Firefly/Doctor Who crossover fic: A Different Kind of Companion (19/20)
Rose trailed her hand along the wall of the corridor leading to the console room. The familiar feeling of the TARDIS beneath her fingers soothed her. She had lived at the flat at the Powell Estate for all of her life, but it was the TARDIS that felt more like home.
In the console room, she found the Doctor making repairs to the time machine. He ran around the console in his usual manic manner, pushing buttons and turning dials that, even after all this time, Rose had no idea what their functions were.
A massive shudder suddenly shook the TARDIS and Rose grabbed onto a railing just in time to steady herself. “What was that?” she asked as the time machine settled.
The Doctor scratched the back of his head. “Nothing really. The TARDIS just broke through the ceiling of the backroom. How’s your hearing?”
“Fine. We’re flying out of here?” Rose walked over to the console screen to look at the feed. The bar shrank to a dot in the distance as they climbed higher into the planet’s atmosphere.
“I told you. Materialization circuit’s damaged. I’ll have to fix it before we can travel through the Time Vortex. I’ve set a course for Beaumonde; it has the best spare parts yard in this entire sector. Which means the space bazaar in the Bazool asteroid belt will have to wait.”
“S’fine.” Rose wasn’t really listening to the Doctor. The image on the screen had her transfixed. The TARDIS was actually taking off like a real ship. She could see entire continents below them through the clouds.
“26th century’s not a bad century. I should take you to Ariel. You can swim in a bioluminescent lake. That’s, of course, if swimming is your thing. Never learned to swim myself. Not a lot of call for life guards back home.”
Rose looked up from the screen and over to the Doctor. He seemed very wrapped up with the idea of swimming. “Did you ever think you might not make it back?”
He turned his head to look at her. “Rose-”
“I know you weren’t gone that long-”
“Every second.”
A smile blossomed on Rose’s face. Sitting down on the jump seat, she stared up at the central column and watched as the inside rose and fell. “How long am I gonna travel with you?”
The Doctor sat down beside her. The answer was simple. “Forever.”
* * *
The shuttle streaked across the desert landscape as Mal pushed the small craft to its limit. His desire to get back to Serenity was not hard to understand but Inara didn’t want the ship to fall apart before they could get there. But she kept these thoughts to herself. It wasn’t her shuttle and fairly soon returning to Serenity wouldn’t be part of her routine anymore.
It was Mal who broke the silence first. “So where do you figure the Doctor and that girl were from? Whole time we were in those jail cells she didn’t know who or what the Alliance was.”
“They’re…” Inara found herself hesitating. Could she say “time travellers” without sounding crazy? “They’re travellers,” she decided on.
“With a ship that can fit in a back room.”
“I wouldn’t define the Doctor and Rose as conventional.”
“Yeah, more like crazy. Bungled up the meeting with Jannik, too. They ain’t the ones who have to tell the crew we’re eatin’ protein for another week.”
It occurred to Inara in that moment that she couldn’t tell anyone about her short time with the Doctor. Even the most open-minded person on the ship wouldn’t believe that time machines existed and that she had visited a completely different solar system. What proof did she have?
“I won’t miss the moulded protein,” Inara said softly, more to herself than to Mal.
The shuttle let out a low whine as Mal pushed on the throttle. “Would certainly do yourself a kindness by leaving sooner.”
Inara looked away from Mal. “I’ll begin arranging my affairs when we get back.”
In the console room, she found the Doctor making repairs to the time machine. He ran around the console in his usual manic manner, pushing buttons and turning dials that, even after all this time, Rose had no idea what their functions were.
A massive shudder suddenly shook the TARDIS and Rose grabbed onto a railing just in time to steady herself. “What was that?” she asked as the time machine settled.
The Doctor scratched the back of his head. “Nothing really. The TARDIS just broke through the ceiling of the backroom. How’s your hearing?”
“Fine. We’re flying out of here?” Rose walked over to the console screen to look at the feed. The bar shrank to a dot in the distance as they climbed higher into the planet’s atmosphere.
“I told you. Materialization circuit’s damaged. I’ll have to fix it before we can travel through the Time Vortex. I’ve set a course for Beaumonde; it has the best spare parts yard in this entire sector. Which means the space bazaar in the Bazool asteroid belt will have to wait.”
“S’fine.” Rose wasn’t really listening to the Doctor. The image on the screen had her transfixed. The TARDIS was actually taking off like a real ship. She could see entire continents below them through the clouds.
“26th century’s not a bad century. I should take you to Ariel. You can swim in a bioluminescent lake. That’s, of course, if swimming is your thing. Never learned to swim myself. Not a lot of call for life guards back home.”
Rose looked up from the screen and over to the Doctor. He seemed very wrapped up with the idea of swimming. “Did you ever think you might not make it back?”
He turned his head to look at her. “Rose-”
“I know you weren’t gone that long-”
“Every second.”
A smile blossomed on Rose’s face. Sitting down on the jump seat, she stared up at the central column and watched as the inside rose and fell. “How long am I gonna travel with you?”
The Doctor sat down beside her. The answer was simple. “Forever.”
* * *
The shuttle streaked across the desert landscape as Mal pushed the small craft to its limit. His desire to get back to Serenity was not hard to understand but Inara didn’t want the ship to fall apart before they could get there. But she kept these thoughts to herself. It wasn’t her shuttle and fairly soon returning to Serenity wouldn’t be part of her routine anymore.
It was Mal who broke the silence first. “So where do you figure the Doctor and that girl were from? Whole time we were in those jail cells she didn’t know who or what the Alliance was.”
“They’re…” Inara found herself hesitating. Could she say “time travellers” without sounding crazy? “They’re travellers,” she decided on.
“With a ship that can fit in a back room.”
“I wouldn’t define the Doctor and Rose as conventional.”
“Yeah, more like crazy. Bungled up the meeting with Jannik, too. They ain’t the ones who have to tell the crew we’re eatin’ protein for another week.”
It occurred to Inara in that moment that she couldn’t tell anyone about her short time with the Doctor. Even the most open-minded person on the ship wouldn’t believe that time machines existed and that she had visited a completely different solar system. What proof did she have?
“I won’t miss the moulded protein,” Inara said softly, more to herself than to Mal.
The shuttle let out a low whine as Mal pushed on the throttle. “Would certainly do yourself a kindness by leaving sooner.”
Inara looked away from Mal. “I’ll begin arranging my affairs when we get back.”