Chapter 2- Let me do this
Summary: "Don't worry, blonde. It'll be okay"

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"What are armed men doing surrounding us?" Simon asked.

"And um…Dylan's out there…" Mal added quietly.

"That son of bitch is alive 'n here?" Jayne roared.

"Yeah. He's in a wheel chair, but he's here. Darlin', how'd it look around back?"

"The same number, maybe a few less. There are a few on the side as well in case we leave through a window," River replied. "They're all heavily armed."

"How'd he find us?" Kaylee asked nervously.

"Don't rightly know, but that ain't our concern. Our concern is gettin' Zoe outta here," Mal said while the wheels in his mind started turning.

"Doc!" Zoe shouted when a particularly bad contraction hit. Wash yelped. She was squeezing his hand and Zoe being Zoe, that was a mite painful.

"We need to get you to lie down. The pews might work…" Simon trailed off.

"There's the preacher's office. He has a couch," Shepherd offered.

"That's perfect. We'll get you settled in for now until we can move."

He led Zoe and Wash towards the back.

"I saw a medical kit in the front when we were changing," Inara called.

"Great. Can you get that for me?" Simon asked.

"Of course."

Mal stood with Shepherd, River, and Jayne. Kaylee decided to go with Simon in case he needed some help.

"How many guns do we have?" Mal asked.

"I only got the two I brought and my knife," Jayne sighed sadly.

"You brought guns to a church?" Shepherd gaped.

"I don't go no place without 'em and look, we need 'em. So there."

"Less arguin' and more thinkin'. I have mine in with my change of clothes out front. So we've got four guns and a knife with…how many guys?"

River shut her eyes and did the math. "Thirty-seven."

"How many bullets do we have?"

"My two holds ten each so that's……twenty…" Jayne muttered.

"Same here. That's thirty bullets for thirty-seven armed men," Mal replied.

"We can't take them head on, but if we were able to isolate a few at a time and then take their guns…" Shepherd suggested.

Mal shook his head gravely. "How would we isolate them? The second the others hear shots, they come runnin'. Then it's an all out firefight. We can't take that."

Inara hurried through with the medical kit, pausing to hear how things were going.

"Well, this beauty is a great long range shot. What if I snipe from the upstairs window while you fight below? Maybe then Zoe could slip out the other way!" Jayne asked.

"It's good in theory, but if they don't all come runnin'. And I don't think that she can move all that fast," Mal argued.

"Zoe is our concern," River stated.

"Why ain't they tryin' to get at us?" Jayne suddenly realized.

"I don't-" before Mal could finish, River answered.

"They're waiting."

"For?" they all practically said in unison.

"I'm not sure yet, but they can't move. Not until we do or someone else."

"Who is 'someone else'?" Mal asked.

"Not sure of that either. Keep thinking. I'll be back."

With that, River walked away and Inara followed to the back office.

****

"Keep breathing. Nice and slow, even breaths…" Simon instructed.

"Here's the medical kit," Inara said as she handed it to him. Zoe grabbed his sleeve.

"Drugs. I want gorram drugs, now."

Simon gave her something for the pain. River tapped him on the shoulder and pulled him aside.

"When they say weddings are supposed to be unforgettable, I don't think that they had this in mind…" he joked.

"She isn't ready."

Simon looked at her strangely. "Who isn't ready, mei mei? Zoe?"

"No. The baby. Her lungs aren't ready. She'll need a hospital. And soon. The labor is going to be quick."

"What can we do?"

"The closest hospital is twenty-one minutes from here by mule, but you can't use ours."

"Why can't we? Can we go back to the ship?"

"No. They have men on the ship. They don't know about the Nimitz's. Go there and borrow their mule."

"How exactly will we be able to go with all of these men everywhere?"

"I'm working on it. Try to slow it down. She can't be born yet."

Simon nodded and returned to Zoe's side. River gave Kaylee and Wash a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, blonde. It'll be okay."

He looked pale, even for him. She gave him a quick hug and Kaylee a quick pat on the arm before returning to the chapel.

****

"How is she?" Mal asked.

"She's fine. The baby won't be. It's too soon. They have to get to a hospital."

"How in the hell are we gonna swing that?" Jayne exclaimed.

"We'll think of something," Shepherd said calmly.

"I don't like this. They're all out there just waitin' for the right time ta kill us all. It's damagin' my calm!"

"Jayne, stop. We don't have time for you to lose it. I need you and your guns here," Mal snapped.

"Talk," River said.

"What are you goin' on 'bout now?" Jayne grumbled. Mal glared at him and then set his gaze on River to continue.

"Talk to Dylan. Provoke him."

"Provoking him isn't a good idea when we're in this vulnerable spot," Shepherd replied. "We're closed in. This church is very old. The plaster is chipping and the wood walls are very thin. Bullets would rip through them no problem. We need to get to somewhere we can make a stand."

"No. You're wrong," River replied plainly.

"I agree with Shepherd," Mal said cautiously.

"He isn't going to move, even if you provoke him. Distract him enough to distract his men. I can get Zoe out," she stated.

"How?" they all asked in one form or another.

"They're line is weakest and thinnest in the back. I can manage to get them through. The rest will be of concern later."

"I can't let you go out there, alone, without even knowin' your plan!" Mal argued.

"My plan is to get blonde and his wife out of here and to a hospital."

"That ain't specific enough!"

"I need you to distract him for as long as possible as soon as possible."

"No. I don't think that's a good idea."

"I need you to do this."

"If Shepherd and Jayne help."

"No. Too much attention. It has to be me."

"There you go all big damn hero again!"

"Do you trust me?"

"You know I do!"

Shepherd and Jayne took a step back to let the couple duke it out.

"Let me do this."

"If you get killed-"

"This isn't about me! It's about Zoe and her baby! I'll be alright."

He looked at her intently. She was right. It was about Zoe.

She stepped towards him, putting a fraught hand on his face. "You have to be the captain here, not the boyfriend."

"Okay. Jayne, I need you here with me. You can help piss him off. You know him better than I do. Shepherd, go with River. Do what she says."

River smiled and then backed away gracefully. He watched her go with Shepherd, dread pooling in his gut.

****

"We have a way out," River announced. "But…" she took a deep breath. She hated to do this, especially today, but the key to success was in small numbers on this one. "Only blonde, Zoe, and Simon can go."

"Why can't the rest of us go?" Kaylee asked.

"We'll be seen. Right now the fewer the better," Shepherd answered. River inclined her head in thanks.

Simon got a few things, leaving the rest in case they needed it. He kissed Kaylee goodbye.

"Be careful, husband…" she whispered. He smiled.

"I will."

"Preacher man, stay with them. When I say, send them out" River said evenly.

"You got it."

She peeked out of the back door. Only nine. Easy peasy. She ran out and the fighting began.

****

"Hey Dylan! How's those legs feelin'?" Mal shouted through the crack in the door.

"You bastard! I told you no one-"

"Yeah, yeah. Empty treats."

"Does this gun look empty to you?" he pointed a gun at them.

For second, Mal thought that River might have been wrong. But it was River. She was never wrong. So he kept talking.

"Ah it's just a gun. Now if it was a grenade, I might be impressed."

"I wouldn't," Jayne said from his place behind Mal.

"Hello Jayne," Dylan spat.

"You're a son of a whore! A cowardly ruttin' son of a whore jus' sittin' there doin' nothin' at all," Jayne continued.

"I'd shoot you both, but I got better plans."

"Do tell. We got no place to be," Mal shrugged.

"They say I might be able to stand again in a year. A year!"

"What does that got to do with your plan for us?"

"You, Mal. You're the one that did this!"

"Eh, I've done worse."

****

River took the first one down in seconds. She grabbed their neck, snapping it like a twig. They caught onto her within two seconds of the body hitting the ground.

She took the barrel of the nearest gun in her hand, ramming the stock into the man holding it. She grasped the whole thing and used it like a bat to hit a man closing in behind her.

A twirl and a kick later, another man fell. She dodged a punch with ease and then took the fist in her hand, twisting the arm until it snapped. She put her hand over his mouth so he wouldn't scream. She didn't need a bunch of other men to deal with. She took down two more by ramming their heads together.

-Bang-

She flew backwards, hitting the ground with a thud. She ignored the pain and got the nearest gun to take out the final man.

"NOW!" she shouted.

Simon and Wash ran out with Zoe in between them moving as quickly as she could. She saw River on the ground bleeding and instinctively stopped.

"River!"

"GO!"

They kept going, as much as it pained them to.