"The next one goes right here," Dr. Douglas said, her finger hovering over a clamp that was screwed into the top of Camille's head.
Simon raised the needle to the clamp and hesitated, his hand shaking. There was sweat beading along his hairline and on his upper lip.
Far cry from the competent doc that Mal was used to. The man Mal was use to seeing in doctorly situations made Mal feel reassured that he, or whoever, would be taken care of no problem. This one made him want to rush across the exam room, take the needle out of his hand, and snatch Camille from the chair to carry her off to safety.
But, if he did, then Jayne'd figured they were attacking and take down Garrison right quick. And then Book would go after Jayne, having a better grasp on the situation and being less inclined towards smash and grab at the least provocation. Then, Wash and Inara would probably block Mal's exit, trying to convince him not to take Camille while she had needles in her head and wires attached to her chest and stuff. And Zoe, being Zoe, would guard Mal's back like normal, even if she thought he was being nuts.
Then there was River, who was already wringing Kaylee's hand anxiously. If Mal went off and tried to rescue Camille, whether she needed it or not, River would probably have another episode, and it weren't that Mal liked that Prophet kid or nothing, but whatever he'd done to River the day before had snapped her out of it right fast. The last thing Mal wanted to do was send her back to that place she'd been at, all spacey and creepifying.
"Just relax," Dr. Douglas soothed. She placed her hand on Simon's shoulder and rubbed softly. "You should be able to feel the notch in her skull; the clamp is right over it. Just remember to breathe and slid the probe right inside."
"Does the hole have to be so small?" muttered Simon.
"You want me to walk around with big holes in my head?" Camille asked. Her shoulders were somewhere around her ears and her bare feet pointed so hard her toes almost touched her heels. Her eyes were shut, breathing fast, and it was annoying because Mal could hear not only her breathing but the monitor that was beeping along with her breathing. Or maybe it was her heart, in which case, her heart was beating way to fast, and, gorrammit, Mal did not want Camille to be here going through this.
"It's in," Simon said suddenly, releasing the needle. His hands came up on either side of Camille's head, eyes wide.
Camille exhaled, her feet lowering and toes relaxing.
"See? Easy." Dr. Douglas smiled.
Mal snorted derisively, earning a poisonous look from Garrison. They glowered at one another for a moment before River turned and glared at Mal.
"You promised," she hissed. "No trouble."
Mal forced himself to look away from Garrison. "Sorry, little one. You're right. I'll be good."
River turned and looked at Garrison.
To Mal's surprise, the man nodded and said, "I will behave as well." He glanced at Mal, glowered again, then went back to pretending that he didn't exist.
Which was fine with Mal. The man weren't anything anyway, just some gorram rapist with a big pile of money he used to collect pretty toys.
"Now hook this wire to the top of the probe. Then, you finish screwing the clam into her head," Dr. Douglas coached, "and then you can move onto the next one.
Simon followed Dr. Douglas' directions, obviously more comfortable now that the first probe was in place. He touched her chin.
Camille opened her eyes.
"You all right?" asked Simon softly.
"Yeah," Camille whispered, her voice barely audible.
Mal hated seeing her like this. Vulnerable and frightened. Well, frightened more than vulnerable. Ever since he'd met her, Camille had been so brave and self-sufficient. It wasn't until the disaster at the shindig that she'd lost all that confidence, and it was makin' him crazy. This wasn't who she was, wasn't who she should be. She, like River, should be happy and confident in their genius and talents.
"Now you just do the same on this one." Dr. Douglas touched the other clamp. "You all right, Camille?"
"Wan mei wu que," she answered, shakily. Her eyes skittered over from Simon to Mal.
He offered what he hoped was an encouraging smile. He wanted to be encouraging, at any rate; he could see how hard it was for her to be hooked up to all the equipment. Bad enough to go through it at all, but in front of everyone had to be double hard.
The corner of Camille's mouth curved up, and some of the color returned to her face. Eyes sliding to River, Camille breathed deeply, resolved settling over her once more.
"I'm going to let River watch them test my powers," Camille had said when Mal had woken up that morning.
Mal had still been half asleep, too busy trying to remember how he'd wound up with Camille in his arms and her hair in his mouth. His reply to her statement had been, "Wha now?"
Her fingers combed through his hair before coming to a rest at the nape of his neck. "Yesterday, before everything fell apart, River was supposed to have her psychic powers tested by the doctor. She was really scared to do it, and after what you did, she's even more anxious about everything. They're going to need to test me soon, anyway. Anytime we get sedated like I was, we have to be tested to make sure we're functioning within normal boundaries." She'd frowned, chewing on her lip a moment before saying, "I'll do it first. Let Simon practice on me. Let her see that it's not like it was, there."
"What was it like there?" he couldn't help but ask.
Camille had been silent for a moment, before saying, "Ever been chased by Reavers?"
"Yeah."
"It's like that. Only they catch you. But you don't die."
There hadn't been anything to say to that. Mal had just hugged Camille closer and kissed her on the forehead.
"Will there be a notch in River's skull, too?" Simon asked, sliding the second probe into Camille's head.
"There should be," Dr. Douglas said. "All records indicate that they all were experimented on the same way."
"Thank you for not saying treated," Camille whispered, squirming in her seat.
"Camille, please try to stay still," Simon said as he slid the second probe into her head. "This is hard enough as it is."
"Oh, yeah, it's real hard for you," she said.
He sighed and hooked the wire to the sensor. "Now what?"
Dr. Douglas picked up something that looked like a girl's headband, only it was twisted with wires and had what looked like a hypodermic needle in the center of it. Only, there weren't a needle in the center of it, like there should be.
Mal didn't like the look of it.
"This goes over her forehead, and the wires hook here." She demonstrated. "And then this probe goes through the center." Dr. Douglas picked up a huge, thick needle and held it out to Simon.
"This," Simon said, voice heavy.
Oh, Mal definitely didn't like this.
"He gonna stick that in her head?" Jayne asked, using the voice he always did when he thought he was whispering.
"Don't rightly know, Jayne," Mal replied, "but seeing as the last few went in her head, I'd assumed so. And don't say whatever it is that you're thinking." He glanced over at Jayne and added, "I don't need to be a mind reader to know it ain't proper to the situation."
"What, you think I'm some kind of idjit?"
"Some kind, definitely."
"Captain," Kaylee said sharply. She slipped her arm around River, who was trembling. Then, to River, she said, "You okay, honey?"
River nodded, stepping close to her girlfriend. "They didn't put it in, they jab. Hard. Hurts. Breaks the skull and the skin and once it goes in, you're never the same, not ever."
"I don't mean to question the experts," Inara said, "but is it really necessary? You're talking about their brains. Isn't there any other way to... monitor?"
"We wish there were," Garrison said. "We tried, not wishing to duplicate the Alliance's methods."
"Then you lost the first group," River said in the spacey, creepifying voice that she could get. "Just like them."
"Yes, but the difference is we didn't torture them to death," he responded mildly.
"Just raped them."
"Malcolm!" Camille snapped at the same time Inara and Wash shouted, "Mal," and Kaylee and Zoe both said, "Captain," sharply.
"Yes." Garrison's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "I raped comatose teenagers. I was just that desperate."
"Wouldn't surprise me in the least." He clenched his fists, turning to Garrison. "Ain't one of these kids I seen her ain't pretty. You only rescuing the pretty ones, or..."
"For God's sake, Mal, Camille has needles in her head!" Simon interrupted, sounding strained. "Do you want her to rip them out of her so she can beat you up?"
Mal turned to see Dr. Douglas and Simon both trying to restrain Camille in her chair.
Dammit.
"I'll stop," Mal said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Camille, don't hurt yourself."
"I'm gonna kill you," she said, settling down. "Both of you. If you can't play nice, get the hell out of here. I don't need you in here, I'm doing this for River, you don't need to be here." Her chin trembled.
Mal rubbed the back of his head as Garrison said, "I'm sorry, xin ai. I'll behave."
"I won't say nothing neither," Mal grumbled. "Just... let me stay."
Camille glared at him a moment before nodding. "Okay." She looked at Simon. "Just... put it in. I'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" Simon asked doubtfully. He picked the probe up and looked at it. "It's going to hurt."
She hooked her ankles around Simon's legs and tugged him towards her. "Pain's part of life," she said, and it weren't right because, yeah, pain was part of life, but no one should be used to having needles stuck through their head. It wasn't natural. "Just don't jab it in," Camille added, forehead furrowing. "Besides, it has to be done. They need to figure out how strong River's powers are. River needs to see that this ain't a big deal. And it's not. Not really."
"It'd feel better about that if you weren't as white as a sheet right now," Simon said. "And if you weren't trying to tear through the arms of the chair."
Camille exhaled slowly and forced herself to relax. Unclenching her hands, she rested them in her lap. "It's just memories. Of what they did. Not here." She swallowed. "Just do it, please, Simon."
Simon nodded, eyes focused on the holder. He placed on hand on Camille's head, between the clamps; the other held the needle. Carefully, he slid it through the small hole, stopping when Camille inhaled sharply. His teeth caught his lower lips between them and he applied more pressure.
Camille's feet came up again, pointing and twisting as Simon screwed the needle through her skin.
Simon suddenly stopped, hand opened around the needle. "I think it's in."
Dr. Douglas turned on a machine and glanced at the readings. "It is. First try, too. Good job." She checked the entry, wiggling the needle a bit before nodding. "All right, Camille, you're all hooked up. Are you ready?"
Camille nodded, lowering her feet. "Yeah."
"All right." Dr. Douglas leaned into Camille and whispered in her ear.
Immediately, Camille's eyes closed, her entire body slumping in total relaxation.
Alarmed, Mal stepped forward. "What did you do?"
She straightened, a serene, placid expression on her face. "It's just simple hypnosis, Captain. Just to relax her. Every child from the Academy was hardwired with a word to get them into a state of relaxation. There, they exploited it, sending them into nightmares and the like. Here, we let their minds do whatever they want, giving them freedom while we measure their abilities."
"Camille?" he stepped up to the chair and took her hand. "Camille?"
Her head turned to him and she squeezed his hand. She didn't, however, open her eyes.
"She's asleep, Mal," Simon said. He detangled them from one another. "Please, trust me. We aren't going to hurt her."
"You better not," he said menacingly.
Simon just rolled his eyes at Mal and turned back to Dr. Douglas. "What now?" he asked.
"Now, turn on the monitors and suggest a direction for her to take."
"What do you mean?" Simon asked, turning the monitors on. Lines appeared on the screens, calm and steady, reflecting, Mal supposed, Camille's brain waves. "Suggest a direction?"
"To test her powers," Dr. Douglas clarified. "Just a nudge... oh, she's already off. See?" She pointed to the spiking lines on the monitors. "That means that, psychically speaking, she's out of her mind."
"Where is she, then?"
"Not being a psychic, I'm not sure how to explain where they go. Even they have a hard time articulating the feeling," Dr. Douglas said.
He watched as Dr. Douglas explained something about the computers and Camille, and was about to say something to Zoe when, out of nowhere, there was a hard tug on his head.
It snapped forward, almost toppling him over. Luckily, he was standing next to a desk, and he managed to catch himself, face scrunched in agony. Images started flying through his mind in a dizzying spiral, something about him on a horse, looking over some land. Camille standing next to him, looking at him like he was the world.
He was getting off the horse and putting his arms around her, and this wasn't real but Mal couldn't stop it.
"How are things at the house?" he heard himself ask, and it felt like his brain was throbbing, and it wasn't real, but he could feel her in his arms. Feel her body and smell the scent of her and, God, he was going insane.
"Good. I finished going over the profit totals. We can sell some of the surplus for a tidy profit, plus have enough left over for them that need it most. Just like you always wanted," Camille was saying in his head. It echoed, like from far away, but he could hear it, even as he could heard Simon saying, "So this means that she's reading someone else?" And Dr. Douglas answer, "Yes. They call it flying, when they expand their powers and let their minds wander."
But even with actually hearing that, outside of him, Mal would feel her in her head, feel her pressed against his body, and it was so real he could feel parts of him stirring that he would rather not stir while he was in a room filled with people.
Or about to puke.
He tried to say something, but his throat was closed. He couldn't breathe. His head spun and...
"Ah," he gasped, falling backwards as the pressure disappeared. The images stopped and the hook was gone.
Head aching, Mal straightened, eyes seeking Camille to make sure she was okay.
The girl was still asleep. No one was paying any attention to him, like nothing had happened. Maybe it hadn't. Mal couldn't quite say what...
Then he saw Prophet. The boy had moved from his position next to River and was now standing in front of Mal. His back was ramrod straight, hands out at his sides, chin tilted back.
"You all right, sir?" Zoe asked softly.
Mal nodded, heart pounding in his chest. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He rubbed his head. "Can't rightly say what happened, though." He looked at Prophet.
"She... latched onto you," Prophet whispered, voice strained. "You're sensitive."
"Huh?"
There was a sudden loud beeping from the monitors.
"What's that?" Simon pointed to a spiking line that streaked across the screen, his doctor mask of detachment slamming over him easily.
"I don't... Prophet. Prophet, stop. Dammit, you're overloading her!" Dr. Douglas said, alarmed. She pressed a button on the wall next to the monitor.
Immediately, an alarm started going off.
"Everyone out," Garrison said. "River? River, stop. Stop now." He grabbed River by the shoulders and shook her.
Another alarm went off.
"Her heart's beating too fast," Simon said, sounding abnormally calm. "What's going on?"
River had been standing in much the same attitude and posture as Prophet. When Garrison touched her, her eyes flew open.
"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, hands flying to her mouth. "I didn't mean... I thought I was helping."
"It's all right," Garrison assured her. "Just out. All of you."
"Hook her up to an IV," Dr. Douglas said to Simon. "Prophet and River overloaded her, like a battery. The body reacts to what the brain is going through. It's overloaded and now her body is overloading."
Simon got the IV into Camille's arms and started her on the drip. As he did, Dr. Yasbro entered, taking stock of the situation.
"Everyone out. River, Prophet, go," she said, walking briskly across the room.
"Sir," Zoe said, taking his arm, but he couldn't keep his eyes off Camille.
She was still asleep, apparently oblivious to the bustle around her. They were babbling to each other in doctor-speak. Dr. Douglas pulled one of the needles out of her head, then the other, and set them aside. Then she started unscrewing the clamps.
"We need to get her into a dark room before she overloads," Dr. Yasbro said urgently.
"Dark room?" Simon repeated.
"Sir," Zoe said more urgently. "Let them work."
"I can't... I mean, right." He allowed himself to be pulled, when suddenly, quite clearly in his head, he heard Camille shout, "Mal, don't leave me."
He didn't care if he was crazy. He didn't care if it weren't real. Mal yanked his arm away and said, "I'm staying." Resolved, he moved quickly across the room to Camille's side. "Where you taking her?" he asked.
"Dark room," Dr. Douglas said. "Prophet and River overloaded her mind with their powers; we have to get her away from all other psychics. Lift on three. One, two..."
The doctors as Camille's side lifted her from the chair and lowered her onto a gurney.
"Let's go."
Faster than Mal would have thought safe, they rushed her from the room, wheeling her through a door at the back. Mal followed, keeping Camille's hand in his. "Is she going to be all right?"
"She should be fine."
"Should be?" That wasn't encouraging. "She's still got a needle stuck through the center of her forehead."
"We are going to take it out, right?" Simon asked.
"She ain't breathing," Mal said suddenly. Camille's chest hadn't risen or fallen since she'd last exhaled.
"Ai ya," Dr. Douglas swore. She turned to a cabinet and pulled out what looked like a balloon with a mask on it. "You do it, Captain." She placed the mask over Camille's nose and mouth and took Mal's hands. "Just squeeze. Even. Open, close, regular time."
"I ain't a doctor," Mal reminded her, doing as she asked.
"I know. But keep doing it."
Mal did as she asked while Dr. Douglas, Yasbro, and Simon all did doctory stuff that Mal had no hope of understanding. He watched Camille for signs of life as he breathed for her, automatically taking in their new surroundings as he did.
It was a medical room, just like all the others, designed for both function and comfort. Only difference between this room and the rest as far as Mal could see was that there were no windows here and only one door. The walls also seemed thicker, somehow, and the air was cooler.
"All right," Dr. Yasbro said. "Let's get the sensor out and unwire her. Then we can see if we can get her breathing again."
Dr. Douglas carefully began twisting the probe out of Camille's head. "Maybe we should try waking her up. That might do it."
"Wake her up?" Mal repeated. "She ain't breathing. How's she going to wake up?"
"Same way as we put her to sleep, with a preprogrammed word. It's actually really easy to wake them up, as easy as it is to get them to sleep."
He couldn't help but snort. "Then why did it take fifteen minutes to get her to open her eyes most mornings?"
"Because she likes to fight her training," Dr. Yasbro said. "She's a solider. She's trained to come instantly awake at a touch or a noise or whatever. Camille is contrary, and fights to stay asleep, or at least pretends she's asleep, as long as possible. There we go." The probe was out; Dr. Yasbro removed the headband as Dr. Douglas set the probe aside.
"You said she wouldn't be hurt," Mal said when he saw the bloody hole the probe had been in.
Camille suddenly inhaled hard on her own, her chest rising, back arching.
"She's breathing again." Mal stilled his repetitions; Camille kept breathing.
"You can take that off, now," Dr. Douglas said. "Simon? Can you take her vitals?" She went to a cabinet and opened it. While Simon listened to Camille's heart, Dr. Douglas pulled some kind of bandages or something from the cabinet and brought them back.
"Heart rate is 95," Simon said. "Blood pressure is 119 over 78."
"It should drop to normal soon. We just have to wake her up and calm her back down."
"What are those for?" Mal asked.
Dr. Douglas ripped open the bandages. "Thank you, Tara," she said as Dr. Yasbro placed what looked like a bowl of mud on the table next to Camille. "We're going to put a mud plaster on her head, just to make sure she doesn't try and strain herself. It's safer and easier for her than giving her another sedative."
Mal shook his head. "I don't understand."
"I'm afraid I don't either," Simon said. He was taking Camille's pulse again.
"I don't know exactly what happened back there, but, basically, River, Prophet, and Camille entered in some form of three way communication while we were testing Camille's powers. For some reason, though, Camille wasn't an active participant. I don't know what Prophet and River were doing; we'll ask later. Anyway, they were active, she was passive, and they, being the stronger telepaths, overloaded her brain."
"This common?"
She shook her head in that way that sort of means no, but not always. "It's happened once or twice. Not recently." Dr. Douglas dipped a bandage in the mud, then placed it over Camille's forehead.
"She gonna be okay?"
"She'll be fine, Captain." She placed the other bandage on Camille's neck. "Tara?"
"I think we can wake her," Dr. Yasbro said with a nod.
"Let's wake her." Dr. Douglas leaned over and said, loud enough for Mal to hear this time, "Luftmensh."
Immediately, Camille opened her eyes. They found Mal's, sleepily, and she smiled. "Hey, ying jun."
Mal couldn't help but smile. "Hey, shu. You feel okay?"
"Ai hu," she said. "Except for a headache. What happened? Where is everyone?"
"You're in a dark room," Dr. Douglas said. "You were overloaded while we were testing you, and had to bring you in here."
"I don't... I don't remember." She frowned, biting her lip.
"Don't try," Dr. Yasbro said. "Don't worry. Just relax, breathe, and it'll come back to you. It's important that you don't strain yourself right now, Camille. Don't try to use your powers, don't try to think too hard."
"But I..."
"Camille."
She sighed and closed her eyes. She looked tired. "Okay."
"Good," Dr. Douglas said. "You're going to stay in here a few hours, okay? I'll bring in some books or videos to keep you entertained, but you'll need to be away from everyone until your brain calms down."
Camille nodded, then leaned her head back and sighed. "And to think, we were just trying to show River that it was easy." She squeezed Mal's hand. "Will you stay with me?"
"Of course, darlin'," he said. He bent over and planted a kiss on the top of her head. "Just try and pull me away."