My Serenity
Summary: Captain Jane Rizzoli is an infamous name in the "Verse," but the rogue bounty hunter may have met her match in the clever and mysterious Doctor Maura Isles.
Disclaimer: The characters and most of the plot elements used in this story are property of Janet Tamaro and TNT. The setting of this story, the "Verse," (Firefly) and some plot elements are property of Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox. The following is a piece of fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only.
A/N: This is one part in an on-going story set in an AU based on the "Verse" from the show Firefly (Fox). All of the characters are derived from those in Rizzoli & Isles (TNT). Plot elements like the "Alliance," the "Battle of Serenity," the "Independents," and all physical locations described are taken from Firefly. While most characters remain mostly true to their Rizzoli & Isles originals, some take on elements of characters from Firefly. While it is not necessary to have seen Fireflyto read this fic, I would suggest you check it out if you like sci-fi/western themes.
WARNING: Rated M for some violence, language, and sexual situations. This fic contains (eventual) femmeslash and sexual situations between two female characters. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.
Chapter 1 – The Doctor Meets the Captain
If there was one thing Jane was sure of it was that she had never been more uncomfortable in all her life. That isn't to say that being the fugitive Captain of a Firefly-class starship was all glamour and glitz. It was just that usually the uniform was a bit less, constricting.
Of course, "constricting," hardly seemed to encompass the agony of the corset's sharp ridges pressing into her flesh. Nor did the word do any justice to the torture of the scorching sun beaming down on her skin and radiating through the endless layers of delicate garments.
Sticky beads of sweat ran down the thick coatings of makeup on her face and spilled down her neck and onto the coarse material of her blouse. She squinted up at the sun, shielding her face with a hand above her eyes. Jane bit her tongue contemplatively, as if trying to remember something.
"What is it Jane?" her partner said, watching her with a furrowed brow. The hot desert sun soaked into the dark skin of his face as he looked back at her.
"Trying to figure out what time it is." Jane said to Frost simply, her gaze wandering over the hazy horizon.
Frost touched his chin knowingly and sized up the angle of the sun. "Not sure, bit after noon, maybe."
"Yeah, but I forget, does Georgia set in the east or the west?" Jane said, looking back at their tracks in the sand. Their footsteps seemed to be winding through the dry brush for miles. How long had they been walking anyway?
"Don't know." Frost said with a shrug, turning back to continue heading into the horizon. "Maybe you should have brought your pocket-watch."
"Not much use…" Jane said shifting the corset forcefully with a grunt. "… besides, where would I have put it? This thing doesn't exactly have pockets."
Frost snorted and dodged a vengeful slap from the lanky brunette. "That didn't stop you from hiding a pistol up in that mess." He said, nodding at the outfit with a smirk.
"Look, I don't care if Companions are supposed to be good, upstanding people, and whatever, I don't go anywhere without backup." Jane said, placing a hand on the butt of her gun, which was hidden under the layers of her pale green skirt. She let out small sigh at the reassuring feel of the heavy metal against her hip.
"I thought I was your back-up." Frost said with a laugh.
"You know what I mean." Jane said, peering off into the distance at the shadow of a town on the horizon. "Besides, it's not like they're just going to let you walk right in there. I'll have to go this one alone, Frost."
"You say that all the time, Jane." Frost said frowning at her, "You don't have to take all the risks yourself, you know?"
Jane glanced at her partner out of the corner of her eye and gave him a weak smile. There was an awkward silence. Jane knew what Frost was getting at, but she didn't want to discuss it. So, instead, she laughed it off.
"What, you want to wear the dress?" Jane nudged Frost playfully.
"I don't think I'd pass for a woman, no less a Companion," a toothy grin spreading across Frost's face.
Jane glanced down at the ridiculous ensemble she had been attempting to walk in for the past three hours. With so little to work with, the corset seemed to merely press her chest and abdomen even more flat. If she had not been wearing so many other layers of clothing she probably would look even skinnier and lankier than she did in her usual trousers and button-up shirt.
"This better work," Jane scoffed, trying to cover up her anxiousness with sarcasm, "because if it doesn't I'm going to kill Ma for convincing me to wear this damn corset!"
"I do not run a common whore house!" a graying Madame yelled, wielding a shotgun threateningly. "Get your filthy paws off my girls and your ass off my property before I blow a hole in that pretty-boy face of yours!"
The thin, muscular young man with his dirty, unshaven face and wide smile backed away cautiously from the older woman. He raised his hands defensively, laughing nervously; his dark eyes glimmered with a look of innocence.
"I didn't mean any offense, Ma'am…" he said slowly, calmly.
"Of course you didn't." The dark-haired woman retorted, squinting at him menacingly. "You just thought you could waltz in here and make off with one of my girls."
"It wasn't like that;" the man tried to explain, "I was just trying to help her."
"Yeah, they all say that." The Madame said, shoving him forcefully, causing him to stumble back onto the ground.
"Hey!" Jane hollered from the porch, "What's going on here?"
"Jane?" the man said with a gulp, looking her up at her in shock.
"Tommy?!" Jane nearly hollered. "What are you doing here?"
"What am I…?" Tommy said, starring up at her with a look of horror. "What are you doing… in a dress?"
"You know this man?" the Madame said with agitation.
"Yeah." Jane replied pinching the bridge of her nose with frustration. "He's my…brother."
Damn! Jane thought to herself angrily, my cover is blown! Damn it, Tommy, what trouble are you getting yourself into now?!
"Your…brother?" the woman said looking between the two of them. The family resemblance was obvious. They had the same dark, penetrating eyes, the same defined, angular jawlines.
"Yes." The two said in agitated unison.
Tommy finally picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. He peered warily at the pistol in the older woman's hand, but her angry gaze had moved to Jane. She eyed the brunette suspiciously, gripping the handle of her gun tight and clenching her teeth.
"I thought you said you had no family." The woman said, swinging the gun around to point at Jane. "You said you had no one, no where to go."
Jane stepped back, raising her hands slightly. She did not dare go for her gun; she was a quick draw, but not that quick. Instead her brain started to fire off rapidly, trying to figure out how to backtrack.
"Emma, I—Well—I—See I…" Jane stumbled instinctively scooted further from the armed woman but closer to her brother. Normally, she would be quick to recover from a setback like this, but all this heat and the restriction of her breathing by the heavy clothes were making it very difficult to think.
"Who are you?" Emma said cocking the pistol and aiming it directly between Jane's eyes. "Tell me the truth! Now!"
Then, in a flash of movement Emma went tumbling into the ground as Frost tackled her from behind. Unfortunately, neither he nor Jane could do anything to stop Emma from pulling the trigger as she fell to the dusty ground; the gun went off as her wrist hit a rock jutting out of the earth.
Jane saw little more than a tiny gleam of light as the bullet sped past her, passing right underneath her outspread arm and just barely missing her side. The ringing in her ears from the point-blank shot drowned out the sound of her brother falling to the ground behind her. Without even thinking Jane leapt for the pistol, while Frost subdued Emma.
With the gun in hand, Jane spun around to find her brother on the ground. Tommy clasped his shoulder, blood seeping from underneath his fingers. He let out a low moan as his head fell to the earth.
"Tommy!" Jane said frantically as she scooped up her brother. Her hand instinctively pressed against the bleeding wound where Tommy's hand now lay limp. Angry, horrified tears spilled from her coffee brown eyes as she screamed at Frost, "Get help! Get someone!"
"I didn't mean to…" Emma mumbled but no one was listening.
Instead Frost was trying to shake some sense into her, "Do you have a doctor here? A nurse? Anyone?!"
"We're in the middle of nowhere…" Emma said dazedly, watching in horror as Tommy continued to bleed into his sister's hands.
"You don't have anyone? Someone who cares for the girls?" Frost said holding her by the shoulders, trying to get her to look into his face.
"No…" Emma said, shaking her head as if in a daze, "…there's only Maura."
"Who's Maura?" Frost said, trying to catch the woman's eyes.
"She's…" Emma said, blinking at Frost, apparently coming out of the shock, "she's new here… knows a lot about medicine."
"Where is she?" Frost asked.
"Somewhere on the ranch. She keeps to herself. She doesn't really get along with many of the girls." Emma replied.
"I don't care who she is!" Jane yelled frantically, "Just go get her!"
The commotion, however, had not gone unnoticed by the doctor. Upon hearing the yelling at the front of the house, Maura had perked her ears up. It was not uncommon for Emma to get quite rough when handling less than polite clientele, but something seemed strange about Emma's tone of voice. Still, Maura had been reluctant to get up and peek out the window. She preferred to keep to herself in her room.
Most of the girls were suspicious of her, watching her anxiously and whispering amongst themselves; Maura couldn't blame them, she was doing an awfully poor job of passing as a Companion. She had only came to the ranch a few weeks ago and she had not yet accepted any clientele into her quarters. It wasn't that Maura was against the idea; it was just that she had only intended to be in town for a few days while she recovered from a severe case of bronchitis. Seeing as Maura was more than able to pay for room and board, Emma had agreed to let her stay on for a while. When the doctor had recovered, she found herself treating the girls for the numerous ailments and injuries that had gone long untreated.
The fact was that in the middle of the desert on a border planet you were hard-pressed to find a doctor, no less medical supplies. For that reason, Maura staid on and helped out as much as she could. She found it hard to let Emma go on believing that she had no more than a limited knowledge of first aid and triage, but she had not yet found a way off this planet.
So, when Maura heard the gun shot, the dedicated medic came running. She had with her a makeshift first-aid kit and some surgical tools. Maura was at Tommy's side just moments after the struggle broke up. She knelt down and with a serious and concentrated look on her face opened her bag and looked the brunette.
"Just keep applying pressure." Maura said with a reassuring smile. She took a bandage from her bag and guided Jane's hand, placing the bandage on the wound. "We need to stop the bleeding."
Jane merely nodded, staring pale-faced at the blood now seeping through to her fingers again. Jane's mind was a blank, nothing but the doctor's repeated words over and over, "Stop the bleeding … stop the bleeding."
"Sir," Maura said, looking up at Frost, "I'm going to need your help getting him into the house."
Frost merely nodded.
After Maura had wrapped the wound tightly she looked up over to Jane. She spoke softly and patiently, an encouraging hand on Jane's arm, "Alright, we're going to move him into the house now."
Jane blinked at her for a moment, still in shock. When Maura's words finally registered she nodded and wordlessly helped Frost carry her brother into the house and onto the table in Maura's makeshift doctor's office.
A few hours later, Maura emerged from her room wiping her hands on a towel and the sweat off her forehead with the sleeve of her gown. She let out an exhausted sigh causing Jane looked up from her chair across the hall.
Jane stood, her clothes stained with blood, dark circles under her eyes, her cheeks pale. She looked at the doctor expectantly, anxiously fidgeting with her hands. "How is he?"
"He should be fine." Maura said with a nod, "So long as we can keep the wound from getting infected."
"You mean…?" Jane said with a frown. She should feel relieved but she was reluctant to believe that it could be that simple.
"It was a clean shot, through-and-through." Maura explained. "The bullet penetrated his shoulder, passing near the subclavian vein. It did do a lot of damage to the inferior and posterior aspects of the deltoid, but I was able to stop the bleeding and close the wounds."
"What does all that mean?" Jane said stupidly, her brain still not functioning properly.
"It means Tommy should be okay, given rest and proper care." Maura said, placing a caring hand on Jane's shoulder. "You should really get yourself cleaned up."
Jane let out a brief sigh of relief. Her brother was going to survive. Now that the worst was over, Jane could finally breathe. She noticed the doctor watching her. The brunette did not recognize this woman.
"You're not really a Companion, are you?" Jane said looking at the doctor closely for the first time.
Jane hadn't noticed her when she had arrived on Emma's ranch. Most of the girls had taken a turn questioning her, studying her carefully as if wondering if she could really measure up to their standards. Jane had endured this belittling treatment only out of necessity. She didn't see how these women were in any place to judge her considering they weren't exactly the usual Companion type either, being employed in a brothel like this in the middle of nowhere.
But this girl was different—though "girl" was hardly an appropriate description for the honey blond, hazel-eyed beauty standing before her—far from looking down on her, Maura watched her with a warm and even curious smile. When she touched Jane's shoulder in a reassuring gesture her eyes practically radiated with concern.
But clearly a true Companion, surely not one like the girls here, would not have such uncanny skills for medicine. No, this woman's sincerity only went as far as her concern for taking care of a patient, because despite what Emma obviously believed, this woman was not who she claimed to be.
Jane stepped back, frowning skeptically at the honey blond, expecting her to deny the accusation, come up with some excuse. But she didn't. Jane did not know it yet but Maura had a horrible time with lying. She had only made it this far because Emma didn't ask too many questions, and the other girls apparently trusted Emma's judgment.
"No, I'm not." Maura said bluntly, her face betraying embarrassment.
Jane's eyes were wide and she looked taken aback. Questions flooded into Jane's mind like they often did when she encountered a mystery. Who is this woman? What is she doing here? Could she have anything to do with the missing persons? She frowned at Maura, studying her closely, her hands on her hips as she watched her with suspicion.
"So if you're not a Companion, what are you doing here on the Ranch?" Jane said, her eyes narrowed.
"I…Well—I…" Maura stuttered.
"I could ask you the same thing." Emma said, interjecting.
"What?!" Maura and Jane said simultaneously as they turned to see the Madame pointing at Jane accusingly.
"First, your brother shows up, when you said all your family died years ago, and then your…partner…tackles me out of nowhere."
"You're not a Companion?" Maura said looking at Jane with a frown. Her tone was curious but her eyes betrayed a glimmer of disappointment. The mysterious brunette had piqued her interest and she had naively hoped that she had found a kindred soul.
The doctor had been very much aware of Jane's arrival earlier that day. It had been a couple hours after mid-day. The sun had still been high in the sky and beaming relentlessly down on the dusty earth. Maura had been hanging the laundry on the line when Jane came stumbling onto the Ranch, looking exhausted and dehydrated.
The doctor had silently wondered where the woman had come from. It was almost as if she had appeared out the haze of the desert heat itself. There was nothing out there for a least twenty kilometers and she had no horse or vehicle to speak of. Maura wondered if she could be from town, but she could not recall ever seeing her before.
She had gazed off at the settlement on the horizon, a few kilometers off. No, that was mostly filled with drunken men and aging wives. I certainly would have noticed a woman so young and … beautiful, she had thought to herself.
Maura had watched curiously as Emma had one of the girls get her some water. She had briefly thought about offering her assistance to the woman. Jane was clearly dehydrated and suffering from heat exhaustion. But the girls had quickly surrounded her as she sat down on the porch and drank heavily from a glass of water. Instead, she listened from some distance off as Jane told the girls the story of how she had ended up abandoned in the desert.
Emma, being the caring, protective woman she was, had listened eagerly, patting a wet cloth to Jane's head. The other girls were not so easily convinced, bombarding the brunette with questions. Maura had not joined them. Instead she watched as Jane blushed when they drilled her. She did not appear to be very accustomed to this planet's desert atmosphere. That, or her corset was tied tighter than was customary to her because she seemed to be having a difficult time breathing.
But now, standing close to the brunette, Maura could tell from Jane's fidgeting with the layers of the dress and tugging at the corset that she was rather uncomfortable in her current attire. The doctor frowned up at her. Maura knew why she had to pass for a Companion, but why would Jane? She hardly seemed like the type.
It wasn't that Jane was not physically appealing, for Maura noted the defined features of her face, the passionate spark in her eyes, her long bones, muscular arms and flat stomach. No, Jane was definitely stunning. It was just that she did not have the usual physical build or demeanor of the kind of Companion to be found on a wasteland planet like Ezra.
Maura had found it very easy to pass as a Companion at this particular brothel. Her smaller stature, defined musculature and sizable chest made for an appealing figure, especially with the aid of a corset. Her long, dark golden locks and shimmering emerald eyes only helped to convinced Emma that Maura was who she lead her to believe she was. Maura's upbringing and knowledge of the culture also helped her portray the image of a properly "schooled" Companion. She was able to mimic the behavior of a professional—skills many of the girls at the Ranch had never had the chance to study.
Jane, however, had no semblance of professionalism. She not only looked uncomfortable in the getup, but also had seemed rather reluctant to discuss with the other girls any of her "experiences." Maura wondered why she had not seen it earlier, but now it was obvious, this woman was not where she belonged.
"I'll ask you one more time," Emma said, pointing her finger at Jane threateningly. "Who are you and what are you doing on my ranch?"
Emma watched her expectantly. Maura looked between the two of them. She had initially been too distracted by her curiosity about the brunette to be concerned about her own cover being blown. But now she started to wonder why Emma was more concerned about this woman's deceit than Maura's.
"I'm looking for a woman." Jane said, frowning pensively at Maura rather than looking at Emma. It hardly seemed coincidental that this new girl had a story that didn't add up. Could she be the killer?
"Well if you wanted a woman you could have just asked. We're not picky about our clientele here. Can't really afford to be." Emma said with a solemn shake of her head.
Jane blushed wildly, waving her hands frantically. "No, no! That's not what I mean."
Emma sighed sympathetically. "There's no need to be ashamed. We all have needs."
"No!" Jane said rather insistently. "What I mean is, I'm looking for a woman that recently arrived on Ezra, maybe about five or six weeks ago. Rumor has it she was living on this ranch."
Emma frowned thoughtfully. "Well there's Maura here…"
"Who isn't exactly who she seems." Jane said, her hands at her hips and her eyes narrowed. She thought about getting her gun out, but Maura hardly seemed threatening, or even likely to run. Instead the blond was watching Emma fearfully, as if expecting the Madame to point a pistol at her next.
"Oh, yeah, I know all about that." Emma said with an offhanded tone and a wave of her hand. "She might be a pretty little thing, but she is no Companion."
"What?" Jane and Maura said in unison.
"Then why have you let me stay here?" Maura said with a shocked expression on her face.
"Because I needed a medic." Emma said simply. "Besides, I couldn't exactly turn you out into the desert, could I?"
Maura smiled shyly. Despite her actions earlier, Emma really was a nice old woman. She was almost like a mother to her girls. She protected them fiercely and cared for them in every way she could. Maura didn't know it yet, but she was soon to meet a woman quite like her, one who would remind her so much of Emma that she would often think back to the Madame with fond memories.
"If you're not a Companion, who are you and what are you doing out here?" Jane said, interrupting the warm moment with a tone of suspicion.
"I'm Doctor Maura Isles." She said with a cautious smile and an outstretched hand. Jane did not take it. She simply nodded.
"So you are a doctor then!" Emma said happily.
"Yes, and I'm ever so sorry I had to let you believe otherwise." Maura said blushing.
"It's okay," Emma said with a shrug, "as I said, I didn't really believe it anyway. I just figured you had your reasons for it."
"Is Maura the only new girl you've taken on?" Jane said.
"Well there is one other girl." Emma said, putting her finger to her chin in a contemplative gesture. "She came here a couple weeks before Maura here did. Why? What do you want with her?"
"There's a bounty out on her." Jane said in a low tone. "She's wanted for the disappearance of nearly a dozen people and the murders of three men."
Normally Jane wouldn't reveal her intentions, especially in front a potential suspect, but she was hoping to read something from Maura and Emma's reactions. She highly doubted that Maura was the woman she was looking for. The doctor didn't fit the physical description, nor did she seem capable of overtaking and killing men like those who had been killed.
"Her name is Ashley." Emma said with a doubtful frown. "But I don't think she's who you're looking for. That woman wouldn't hurt a flea."
"What does Ashley look like?" Jane asked excitedly.
"Well, she's tall, like you." Emma said with a nod to the brunette, "And very strong—she's very good about helping with the heavy lifting. She has long, blond hair and…"
Emma stopped, noticing Jane's eyes widening. Ashley fit the description perfectly. Jane's memory was flashing back to earlier that day when the crowd of inquisitive girls had surrounded her. She faintly recalled one of them sticking to the edge of the circle. She had had a scar over her right eye, barely noticeable. Why hadn't Jane put that together earlier?
"Where is she?!" Jane insisted.
"Why?" Emma said shocked, "Surely you don't think she's the woman you are looking for!"
"Out of all the girls, Ashley is the most capable of overpowering a grown man." Maura stated matter-of-factly.
"Answer the question!" Jane yelled forcefully grabbing Emma. "Where is she?"
"I don't know." Emma said, rather startled. "I haven't seen her since your brother tried to run off with her this afternoon."
"She was with Tommy?!" Jane said in a wrathful tone.
"Well, at the time I thought that he was stealing her away…" Emma said, seeming doubtful now that this had been the case.
"Where did she go after that?" Jane insisted.
"I don't know." Emma said helplessly.
"She's taken one of the horses and kidnapped a ranch hand." Frost interjected suddenly.
"How far out is she?" Jane said, releasing the old woman and approaching her partner eagerly.
"Don't know." Frost said with a shrug. "My guess is she left as soon as the scuffle with you and Emma happened. If that's true, she's long gone."
"It's nearly sunset." Jane thought out loud. "If she's made it back to the Alliance settlement she won't be able to find a ship headed out until the morning."
"You thinking you can get the crew to track her down?" Frost said, following Jane's line of thought.
"I'll have to ride out there myself to tell them, no radio communication out here." Jane said.
"I only have the two horses." Emma said, looking between the two of them. "And if Ashley took the one…"
Jane frowned contemplatively, her mind racing. She glanced briefly at the door to Maura's room, apparently distressed about the plan she was hatching. After another moment's deliberation she nodded at Frost, "You stay here and look after Tommy. I'll bring Serenity back 'round here to pick you guys up in the morning." With that Jane turned and sprinted as fast as she could out the door and towards the barn.
"Who's Serenity?" Emma said with a frown.
"That's our ship." Frost said with a proud nod.
"You have a ship, a starship?" Emma said, bewildered.
"Yeah, Firefly class." Frost said, taking Jane's post in the chair across the hall from Maura's room.
"And who is your friend?" Emma said, beating Maura to the question.
"Jane?" Frost said with a laugh, "She's our captain, Captain Jane Rizzoli."
(To Be Continued)