"Chosen Family"
No copyright infringement intended. This is just not-for-profit fun. Firefly and Serenity belongs to Mutant Enemy, 20th Century Fox Television, Universal pictures, etc. etc. etc.
Summary: My take on scenes to fill in the gap in the BDM between the battle in Mr. Universe's complex and the "fixing Serenity montage". From Kaylee's perspective. A whole lot must've happened after the Operative's order to stand down to get to the point that everyone's injuries are healed and Serenity is ready for takeoff. Life goes on for the seven remaining crew. Kaylee and Simon develop their relationship.
Author's notes: I decided to write this story as a way of reconciling the movie and the comics with the series as much as possible in my own imagination. There were several things that bothered me about the film (and I conjure other folks were bothered too) so I've tried to give myself a little peace of mind at least. I appreciate feedback and only hope that my version of events in the time period I've written bring someone else a little peace of mind too.
I didn't write as an omniscient narrator - so I tried to keep what we know about what other people are thinking/feeling to what they say or what Kaylee can reasonably ascertain by observation. And I didn't get into every character's full experience of the time period. This story focuses mostly on Kaylee and Simon, with a good helping of River, a little Mal, a little Zoe, and a sprinkle of Inara and Jayne. Oh, and Serenity, of course.
Cheers.
Unable to hold her head up any longer, Kaylee laid back on the cold metal crate. The image of River - weapons dripping blood, reavers scattered on the floor, Alliance troops, bright backlight - burned into her mind's eye. Her breath hitched, she felt as though a heavy weight was pressing on her chest. A fuzzy, misty filter seemed to cloud her vision. Sound was distant, smothered. Consciousness slipped away.
Darkness.
Light again. Someone was calling her. Mal. Blue iris, ringed with red.
"What'd the Doc say?" Mal's voice.
"Cal-something, calofar?" Inara's.
Kaylee gasped for air. Her head dropped to the side. There was Inara, kneeling with Simon. Simon! She tried to speak but nothing happened. The Captain held a plastic needle cap in his teeth. Kaylee didn't even feel the injection. Everything was numb. Darkness encroached upon her again. But the weight seemed to lift a bit and breath began to come easier.
Dark.
Light. Bright flashes of awareness. Inara's hands, covered in blood. Simon being lifted onto a stretcher. Alliance medic, shining a light into her eyes.
Dark.
Kaylee awoke, blinking to clear the monochromatic haziness. Except for that spot of vibrant color, gold and red. Kaylee's eyes came into focus on that spot. Inara was sitting beside her.
"Hi mèi mei," Inara said softly, relief plainly washing over her face.
"Hey, 'Nara," Kaylee answered, her voice a little weak. She started to push herself up on her elbows.
"Here," Inara reached over to press a button on the side of the bed. The back rose to an incline and Kaylee resettled against it, taking in her surroundings. It was a stark medical facility, clearly Alliance by the looks of things. Jayne was passed out on the bed to her right, apparently sleeping – his mouth hung open and he was breathing steadily. His shoulder had been treated and was bandaged, his arm in a sling. And on the bed after his was Zoe, lying on her side given the wound to her back, her gaze directed at the floor in a blank stare.
Kaylee's vision blurred with tears, suddenly remembering everything. Wash. Book. Haven. Their friends, their allies. So many innocent people. Miranda. She looked at her hands, resting in her lap, and allowed the tears to freely fall. Inara shifted to sit on the side of the bed and embraced Kaylee warmly. She stroked her hair.
"Where're the others?" Kaylee said, muffled by Inara's shoulder. Pulling away, she spoke more frantically, "What's gonna happen to us? Did they…take River and Simon?"
"No. No, we're okay. Bié dān xīn. We're on an Alliance cruiser. They're operating on Simon now. Actually, I should go check on River. You alright for a little while?" Inara gave her a questioning look. Kaylee nodded.
She took a deep breath to calm herself. In the doorway of the infirmary, Mal appeared just as Inara was about to step through. They smiled awkwardly and Mal stepped aside to allow Inara passage. Seeing Kaylee awake, he gave her a crooked smile and moved to the side of her bed, but not without effort - he winced a little and held a hand to his side as he gingerly walked.
"Oh, Cap'n," Kaylee said with concern, reaching out a hand to him. She took stock of his cuts and bruises. He was looking better - clearly he'd been given medical attention - but his injured eye was jarring to look upon.
"Glad you're up, lil' Kaylee," he took her hand and she sat up so she could hug him. "Be a mite careful," he warned to keep her from squeezing his ribs. "…Swords," he said under his breath and kissed the top of Kaylee's head. The two of them shared a loaded silence for a few moments.
Kaylee had so many questions. She looked at Mal plaintively, hoping he had answers.
Mal seemed to pick up on what was on her mind. He spoke in a low voice, "Serenity's bein' towed out right now, movin'er to the dock outside Mr. Universe's where we can work. If you're feelin' up to it, we'll go tomorrow, get started. They sent in a crew…to get Wash."
Kaylee couldn't help but glance over at Zoe. Her eyes were closed now, sleeping perhaps.
Mal continued, "Nothing's been said as to chargin' us with anything, or takin' any of us in. Said they're under orders to tend our hurts. Even Serenity's. It's creepifyin' – them actin' like such Samaritans. Downright qī qiāo. Seems we're free to go. An' I aim to soon as we can get Serenity flyin', 'fore they change their minds."
"What about Simon and River?" Kaylee wished he would say it plainly, whatever it was, "Alliance gonna let them go too?"
"Didn't I say 'we'? That includes them. If'n they want. I seem to remember it was Simon wanted off my boat before this whole turn of events."
"Cap'n," she admonished, "You made 'em crew but you kept 'em separate…"
"I know…" he sighed and held up a hand, "Look, he brought their troubles down on me and mine an' I was harboring a world of resentment, no mistake…Shepherd once asked me why I took in two known fugitives. And Simon asked me his own self why I came back for them that time they was snatched… the short of it is, they're family. Ain't gonna leave 'em, Kaylee, if they don't wanna be left. Whether they take us up on it, that's up to them."
Tears welled in Kaylee's eyes again, touched by his words and fearful that, indeed, the Tams would be going their own way.
Mal looked at her earnestly, "Don't like seein' your heart get broke neither."
She sniffed and rallied herself to smile a little, "We'll see. When he gets fixed up, we'll see what happens. They are, fixin'im, right? I mean, Alliance doctors is good. They got to 'im in time?"
"I reckon," Mal nodded to reassure her and sat on the empty bed next to hers. He pushed the button to set the back at an angle and swung his legs up, "You can walk? Won't get dizzy or some such?"
Kaylee stood up to try it out, "Nope. Right as rain."
"I'munna just sit here a spell. But if you take a left, down the hall, there's an observation window to the O.R. River's watchin'," he laid his head back and closed his eyes.
Kaylee's last image of River flashed before her eyes. She put her hand on the bed to steady herself. Another image to reconcile with the River she felt she knew - the River that would play with you, that would draw you a picture, that would walk the ship barefoot to better feel the hum of the engine…
Out in the corridor, Kaylee met Inara. She inclined her head to direct Kaylee's eyes to where River was sitting in the frame of a window with her knees drawn up. River gave them a sidelong glance and went back to watching the window intently. Inara smiled and continued back into the recovery ward while Kaylee steeled herself for the sight of blood and approached.
"The projectile passes through tissue, decelerates, transfers kinetic energy, dissipates. Kinetic energy increases with the square of the velocity," River's voice was almost monotone, "Higher velocity, greater disruption."
Kaylee peered into the operating room, "You mean the bullet."
River pointed to a tray off to the side of the fervently working team of medical personnel around the table. It contained a small, dark speck in a pool of blood.
"Mass is the lesser factor," River said. Then she shook her head as if to clear it and spoke more coherently, her expression dismayed, "Such a little thing. Does so much damage."
Kaylee hugged her arms to her chest, worried for Simon. She wanted to hug River, to comfort her the way she'd seen Simon do so many times, but felt full of trepidation, not sure how it would be received by this girl who was at once vulnerable and impenetrable.
River snapped her head in Kaylee's direction and flashed her an enigmatic smile,
"It's alright, jiě jie."
They all knew about her uncanny abilities of perception, but it was still unsettling. Also, River'd never called her that before. Kaylee cocked her head slightly, "Alright t'hug you, or alright Simon's gonna be okay?"
River nodded, her face gone blank again. But her game didn't last long - Kaylee's quizzical look made her erupt in a brief laugh. She was forlorn again just as suddenly, "He would call her a brat."
At this, Kaylee stepped closer and put her arm around River's shoulders, "I'm sure these fancy doctors're doin' their very best for 'im."
River replied by laying her cheek against Kaylee's arm, "Putting everything back the way it's supposed to go. They want to fix things. He wants to fix things. Tinkering with a complex mechanism is more complex than that. Holistic. Didn't see the big picture…"
Kaylee was fairly sure there was double, or even triple, meaning behind what River was saying but she couldn't quite suss it out, "S'pose now we just hafta wait 'til he comes to."
"…He's not dreaming, there's nothing, just the black," River's eyebrows knit together.
As close as Simon and River were, Kaylee supposed it would be perturbing if you were accustomed to hearing your brother's thoughts and his mind had gone blank.
"He doesn't like the black. Scares him. He likes you. She's like sunshine. That scares him too," a faint smile flashed across River's face as she looked up at Kaylee and nestled again into her side.
Kaylee bit her lip and gave River an affectionate squeeze. Mal's words came to the forefront of her mind - Ain't gonna leave 'em, Kaylee, if they don't wanna be left. Whether they take us up on it, that's up to them. She hoped River was listening in.
"Jiā jiā yǒu běn nán niàn de jīng," said River softly.
They watched the rest of the surgery together in silence.
Translations:
Mèi mei – little sister
Bié dān xīn – don't worry
Qī qiāo – fishy, odd
Jiě jie – big sister
Jiā jiā yǒu běn nán niàn de jīng – An idiom that means "Every family has its own troubles"
