Matthew Mitchell Reynolds
This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole
ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a
court of law.
To borrow a phrase: Firefly no mine......no money, no sue, please?
AN: Thanx for all the reviews, glad you're enjoying! Just came to my attention that Mal was a Sergeant, not a Lieutenant. Sorry for the mistake!
As soon as everyone had vacated the kitchen, Morgan shakily set her mug down and slouched in her chair.
"Morgan? You okay?" Mal asked, still standing, just behind her.
"They stole my son, Mal" she answered scathingly. There were tears in her voice. Mal had never heard that sound before.
"He's not even eight years old yet and they took him away from me!"
"We'll get him back" Mal promised, "I've got some connections, there are people still loyal to you, we'll find him. We'll get him back" He sat in the chair next to her. She was crying. He didn't know what to do. She'd seen thousands of men and women die. She'd seen homes torn apart and planets destroyed. And it was one small boy who had the ability to bring her to tears.
"I didn't know" she finally said, drying those offensive drops of water, "When I sent you out that night, I didn't know"
Mal could still hear that Corporal, lying in his own blood and guts, whisper those fateful three words, the last three words he'd ever spoken:
"They got her"
"They didn't know who I was. I...I fed them my cover story"
"That you were the camp whore" Mal said. He hated the Alliance just for ever making her speak those words.
"Yes. They bought it. After a couple weeks, they dropped me off on some dung heap. I tried to get back but...nobody wanted to go near the war. I'd been out of the loop too long. I didn't know how to contact anyone anymore. I was doing some work at a University. Wrote a bunch of thermos and essays for some dim wit who took the credit for them. Good money though. That was when I realized" She had to stop. Mal put a hand on her arm. He wasn't a man of many words. She was always the one to do the talking. And she would, in her own time.
"When I heard about Serenity..." she closed her eyes and shook her head, "I knew it was over" Another pause and he could feel her anger, "They left you. Bastards"
"I couldn't right believe it myself" Mal commented. She looked at him, a sad smile on her face. It slowly faded away and her focus drifted.
"Life is too hard, Malcolm. Too hard. I was 19, a General hiding from my enemy, pregnant and tied to the land again. Another ranch. And every night I'd look up in the sky and see freedom...and know I couldn't reach it"
"You're free now" Mal told her, "You're on Serenity" She smiled, but it turned into a grimace.
"You know, I think that young doctor may have been right" she said, "I think maybe I need some rest" Mal pulled her chair out and helped her to her feet. But there was no one around and she couldn't walk, so he swung her up into his arms and carried her down into he bunk. Her cheek was warm against his chest as he made sure the blankets went over her all the way.
"Mal?"
"Hmm?"
"I love you"
Two more months passed, and there wasn't a night he wasn't by her side. They made love in their bed of death, and Zoë kept a look out outside. There wasn't much time for anything in those days, let alone a bunch of romantic swill, but Morgan was still only 18 and able to push the world around enough to get what she wanted.
"When this war's over, we're going to find a nice little planet..."
"No" she said swiftly, sticking her elbow in the dirt to sit up a bit and look down at him, "No land. You get tied down to land" she laid her head back on his chest, "The only place to be free is the sky, Mal. They can't take the sky from you"
"So we'll find ourselves a nice little ship..." he continued.
"A firefly" she said.
"And have ourselves some kids..."
"A little boy. Matthew. I love that name. And we'll all be m's. Malcolm, Morgan and Matthew" Mal kissed her temple and told her to sleep, sure she'd be decorating the kitchen and chasing a little boy around a big ship in her dreams...
She was gone when he woke up. He wasn't surprised. She'd always woken before him, and she never could stand to stay in bed in the morning. She was probably off, exploring the ship...
Morgan stepped into the cockpit silently. The blonde man who was Zoe's husband didn't hear her. She crept up silently behind him.
"Morning!" Wash jumped in his seat and spun around.
"Morgan" he breathed, "Morgan Mitchell"
"According to my mother" Morgan replied, leaning against a console. They studied each other for a moment.
"I never saw Zoë going in for a blonde" she finally said.
"Really" Wash replied. Zoë had told him a lot about Morgan, and Malcolm, last night. He found it hard to believe that this small girl, at 17 no less, had started and led what might've been a successful war against the giant that was the Alliance. She didn't look brilliant.
"Course, Zoë never much showed an interest in men when I knew her. None of the women in the field could really afford to. Zoë was, however, the best soldier I ever knew, and a good woman"
"She is that" Wash agreed, turning back to his blinking lights and buttons. Morgan was quiet for a moment, which was starting to creep Wash out.
"You know" she finally said, "With us, sometimes it's hard to tell what we're feeling. But when you introduced yourself as her husband, I looked at her, and I knew she was happy"
Wash glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
"I try" he said, not sure what to say.
"Thank you" Morgan replied.
"Morning, sir" Zoë said from behind them Both turned, Morgan smiled.
"Zoë, I'm not a General anymore, and you're a good deal older than me. You can drop the sir" Morgan told her.
"Yes, sir" Zoë replied. Morgan shook her head and headed off.
"I think it's romantic" Kaylee was telling Simon as Morgan entered. They had been talking about her sudden appearance.
"How are you this morning?" Simon asked.
"Fine, thank you, Doctor" Morgan answered.
"I'd like you to come down to the infirmary" Simon said, but Morgan cut him off.
"No, thank you"
"Excuse me?" he asked, confused. Morgan kept going about making herself food.
"I thank you for patchin' me up, but I don't like playing the patient much" she told him. Before he could object, the Captain entered.
"Morning, all" he said, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Kaylee was paying close attention and caught all of the small little touches the Captain and their guest exchanged as they both stood eating. She thought it was sweeter than a good morning kiss.
The rest of the crew trickled in for their breakfast. Inara was keeping quietly to herself, Jayne was brooding over the lack of jingling pockets and Book was trying to engage Morgan in a cheerful conversation when Wash and Zoë joined everyone else.
"Captain, you got a heading for us?" Wash asked, trying to keep his voice down, but conversation was light and he was easily heard.
"Still got a cargo to sell, Cap'n" Jayne pointed out.
"My son being in the hands of the Alliance is a little more pressing at the moment, Jayne" Mal snapped. He knew they'd all been waiting for some kind of confirmation that their suspicions were true. He was already developing paternal instincts. He didn't even know what the boy looked like, but he knew he'd give his life to save him. Despite himself, he was imagining what it was going to be like, what kind of rules to set, what skills to encourage, his growing up. He was worried about how he was going to do, swearing to himself that Matthew was going to have a better life than he had.
As soon as they found him.
"Perhaps" the Shepard suggested quietly, "If we knew what they wanted with the boy"
"You mean besides being the son of Morgan Mitchell?" Zoë asked.
"He was a genius" Morgan said quietly.
"What?" Simon asked, with a sudden bad feeling.
"I realized when I couldn't beat him at war games anymore" Morgan explained, "A little over a year ago. And I did a stupid thing. I took him to Ariel to be tested"
"You WHAT?" Mal demanded, rounding on her, "You took MY son to be tested by those..."
"What was I supposed to do, Mal?" Morgan demanded right back, "There was nothing for him on that hole of a planet I was stuck on! It's not like was going to leave him there!" Mal turned away from her and counted to ten. The crew had just experienced the kind of clash Zoë was well familiar with.
"They took him away" River said, and all focus turned to her, "Tow by two, hands of blue" Morgan's eyes narrowed and she moved closer to the young woman, who was looking frightened.
"That's right" she said, "They had blue hands" There was a quiet moment while Morgan looked into River's eyes. Mal felt his skin prickle. He hated it when she did this. He'd know River was a seer, because he recognized in her something that Morgan had, too. And now Matthew.
"They took you too, didn't they?" Morgan asked. River nodded. Morgan stood up quickly and faced the crew. Mal automatically straightened up. She was General Mitchell again.
"I have an idea"
To borrow a phrase: Firefly no mine......no money, no sue, please?
AN: Thanx for all the reviews, glad you're enjoying! Just came to my attention that Mal was a Sergeant, not a Lieutenant. Sorry for the mistake!
As soon as everyone had vacated the kitchen, Morgan shakily set her mug down and slouched in her chair.
"Morgan? You okay?" Mal asked, still standing, just behind her.
"They stole my son, Mal" she answered scathingly. There were tears in her voice. Mal had never heard that sound before.
"He's not even eight years old yet and they took him away from me!"
"We'll get him back" Mal promised, "I've got some connections, there are people still loyal to you, we'll find him. We'll get him back" He sat in the chair next to her. She was crying. He didn't know what to do. She'd seen thousands of men and women die. She'd seen homes torn apart and planets destroyed. And it was one small boy who had the ability to bring her to tears.
"I didn't know" she finally said, drying those offensive drops of water, "When I sent you out that night, I didn't know"
Mal could still hear that Corporal, lying in his own blood and guts, whisper those fateful three words, the last three words he'd ever spoken:
"They got her"
"They didn't know who I was. I...I fed them my cover story"
"That you were the camp whore" Mal said. He hated the Alliance just for ever making her speak those words.
"Yes. They bought it. After a couple weeks, they dropped me off on some dung heap. I tried to get back but...nobody wanted to go near the war. I'd been out of the loop too long. I didn't know how to contact anyone anymore. I was doing some work at a University. Wrote a bunch of thermos and essays for some dim wit who took the credit for them. Good money though. That was when I realized" She had to stop. Mal put a hand on her arm. He wasn't a man of many words. She was always the one to do the talking. And she would, in her own time.
"When I heard about Serenity..." she closed her eyes and shook her head, "I knew it was over" Another pause and he could feel her anger, "They left you. Bastards"
"I couldn't right believe it myself" Mal commented. She looked at him, a sad smile on her face. It slowly faded away and her focus drifted.
"Life is too hard, Malcolm. Too hard. I was 19, a General hiding from my enemy, pregnant and tied to the land again. Another ranch. And every night I'd look up in the sky and see freedom...and know I couldn't reach it"
"You're free now" Mal told her, "You're on Serenity" She smiled, but it turned into a grimace.
"You know, I think that young doctor may have been right" she said, "I think maybe I need some rest" Mal pulled her chair out and helped her to her feet. But there was no one around and she couldn't walk, so he swung her up into his arms and carried her down into he bunk. Her cheek was warm against his chest as he made sure the blankets went over her all the way.
"Mal?"
"Hmm?"
"I love you"
Two more months passed, and there wasn't a night he wasn't by her side. They made love in their bed of death, and Zoë kept a look out outside. There wasn't much time for anything in those days, let alone a bunch of romantic swill, but Morgan was still only 18 and able to push the world around enough to get what she wanted.
"When this war's over, we're going to find a nice little planet..."
"No" she said swiftly, sticking her elbow in the dirt to sit up a bit and look down at him, "No land. You get tied down to land" she laid her head back on his chest, "The only place to be free is the sky, Mal. They can't take the sky from you"
"So we'll find ourselves a nice little ship..." he continued.
"A firefly" she said.
"And have ourselves some kids..."
"A little boy. Matthew. I love that name. And we'll all be m's. Malcolm, Morgan and Matthew" Mal kissed her temple and told her to sleep, sure she'd be decorating the kitchen and chasing a little boy around a big ship in her dreams...
She was gone when he woke up. He wasn't surprised. She'd always woken before him, and she never could stand to stay in bed in the morning. She was probably off, exploring the ship...
Morgan stepped into the cockpit silently. The blonde man who was Zoe's husband didn't hear her. She crept up silently behind him.
"Morning!" Wash jumped in his seat and spun around.
"Morgan" he breathed, "Morgan Mitchell"
"According to my mother" Morgan replied, leaning against a console. They studied each other for a moment.
"I never saw Zoë going in for a blonde" she finally said.
"Really" Wash replied. Zoë had told him a lot about Morgan, and Malcolm, last night. He found it hard to believe that this small girl, at 17 no less, had started and led what might've been a successful war against the giant that was the Alliance. She didn't look brilliant.
"Course, Zoë never much showed an interest in men when I knew her. None of the women in the field could really afford to. Zoë was, however, the best soldier I ever knew, and a good woman"
"She is that" Wash agreed, turning back to his blinking lights and buttons. Morgan was quiet for a moment, which was starting to creep Wash out.
"You know" she finally said, "With us, sometimes it's hard to tell what we're feeling. But when you introduced yourself as her husband, I looked at her, and I knew she was happy"
Wash glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
"I try" he said, not sure what to say.
"Thank you" Morgan replied.
"Morning, sir" Zoë said from behind them Both turned, Morgan smiled.
"Zoë, I'm not a General anymore, and you're a good deal older than me. You can drop the sir" Morgan told her.
"Yes, sir" Zoë replied. Morgan shook her head and headed off.
"I think it's romantic" Kaylee was telling Simon as Morgan entered. They had been talking about her sudden appearance.
"How are you this morning?" Simon asked.
"Fine, thank you, Doctor" Morgan answered.
"I'd like you to come down to the infirmary" Simon said, but Morgan cut him off.
"No, thank you"
"Excuse me?" he asked, confused. Morgan kept going about making herself food.
"I thank you for patchin' me up, but I don't like playing the patient much" she told him. Before he could object, the Captain entered.
"Morning, all" he said, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Kaylee was paying close attention and caught all of the small little touches the Captain and their guest exchanged as they both stood eating. She thought it was sweeter than a good morning kiss.
The rest of the crew trickled in for their breakfast. Inara was keeping quietly to herself, Jayne was brooding over the lack of jingling pockets and Book was trying to engage Morgan in a cheerful conversation when Wash and Zoë joined everyone else.
"Captain, you got a heading for us?" Wash asked, trying to keep his voice down, but conversation was light and he was easily heard.
"Still got a cargo to sell, Cap'n" Jayne pointed out.
"My son being in the hands of the Alliance is a little more pressing at the moment, Jayne" Mal snapped. He knew they'd all been waiting for some kind of confirmation that their suspicions were true. He was already developing paternal instincts. He didn't even know what the boy looked like, but he knew he'd give his life to save him. Despite himself, he was imagining what it was going to be like, what kind of rules to set, what skills to encourage, his growing up. He was worried about how he was going to do, swearing to himself that Matthew was going to have a better life than he had.
As soon as they found him.
"Perhaps" the Shepard suggested quietly, "If we knew what they wanted with the boy"
"You mean besides being the son of Morgan Mitchell?" Zoë asked.
"He was a genius" Morgan said quietly.
"What?" Simon asked, with a sudden bad feeling.
"I realized when I couldn't beat him at war games anymore" Morgan explained, "A little over a year ago. And I did a stupid thing. I took him to Ariel to be tested"
"You WHAT?" Mal demanded, rounding on her, "You took MY son to be tested by those..."
"What was I supposed to do, Mal?" Morgan demanded right back, "There was nothing for him on that hole of a planet I was stuck on! It's not like was going to leave him there!" Mal turned away from her and counted to ten. The crew had just experienced the kind of clash Zoë was well familiar with.
"They took him away" River said, and all focus turned to her, "Tow by two, hands of blue" Morgan's eyes narrowed and she moved closer to the young woman, who was looking frightened.
"That's right" she said, "They had blue hands" There was a quiet moment while Morgan looked into River's eyes. Mal felt his skin prickle. He hated it when she did this. He'd know River was a seer, because he recognized in her something that Morgan had, too. And now Matthew.
"They took you too, didn't they?" Morgan asked. River nodded. Morgan stood up quickly and faced the crew. Mal automatically straightened up. She was General Mitchell again.
"I have an idea"