A/N: This roughly follows "Serenity" Part two (the initial pilot episode for the TV show, not the BDM), and beyond.
I dedicate this to my faithful reviewers, OtherMeWriter, Basia Orci, Delphine Pryde, mirth513, My Reflection, cassikat, Huggabledog, BalrogsBreath, Chibi of Many Names, and Robin Moto. If you've reviewed either of the sequels to this, Doctor Who and the Great Eclipse and Doctor Who and the Ties that Bind, and I've not mentioned you by name don't feel left out, I thank you for the kind words.
Onwards, then? If you've not read the other two stories then this one might not make sense to you. Go read them first, Ok? Jelly Babies? Bananas? Mutant Plot Bunnies? :-D

An aside request... I've just stumbled into a wonderful resource of 2nd Doctor transcripts and I know many of you have never seen those shows. There's a poll on, see? I will write out detailed scenes that explain the development of the relationship between Jamie and the Doctor (including the lost episodes because I've got nicely detailed transcripts to work with) but I need to know if those scenes should be a standalone story or part of this one. What do you think? either drop me a review or vote in the poll. I've embedded it in both my profile and in a thread at TARDIS Parking.

Short Summary: Sequel, Dr Who & the Ties that Bind. The TimeWar left him shattered & alone. Experiments left her shattered & open. The 6 souls destined form a web unbroken. Verity, 9th Dr, the Tam siblings, Riddick, Rose, Inara, Mal. Dr Who Firefly Riddick crossover.

Summary: The Doctor, reeling from the effects of the TimeWar as the last surviving TimeLord, stumbled into a situation he could not ignore when the TARDIS landed him inside a ship that was clearly in trouble. But the situation turns not as cut and dry as he might like. His people may be gone, but the stamp he's made on the universe is still there, and he finds himself caught in a web spun of the choices he's made in his past… And there's more than his own existence at stake.

Something in history prompted humanity to explode out from their home world. Could the events of 2164 be responsible? Was Earth a myth or was it real? In fleeing Earth-that-Was, humanity scattered to the stars across the galactic arm. Initial survey teams targeted likely planets and systems for habitation and not all of them ended up on the same side of the sector. Blue Sun exists on one side, separated by a patch of 'wild space' filled with exotic binary and triple star systems, from the rest of civilized space. Few ships brave the route. But luck had it that one ship did. Risking a ghost run, the only contact that the two sides have, the Hunter-Gratzner crashed midway through the journey. Original Port of Departure: Eavesdown Docks, Persephone. Mixed Sino-Anglo culture. Original Port of Call: Tangiers-5. Darkside. Mixed Islamic-Anglo culture. Crew complement: Four. Passengers: Forty. Living 'Cargo': Two. Survivors: Eight plus One

So what happens to Dr. Simon Tam, his brilliant but damaged sister, a convicted murder by the name of Richard B. Riddick, one gal from 2005 London called Rose Tyler and 'Jack B. Badd' now that they are aboard Serenity? And just how is this related to the TimeWar?

A Doctor Who / Firefly / Riddick crossover.

Features Doctor 9, companion Rose Tyler; The cast of Firefly; 'Jack B. Badd' and Richard B. Riddick…

Doctor Who and the Tangled Web.

Part One

Reavers

Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, survivor of Serenity Valley, had very little that he was fearful of. Alliance, and Reavers, topped that list. He supposed at the moment he was between a rock and a hard place. His ship was filled with folk, chief among them was a mysterious Doctor Jon Smythe and his 'family' that had turned out to be just a mite more extended that one would think at first glance.

He'd decided upon learning at least part of the truth that this bunch needed protecting. Of course, if the Reavers saw them and were hungry the only protecting going on would be making 'em dead before the Reavers did. He reached for the com. Below him, in the infirmary, Book is keeping watch over Kaylee, bible in hand. "This is the captain." The tone in his voice sets everyone on alert. Jayne freezes, gun in hand in his room, while Richard who is in the hall above him raises his head to listen. Jon, in the mess hall with Rose, River, and Jack reaches for his kin, pulling them close. Zoë has paused on her way away from Dobson's room, and Simon steps out of his bunk behind her noticing her tense body language; "We're passing another ship. Looks to be Reavers. From the size, probably a raiding party." Inara, in her shuttle, becomes very concerned, a worried expression marring her face. "Could be they're headed somewhere particular, could be they've already hit someone and they're full up. So everyone stay calm." Richard watches Jayne rip the blanket off the wall to reveal his gun collection and begin deciding which weapon he'd honor with his death. "We try to run, they'll have to chase us. It's their way. We're holding course. We should be passing 'em in a minute, so we'll see what they do." He paused for a breath, "Zoë, you come on up to the bridge."

Zoë is already half way there, nearing the mess hall when Simon finally catches up to her, "Wait -- I-I don't understand."

Over by Jon Rose is asking, "What's a 'Reaver'? Thought there were no aliens here."

Rose's question catches her attention far more effectively than Simon's, "You've never heard of Reavers?" Rose shakes her head.

Simon says, "I've heard campfire stories... Men gone savage on the edge of space, killing, and-- "

The second in command cuts him off, "They're not stories."

Jon gives her a raised eyebrow, even as River seems to try to crawl inside him through his side because she's pressed so close to him. Jack says, "Um -- What happens if they board us?"

Zoë regards the boy for a moment and then decides the brutal truth is the best thing now, "If they take the ship, they'll rape us to death, eat our flesh and sew our skins into their clothing and if we're very, very lucky, they'll do it in that order." This rattles the five others and Zoë continues on her way to the cockpit, even as Rich steps back into the mess hall and heads straight to Jon. Simon pitches himself into the arms of his little brother and dad, wrapping his own around Rose. None of them even think of leaving Serenity for the safety of the TARDIS.

Inara reaches for the substance that will make her burn, that will let her go down fighting. It's inside a small decorative box, and she flips open the lid, staring at the syringe inside and the black liquid inside its vial. She pockets them and gets to her feet. Protecting Jon must come first.

The scene Mal is watching scares him to death. Reavers in their tricked-out radiation filled ship are approaching closer and closer, and he can see the light off their hull like a collection of connected stars through the windshield, even though there's miles between them still. Too close, but then Reavers don't follow the shipping lanes. He eyes the readings, noting the relative speeds and projected location that their paths will cross. The Reaver Trans-U looks to be aiming to go right over them. Of all the luck…

Jayne settled on a gun, a rifle, and he's loading it with shaking hands. One shot with this and there won't be enough of him left for the Reavers to make an effort over. He hopes.

Mal's eyeing the sheer size of the Reaver ship. While it's by far smaller than the Alliance's 'floating cities' it's still twice the size of Serenity. And the bristling weapons, spikes, lances, what have you, make it seem much more deadly. It's not a clean lined ship. At least not anymore. Behind him Zoë enters and quickly moves to stand behind her husband, her eyes taking in the readings and the faint ghostly shape resolving from the mass of lights streaking toward them in the viewscreen. Her hand settles on Wash's shoulder and he covers it with his own. His other hand points to the sensor data; "There's a magnetic grappler. They get ahold of us with that..." He's practically whispering.

"Just tell me if they alter course," Mal says. His unspoken order is 'don't think, just be' as they wait. Breathlessly. The entire ship waits. And the danger gets closer and closer, the sensors indicating that the Reaver ship is right atop them, if above them by thousands of feet. Mal feels his heart pounding in his chest. Way too close. Way, way, too close. Normal captains would have adjusted course to avoid such a near miss. But Reaver's ain't normal. And he's not so stupid as to even think of changing anything, not speed, nor direction. They must stay steady until the proximity alarms indicate that the Reavers are well out of sensor range. His hand is white knuckled on the com controls.

Endless moments pass before Wash announces, "They're holding course."

Mal releases the breath he didn't know he was holding. He finally forces his eyes off the growing-ever-more-distant blip on the sensor screen and looks over at Wash and Zoë, "I guess they weren't hungry. Didn't expect to see them here..."

Zoë also sighs, "They're pushing out further every year, too."

"Gettin' awful crowded in my sky." Mal picks up the com, "We're good people. They decided not to stop."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Rose would have called her mum, then and there, but for the fact that London time it was two in the bloody morning and she doubted her mum would be happy if she called her then. Instead, the Doctor produced a tin of real coca powder and made pots of hot coca, the smell of which brought in nearly everyone to the kitchen. At Mal's expression, Jon says, "I – err – had it in my luggage. Thought I'd share. After a scare like that chocolate does you good."

"I'm taking a mug to Wash," Zoë says, not questioning it.

Mal takes the offered cup and eyes it over. It smells like chocolate, expensive, real chocolate. Not the fake pseudo-might-have-some-nutritional-value mystery powder that passed for chocolate to the masses, "Thank you for your generosity, Jon. This stuff is extremely expensive."

Rose raises an eyebrow, "You people live on protein paste and tea?"

"Pretty much."

"Ugh. No wonder the fresh stuff was such a hit. Doctor is there any way to improve the diet here?"

"Hydroponics gardens come to mind, if the Captain has room for it."

Mal frowned, "Hydroponic—Huh? You're suggesting we grow our own?"

"Why not? There's perfectly good and excess waste, both chemical and energy, which could be recycled, with some work. I'd be willing to assist Kaylee with it, and in the long run it will save wear and tear on your environmental systems because your atmospheric scrubbers won't have to work as hard."

Mal had to sit down, "Um, where?"

"Maybe that nook over there?" Jon gestures to the nearly empty alcove that exists next to the shuttle port that leads to Inara's shuttle. Not thinking, Mal takes a deep drink of the coca and finds himself distracted by the creamy smooth, slightly sweet, rich chocolate flavor of it. Jon says, "It's a bit dark but I've got lights that can install to fix that." Mal's eyes flick over to the spot for a moment.

"Just make it something that can be hidden if we're boarded," the captain finally replies. He can see the attractiveness of such a plan and the thought of having fresh veggies and fruit all the time really appeals to him.

Rose grins. "Can I help pick out what we grow?"

"I think - Bananas will do well, in a dwarf form, of course. Strawberries, raspberries, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, peppers, beans, almost anything shrub-sized or smaller. I'll introduce some possibilities and we'll see what goes over, aye, Rose?"

"We gonna have space for what you're thinking?" Mal's picturing the entire dining room taken over by plants.

Jon smiles, "Oh, I think you're going to like how this turns out, Captain. There'll be plenty of room and someone who's never been on this ship will never know that there's a garden there at all." It sounds impossible, but then Kaylee walking again sounded impossible after she was shot and according to the last scans her spine was healed right up but for some weak spots on the bone.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Simon had taken his sister down to the infirmary with him to give her something that would calm her down. Right now she and the blonde are outside the operating area on the couch, cuddled together. If Mal didn't know better he'd be thinking some kinky thoughts about those two girls. He's come down to see Kaylee, and currently he's alone in there with her, but she's still sleeping. The monitors are off of her, as Simon revealed that her vitals were normal, and that the wound was knitting back together at a faster than expected rate. Last time the dressing was changed it looked like the wound was a week old, not done yesterday.

"Hey, Captain," Kaylee says weakly.

Mal turns and looks at her, noting that she's still woozy, "Hey... Hey little Kaylee, what's the news?"

"I'm shiny, Capt'n. A-okay." He takes her hand, "My feet's cold though. Like there's pins and needles. What happened? Was it bad?" She raises her head to make sure her legs are still there and manages to twitch one foot. Mal squeezes her hand and then picks up another blanket.

As he settles it over her he says, "Nothing more than a bug bite, darlin'. You just gotta rest. Something's gonna break down on this boat real soon. Who else I got to fix it?"

"Well, don't you worry none. Doc fixed me up pretty." She's getting sleepy again, "He's nice," she mumbles.

Mal frowns, "Don't go working too hard on that crush, xiao mei-mei. The Doc responsible for healing you is the older one and his husband might take offense."

She grins, "Rich is nice too." There's a tinge of a blush on her cheeks that Mal just doesn't want to think too closely on. "But I was talkin' about Simeon."

"Um… Might have to fight off a blonde for his attentions and I really don't want those sorts of sparks on my boat."

"You're nice, too."

"No, I'm not. I'm a mean old man."

"You know that Jon wasn't gonna let me die, don't you?" Kaylee grips his hand, trying to convince herself that the out-of-body experience she had was a freak thing, not her being on death's door, "He was just trying to protect his family. Nobody's at fault, here. Okay? Just promise me you'll remember that?"

"Darlin', Jon and I got it sorted. Don't you worry. We got us medics and a cook, and Rich will help out Jayne. Maybe you can have Saritha help you with the maintenance. It's all good."

The smile Kaylee gave him made having Dobson to deal with seem like less of a chore, "You are a nice man, Capt'n. You're always looking after us. You just gotta have faith in people." No, not people, Mal raises her hand and kisses lightly but makes no verbal comment, Person maybe, though. After a moment her eyes settle on Rose and Saritha who are on the couch, "Ah, ain't they sweet? So beautiful…" Kaylee drifts off, her eyes closing slowly. Mal's been holding her hand loosely and now it slips gracefully away to dangle over the edge of the bed.

Something devious sparks in Mal's awareness at that.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Rose Tyler in sitting on a blue couch, in blue toned room, that has soothing cool toned accessories around it. The entire thing has Kaylee's touch to it. Really, it's no wonder that River prefers this sitting area to the one in the mess hall. She's been spending a lot of time with the raven-haired teen, mostly because she feels jittery herself with she's too far away from her for any length of time. He phone rings making her jump. It's got to be her mum and it's got to be way early. She answers it, "'ello?"

"Oh, Rose," Jackie gushes through the phone, "honey, I just had to call, it's not too early is it?"

Rose shifts and looks at Saritha's chrono, "Nah, I'm in a different time zone. In fact it's almost lunchtime. I was gonna call you in a few hours, it's what, six in the morning there?"

"Where are you, luv?"

"Oh, um… on a boat. Didn't I say I was travelin'? We caught a plane then got on a boat…" she wiggled a bit, "It's a smaller vessel. Research, I think."

"Can you tell me a bit about your boss, Rose. What's he look like?"

"He's in the mess hall, no, the cargo bay at the moment. Wait, I have a snapshot I took of him last night when we were playing a board game with the crew. Just a sec. I'll send it to you." She pulls the phone away from her ear and ignores the following barrage of questions as she flips through the shots trying to find one of him without Rich hanging over him like an octopus. Finally she settles for one where the bronze skinned man just has an arm around his waist. "There, I'm sending you one. The other guy is his partner. The Doctor, erm… Doctor Smythe, it the light skinned blue-eyed one, wait, mum you've seen him--"

"Oh that's a nice photo, Rose." Jackie feeds the image into the computer at the Library where she's doing some research and asks for an image match.

Feeling a bit suspicious Rose asks, "Mum, what's ya' doin'?"

"Nothing!" Jackie says it just a bit too defensively.

"You're lookin' 'em up, ain't you? Mum!" Rose scolds her.

Jackie pauses before she selects a link to follow, "I just want to find out what it is that you're getting involved with, luv. I looked up U.N.I.T. and they do have a Jon Smythe on the payroll, but he's listed as being 'on leave'. Is this job of yours with him private employ?"

Rose growls, "Yes, mum. Please just leave it."

Jackie clicks the link and looks at the web page. The pieces with her dream the night before fall into place as she stares at the image on the webpage and the one on her phone. The page itself says 'Doctor Who? … Do you know this man? Contact Clive here…' Jackie stares at it, "All right Rose, I'll – leave it. Just… Call me tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok, bye. Love you, mum." Rose hangs up the phone and puts her face in her hands.

Saritha wraps her arms around the blonde; "She's not going to."

"No. Damnit."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jon's slipped inside the TARDIS, and back out, Mal having decided the previous restrictions no longer applied since they were 'crew' now. He emerged into the control room with a deceptively small closed box, rolls of old fashioned blueprints, and a huge grin on his face because Verity had decided to allow him into the garden again so he could take cuttings. Then she'd provided him with trays of already started food plants just to keep him out of trouble. Getting him to not go for the most sensitive things was nearly impossible without showing him where the new cuttings she'd already started were. Just take these! Don't trample on that! This is why I don't let you in here! Thete!

Ah, I didn't kill anything, he thinks back to her. But thank you for saving me months of work. Everything he needed for the new garden, including a spare generator, was inside the box, except for the plans that were on top of it, and the space, which he could construct practically in his sleep. This was going to be such fun. He loved to tinker with things.

Just –go. There are insects and birds in the hallways now because you left the door open!

He's nearly laughing when Book looks up at him as he steps back out into the cargo bay, "That didn't take you long."

"No. It's not a messy inside that thing as I thought it would be. I think Saritha must have done some cleaning when I had my back turned." Verity snickered in his mind. Do be quiet. She laughs louder. It's been so long since he's been in a good mood that she forgives him about the escaped butterflies in the art gallery.

"Richard did say she had your compulsive behavior."

"And my intelligence, too. I guess you can't have one without the other." Jon shrugs. They headed back up to the dinging room.

"So, what's in the box?" Shepherd Book asks.

"This? Just some spare stuff I had sitting around that I though might be useful. Spare bits and pieces for a hydroponics garden, is all. You mentioned herbs, do you think we should have a small drip style setup with fresh herbs by the kitchen?"

"That would be lovely."

Jon grins at him; "It would be, wouldn't it? I think I have the perfect plans for a mini setup too. And parts, including the grow light."