Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone who reviewed my story. Your comments make my efforts in writing this worthwhile.
Warning: This chapter contains spanking of a teenager. If that bothers you, please don't read it.
CHAPTER 2
Simon glared at her a moment before stepping forward. "Inara has left the ship. She asked me to give this to you," he said as he held out a memo recorder. "There's a private message for you at the beginning, followed by a message for the crew."
Mal stared, speechless, for several long seconds at the memo recorder Simon was holding out to him. Everyone on in the cargo hold of the ship held their breath, afraid of how he was going to react.
"Why?" The question was asked so quietly Simon almost didn't hear him.
"I can't tell you," Simon stated. "I'm sorry." The regret in his voice mirrored the look on his face. Before he could again offer the memo recorder Inara left in his care, Mal grabbed the younger man by the front of his shirt and hauled him close. Anger was coming off him in waves.
"You know why she left, and you're going to tell me. Now."
Simon had been expecting the captain's reaction. After all, Mal had never been a patient man and was more apt to try solving his problems with his fists rather than with words. "Yes, I know why she left. But I cannot tell you. She told me her reasons in confidence, and I will not break her trust."
Mal's face darkened. It didn't matter to him at the moment that Simon's honor was one of the few things he respected about the younger man. All that mattered at the moment was that Inara was gone, and there didn't seem to be anything he could do about it. Before Mal could react further, however, Zoe and Jayne both stepped forward and separated the two men.
"Captain, we need to get out of here before those bastards who tried to snatch Marie come looking for us," Zoe said, trying to draw Mal's attention away from Simon. She was standing between the two men, while Jayne had wrapped one of his beefy arms around Mal's chest to hold him back. Turning to Simon, she held out her hand and nodded when he gave her the memo recorder. Holding it out to Mal she said, "I know you value your own honor, let Simon keep his. Listen to what Inara has to say on this. Then, if you want to go after her, we can." She, too, wanted to know why the other woman had left the ship, but re-establishing the tenuous peace and getting back in the air was more important.
Mal visibly forced himself to calm and stepped out of Jayne's hold. He looked around at the members of his crew as he dropped the memo recorder into his shirt pocket. They were all looking at him with varying degrees of surprise and concern. "You and me are gonna suss this out later," he said to Simon before turning a hard gaze to Marie.
"You want to explain to me now you managed to get yourself snatched?"
Marie shrugged. She knew there was no sense in trying to talk herself out the mess she was in. "I went to get something from the market. I wasn't more than twenty feet from Serenity when they grabbed me."
"Who was with you?" It was his rule that none of the three young women on his crew were to leave the ship by themselves. They didn't always visit the most civilized placed, and some of the local color could be pretty rough. He figured it was better to have safety in numbers.
Marie's face reddened. She had broken one of Mal's cardinal rules. Given the mood he was in, there was no way he was going to let that go unpunished. "No one," she said quietly. "Everyone was busy, and what I planned to do shouldn't have taken very long." She didn't think it would be a good idea to volunteer that this wasn't the first time she'd left the ship alone. In fact, it was something she'd done quite often. Nothing had happened before, and this moon had seemed safe enough.
"Do you know who those men were?" Zoe asked. Mal wasn't the only one aboard Serenity who had instincts for trouble, and hers were warning her that something was very wrong.
"No," Marie said, turning to look at the other woman. "I've never seen them before." She shuddered slightly as the adrenaline rush began to wear off . "I heard my name being called and turned to look. Next thing I knew, one of them said 'it's her' and they grabbed me."
Mal listened to what Marie was saying. He exchanged a look with Zoe that spoke volumes. When she nodded her understanding that she was to set a course that would take them within communication distance of Gaelach so they could send a wave to Liam Hawkins, he stalked over to stand in front of Marie. "You and I are going to have a long discussion about following the rules on this boat," he said, pointing his finger in her face. He grabbed her shoulder and turned her in the direction of the doorway leading to the passenger dormitory. "Wait for me in your bunk." The hard smack that landed on her backside resounded through the mostly empty cargo bay. He supposed it was Inara's influence, but he knew he was too angry to deal with Marie's disobedience at the moment. Disciplining her now would do more harm than good.
XxxxxxX
Mal paced the small confines of his bunk. He knew his current activity would probably be more effective in the large space of the cargo bay, but he wanted to be alone. Every few circuits around the small space he would pause and look down at the recording device he held in his hand. Sighing heavily, he finally made up his mind and stepped toward the communications console in the corner of the room.
Inserting the recorder into the console, he stepped back and watched as Inara's pale face appeared on the small screen.
Mal, I'm sorrier than you could ever know for leaving Serenity the way I did. I admit I am too much of a coward to do this in person. Inara paused and shook her head. No, that's not quite true. Well, I am a coward, but I didn't want you to try and stop me. This is something I had to do.
Mal's heart twisted as he watched Inara wipe a tear from her cheek. More tears shimmered in her eyes. He might be hardened against a lot of things, but a crying woman wasn't one of them.
You told me once that everyone dies alone. I tried to convince you otherwise, but now I understand how right you were. Inara paused again. This was the hardest thing she had ever had to do. Mal, I'm sick. I have been since before I first rented the shuttle from you. It's the reason why I left Sihnon. There's no cure, and it has progressed. She paused to wipe more tears from her cheeks. I know I should have told you before, but I love you, Mal. I couldn't tell you because I didn't want you hurt. I had to leave for the same reason. I don't know how long I have left, and I don't think I could bear to watch you suffer as I . . . die. Please, do not try to find me. Remember me as I was, not what I will become. Inara kissed the tips of her fingers and pressed them to the lens of the recorder before the screen went black.
Mal fell back onto his bunk, too shocked by Inara's words to turn off the recording. Still trying to digest what she had said, he paid no attention when the recording resumed, this time with the message Inara had left for the others on the crew. Mal had denied his feelings for Inara, even to himself. Now, he was afraid it was too late.
"Captain?" Zoe's voice over the ship's intercom interrupted his thoughts. Mal scrubbed his hands through his hair and over his face before standing and moving back to the communications console. He flipped Inara's recording off mid-word. "Yeah," he responded to Zoe. His voice was rough to his ears.
There was a slight pause as though Zoe was considering whether or not to continue. "We're close enough to Gaelach that you should be able to get a wave to Hawkins."
Mal sighed. He wanted to drop everything and go after Inara. However, the problem with Marie's attempted snatching was more immediate. I'll kill Liam Hawkins if this was another one of his so-called tests, he thought. "I'll be there in a minute," he said, turning off the intercom. He would need to pull himself together before facing his crew.
It was more like thirty minutes before Mal made it to the bridge. He ignored the looks Zoe and River gave him as he sat in the co-pilot's chair that had been vacated by his second in command. Activating the communications systems, he went about sending a wave to Marie's father.
"Captain?" Zoe questioned when Mal sat back in his chair to await an answer.
"I don't want to talk about it, Zoe," he said curtly. Turning to River, who sat in the other pilot's chair, he gave her a hard look. "And you stay outta my head, or I'll see to it you don't sit down for a week. Dohn-ma?"
"Yes, sir," River replied innocently. She wasn't about to tell him that she had read him as soon as he entered the bridge, so she knew exactly what was worrying him. She also knew that things would turn out well for everyone involved.
"Mei Yong Ma Duh Tse Gu Yong!" Mal swore viciously to no one in particular. He knew without asking that River already knew everything going through his mind. He was half-tempted to follow through with his threat then and there, but he knew it wouldn't serve any purpose other than to make himself feel better.
Several minutes passed in tense silence before the communication system sounded, indicating that someone was responding to Mal's wave. When he answered, the person on the other end was a stranger.
"What do you want?" the other man demanded shortly.
"I want to talk to Liam Hawkins."
"What about?"
"Now that ain't none 'a your ruttin' concern, now is it? Get Hawkins."
"Well, that's gonna be kinda difficult, seein' as how he's dead," the other man replied, an evil grin spreading across his face. "You could say he ran afoul of the wrong man." The other man's laughter sent chills coursing down the spines of everyone on the bridge.
Mal cut communications. "How w'rin bu lai," he said wearily.
"What are you thinking, Captain?" Zoe asked.
"I don't know if that joo feun chse is responsible for Hawkins's death, but he had a hand in it." Mal stood to pace around the bridge. "I gotta bad feeling that whoever it was is after Marie."
"So what are we gonna do about it?" Jayne asked as he stepped onto the bridge. He might pretend to be gruff and unfeeling, but he had a soft spot for the teenager.
"I don't know yet, but I gotta talk to Marie," Mal said as he pushed past the big man and entered the corridor leading away from the bridge.
XxxxxxxX
Marie stood as Mal walked into her room. She knew what was coming, and she was determined not to show Mal that she was afraid. She wasn't afraid of him, just of the spanking she knew he was going to deliver.
"Take a seat," Mal directed. As Marie did as she was told, he leaned against the door jam and crossed his arms.
"I recon we gotta few things to discuss, don't we."
"Do we?" Marie responded belligerently as she leaned back against the headboard and crossed her arms, mirroring Mal's pose.
"You don't really wanna be takin' that attitude with me right now, xiao mei mei," Mal said shortly. When Marie didn't respond, his expression hardened. "How long you been seakin' off the boat by yourself?"
Marie thought for a second before answering. "This was the first time."
"So, you're gonna add lyin' to the reasons I'm gonna blister your ass. You sure ain't wantin' to sit down any time soon."
She wince, thinking she should have known better than to try lying to Mal. "Okay," she said shortly, "I've been doin' it for a while. But nothing ever happened," she added quickly.
"Until today," Mal responded. "You're damn lucky we came along when we did. You give any thought to what coulda happened if we'd been even five minutes later." He paused to allow his works to sink in. "I set rules for a reason, and it ain't to hear my gums flappin'."
He straightened and moved toward the bed, unfastening his belt and pulling it free as he walked.
"You knew what would happen if you got caught disobeying my orders, didn't you?"
"Yes, sir," Marie responded with a tremor in her voice.
Mal nodded as he doubled the belt, holding it so the buckle was securely in his hand. He really hated doing this, especially knowing what he was going to have to tell Marie when it was over. But, he couldn't let her get away with her disobedience either. "Stand up, shuck off your britches, and bend over the bed."
She didn't have long to wait before Mal brought the belt down a half dozen times, leaving a trail of fire with each lick. "Do we need to discuss why you're gettin' this whuppin'?"
Marie shook her head in response.
"I didn't hear you," Mal stated as he brought the belt down once more.
"No," Marie answered, her voice filled with tears.
"You gonna leave this boat by yourself again?"
"No, I promise."
"Good girl," Mal stated. "But, there's that little matter of you lyin' to me." The belt fell another half dozen times. Marie yelled with each lick, no longer embarrassed that everyone on the ship would know what was happening. It took her a few moments to realize that Mal had tossed the belt onto her bed and was rubbing her back.
He helped her stand and pulled her into a hug. They stood that way for a moment before Mal stepped back and gave her a minute to pull her pants back into place. Taking her hand, he sat on the bed and pulled her to stand between his spread knees.
"You know I don't like havin' to do that, but I don't know any other way to get my point across to you. You just cain't go wanderin' off the ship whenever the notion strikes. You were lucky that we came along when we did, that ain't always gonna happen. " When Marie nodded her understanding, Mal continued. "You do it again, the whuppin' you'll get'll make this'n seem like child's play."
"Yes, sir," Marie said as she wiped tears from her cheeks with one hand which trying to rub some of the fire out of her backside with the other.
"We got something else we gotta talk about," Mal said, reaching for her hands. His sudden change from stern to sympathy worried her.
"What is it?" she asked wearily.
"I got news that your father has been killed," he said gently as he relayed the scant information he knew from the wave to Gaelach. Tears, this time from grief, once again filled Marie's eyes as Mal pulled her close and held her gently as she cried on his shoulder.
TBC
Chinese Translations:
Dohn-ma = You understand?
Xiao mei mie = young lady
Mei Yong Ma Duh Tse Gu Yong = Motherless goat of all motherless goats
How W'rin Bu Lai = Things never go smooth
Joo Fuen Chse = Pool of pig droppings
