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Out of Joint by HonorH [Reviews - 207]  Chapter or Story Author's Notes: This takes place sometime between "Objects in Space" and the BDM, with Book and Inara still on Serenity for Firefly. For Doctor Who, it takes place sometime between "The Doctor Dances" and "Boom Town." | |
“Time,” River announced to all and sundry in Serenity’s cargo bay, “is out of joint.”
“All and sundry” included most of the crew, who were admiring the new hovercraft mule, with the notable exceptions of Wash, Inara and Simon. Everyone in the bay looked up at River at least briefly. As had become routine in the case of River making strange and portentous statements, however, they quickly went back about their business.
River, for her part, didn’t seem to mind. She clambered up onto a couple of crates and sat, fixing her eyes on a spot on the opposite side of the cargo bay.
Kaylee pulled herself away from her new toy and wandered over to River. “What’s up, sweetie?” she asked.
“Storm’s coming,” said River. She pointed at the spot she was staring down. “Right there.”
“Oh.” Kaylee was at something of a loss.
“Simon may be needed,” River went on. “Would you mind telling him? I don’t want to miss this.”
Kaylee nodded. “Okay. Just, um, wait here.”
A few minutes later, Simon came hurrying out of the infirmary, making a beeline for River. “River, Kaylee said you needed me. What’s wrong?”
River kept her eyes firmly fixed on the spot she was watching, but her expression said that she was tired of being the only person aboard Serenity with a functioning brain. “I don’t need you, silly. They will.”
Simon blinked. “Who?”
A grinding noise suddenly filled the air.
“What the cao is that?” asked Mal, looking around. “Kaylee?”
“That don’t sound like our engines,” said Kaylee.
“So what’s making that noise?” Mal asked.
River lifted her arm and pointed, answering both Mal’s and Simon’s questions. “Them.”
To the astonishment of the crew, a blue box appeared in the cargo bay.
***
Aboard the TARDIS, things were not going well.
Jack barely caught Rose as the TARDIS listed, almost throwing her into a wall. “You okay?” he shouted over the noise of the malfunctioning engines.
“Think so!” she shouted, struggling to get back to her station.
They had been on their way to the Maldives (not the islands; a pair of planets colonized by humans around 3500 AD) for the Grand Carnival when something blew past them in the Time Vortex. The TARDIS had got caught in its wake, and one huge energy surge later, they were in an uncontrolled fall through space and time.
“We’re still in its wake!” yelled the Doctor. “I’m going to try to bring us out of the Time Vortex. Rose, hold down the green lever!”
“Got it!” She pushed down the lever, bracing her feet.
“Hang on!” The Doctor flipped a few switches and began to ease the TARDIS out of the vortex. The timeship shuddered, and the engine screamed. “Come on, girl,” coaxed the Doctor.
A violent explosion rocked the console. The Doctor heard Rose cry out, but he couldn’t afford to take his eyes off the console. They were falling out of the Time Vortex and into space. They were also losing power rapidly. The Doctor did a quick scan for anywhere they could set down, and when the TARDIS locked onto a ship of some kind, he knew they had no choice but to materialize there.
The console room went almost completely dark as soon as they landed. “We’ve lost power,” said the Doctor. “Are you two all right? Rose?”
“Rose!” Jack’s alarmed cry brought the Doctor’s head up with a jerk, searching for Rose in the dim light.
She looked like a ghost. Even in the dark, he could see that her face was completely white, and she was staring blankly at him. Jack rushed over and caught her as she fell.
The Doctor was at her side in a moment, and it was only then that he realized what had happened: the explosion had sent a jagged piece of metal flying--and it had buried itself in Rose’s midsection. Her yellow shirt was stained dark with blood.
“What happened?” she mumbled numbly before losing consciousness.
“We have to get her to the medical bay,” said Jack.
The Doctor shook his head, trying to push down sudden panic. “We’ve lost power everywhere. There won’t even be light anywhere but the control room.”
“What do we do?” Not a hint of panic came through Jack’s voice, and the Doctor was profoundly grateful for his sangfroid.
“We landed on a ship sometime in the 26th century,” said the Doctor. “They’ll have an infirmary.” He looked up at Jack. “We have no choice.”
Jack nodded once, lips pressed together. He didn’t need to say how dangerous a situation they could be in, but if they stayed in the TARDIS, Rose wouldn’t last long. Go out and risk all their lives, or stay in and watch Rose die--the Doctor was right, it wasn’t a choice. Jack helped the Doctor gather Rose up into his arms, and then the Time Lord was heading for the TARDIS’s doors.
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