Standard Disclaimers Apply
**********************************************************
Mal walked slowly towards the cargo bay, carefully setting each foot on the ground. The corner that opened into the area above the bay was quickly approaching, and he could hear the two voices he'd long been expecting.
He wasn't nervous, he'd been in worse situations, the problem was the lack of cover on his end, and the abundance of it on theirs. Cautiously, he peered around the corner and gazed down. They were there in plain view, and Mal raised his rifle to fire.
A loud crack shattered the silence and the men below ducked and fell flat to the floor. The echoing of the shot that missed rang around the room.
'Damn', thought Mal and looked to fire again. It really wasn't morally right to shoot at men that were already down. Book's voice, full of scolding, was already reprimanding him in his mind, but the Captain figured a shoot first and ask later policy was something the old Preacher would agree with here.
Something smacked the wall that shielded most of his body and he jerked his head back behind the corner. Another glance revealed to him that the taller man had pulled his gun as well. Taking advantage of the situation, a rapid fire began from Mal's end. The men didn't have all their own guns out and dropped behind some cargo barrels.
The next move made by the Captain was a risky one. Without Jayne for backup, he had to go down the staircase and finish the two men off. Mal dove for the stairs and moved quickly down them, blasting at the boxes behind which the two intruders hid.
Once out of sight by also concealing himself, he planned an attack.
Shots fired out at him from both men now, and for the first time since the war, he truly felt alone. Zoe wasn't there to back him up and for all he knew, Jayne might not even know what was going on yet. Kaylee was God knows where and Wash was busy working. Leaning out to take a few shots and maybe injure one of the men, a bullet nicked his ear.
Inara entered his mind as he sat back against the box to take a breath. He could sure use her comforting voice right now.
********************************************************
Back in her shuttle, Inara listened at her door to the sounds. The noise from the gunshots had traveled even to where she was, and it didn't take her too long to recognize what was going on.
Pulling on her shawl, she went to one of long cushions couches attached to the side of her quarters. One of the pillows concealed a small, shiny silver pistol. A more favorite customer of hers had presented it to her as a gift when she had been threatened by a would be robber during their date. That had been years ago, before she even heard of the Serenity, Mal, or had considered space travel.
The pistol slipped easily into a concealed pocket on her dress, and her hands were hidden underneath her shawl.
If anyone had a chance of getting close to the situation without getting killed, it was a companion. As a rule, they almost never were shot at.
Inara stepped over the doorframe and out into the hallway, walking steadily towards the main cargo bay of the ship.
***************************************************
Vera had needed polishing, or Jayne had at least thought so. The mercenary had known that something was wrong from the first jolt the ship had received earlier. He just didn't want his girl to look bad when the killing began.
The already extremely dirty cleaning cloth was becoming even more dark in color as Jayne used it to wipe the grip.
"Been a long time since I really got to do anything fun." The voice was low and accompanied by a smile. It wasn't long before he stepped out into the hallway, looking for a good fight.
***********************************************************
Pain ripped into Mal's arm as his gun skid a few feet out of reach.
Jackson watched the weapon leave his enemy's grasp and grinned, "Got him."
"Where?"
"Shooting arm, now move your ass!"
Laychen scrambled to his feet and jumped out from behind the barrel. His boots pounded the stairs as he raced up them. It was impossible for him to know if the Captain was decent shot with his other hand.
"Get the job done and get it done quickly!" Yelled Jackson.
"I know what the hell I'm doing!" Laychen screamed back, angered at his partner's lack of confidence in his abilities. His eyes scanned the hallways on either side of him.
A small movement in one caught his attention and he raised his gun, "Get out here where I can see you."
Whatever was there ducked into another corridor, the sounds emanating from it indicated that it was running.
Unafraid, he followed, occasionally stopping to try some of the doors. Most were locked, 'They must known whose coming.'
The final turn revealed a small figure in the corner, not curled up on the floor, just so shadowed and hidden that it looked small. Light hit the form's red dress, and Laychen realized that it was a woman.
"Step outta there."
Moving slowly, and swinging her hips seductively, the woman moved into the fully illuminated section of the hall. She was beautiful, dark hair and eyes, and full lips.
"Name?" Demanded Laychen, keeping the gun up.
"I'm the ship's companion." Her voice made him ache it was so luscious.
"I asked for your name, Miss."
"Inara."
"Okay, well Inara, if you play your cards right you might get out of here alive."
Moving toward her, he pulled out a pair of something that resembled handcuffs.
"I thought you wanted to kill us all."
"If you cause any trouble, I will kill you. Maybe have a little fun first though." The smile from him made her feel disgusted inside.
This was exactly what she wanted. When he grabbed her hand to cuff her, she slipped her fingers around his wrist, "You don't really want to tie me up and leave me here, do you?"
Laughing slightly, he nodded, "I'd like to tie you up, I don't really wanna leave you. My partner probably wouldn't like that however."
"Fantasy of yours is it?"
"Perhaps, pretty girl."
"Why not act on a part of it? I already told you I was a companion, I aim to please."
"That's a sweet offer, but I've really got to make sure that no one on this ship becomes a problem."
"Everyone else is in lock down. They won't come out until Captain orders it." She slid the hand that was already on his wrist up his arm. Her other hand went for the small gun in her pocket.
Inara kept rubbing his arm while he finally gave in and kissed her neck. Suddenly, she heard a roar and the Laychen was ripped out of her arms roughly.
Confused, she looked to her left and saw Jayne tackling the smaller man. Inara pulled her pistol and aimed it at Laychen, waiting for the moment would Jayne move enough for her to shoot.
She never got the chance as Jayne retrieved Vera from the ground next to him and managed to deliver a single bullet into his combatant's heart.
To Jayne's credit, he didn't shoot Laychen in place where he'd have died slowly, the intruder perished within minutes.
"Get his gun." Ordered Jayne, and Inara picked up the weapon.
She glanced over and saw her shipmate going through the Asian man's pockets, throwing anything valuable out onto the floor.
"Robbing a dead man. That's so like you."
"Since when did you get so moral?" Snapped Jayne, "We'll use all this stuff for the ship, anyway."
"Irony at its best." She smiled and gathered up the trinkets in one of her satin purses.
Standing, the mercenary picked up Vera, "Let's go find Mal."
***********************************************************
Jackson was taking pleasure in tormenting the Captain. Every time the other man reached for his gun, a bullet would come within a hair's breath of his hand.
Mal finally stopped trying to get his gun back, he was going to have to wait until Jackson came to him or until someone else came to his rescue.
He felt him arm, gritting his teeth in pain every time his fingers touched a sensitive area. It was pretty undeniable that the bullet had shattered the bone in his forearm. Any longer out of a sling or braced and it might become permanently useless. Moving any part of his body made it ache even more.
Jackson had noticed something interesting about Mal's hiding place. Kicking open a small and heavy box behind him, he found a large engine piece meant as a replaceable part. Bullets weren't working anymore, whatever was in that box concealing the Captain was deflecting the bullets.
Lifting the part once or twice, and gently tossing it into air a few times, Jackson judged it throw-able.
Leaning around the side of the box, he fired a warning shot that kept Mal behind where he was hiding. Jackson then stood up and flung the part as hard as he could toward the Captain.
Mal turned to look, the noises had changed and he didn't want to be caught unprepared for an ambush. Unfortunately for him, he'd chosen to hide behind a heavy lower box, and a lighter, and higher up, top box. The top box may have not carried as much weight as the lower, but it was enough.
The part struck dead center, pushing the top box over and onto the Captain. Jackson exulted, "Yes!" It had been a guess, but it was a good one.
The Captain had seen the box coming, but couldn't really move as the pain from his arm was too excruciating. He was knocked into unconscious and nearly crushed as the cargo carton hit him.
"Fucked you up pretty good." Said a confident Jackson, holding his gun to shoot as he moved over to where his enemy lay.
Short work was made of uncovering the fallen man and binding his legs together with metal wire cuffs. There was no point in binding the arms, one was gone, hopefully for good.
Kicking the gun further out of reached than it already was, and out of view, the intruder made his way toward the stairs. Once up them, he headed toward the pilot's room.
************************************************************
Inara and Jayne made their way back through the hallway toward the cargo bay, obviously where the man had to have come from.
When they came to it, Inara leaned over the railing, "Oh God! Mal!"
She ran down the stairs, pulling the length of her dress up to avoid tripping. Her face showed fear and compassion.
Jayne yelled from the top of the stairs for her to watch out, but it wouldn't have stopped her.
Falling to her knees at his side, she patted his face, "Mal, c'mon!"
The mercenary was suddenly at her side, "Jesus, look at his arm. Probably broke."
Inara was extremely upset, "We have to get him to Simon."
"He's not dieing, we need to find the other guy."
"What other guy?"
"I heard you talking to him, he mentioned a partner."
"You heard us talking? Why didn't you hit him then?"
"I was kinda hoping that you'd get a little dirtier. The bondage talk was a little bit of a turn on."
Resisting the urge to slap his face, she wondered, "Okay, where would this partner be?"
"If they're trying to take over the ship, where do you think they'd go?"
"Pilot. Wash."
"You stay with him, I'm going to get that son of a bitch."
********************************************************
Wash was figuring the more detailed components of the Serenity, trying to see if he could do any damage to the intruder's ship. All the buttons and switches weren't doing a damn thing as far as he was concerned though.
It was useless, someone had cut off the power to their own doors, making it impossible for him to do anything.
Sighing, he stood up and walked over to where the intercom button was, "Simon?"
"Wash?" It was Book's voice, Wash was grateful that the doctor wasn't alone, and that his wife had someone there to comfort her.
"Is Zoe doing okay?"
"Yeah, she's fine. The baby's not here yet though, but it will be soon."
"Have you heard anything from Mal?"
"This is the only place the intercom goes to, Kaylee hasn't connected the other rooms yet. Your friends haven't shown up here if that's any consolation."
"Oh, tell Zoe that I love her and - " Wash didn't get a chance to finish.
The door to the pilot room was suddenly open and Jackson stood there. Wash was knocked back as a bullet slammed into his chest, sending him flying back into his pilot's chair.
Book's voice crackled over the intercom, "Are you there, Wash?"
Wash was in horrible pain, he hadn't been hit in the heart, but any shot to the chest was one that could bleed, bad enough to kill.
Jackson was about to fire again, but the pilot all of a sudden ran forward, tackling him.
They grappled for the gun, neither man wanting to let the other have control. Jackson was flat on his back now, Wash kneeling on his chest with one hand on the gun and the other was trying to pull Jackson's hand off his throat.
Being choked was not helping the badly bleeding Wash. Now even his enemy looked at though he'd been shot in the chest, as much blood was pouring onto him from the pilot.
"Give it up you little prick. You're going to die any way, might as well let me end it for you."
"No." Gasped Wash, slowly, moving his left knee onto Jackson's wrist. He released his hand from the other man's arm and reached into his boot.
Turning his wrist, Jackson moved the end of the gun closer to his opponent's head. Wash noticed what was going on, and moved faster, he had to win here. For Zoe, for the baby. Bringing the gun out, he brought it right up to Jackson's forehead. The other man released his grip on the pilot's throat, trying to take the gun.
With a loud crack, the gun fired, and Jackson lay still, the gun in his hand clattered to the ground, only a few centimeters from it's killing point.
Breathing hard, the victor let his own gun hit the floor. Getting to his feet, he took a few shaky steps toward the intercom button. Was this had Mal had felt when he'd been bleeding and freezing to death on Serenity, alone? Everything was getting hazy, and Wash pressed a hand to the wound on his chest, it became covered with the bright red life fluid.
"Zoe." His voice was pleading, and full of pain. He fell to the ground, and was out.
*******************************************************
Jayne ran through the ship, Vera in hand. He arrived in the pilot's room, and was angered to find the door already open.
Inside, he found a taller man, shot in the head on the floor. Wash lay on the ground, only a foot or so from the other man, a puddle of blood forming around him.
"Shit, Wash, I didn't know you had it in ya." Jayne turned the pilot over and shook him.
"I wish you'd left him for me, man, I never get to have fun." Grumbled the mercenary, picking Wash up.
"Let's get you to the good doc Tam."
Jayne ran as fast as he was able to the infirmary, hindered only by the person he carried. Regrettably, he'd had to leave Vera in the pilot's chair for the time being.
*******************************************************
A pounding on the door alerted Simon and Book.
"Who is that?" Asked Simon, and Book went to look.
"Doc, let me in!" Came Jayne's voice.
"We can't Jayne, Mal gave orders only to open the door when he said so."
"Preacher! I got a dieing Wash here, and Mal's out cold in the cargo bay. Let me the hell in!"
Simon looked over and nodded to Book, who lifted the lock. Jayne burst in, and laid Wash down on the center surgical table. The doctor came out from behind the curtain where'd he been helping Zoe.
Book stared at him, "Is she okay?"
"Everything's done, and all cleaned up. She'll be fine. Book, why don't you tell her to get some rest, and don't say anything about Wash, I don't want her to get worked up." Whispered Simon, using his scissors to cut open Wash's shirt.
"How's he doing?" Asked Jayne.
"Bullet probably punctured his lung, he's lost excessive amounts of blood and to be honest, I'm surprised he's made it this far."
"Is he gonna die?"
"I'm not sure yet, but it does look very probable."
"Doc, I'm gonna go get Mal and bring him up here."
"Alright, after you do that, could you go find Kaylee? I'm gonna need her help."
"Yeah." Jayne said and ran out of the room back towards the cargo bay.
"Hello? Anybody there?" A female voice came in over the intercom system.
Book walked quickly over to the speaker, "Yes, who is this?"
"Kaylee. I got the intercom working from the engine room."
"Tell her to get up here immediately." Yelled Simon, hooking up an emergency blood transfusion to Wash. Luckily, he'd had each member of the crew donate a pint of their own blood on a regular basis in case of such emergencies, after the incident with Mal had taken place.
"Listen to me, child, Simon wants you up here as soon as possible. There is an emergency."
"I might be a little slow, I got shot in the foot."
"God help us." Murmured Book, putting his hand to his forehead, "Alright, Kaylee, just please hurry."
"Gotcha." And the conversation was over.
Simon looked up from where he was working, "What's the damage so far, Book?"
"Mal has a broken arm and is unconscious, Kaylee has been shot in the foot, and of course, Wash is nearer to death with each passing moment."
Suddenly, Jayne and Inara came back into through the door carrying an unconscious Mal.
"Put him on the side bed. Jayne, can you set his arm until I can get over there?"
"Yeah, it won't be perfect though."
"It doesn't matter now, I just need it set as best as it can be."
"Inara! Help!" Called Kaylee from the doorway. She had made it upstairs, but was now unable to place her foot on the ground. The companion ran to her friend and let her put her arm around her shoulders. Together, they made it to a chair and Kaylee sat down.
"Can you get me that brace for my foot?" She asked, and Inara retrieved the plastic mold from the shelf where it say with leg and arm casts.
Snapping it into place, Kaylee got up, grimaced, and walked over to where Simon was operating. Jayne joined them after setting Mal's arm and the three went to work.
Book and Inara crossed over to where Mal was lying. She sat down at his side and ran her delicate hand down his pale cheek, "C'mon Mal, you can get through this."
The old Preacher grabbed a wet towel and mopped the superior officer's forehead, "Everything is in God's hands now."
*******************************************************
**********************************************************
Mal walked slowly towards the cargo bay, carefully setting each foot on the ground. The corner that opened into the area above the bay was quickly approaching, and he could hear the two voices he'd long been expecting.
He wasn't nervous, he'd been in worse situations, the problem was the lack of cover on his end, and the abundance of it on theirs. Cautiously, he peered around the corner and gazed down. They were there in plain view, and Mal raised his rifle to fire.
A loud crack shattered the silence and the men below ducked and fell flat to the floor. The echoing of the shot that missed rang around the room.
'Damn', thought Mal and looked to fire again. It really wasn't morally right to shoot at men that were already down. Book's voice, full of scolding, was already reprimanding him in his mind, but the Captain figured a shoot first and ask later policy was something the old Preacher would agree with here.
Something smacked the wall that shielded most of his body and he jerked his head back behind the corner. Another glance revealed to him that the taller man had pulled his gun as well. Taking advantage of the situation, a rapid fire began from Mal's end. The men didn't have all their own guns out and dropped behind some cargo barrels.
The next move made by the Captain was a risky one. Without Jayne for backup, he had to go down the staircase and finish the two men off. Mal dove for the stairs and moved quickly down them, blasting at the boxes behind which the two intruders hid.
Once out of sight by also concealing himself, he planned an attack.
Shots fired out at him from both men now, and for the first time since the war, he truly felt alone. Zoe wasn't there to back him up and for all he knew, Jayne might not even know what was going on yet. Kaylee was God knows where and Wash was busy working. Leaning out to take a few shots and maybe injure one of the men, a bullet nicked his ear.
Inara entered his mind as he sat back against the box to take a breath. He could sure use her comforting voice right now.
********************************************************
Back in her shuttle, Inara listened at her door to the sounds. The noise from the gunshots had traveled even to where she was, and it didn't take her too long to recognize what was going on.
Pulling on her shawl, she went to one of long cushions couches attached to the side of her quarters. One of the pillows concealed a small, shiny silver pistol. A more favorite customer of hers had presented it to her as a gift when she had been threatened by a would be robber during their date. That had been years ago, before she even heard of the Serenity, Mal, or had considered space travel.
The pistol slipped easily into a concealed pocket on her dress, and her hands were hidden underneath her shawl.
If anyone had a chance of getting close to the situation without getting killed, it was a companion. As a rule, they almost never were shot at.
Inara stepped over the doorframe and out into the hallway, walking steadily towards the main cargo bay of the ship.
***************************************************
Vera had needed polishing, or Jayne had at least thought so. The mercenary had known that something was wrong from the first jolt the ship had received earlier. He just didn't want his girl to look bad when the killing began.
The already extremely dirty cleaning cloth was becoming even more dark in color as Jayne used it to wipe the grip.
"Been a long time since I really got to do anything fun." The voice was low and accompanied by a smile. It wasn't long before he stepped out into the hallway, looking for a good fight.
***********************************************************
Pain ripped into Mal's arm as his gun skid a few feet out of reach.
Jackson watched the weapon leave his enemy's grasp and grinned, "Got him."
"Where?"
"Shooting arm, now move your ass!"
Laychen scrambled to his feet and jumped out from behind the barrel. His boots pounded the stairs as he raced up them. It was impossible for him to know if the Captain was decent shot with his other hand.
"Get the job done and get it done quickly!" Yelled Jackson.
"I know what the hell I'm doing!" Laychen screamed back, angered at his partner's lack of confidence in his abilities. His eyes scanned the hallways on either side of him.
A small movement in one caught his attention and he raised his gun, "Get out here where I can see you."
Whatever was there ducked into another corridor, the sounds emanating from it indicated that it was running.
Unafraid, he followed, occasionally stopping to try some of the doors. Most were locked, 'They must known whose coming.'
The final turn revealed a small figure in the corner, not curled up on the floor, just so shadowed and hidden that it looked small. Light hit the form's red dress, and Laychen realized that it was a woman.
"Step outta there."
Moving slowly, and swinging her hips seductively, the woman moved into the fully illuminated section of the hall. She was beautiful, dark hair and eyes, and full lips.
"Name?" Demanded Laychen, keeping the gun up.
"I'm the ship's companion." Her voice made him ache it was so luscious.
"I asked for your name, Miss."
"Inara."
"Okay, well Inara, if you play your cards right you might get out of here alive."
Moving toward her, he pulled out a pair of something that resembled handcuffs.
"I thought you wanted to kill us all."
"If you cause any trouble, I will kill you. Maybe have a little fun first though." The smile from him made her feel disgusted inside.
This was exactly what she wanted. When he grabbed her hand to cuff her, she slipped her fingers around his wrist, "You don't really want to tie me up and leave me here, do you?"
Laughing slightly, he nodded, "I'd like to tie you up, I don't really wanna leave you. My partner probably wouldn't like that however."
"Fantasy of yours is it?"
"Perhaps, pretty girl."
"Why not act on a part of it? I already told you I was a companion, I aim to please."
"That's a sweet offer, but I've really got to make sure that no one on this ship becomes a problem."
"Everyone else is in lock down. They won't come out until Captain orders it." She slid the hand that was already on his wrist up his arm. Her other hand went for the small gun in her pocket.
Inara kept rubbing his arm while he finally gave in and kissed her neck. Suddenly, she heard a roar and the Laychen was ripped out of her arms roughly.
Confused, she looked to her left and saw Jayne tackling the smaller man. Inara pulled her pistol and aimed it at Laychen, waiting for the moment would Jayne move enough for her to shoot.
She never got the chance as Jayne retrieved Vera from the ground next to him and managed to deliver a single bullet into his combatant's heart.
To Jayne's credit, he didn't shoot Laychen in place where he'd have died slowly, the intruder perished within minutes.
"Get his gun." Ordered Jayne, and Inara picked up the weapon.
She glanced over and saw her shipmate going through the Asian man's pockets, throwing anything valuable out onto the floor.
"Robbing a dead man. That's so like you."
"Since when did you get so moral?" Snapped Jayne, "We'll use all this stuff for the ship, anyway."
"Irony at its best." She smiled and gathered up the trinkets in one of her satin purses.
Standing, the mercenary picked up Vera, "Let's go find Mal."
***********************************************************
Jackson was taking pleasure in tormenting the Captain. Every time the other man reached for his gun, a bullet would come within a hair's breath of his hand.
Mal finally stopped trying to get his gun back, he was going to have to wait until Jackson came to him or until someone else came to his rescue.
He felt him arm, gritting his teeth in pain every time his fingers touched a sensitive area. It was pretty undeniable that the bullet had shattered the bone in his forearm. Any longer out of a sling or braced and it might become permanently useless. Moving any part of his body made it ache even more.
Jackson had noticed something interesting about Mal's hiding place. Kicking open a small and heavy box behind him, he found a large engine piece meant as a replaceable part. Bullets weren't working anymore, whatever was in that box concealing the Captain was deflecting the bullets.
Lifting the part once or twice, and gently tossing it into air a few times, Jackson judged it throw-able.
Leaning around the side of the box, he fired a warning shot that kept Mal behind where he was hiding. Jackson then stood up and flung the part as hard as he could toward the Captain.
Mal turned to look, the noises had changed and he didn't want to be caught unprepared for an ambush. Unfortunately for him, he'd chosen to hide behind a heavy lower box, and a lighter, and higher up, top box. The top box may have not carried as much weight as the lower, but it was enough.
The part struck dead center, pushing the top box over and onto the Captain. Jackson exulted, "Yes!" It had been a guess, but it was a good one.
The Captain had seen the box coming, but couldn't really move as the pain from his arm was too excruciating. He was knocked into unconscious and nearly crushed as the cargo carton hit him.
"Fucked you up pretty good." Said a confident Jackson, holding his gun to shoot as he moved over to where his enemy lay.
Short work was made of uncovering the fallen man and binding his legs together with metal wire cuffs. There was no point in binding the arms, one was gone, hopefully for good.
Kicking the gun further out of reached than it already was, and out of view, the intruder made his way toward the stairs. Once up them, he headed toward the pilot's room.
************************************************************
Inara and Jayne made their way back through the hallway toward the cargo bay, obviously where the man had to have come from.
When they came to it, Inara leaned over the railing, "Oh God! Mal!"
She ran down the stairs, pulling the length of her dress up to avoid tripping. Her face showed fear and compassion.
Jayne yelled from the top of the stairs for her to watch out, but it wouldn't have stopped her.
Falling to her knees at his side, she patted his face, "Mal, c'mon!"
The mercenary was suddenly at her side, "Jesus, look at his arm. Probably broke."
Inara was extremely upset, "We have to get him to Simon."
"He's not dieing, we need to find the other guy."
"What other guy?"
"I heard you talking to him, he mentioned a partner."
"You heard us talking? Why didn't you hit him then?"
"I was kinda hoping that you'd get a little dirtier. The bondage talk was a little bit of a turn on."
Resisting the urge to slap his face, she wondered, "Okay, where would this partner be?"
"If they're trying to take over the ship, where do you think they'd go?"
"Pilot. Wash."
"You stay with him, I'm going to get that son of a bitch."
********************************************************
Wash was figuring the more detailed components of the Serenity, trying to see if he could do any damage to the intruder's ship. All the buttons and switches weren't doing a damn thing as far as he was concerned though.
It was useless, someone had cut off the power to their own doors, making it impossible for him to do anything.
Sighing, he stood up and walked over to where the intercom button was, "Simon?"
"Wash?" It was Book's voice, Wash was grateful that the doctor wasn't alone, and that his wife had someone there to comfort her.
"Is Zoe doing okay?"
"Yeah, she's fine. The baby's not here yet though, but it will be soon."
"Have you heard anything from Mal?"
"This is the only place the intercom goes to, Kaylee hasn't connected the other rooms yet. Your friends haven't shown up here if that's any consolation."
"Oh, tell Zoe that I love her and - " Wash didn't get a chance to finish.
The door to the pilot room was suddenly open and Jackson stood there. Wash was knocked back as a bullet slammed into his chest, sending him flying back into his pilot's chair.
Book's voice crackled over the intercom, "Are you there, Wash?"
Wash was in horrible pain, he hadn't been hit in the heart, but any shot to the chest was one that could bleed, bad enough to kill.
Jackson was about to fire again, but the pilot all of a sudden ran forward, tackling him.
They grappled for the gun, neither man wanting to let the other have control. Jackson was flat on his back now, Wash kneeling on his chest with one hand on the gun and the other was trying to pull Jackson's hand off his throat.
Being choked was not helping the badly bleeding Wash. Now even his enemy looked at though he'd been shot in the chest, as much blood was pouring onto him from the pilot.
"Give it up you little prick. You're going to die any way, might as well let me end it for you."
"No." Gasped Wash, slowly, moving his left knee onto Jackson's wrist. He released his hand from the other man's arm and reached into his boot.
Turning his wrist, Jackson moved the end of the gun closer to his opponent's head. Wash noticed what was going on, and moved faster, he had to win here. For Zoe, for the baby. Bringing the gun out, he brought it right up to Jackson's forehead. The other man released his grip on the pilot's throat, trying to take the gun.
With a loud crack, the gun fired, and Jackson lay still, the gun in his hand clattered to the ground, only a few centimeters from it's killing point.
Breathing hard, the victor let his own gun hit the floor. Getting to his feet, he took a few shaky steps toward the intercom button. Was this had Mal had felt when he'd been bleeding and freezing to death on Serenity, alone? Everything was getting hazy, and Wash pressed a hand to the wound on his chest, it became covered with the bright red life fluid.
"Zoe." His voice was pleading, and full of pain. He fell to the ground, and was out.
*******************************************************
Jayne ran through the ship, Vera in hand. He arrived in the pilot's room, and was angered to find the door already open.
Inside, he found a taller man, shot in the head on the floor. Wash lay on the ground, only a foot or so from the other man, a puddle of blood forming around him.
"Shit, Wash, I didn't know you had it in ya." Jayne turned the pilot over and shook him.
"I wish you'd left him for me, man, I never get to have fun." Grumbled the mercenary, picking Wash up.
"Let's get you to the good doc Tam."
Jayne ran as fast as he was able to the infirmary, hindered only by the person he carried. Regrettably, he'd had to leave Vera in the pilot's chair for the time being.
*******************************************************
A pounding on the door alerted Simon and Book.
"Who is that?" Asked Simon, and Book went to look.
"Doc, let me in!" Came Jayne's voice.
"We can't Jayne, Mal gave orders only to open the door when he said so."
"Preacher! I got a dieing Wash here, and Mal's out cold in the cargo bay. Let me the hell in!"
Simon looked over and nodded to Book, who lifted the lock. Jayne burst in, and laid Wash down on the center surgical table. The doctor came out from behind the curtain where'd he been helping Zoe.
Book stared at him, "Is she okay?"
"Everything's done, and all cleaned up. She'll be fine. Book, why don't you tell her to get some rest, and don't say anything about Wash, I don't want her to get worked up." Whispered Simon, using his scissors to cut open Wash's shirt.
"How's he doing?" Asked Jayne.
"Bullet probably punctured his lung, he's lost excessive amounts of blood and to be honest, I'm surprised he's made it this far."
"Is he gonna die?"
"I'm not sure yet, but it does look very probable."
"Doc, I'm gonna go get Mal and bring him up here."
"Alright, after you do that, could you go find Kaylee? I'm gonna need her help."
"Yeah." Jayne said and ran out of the room back towards the cargo bay.
"Hello? Anybody there?" A female voice came in over the intercom system.
Book walked quickly over to the speaker, "Yes, who is this?"
"Kaylee. I got the intercom working from the engine room."
"Tell her to get up here immediately." Yelled Simon, hooking up an emergency blood transfusion to Wash. Luckily, he'd had each member of the crew donate a pint of their own blood on a regular basis in case of such emergencies, after the incident with Mal had taken place.
"Listen to me, child, Simon wants you up here as soon as possible. There is an emergency."
"I might be a little slow, I got shot in the foot."
"God help us." Murmured Book, putting his hand to his forehead, "Alright, Kaylee, just please hurry."
"Gotcha." And the conversation was over.
Simon looked up from where he was working, "What's the damage so far, Book?"
"Mal has a broken arm and is unconscious, Kaylee has been shot in the foot, and of course, Wash is nearer to death with each passing moment."
Suddenly, Jayne and Inara came back into through the door carrying an unconscious Mal.
"Put him on the side bed. Jayne, can you set his arm until I can get over there?"
"Yeah, it won't be perfect though."
"It doesn't matter now, I just need it set as best as it can be."
"Inara! Help!" Called Kaylee from the doorway. She had made it upstairs, but was now unable to place her foot on the ground. The companion ran to her friend and let her put her arm around her shoulders. Together, they made it to a chair and Kaylee sat down.
"Can you get me that brace for my foot?" She asked, and Inara retrieved the plastic mold from the shelf where it say with leg and arm casts.
Snapping it into place, Kaylee got up, grimaced, and walked over to where Simon was operating. Jayne joined them after setting Mal's arm and the three went to work.
Book and Inara crossed over to where Mal was lying. She sat down at his side and ran her delicate hand down his pale cheek, "C'mon Mal, you can get through this."
The old Preacher grabbed a wet towel and mopped the superior officer's forehead, "Everything is in God's hands now."
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