Washed ashore – A Firefly Facfic by Evan Miller
BAM!
A loud bang came from the engine room of the transport craft Serenity.
"Kaylee, what the hell is all this damned noise?!" Captain Malcolm Reynolds said in a stern, leading voice while making his way down the long hall before the engine room. The ship slowly continued to move side to side, and Mal's balance was shifting left and right as he made his way into the doorway of the engine room. It was humped. It had paneling down on the visible sides, and wiring stretched left and right across the metallic room Kaylee called hers. Sparks gradually flew from the left side corner as Kaylee attempted to fix the leaks in a sinking boat.
"It's nothing Capt. Just another flux, don't fret." she said, standing up and sarcastically bobbing her head to each of her shoulders a few times.
Kaylee marched over to Mal, looking angry.
"SHE ain't going to take much more of this. I've been in that corner all day, keeping the valve's in check, waiting for you and River to fix up the bridge."
Mal attempted to interrupt, unsuccessfully.
Kaylee raised her voice, "I can't work like this forever. Sooner or later this crew is going to have to get some new gear -- ."
More sparks poured out the left side of the engine, right beside Kaylee's backside. The engine made a buckling noise, as a blast of smoke followed by a large shaft sprung out of the left, heading towards Kaylee.
Mal grabbed her, and pushed her out of the way of the engine, covering his face with his whole left arm. The sparks stopped, and the shaft stood still, sticking half way out of the engine like a rifle from a soldier. Serenity yawed left and right continuously for a few seconds and Mal let go of Kaylee. He looked at her with all seriousness in his face.
"She's just getting a little rusted. Why don't you take a break and go check on River, and I'll see what I can do about this random metal stick, pointing at me." Mal said like he knew what he was doing.
Kaylee grinned, and looked at the captain as if he were her father.
"Just give me a call if anything starts (Chinese) breaking your balls." She replied, walking out of the engine room with a small skip.
Mal paced a few times in front of the engine, looking at it like his unborn child had just beaten a kid up at school. He stopped pacing, and put his hands on his face, looking through the cracks of his fingers at the engine that had got him in and out of so many jobs.
The sweat of Mal's brow dripped down to his eye as it shut a little, then tight as the mix of tear, sweat and the oil in the air stung his pupil. He mouthed the word, "Ow" and bared his teeth. Mal knew that he had the love to keep Serenity running, however he considered the realization that ships run on fuel, and engine parts. With Wash gone, there was nothing more he could do other than pilot the ship himself. Hiring a new pilot was close to impossible at this point. The crew weren't rich, but finding the right person for the job proved non-noteworthy.
Mal paced some more, squatting down, and pointing at the engine over and over again, like a drunken man at a jester. Mal sat still. He thought to himself, "God damn this machine. I love you." The captain of Serenity stood up and looked inside the engine again, observing the shiny capacitors and quiet steel bearings keeping everything in place, with the exception of the metal shaft that stuck out of the side. Knowing he would do more harm than good, Mal started to speak with his upper half still hunched over the side of the engine.
"You're the reason we're all still here you know. Don't know what I'd do without you." Mal grunted, still inside the engine, looking in little spaces.
"We've got a lot of history, darlin'. There's no mistake there. You'll just have to go ahead and marry me. Just fix yourself up a bit..." he said, while tightening bolts with his hands,
"..and we can get through this. I just need one more job from you, babe."
Mal heard a small step behind him.
"That's-- something we companions hear pretty frequently." Inara said, silently facing him.
"...Inara... I was... talking to the engine." Mal said while turning around, after the mild jolt.
"I didn't see you. You're quieter than the preacher, you know that?"
"My shuttle is emitting smoke through every output in the book. I came to see if Kaylee was here to see what she could do. Have you seen her?" Inara continued, rolling her eyes.
"Little girl's up at the helm, seeing if River hasn't pressed any random buttons again." Mal said.
"I thought you were the one pressing random buttons... didn't you manage to break the ship?"
Mal stood still for a moment. His lips tightened and he breathed in heavily nodding. Mal looked left and right, and then shut his eyes for a moment, before opening them again.
"Listen... With Wash gone, I've been piloting this bird. I can't do this forever. You might not like it, but we'll need to look for someone else the next time we're planetside. Now I think I might be breaking Serenity when I'm flying."
"Mal, you've made a few rough landings here or there, I wasn't serious. What about River?"
Mal put his head back up, and saw Zoe heading towards them through the long hallway. Mal looked at Inara.
"Albatross is skilled at the head, but she can't be relied on. It's happened twice in the past month where she's broken down up there. We can't have her doing this either. We need a pil--"
Zoe walked into the engine room, with her brown vest standing out as usual. Her obedient look to the captain was nothing new, but she had her hair down, so it was something the captain wasn't used to.
"Am I interrupting?" She said with a solid tone.
"No, what do you need?" said Mal.
"My quarters started smoking, and I'd like to see the landlord. Looks like the engine's shot – think I should let River know up at the bri ---"
Zoe's speech just faded away, observing the long metal pike behind the two. She looked at the ground.
"WASH! What the hell is all this?!" Zoe screams in happiness.
"Oh, just a little something I put together for no reason other than.... well, now that I think of it, it was completely random, and I can't think of why I did it."
Lying atop the couple's bed hundreds of rose pedals, along side all sorts of beauty products. Mixed all over the place, there were twelve different coloured bars of soaps, a long tube full of hair conditioner, a shorter tube of shampoo, a small glass container that read "beautiful spring" in Chinese, and another big container full of fresh fruit and whipped cream beside that. In a bucket next to it all was a long-neck bottle of wine.
"Oh, what is all this stuff?!" Wash said proudly, with his arms open to his work of art.
"Am I missing something? A certain spouse's wedding anniversary perhaps?!"
Wash lightly placed his hands on the back of Zoe's hips, and put his head on her shoulder, looking at the bed that he was proud of.
"You didn't seriously think I would forget, did you?"
"Zoe, are you alright?" Mal said, not understanding her sudden change of mood.
Inara tapped in immediately, and stood in front of the long metal shaft that struck out of Serenity's engine; she purposely got in the way of it so Zoe wouldn't see it, but it was obviously too late. The look on Zoe's face was blank. Almost as if she was feeling too much at once, and didn't know what facial muscles to flex.
"Course."
Zoe looked at Inara, and nodded at her – acknowledging her kindness.
"I'll be in the guest quarters until we get to the drop. Let me know if there's any work to be done." She continued.
Zoe walked back down the long hall to the dining room, moving past the large wooden table. She went into the kitchen area, opened a dark cupboard and grabbed a large cup and poured boiling tea into it that she had previously prepared. The roasted smell of rose pedals filled the air around her face, as she breathed in intensely. With a long and calming exhale, she moved out of the dining area, turned right and went down the narrow stairs with her cup of memories.
"What's with her?" Mal said, selfishly.
"You must be kidding. Makes me wonder why you're proposing to a machine and not me." Inara replied.
Inara stepped up and gave him a peck on the lips. Her red dress, covered in jewels and glitter shone more so than a fireworks display in the middle of the darkest of places.
"I'll be making dinner. Do me a favour, and talk to Zoe. We're all she's got." Inara replied.
Mal nodded, trying not to make eye contact. The subject was obviously a very touchy one.
"It's been three months since we lost Wash. The operative disappeared, and we're on the fritz of surviving again. It's back to square two, minus two of our loved ones. We have to keep tugging along, Inara. I've –"
"Mal, she needs a shoulder. Give her that! You're the captain—"
"I've talked to Zoe before, and she just changes the subject. It's nothing I can do; she has to cope with this herself, and make amends with her loss."
"Just leave, Inara." Mal said, with his head down and his eyes closed, just as Inara had previously entered. "I just cannot have this right now."
Inara made a sad, and scrunched face, turning around and going down the long path towards the dining room. A tear came from her lid, and down her cheek. She wiped it away, and continued pushing through the stress of discussing a loss with her only love.
Mal put his head back up, and looked at the engine. He put his hand on it. It was warm, still. The captain then looked up at the long metal pike that struck out from the port side of the rotating beast, and followed it down to its core in the middle of the engine.
"Wait. Inara." Mal said, facing the engine.
Inara stopped in her tracks, surprised. It wasn't like Mal to resolve conflict through words, nor was it like him to apologize within twenty four hours.
Inara made her way back into the engine room, and looked at Mal with her beautiful face, staring at him with a sad look.
"Inara, I shouldn't have taken anything out on you. It's not your fault; it's not anyone's fault." Mal said.
"I'm not a cryer, Inara. But losing the preacher, then Wash... I can't lose you too."
Before Mal knew it, the couple were holding each other, subtly rocking back and forth.
"You're a good man. You need to know that. I wouldn't love you if that weren't the case." Inara said, holding his face with both of her hands.
Mal nodded, and held her tighter than before.
Inara knew what she had gotten into. Disbanding from the companionship was obviously tied to Mal. The relationship between the two was still a secret; they felt that they would keep it between themselves, despite the peer pressure of Kaylee and Jayne. The intention was to keep it away from Zoe. Mal believed Zoe would be hurt just as much as Inara is loved by the actions of a happy couple in front of a widow.
Inara pushed her hands into Mal's chest and rocked backwards pushing herself away from him. They met eyes once more, then they smiled. Inara displaying the same smile when she knew she was staying on Serenity. Mal winked at her, grinning as she turned around and left the engine room.
Mal turned back looking at the engine, trying to find the best way to fix the metal pike. He hopped on the wireless to the bridge, and said "You there Kaylee?"
A radio static fizzed on the speaker, followed by a young male's voice.
"Kaylee's not here...River's piloting, this is Simon."
"Doctor, could you send Jayne down here then? Grab him on the wireless?"
The fuzz continued, followed by Simon's reassurance that his anxious body would have to confront the mean machine, Jayne Cobb.
"Yeah, I'll get him." Simon replied.
Mal looked back at the engine, double taking a recent flashback of Wash's body on the Reaver spear that shattered through the bridge of Serenity. He grabbed the radio again.
"And if you see Kaylee get her back down here too."
Hours past while the team of three shipmates fixed the engine. Kaylee working on electrical, and establishment of new parts while Mal was working on the less complex wiring and Jayne doing the heavy lifting.
Zoe drank her tea in short little bursts. She listened silently to the ship. Every rattle, every sound and tinker she took note of. She was absorbing every damn thing she could to keep her mind off of Wash. It wasn't working.
She went to sip her tea, and felt something peculiar. She put her tea down on the side table to the paper and wicket guest room, sliding her hand down her thigh to the grip of her weapon, in a casual and relaxed manor.
The door to the room opened, and there was nobody there. It must have slid on its own. After all, the gravity in the ship was fluctuating due to the lateral chips in the engine being fried. But she knew it couldn't be that. How was her tea still in the cup? She didn't feel the ship rock; it was a rather steady boat ride for what it was.
"Anyone there?" Zoe said, ready to get up and close the door.
"Honey?" A small girl's voice said.
"He's here. I know he his." River said peering from the door frame.
"I can feel him. It's like he's in the ship." She continued into the room looking and feeling the nearby mesh walls.
"Oh, River... I didn't realize that this was your room – I'm sorry, I'll move outta here in just a sec." Zoe said, acknowledging River's speech as nonsense. Zoe raised an eyebrow and thought to herself.
"He says he only has a second, but he's here." River continued.
"Sweety, are you alright?" Zoe said to River, bending down to her level of height.
River held her ears, and began looking struck. She began to speak in French and Greek, switching between the two, saying things she didn't know she could say.
"River, did you take your medication lately? What the hell are you talking about?" Zoe continued, worried about the small ex-stowaway.
River looked down at the floor with her hands spread out, and slowly moved her head back up with a unique grin that Zoe had never seen on her face before. Like it didn't belong there., like it wasn't hers. River began crying and smiling with an open, welcoming grin, whispering words that were too quiet to hear.
Zoe looked at River with her eyes wide, and ears open. Moving closer to her mouth trying to listen to what was being said. River was still teary and hadn't blinked since the look on her face changed to that unique smile that seemed all too familiar.
Zoe closed her eyes, and whispered "...Hoban?"
River's eyes rolled backwards and she fell forward into Zoe. She caught her, beginning to tear up herself. She called the doctor from the room, and within a minute Simon appeared through the door.
"What happened?" Simon asked promptly.
"I don't know, she started crying and then just passed out." Zoe replied trying to keep as much as the subtle, yet important details absent.
Simon squatted next to River's unconscious body, and placed two fingers on her neck followed by a vial of oxyichlorihystamictinal injected into her left arm. It was a blend of over fifty separate chemicals that covered River's dream bank in a coating of lead. In other words, it blocked her from dreaming. Known side effects from Simon's first dose which he selfishly tested on himself were constant nausea, and lack of certain hormonal releases. A small price for River's condition.
"She's breathing and the circulation's a little high. Help me get her on her bed." Simon said directly.
It was almost protocol. It's happened four times in the last week where River had just fallen asleep, much like narcolepsy while performing everyday tasks. Twice at the helm, another time in the kitchen and the third in the hangar. She was getting worse.
Simon noticed Zoe's face was pale and moist from her tears. While hoisting River up on the bed, he asked,
"Are you ok? You look like you just saw a ghost."
"I'm fine, just a little shaken up, that's all." Zoe replied, inconsiderable more disoriented than before.
Zoe didn't know what to think. River could just be playing one of her games, or perhaps this was something new? Something that River had uncovered... Zoe needed something from River. She needed her to dream. Zoe was at this point convinced that Wash had some kind of pull on River.
River was then carried into the infirmary when Simon OK'd Zoe to reassemble herself and go back to relaxing. She headed back into the guest quarters and picked up the cup of rose pedal tea, breathing in the fumes while moving into the next room. She carefully placed the cup on the night stand, and swung her legs onto the bed and began rethinking the current events shortly before falling asleep in her slice of Serenity.