Chapter 14

When Rose woke early the next morning, the Doctor was already awake and dressed, sitting at her desk tinkering with her sonic screwdriver. He glanced over at her as she sat up, pulling the blankets up around her. "Good thing I decided to give this to you when I did. The escape from Niska probably would have taken quite a bit longer without it."

Rose yawned and pushed the hair out of her eyes, wincing a little as her ring caught in the tangles. "I haven't been able to figure out that many settings on it, but at least the 'opening locks' setting is simple enough." She raised an eyebrow and got up, padding around picking up her clothes for the day as he completely failed at watching her inconspicuously. "'S there a reason there's a setting that sends out a frog's mating call?"

"Oh, I'd forgotten about that!" He stared off into the distance and grimaced. "There was a reason I'd forgotten about that."

She snickered and tugged a blue jumper over her head, pulling her boots on over her jeans. "Do I want to know?"

"Rose, I don't want to know. Let's leave it at that, shall we?" As she finished dressing, he reached out a long arm and pulled her into his lap, kissing her enthusiastically. He grinned once he'd released her. "Good morning."

She smiled and rested her forehead against his. "Good morning."

He paused and moved his tongue around his mouth, considering. "Did you know your mouth tastes a bit like day-old milk?"

She shoved off him and pulled out the collapsible sink to brush her teeth, and he pouted. "I didn't say I minded!"

There was a knock at the door, and the Doctor opened it to find Simon standing there. "Oh, hello."

The younger doctor flushed. "Hello. I just wanted to check how you were feeling this morning."

"Oh, loads better. Really. A spot of rest was just what I needed."

"Rest. Yes." Simon flushed an even deeper red, and he cleared his throat awkwardly and glanced between Rose and the Doctor. "Just so you know, the walls aren't actually very thick around here." The Doctor turned an interesting shade of magenta at that, and Rose began laughing around her toothbrush, the paste threatening to spill out of her mouth. Simon nodded nervously. "You definitely seem like you're feeling better, so I'll just leave you two alone now. The Shepherd made some breakfast, so that's in the galley if you want any."

He hurried away, and the Doctor turned to Rose as she finally spit out her toothpaste and rinsed her mouth out, still giggling. He winced. "On a scale of one to ten, exactly how embarrassed should I be?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it. They're good people, really. Simon might not be able to look you in the eye for a few days and Jayne probably won't be able to keep his mouth shut, but that's about it." She grinned and looped her arms around his shoulders. "Besides, since when did you care what anyone else thought?"

"That's true." He grinned and waggled his eyebrows. "And if I bothered with embarrassment, I wouldn't enjoy more nights like last night."

"Cool and collected, that's you." He nodded, and she snickered. "That would be why your ears are still bright red."

He paused and cleared his throat. "Breakfast sounds good right about now, don't you think?"

Rose rolled her eyes, but led him to the galley. Kaylee, Book, and Jayne were sitting at the table, with River curled up in a nest of cushions in the corner.

Kaylee smiled brightly at them. "Good mornin'! There's some porridge on the stove, with plenty of dried apricots mixed in. I thought it might be nice to have somethin' extra special this morning." Jayne grinned lewdly and opened his mouth, and she smacked him upside the head without a second glance. "I'm Kaylee, by the way. It's a real pleasure to meetcha."

The Doctor smiled warmly and spooned up some breakfast for himself and Rose. "Same here." He glanced at the others. "Your names are…?"

The Shepherd nodded at him. "Shepherd Book." He smiled. "May I say it's wonderful to see you doing better? We were quite worried about you for a bit there."

Jayne opened his mouth again, and Kaylee cut him a severe look. He scowled at her. "The name's Jayne Cobb."

The Doctor nodded politely at them both, though his eyebrows were raised. "Jayne? Interesting. Isn't that usually a girl's name?" The mercenary glowered at him, and the Doctor raised his hands, dripping a bit of porridge on the table. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. Haven't you ever heard of 'A Boy Named Sue'?" The Serenity crew looked at him blankly, and he shook his head. "No, of course not. Never mind. Old Earth singer." Rose poked him in the side, looking at him curiously, and he smiled at her and answered her unspoken question. "Johnny Cash."

Shepherd Book raised his eyebrows and sipped his coffee. "Are you a historian then, Doctor…?"

"I suppose you could call me that, yeah—and it's just the Doctor, thanks." He grinned.

Jayne snorted and leaned his chair back, playing with his knife. "What's got Niska so fired up about some dusty little book-humper, then? You sure don't look like a threat to me." River laughed to herself in the corner, and he shot her a nervous look.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Oh, history's everywhere you look, in every breath you breathe. If you tell enough people the right history, you can shape the universe as you see fit." He paused and looked at River, who was watching him intently. "You can even erase planets."

She spoke quietly, peering at him through dark sheets of hair. "You know."

"I do indeed. You don't have to carry it alone anymore, River."

She bent forward and closed her eyes, pulling her knees in tight to her chest as she rocked. "There's so much screaming. Can you stop the screaming?"

The Doctor sighed. "I'm afraid not. There'll be no peace for them but death. I can teach you how to not hear them anymore, though."

Jayne looked back and forth between them, his eyes going wide. "Oh, hell. We've got ourselves two Readers on board."

The Doctor glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you needn't worry about my interest your thoughts. I'll stay far away, I promise you."

"Thanks." Jayne blinked. "I think."

Book took another sip of coffee to hide the twitch at the corners of his mouth. "What exactly is it Niska wants you for? From what I've heard of the man, historians generally aren't in his wheelhouse."

"Oh, it's not the man himself who wants me." The Doctor grinned a little, his eyes dark. "In fact, I'd say he was getting rather distinctly tired of me. It's his higher-ups that want me back."

Jayne straightened unobtrusively at that, his eyes brightening. A throat was cleared in the hallway, and they looked up to see Mal standing there, watching Jayne closely. "I see you've met the rest of the crew, Doctor." He snagged a nutrition bar from the counter, and Wash hurried into the room.

"Captain? We're getting a hail, and I think you'll want to see this." The Doctor and Rose glanced at each other and followed the rest of the crew to the bridge.

Mal glanced at the planet of origin and did a double take, his eyes widening. "Sihnon?" He gripped the nutrition bar so tightly the packaging ripped.

The screen flickered to life and Rose found herself looking at a stunningly beautiful brunette, her shoulders wrapped in a soft, deep red cloth. "This is Inara Serra of the Companion's Guild, calling the Serenity. Serenity, do you read me?"

Wash flipped a switch and leaned forward in his chair. "Read you loud and clear, ambassador—and aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

She smiled into the screen, her dark eyes twinkling. "It's good to see you, too, Wash. How's Zoe?"

"Doin' great, Inara." He cleared his throat and grinned. "We're actually expecting our first, in about eight months."

Zoe pinched the bridge of her nose as the bridge exploded into noise, and he glanced over his shoulder at the others, blushing. "Oh. Had I forgotten to tell everybody?"

Kaylee groaned. "Yes, you did." She leaned over his shoulder to speak to the screen. "How's the teaching goin', Inara? Is it as amazing as it sounds?"

"Hello, mei mei." Inara glanced around her and leaned closer to the screen, lowering her voice. "I'm actually calling because my teaching was interrupted just a bit ago. A few friends of yours came by, Mal. They were a little… distracting."

Mal paled. "Diyù. You okay, Inara?"

"I'm fine, but they were quite firm about wanting me to go with them." A thud sounded at the door of her room, and she glanced over at it and paled. "I've got to go." She focused on the screen again and smiled, but her eyes were still anxious. "Don't worry, Mal."

She hurried off-screen, and a familiar grinding noise began to echo through the bridge. A few moments after it faded away, the pair of men that had been hunting Rose forced their way into the room.

Mal's face looked like it had been carved from granite. "Close the channel, Wash."

The screen went black, and there was silence in the bridge. Mal paced back and forth before kicking the wall furiously. "Ni tama de tianxia suoyou de ren dou gaisi. I should've told her somebody was after us—hell, I should have gone to get her myself."

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Actually, I believe I can help with that." Mal glared at him, and he shrugged. "It seems like quite a neat little time loop."

"What the diyù are you talking about?"

"That noise you heard, right after Inara disappeared? That's the sound of my ship, the TARDIS. If you want her safe, Captain, I'd suggest you chart a course to Ariel."

Mal glared at him. "And why would I do that?"

"That's where I left her, of course."

"Mal." He turned to Rose, and she swallowed at the helpless anger in his eyes. "What I can do with time is nothin' compared to the TARDIS. If you want Inara safe, we should head to Ariel."

He didn't move, watching her evenly. Kaylee bit her lip, and he finally turned to Wash, scowling. "You heard 'em. Ariel it is." He looked around at the others and tightened his jaw. "Wash, after you set the course, join us in the galley. I think a talk's in order."

(mei mei- little sister)

(diyù- hell)

(Ni tama de tianxia suoyou de ren dou gaisi- [You] F**k everyone in the universe to death)