’s arms, laughing.
“Gee, that was pretty,” Kaylee commented.
She'll be thinking about that while she wears down another couple of batteries tonight.
***
River ran through Serenity, mind alight with the knowledge Jack’s statement had unlocked. Her conundrum was solved; all the factors fit, the equation balanced. All she needed to do now was find the Doctor and give him her findings.
She's still thinking in scientific terms, which I thought was a neat contrast to the fairy-tale imagery.
She felt his presence. It was somehow heavier and more real than the others around her, like the gravity well of a planet as opposed to a moon. It drew her in.
Liked that image, too.
“Doctor!” she cried, running up the stairs to him. “Doctor, I figured it out!”
The Doctor turned and saw her, reaching out to catch her before she could run into him. She joyfully embraced him.
“What exactly did you figure out?” he asked, hugging her back and chuckling.
He likes River. Thinks she's been horribly used, but in spite of that, she's still magnificent.
“My conundrum! I saw it, I know-Captain Jack gave me the key.” She giggled.
“Now I’m a little scared,” said the Doctor.
Well . . .
River swatted his arm. “Don’t be silly.”
The Doctor looked at her a little more seriously, taking her aside, a little way away from Mal and Zoë. “You said your conundrum was about Rose-how I can save her.”
River nodded, taking his hands and holding his gaze with her own. “Yes. You have to remember this: It takes a kiss to save the princess.” The Doctor blinked. “You’ll understand when it’s time. Kiss the Wolf, save the Rose.” She leaned up and brushed a kiss against the Doctor’s cheek.
Like Sleeping Beauty, it takes a kiss to save Rose. Unlike Sleeping Beauty, Rose is far from a passive damsel in distress.
Then she whirled away, feeling joyous and light. “I kissed Captain Jack!” she sang out, and flew down the stairs to where Jack pulled her into a grand Viennese waltz. They swept gracefully through the cargo bay as if it were a ballroom on Londinium.
For a little while, River Tam was perfectly happy.
I love River as a character, so I like working in little moments for her to be happy. A waltz with Jack shuts out the monsters for a precious little while.
***
“So, you’re gonna be off soon?” Mal asked a few hours later.
“The Time Rotor’s almost completely repaired,” said the Doctor. “That means we’ll be able to move in both time and space. We still need a few components we can’t find in your time period, and then we’ll have to refuel-Earth’s the best place for that-but yes, we’ll be going shortly. Rose hoped your lot would be able to join us for dinner on the TARDIS this evening.”
I really wanted another chance for the crews to relax around each other and just talk. The first time got interrupted by Reavers. This time, they're saying goodbye.
“Wouldn’t turn down a chance for real food,” said Mal. “Don’t suppose you’ll be givin’ up my mechanic anytime soon?”
“Absolutely. She--”
The Doctor was interrupted by the sound of Jack’s voice coming through the open doors of the TARDIS into the cargo bay.
“Come on, baby, do it for Captain Jack. That’s right, you gorgeous thing, you-yes! Yes!”
The TARDIS loves it when Jack talks dirty to her. This are fact.
Mal and the Doctor shared an alarmed look. Jayne, intrigued, ventured nearer the suspicious blue box, and as Mal and the Doctor also approached, the sound of the Time Rotor came spilling out.
“Yes! Yes! Do it, baby!” crowed Jack.
“I take it it’s working?” asked the Doctor.
The Doctor doesn't approve of Jack talking dirty to his TARDIS. Too bad.
Jack powered down the rotor, flushed and smiling. “Oh, yeah. She’s working great.”
“Do I wanna know where Kaylee is?” Mal asked.
“She and Rose went down to the wardrobe,” said Jack, vaguely indicating the direction they’d taken. “Sounds like they want to dress for dinner.”
Another scene I really wanted to write, the two of them talking girl talk while trying on dresses, but it just didn't happen. It's frustrating when your story won't let you indulge all your whims.
Zoë entered with Wash. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“We’re ready to go,” said the Doctor.
“They were hopin’ we’d eat with ‘em again tonight,” Mal told her.
“Real food, twice in one week?” Wash shook his head. “I don’t know-I might break out in hives or something.”
The Doctor pressed a button on the console. “Rose, get up here, would you?”
A minute later, Rose and Kaylee appeared, but not as Mal had last seen either. Rose was swathed in pink satin, and Kaylee floated in a cloud of peach-colored tulle.
Kaylee would most definitely go for the big ball gowns. She's having a rare moment of just being able to be a girl, as is Rose.
Kaylee’s brown eyes sparkled. “We was tryin’ on dresses!”
“Females and their frippery,” muttered Mal. “Least you’re a sensible one, Zoë.”
Zoë, however, wasn’t paying attention to him, but giving Rose a calculating look. “You got anything slinky down there?” she asked.
Zoe has her own ideas of what's sensible. As usual, she's smarter than Mal.
“We’re a go for dinner,” said the Doctor before Mal or Rose could say anything.
“Good!” Rose looked over at Book hopefully.
“I’ll be happy to help again,” said the Shepherd.
“Great! I’ll get back into my regular clothes, then, and we can get started.” She cocked her head. “By the way, Doctor, d’you know where the TARDIS put my room? There’s a closet of cricket gear where it used to be.”
No doubt left over from Five's day. This is a scene that was just floating around, orphaned, in my head, and it found a home in this story.
The Doctor obligingly checked a monitor-and then gave a great sigh. No one was being subtle anymore, including his ship. “It’s next to mine,” he said wearily.
The TARDIS is a smart girl.
Kaylee giggled and Rose blushed. The Doctor groaned.
“Jack?” He looked at his newer friend. “Yours is right across the hall.”
A *very* smart girl.
Jack promptly grabbed one of the coral support struts and snogged it messily.
The Doctor wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Don’t do that to my ship!”
“But she loooves me!” Jack embraced the strut in a none-too-platonic manner.
The TARDIS loves him. This is also trufax.
Rose got control of her laughter long enough to speak. “Zoë? I’ll show you to the wardrobe. There’s a dress I think would look stunning on you. Shepherd, I’ll meet you in the kitchen. Kaylee’ll help out, too.”
“So will Jack,” the Doctor announced with a baleful glare at the former conman. “Go on, you, before my ship gets you pregnant.”
I don't know if that's possible. Neither does Jack, but he's not willing to take the chance.
Jack shuddered. “Oh, no. Not doing that again!” He followed the others belowdecks.
Mal blinked. “Did-did he just say what I think he did?”
The Doctor sighed. “Trust me, there are things about Jack that no one wants to know.”
Again, the man speaks only the truth.
***
Dinner was served in the TARDIS’s grand dining hall. The Doctor had to evacuate the dust out of it, but no further preparation was needed. Kaylee decided to wear the 1950s-style ball gown she’d worn up to the control room earlier. Rose chose an empire-waisted, apricot-colored evening gown. River came down to the wardrobe and immediately left again with an aquamarine silk satin sheath that flowed around her like water. Inara, of course, came in one of her own gowns.
Really wanted this dinner party to be aboard the TARDIS. Everyone's dressed in their best--Jayne even combed his hair and wore his less-stained clothes--and just having a good time.
Zoë was the standout. Rose had indeed found the perfect dress for her-a creamy white gown that skimmed her curves with a back that dipped dangerously low, leaving her dark skin bare except for a few crisscrossing strands of crystal beading. She wore her hair loose, and the effect was such that even Mal nearly choked when he saw her. Wash barely even ate, his attention was so fixed on his wife.
I could just see the lovely Gina Torres wearing something like that and looking absolutely stunning.
As the wine flowed, so did the stories. The TARDIS crew learned how each of Serenity’s crew had come on board. Rose told the story of how she first met the Doctor. Jack finished the story of how he almost destroyed the human race.
Mal had a question. “Hey, Doc, maybe you can answer me this: are the stories about the Preservers really true?”
And here we get a little theory of mine!
“Preservers?” asked Rose.
“Folk as never left Earth-That-Was,” Book explained. “The legends go way back that some refused to leave their used-up home and stayed behind to preserve what was left of her.”
“The stories are true,” said the Doctor. “Jack, you probably read about it at the Time Academy, correct?”
Jack (resplendent in a 1930s-style tux)
Jack requested that I mention his fashion statement. Therefore, I put it in during the edit.
nodded, swirling a little wine in his glass. “Yeah. They kept amazing records of their restoration efforts.”
“Exactly.” The Doctor folded his hands under his chin. “The Preservers have done remarkable work in the last few centuries. Earth’s population currently stands at 1.5 million humans. They’ve been bringing back the forests, repopulating species that were nearly extinct-and even a few that were completely gone-cleaning the oceans and atmosphere, and preserving and restoring all the great artwork and architecture that you colonists didn’t or couldn’t take with you. They’re in the midst of what’s possibly Earth’s most peaceful period in human history.” He looked at Rose. “Cardiff’s a garden spot. We should go there to refuel.”
As I said, my personal theory. On FF, they talked as if Earth were all used up and no one lived there anymore. I thought it unlikely. A small population remains, doing what the Doctor speaks of in the last paragraph.
She looked puzzled. “Cardiff?”
“Remember the Rift there? It emits energy the TARDIS can use for fuel,” the Doctor explained.
Rose lit up. “Can we go to the twenty-first century? S’been forever since I’ve been home, or close.”
And here we bring it around the "Boom Town"!
The Doctor looked set to argue, but Jack spoke before he could. “Just say yes. It’ll be more dignified if you give in now.”
That earned him a glare as laughter ran around the table. “All right,” the Doctor finally said to Rose. “Call up your mum and Rickey and tell ‘em we’re on our way.”
The evening eventually wound down, and it came time for the Doctor, Rose and Jack to leave. Rose insisted that each of the ladies keep the gowns they’d chosen as they emerged from the depths of the TARDIS.
Kaylee was already crying as she embraced Rose. “I’m gonna miss you!”
“I’ll miss you, too,” said Rose, blinking back her own tears. “Didn’t realize quite how much I missed havin’ girls my age around ‘til we came here.”
We only got a few examples of Rose interacting with girls her own age on the show, but I think she did miss that interaction, if only on an unconscious level. It's another of those things she gave up to be with the Doctor. Though she doesn't regret it, I always think it'd be nice for her to have had the company of another young woman for a while. Kaylee fits the bill nicely.
The Doctor shook Mal’s hand. “Thank you for your hospitality, Captain.”
“S’been an experience,” Mal said with a wry grin.
To say the least.
Wash and Jack shook hands, too. “Wash, it’s been a privilege,” said Jack. “Thanks for letting me help fly this bird and aid your dinosaurs with their relationship difficulties.”
“They can always use the help. Unlike me.” Wash took another appreciative look up and down his wife.
“Indeed.” Jack winked at her. “Zoë, thanks for sharing your husband with me.”
“You watch yourself,” Zoë told him, but there was no heat to it. She favored him with a teasing smile. “Couple more days, who knows what would’ve happened?”
“Don’t taunt me with the possibilities,” said Jack.
Jack here is thoroughly in his element with a little three-way flirting. He seems to have won over Zoe somewhat.
Rose said a round of goodbyes to everyone, even Jayne, who still remained unconvinced she wasn’t some kind of prostitute. She decided he could think what he wanted.
Poor Jayne. I do abuse him so. Yet I don't feel bad about it at all.
“Thanks for savin’ my life, Simon,” she said as she got to the young doctor.
“I’m glad I could,” he said simply.
After Jack kissed Inara’s hand, she turned to the Doctor. “I’ll always remember this,” she told him. “Meeting you has been extraordinary.”
The Doctor grinned cheekily. “It usually is.”
Cheeky!
She smiled at that. “Do remember what I told you.” She took a sidelong glance at Rose. “I think you’ll find she’s worth it.”
“She is.” River was suddenly beside him, eyes on his face.
The Doctor embraced her gently. “River Tam. You sure you wouldn’t like to come along for a little while?”
I think he'd like her along. She's something new, and he always likes that.
“No,” she said. “I have Serenity, and I have to take care of my friends.” She pulled back to look at him again. “But maybe we’ll meet again, when you have a new face.”
I loved that turn of phrase when it occurred to me. To go back just a touch, note that she says she has to take care of her friends. That's her prescience again, seeing that she'll need to be there to save them at some point.
“Maybe we will.” The Doctor let go of River and reached for Rose’s hand. She and Kaylee hugged one last time, and then the Doctor, Rose and Jack withdrew into the TARDIS and shut the doors.
The crew of Serenity watched in wonder as the TARDIS dematerialized, disappearing as if it had never really been there.
“Been a powerful strange few days,” said Mal.
“That is has, sir,” Zoë agreed.
He looked at her and smiled. “Think I liked it, though.”
She smiled back. “Think I did, too, sir.”
I liked that last little dialogue. So very Mal & Zoe. It's very Mal, too, to find something "powerful strange"--but he likes it.
To begin with, I really, really wanted to write a scene like this. Jack and Wash playing with the dinosaurs? Too cute! The boys got along so fantastically that I felt like it flowed naturally from the rest of the fic.
The Allosaurus and the Tyrannosaurus were having relationship difficulties.
“You devoured my dad!” screeched the Allosaur.
“I didn’t know he was your dad,” said the Tyrannosaur. “I was hungry. Come on, I’m a carnivore-I thought you liked that about me!”
Yes, I had way too much fun writing this part. So would you.
“I do like your carnivorous ways!” replied the Allosaur. “The way you tear herbivores apart is one of the things that attracted me to you in the first place. But my dad, Tyr!” She burst into sobs.
“Now, now, everyone needs to just calm down here,” said the Archaeopteryx. “It seems to me the two of you are having a conflict over whom to devour. What you need to do is find someone to devour together. It’ll remind you of why you fell in love in the first place.”
Trust Jack to suggest a threesome to fix a relationship!
The Allosaur turned to the Tyrannosaur. “He’s so right. Remember how we met? The way we tore that Dienonychus limb from limb?”
“How could I forget?” asked the Tyrannosaur. “I love you, Allie! And I’m really sorry about your dad.”
“Eh, he was old and weak anyway. I probably would’ve devoured him myself sooner or later. Now c’mere, you big lug!” The two plastic dinosaurs kissed passionately.
“Am I interrupting anything?” Mal asked?
Mal not occasionally feels like a preschool teacher. He has reason.
Wash, holding the Tyrannosaur and Allosaur, and Jack, holding the Archaeopteryx, looked up from their plastic Jurassic.
“Ah, no,” said Jack.
“Nothing at all,” said Wash.
They're so cute I can't stand it.
“Good. ‘Cause I was under the impression the two of you were supposed to be in the business of getting us up and running again,” said Mal.
“Yeah, well, we’re disconnected from the TARDIS and our nav system is up,” said Wash. “Unfortunately, the fact remains that the engine went ‘poing!’”
If you want to be technical about it . . .
Mal swore a bit in Mandarin. They’d rather overtaxed Serenity with their recent maneuvers, and the main engine went down as soon as they were free of the planetoid, shorting the nav system with it. The Doctor and Kaylee were working on the engine.
The console bleeped. Wash spun about, giving it his full attention. “Nav contact! Doesn’t look like a Reaver.”
The comm crackled to life. “Sarge! You got yourself in trouble again?” came Emmy Chao's voice.
Fastest repairs anyone ever did on Angel. Okay, so I really wanted to bring Emmy in again just to bring that subplot back around and make it feel less intrusive. They worked 'round the clock and got the ship back on her feet fast. Yeah, that's what we'll say.
Mal let out a sigh of relief. “Hey, Emmy, I think I know how you can say thanks for that tow we gave you . . .”
***
Later, after getting a tow to Angel, where they dropped off the technician they'd accidentally snagged from the Ambrose
I forgot to dispose of him the first time around. Poor guy apparently wandered off into the depths of the TARDIS and never found his way back out!
and bartered the computer components they were smuggling for some shiny new engine parts, Jack headed back down to the TARDIS. Along the way, he passed the Doctor, Mal and Zoë, who were in a serious discussion.
“Be real nice to have out here on the Rim,” Mal was saying. “Not like we’d know how to get it to do what Hendricks was, anyway. Well, Kaylee’d have to be restrained, and we might have to watch River, but--”
Discussing the transmitter, of course. You can't say it wouldn't be a temptation to keep the thing, especially for people out on the Rim.
The Doctor shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s out of the question. The technology shouldn’t be in this time or place, and it would be irresponsible of me to leave it here. Can you honestly tell me there’s no chance the Alliance would ever board your ship and find it?”
Of course, the Doctor can't let them have it, and for good reason.
“Sad to say the man has a point, sir,” said Zoë.
Jack continued on past them and down to the TARDIS. Inara, Book, Simon and Rose were chatting in the control room. Rose immediately jumped up and ran over for a hug, which Jack happily provided.
“Have fun?” she asked as she pulled back.
“Oh, lots,” he said. “I got to help fly a Firefly! And then Wash and I played with his dinosaurs, who have surprisingly complicated personal lives. I’m telling you, it’s better than Eastenders.”
Jack's a big kid at heart, especially when he was on DW. It's so much fun to write him aboard the TARDIS because of that. Is it any wonder I never get tired of Nine/Rose/Jack, either friendship or romance?
“You’re very strange,” said Rose.
Before he could say anything to that, River entered the control room from belowdecks, yawning and rubbing her eyes, obviously just having woken up. “Well, hello, Sleeping Beauty,” said Jack.
Planned, again, from the get-go. Jack inadvertently gives River her answer. He mentions Sleeping Beauty, and though River had dismissed it before with the princesses, it falls into place and she recognizes what her perception has been trying to tell her.
At that, River froze, eyes going wide. “Sleeping Beauty-Briar Rose. It fits. My conundrum has an answer!” Her face lit up. “Captain Jack, you’re a genius!” She ran to him, gracefully leaping into his arms, and as he caught her, she kissed him full on the mouth.
I thought this was a cute idea. River kisses him out of pure joy, and also because he's very handsome and she feels she ought to kiss him while she has a chance.
Jack had absolutely no idea what brought this on, but a pretty girl was kissing him, so all was right with his world.
TRUFAX!
He returned the kiss with interest.
Just as suddenly, she released him and wiggled away with a shriek of glee, running down the ramp
I'd like to say at this point that I didn't have to correct that sentence at all, because I finally got it right. Ha!
and out of the TARDIS. Jack followed her progress with his eyes-and then turned to meet Simon’s glare.
“Oh, fine,” said Jack in an exasperated tone. He grabbed Simon’s face between his hands and soundly snogged him.
Hee! Jack fulfills a fantasy, and the stick up Simon's arse gets loosened a bit.
Simon sputtered as Jack released him. Book smothered a snicker. Rose and Inara fell into each other’s arms, laughing.
“Gee, that was pretty,” Kaylee commented.
She'll be thinking about that while she wears down another couple of batteries tonight.
***
River ran through Serenity, mind alight with the knowledge Jack’s statement had unlocked. Her conundrum was solved; all the factors fit, the equation balanced. All she needed to do now was find the Doctor and give him her findings.
She's still thinking in scientific terms, which I thought was a neat contrast to the fairy-tale imagery.
She felt his presence. It was somehow heavier and more real than the others around her, like the gravity well of a planet as opposed to a moon. It drew her in.
Liked that image, too.
“Doctor!” she cried, running up the stairs to him. “Doctor, I figured it out!”
The Doctor turned and saw her, reaching out to catch her before she could run into him. She joyfully embraced him.
“What exactly did you figure out?” he asked, hugging her back and chuckling.
He likes River. Thinks she's been horribly used, but in spite of that, she's still magnificent.
“My conundrum! I saw it, I know-Captain Jack gave me the key.” She giggled.
“Now I’m a little scared,” said the Doctor.
Well . . .
River swatted his arm. “Don’t be silly.”
The Doctor looked at her a little more seriously, taking her aside, a little way away from Mal and Zoë. “You said your conundrum was about Rose-how I can save her.”
River nodded, taking his hands and holding his gaze with her own. “Yes. You have to remember this: It takes a kiss to save the princess.” The Doctor blinked. “You’ll understand when it’s time. Kiss the Wolf, save the Rose.” She leaned up and brushed a kiss against the Doctor’s cheek.
Like Sleeping Beauty, it takes a kiss to save Rose. Unlike Sleeping Beauty, Rose is far from a passive damsel in distress.
Then she whirled away, feeling joyous and light. “I kissed Captain Jack!” she sang out, and flew down the stairs to where Jack pulled her into a grand Viennese waltz. They swept gracefully through the cargo bay as if it were a ballroom on Londinium.
For a little while, River Tam was perfectly happy.
I love River as a character, so I like working in little moments for her to be happy. A waltz with Jack shuts out the monsters for a precious little while.
***
“So, you’re gonna be off soon?” Mal asked a few hours later.
“The Time Rotor’s almost completely repaired,” said the Doctor. “That means we’ll be able to move in both time and space. We still need a few components we can’t find in your time period, and then we’ll have to refuel-Earth’s the best place for that-but yes, we’ll be going shortly. Rose hoped your lot would be able to join us for dinner on the TARDIS this evening.”
I really wanted another chance for the crews to relax around each other and just talk. The first time got interrupted by Reavers. This time, they're saying goodbye.
“Wouldn’t turn down a chance for real food,” said Mal. “Don’t suppose you’ll be givin’ up my mechanic anytime soon?”
“Absolutely. She--”
The Doctor was interrupted by the sound of Jack’s voice coming through the open doors of the TARDIS into the cargo bay.
“Come on, baby, do it for Captain Jack. That’s right, you gorgeous thing, you-yes! Yes!”
The TARDIS loves it when Jack talks dirty to her. This are fact.
Mal and the Doctor shared an alarmed look. Jayne, intrigued, ventured nearer the suspicious blue box, and as Mal and the Doctor also approached, the sound of the Time Rotor came spilling out.
“Yes! Yes! Do it, baby!” crowed Jack.
“I take it it’s working?” asked the Doctor.
The Doctor doesn't approve of Jack talking dirty to his TARDIS. Too bad.
Jack powered down the rotor, flushed and smiling. “Oh, yeah. She’s working great.”
“Do I wanna know where Kaylee is?” Mal asked.
“She and Rose went down to the wardrobe,” said Jack, vaguely indicating the direction they’d taken. “Sounds like they want to dress for dinner.”
Another scene I really wanted to write, the two of them talking girl talk while trying on dresses, but it just didn't happen. It's frustrating when your story won't let you indulge all your whims.
Zoë entered with Wash. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“We’re ready to go,” said the Doctor.
“They were hopin’ we’d eat with ‘em again tonight,” Mal told her.
“Real food, twice in one week?” Wash shook his head. “I don’t know-I might break out in hives or something.”
The Doctor pressed a button on the console. “Rose, get up here, would you?”
A minute later, Rose and Kaylee appeared, but not as Mal had last seen either. Rose was swathed in pink satin, and Kaylee floated in a cloud of peach-colored tulle.
Kaylee would most definitely go for the big ball gowns. She's having a rare moment of just being able to be a girl, as is Rose.
Kaylee’s brown eyes sparkled. “We was tryin’ on dresses!”
“Females and their frippery,” muttered Mal. “Least you’re a sensible one, Zoë.”
Zoë, however, wasn’t paying attention to him, but giving Rose a calculating look. “You got anything slinky down there?” she asked.
Zoe has her own ideas of what's sensible. As usual, she's smarter than Mal.
“We’re a go for dinner,” said the Doctor before Mal or Rose could say anything.
“Good!” Rose looked over at Book hopefully.
“I’ll be happy to help again,” said the Shepherd.
“Great! I’ll get back into my regular clothes, then, and we can get started.” She cocked her head. “By the way, Doctor, d’you know where the TARDIS put my room? There’s a closet of cricket gear where it used to be.”
No doubt left over from Five's day. This is a scene that was just floating around, orphaned, in my head, and it found a home in this story.
The Doctor obligingly checked a monitor-and then gave a great sigh. No one was being subtle anymore, including his ship. “It’s next to mine,” he said wearily.
The TARDIS is a smart girl.
Kaylee giggled and Rose blushed. The Doctor groaned.
“Jack?” He looked at his newer friend. “Yours is right across the hall.”
A *very* smart girl.
Jack promptly grabbed one of the coral support struts and snogged it messily.
The Doctor wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Don’t do that to my ship!”
“But she loooves me!” Jack embraced the strut in a none-too-platonic manner.
The TARDIS loves him. This is also trufax.
Rose got control of her laughter long enough to speak. “Zoë? I’ll show you to the wardrobe. There’s a dress I think would look stunning on you. Shepherd, I’ll meet you in the kitchen. Kaylee’ll help out, too.”
“So will Jack,” the Doctor announced with a baleful glare at the former conman. “Go on, you, before my ship gets you pregnant.”
I don't know if that's possible. Neither does Jack, but he's not willing to take the chance.
Jack shuddered. “Oh, no. Not doing that again!” He followed the others belowdecks.
Mal blinked. “Did-did he just say what I think he did?”
The Doctor sighed. “Trust me, there are things about Jack that no one wants to know.”
Again, the man speaks only the truth.
***
Dinner was served in the TARDIS’s grand dining hall. The Doctor had to evacuate the dust out of it, but no further preparation was needed. Kaylee decided to wear the 1950s-style ball gown she’d worn up to the control room earlier. Rose chose an empire-waisted, apricot-colored evening gown. River came down to the wardrobe and immediately left again with an aquamarine silk satin sheath that flowed around her like water. Inara, of course, came in one of her own gowns.
Really wanted this dinner party to be aboard the TARDIS. Everyone's dressed in their best--Jayne even combed his hair and wore his less-stained clothes--and just having a good time.
Zoë was the standout. Rose had indeed found the perfect dress for her-a creamy white gown that skimmed her curves with a back that dipped dangerously low, leaving her dark skin bare except for a few crisscrossing strands of crystal beading. She wore her hair loose, and the effect was such that even Mal nearly choked when he saw her. Wash barely even ate, his attention was so fixed on his wife.
I could just see the lovely Gina Torres wearing something like that and looking absolutely stunning.
As the wine flowed, so did the stories. The TARDIS crew learned how each of Serenity’s crew had come on board. Rose told the story of how she first met the Doctor. Jack finished the story of how he almost destroyed the human race.
Mal had a question. “Hey, Doc, maybe you can answer me this: are the stories about the Preservers really true?”
And here we get a little theory of mine!
“Preservers?” asked Rose.
“Folk as never left Earth-That-Was,” Book explained. “The legends go way back that some refused to leave their used-up home and stayed behind to preserve what was left of her.”
“The stories are true,” said the Doctor. “Jack, you probably read about it at the Time Academy, correct?”
Jack (resplendent in a 1930s-style tux)
Jack requested that I mention his fashion statement. Therefore, I put it in during the edit.
nodded, swirling a little wine in his glass. “Yeah. They kept amazing records of their restoration efforts.”
“Exactly.” The Doctor folded his hands under his chin. “The Preservers have done remarkable work in the last few centuries. Earth’s population currently stands at 1.5 million humans. They’ve been bringing back the forests, repopulating species that were nearly extinct-and even a few that were completely gone-cleaning the oceans and atmosphere, and preserving and restoring all the great artwork and architecture that you colonists didn’t or couldn’t take with you. They’re in the midst of what’s possibly Earth’s most peaceful period in human history.” He looked at Rose. “Cardiff’s a garden spot. We should go there to refuel.”
As I said, my personal theory. On FF, they talked as if Earth were all used up and no one lived there anymore. I thought it unlikely. A small population remains, doing what the Doctor speaks of in the last paragraph.
She looked puzzled. “Cardiff?”
“Remember the Rift there? It emits energy the TARDIS can use for fuel,” the Doctor explained.
Rose lit up. “Can we go to the twenty-first century? S’been forever since I’ve been home, or close.”
And here we bring it around the "Boom Town"!
The Doctor looked set to argue, but Jack spoke before he could. “Just say yes. It’ll be more dignified if you give in now.”
That earned him a glare as laughter ran around the table. “All right,” the Doctor finally said to Rose. “Call up your mum and Rickey and tell ‘em we’re on our way.”
The evening eventually wound down, and it came time for the Doctor, Rose and Jack to leave. Rose insisted that each of the ladies keep the gowns they’d chosen as they emerged from the depths of the TARDIS.
Kaylee was already crying as she embraced Rose. “I’m gonna miss you!”
“I’ll miss you, too,” said Rose, blinking back her own tears. “Didn’t realize quite how much I missed havin’ girls my age around ‘til we came here.”
We only got a few examples of Rose interacting with girls her own age on the show, but I think she did miss that interaction, if only on an unconscious level. It's another of those things she gave up to be with the Doctor. Though she doesn't regret it, I always think it'd be nice for her to have had the company of another young woman for a while. Kaylee fits the bill nicely.
The Doctor shook Mal’s hand. “Thank you for your hospitality, Captain.”
“S’been an experience,” Mal said with a wry grin.
To say the least.
Wash and Jack shook hands, too. “Wash, it’s been a privilege,” said Jack. “Thanks for letting me help fly this bird and aid your dinosaurs with their relationship difficulties.”
“They can always use the help. Unlike me.” Wash took another appreciative look up and down his wife.
“Indeed.” Jack winked at her. “Zoë, thanks for sharing your husband with me.”
“You watch yourself,” Zoë told him, but there was no heat to it. She favored him with a teasing smile. “Couple more days, who knows what would’ve happened?”
“Don’t taunt me with the possibilities,” said Jack.
Jack here is thoroughly in his element with a little three-way flirting. He seems to have won over Zoe somewhat.
Rose said a round of goodbyes to everyone, even Jayne, who still remained unconvinced she wasn’t some kind of prostitute. She decided he could think what he wanted.
Poor Jayne. I do abuse him so. Yet I don't feel bad about it at all.
“Thanks for savin’ my life, Simon,” she said as she got to the young doctor.
“I’m glad I could,” he said simply.
After Jack kissed Inara’s hand, she turned to the Doctor. “I’ll always remember this,” she told him. “Meeting you has been extraordinary.”
The Doctor grinned cheekily. “It usually is.”
Cheeky!
She smiled at that. “Do remember what I told you.” She took a sidelong glance at Rose. “I think you’ll find she’s worth it.”
“She is.” River was suddenly beside him, eyes on his face.
The Doctor embraced her gently. “River Tam. You sure you wouldn’t like to come along for a little while?”
I think he'd like her along. She's something new, and he always likes that.
“No,” she said. “I have Serenity, and I have to take care of my friends.” She pulled back to look at him again. “But maybe we’ll meet again, when you have a new face.”
I loved that turn of phrase when it occurred to me. To go back just a touch, note that she says she has to take care of her friends. That's her prescience again, seeing that she'll need to be there to save them at some point.
“Maybe we will.” The Doctor let go of River and reached for Rose’s hand. She and Kaylee hugged one last time, and then the Doctor, Rose and Jack withdrew into the TARDIS and shut the doors.
The crew of Serenity watched in wonder as the TARDIS dematerialized, disappearing as if it had never really been there.
“Been a powerful strange few days,” said Mal.
“That is has, sir,” Zoë agreed.
He looked at her and smiled. “Think I liked it, though.”
She smiled back. “Think I did, too, sir.”
I liked that last little dialogue. So very Mal & Zoe. It's very Mal, too, to find something "powerful strange"--but he likes it.