Title: The Engineer's Gift

Author: shan21non

Rating: PG-13

Beta Readers: buffyaddict13 and inkhand on LJ

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!

A/N: If you are a Doctor Who fan who has never seen Firefly, or a Firefly fan who has never seen Doctor Who, do not fear! I have made every effort to allow either type of reader to follow the story and get introduced to the characters regardless of prior knowledge. If you're a fan of both series, it will hopefully just be extra enjoyable for you! (p.s. both series can be streamed on Netflix, so you should totally do that if you've only seen one or the other!)

This fic will be 21 chapters long. You should know now that I have 17 of those chapters written, and they are in various stages of being beta read/finalized. Soooo, you can expect regular updates.

CHAPTER ONE

"Well, this isn't the Flupani Centennial Ball."

"Could have fooled me." The blond girl paused pointedly after her reply. He wore a pinstriped suit and a long brown overcoat. She wore a gown of emerald green.

She raised an eyebrow at a tumbleweed that rolled across the dusty road in front of them.

"The TARDIS must be feeling a bit ill to put us this far off our destination," the man murmured, his fingers trailing gently over the painted wood of their transport. The words 'Police Box' stood out across the top, although they did not describe what lay behind the blue door.

The girl adjusted one of the delicate crystal straps on her arms. They were mostly there for show, drooping off her shoulders with a purposeful elegance. The dress was, in fact, supported by the satin ribbon that laced up the back of its corset top.

"Are we in the Old West?" she asked.

When the man looked up, a question in his eyes, she pointed to the building in front of them. Its saloon doors flew open and shut with the warm breeze.

"The New West, in a way," he replied enigmatically.

"Come again?" the girl asked.

The man took a slow spin, examining his surroundings with the practiced air of someone who had done this many times before.

"The year 2518, give or take," he concluded.

"So, only about a hundred thousand years off where we were aiming for," the girl teased good-naturedly. "But we are on Earth, Doctor, aren't we?"

"Not Earth-That-Was."

Off her puzzled look, he continued.

"A few centuries in your future, humans use up the Earth's resources. Kaput!" He clapped his hands for emphasis. "And thus begins the first era of human space colonization. Your lot finds a new solar system and terraforms hundreds of new earths."

"Really? Just a few hundred years in my future?" the Earth girl asked.

"Never doubt the power of human waste, Rose. 'Necessity is the mother of invention' and all that."

Rose took the Doctor's lecturing tone in stride.

"Hang on, though. People were on Earth after the Twenty-sixth Century, weren't they? You said when I first met you that the year Twelve-thousand-and-five was the New Roman Empire."

"Oh, children always want to return home some day, don't they? And humans are rather brilliant. You figure out a way to renew the planets resources eventually, but for now, in this century, you're all space colonists," he said.

"Well, terraforming new planets just a few centuries after the moon landing—not bad."

She grinned at him, only to find him staring at the saloon with a curious expression on his face.

"What?" she prompted.

"Sounds like a party in there," the Doctor noted.

Rose tilted her head to the side to listen, and, sure enough, she heard the clamor of voices raised in a celebratory roar. When she glanced back at the Doctor, he was already looking at her, the corners of his mouth starting to curl upwards. Taking his lead, she flashed him a toothy grin.

"Well, I am dressed for a party," she said.

"That you are!" the Doctor replied gleefully.

He held out his arm like a proper gentleman, and Rose took it with an exaggerated flourish. Together they marched to the saloon doors, Rose's wide satin bustle nearly getting caught on the way through.

Once inside, their senses were assaulted by the stench of liquor and the sounds of drunken celebration. Disheveled ladies slid from lap to lap, cackling wildly. Two men danced what appeared to be a sort of jig off in one corner of the room. Men at the bar toasted loudly, although to what, Rose wasn't sure. More than one gave her an appreciative once-over, and a man towards the far end of the bar let out a wolf whistle. Rose felt her cheeks color but pressed on, reassured by the Doctor's relaxed grin.

What really caught Rose's eye were the two figures sitting off in the opposite corner of the bar, seemingly separate from the festivities. A man in a brown coat sat beside a beautiful dark-skinned woman, and neither appeared in the mood to celebrate. They eyed the proceedings in almost solemn silence.

"Come on, Rose! I'll buy you a drink!" the Doctor shouted over the noise.

Rose pulled her eyes from the quiet couple and back to her friend.

"You'll buy me a drink with what money?" she asked.

The Doctor's mouth hung open for a moment.

"Right. You get us drinks," he said decisively.

"How's that, then?" she asked, amused.

"Use your feminine wiles."

He waggled his eyebrows, earning him a swat on the arm.

"Maybe later," she said dryly.

They slid past a man who gave Rose a roguish wink.

"Wŏ céng jīng jiàn guò nĭ mă? Huò xŭ zài wŏ mèng lĭ jiàn guò?" the man slurred.

The Doctor smiled at the man but wrapped a protective arm around Rose's shoulder and pressed onward.

"What language was that?" Rose asked.

"Most humans at this time speak English, but they like to pepper their speech with some colorful Mandarin phrases," the Doctor explained.

"Why couldn't I understand him? The TARDIS is supposed to translate all languages for me telepathically, isn't it?"

"There are some things the TARDIS won't translate. Profanity, for example."

"He was swearing at me?" Rose gaped.

"No, it was just…"

"What?" Rose asked, stopping to place her hands on her hips.

"It was an incredibly cheesy come-on. The TARDIS was sparing you, I think."

"Really?" Rose asked, grinning. "What'd he say?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes, but indulged her.

"Haven't I seen you before… in my dreams?" he delivered dramatically.

"Excuse me, I have a husband to catch," Rose announced, turning back.

The Doctor snagged her wrist and spun her back around. Rose giggled and allowed herself to be dragged past another pair toasting loudly.

"What are they celebrating?" she asked.

The Doctor smiled, but the expression didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Unification Day. The central planets in this new solar system formed the Anglo-Sino Alliance. They wanted the other new earths to fall under their control. Not all of the colonists went peacefully."

"Who won?"

"The Alliance. But this isn't too long after the war. Plenty of rebels still lurking about the outer reaches of the 'Verse," the Doctor explained.

Rose frowned.

"Lurking about doing what?"

Before the Doctor could answer, the sound of shattering glass pulled their attention. Rose located the source of the noise immediately. The man in the brown coat stood at the bar now, his hand empty where his glass should have been. He wasn't small by any means, but a much larger man towered over him, dwarfing his solid frame.

"Well, that was mighty clumsy of you, spillin' my drink. But I s'pose if you buy me a new one, we can call it square," the man in brown said with a cheerful twang.

"Gorram Browncoat! What are you thinkin' showing up in this town on this day?"

Rather than shrink back, the smaller man leaned in closer to the thug in front of him.

"I was thinkin' I'd like a drink. I'm still thinkin' that, actually, so if you could go on and replace the one you threw to the ground, I'd much 'preciate it."

The larger man turned away, as if he was going to order a drink, then whipped back around, aiming a powerful right hook at the other man's jaw. As if he'd seen it coming the whole time, the smaller man ducked and came back up with a fist in his opponent's gut. The giant grunted and doubled over, sliding backwards into a barstool.

"Anybody else wanna buy me a drink?" the man in the brown coat asked, almost sweetly.

Hearing their cue, a dozen men, apparently friends of the large man slumped over on the stool, stood. The sound of wooden chairs scraping the floor filled the room. The man in brown took this in with an amused smirk.

"Well, ain't that somethin'. Who'da thought I'd have so many admirers?" he grinned.

"He's got a death wish," the Doctor murmured.

All at once the silence ended. People converged on the man in brown, and he disappeared behind a flurry of fists. Rose saw the dark-skinned woman enter the fray, stoic as ever, and then she too disappeared.

Rose looked up at the Doctor, alarmed.

"What's going on? Why are they attacking that man?"

"The Independents, those fighting against the Alliance in the Unification War, they wore—"

The Doctor was interrupted when a meaty hand grasped the collar of his coat and hauled him backwards.

"Hey, we got another one over here!" the owner of the hand bellowed.

"What are you doing? Let him go!" Rose shouted, attempting to push her way through the crowd to follow.

"This here's a fancy Browncoat," the man announced, shoving the struggling Doctor to the front of the bar. Rose managed to fight her way to the front as well, just in time to see the man in brown shoved up next to the Doctor. The defiant man now sported a split lip and an already blackening eye. He was held fast by the large man who broke his glass. The dark-skinned woman fought her way out to stand beside Rose.

"Look at that fine suit," the man continued, plucking at the Doctor's lapels.

The Doctor smiled as if the compliment was sincere.

"Do you like it? I thought it looked quite posh myself! Now, if you'll just let me explain—"

"It's shiny, friend! We'll have to exchange fashion tips later," the man in brown interrupted, flashing a cheeky grin.

"Lousy bái mù Independent scum!" someone in the crowd screamed.

The resounding cheer that came in response was so loud that Rose could scarcely be heard over the din.

"Doctor!" she screamed, trying to catch his attention.

"Doctor, huh? Some fancy Core-trained doc fought for the Independents?" the man who grabbed the Doctor said.

Rose was at a loss, but she had no time to reply. The fighting broke out again. The man in brown and his female cohort operated with the precision of soldiers. At one point a man with a broken glass bottle came up behind the woman, and the man in brown swung a fist right at her face. Without hesitation, she ducked allowing his fist to land squarely on the other man's nose. Blood sprayed out and Rose let out an involuntary yelp. She tried to find the Doctor in the melee, and managed to catch of glimpse of his pinstripes just before a loud BANG rang out in the bar.

All movement halted, no one quite sure what the noise meant or who might have been injured by it. After a shuffling of bodies, the crowd stood back to reveal the Doctor slumped at their feet.

"Oh, god!"

Rose stumbled forward and threw herself over the Doctor's body, thinking of nothing more than shielding him from additional harm. Curled around him, she felt his cool breath against her neck. Her body sagged against his, relieved to feel a sign of life.

"What did you do to him?" she demanded, whipping around to face the crowd.

"Just a sonic rifle, sweetheart. Don't get your panties in a bunch," a voice called out.

She identified the speaker, a man holding a large gun standing behind the bar.

"What were you thinking? He wasn't doing anything to you!" she shouted.

Without warning, Rose felt arms sliding around her middle and hauling her back and upwards at the same time. Her back hit the chest of a man she couldn't see, and his arms locked around her stomach. She could smell the stench of liquor on his breath.

In this position, Rose found herself facing the man in brown. The man held her gaze, all pretense of his lighthearted mood gone. He gave a nearly imperceptible shake of his head, as if warning her from making a scene.

"This is an awful fancy dress for this dusty rock," the man holding her rasped.

His hands teased the satin pickups on her skirt as the crowd howled with laughter.

"Let me go," Rose demanded, twisting in his grasp.

"What's such a fancy girl doin' in a place like this?" the man asked. He moved to trace his fingertips along the gown's crystal straps with mocking delicacy.

"We were on our way to a party. Took a wrong turn," Rose bit out, suppressing a shudder at the man's touch.

"Wouldn't mind takin' a wrong turn with you, sweetheart," the man leered.

She felt the stubble of his beard brush her shoulder.

"Hey now, why don't you leave the lady alone."

It was the man in brown who spoke, his jaw set in anger.

"She ain't no lady if she's with a lousy Browncoat!" the man with the rifle shouted.

The crowd answered with a riotous cheer.

"What's it matter if his coat's brown?" Rose asked desperately.

She winced as she was shoved unceremoniously to her knees in front of the Doctor. She reached out to touch him, but strong arms jerked her backwards, just out of his reach.

"Hey! Take it easy!" the man in brown shouted ineffectually.

"What's your relationship to this piece of go-se?" a voice in the crowd demanded.

Rose's heart sped up. Maybe if she gave the correct answer, they'd let her leave with the Doctor.

"We travel together," she said ambiguously.

"That doesn't answer my question, honey. You love this man?"

To emphasize the question, the man gave the Doctor a swift kick in the ribs. Rose was anguished by the Doctor's faint moan.

"It's not—that isn't—" she stammered.

"Better give me an answer quick, 'fore my finger slips on this here trigger—"

Seemingly out of nowhere, a man emerged from the crowd pointing what appeared to be a pistol at the Doctor's unmoving form. Rose's heart stopped completely.

"I'm his companion!" she shouted.

Complete silence descended over the room. The hands gripping her arms released her suddenly as if her skin was on fire. She didn't dare to speak.

"You're his personal Companion?" a voice asked, finally.

Rose was bewildered, but tried to sound confident when she replied.

"That's what I said."

"Go-se. You can't mess with a registered Companion, Dale. Shén me niǎo are you thinking?" A red-haired man scolded the man who had grabbed Rose.

"How was I s'posed to know?" Dale gasped.

"Look at what she's wearing you gorramed fool!" the redhead hissed.

The crowd shifted uneasily. The people closest to the door filed out quickly. Those closest to the action seemed deeply unsettled and unsure about what to do.

"You gotta understand, Miss, with his coat 'n all, we thought—"

Dale's voice broke off as the man with the pistol shuffled him towards the door.

"That's right! You'd best start runnin', boys, because I imagine this high-bred woman is moments away from sendin' a wave to Alliance police," the man in brown proclaimed.

"Clear out! Take this celebration to Kyle's bar. Move!" the man behind the bar shouted above the commotion.

In less than a minute, the bar was clear of everyone save for the Doctor, Rose, the man in brown, and his stoic female partner. Now free to move, Rose turned the Doctor onto his back and placed her palms over his chest. She felt two weak but steady heartbeats and allowed herself to exhale.

She turned to face the man in brown, who was eyeing her with some curiosity.

"Will he be okay?" she asked.

"Just a sonic rifle. Takes the wind outta ya, but I've taken worse than that 'fore breakfast and been doin' cartwheels by lunch," he said reassuringly.

Rose nodded. She didn't need to know why the fight had broken out or what brown coats symbolized. All she needed was to get the Doctor safely inside the TARDIS. He could recover there and they could get out of this dangerous place. Getting him there, however, was not a one-person job.

"Will you help me get him back to the… to our transport?" she asked the battle-worn pair.

The dark-skinned woman looked to the man. When he gave a curt nod, she bent to lift the Doctor under one arm while Rose took the other. As she slid her arm around his back, Rose's fingers slipped against something wet. Her grip loosened and she gasped as the Doctor fell back to the ground. She immediately reached out for him, but the sight of her reddened fingers stopped her short. Her entire hand was sticky with blood.

"No. No, no, no, no, no," she breathed.

Without hesitation, the dark-skinned woman flipped the Doctor onto his back again and pulled his shirt up to his chin. A long, jagged laceration stood out against the Doctor's pale ribs.

"He's been stabbed," the woman announced.

"There's a doctor on my ship. We'll bring him there," the man in brown said resolutely.

Rose could only nod faintly while the woman retrieved a tattered bar rag and wrapped it round the Doctor's wound.

"I'll get him up, Zoe," the man said.

The woman, Zoe apparently, cleared out to let her partner get closer to the Doctor. He bent and wrapped the unconscious man's arms around his neck before hoisting himself back up. He grunted with the effort, but soon had the Doctor in a nearly-standing position behind him, with only his feet dragging on the ground.

"Sir?" the woman prompted.

"Got him," he confirmed.

"I'll make sure nobody's out there waiting to give us a parting gift," she said, pulling a gun from the belt at her waist and exiting the bar first.

"Come on," the man grunted.

He followed Zoe, and Rose, heart in her throat, trailed behind.

"I think the Companion was threat enough to scare 'em off, Cap'n," Zoe announced, her keen eyes still scanning the streets.

"Good," the man replied.

"How far is your ship?" Rose asked, jogging to keep up with the Captain and Zoe.

"Not far," Zoe answered.

"And our doc's real good. Patched up worse'n this plenty of times," the Captain added.

"Thank you," Rose said earnestly.

They walked briskly in silence for a few minutes before the Captain spoke up again.

"You from Dyton Colony?" he asked.

Rose frowned.

"No. Why do you ask?" she said, taking care to avoid a clump of weeds in the dirt road.

"I got an acquaintance goes by the name of Badger comes from Dyton. You sound a might like him. But Dyton's an old prison colony, and naturally someone as fine as a genuine Guild Companion would never so much as set foot in a place like that."

The sideways glance he gave her seemed to imply quite the opposite. Rose squirmed under his appraising gaze.

"No, of course not," she said faintly.

She was beginning to think that 'companion' meant something very different in this world, something powerful. That probably meant companions didn't speak like they came from working-class London. But since the title had yielded positive results so far, Rose decided she'd better stick to it. She didn't offer any explanation for her accent, and hoped the strangers would drop the subject.

"What did you say your name was?" the man pressed.

"I'm Rose,' she offered.

"Well, Rose, I'm Captain Malcolm Reynolds and this here's my first mate Zoe," the Captain replied.

Rose nodded at Zoe before turning her attention back to the road, which turned to reveal a sort of interstellar parking lot. Spaceships of various shapes and sizes sat across the lot, some still smoking.

"And who's your friend with the fine-lookin' coat?" Zoe asked.

"He's the Doctor," Rose said.

"The Doctor, huh?" she replied skeptically.

"Doctor who?" the Captain asked.

"Just the Doctor," Rose provided anxiously.

Her eyes scanned the lot, trying to guess which ship was theirs, and desperately hoping it was close.

"Hmm…" the Captain murmured.

Rose didn't notice the dubious look that passed between the Captain and his first mate. She did, however, notice when the Captain gestured to the gray ship ahead of them and spoke.

"Welcome to Serenity."

End Notes

To see the dress I envisioned for Rose, if anyone google image search Moonlight Bridal, Q390 and it should show up first.

Chinese Translations:

Wŏ céng jīng jiàn guò nĭ mă? Huò xŭ zài wŏ mèng lĭ jiàn guò?— Haven't I seen you before? Maybe in my dreams?

Gorram – God damned (this isn't Chinese, but it's commonly used on Firefly as slang)

bái mù – Stupid. Literally, white-eyed, blind. Here it means not understanding the situation and reacting in a wrong way as a result.

go-se – shit

Shén me niǎo – What the fuck

Please, please, please tell me what you think. This story has been kicking around on my hard drive in various stages of brainstorming for months, and I'm finally posting it! I am dying to hear what you all feel about it so far.