Disclaimer: I do not own Firefly/Serenity characters, places or things.
Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing! You keep me inspired to keep writing Liara's story. RionaEire thanks for your suggestions on Chapter 20! I always look forward to your reviews!
Chapter 21
Under the Knife
Serenity was now in full burn getting as far away from Paquin as possible. He awaited a conference with Kae but for now the wellbeing of his crew was his top priority.
Mal looked down at Liara, once again laid out on Simon's table. He was struck with a sense of déjà-vu, recalling when he had first brought her in here. She had been a mystery then, but now he knew she was strong, determined and just a touch stubborn. She was smart and resourceful. She was homesick for a life she no longer had and running from a dangerous man. He'd seen the scars she carried inside and out and yet she kept going, living in hope of finding family again. She was a Hawke.
Simon rushed around his infirmary gathering supplies from various drawers and cupboards while he did a scan of Liara's injuries. Mal noticed River standing outside and staring in intently at the injured girl. A beep pulled his attention back inside the sick bay. Simon was reading a screen that revealed the diagnosis. "Ai Ya."
"What's the matter, Doctor?" Mal moved closer.
"She's suffered deep contusions and a rib fracture which has punctured her lung. She's going to need surgery so I can stitch the tear. If it had been a fraction smaller it could have healed itself. At least with surgery she will recover and heal faster. She has also stabilized and that's something." Liara's breathing had been better since they had gotten back to the ship but it was still strained. "There's something else." Her eyelids fluttered and she stirred. They flew open and she gasped and moved to sit up. Mal took hold of her shoulder and restrained her. She grimaced in pain.
"Easy Liara, the Doc doesn't want you to move." Her eyes locked with his. There was no fear in them this time as she settled back down. Something else was there in those big gray-green eyes, behind the pain, as she looked up at him. "You're safe on Serenity."
"I knew you'd keep your promise." She said quietly. Simon cleared his throat and filled Liara in on her condition and the impending surgery.
"Simon says it's nothing to worry over. Quick and simple, right Doctor?"
"Exactly. Everyone on this ship's been on this table. With the exception of Inara. And I've not lost a one. I must say Liara you've broken the record for the number of sick bay visits in such a short time aboard. "He smiled at his patient.
"Ha, very funny. No offense…Simon. This is my…least favorite space on Serenity." She still sounded short of breath and looked as if she would lapse into unconsciousness again.
"I don't blame you. Do you need anything before we start?" Simon asked, looking down at Liara.
"Maybe you can help me with this." She gestured weakly at her torn sleeve. Simon took a pair of scissors and cut away the shirt from her shoulder. He froze at the sight of what he uncovered. He carefully grasped her arm and turned it towards the light. Liara clenched her teeth. Mal looked down at the livid, freshly burned skin in the shape of a sharp star.
Gorrammit, the hwoon dahn had branded her. " Ching-wah Tsao duh liou mahng!" Mal swore aloud.
"Can you… remove it?" Liara asked Simon.
"I can, it will be painful. We don't have the equipment aboard to correct it without scarring though."
"I don't care. I just want it gone."
"What happened down there?" Simon asked.
She looked up sharply at Simon. "Aldren Reeve found me, gave me a beating and tried to kidnap me. Then he gave me that to try to reclaim me. I'm not his, not his slave and not his whore. So please, I don't care how it will hurt, I'd rather have another scar then carry his mark," She said clearly and so vehemently she was gasping from the effort.
"I promise, when you wake up, it won't be there."
She nodded at her doctor. "One more thing then, I need a minute with the Captain please." Simon nodded, glanced up at Mal and stepped outside the bright space.
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"What is it?" Mal asked me quietly coming up beside me. My side hurt, my arm burned and my head felt fuzzy still. I hated feeling vulnerable, but I'd been feeling that way a lot since I set foot on this old Firefly. Especially with him. But I noticed that something had subtly shifted between us. Here I was, requesting to be along with my captain. And Mal wasn't acting like I was some skittish creature ready to bolt at the smallest move. Somehow, on the other side of the madness of the last couple of days, we had found trust.
"Mal, if something should happen…"
"It won't. Simon is a surgeon, and a good one."
"I know he is…but just in case."
"I will keep looking for your brother, even if you can't," he said sincerely.
A lump grew in my throat. It was already hard to breathe. I swallowed around it. "Thank you Captain." There were still secrets I held close. Too close perhaps since all they did was seem to poison me with the keeping of them. But even though I opened my mouth to tell him, I couldn't. If I wake up once more, I will tell him then. Coward. Simon came back in and began to close the blinds, blocking the view into what would shortly be an operating room.
"I've asked Inara to assist, if you don't mind." He said.
I shook my head. " No, that's fine." Inara stepped into the sick back and smiled at me. I was sure a Companion could never own a plain garment yet she was dressed in a simple dove gray sheath dress with short sleeves. Even so, the cut was elegant and the fabric was very fine. Mal went to leave. "Wait…" I called. He turned to me. "If the crew asks, you can tell them what happened…before."
"If you're sure." He said quietly.
"Aye, they need to know. No more secrets." Well, almost none. "And Mal, under my bunk…keep it safe. If something should go wrong, it's yours." He nodded at my cryptic words and left.
Inara came up and took my hand. "Something has changed between you and the Captain." She said quietly.
"Yes. Somehow." I replied, uncertain. She smiled that knowing smile at me but her eyes were almost sad for a moment. "What is it?" I asked her.
She glanced down. "Come, I'll help you into this." She held up a short cotton garment. Before long, all was ready and Simon came up to me with the injector gun in hand. "Tzoo-foo nee, mei-mei." Inara said.
Simon pressed it to my neck. I felt a disconnect, like a boat drifting free of its mooring line. "And you. Ask Shepherd to pray."
"We both will." She replied. Her words seemed to bounce around in my head. Insensibility rose up to meet me as the kind faces above me melted into blackness.
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Mal paced outside the infirmary. River sat on the floor, her back to the door with her eyes closed. Yet she was whispering something, he couldn't tell what. Book and Kaylee came in to find him. "Cap, the horses are taken care of for now. None worse for wear from our escape." Kaylee said.
"Good." He kept his eyes locked on the closed door before him.
"Captain, she's in good hands." Book said quietly.
"I know that. It's just…never mind."
Kaylee glanced at him, concerned. " Did you run into the thieves again at the Outpost?"
"Aye and it's a bit more complicated than that. Let's go up to the galley. Get Wash and Zoe and Jayne. You all need to know what we are dealing with."
"River…" Kaylee said, looking at the girl on the floor.
River opened her eyes and stared up at them. " Can't fly in the dark. Insides are out, let the light in."
"Leave her be. I feel like she already knows." Mal said. Kaylee darted off to the help and they all made their way up to the kitchen. It was quiet in the galley. He had grown accustomed to finding Liara here working over the stove surrounded by delicious scents and dishes. The rest of his crew clustered around and took a seat at the table. Well, not everyone. His thoughts strayed to a vision of Liara lying prone on the exam table. Simon's hands red with her blood. They'd been in worse positions then this, with more life threatening injuries. Book, Kaylee, Zoe even himself. Then why was he so…"
"Sir?" Zoe's voice pulled him back.
"Yes, right. You all need to know who and what we are mixed up with as we finish this job. Kae never meant to meet us on Paquin. Her assistant set us up, as he must be in cahoots with the thieves. When Liara and I were on Shadow she recognized the thieves as crew on a ship called the Valkery, a vessel she once…served on. We got the best of them, but this time they were ready for us and one step ahead. Liara was attacked by the man who was her former captain."
"Was he trying to get the location of the horses from her?" Zoe asked.
"No doubt. But there's more to it than that. This captain, Aldren Reeve, he wants to take Liara back."
"Why?" Kaylee asked, her voice small.
"Revenge. He had kept her like a prisoner aboard his ship, like a slave. He abused her and tortured her for two years before she escaped him."
"How did she end up on the Valkery in the first place?" Wash asked.
"She had gone aboard to work for passage as a cook; she was and is trying to locate her brother. He was missing in action in the war but she is convinced he's alive and out there somewhere." Mal answered.
"Why didn't you say this before?" Zoe asked.
"It wasn't my story to tell."
"Is she going to be okay?" his mechanic asked a tremor in her voice.
"Aye, Kaylee. Simon will see to it. Besides Liara's a strong one. She freed herself at the Outpost and found us and while injured to boot. She'll pull through." He heard the admiration in his tone but found no shame in it.
"What now?" Wash stepped forward.
" I need to speak to Kae and get these animals off Serenity. We know who was involved in the theft now; she can do what she will with the info. We'll get paid and move on."
"Sir, what about the Valkery and her captain?" Zoe inquired.
"He won't stop until he gets Liara back and makes us pay for stealing those horses out from under him."
"Then we kill him." Jayne said, as matter of fact.
Mal nodded. "Get Kae her horses, and then we'll take care of Aldren Reeve. Meanwhile we keep Liara safe."
"That we will." Book replied firmly.
"Back to work then. We plan the next move. Wash, send Kae another wave and keep an eye out for the Valkery."
"Yes, Captain." Wash headed back to his post on the bridge.
"I'm going to wait for Liara outside sickbay." Kaylee gave him a worried smile.
He slung an arm around her shoulders and hugged her. "You do that, Kaylee."
She turned to Book. "Shepherd, you comin'?" He followed her out, bible in hand.
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I sunk down in the dark in-between, to a place deeper than sleep but stronger than death and hovered there in drugged oblivion. I waited for what would surely come, be it memory or nightmare, in patient detachment, void of emotion in this night-dark place. I wasn't disappointed. The blackness in my mind rippled like a rain drop in a puddle and light appeared in tones of muted gold and warm bronze. The halls of memory lay before me and I was with my family, standing in Hawkesmere on the day my father and brothers went off to war.
Mother was statuesque and beautifully poised and coifed in a gown of deep purple that was the height of fashion in Londinium. Her deep red hair swept up and held in place with carved combs. I felt like a drab sparrow to Mother's bird of paradise. I stood beside her, at the foot of the curved staircase, fidgeting in a gown of royal blue. I had wanted to wear my flight school graduation uniform but Mother had insisted I wear what a proper lady should to see our boys off. No delicate decoration, my mother. She was a strong hand in a silken glove. My brothers stood there, ribbing me as always. "Well, well Li. You finally look like a girl!" Jensen said. His green eyes lit with laughter, his red hair a wavy mess.
"And a beautiful one, at that." Braden my eldest brother added. "We'll be beating the young suitors off with a stick when we return."
"Neen hen boo-tee-tyeh duh nan-shung! You know I'd rather be going with you."
"Don't start, Liara." Mother put in.
"You and your mother will be holding down Hawkesmere for our triumphant return!" Father said. He looked trim and handsome in his dark brown duster; the squadrons patch a bright spot on his sleeve. His blue eyes danced as he pulled me in for a bear hug. "Don't worry, my girl. Help your mother and keep us in your prayers."
Tears stung my eyes. "I promise Father." He let me go and turned to Mother. She clung to him and my cheeks reddened as they shared a passionate kiss. I glanced away and went to my brothers. Though Braden was five years older we had always been closest. He had our father's dark hair and Mother's gray eyes. He hugged me as the tears made tracks down my cheeks.
"Don't cry mei-mei. We'll show these Purple Bellies a thing or two and be back in no time."
"You better come home, or you'll answer to me. I've learned a few tricks you'd never see coming."
Jensen came up and threw his arms around us both. "What, they teach you more than how to serve tea and curtsy at that fancy House?"
"Aye, I learned how to play the mandolin and dance with a fan." I replied.
"Ooh, sarcasm. You picked that up at flight school, I'd bet." He laughed.
"Nay, she was born that way my dears." Mother said with a smile as she and Father joined us. We stood atop the flying hawk inlaid in the smooth marble of the foyer floor at the foot of the grand staircase.
Wren, our butler appeared. "Transport has arrived sir."
"Look out for each other my lads. Godspeed and safe return. Take our love with you." Mother said, as the blessing she meant it to be, with not a waver in her voice.
"Amen, my lady. Farewell my girls. Keep the home lights burning and Hold Fast." With a gallant bow he turned, my brothers followed waving as they left Hawkesmere for the last time.
The mindscape of memory shifted into the dreaming. I stepped forward, skirts bunched in one hand, to hurry after my family and keep them safe but Mother clutched my arm with stiff fingers, her face went cold and dead, the light in her eyes faded. My scream became a screech as I dissolved and became a red-tail hawk. I spread my wings to fly to the vaulted ceiling that opened to the Londinium sky but sudden pain made me turn. Mother was gone but Aldren gripped me painfully, tearing out my wing feathers, they drifted to the floor like autumn leaves. I wriggled and shrieked, trying to rend him with my talons until I slipped through his fingers to land on the cold marble, flightless and broken. But someone picked me up. I glanced up with raptor's eyes to find that Mal cradled me in one arm. With gentle hands he replaced each feather, one by one, to its place. His eyes locked with mine and he threw me into the clear, blue sky. I cried my elation to be free.
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Mal crossed his arms as the com screen went black and Kae's image blinked off. "Wash, set our course for Angel and Borderland Ranch. The end is in sight.
"Aye, Captain. I'll do my best to avoid any Alliance Patrols, keep an eye out for Reavers.
"Right you are, Wash. And watch for the piece of gos se Reeve's ship as well."
"Shr Ah."
Mal thought back to the conversation he's just had with Kae Baradyn. Her relief had been evident as Mal had assured her that her horses were safe and sound. She'd have her hands full dealing with her now former assistant Julian. But she was eager to get her animals back, and grateful to Mal and his crew. Mal had shared a simplified version of what had transpired on Paquin, downplaying the risks but Kae was perceptive. "How bad?" Kae had asked. One crew member in surgery but expected to be just fine he had informed her. It was true, he thought. Liara would be just fine.
He remembered her pleading eyes just before he'd left the infirmary. Keep it safe, she'd said. Keep what safe? He wondered. Time to find out.
"Wash, keep me posted on…anything."
"Sure thing Mal."
Captain left the helm and made his way to Liara's room. He nodded at Book and Kaylee sitting on the settle outside the infirmary. "Nothing yet, Cap." Kaylee informed him. Book was reading intently from his Bible.
Mal moved on to the guest quarter corridor and stepped into Liara's room and slid the panel door closed behind him. The space was tidy. The bed was made with only a few things atop the cabinet by the bunk. A capture card was propped up against a lucky cat figurine, a picture of her family. There was Liara, several years younger with a happy smile and bright eyes. Oh, how time changes us. But experiences good or bad make you what you are, here and now. He put the capture card back and reached beneath the mattress and pulled out a fabric swathed object. Mal unwrapped it and stared in fascination at the length of steel in his hands. It was a beautiful weapon and worth a fortune. How did it come into Liara's possession? Was it a family heirloom or a gift from her father? He rolled it back up in the cloth and tucked the dirk beneath his arm.
She was a source of secrets, that's for sure and still mostly a mystery in many ways. But he was fast discovering that she was a mystery that he eagerly wanted to solve.