DW/FF crossover fic: The Engineer's Gift (20/27)

[shan21non]

Title: The Engineer's Gift

Author: shan21non

Rating: PG-13

Beta Readers: buffyaddict13 and inkhand, who are the best!

Warnings: Swearing in Mandarin!

Pairings: Ten/Rose, Mal/Inara, a bit of Simon/Kaylee

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or Firefly. How is that fair?Summary: When the Doctor takes a wrong turn, he and Rose find themselves aboard Serenity. Confusion, explosions, mystery, romance, and adventure ensue!



Chapter one     Two     Three     Four     Five     Six     Seven     Eight     Nine    Ten     Eleven     Twelve     Thirteen     Fourteen     Fifteen     Sixteen     17A    17B     Eighteen     Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

The Doctor kissed her. Really kissed her. Not just-returning-the-forceful-kiss-of-the-flap-of-skin-possessing-her-body kissed her, but properly kissed her. Of course, he kissed her after revealing that a clairvoyant teenager had confirmed the doom-filled prophecy of the devil. But still. A kiss from the Doctor; that was something.

Or was it?

Maybe when this was all over, when they were safely back inside the TARDIS and things were back to normal, he would pretend like none of it happened. And maybe that was for the best. Regardless of what the Doctor said, he didn't dance, not that way, not with his companions anyway. How long could they carry on like that before he panicked and left her behind for her safety or some other ridiculous nonsense? He'd left her behind before 'for her own good' and that was before they'd shared a snog.

"I'm parched. Fancy a glass of champagne?"

Rose's eyebrows drew together and she stared up at the Doctor, bewildered. Then he subtly jerked his head to the left. Mal stood there next to Inara, with a tray of champagne glasses. Of course. The Engineer had just arrived. They had a job to do.

Nodding, she let him lead the way to Mal. When they reached him, she took a champagne flute and very nearly inhaled its contents. The Doctor gave her a startled look, but quickly refocused on the task at hand.

"The Engineer is Atherton's wife," he murmured.

Mal's eyes widened and then narrowed as they focused on the tall woman on Atherton's arm.

"I knew I didn't like her," he whispered.

"We need to separate them," the Doctor said.

Inara smiled.

"I can help with that."

Mal's jaw tensed.

"No," he said firmly.

Inara looked like she was ready with a curt rejoinder, and Rose figured this was as good a way as any to clear her head.

"I'll go with her," she said smoothly, taking Inara's arm and strolling in Atherton's direction.

As she walked away, she heard Mal retort in a low voice, "Yeah, this is gonna end well."

Inara led them expertly through the mass of people, smiling graciously and offering the perfect conversation as she went. How must it feel, Rose wondered, to so effortless fit in wherever one went?

"Atherton," Inara said as they approached the illustrious couple.

From her tone, no one would guess that they had an unpleasant past. Atherton's face lit up at her approach.

"Inara," he started, grinning. "I'm surprised to see you here, but it's a pleasant surprise."

"I'm glad to hear it," the Companion replied kindly.

Atherton seemed to remember his date then, and he pulled her a step closer.

"Darling, this is an old friend, Inara Serra. Miss Serra, my wife, Eden."

Atherton's wife smiled in a way that did not quite reach her eyes. They remained keenly trained on Inara, as if she was peering at her through the lens of a microscope.

"Charmed," she said coolly.

"Likewise. Atherton told me he was married, but he failed to mention how lovely you are. And this is my dear friend Rose," Inara replied, gesturing at Rose.

"Ah, your beauty parallels your namesake," Atherton said, his eyes trailing down Rose's frame, pausing on her bandaged hand in a way that made her feel distinctly uneasy.

She pushed the feeling away and replied as amiably as possible.

"Oh, you're too kind. Good luck keeping this one to yourself," she added, addressing his wife.

Eden Wing raised a delicate eyebrow.

"I wouldn't think of depriving you. Be my guest," she said, smiling slyly. She turned to her husband. "Darling, why don't you take Rose out for a spin. I'd love a chance to speak with your old friend."

Rose found herself being guided to the dance floor, before she could make heads or tails of what had just happened. It was almost too easy to split the couple up, and if anyone was to end up dancing with Atherton Wing, she would have thought it would be Inara. Still, success was success. She focused her attention on the steps of the dance, leaving Inara to deal with the Engineer.

"You're very generous with your husband," Inara said to Eden Wing.

Eden's sly smile remained on her face when she replied.

"I find my that both my tastes and his are diverse."

She put a peculiar emphasis on her last word, and Inara scanned her face, looking for a hint as to her meaning. What she saw took her slightly by surprise. The woman was making direct eye contact, and then her tongue darted out to lick her lower lip. Diverse tastes, indeed, Inara thought to herself.

"Is that right?" she said nonchalantly.

"It is," Eden said.

Inara glanced across the room, catching the Doctor's eye and giving him a significant look.

"Perhaps we could go someplace a little more private?" she said to Eden.

The woman nodded.

"Of course. Although I'm afraid I have a shadow. Two of them, actually."

She motioned toward the doorway. Two men in dark suits stood there, watching them. Inara noted with some curiosity that they both appeared to be wearing blue gloves.

"Understandable," she said calmly. "Such is the life of a duke's wife."

She took Eden's arm and let the taller woman lead them out of the main dance hall.

"She's good," the Doctor said, watching Inara cross the room with The Engineer.

"So is she," Mal said, his eyes glued on Rose and Atherton Wing, who were moving in stiff circular steps around the dance floor.

The Doctor's eyes momentarily faltered on Atherton's hand, which had been planted firmly on Rose's lower back, but was suddenly shifting lower. Then Rose twisted away slightly, and his hand lost contact with her completely. She twirled back a second later, and guided the hand safely up to her shoulder. That was his Rose; so confident, so clever. So warm in his arms and soft against his lips.

The Doctor blinked.

"Right, well, I'm sure Rose can handle herself," he said, straightening up. "We have a lady in waiting."

Mal watched Inara slip through a doorway at the side of the room and nodded. He began to follow, but the Doctor placed his hand on the captain's arm, halting him. When Mal looked back at him, the Doctor nodded towards a pair of men in black suits. They too disappeared through the doorway.

"Hands of blue," the Doctor murmured.

"Let's go," Mal said.

They slipped away as discreetly as possible, and listened for the sound of Inara's voice. Almost immediately, they heard her. Mal held a finger to his lips, and ushered the Doctor closer to a room a little ways down the corridor. They both paused outside the arched entryway.

"I must say, I'm a little surprised that Atherton doesn't mind your being alone with me. I recall him being much more protective of his things," Inara's voice rang out.

"My husband isn't foolish enough to think that he owns me. I'm a powerful woman in my own right," The Engineer's voice replied. "But you already knew that."

There was a pause. Then Inara spoke again.

"Did I?" she said evasively.

There was a deep feminine chuckle.

"You know, for a Companion, your attempts at deception are shockingly transparent."

The Doctor felt an eerie sense of alarm flooding over him. He had thought that Rose and Inara were able to split Atherton and his wife up too quickly.

"You'll have to forgive me. I'm a little rusty," Inara replied.

"I'm afraid you'll find no forgiveness here. Take care of her," The Engineer said coldly.

Mal and the Doctor made the decision to enter the room without a word to each other. They rushed through the entryway in time to see the men with blue gloves closing in on Inara. The Engineer appeared to be inserting some kind of blue plugs into her ears as she watched the Companion with a sort of detached amusement. The shorter of the two Blue Hands took out a small black device.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I was you."

The Blue Hands turned very calmly to face the Doctor. The Engineer registered their appearance with a degree of surprise, but quickly recovered her cool demeanor.

"Whoever you are, you have terrible timing. Your loss," she added with a shrug.

"Wait!" the Doctor cried out. "Now, now! Let's not be hasty! Surely there's enough time for introductions. This is my friend Mal, and I'm the Doctor." Mal waved. "And this," he continued, holding out the sonic. "Is my very handy sonic screwdriver. I was just in the neighborhood and thought, welllll, if you need any bookshelves put together or cabinets done up-"

"Or deadly sonic weapons destroyed," Mal suggested.

"Or that," the Doctor continued slickly. "If you need any of the three, well, I'm your man."

He smiled. The Engineer frowned at him, but the man with the device in his gloved hand clicked something and two blue antennas jutted out from either end of it. A high-pitched whirring, almost too high to be detected by human ears, started up from the device.

Inara and Mal both cried out at once, but less than a second later a similar noise was coming from the sonic screwdriver. The Doctor aimed it at the Blue Hands' device and prayed that he'd guessed the correct setting. He was rewarded when black smoke curled up from the device and it gave a loud crack! The Blue Hand holding it jumped back and released it. It fell to the floor and the noise stopped.

"Excellent," the Doctor said, pocketing his device. He addressed the Blue Hands. "Sorry to have done that. You two seem like perfectly nice murderous government agents, but-"

His voice stopped abruptly when the taller of the two men reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a baton, the kind that police use to subdue belligerent protestors. It was probably the only kind of weapon that could be easily snuck through the hi-tech weapons detector at the entrance.

"Oh. Wasn't expecting that," the Doctor said.

Mal seemed less daunted by the weapon, judging by the way he ran at the man, fists flying. The Doctor decided to leave him to that part, and turned instead to see The Engineer slowly inching backwards. Before she could slip out of the room, Inara was in front of her.

"Don't move another inch," she said dangerously.

"Or what?" The Engineer asked, mocking her with a feigned look of terror.

"Or this," the Companion replied.

Then, in a flash, she was behind the other woman with one arm wrapped around her neck, The Engineer's chin disappearing in the crook of Inara's elbow. The scientist struggled in her grip, but Inara held her securely in place by grasping her right wrist with her left hand and applying firm pressure. The Doctor knew what was coming. Inara's hold was cutting off blood flow to both carotid arteries. In three seconds, the woman slumped to the floor, asleep.

The Doctor immediately kneeled at her side, checking her vital signs.

"She's fine," Inara said calmly. "Companion's are trained to put overly-aggressive clients into a painless sleep if needed. But this will only last a few minutes at most. Is that enough time?"

She was right, of course; the woman's pulse was strong. The Doctor nodded in answer to her question and placed his fingertips at the sleeping woman's temples.

The Engineer's mind was dark and cavernous, but not nearly so large as River's. Still, it was an impressive structure. He used the power of his thoughts to search for the code. It was a little like fishing, only if both the fish and the hook were magnets. He used his thoughts as a lure to draw in similar thoughts in her mind.

In the end, he found himself gravitating towards a room with a familiar blue light flooding out from its doorframe. He was back in the lab, only this time when he watched The Engineer at her computer, he too could see the symbols on her keyboard, it being her own mind.

It was quick and easy work. Her dream-state left both her conscious and unconscious mind defenseless to his probing, something that he felt the slightest bit guilty about. But there was no time for guilt.

"Got it," the Doctor said, looking first at Inara and then at Mal.

It turned out that the Blue Hands weren't much of a threat without flashy weapons, because when the Doctor turned around, one lay unconscious at Mal's feet, and the other was also prone on the ground, groaning and clutching a bloody nose.

"What?" Mal asked, looking up from the bleeding man.

"I've got the code," he clarified.

Mal glanced over at The Engineer's sleeping form.

"Oh. Let me just take care of one final thing," Mal said. Then he lifted his shoe and brought it crashing down on the bleeding man's face.

The Doctor winced at the resounding crunch that came from the man's facial bones, but didn't bother with his usual reproaches about humans and their need for violence. Instead he said simply, "Let's find Rose and get out of here."

They did a decent job of slipping back onto the dance floor as if they hadn't left three people unconscious in the next room over. The Doctor spied Rose and Atherton immediately. Atherton's hold on the blond had become decidedly snugger, and the Doctor's eyes narrowed when he saw the duke lean forward to whisper in his companion's ear.

"Stay here," he said to Mal and Inara in a low voice.

In seconds, he was standing near the twirling pair, close enough to hear what Atherton was saying, but not quite close enough amidst the parade of dancers to cut in.

"-know that you're up to something," Atherton was finishing.

"Listen, mate," Rose replied, her normally soft expression hard and unyielding. "I'm not sure what you think you know, but you'd better loosen your grip or I'll-"

If anything Atherton's hold tightened. He spun her so that the Doctor could no longer see her face, and the Time Lord surged forward, remaining close enough to hear Atherton continue in a harsh whisper.

"Spare me the threats. By now my wife has taken care of our mutual friend, and I do believe you're next."

"Actually, I'm next," the Doctor interrupted.

Atherton pulled back enough that Rose's face was no longer obscured. She seemed shaken by the wealthy man's words, but her expression quickly relaxed upon seeing the Doctor standing before her.

"Excuse me," Atherton sneered.

"I'm next on the lady's dance card, Sir Wing. And as she's my date for the evening, I don't think you'd like to make a scene, would you?" He paused, then tilted his head to the side, as if considering his own words. "I mean, unless you want to challenge me to a duel. I've done duels before, and I cut quite a dashing figure with a sword, don't I Rose?"

Rose smiled harmlessly at Atherton, then turned to give the Doctor a look that clearly said don't-push-your-luck.

"In any case, I'm actually thinking it might be best if we give poor Rose's legs a rest. What do you say, darling? Shall we get some air?"

"That sounds lovely, sweetheart," Rose replied, delicately extricating herself the rest of the way from the duke's grasp. But before she pulled away entirely, she turned back to Atherton and said, "You're lucky he cut in. I grew up on the Powell Estate; I know how to fight dirty."

Atherton frowned at them, but seemed stunned enough by the Doctor's rambling and Rose's threat that he dared not start an altercation in the middle of the dance floor.

As soon as they were out of his earshot, Rose whispered to the Doctor, "Is Inara okay? Atherton said-"

"She's fine," the Doctor cut her off. "We're all fine and I have the code, so it's time we saw our way out."

She flashed him a brilliant grin.

"You know what that means," she whispered.

He stared at her blankly until she held out her good hand. Smiling back, he slipped his hand into hers, and said the word she'd been waiting for.

"Run!"

Giggling like school kids, they raced out onto the eastern balcony, where Mal and Inara were waiting. They gave the amused pair a questioning stare, and Rose and the Doctor managed to compose themselves.

"Our ride is on its way," Mal supplied, looking up at the skies.

"Good, because Eden has probably already woken up and shaken off the grogginess by now," Inara replied.

A loud mechanical hum filled the air, and the leaves on the trees surrounding them shook and shivered. The vibrations increased, and then, from between two trees, Inara's shuttle appeared. Zoe nodded at them from the pilot's chair and lowered the craft to the railing of the balcony.

"Stop them! They assaulted me!"

The Doctor looked back to see The Engineer stumbling onto the balcony on her sky-high stilettos, Atherton Wing at her side. Both looked furious. Party guests and guards flooded onto the balcony. Atherton rushed towards them, face purple with rage. They weren't all going to make it.

Zoe opened the door and Mal hopped onto the balcony's ledge a second later. He held out his hand to Inara and pulled the Companion up beside him, ushering her into the shuttle first. Mal held his hand out to Rose.

The Doctor looked around frantically for something, anything, to slow Atherton down. Then his eyes found a metal brace attached to the side of the exterior palace wall. From it flew an impressive crimson banner. The Doctor aimed his sonic screwdriver at the brace and pressed the button.

The brace let out a metallic groan and snapped. The beam clattered to the stone floor, bringing with it the fluttering banner. It fell over Atherton, and the Doctor could make out his shape, clawing at the heavy fabric.

"Doctor!" Mal called out.

Without a backward glance, the Doctor leapt up beside Mal and followed him in through shuttle door. Mal slammed it shut behind them.

"Everybody in?" Zoe called out.

"All here. Gun it, Zoe," Mal returned.

"Yes, sir," the first mate replied.

The Doctor was thrown back against the fabric-covered wall as the vessel accelerated.

"Lucky these walls are cushioned," Rose called out from across the room. The Doctor saw that she, too, was clinging to the velvet draping.

"I guess it's good I left it behind then," Inara said, but the Doctor saw that she wasn't looking at Rose. She was looking straight at Mal, smirking.

"I guess it is," the Captain replied, poorly concealing a smile of his own.

Inara felt along the wall for purchase and hoisted herself back to a standing position. She glanced over at the piece of cloth she clung to.

"There's a tear in this piece here," she noted, frowning.

Mal pushed himself from the wall and wavered for a moment before he was steady on his feet.

"Well, the Doctor needed a sash," he replied, gesturing to the Doctor's chest.

"Sir Doctor of Tardis," Inara mused, eyeing the scarlet accessory.

"At your service," the Doctor replied, carefully standing to join them.

He took a step to his left and held out his hand to Rose.

"Dame Rose," he smirked.

She took his hand with the grace of a proper English lady, and promptly ruined the ruse by letting out a playful whoop as the Doctor pulled her up.

"Baby, you see me?" Zoe said over the comm.

"I'm about twenty seconds away, docking port open for you, Sweetheart," Wash replied.

Mal squinted.

"That sounds kinda dirty when Wash is sayin' it to you," he said.

Zoe rolled her eyes, but Rose laughed.

A minute later the shuttle was safely reattached to Serenity and the successful band of party crashers made their way to the cockpit. They were met by a high-pitched noise so startling that, for a moment, the Doctor thought that somehow the men in blue gloves had made it onto the ship. He realized a split second later, however, that it was merely the ship's mechanic, squealing in delight at Inara's return. Kaylee launched herself at the Companion and pulled her into a tight hug.

"It's good to see you too," Inara laughed into the younger girl's hair.

"Manuel, I presume," Mal said, addressing the ship's new inhabitant.

The Tall One stood beside Hugo, and he bowed his head in greeting.

"He boarded shortly after you left in the shuttle. You have the code?" Hugo asked.

"Up here." Doctor replied, tapping the side of his head.

"Wash, get Mr. Universe on the line," Mal ordered.

Wash's hands flew across the ship's controls, and a moment later, the static on the viewing screen cleared to reveal a young man with dark curly hair. Behind him on a curved sofa sat a blond in what looked like a bright bubblegum pink prom dress.

"Abbie, we got it," Manuel said, pushing his way to the front of the crowd.

The young man squinted into the camera, smirking in a way that betrayed both curiosity and amusement.

"My, this is quite the interesting group of misfits knocking at my parlor door," he said by way of greeting.

"Did you hear me, Abbie? I said we have the code," Manuel repeated.

The Doctor squinted at the man in the screen.

"Abbie as in Abbie Hoffman?" he asked. When Mr. Universe smiled, the Doctor went on. "Leader of the 'Yippie' movement in 1960s America. Once said, 'The first duty of a revolutionist is to get away with it. The second duty is to eat breakfast.'"

"Yeah, that sounds like the Mr. Universe I know," Wash said.

"Is that my old pal Hoban Washburne?"

Wash gave a little wave.

"Wash, how's it hangin', man?"

Wash faltered a bit, glancing around the cockpit, surprised by the casual nature of the question.

"Oh, you know, stealing government secrets, running for my life. The usual. How about you?"

"What can I say? I'm in love! Lenore, say hi to my friend, Wash."

He tilted the camera and fiddled with a dial until the blond on the couch came into focus. Mr. Universe pressed a button on a remote control and the woman's arm jerked to life. It moved down and up once in a rough wave, then sparked. Suddenly a blazing fire sprung out from her elbow.

Rose gasped, but the Doctor put a calming hand on her shoulder.

"Love-bot," he whispered in her ear.

She spun around, pinning him with a look of surprise mixed with a tinge of disgust. He shrugged and said, simply, "Humans."

Mr. Universe had already jumped up and run across the room with a fire extinguisher. After he'd put out his love-bot, he turned back to the camera and called out to them.

"I'm still working out the kinks."

"I bet you are," Zoe muttered.

"Wedding's next month, buddy, and I want you there!" he announced.

"I'll see what I can do," Wash replied. Then, glancing nervously at his wife, he added, "I'm probably gonna have to decline."

"I get it, the old ball and chain. That'll be me soon enough!" Mr. Universe replied gleefully.

"The difference bein' that you can just program your wife to agree with you," Zoe said, eyebrow raised.

"Look, can we please get back to the task at hand?" Manuel said impatiently.

Mr. Universe nodded, suddenly all business.

"Right, let me just access the Cortex mainframe and plug into the Alliance subnet."

He began tapping away at his keyboard so quickly that it sounded like a faint drum roll.

"You can do that?" Mal asked.

"You can't stop the signal," the young man replied, grinning cheekily.

He hit a few final keys before looking back into the camera. His eyes landed on the Doctor.

"Now, Doctor, I believe you have the code. Nice name, by the way. Very mysterious. I like it."

The Doctor stepped forward.

"It's a hexadecimal cipher."

"Of course," Mr. Universe nodded.

The Doctor went on to communicate a 36-character code that Mr. Universe keyed in simultaneously. The man behind the screen pressed a final button with flourish.

"It should be done," he announced before cracking his knuckles victoriously.

"Should be?" Mal repeated.

Mr. Universe shrugged.

"Well, do you have any beetles around you to see if they just disintegrated into a lovely blend of silicon and bug innards?" he asked.

Mal turned to glare at Jayne.

"Not anymore," he said.

"Well, then I guess you'll have to take the word of the programming genius who just worked his coding magic," Mr. Universe replied. "Look, I have to vamoose. Lenore is still smoldering."

Mal wrinkled his nose.

"Yeah, sure. You go deal with that, we'll check on the bugs."

The screen went back to static, and the captain sighed. Silence descended over the cockpit. Then, finally, Jayne spoke.

"Let's go back to Paquin," he said.

The pilot turned to him, confused.

"What?"

"We can see what's happened there," Jayne explained. Off the crew's dubious looks, he added, "It's our fault they have the bugs in the first place."

Wash tilted his head to the side.

"When you say our fault-"

"Wash, change course. Jayne's right," Mal interjected.

Wash held up his hands in a sign of defeat, but kept talking.

"Mark today down in your diaries, everyone. Jayne was right."

In response, the mercenary just growled.

~0~0~0~

End Notes: So, I watched Inception a few days ago, and it occurred to me when I was doing my final read through of this chapter that the Doctor is an extractor! That will hopefully make sense to those of you who've seen it. And don't even get me started on Eleven with the Dream Lord. Like, whoa.

Anyways, please review!

On to chapter 21!