Apocatastasis (5/5)

[intrikate88]

Title: Apocatastasis (5/5)
Author: intrikate88 
Disclaimer:: I tried to seduce RTD and get him to give me Doctor Who rights, but he's not into women, and I tried with Joss for ownership of Firefly, and his wife didn't like that, and Joss said it would only bring me heartache anyway, so as it stands now, I own nothing.
Spoilers:: "Doomsday" for Doctor Who, and slight "Lazarus Experiment" reference. Post "Objects in Space", pre/during-BDM for Fireflyverse.
Rating:: PG
Prompt:: Two prompts! 1) Ten is intrigued. Inara is suspicious. There is banter. And eye sex. 2) "You don't want to wait until it's too late."
Notes/Warnings:: One traveler (that strokes bits of his ship) is missing his companion, while one Companion is missing traveling. Then things begin to explode, several people are taken hostage, the Doctor is mistaken for another doctor, and a good deal of fun suspense is had by all, as the Operative tries his hardest to get to one little girl, River Tam.

In case you're wondering about the title, dictionary.com defines it as: the state of being restored or reestablished; restitution.

A good deal of the dialogue between the Doctor and the Operative is lifted from Terry Pratchett’s Night Watch which is a fantastic book, much like Life on Mars but even better. goldy_dollarbeta’d for me, and did a fine job of it! This fic was written for the sonic_tea ficathon, and is finally at its conclusion. Thank you all for reading! I’ve had fun writing this!

Chapter One || Chapter Two || Chapter Three || Chapter Four

Inara led the way back towards her chambers, where she could access her cortex. Outside, it was heading towards dawn; the sky was grey and brightening instead of dark, and the birds were coughing out a wakeup. On a normal day, the bells for morning duties would be ringing soon, but Inara had seen the gong laying on its side a while back, and knew it would be a quiet morning in that respect, if not in any other.

She led the way up the steps to the porch outside her room. It had a lovely view over the forested valley. That’s what everyone said.

Trees weren’t stars, and the sun coming up over the mountains wasn’t the blinding beauty of the sun emerging over the curve of a planet.

“Lovely view,” said the Doctor, bounding up the steps next. “A sunrise, just like every morning, I presume. Ever seen an eclipse from the sky, Inara?”

“Many times,” Inara smiled, wondering if he had any telepathic powers. “It’s an amazing sight.”

“Oh, Inara Serra, I could show you so much more.” He tilted his face towards the sky. “Farther than you’ve ever been before, out past the edges of this galaxy. Stars colliding, planets that you lot haven’t set foot on yet.”

They stood at the top of the steps, Inara folding her hands in front of her and watching the Operative come up. She smiled at him, a Companion’s bland, closed-lip smile that told nothing of the thoughts beneath, the smile she had been trained to wear since she was twelve. He returned to her the same bland look, and her smile faded. “Right now, I wouldn’t mind being on those,” she murmured, glancing over at the Doctor. He nodded to acknowledge her words and perhaps volunteer his services in that. Inara waved a welcome to her chambers, and turned, letting the men follow her into her bedroom.

“May I offer you some tea?” Inara asked.

“That will be unnecessary. I wish you to summon Captain Reynolds as soon as possible.”

Inara stepped into an alcove next to a chest of drawers, and slid out a panel, activating a screen. While it came up she adjusted her robe, tucking the cloth tightly into place. She found herself looking at Wash, and a few abandoned plastic dinosaurs. The sight of them sent a pang through her heart, and made her all the more determined to keep Serenity away from the Operative. She smiled at him, not the grin she’d flashed at the Doctor, or the bland smile for the Operative, but a very polite smile reserved for those you would rather not talk to. She hoped that encouraged him and the rest of the crew to stay away.

Out in her room, the Operative took a seat in a nearby chair, while the Doctor preferred to stand, and meandered across the carpet in a fashion that might be termed ‘pacing’ in a lesser man.

“Now, here’s what I don’t understand,” he suddenly said. “You’re doing all of this to get one little girl. An Operative of the Alliance, only utilized in the severest security breaches. What could she possibly be that would be so important to you?”

“I’m not aware of the specific reason. I do not need to be.”

“You don’t know?” asked the Doctor. “You mean you never asked why? You never said ‘Oi, if I’m going to be blowing things up and killing people can I at least know what’s going on?’ Tell me you at least asked that.”

“I did not. The Parliament is responsible for the discussions and questions. They send me to act. The girl is a security breach and must be contained. No other information is necessary.”

“’A security breach’,” the Doctor repeated thoughtfully. “The Alliance stands alone as the owner of territory in this part of the universe. No competing foreigners. If this girl is a threat, that would imply either a threat to the people, in which case it appears that you’re trying to cover up some sort of attack on your own citizens. Or it would be an attack on your government, undermining the bureaucracy. In all probability, it appears that the girl is capable of revealing some atrocity on the part of the Alliance, doesn’t it?”

“What is your point, Doctor?”

“My point is that if the Alliance wishes to continue ruling, it might focus a bit more on fixing itself to govern well rather than fix its citizens not to notice. You might work on that, helping people instead of just trying to make your bosses look better.”

“What I do is a worthy task,” stated the Operative. “It is for the benefit of The People.” The way he pronounced it made it very clear the word was meant to be capatilized.

“The People?” the Doctor asked mildly. “I’ve been around the universe, I’ve met plenty of men and women and things that call themselves neither or both or something else. I’ve met decent men and fools and people who’d steal a penny from a blind beggar and people who perform silent miracles every day where nobody ever notices, but I’ve never met The People.”

“That sort of thinking is what keeps half the planets in the Alliance primitive and barbarian,” the Operative said. “We don’t seek after individual gain, but the greater good! That side, I will fight for.” He cast a look over at Inara, to ensure that she was doing as he had told her.

Quietly, the Doctor warned him, “You’ll end up disappointed. People on the side of The People usually do. You’ll find The People usually end up being small-minded and conservative, not particularly clever. Suspicious of cleverness, in fact. And where do you end up then? Thinking that you don’t have the wrong sort of system, but that you have the wrong sort of people.”

“We do have the wrong sort of people,” replied the Operative. “But we’re working on that. We will make them better.”

“As soon as you see people as things to be measured, they don’t measure up, do they?” The Doctor stretched. “Blimey, it’s been a slow night, I think I’ve only gotten blown up once.”

“A revolution is coming,” said the Operative. “We will make a new world.”

“Don’t put your faith in revolutions; they always come around again. That’s why they’re called revolutions. People die, and nothing changes.”

“I’ve sent the message,” said Inara, pushing the cortex feed back into the wall and emerging. “He’ll come.”

“Well done,” said the Operative. “Your actions will not go unnoted by the Alliance.”

“Now will you leave my girls and I in peace? I’ve done as you wished.”

The Operative smiled briefly, or at least the sides of his mouth turned up, which was not the same thing. “Oh, but I’m waiting for the good captain. Nevertheless, I will go and speak to my men, and allow you privacy to conduct your affairs.”

“I would appreciate it,” Inara said shortly.

“Me, too,” volunteered the Doctor.

The Operative nodded to them both, then left them, going out into the hallway. He closed the door behind him.

“I have a plan,” the Doctor started to whisper, but Inara interrupted him rather suddenly and unexpectedly and sensually and, as the Doctor thought as he did some quick exploratory motions with his tongue, with a taste of exotic spices. “Have you been eating curry?” he wondered, when she drew back.

“Yes, at lunch. He’s standing in the hall, watching. Just… go along with it.” Now that was a persuasion Inara didn’t think she’d ever have to use.

“Watching?” the Doctor asked, his voice a bit muffled as Inara placed her lips against his once again.

“Yes, and try to cooperate, Doctor. I do have a reputation to preserve, after all.”

“Don’t worry, you’ve still got it,” he murmured. “Mind you, so do I…”

Inara placed a hand behind his head, guiding him down to kiss her neck so she could look over his shoulder. “He’s gone- Doctor?”

Instead of kissing her neck, he had licked it, which Inara was not quite expecting (an oversight on her part, she felt, based on her observations during the last few hours.) “What are you wearing? I can taste orange extract, lemongrass…” He frowned, and made for another taste. Inara stepped back, smiling thinly.

“And lime verbena, I believe,” Inara supplied. “You said your box can take us anywhere?”

“Yes, of course-“

“Then we should go. I made it obvious enough to Mal that things were wrong here, and he’ll never be stupid enough to come.”

The Doctor grinned. “Running away! My specialty. Do you have any secret passageways around here to get back to the TARDIS? ‘Cos otherwise we have to sneak by him out there. Also, I just like secret passageways.”

“There are secret passageways,” Inara assured him, and led him into one. “I hope that my departure will make all these men go away,” she commented. “But if not, I have friends, men with private militias and expensive lawyers that can make them leave. I don’t like to leave my girls with them. But the other Companions will keep them safe.”

“They looked like sober, responsible sorts,” the Doctor agreed. “And now I’m just going to keep you safe.” Can you keep her safe, Doctor? Can you promise me that? echoes in his head. He pushes the memory back. “I’ll keep you safe,” he repeated.

Inara took his hand as they walked briskly along. “I know.”

Soon they were standing before the TARDIS doors, Inara looking around for anyone watching while the Doctor unlocked the doors. Quickly, he pulled her in behind him, shut the doors, then bounded up towards the console. Inara followed him up the ramp with her usual grace, paying more attention to the ship’s interior this time around. “Where to, Inara? Anywhere, any time you want. Past, future, present- what’s your preference?”

She considered. “Earth-that-was,” she said. “We live in its shadow, and no one has actually seen it.”

Grinning at her, he twisted a dial here, then hopped around to the other side, pulled a lever down and a switch up, then hit a large button with a mallet. She’d never seen such a ramshackle way of flying, not even from Wash, but nevertheless she was completely sure it would work. The grating sound of engines echoed throughout the room.

“Here we go!” the Doctor crowed.

Light pulsed with the rhythm of the engines, and then everything around started to fade. Inara assumed this was normal, part of the process of traveling in time and space in a small blue box, up until the point where she found herself standing alone in the hallway of the Companion House, and the TARDIS was gone.

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor saw Inara fading. “No no no!” he shouted, grabbing up the mallet again and bashing with surgical precision various parts of the TARDIS’s anatomy. She paid no attention, but continued to operate. “I don’t care if she’s part of the timeline, she’s not safe there, let her stay here! Come on!”

But the TARDIS didn’t listen to his pleas, and as it slipped into the vortex, he slumped into the captain’s chair and buried his face in his hands. He’d lost another one- another person counting on him for her safety and protection, and he’d let her slip away. Then he tucked his guilt up nice and neatly, and told the TARDIS sternly, “I’m going back for her. The timeline will sort itself out. And none of your tricks this time, deciding twelve months is as good as twelve hours! We’re going right back, do you hear?”

Whether the TARDIS heard or not was debatable; that she was listening was highly improbable. The Doctor pondered that he’d have to have a long talk with her one of these days about specific destinations. He reversed the controls, setting them to go back to the Companion House, less than a minute after his departure, and the TARDIS processed the commands and landed. He opened the door into a cargo bay. Yes, a talk about who was in charge of his ship was definitely in order.

“Now what can a big blue box be doin’ on my boat, I wonder? Or I would be wonderin’, if ‘Nara hadn’t told me a crazy story about a blue box,” said a voice from outside. The Doctor peered around the door into the face of another man.

“Yes, well, I’m looking for Inara Serra. Is she with you?” the Doctor asked.

“I’m here, Doctor,” came Inara’s voice. She walked up behind the man. “Doctor, this is Mal. He came, after all.”

“Must have been a short trip, that was-“

“Three weeks ago,” Inara supplied. “You might want to fix your machine.”

“I’ve considered it,” he muttered. “Do you still want to go see the universe?”

Almost shyly, if such an action was possible for her, she took Mal’s hand. “I’m going to. I’m going to do it here.”

“That’s- that’s good,” the Doctor said abruptly. “I tried to bring you with me, you know. But you were part of events, and the timeline wouldn’t let you go. I promised you I’d keep you safe and I couldn’t.”

“Doctor, I am safe,” Inara replied gently. “I’m safe, and happy, and I’m home. Mal did come for me, and now I’m back on Serenity. We stopped the Operative, and we showed everyone that the Alliance had plans to… to change what it meant to be human, just to have a population it could control. If I’d been able to go with you, I might have escaped, but they would have won.”

“Really?” The Doctor sounded pleased. “That almost sounds like something I would do.”

Inara smiled. “You’re wonderful, Doctor, but there are even bigger things happening than you. If you take responsibility for everything that happens to everybody, you’ll find yourself in places you don’t need to be and doing things you never thought you’d do, just in reaction. Think about it. You don’t want to wait until it’s too late.”

“I’ll try to remember that.” He grinned. “We’ll meet again, Inara Serra. I’ll take you back to Earth someday.” He stepped forward, and gathered her up in a hug. Looking over at Mal, he added, “Nice brown coat. I like it.”

And then he was gone.

“So that’s your alien?” Mal asked Inara, distinctly unimpressed.

“That was my alien.”

Mal didn’t reply for a moment. “Wasn’t half bad neither, that coat of his.”

The sound of grating engines came again, and Mal thought he heard Kaylee shriek down the corridor. Mal and Inara turned around, back to the storage crates and where the blue box had reappeared. The Doctor stuck his head out.

“Wait, what was that you said about ‘changing what it means to be human?’”

Comments

[andi-horton.livejournal.com]

Yes, well, you know it's all by and large over my head *helpless* but you know I love you anyway, right? Just imagine . . . well, imagine your reaction if I tried to make you read a Shirley Holmes/Alias crossover. You might recognise a character or two, and would maybe understand in theory, but in actual practice you would be so bewildered and just there because you loved me. Right? Right.

The writing's lovely, though . . .

[intrikate88.livejournal.com]

*huggles* I love you for commenting, though! I really do appreciate it. The first reviewer, even! Which makes you awesomesauce! And thank you for thinking my writing is lovely...

[goldy-dollar.livejournal.com]

You seriously need to go pimp this places because it contains Ten licking Inara's neck, something which I will spend countless hours fantasizing about giggle over for a week. At least! :D

[intrikate88.livejournal.com]

I will pimp it! I can probably get away with it a little at time_and_chips and the_spdn because of Rose/Ten mentions and Rose being a strong motivator and all that. However, I am less familiar with the Firefly comms around here, which are good ones? And I should probably update my fics to ff.n, since I haven't done that in months and months and even though I despair of the quality of that site I still try to do my part to bring the average quality up. Or at least I claim to. So if you know of any other places I can post it, let me know.

[goldy-dollar.livejournal.com]

Well, obviously, you'll have to pimp it on ff_fanfic (which is friend's only now, so you might have to join it). You could probably also get away with it on mal_inara, and as the mod over there, I can pretty much guarantee you won't be expelled or yelled at. *G* YAY!

[intrikate88.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I can probably manage to join ff_fanfic for that. And yay! on mal_inara; an in with the management! *g*

[intrikate88.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed this!