Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I don't own Firefly or Serenity, I don't own my house, I don't own my car, I don't own my pants. Where…are my pants? Where…is my car…? Oh shit..not again…SAFFRON!
Warning: Sexual Content…I repeat graphic Sexual Content. There will be scenes and they will probably be graphic. Lemons and Limes are my kind of fruit, and if you ain't cool with that turn around now. Now on a different note, there is a little splash of torture, and a little dash of action, lot of blood, and a little gore zested on top for garnish. Read at your own risk
The XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX denotes a time change or scene shift. I usually use but they don't show up on this site. Odd don't you think?
NOTE: SORRY! I misspelled Captain…as Caption…So…for the last few day I suppose I wanted Mal to be small lettering under a picture…but now he is permitted to control a ship. The first two chapters are the same I just fixed all the references to pictorial descriptions.
In The Flesh
By: Koken
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It seems Kaylee wouldn't have to worry about the sight for long. She tried to move, tried to run like Wash said but she was too stunned, too shocked, too scared, to do anything.
Wash pushed at the guard and they struggled. His face was filled with stubble, his white scrubs a little dirty, but he was definitely alive. He was breathing, and struggling with a large man, he was alive; but he wasn't winning.
As if becoming unfrozen Kaylee felt her limbs suddenly allow herself to move, she lurched forward in slow motion as she pulled herself up, but she didn't run away. She couldn't leave a friend behind, not like this. She was too slow to help. She saw the guard draw his gun; shinny alliance issue, a deadly force. The gun fired. She caught Wash as he flew backward, slowed his fall to the ground.
The man laughed softly as he winced, staring up at her stunned face from her lap. "You were supposed to run little Kaylee."
"Sorry" She whispered, tears coming to her eyes with a sting of sudden pain. "Your alive, but we. . . we buried you…Wash…"
He coughed and wretch in her arms, shivering involuntarily from the sudden cold he felt coursing though him. "I won't be gone for long Kaylee." He said gently, He reached up and touched her face. "I'm sorry. I never wanted anyone else to end up here…"
Kaylee reached out and put pressure on his would, feeling the warm blood pouring out of the massive hole as he shook less and less, she could almost feel his heart dieing as the pulsing grew weaker. "No…Wash?! WASH!" She felt herself starting to cry and couldn't hold it back. "No, your not gonna die…not again…Wash…" She should have run, that would have at least given Wash a reason to die.
Something inside her pulled her eyes up to look at the new arrival to the scene. She looked at Inara's shocked face. Even the companion couldn't keep tamed her face to a calm state at this site. Her short hair tickled her cheeks as she stared down at Wash's dead body. His blood still poured out of his wound and onto Kaylee.
The large man didn't wait long after Wash grew still to reach down and grab Kaylee's arm. This time she wasn't going easily. Inara thought the girl looked crazy, covered in blood and flailing. The man who was moving Wash went to grab the flailing girl and both men dragged her. She didn't stop fighting for at least thirty feet of hallway.
Inara's eyes looked hard at the dead man they left behind them, limp on the ground, eyes staring hallow out into the world. Wash had been alive? Alive? And they had never went to find him, to rescue him…they just left him…to die here again…
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A Tall man stepped out of the bushes and leveled his a gun on Mal, just as fast as the Captain could point his pistol at that very man. "Before we start the firefight, I think you should hear me out."
River spoke very suddenly, loud and angry, a flow of Chinese as she launched herself forward before anyone could move. She grabbed the man's gun and gracefully pointed it downward. Her arm pushed out and her fist contacted the man's skull with a loud crack. Her hand wrapped around his neck and pulled his head back a loud snap echoing as his neck shattered and he fell to the ground. In a quick movement River pulled the gun into her hand and shot into the bushes, one loud bang after another. She killed the men one shot each, three to the left and one to the right.
Jayne blinded and nodded softly. "Yep…she was worth draggin' along."
Mal lifted an eyebrow. "River…You sure those were the right guys?"
She seemed possessed for the moment, reaching down and grabbing a small black cloth out of the dead man's belt She tossed it back to him and kept walking forward. River was angry.
Zoe and Jayne peered over Mal's shoulders to see him open the cloth. Kaylee's blood soaked teddy bear made his stomach wrench as he let his fingers touch the fabric patch gently. Underneath it in the dark night he felt something. He lifted it up and felt his heart clench at the sight of delicate black curls distinctive to Inara's hair. The Captain could feel his insides boil, he let the hair slither though his fingers for a moment. He wouldn't let them hurt her. "Let's go."
Jayne felt something inside him burn, he was going to get to shoot someone this time, and that was a very good thing.
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Kaylee shivered and let the silent tears run down her face. She was angry. Confused. Scared. So many different things at once. She looked around at her "cell" a flat piece of metal suspended over nothingness. She looked to her side at Inara, too far away for her to jump to, but close enough to see. She was also on the same small six foot by six foot platform.
"Are you alright?" The companion asked, unsure if it was even a question that could be answered.
"None of the blood is mine…if that's what ya mean." She answered, turning to look at Inara. She stared hard at her. "He's alive. He was alive, and he died trying to save me, but I couldn't run. . ."
Inara shook her head hard. "Kaylee, he was dead, that is something you can't expect not to shock you. Don't blame yourself."
A mechanical sound filled the room suddenly, breaking the deathly quiet as another platform lowered and both girls looked at it. They watching it lower toward them, the bottom of the square growing larger as it came nearer until they were finally unable to see the person on top. The platform stopped between them, with a single occupant. Wash. Alive again, apparently asleep, and in new perfectly white clothes. Inara just looked at Kaylee with wide eyes for a long moment. The same Kaylee whose face was smeared with that man's dieing blood. It was hardly dry on her skin.
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River lead them through the empty halls, the building was old and falling apart until suddenly, after one dilapidated door, it looked sterile, clean, white and very alliance. She stopped in one hallway, causing Mal to almost run into her from behind. "Hoban Washburne. Subject: 452286" The words made Zoe's heart stop and River kicked the door open with a sudden burst of energy. Inside there was no movement but the glowing blue tanks, and in the bodies. Row after row of people, some small children, some toddlers, then teenagers, then adults. All of them were in common however, because all of them were Wash. All of them looked like him. All of them asleep. And then there was the one on the table. Dead and staring up at the ceiling, a shot to the chest, like he had been blown through. His face had bloody handprints on them, his clothes dirty and stained.
Jayne couldn't help but say something, but nothing seemed right. "What the…" He stared at the small hand prints…small enough to be Kaylee's.
River shook her head. "He isn't here, he was, but no more."
Zoe was silent and still, just looking. Processing what her brain didn't want to accept.
Mal walked to the nearest table and picked up a folder. The thick file had Wash's name on it, he stuffed it into a bag and looked at all the bodies…nothing he could do, this wasn't what they were there for.
River spoke assuredly. "None of them are alive." She walked out the door again. "Hurry, we have to find them."
Mal looked at Zoe, but she was gone, already in the hall. Silent and deadly. Jayne followed and the tall woman, leaving the Captain alone in the room with "dead" Washes. Mal pulled a grenade out of his bag, he inspected it to make sure it was a real one, before looking around the room again, this image would haunt him till the day he died. As the Captain left the room, he let the explosive stay, to destroy the shells of a once honorable man.
Jayne whispered softly. "What the hell was that?"
"I have no idea, but we'll figure it out later, we gotta get our girls, before they start making copies of Inara and Kaylee."
Jayne made a scared little sound in the back of his throat. "Or us."
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Inara looked at the sleeping man, they both did, stared at him really. "He died Kaylee, in your arms he died, his blood is all over you, there is no way this is our Wash. This is something else completely. Do you understand that?"
The brown haired girl nodded slowly. "Are you scared?" She whispered.
Inara nodded. "Very."
He moved, making a sound, very alien and very odd. His fingers twitched and his hand tried to move. They watched his eyes open and his hands move slowly. He made a fist and relaxed, then bent his legs once or twice. He moved slowly, like someone just waking up from a comma.
Inara frowned and looked closely. The wound was gone. "Can you talk?"
It took a long moment for him to move his head messily from side to side.
"Your not the same as the man Kaylee was with. There is no way you could be the same man." Inara breathed slowly, remembering she should probably make it a true or false question if she expected an answer. "Is that true?"
He lowered his chin and let it work up again.
"Are you a double of him?" Inara asked, searching for a solution. "Someone who looks just like him."
He shook his head. No.
"Are you a machine?"
No.
"Are you a clone?"
There was silence and stillness. His lips tried to move, but only odd sounds came from his mouth. He tried to say something; he repeated it again and again until the words came out a distorted shadow of what they should be. "I remember"
Inara blinked a few times before leaning forward. "You remember what?"
"Everything" His voice sounded almost like a child's working hard to pronounce it.
Kaylee peered over the edge of her individual platform, staring down the eternal pit below her. She looked around her, inspecting. There were shadows below them, a hint the vast space was used for something beyond the threat of their death. She stared up across at the dark vastness to see walls, flat on all sides but one. She could make out a hallway, but there was no way of knowing if the ledge even had a door, or was more dead end.
Wash pulled himself up, breathing slowly. "I remember, Zoe, Mal, River…Miranda." He breathed between each word like it strained him. He moved forward slowly, griping the edge of his platform as he leaned over and let his wrenching stomach empty it's contents.
"Train job…you had to go…pull out Zo…Mal…"
Kaylee pulled her knees to her chest and stared at the man as he struggled to speak. He looked at her and gulped. "You ….K?"
"Yeah, all your blood." Kaylee answered with a sadness in her voice.
Wash leaned down and searched for the words he wanted. "Thank you…for staying…with me…when I…" He pointed to his chest, fingers uncoordinated but Kaylee understood.
"You remember?" Kaylee asked
"Yes… you were….there…held…..when…I….again…" Whispered the man without any air left in his lungs.
Inara stood up and grabbed one of the large cords holding the four corners of the platform for support. "Could we climb up these cabels?"
"No" Wash whispered, taking deep lung-fulls of air at once. "They are too thin..heavy…sharp."
Kaylee stood. She looked at Inara, and then down at Wash. "How do you remember?" She asked him.
"Some…thing…'bout ….mind…" He said stuttering. "I'm not sure." He managed to pull his words, working them into full mouthfuls.
Kaylee peered at him, pity in her eyes, but she was not convinced as easily as last time. "Favorite Animal?"
"Dinosaur."
"When you proposed, what did you call Zoe?" Kaylee asked with her arms crossed. "Mrs. …Sexy…Warrior…w…W… Woman."
Inara smiled softly at his answers "Your favorite part of Zoe?"
Wash mustered up a laugh and leaned back to lay on his metal bed. "Never… could… choose…" He let his eyes close and the companion could hear the strain in his voice to keep himself from crying. "Love…everythin' bout….her…can't choose. Impossible really. I love so much of her…all together…she k?" Inara nodded and he thought back, started saying what he could to prove what he could. "Mal got in a duel….over 'nara ….Kaylee ….got …the cupcake thing …dress… Badger …and River talked…" He took a few deep breaths before continuing. "Kaylee got shot…Zo took blast…for Kay…Mal…went …down with Serenti..ty…" He seemed a little exhausted.
"That's enough." Kaylee whispered. "Mal will come, he'll save us."
"No…" Wash looked up at her with a little desperation in his face. "That is what they want. .. They want to prosecute all those who had anything to do … with Miranda. Anything at all…" The man tried to pull himself to his feet but it was on shaky ground. Kaylee felt herself weaken. She didn't know how it worked specifically, but that man was their Wash. Alive and breathing. She wasn't gonna leave him here alone to die again and again by the hand of these crazy men. Her head jerked suddenly hearing the faint echo of an explosion.
"That's probably them now, Wash" Kaylee said with excitement in her voice.
"Awfully far …away don't you think?" Wash asked with a smile.
Her head darted around with her eyes before she asked."…is there a way out over there?" pointing to the dark hallway.
"Yes." His whispered breathing heavily between words. "But it's too far."
The girl stood, the fear in her legs made the entire platform tremble. She grabbed on to the cables for support before she began shifting her weight. First forward, then backward. She swung toward Wash's platform intent on keeping her center of gravity low.
"Kaylee? What are you doing?" Inara asked quickly.
"If Wash is right, then Mal is gonna walk in here lookin' for us and we should at least have the courtesy to meet him near the front door don't ya think 'nara?" The mechanic seemed to be suddenly very brave. She waited till she was about to make her platform collide with his and took the leap of faith. Her trembling knees gave out on her as she landed on Wash's platform, the man instinctively tried to catch her, his weak arms only a shadow of a normally muscular man.
"Are you okay?" He asked, looking at her with a sudden realization in what she had done. "You really just do that little Kaylee?"
"Yeah. But, one more thing before we go." The girl said in a whisper, she reached out and touched his chest. Nothing. No wound.
"You were supposed to run little Kaylee."
"I know." She whispered. "I couldn't then, but I can now. Can you?"
"I'll do my best." He answered softly
Kaylee looked up at Inara and the companion nodded. She followed the girl's example, grabbing the cable and bending her knees to keep her weight stable. She began to sway, leaning herself forward, then back, one way and then the other. She took the jump much more calmly than Kaylee did, grabbing the cable to steady herself as she landed.
"Now what?" Wash asked. Pulling himself to his feet with clumsy movements.
"Stay low and swing that way," She pointed to the dark bridge. She was Still unsure of what would greet them there, but anything is better than a giant empty pit.
This took longer, farther to swing. Wash's movements were clumsy but he was trying to help as best he could. They were at the widest swing they dared when Inara spoke up. "I'll go first." She launched herself with grace and landed in a smooth roll.
Kaylee would be next, she began to shake almost immediately at the thought. She took a deep breath and simply let go. She let herself launch off the platform and sailed through the air to land hard and messily onto the metal floor. Inara was at her side in and instant, helping her to feel steady. The girls both looked back to see the swing loosing momentum, and Wash attempting to get it back again.
Wash looked down and remembered when he fell down that very pit, traveled through it with only fear and death in his mind, but after bringing him back so many times, he had jumped off once. He had just stepped off the edge and let himself fall to his death. He had been calm on the way down that time, remembered it felt like floating or flying. He had been weightless on the way down. He had been a leaf on the wind without Serenity to protect him. He felt his limbs still so weak, not ready to support him as this would demand. He didn't care. He would take the risk.
He jumped, legs wound and uncoiled like a spring as they propelled him through the air. He flew, forever it seemed like, but it was difficult to see the dark metal floor. When he hit it, his lower half was beyond the edge and didn't stop. His hands shot out and searched for a hold, but there was nothing but smooth metal. No ledge caught his fingertips, no rock, no pole, nothing. He felt himself falling and closed his eyes tight, not wanting to see Kaylee's face, or Inara's as he slipped off the edge into nothingness. He heard a scream, a yelling high pitched voice that came close, and he felt himself stop suddenly.
He felt his wrists enveloped in warmth and strength. He opened his eyes to see Inara's passionate dark eyes holding him tight, just as tight as her hands on his wrists. He breathed and tried to pull. He commanded his muscles to move, this was the end of it. He wasn't gonna take the torture anymore.
Kaylee had her hands around Inara, her sneakers giving better traction on the slick metal then Inara's bare feet. The mechanic finally breathed, using all her might to pull. She even sore to herself she'd start using Jayne's weight bench.
Wash managed to hook his leg above the edge and he felt Kaylee's small hand grab his thigh. She and Inara together hauled him up with a loud grunt.
His light eyes flickered from girl to girl. "Thank you."
Kaylee nodded and gently helped him to his feet. "Can you walk?"
"Need some practice first. Time we don't have." Wash murmured.
Inara stood and slid in close next to him, "Then you lean on us. Let's get going before they realize we're missing."
Wash put an arm over each girl and let them take some of his weight
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Zoe kept her gun cocked and ready as she walked. Mal held his pistol over his shoulder. River lead them down a long hallway, her steps slow and deliberate. She looked around. Looking for something. She touched the wall to their left and looked at it with a tenderness she reserved for Serenity's hull.
Zoe heard footsteps rounding the corner and quickly pulled the young girl back, aiming at the soon to be occupied spot. Her trigger finger itched with anger. She saw Kaylee first, her face, hands, chest, covered in blood. Her hair was matted with dark stains and she held and almost clean, very weak Wash. Zoe could feel mixed feelings bubble up inside her. It felt worse when she saw the man's light soft eyes hit her face. She couldn't ignore the flash of recognition in his expression. The love her husband used to have for her was clearly in that copy's face. She took aim at the man, without pause.
"ZOE!?" Screamed the mechanic in surprise and confusion as she extended her hand to the woman's gun.
Jayne's brow furrowed, seeming to be the only one concerned that Kaylee was covered in blood. "You okay?"
"Holy …Kaylee!" Mal exclaimed, finally looking at her rather than Wash. "We gotta get you outta here. The tall dark woman looked at the smaller girl with a harsh strong jaw, despite the fact she was covered in blood, she was still standing in the way of Zoe's gun and she couldn't have that. "You are gonna step aside Kaylee."
Inara moved in front of the Man and let him lean steadily on her back. "You are not going to kill him."
Mal didn't know what to do, didn't know what to say. River spoke first, through the silence of disagreement. "They are coming. It's too late. They are coming!" She reached out and grabbed the gun from Mal's other side and spun quickly toward Wash. She aimed at him, her gun trained on him as she stepped forward. Kaylee's eyes were filled with fear, her mind pleading with River not to shoot. Inara's determined to stay blocking the little girls shot.
"Move" The girl demanded.
"No." Inara said, firm and strong.
The agile girls leg shot out and pushed the side of Inara's knee. The graceful companion collapsed with a pained scream, taking Wash down with her. River shot across their falling forms and hit her target. The weaselly man reached down and touched his chest looking up at her with shock and pain. "Don't you remember dieing …this isn't the first time for you." River looked down at Wash her head tilted to the side, then to Inara. She pointed the gun down at Wash's head. "Bullet in the brainpan. Squish."
Wash nodded, a firm decisive action. The small girl pointed her weapon once again at the weaselly man, and shot again. She felt something enter her mind, an overwhelming hate. Anger. Passion. The memory of Wash being tortured by the weaselly man. The memory of almost escaping, of killing the man bloodily with bare hands only to see him come back to life. She walked toward him, aiming for his head and shot. And shot. The echoing gunfire crept up Mal's spine and made his mouth go dry. "River. He's dead."
The girl straddled the dead man, blood pooling around her thick commando boots. She leaned down and pressed the muzzle against the man's pin-cushioned face and took the last loaded shot she had. The room was quiet. Very quiet as she stood up and peeked back over her shoulder at the Captain. "And he's going to stay that way this time."
Mal was not going to stand for this anymore. "Alright, 'nough playin' 'round. Lets go."
Inara tried to pull herself up and took a sharp breath as pain rocketed up her leg from her knee. "River!" The woman whined shooting the girl a nasty look.
"I had to make you go down…" She replied innocently.
Zoe wasn't done with Wash, not by a long shot she pointed her gun at him still, a long hurt expression graced his sweet face, but she ignored it. "You aren't coming with us."
Kaylee frowned deeply. "If he doesn't come, I don't come."
Zoe looked at the mechanic for the first time, her entire attention off the man on the floor. "Ka-"
"No." Interrupted the blood stained girl. "This is Wash. Our Wash, I don't know how or why but we will figure it out and you will realize he is ours. Our crew. He is coming or you can shoot me right now."
Zoe aimed her gun at the girl, willing to play bluff against bluff, but the Captain wasn't. He reached down and pulled Inara up into his arms, holding the girl gently and trying his best not to look her in the eye. "Enough. He comes, we don't have time for this. Dong ma?"
Zoe could take orders, she immediately started moving out, passing by Jayne with a hard hit to his shoulder. The Captain let her go. "Jayne, pull up the rear. River, help us get outta here. . . and Kaylee, you wanted to keep him so bad, you help him."
The small girl pulled him up as best she could, and Wash attempted to walk by himself as much as possible. He looked down at the brown haired girl with an odd realization, that this girl was somehow convinced she would save him, like he tried to do for her. He should just remember to have enough courage to take that help, even if it's difficult.
Jayne followed behind, watching the blood covered girl help the struggling man. It only lasted for the better part of a minute before Jayne walked up next to them. Instead of being a kind man, telling Kaylee he wanted to help her, telling Wash he was glad to see him, or asking again after Kaylee's safety, he just grunted. "You movin' too slow." He grabbed Wash and threw the man over his shoulder. "Lets pick it up." Kaylee walked as fast as she could to keep up. She never went a step without thanking Jayne, however.
"Yeah…thanks Jayne" Wash chimed in "…you been doing some exercises, cause your butt is looking fantastic from this angle!"
"Right back at ya…" Jayne said with a smirk, smacking the man's ass softly as he winked at little Kaylee. Caught up in the light humor before he knew it.
The girl laughed, a little odd with her face all bloody, but still warmed Jayne's heart. He also thought to himself, the comment would have been precisely what Wash would have said…
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Simon thought that he was completely prepared for every possible scenario. He had everything set out for a multitude of contingencies. Stabbings, shootings, burns, or even an embedded strange object or two, Simon was completely prepared. He did not however, predict a clone.
The doctor felt his heart skip a beat when he saw Wash plopped on his table. The blonde gave him an awkward smile and a slight nod. Simon just gave him wide open staring eyes.
Mal's fingers snapped only inches from the doctors eyes, bringing him, at least mostly back to attention. "Your sister busted 'Nara's knee. Everyone else is fine, your gonna have to figure out what that thing is sooner or later, but don't let him outta your site." Mal walked out, River already headed for the controls of Serenity.
Jayne leaned on the doorway, his gun in hand. Kaylee still hovered just behind him, peeking into the room.
Simon let his eyes run over Wash again. He was fully distracted again. "You…were…dead."
Inara rolled her eyes. "We've been over that, and we can go over it again, but first, would you please look at the knee."
"Huh? What did you say?"
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"I recommend we at least lock him up Captain." Zoe said forcefully. "He poses a serious threat. We have no idea who he really is, or what his purpose is. All we know is that he is one of many, I say that we kill him."
"Thinks like Wash." Came River's eerie voice whispering over the air. "Smells like Wash, moves like Wash . . . thinks like him."
Mal ran his fingers through his hair. "We are gonna keep him locked up anyway, until we figure out for sure who. . . or what he is."
"Of course." Zoe said with a firm nod.
The Captain held something in his hand that he apparently didn't want to open while the strong woman was still in the room. "What is that sir?" She asked, knowing that he didn't want to answer.
"Nothing." He murmered, rubbing his head, keeping on hand firmly over the file's title. "Could you go get the doc? He should be done with Inara by now."
Zoe lifted one silken eyebrow at the man, she didn't like when Mal wanted her out of the room. Her saving grace was the singsong voice of Kaylee from behind her, just entering the kitchen. "I'll do it Cap, already on my way."
The tall woman let her long legs fold in on themselves as she sat at the table. "I guess I'll stay right here then."
Mal's eyes looked at her with a hard stare, but she had a more dangerous look then he did.
Kaylee wasn't sure if she had broken the tension in quite the right way this time. She just skipped out of the kitchen and worked her way down the stairs as quickly as she could. Jayne heard her coming, but at the moment, the mechanics mind wasn't on the mercenary, in fact, she didn't even seem to notice him. She slid into the infirmary and right up to the doctor. "Simon, Mal wants ya in the kitchen."
"Alright." Tam was moving his hands over Wash's chest, still examining it but preparing to tear himself away from the man on the table.
When Simon's eyes finally looked up, they went to Kaylee. "Are you alright?" He asked. His hand touched her face, an action of soft sweet caring. His fingers felt the warmth of her flesh and yet he looked at her with only respect, and friendship. Jayne didn't understand. Something inside him wanted to worship that little girl. For the moment that Simon looked at the mechanic he calmed, his brain stopped working overtime and took a second to align every individual moment. She calmed him. She aligned him. Why then did she make Jayne twist into things he didn't really want to feel?
The doctor left, confusion filling his head again. Kaylee reached out and took Wash's hand in her's. Jayne could feel jealousy and anger pool in his stomach. It made his jaw clench and his fingers twitch toward his gun. He didn't rightly know why though. Kaylee pulled up a seat next to the weak man looked down at him, her soft voice soothing. "How ya feelin?"
"Just shiny" Wash said, voice still not sounding quite like it should.
Inara stood up, leaning against the counter as she looked over at Wash, her knee was still tender but it would heal well enough. "How long will it take for you to speak normally?"
Kaylee frowned. "Now that ain't nice to say 'nara." The innocent girl stated scolding. "He can't help it."
"I can hear myself though." Wash said sitting up a little bit. "I know what I should sound like, I remember talking right all my life. Just this tongue…teeth…lips…they don't know how to move yet."
"Because they've never done it before." Inara said, a mix of a question and a statement.
"They havn't?" Kaylee asked softly.
"I get a new body Kaylee. Every time I die, they move me into a whole new me." Wash explained.
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Simon stepped through the door to the kitchen, immediately interested in the papers strewn across the wooden table. "What is this?" He sat slowly, tilting his head to look at the documents, fingers darting out to leaf through the papers. "Brain scans…neural maps. . . skull dissections…Where did you get this?"
Mal handed the doctor the folder, still containing some papers. "It was in that place, in a room with many … copies of Wash. All bein' home grown just like the one we got in our infirmary."
"Copies?" Simon opened the folder and began reading.
Mal sighed after a long moment of silence. "Come on doc. You gotta let me know what in the 'verse is goin' on here?"
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"No Kaylee, you don't want to hear this…"
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"They cloned him Captain. Not once. . . not twice. . . but hundreds of times. The escalated the growth cycle of the unborn babies by using a molecular acceleration device…it basically…"
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"They tortured me Kaylee…when I didn't answer the questions they wanted me to answer, they would kill me. Never quick. Never painless. They killed me over and over again. After every time, they just brought me back to life so they could do it again. And again." For a long moment, Wash seemed lost in his mind, and Kaylee squeezed his hand.
"I'm sorry Wash…really…If you don't wanna talk 'bout it, I understand." She stroked his hair tenderly. "I just wanna help."
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Jayne looked the other way, he didn't want to see Kaylee hold Wash's hand. He didn't want to continue to be ignored. He wished he could pull Kaylee away from the thing and talk to her. About anything, yet he didn't know what to say. He didn't really want to talk, it's just he wasn't allowed to grab her and kiss her…
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Simon looked down, horrified at the records. "He was killed . . . many times. Each of these documented a success. He displayed consciousness…knowledge of his previous lives." He took a moment to scan the reports and continued. "Once he didn't show any signs of knowing, he fell off his …'cell platform'…and plummeted to the pit bottom. He sustained serious head trauma and did not recall any information for the time period in that clone body." The doctor kept flipping, he stopped for a moment. ". . . He committed suicide. . ."
Zoe's eyes twitched, her lips seemed to slightly spasm as she looked through the photographs. Wash lay dead in everyone. Some he was sliced open. Some shot. Some beaten. Some starved. They had killed Wash. Again. And Again. They took pictures, cut him open and studied him.
"He jumped off the cell platform once. Says here, he tried to dive and hit his head. By that time they had installed a preventative system. It doesn't mention what that system was." Simon flipped few a few more pages. "Dated Yesterday, he threw himself at a guard to aid in the escape of a newly captured prisoner: Frye, see appropriate file."
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"They wanted to hold someone responsible. For the Miranda incident. The program was to recreate me so I could be brought to justice. Most inmates they attempted to revive failed." Wash touched Kaylee's hand warmly. "After so long…I suspect they were using me just to collect the data."
"…It's alright. Your home now. I'll make them see your really you. I promise." Kaylee whispered petting his hair with a desperate tone to her voice, she wanted to help him with all her heart, wanted to keep the friend she had already lost once.
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"We should kill him." Zoe growled, firmly.
Simon's light eyes flickered up, his face immediately appalled. "No."
Mal just quirked an eyebrow. "Why not?"
"Well. . . " The doctor struggled for an answer besides this was a human being and they had no right to kill it. "He isn't the original Wash…but his brain has been reproduced. Reshaped. He's been replicated in a way science has barely begun to considered. He is as close to our Wash a we will ever know, the only difference is the experiences he has had between his death and now."
"Traumatic experiences?" Zoe asked her head cocked for a fight.
"Yes."
"Then he could very well be psychotic. What right do we have to let him live."
Simon slammed his hands on the table, growling at the larger woman. "What right do we have to kill him!"
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"You don't have to do that. I'll leave Kaylee, this …" Wash held his breathe a moment before Inara spoke for him.
"You expected us to welcome you. You missed your friends, and most of all; your wife. You never thought she would great you with a gun to your head. . ." Whispered the companion. "You just dreamed of being together with her again. And now…"
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"I will blow his gorram brains onto Serenity's hull myself next time I see him." Zoe spat at the Captain, her hands in tight fists, shaking with raw fury. "That is not my husband. My husband is dead. And that…thing is walking around with my husbands face. His DNA. It has no right, . . . sir." She leaned her dangerously fire filled eyes toward Mal. "Let me kill that animal, for even attempting to impersonate a member of this crew."
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"She wrote her own wedding vows. She changed…'till death do us part' to…'till Wash's carelessness kills us both..'" He had stinging in his eyes, but he didn't let it out. Just in case he looked away from the girls. "I remember our first kiss…and the…the moment….no; the second…that I fell in love with her. I remember everything." He closed his eyes tightly, pain audible. "Yet she would shoot me on sight."
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It made Inara weak, looking at the man who was once there friend, and now seemed to be nothing but a broken shell. She could tell he was the same, yet different. She knew this Wash had seen too many terrible things to be exactly the same. But her heart went out to him. She knew what it was like to have the one you love resist you. At least he knew exactly how he felt though. At least he knew he wanted Zoe, knew that he loved her with every bit of himself. Knew he wouldn't be able to rest without her love.
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"He is a member of this crew. Was…always will be. He's part of Serenity." River whispered stepping into the light.
"No." Simon said shaking his head. "He is not Wash. Wash died. It's like . . . two biscuits. They look exactly the same. Taste the same. But they are different."
"No." River said leaning over to look at the table. "This was Wash." She pointed at a picture of the mutilated man. "And this. . . and this . . . and this. . ." Simon stopped her hand and she looked at him with burning angry dark eyes. "They were all him. He was alive. They were all him. He is none of them. He's back. It thinks like him." The young girl stopped talking for a moment and did not let the silence fill with sound before looking directly at Zoe. "He loves like him…"
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"Kaylee. Back away from it." Jayne's gruff voice filled the room. He couldn't really take it anymore. This wasn't Wash, and Kaylee never fawned over the real pilot this way. He must have some kind of drug, spell…something freaky to make the mechanic believe him so readily. Inara seemed just a smitten. Women. "You too 'nara. Back 'way."
The companion took a step back but Kaylee stepped in front of Jayne. She stood between the tall mercenary and the clone. "You ain't here to tell me what to do." Her voice was horse and strong. She was angry. But he hadn't done nothin'! Must have been that imposter.
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Zoe cocked her gun and pointed it at River's head. Anger burned inside her like a volcano. She didn't care if she hurt someone. She didn't care if she got hurt. At that moment all she could feel was anger. Burning raging and coursing through her like a flowing river that pushed her over the edge of a waterfall she had been teetering on for a very, very long time. "Shut up!" She screamed. "I held my husband as he died. A Reaver shot a stick through his chest and splattered him over the cockpit of this fine ship. He is dead. I saw him die. The Captain saw him die. Didn't you!."
Mal didn't say anything.
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Her hand was on his chest with the sudden calm warmth that flooded him. She looked up at him with a tenderness that calmed him. He was blinded by the simple, tender act, the entire world melted away and he just felt her hand, and his own breathe. Kaylee's eyes were the warmest brown Jayne had ever stared into. "Jayne, your not bein' reasonable"
"No." Jayne said firmly. "You two shouldn't even be talkin' to him. He could be manipulatin' ya."
"He's not" Kaylee said with a smile.
Jayne's jealous nature bubbled up inside him. "Still, shouldn't be talkin' to him." The mercenary ignored Wash as the man tried to speak up for himself, instead, he just reached out for Inara and removed them both from the infirmary. He slammed the door. There. No more nonsense. He locked it tight. He turned around, only to be greeted by Kaylee's very angry face.
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Zoe felt betrayed on a personal level. "Captain."
Mal just shook his head. "Zo, I don't know what to think. What makes a person…a person. I can't decide that. Doc's right, can't go around killing things." Simon felt relief flood through him, although he knew part of that response could be given to Mal's selfish nature, wanting to hold on to something, not wanting to change. Zoe felt anger, hate bubble inside her. She was about to loose her temper. She hadn't done it since Wash died…and she had crossed the line to stab a Reaver… "But I don't know what I am supposed to do." Mal stood looking deep into Zoe's face. "We could drop him off. Anywhere you want me too."
Zoe seemed agreeable to that. She didn't say anything, she just left. She didn't object, but she didn't agree. She just left. Her feet were firm and tough. The kicked open the door to her bunk and looked back into the kitchen. Mal, Simon and River were all looking at her. She could feel Mal's sympathy, something she would only accept from the long time friend. She could feel Simon's disapproval. He objected to her thoughts and her assumptions. She could feel River's mind probing hers. She could feel the girl digging up pain. She could feel River weeding through personal and private memories of Wash. Zoe didn't care what River was looking for, she just wanted the little brat to stop. Zoe dropped down the ladder quickly and let the door shut. She didn't want River digging those things up. Not now.
She felt tears stinging her eyes as she remembered her husband. She remembered how warm he used to be, how soft, how caring, she remembered their wedding, she even remembered the moment she meet him and that furry thing on his face. She felt the tears sting her eyes. Zoe would have screamed, cursed and pounded River's innocent little face in, only the child was no longer the one brining Wash into her head. Zoe couldn't stop thinking of him. Wondering if that was really him in the infirmary…or just an empty shell that she could kill without a second thought.
She had cried very few tears over Wash, and always in private. She had just pushed them back, down and away. But now the surged up on her like a terrible earth quake…and she shook like a leaf on the wind.
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"What are we going to do Captain?" Simon asked, pulling the papers back into a neat stack. "Just ask him to kindly get off the ship he's been waiting to rescue him?"
River frowned at her brother. "He is a part of Serenity. He has to stay."
Simon opened his mouth to try and reason with River, but the girl had had enough. She frowned and looked at Mal with hard eyes. "Ten years ago …you had a different moral compass. . . before Zoe had Wash she had a different name. Seven years ago…you had a different skeleton. Your body has rebuilt you, renewed every cell. The only thing that connects you now…to the man you once were…is you brain. Your memory. That is who you are. That is who Wash is." She went to the table and pulled out a group of papers. She held the pictures up to Mal's face. "His brain is the same. Thinks the same. He is the same."
Jayne's deep grungy voice echoed in the kitchen very suddenly. "She is really starting to damage my calm." He shifted his weight. "What she babbling 'bout now."
Simon sighed, shooting a deathly glare at the muscular man. "It's complicated Jayne, you wouldn't understand."
Mal sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. River looked at Kaylee and said in a firmly truthful voice. "Captain can't decide whether to kill Wash…or leave him on a planet."
Kaylee's face dropped. "Is that true Capti'n? You can't mean it!"
"Now Kaylee-" Mal was not permitted to finish.
"No! Come on Capt'n" Kaylee looked like she had a fire in her as well. This wasn't a day that Mal could win. "You can't do this to him! He's been waitin for his hell ta end and now that it has . . . we can't cast him out."
"We have no proof, none at all that the man in the infirmary is Hoban Washburne." Mal answered, truthfully. Sincerely.
"We have him." Inara said softly. Her words were like a lightning strike of reason in a room of rumbling argument. "Ask him. Ask him anything Wash would know, he will answer. Have him fly, I'm sure he could do it. Just talk to him Mal. Talk to him and you will surely have your decision made."
The Captain looked weary for a moment, unsure whether he even wanted to go this route. Zoe would be angry. "Please" accompanied Inara's soft and tender face. She had the look, pleading Mal to trust her. His resolve melted against her. Watching her lean against the wall with her curling black hair tickling her chin.
"Alright. We'll talk." He looked down and sighed deep in his chest. "First Simon, you gotta check him out, full work up..make sure he's got nothing funny going on…no explosives where the sun don't shine…you hear?"
"Yes sir," Responded the doctor as he walked away.
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Mal didn't know what he was doing, didn't know what he should do. The room cleared slowly but Inara stayed, leaning against the doorway in her dirty dress. She had bare feet covered in dirt. He approached her, slowly. . . he didn't have time to talk to her…he gently reached out to her and let his hand cradle her delicate face. He looked down into her warm brown eyes. She knew just how to get to him…didn't she?
He let his thumb touch her lip, a very soft gesture as he tipped the swollen flesh out and examined the small cut on her lip. "Doc didn't think it needed stiches."
"No…" She whispered "He said it would be fine…"
He gentle brushed his fingers over her face and slid with a gentle touch through her hair. "They …sent me your hair."
"I know." She whispered.
"I. . . I . . ." He took a deep breathe and swallowed hard. "I have to say something …but it is really hard…"
She looked at him, her heart skipping a beat for a moment. Inara had been waiting so long for him to swallow his pride and be a man. "You were …in there for more than a day before we got you back…There was …Did you sleep?"
"Huh?" She didn't know how to answer that . . . such a soft touch to such a question.
"Did you sleep?" He asked, the second time more firmly.
"Yeah…a little I think…" She answered, confused.
He took another breathe and removed his hand. "Simon said…there was plenty of time…for them to use your blood…to make another you…"
Her eyes widened in surprise. "What?" She asked, a whisper off her lips.
He grabbed her left arm tightly and he pulled it up, looking at her left hand- barren.
"You were wearing a ring…when you left." He whispered softly.
The woman stared at her hand with wide eyes. "I was." She whispered. Not a question. But a statement.
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Simon stood in front of her, a sad look on his face. Jayne stood at the door to the infirmary…this time for the doctor's protection. But Kaylee didn't believe him. "No…Simon, it's me…Kaylee…" She took a step towards him but he took one back.
"I can test that…If you are a clone, the growth antibodies will still be in your blood…you would still in a way…be growing.." He said softly. "Just let me take a sample…and until the results come back…you have to stay in your room."
Kaylee frowned deeply. Her entire body shook with anger. "I AM ME!" She screamed…pain filling her entire being. "You can't make ME in a day!"
Simon looked down. He wasn't good at this. "It is possible Kaylee…They could have taken your DNA. They had a file just for you…maybe they even had a room just for you."
She fell to sit on the table. She looked around franticly. "No…It's me…It's me…I swear…" She looked at Jayne and his heart shattered into a million pieces. He knew it was her, he could feel it. He wanted to do something to help her. He had to look away. He couldn't handle the hurt in her eyes, her voice.
"I believe you…" They both whispered gently.
The doctors was less sincere however. Simon extending a hand to her slowly. "But we can prove it. Please…think of it as a day off…"
She jerked her arm away from him. "Don't touch me." She was going to cry. She could feel it. The frustration bubbling inside her. She wasn't a clone. She wasn't a clone. She wasn't a clone.
"Is there any time…any time at all that you can't account for?" He asked.
"NO! Wash! He said he remembered dieing …every time… I don't remember a thing!" She begged. She knew she was her. He knew…didn't he.
"His file said…that he fell off his 'cell platform' and the head trauma made it…impossible for him to remember that death. Where you ever in a 'cell platform'?"
She breathed hard, he sat down next to her. "Is there any way…" He continued. "…you could have fallen off..."
Her breathe caught in her throat. Tears flowing down her face slowly as she leaned against him burring her face into his neck and he wrapped his arms around her. She nodded. Nodded and cried.
Jayne stared, jealousy and rage coursing through him, but pushed aside by the sadness he felt for her. She didn't even know…if she was herself. He watched the doctor console her, touch her gently, kiss her head and pet her back. Then he took her blood. And Jayne had to take her back to her room.
She didn't say a word. She didn't move more than walking, her head lulled to one side. She stopped at her door and touched it slowly. "I remember putting this here…" She whispered. "What if I'm not me…"
Jayne didn't care if the Captain saw him, he spun the girl around and held her shoulders tightly in his hands. "You are you" He said firmly, holding her tight enough to pull her to him, and keep her out of her own terrible mind. "You are Kaylee Frye. Nothing will change that. You are not a clone and when that stupid doctor sees your blood he will know it too. He will have a hell of a lot of explaining to do. I know who you are…you ARE Kaylee…"
She looked up at him with soft brown eyes, a spark of life in them for a minute moment. She slid on her toes and closed the short distance between her mouth and Jayne's. Her lips touched his with something gentle, tender, needy behind them. "Will you stay in my room?" She asked against his lips. "Stay the night…"
His heart fluttered and his pants got really tight all of a sudden. His smoky blue eyes looked down at Kaylee's deep brown ones with a strange sort of indecision. He had never had to think about bedding a woman before. But it was a good thing he did.
"I just…don't want to be alone…" She whispered, looking down at his chest. "Can you just hold me…you can leave…when I fall asleep…I…please…"
He kept his hips away from her, making sure she didn't feel how incredibly aroused he was at the idea of a night in her bed. When he didn't answer she whispered the please again and he folded like a house of cards.
"Okay…Okay…" He wined, "But just until you fall asleep."
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Zoe sat in the dark kitchen.
Zoe sat in the dark kitchen with a loaded gun.
Zoe sat in the dark kitchen with a loaded gun aimed at the locked pantry.
Zoe sat in the dark kitchen with a loaded gun aimed at the locked pantry; currently containing her formerly dead husband.
And still, Zoe was the clearest head on Serenity.
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Inara sat in her shuttle, staring out into the cold…dark universe. She let her leg stay up. Her knee hurt with an amazing frequency, every movement, even if she breathed a little too hard…She let her eyes unfocus and become a field of blurry light. She didn't know what to think any more.
She heard him come in. She had no right to throw him out. This was her cell. A very well decorated cell…but a cell none the less. Mal's form peeked through the curtain to the main room and he leaned against the wall a bit before speaking. "How's the identity crisis?"
"Clever, you think of that all by yourself?" Inara asked without looking at him.
Mal looked down, it wasn't funny because it wasn't a joke. He hadn't meant to say it in such a jubilant tone. He had just over compensated for the heavy stale air in the room. "Why are you over here?" He asked gently.
She didn't want to admit the reason, but she was too tired . "My knee hurts to much to make the return trip." She confessed. "Could…you give me a hand?"
"Wouldn't giving you a knee be a more permanent fix?" Mal asked with a small smile. Inara still didn't think it was funny. He shifted his weigh a little and leaned down. He lifted her up slowly. She was very. Very light. He walked to her bed and gently set her down. He looked at her dirty dress. "Would you like something else to wear?"
The woman rolled her eyes. "And who will help me out of my dress? You have Kaylee locked up, Zoe won't step out of shooting range of the pantry, River's disappeared since you started accusing your own crew of not being who they are."
He sighed softly. "I'll help you, I promise I won't look."
She just looked away, eyes downcast.
"Can you tell me…honestly…that you know for a fact…you are the same Inara that left Serenity." Mal asked.
"No." Inara said. Her voice betraying no defeat, no weakness, only fact.
"We'll know tomorrow, Simon will work through the night, I'm not gonna keep you locked away like this. I promise." He said reassuring her.
"The warrant is gone." She said softly, her voice almost a whisper.
"That's good." He nodded. "We've got enough to deal with."
There was nothing but a heavy, awkward silence. He didn't know what to do. Accusing her of not being her was defiantly something he couldn't ignore, she didn't like him right now. Probably didn't even want him there. He stood and walked to her dresser. "What do you want to wear?" he asked easily, relaxed, as if he dressed her regularly.
She hesitated for a moment, but gave in rather quickly, it would be nice to put something else on. "Will you fill the pitcher with water, and bring the bowl and sponge here." He did as she asked. "Will you bring me the cloth in the top drawer, dark blue please."
He handed it to her and she set it on the bed. She reached a hand to him and found herself blushing a bit. He took her hand and helped her too her feet in a smooth move. He saw the slight bruise forming on her flesh, peeking out from behind the brace to keep it still. She gently steered him with her arms to turn around. "Thank you." She whispered, humbly.
Mal had a large smile on his face. "No problem." He looked dead ahead as he felt her back lean against his. He pushed against her, knowing she was using him for support. He let his eyes wander a bit and saw caught a glimpse of moment in a small metal box on top of her dresser. He was able to see her form, the color of her silken dress falling away and her skin underneath. He felt his breath quicken when he felt her bare back press against him. There…was a naked woman…right behind him. A smart, sexy, sensual, beautiful, naked woman right against his back. All he would have to do is turn around and kiss her, at least he would get to see her. She wouldn't really be able to stop him. She might not even be Inara.
No. That thought cooled him off immediately. He couldn't do that. He knew this was Inara. No matter what Simon though. The doctor didn't feel the electricity jump between them when they spoke. Although right now she was rattled, injured, he still felt it. The want for her, the need for her. He just wanted to love her, and not let it complicate everything. But it always did. He heard the sound of water and then a sharp hiss.
Mal didn't think before he turned, he wrapped his arms around to support her. Her short hair shook a little as she breathed deep, holding the cloth to her pale skin to cover herself, but she bit her lip to stifle back to pain of her knee. He couldn't just leave her like this. He felt guilt, he gently turned her in his arms and slid her on the bed. She didn't speak, just averted her eyes and let him move her. She held the cloth over her breasts and her soft black panties covered her lower area. He tried not to look, but her skin was beautiful in this light. A creamy tan. She pulled the rest of the cloth over her legs. He carefully took the sponge and rung it mostly out. He reached down and began to clean her dirty feet and calves gently.
There were no words. She had nothing to say. She didn't want to be so helpless, but she didn't even know who she was, she felt hallow. Mal didn't want to rub it in, didn't want this to be the creepy or unwelcome. But there was only one thing he could even think of.
"What did the ring mean?"
"You know what it meant."
"Only that you aren't…what I called you…I'm sorry about that." He said softly. He moved up, cleaning a spot above her knee before dipping the sponge again.
"I was never a whore." She said firmly.
Mal could make a very inappropriate joke at the moment about how she wasn't sure of that, she could only be a few days old. But, somehow he thought that probably wouldn't fit. "What did it mean?" He pushed.
"Meant that I was no longer available to provide sexual services to my clients." She said flatly and simply, devoid of most emotion. He moved closer, taking her hands with a clumsy but delicate touch. He washed them slowly for her.
"Why didn't you tell us?" He asked
"You mean why didn't I tell you?" She asked with one eyebrow up. She was determined on being difficult, detached, and he was set on being as calm, careful as he could.
"Yes" Was the most polite thing he could muster.
"There are some things in my life Captain," She snatched the sponge from him and continued washing herself. "That you are not privy to."
"I'm not the kinda man that can share you know." He said softly, catching her off guard. She just looked at him a little shocked. "Don't like the idea of the woman I love going off and having sex with other men. Don't much like the idea of her being there date when their gallivanting around the universe either, but I can live with that so long as at the end of the day she's commin' home to me."
Inara…didn't really know what she was listening to. He just say what she think he said?
He stood up and leaned down, capturing her lips for the briefest second. "Long as you agree to that, we can try to stop avoiding one another so much."
"Mal." She said as he turned to leave. "Are you saying this just cause you think I'm not the real Inara?"
He let out a sudden laugh. "No. You are Inara. I can tell you that, even if you don't know yourself."
He left silently, and she held the wet sponge in a tight grip. Was it that easy? Couldn't be. Could it?
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Jayne couldn't sleep. How was he supposed to sleep!? When he was distant, in his own bunk he could have dreams of her and wake up upside down with an erection the size of Serenity's cargo bay, but with her right there? Her smell filling his nostrils, her warms over his chest, her hair tickling his chin. He couldn't possibly be a decent man in his sleep. If he were to let himself go he would be likely to wake up crushing her against the wall doing things she would never permit.
She was asleep, his job was done. He really should go. He erection was starting to make his pants so tight it was mighty uncomfortable and as it was he was looking at a desperate need to relieve that. There was no chance that this would just go away with a cold shower.
Kaylee rolled away from him finally, this was his chance to escape, to run before he did something he would regret. He kissed the back of her head, giving in a little before attempting to slide off the bed. She moaned and rolled into his warm body, snuggling into the soft cotton of his shirt. She murmured something as she pulled herself close.
"What?" Jayne asked her sleeping form in a voice deeper than he intended.
The girls long lashes fluttered open, her sweet smile spreading across her face. "Your still here?" She whispered, pleasantly surprised.
He nodded down at her and gently ran his fingers through her hair. He was however, caught off guard when the girl leaned up and kissed him delicately.
Jayne was trying very hard not to ruin it. He was being careful to kiss her delicately. His large hands moved over her body with restraint, touching slowly, gently.
"Jayne?" Kaylee asked, breaking the kiss slowly. "Are you…alright?"
"Yeah…" He said, wondering if he was doing something wrong as he dipped his head to capture her lips again.
Kaylee leaned back in his arms, peering up at him with suddenly very alert brown eyes. "Do you…not want to do this right now?" She asked, her brow knit together.
Jayne's wide cloudy blue eyes blinked hard. Did she really just ask that question? Did she really just question his intensions while her bare thigh was literally pressed against his erection, a layer of his pants and boxers the only thing separating them? "You know that's not on one of my guns right?"
She smiled, a blush sliding across her face. "I mean…before…when you kissed me…it was different. Are you . . . holding back."
Jayne slid one hand to her butt unconsciously, letting his wide palm sit there for a long time, dominating her small yet perfectly shaped backside. If someone had told him that morning that he would be in bed with a clone of the woman of his dreams, her body enticing and her mind willing, he would have shot them.
That's when the man realized that he was holding back, something felt wrong. He thought he was sure. But would Kaylee do this? Would Kaylee kiss him like this? Would Kaylee want him? She never had before…How could he be sure?
She stared at him and looked very sad all of a sudden. "You don't …really know…do you."
Jayne didn't say a word. Just stared at her hard.
"Fine," She whispered sliding onto him, straddling his hips. She pulled off her shirt and threw it to the floor. She sat there with a white bra and short blue shorts staring down at the strong man beneath her. He didn't look away. "If I'm a clone you get a free night 'stead of havin' to pay a whore. If I'm not…than I'm makin' the choice of my own free will."
She found his erection and purposely pushed. "No obligations Jayne. Nothin' you don't want…promise…just make me feel good…"
He didn't need any more invitation than that. She wanted it hard. She was gonna get it hard. He pulled her down to his muscular chest and spun her so her back was on the bed. He swiftly removed her bra with expert fingertips and discarded the article to the floor. He covered the exposed flesh quickly with his mouth, the other breast with his hand. He felt himself harden more when he heard her moan. God…these sounds were better than the ones she made for the strawberry. He roughly striped her clothes and pined her to the bed with his weight. He didn't kiss her. She didn't want obligations. She didn't want a promise, she just wanted pleasure and by god he could give that too her. Maybe if he did…she might want him more often.
He sucked her nipple till the flesh was a hard nub in his mouth and slid down. Her fingers dug into his scalp through his short hair and she panted as if she was running a mile. He kissed down her flesh, down her abs and pulled her shorts and panties off her in an almost violent motion. He wanted to smell her and the fabric was in his way! He buried his face between her legs and into the hot wet folds there.
He slid his fingers into her and realized, quite suddenly, that she was wet, not just moist, not just aroused, no…she was wet, she was horny and swollen with need. He let his fingers stretch her and brush against her center. He felt her gasp and wiggle. His tongue flicked out and sucked her clit, moving the nub and making her scream softly. He heard what he never thought he would get to hear in his lifetime, she was saying his name. Rolling off her tongue like a beautiful mantra, her voice was angelic and beautiful in his ears and in a single second he heard the shift of her pleasure to frustration. She was begging with his name now. Begging him. "Please…Jayne please…Jayne, Jayne, Jayne, Pleease!" She moaned and wiggled.
He couldn't say no. And he couldn't do nothing. He had a little trouble trying to get his own pants off and around the obstacle of his pulsing manhood. He threw everything to the floor and didn't care that about anything as he jumped over her. He stopped. Suddenly, didn't move, couldn't move. He had to ask. "Are…you…do…I need to…get a…"
Kaylee blinked, unable to think with the head of his penis pressing against her naked body. She just wanted him inside her. Her brain clicked faintly after a long moment. "No. we're safe, I'm on-"
Oh he didn't care what she was on, as long as they were safe, long as he got to plunge into her and he did. Bare as the day he was born but much bigger. She couldn't think straight. She knew that size wasn't really what mattered in bed, but it certainly helped if a man was weak in a certain area. Jayne could impress a girl with just that single area of expertise.
"Oh…Holy." Kaylee's eyes closed tight, her mouth pushing into a line and Jayne had a sudden deep regret. Had he hurt her? She was tight. Really…really tight. She held him like a vice, her muscles tense, but her body was so wet, he hadn't felt any resistance when he went in. He stayed still, like a statue, his arms could take the burning of the awkward position. He just stared at her face. The long tense silence came to an end when she looked up at him, her eyes wide. "You…your…wow…" She closed her eyes again.
Kaylee was on fire. It was so good, she was streached like she had never been streached before and she loved the feel of him, she wanted him to start moving…but she couldn't take the pounding kind of sex she knew he would give her. "Slow…please…" She whimpered and he nodded.
He pulled himself out of the smaller girl and watched her relax, then descended, watching her breathe quicken with each inch and her body tremble when he buried himself to the hilt. Nothing could make him feel more like a man than to watch such a beautiful woman, unable to control her reaction to him inside her.
He dipped his head down to her breasts sucking softly again. He had never wanted to kiss a woman so badly in that moment, he had to do something with his mouth before he crossed the line of what Kaylee had asked for.
After a few minutes of painfully slow thrusts she said began to moan again and after a few minutes of her siren's song she began to beg again. This time for him to go faster. Harder.
Jayne waited, holding out as long as he could manage. Thrusting slow, making sure to push himself against the rough sweet spot inside her. He slid his hand down across her smooth stomach and ground his thumb against her sensitive swollen sweet spot. She jerked and moaned under him, gripping the pillow.
He smiled, and let himself go. He leaned down head over her shoulder and pounded. His hips moved with strength and determination as the slammed her hard enough to push her up the bed. His firm hands held her in place as he pushed in and out of her, faster and harder then the girl thought possible. She remembers liking the sex with boys on ships, in public places for the thrill. But no one…no one ever gave it to her this hard…this hot…or this good.
That was her last thought before she moaned Jayne's name the last time and came in a torrent of pleasure, at the mercy of the mercenary above her. She felt him come inside her a few moments after, she felt the entire world go numb as all she could perceive was the amazing sensation running through her. God…it felt good…so good. Not just a part of her tingled, all of it did. He collapsed next to her panting and sweating just as she was.
"Jayne…" She whispered, panting slowly. "That was…"
"Yeah…" He said with a deep smile. "It was."
She knew he might not like it, but she didn't care, she slid over to him and snuggled with him, she felt his warmth flood through her, comfort her. She pushed her nose into his neck and closed her eyes. If this is what he could give…she would be fine being just his sex toy.
Jayne was surprised, pleasantly surprised, he held her close and tight. He loved the feeling of her, wanted nothing more than to wait fifteen minutes and find another way to enjoy he body. He even love the taste of her. Both her mouth and way down below. If this was what she would let her do . . . he would be fine being just her sex toy.
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River's smokey dark eye looked past Mal's as he stepped out of Inara's shuttle. Her brother just inches behind her, his face was the one of distinct bad news. He stepped around River and looked at the doctor with hard eyes. "What is it?" He asked.
Simon shifted nervously not wanting to answer.
"Are they them, or are they not?" He asked sharply.
River piped quickly, before Simon could answer. "He doesn't know!"
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Zoe steped to the door, holding her gun steady. She could just open the door, blast him, and let it be done. Nothing to it really. Let the deep dark 'verse swallow what's left of the abomination. She peeked through the glass on the door. She saw him. Sleeping. Innocent. Unsuspecting. Suddenly he began to spasm, her brow furrowed as she watched him shake and his head thrash back and forth. His hands slammed to the floor and he screamed, a pain filled reverberating sound the moved through the door and tore through Zoe's stomach. That was the sound of torture. The sound he made for months after Niska tortured him and Mal. His eyes went wide and he looked away from her to his right on the cold metal floor, one hand reaching out. Where they in there bed, she would be there. To his right. Where she always slept. She saw his hand squeeze into a fist and fingertips catch the grating in his grip. He was in pain. Real human pain. She found her gun at her side, no longer pointed. She forced herself to step back. To sit.
Wash. Her wash? No. It couldn't be him. He is a clone. A monster made to look like her Wash. It wasn't her Wash. Not Wash. Not Wash. Not Wash. Not Wash. Wash.
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Mal stared at Simon with a long blank stare. "What do you mean? Unidentified?"
The doctor sighed, he couldn't explain it four times, he wasn't that patient of a man. "That is what I mean, I don't know what the protein is, what it does…they could be clones. Or they protein could be something they fed them, something they injected them with, something as a priming for the process. There is no way for me to know. Not without more information. I compared to Wash's blood. There is no significant markers like his. I can't tell. Not now at least Mal. They could be. They could not be. I need more time."
"No." Mal said flatly.
"What?" Simon blinked.
"I said No." Mal repeated.
"But-" The doctor was quickly cut off.
"If they are them than we are putting them through living hell. There is no way I will let them go through another day not even knowing if they really natural. This isn't something they need to know."
Simon blinked. "You can't keep this from them, the real Kaylee and Inara could be trapped somewhere, waiting for us to rescue them."
Mal stopped and turned. "No. If they are out there, they would be dead. Their brain run through a scanny thing, just like you explained they did with Wash. Bombarding them with enough radiation to fry them in order to get a perfect imprint for the new brain. The people we have here. These three. Are all we can possibly get. They think like them, they are exactly like them. We can't continue to treat them like copies. Even if they are, they don't know it. They are just like the originals and the originals are probably gone. What is the use in telling them they are copies of themselves. No. Just tell them you cleared them." He glanced at River. "You too. I don't want to know the truth. Tell Inara and Kaylee they aren't copies. Tell them they are right as rain originals and don't ever speak of this again. No more tests. Leave it be."
He walked away almost angry. Simon couldn't stop himself from asking the next question. "And Wash?"
"I'll deal with him myself." Mal stated flatly.
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Simon let himself into Kaylee's bunk, he stepped down the ladder quietly, knowing she didn't like to be startled, he would stroke her hair till she woke up, do it gently and kindly, lie to her and leave. He stopped, his heard pounding in his chest. Jayne was on top of her. Naked. On top of her Naked. Completely Naked. Kaylee was also Naked. They had sex. Kaylee. And Jayne. Had sex. He…would have to…come back …later. Yeah…later.
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Wash didn't know what was going on. It had been a really long time. Silence. No one had come to see him. Not Kaylee. Not Inara. Just him alone with his thoughts in a tiny storage closet. For the longest time. He made a choice. The choice to do the right thing, even if it would hurt them. He had to say, what he had to say.
"Have a seat" Mal offered,
"Thank you." Wash said sitting slowly at one end of the table. It was very strange with the Captain on the other side, just staring down the wooden surface at him. He felt like an animal on display.
"Alright…I got only a few options. I could kill you. I could let Zoe kill you. I could let Jayne kill you." The man's voice echoed in the empty room. "So, I suggest you make this might quick, I got a ship needs runnin'. Say what you need to say. Prove to me. . . your our Wash."
The blonde man shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He looked over his shoulder at the door to the engine room. He looked down at the warm red glow of Serenity's turning heart, what kept her alive, just like Kaylee it was full of warmth and vibrant swirling energy. He didn't want to do this to any of them. But especially not to Kaylee.
The man's voice sounded hallow and forced as he let out a breathe. He pushed his head back to Mal, staring at the Captain. One man's light eyes stared deeply into the other's, but something pushed the Captain up, as if trying to dive with a life jacket on. Wash broke the silence. "I suggest you be lettin' me go on my way at the nearest port. Alliance won't track ya once I'm off your ship, just keep low, don't come looking for me." He took a long breathe and let it out.
"You got no choice but dumpin' me … see … Capt'n I can't prove a thing. Cause. . . I ain't your Wash."
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