#captain mal

Whirr, Whirr, Whirr, THUNK.

That was the noise of the most ridiculous being, landing their ridiculous spaceship in the cargo bay of another spaceship. Serenity, firefly class cargo ship to be precise and it’s captain just so happened to be in the cargo bay, moving cargo, when this blue, police phone box suddenly appeared.

“What in the gorram hell?!” He yelled, dropping the box at his feet

He could see the box had a light on inside and that it was strangely producing a noise that sounded like it was breathing. An odd noise that was unsettling yet oddly comforting. 

“Hellooooooo?” The captain called out as he slowly approached the box “You’re on my ship!”

He slowly reached for his holstered gun, finger gently poised on the trigger as he walked up to the doors. He took a breath, remembering the last time he opened some mysterious cargo before he then carefully placed his hand on the door handle and paused momentarily. He had no clue what was in there, no backup as the rest of the crew were sleeping and no patience to wait for the intruder to emerge.  He quietly counted down from three, pulled the door open and stepped into the phone box, however what he saw inside was really not what he was expecting.

It was massive, with many ramps, a centre console that was in a weird way, breathing, many circular lights on the walls that really enhanced the pale blue interior and a tall skinny man with weird spiky chestnut hair, wearing brown tartan patterned trousers, with matching waistcoat, grey skinny tie and a white shirt. Strangely enough he was perched on the console, with a big smile on his lips, almost as if he was expecting the captain to walk in.

“Captain Malcolm Reynolds, loveable rogue, master criminal and loyal browncoat! I have been itching to meet you for a long time!” He said excitedly

“Who in the gorram hell are you?!” Mal asked as he trained his gun on the man.

“Oh sorry, how rude of me. I am the doctor!” The man replied “An explorer like you. Well a traveller. Well…a rogue traveller.”

“I already have a doctor, don’t need another” Mal replied firmly before raising an eyebrow “How the hell is this thing bigger on the inside?!”

“It’s a T.A.R.D.I.S” The Doctor replied

“And that is?” Mal asked.

“It stands for Time and relative dimension in space” The doctor replied happily “Basically it’s a spaceship that can manipulate its appearance, science stuff, If I explain it, it’ll ruin it’s magic. Are you not going to go back, do a double take-”

“I was about to do just that!” Mal interrupted, slowly backing out of the TARDIS.

It baffled him, how this box that looked like it could only hold two people comfortably on the outside, was actually able to house his entire crew with a lot of room to spare, on the inside. There was no other way of explaining it, it had to be some weird, new age witchcraft. Yet as he studied the exterior and scratched his head, he noticed the Doctor was watching him and chuckling to himself.

“They all do that” The doctor laughed.

“Not your first rodeo then?” Mal asked, his gun still trained on the man.

“Nope! I have landed on many spaceships during my time, most of them because they needed my help, very rarely is it by choice. You’re one of the lucky rare ones!” The Doctor replied with a big smile,

“Okay…so that means you’re either part of the alliance or you're one of Niska’s crew. I’m going with Niska’s men, you’re not dressed like the Alliance, you’re too happy and ... .weird” Mal replied, not letting the man out of his sight.

“Fair assumption but no. Not to be cruel but I very much doubt Niska could create a ship like this, or the alliance for that matter, too technically advanced. Look I’m not hostile, I don’t have weapons or wicked intentions, I just wanted to come meet the infamous Malcolm Reynolds, share stories and realise how we are very similar” The doctor said calmly as he raised his hands up slowly

“Alright….how are we similar?” Mal asked, slowly lowering his gun but keeping it firmly in his grasp.

“We both fought in wars we lost. We both lost a part of ourselves in those wars and we both strive to be better and make things better for others. You fancy yourself as a bit of a criminal with a thirst for revenge in your own little way but you stand up for the little guy, you fought the alliance, uncovered their dirty secret and exposed them. That’s more of an anti-hero than a criminal wouldn't you think? More Robin hood than Dick Turpin”

“Who?” Mal asked confused

“Vicious Georgian outlaw from earth that was, very old legend, very violent, a lot of myth about him and he did crime for fun, just to get that adrenaline kick. Not something I would associate with you.” The Doctor rambled “Anyway-”

“Which war did you fight in?” Mal asked finally.

That once bright happy face soon fell sombre, the time war was still a difficult subject to discuss, still one that hurt but one he knew would resonate with the captain.

“The time war, a war between Time Lords and Dalek. The Timelords lost, my home was destroyed, well obliterated really and I managed to escape. I am the last of my kind, roaming through time and space and believe me, I have seen many many things over many many years and out of all the creatures and monsters I have encountered, I hope never to meet a reaver but here I am and the chances of that happening are reasonably high” The Doctor replied as a small smile began to form on his lips

Mal found himself releasing his grip around his gun and walking towards the doctor, feeling like he needed to be beside him. He felt his pain and he could see the hurt in his eyes. A man that had been there, had seen the horrors of war and was still trying to live with his mistakes and the what ifs and was similarly in the same boat as him.

“The Unification war did a similar thing to me. My home planet, Shadow, was aggressively bombed by the Alliance, most of its population was wiped out, either from the relentless bombing or through those fighting at Serenity Valley, where we lost the war. Shadow is now officially a ghost planet, no one can ever go back there because there is nothing there. It used to be beautiful, clear skies that let you see forever, the land was nothing but fields and gorgeous countryside and its people were one of the most hard working. We were the first to stand up to the union of allied planets and this was the punishment we received. Wish I could go back sometimes” Mal sighed, his heart yearning to see home one more time, the home before the massacre. 

Yet while he told his tale, he wasn’t paying attention to what the Doctor was doing, programming the TARDIS, pressing buttons and placing his hand on a leaver. A smile growing on his lips.

“What if you could?” The Doctor asked

“I could but it’s barren, charred, desolate and uninhabitable. Won’t be the same anymore” Mal replied sadly

“No I meant, what if you could go back to Shadow before the war?” The Doctor asked “Would you change anything?”

“No, I’d just want to admire its beauty, remember the sights, the sounds and the smells” Mal replied honestly

“Good” The Doctor replied before pulling down the leaver firmly

The doors slammed shut, the box jerked and the sound of breathing turned more into a sound of whirring and scraping, similar to a mechanical wheezing than breathing. The sudden movement caused Mal to stumble before he gripped the railing and regained his balance. He could sense they were moving, fast and that Serenity was no longer under his feet.

“What did you do?!” Mal yelled, fear in his voice.

“Started up the engines and asked the Tardis to fly captain” The Doctor replied happily as he bounced around the console pressing buttons, pulling levers and cranking cranks.

“Is this how you pilot a ship?!” Mal asked exasperatedly, “How can you see anything?!”

“Badly!” The Doctor laughed

“Not filling me with confidence Doc!” Mal responded as he tried to walk back to the console.

“Flown this beauty for centuries, trust me I know what I am doing” The Doctor replied with delight “Put me on your ship and I'll probably end up flying into a moon”

“No Offence but I think I'll stick to River being my pilot” Mal replied 

“None taken!” The Doctor replied as he stretched his leg out across the console to push a button with his foot. “You might want to grab onto something sonny, we’re coming in hot!”

“This isn’t Landing, this is crashing!” Mal shouted as he clung onto the railing for dear life.

He could feel the ship shuddering, everything around him rattling as the ship was thrown around violently. They had either hit a pocket of turbulence or entered a planet’s atmosphere, either way they were being thrown around like ragdolls and the ship sounded like it was about to break up

“THIS ISN’T HOW I ENVISIONED MY DEATH DOC!” Mal screamed

“SOUNDS WORSE THAN IT IS! COME ON YOU’RE A CAPTAIN, EVEN YOU’RE OLD BUCKET MUST SOUND LIKE IT’S ABOUT TO FALL APART WHEN LANDING!” The Doctor shouted.

“HEY, YOU LEAVE MY SHIP ALONE!” Mal Shouted back.

The Doctor just gave a toothy smile, right as the Tardis landed, hard. The impact caused Mal to lose his grip and roll towards the doors, just stopping shy of falling out of the TARDIS completely.

“We’re here!” The Doctor said triumphantly

Mal groaned and slowly got to his feet, stomach churning a little. He very rarely got travel sick, even when their fallen pilot Wash was flying his ship, very rarely did his stomach churn in the way it was now. He then felt the Doctor pat his shoulder eagerly as he walked towards the doors of his ship.

“Come on Mally boy, come see where we have landed” He said excitedly

“Sure….just let me make sure I am not reunited with my dinner” Mal groaned as a response

“You’re cleaning it up if you are” The Doctor replied as he grabbed the handles of the doors “Maybe a bit of fresh air will help”

He threw the doors wide open, bright sunshine pouring into the Tardis, blinding Mal momentarily before he shaded his eyes with his hand and staggered towards the entrance of the TARDIS, his legs still figuring out that he was on stable land. Yet as he approached the entrance, he was starting to see the landscape before him, a landscape he was familiar with, green fields, clear skies and beautiful countryside.

He was home.

“You were right, this place is stunning!” The Doctor said enthusiastically.

“I’m home, it’s exactly how I left it. Wait, is this real? It’s not an Illusion right?” Mal asked as he reached down to touch the grass.

“Why is it you lot, have to touch grass to make sure something is real?” The doctor asked puzzled  “You wanna touch something, touch a wall or something”

“You brought me home. Is this a parallel universe or an alternate timeline?” Mal asked, still not quite fully believing his eyes

“This is Shadow a few years before the war started, unblemished, untouched, as it was and should always have been. You’re home and I think you owe me a tour” The Doctor replied with a gentle smile as he basked in the sun.

“Can I visit my family home?” Mal asked

“You can but you may have to stay hidden, don’t want to mess up timelines with accidental run ins. Oooh hold on, let me grab you a disguise, just in case” The Doctor said as he dashed back into the TARDIS.

It gave Mal time to soak in everything he missed about his home planet, embrace nostalgia and reminisce on all the things he loved about his home, it was exactly how he remembered it, in every way possible, even the smells of freshly cut straw, wild flowers and the earthiness of the soil under foot, smells that had long since been lost, smells that caused tears to trickle down Mal’s cheeks.

“Home” He said to himself, quietly.

That moment was soon interrupted by the Doctor placing a brown stetson hat on his head as well as handing him some sunglasses.

“There we go, that’ll do it! Right then sunshine lets go for a trip down memory lane, you can show me the sights and sounds, maybe even take me on a dinner date” The doctor said playfully as he wiggled his eyebrows

“Awww and here I was thinking you were taking me out on a date” Mal replied “After all you did lure me into your box ship”

“Okay you have a point-Wait box ship!? Rude” The doctor replied slightly annoyed.

“Says the man who called mine an Old Bucket!” Mal Responded with a chuckle “Come on, I’ll show you around my home and then take you to the place that did the best Apple pie”

Mal managed to hitch a ride on the back of a farmers carrier, sitting on freshly tied hay bales while watching the ever changing scenery and telling the Doctor tales from his past. It wasn’t always a glamorous life that he lived, he always busted his ass, got his hands dirty and worked long into the night but he was honest, respectful and understood the need for community., family and friends. The town was tightly knit, everyone was seen as family which was probably why the loss of this planet for the Independents, was a hard one to stomach, for all of them.

Mal showed the Doctor Seven Pines Pass, the town where he lived. He showed him all the places he would frequently visit and some places he would go to for a bit of peace and quiet. Then as promised, he took the Doctor into the diner with the best apple pies and put in an order for two, with their signature homemade ice cream. While they waited, they made light conversation, sharing war stories or tales from their travels before the waitress brought over their visibly piping hot apple pies. The smell engulfed their senses and for Mal, it sent him back to happier times.

He took a moment to appreciate the smell of a freshly baked apple pie with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg before building himself up to take a bite. A bite that had a balance of the pie filling and ice cream, he took a breath, blew on the food that was on his fork and placed it in his mouth. All the flavours, the textures, everything, was perfect, as it should be and Mal couldn’t stop the single tear that rolled down his cheek.

“Oh WOOOOOOW! You weren't kidding! This is amazing, losing these is a crime against humanity” The Doctor said excitedly, breaking Mal from his thoughts.

“Tell me about it, as much as I’d love to steal the recipe, I think it’s best these stay here, just so the Alliance never get the chance to taste this ambrosia” Mal replied as he took another bite “They ain’t worthy of it”

“Couldn’t agree more, is the ice cream homemade as well? Cause it tastes fantastic!” The Doctor asked

“Everything on this planet was made with blood, sweat and tears” Mal replied as he savoured another mouthful. “So yes, homemade”

Both of them savoured and enjoyed every bite that they took, knowing full well they’d never get another chance to embrace these flavours again. They took their time clearing their plates, Mal paying the bill and leaving a healthy tip for the waitress before they both left the diner and Mal led the way to his family home.He was raised on a ranch by his mother. His father was killed after they rejected a buyout from the alliance which led to Mal being brought up by his mother and the ranch hands they employed. 

They observed the ranch from atop a nearby hill, the sight of the ranch stirred up some feelings inside Mal, in fact the Doctor would say that it lowered his guard, made him more human, 

“Your home was beautiful” The Doctor said softly

“It was, we busted our asses off to keep it after my father died, kept a good trade going with the cattle we reared and made sure the bills were paid on time. Townsfolk helped us out when we needed some little jobs done or if my Ma needed to put me back in line. I didn’t appreciate what I had then” Mal admits as he watched the ranch hands come back from herding the cattle.

“My home was Gallifrey” The Doctor blurted out as sat down on the grass “The skies were a burnt Orange, always looked like the sun was setting, there were mountain ranges that went on as far as the eye could see, rivers filled with fresh fish and water that trickled down from the mountains, we had silver leafed trees and grass that was red in colour, oh and rocks that were gold, purple, brown and red. It was a beautiful place but I can’t go back, not even in time…it’s time locked in order to stop the time lords from destroying the universe in order to stop the Daleks”

“Well aside from your own people turning into lunatics, your home sounded like a planet I would have visited.” Mal replied as he studied the Doctor, noting how he seemed suddenly closed off “You okay?”

“Yeah… Yeah I’m fine, I have moments, that’s all” The Doctor replied

“I feel that” Mal responded as he sat down next to the doctor.

There wasn’t much that could be said after that but they took the moment to enjoy the peace and tranquillity, reminiscing to themselves quietly, trying not to think about the tragedies that would strike their home worlds. They must have sat there for over half an hour before The doctor broke the peace.

“Fancy getting one of them apple pies to take back?” He asked Mal

“Will it affect the timeline?” Mal asked

“If it did, would I be asking?” The Doctor replied with a smile.

“Good point. Least I will have something of home to remember it by” Mal said happily

“Well ... .I guess an empty Pie case is a different souvenir to take back with you” The Doctor replied as he got to his feet “Ready to get back to your ship and your crew?”

“As much as I miss this place and wish I could stay longer, my ship is my home and my crew are my family, one of them is going to notice me missing” Mal replied with a small smile “Mainly Inara to be honest”

“They're a good bunch and you're a lucky man, be a little kinder to them from time to time” The doctor said with a smile as he helped Mal to his feet.

“What about you? You got anyone waiting for you?” Mal asked

“Sort of, they wait for me but they know I go exploring too so they don't wait so to speak, they check on me.” The Doctor replied “But if any of them got into trouble, you can bet your bottom dollar I'd be back in a heartbeat.” 

“Noble, honourable and a little mischievous, you'd make a good crew mate Doc” Mal said happily

“Thanks” The doctor replied with a toothy grin “Long walk to the TARDIS, might get back to her as the sun sets”

“I'd like to see the sun setting one more time” Mal admitted

The Doctor smiles and gently pats his shoulder, both of them beginning the long walk back, allowing them to enjoy the sights and sounds one more time. They called into the Diner to order their apple pies to go, which they brought out in a box. Mal peeked inside and sure enough they were in their own pie casings, which brought a smile to his face. They then began their trek from Seven Pines Pass back to the Tardis, sharing stories about their adventures, about the people they met, the mishaps and some of the accidents or crashes they had in their ships. Mal even opened up about Wash and how losing him had a big impact on the crew, in return, the Doctor told him about those he had lost over his lifespan and how it drove him to finally stop and take a break from his once hectic life.

By the time they reached the TARDIS, the sun was setting over the once beautiful planet and Mal decided he would sit down in front of the Tardis and watch, the Doctor joining him. They both sat and watched in contented silence, until the sun dipped behind the land, colouring the sky with Pink and purple tones.

“Now I’m ready” Mal said softly “Take me home Doc”

“Sure thing Captain” The Doctor replied as they both got to their feet and headed inside the TARDIS.

The journey home was a lot less bumpy and the company was better too, Mal had grown fond of this man known as the Doctor, he was wise, methodical and a little strange but he was Mal’s kind of strange, which was a good strange. It was hard to explain but it did make Mal feel he had found a lost soul and gained a brother. Oddly enough on the journey home, Mal was able to get some shut eye, he didn’t even notice when the Doctor landed his Tardis, the only way he knew was when the Doc gently woke him up.

“You’re home Reynolds” He said softly “Back on Serenity”

“I slept like a baby…How was it smoother on the way back?” Mal asked as he rubbed his eyes and sat up

“Luck of the draw, plus Serenity doesn’t have an atmosphere, so makes it a bit easier. You should be back in the cargo bay”

“Thanks Doc” Mal said as he stood up and dusted himself down “How did you know about me anyway? You don’t sit in one place for five minutes and I have never encountered you before.”

“Stories Reynolds. Stories that live on for thousands of years. You’re a legend, the hero from Shadow, be proud of that” The Doctor said happily as he pressed a button to open the doors of his TARDIS “They’re still asleep, they’ll never know you left”

“That’s a good thing, the last thing you need is River losing her gorram mind and threatening to stab you with a pencil. You’re lucky” Mal replied with a smile as he slowly walked backwards towards the entrance, noting the smile that grew on the Doctor's lips. “See you again Doc?”

“I’m sure we will meet again Mally boy, you ever get the craving for Apple pie, put out a signal and I’ll come aboard” The doctor replied as Mal picked up the box with his apple pie in.

“ Was an honour meeting you Doc and although we spent but a few short hours together, I’d like to make you an honorary crew member. Don’t be a stranger, visit often” Mal said happily as he saluted the Doctor, spun round and walked out of the TARDIS.