Title: Silence
Author: Christine
Spoilers: Serenity... don't read if you haven't seen it yet!
Character: Zoe
All she heard was silence.
Zoe sat at his grave, staring at the silent moving pictures above his headstone. She remembered each and every one of those home movie clips; most of them taken by River who had been fascinated with Inara's small camcorder for a few short weeks. The last clip showed him telling a horrible joke that- had anyone else told - would've been booed at, but Wash...he had a way of bringing out the humor in almost anything. His trademark smile that lit up a room flashed upon the small screen and faded to black once more.
A single tear threatened to roll down her cheek. She was strong, a soldier, always ready for anything and willing to lay down her life in a heartbeat. She never showed weakness, ever. Nothing in her soldier handbook had ever prepared her for this though. It had been hours since the crew had said their goodbyes, yet she found herself rooted to the same place she had been before. She wasn't sure she would be able to pick herself up off of the cold ground beneath her. She felt that if she left this spot, she would be abandoning him. Forever.
Her thumb brushed against the screen, as if to feel his cheek one last time. Her other hand clutched his vows he had written her when they married, and one of the dinosaurs from on top of his controls.
"Zoe, if I never know anything else except your love, I'll die the happiest man in the 'Verse."
She kept re-reading the lines, and picturing his face as he poured his heart and soul out to her. Dressed in a loud blue tuxedo with a Hawaiian shirt underneath, he never looked better in her eyes. The words became blurry all of the sudden, and she realized she was crying. She couldn't remember the last time she felt tears run down her cheeks. She had conditioned herself to not feel those sorts of emotions. In the war you couldn't allow yourself to feel; it would ultimately get you killed. She was afraid that she would never be able to close the floodgates that had opened.
She heard the footsteps long before they reached her. Mal sat down next to her and glanced over at her glistening face. "Ship is all set to go."
Zoe sat there motionless. "I just need another minute Sir."
Mal nodded. He wasn't used to seeing her like this. Zoe always put up a brave front, but she was human like anyone else, and he knew more then anyone that no one can be strong at all times. His hand moved slowly to the small of her back and he held it there awkwardly for a moment. It was all Zoe needed though. She laid her head upon his shoulder and he held her in a tight embrace as she cried, clutching her husband's memory in her hands.
