The Hole in the 'verse
An alternative Firefly story
Rating: PG-13, for violence and mild cursing
Summary: AU, post-BDM fic. Kaylee went back to fetch Simon and learned a lot about the doctor she wished she hadn't. While they try to reconcile their differences, it turns out that the Hands of Blue will take what they can get.
Disclaimer: Joss is Boss. This is just what I'd like to see if he ever decided to resurrect the beast.
Author's Notes: And here's the next chapter as promised. Honour Roll at the end.
The Book of KAYLEE
part 1
If she didn't know any better, Kaylee would have thought Simon was genuinely happy for once in his life. That sort of phenomenon didn't occur nearly enough as it should have, (not in Kaylee's opinion, at any rate) and it was almost cause for celebration. She had often wondered what a happy Simon entailed, and now the answer was quite obvious. Of course, now Kaylee had just soared past forgiving and dove headlong into the realm of bittersweet goodbyes. She didn't really want to spoil the moment for the doctor; she just could help feeling the tiniest bit jealous and unhappy. At this rate it was far better to just let Simon alone.
Kaylee released the corner of the building from her grip and turned around slowly, leaving the two to their own devices. She would just have to get along without Simon. It would be hard, no doubt, but she could start by eliminating any thoughts and emotions she ever had for him in the first place. She even had quite a few things to aid in her endeavour, such as her little Serenity. She loved the Firefly with every ounce of her being and Serenity always performed for her mechanic. Serenity was her good girl and there would be no more distractions when it came to the two of them. Their relationship was, more often than not, very high maintenance, so the mechanic needed every bit of concentration she could muster for her ship. Why, Kaylee wasn't even sure how she originally found time to like Simon in the first place…
She gave a sigh. This was going to be harder than she thought.
Simon had to break the kiss first. It felt really wrong—Actually, it feels quite right, his sarcasm informed him cheerfully—to be engaging in this sort of contact. Especially after all that had happened since he had left. And River, of course. He had to get back to River.
"C-Candace, I…" he stuttered. When he could peer into her leaf-coloured eyes, she looked completely apologetic. She was probably thinking along the same lines that he himself had only just considered.
"Let me buy you food, at least, for the dinner I interrupted," she said softly.
"I don't know, I should be looking for a place to wave my crew, they could be waiting for me…"
"I understand. It's been too long." She nodded, a remorseful smile crinkling the corners of her eyes just like he remembered. "I'm sorry."
"N—…Candace," Simon sighed.
"No, really, it's okay. I have to be at St. Lucia's and I'm late as it is."
Great…cold and distant… he thought sadly. If I hadn't botched the relationship when I left, I surely did now. N-no, it's better this way. It has to be. But…curious.
"If you're late now, why did you want to buy me dinner? It would make you even later."
"I was just being nice. Your parents might be interested in seeing you, if you're not in too big of a hurry." Candace tried to look accepting, and—when she failed that—nonchalant. His aloofness was finally getting the reaction Simon had originally intended: She was drawing away from him because it was what he wanted. Or rather, she acting in the way that he thought was best for both of them. Simon wasn't entirely sure that it was fair that there was a difference in the two.
"I didn't want to leave," he said.
"You didn't have to," she countered, heat flushing her cheeks.
"If you knew what they did to her…" Simon still couldn't find the words to describe it properly. He could only imagine what it must have been like for River. "They cut into her brain. Planted secrets and government plans and…Candace, they turned her into a weapon. Her amygdala was tampered with; she feels everything to such a dangerous degree that I sometimes…sometimes, I don't think that I can help her. You're a doctor, you know what that cutting into a healthy brain means!"
She sighed. "Simon, I replaced you at the trauma centre."
"Wh…what?" Simon hadn't anticipated the change in conversation at all and couldn't properly respond to it. He was sure his confusion was evident from his expression, but either Candace was ignoring it, or she was steeling herself to continue.
"You left and I took your position. Nobody thought you were coming back alive, if at all. Your parents were depressed for ages, thinking they'd lost their son. You hurt them, Simon; I had to pick up the pieces."
"Why do you think that?" He frowned. Simon knew there would be repercussions from his leaving, but his parents already knew that they were losing him from the moment they forbid him from trying to find his sister. It wasn't a surprise for them. They couldn't have been that bothered by the event if they had gone ahead and severed their ties with him like they had promised.
Candace's big, sorrowful eyes seemed to flash and suddenly, Simon didn't feel quite so safe. She looked positively possessed; he had never seen her be anything but contrite before. Even three years of bitterness didn't translate into sudden, murderous rage.
"Simon, we used to have something, believe it or not," she said coldly. "When you left, I wasn't exactly the cheerful ball of sunshine I used to be." She ran a hand through her long dark hair absently. Simon remembered do a similar thing to that hair while they lay curled together on the bank of that lake their last night together. Such a distant memory now. "I went to your parents to see if they had any clues or pieces they could offer. They were taking it hard, Simon, really hard. They'd hoped you would come to your senses. Hoped they'd taught you better than that."
"Then they should have supported me. I don't regret what I've done." Much, he amended silently. "River is doing better, we have a new life. We're part of a ship's crew now. Candace, I can't return to this life. Not after everything I've done."
"Then why are you here now?" Her expression was plainly full of mistrust. Simon couldn't blame her, but he was still wary of her last mood swing.
"I already told you. My crew was in a hurry and I didn't get back on the ship in time."
"And River's with your crew," she said softly.
"Yes."
"I'm sorry, Simon."
Simon sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Candace, what did I say—?"
"Simon, you're a fugitive."
"Candace, I know that," he returned tonelessly.
"You left me to save your sister. And you show up how many years later thinking that everyone's forgotten you? The world doesn't work like that. I'm sorry, Simon."
Simon barely had time to frown, let alone formulate a question. This time, the hand on his shoulder was a heavy one and it meant serious business. A second one alighted on his other shoulder like a vulture, weighing him down.
"Simon Tam, you are hereby bound by law."
His mouth dropped open in shock, even as her lips thinned with disapproval. Her green eyes were dark, troubled. Apologetic? "I had to do it, Simon."
"W-why?" he breathed.
"Because you left me, Simon." It was that simple. There were no other answers; just those simple four words explained the last three years of their lives. Because you left me. She didn't even seem to think there was something wrong with her logic. One of the Feds began dragging him out of the alley, but Simon dug his heel in. He needed a last word.
"And this is going to make it better?" Simon didn't try to hide the feeling of disgust and hurt that must have been on his face. He hurt too much for that.
"Your parents will get to see you one last time. They'd like that."
Oh God…the girl is psychotic… he thought frantically. She means to keep me here! That was when he began struggling in earnest. He wouldn't be taken quietly, not now. He grunted as he smashed a shoe heel into the foot of the closest Fed. Simon felt that officer's hand unclench slightly, and Simon pressed his advantage. He wrested his shoulder from the grip and used the momentum to fly towards the officer that still held him captive. The plan might have worked, had Simon been powerful and streetwise. Incidentally, the Fed was used to this kind of trick and deftly caught Simon's wrist, twisting it neatly until Simon felt the bones give way.
That one move had dropped Simon to his knees and it was terrifically unfair. So much effort wasted and now his wrist was broken. Eventually, the pain caused him to black out, but not before he had thought that maybe coming back to Osiris wasn't such a great idea after all.
The sound of scuffling was out of place on a planet like this. Kaylee turned to watch as an irate officer stormed out of an alley. In fact…it was the same alley she had last seen Simon in. Her breath caught in her throat. This was so very, very bad.
She began pushing back towards the alley, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. The smudges of engine grease on her face and hands made it a little harder, everyone being so clean on this planet, but she could ignore the pointed stares for the moment. By the time she was ten metres away, she could see a second Fed with a man slung over his shoulder. She could recognize that gaudy shirt anywhere.
"Simon!" Kaylee yelled. The fact that he didn't move indicated that he was probably unconscious. That was even worse. Given her options, she did the best thing she could do under the circumstances. She ran at the officers.
"Let 'him go!"
"Lady, easy, get away!"
"No, let 'im go!" She beat on the man's back with all she had.
"Lady, assaulting an officer of the law is serious!"
"Simon!"
She'd been asking for trouble the moment she ran at the Feds. She knew it would only have been a matter of time before one of them got up the nerve to restrain her. When the unhindered one came up behind her to pin her arms to her sides, she began kicking. When she began kicking, he knocked her unconscious. That was why you didn't fight the law.
Chinese:
N/A
Honour Roll: Lynx Ryder: You know, you rock my socks with your reviews. School's…well, we'll see about a come back on JA soon. lions-of-judah: You're welcome! Think Joss would take me?
