AUTHORS NOTE: So this is my first attempt at a chapter-fic for Firefly so hopefully it will be okay. I'm a WIP writer so I apologise for how long it shall take. This is based after the movie and the series.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters
[Doing It Alone]
Standing on the hillside, Zoe looked at the three grave stones and felt tears sting her eyes as she focused solely on that of her late husband. She couldn't believe he was gone. She'd been fine dealing with his death back on Miranda because she knew that the rest of the team, her family, needed her to be strong for them as they braved the army of Reavers. It was the army training in her that had allowed for her to distance herself from the fact that she'd just watched her husband's brutal death and switch into soldier mode.
Now, however, she didn't have the adrenaline rush or the rest of the team to distract her from the inevitable truth that she was now alone in the world or alone as a person could be when you live on a small ship with a medium sized team. She pressed her hand to the stone, her tears now falling free because she was alone with no one watching as she knelt down before the stone. "Oh sweetheart, I miss you already." She said thinking of how many moments the team had shared, even in their grief, which would have allowed for a comment that only Wash would be stupid enough to say out loud.
Pressing her cheek against the stone, her body curling up into a ball she allowed simply for her tears to fall and her hands to press against her abdomen which already had a small bump. It had been the last thing she'd told Wash before their decision to leave for Miranda. The joy that had washed over him had been a shock to her due to his determined stance that bringing a child up in the black wasn't a good idea. She'd told him many times that she would have a child one day whether he liked it or not but for him to be happy at the news meant so much more to her than she'd ever imagined it could.
Now, however, she'd be doing it alone. She wouldn't have the dutiful husband to take care of her when she was feeling sick or to abuse when she was feeling tired and grouchy. Wash had taken great pleasure in making sure that he'd be there to be her human punch bag as long as the makeup sex was fantastic afterwards. She'd simply smiled at him knowing that Wash would be there for her no matter how sick and tired she got of being pregnant.
"Zoe," she heard someone call behind her softly and she turned round to see Simon standing there. She smiled at the fact that he'd approached her because sometimes Simon decided not to make the first move because he wasn't much of a conversationalist. "I thought you might like some company," he said cautiously not wanting to intrude if he wasn't welcome. Zoe pushed herself up, her hands moving away from her abdomen as she gripped onto the grave.
"I'm fine, Doctor." She promised as she wiped the tear tracks from her face. "Is it bad for me to be thinking that he died happy?" She said thinking back to the large grin on his face, his shouts of that he was a leaf on the wind or something like that – her memories of that particular day were hazy now – and the way his laughter, even if it was one of relief, had sung out over the helm as they'd landed.
"No." Simon said moving up behind her and squeezing her shoulder lightly with a slight hesitation before sighing. "It's starting to get dark. How about we move back to Serenity for the night?" He knew that Zoe could fight anyone that was stupid enough to attack her but the doctor still didn't feel comfortable leaving the woman out here on her own. She was in a vulnerable place right now.
Just outside the ship, she froze as she turned to look at Simon. "Doctor," she said knowing that the decision that Wash and she had made about keeping the baby a secret for a short while wasn't going to work the now, "I'm pregnant." She admitted and wasn't surprised when the man looked at her for a moment before pulling her into his arms. The doctor had slightly gotten over his awkwardness but she could slightly still feel it there when he held her but she didn't care. She just needed someone to hold her at that moment.
TO BE CONTINUED...
