Chapter Six: Taking Shots
Soundtrack suggestions: "Fighting With Fire" – Sam Phillips, "World on Fire" – Sarah McLachlan
"Doc," a voice said gruffly but quietly. "Doc, wake up."
Simon opened his eyes. Jayne was standing above him; he was apparently asleep on the floor. Seeing Kaylee lying beside him, still asleep, he quickly got to his feet. "What?" he asked Jayne quietly.
"Yer sister's awake and askin' fer ya."
Simon looked at Jayne confusedly. "Did you…?"
Jayne shrugged. "You was asleep. Somebody had t' watch Crazy."
Simon was oddly touched by the mercenary's not-so-typical behavior. "Uh… thanks." He ran a hand through his hair and crossed the infirmary to where River was lying. "Hey," he said quietly.
"Simon, a bad thing happened," his sister said gravely.
"You're telling me; I had to sleep on the floor," he said with a wry smile, trying to be funny. When she didn't smile, he said, more seriously, "You scared me, mei-mei."
"Sorry. Won't happen again." She swallowed. "Metal in my mouth."
"Do you want some water?"
She nodded solemnly.
Simon turned and was nearly broadsided by Jayne, who was standing no more than a foot from him, holding a mug of water. "Here," Jayne said quietly.
"Thanks." Simon took the mug, and without asking, Jayne moved around to lift River into a sitting position against the wall. She took in a mouthful of water, swished it around, then spit it out, pink. "Better?" Simon asked. She nodded slowly. "Okay."
"Metal all over. Dirty. Sticky. Unclean. Nobody can touch an untouchable."
"We'll get you cleaned up," Simon assured her. "I have to go find you some clean clothes, though."
"I'll do it," Kaylee said groggily, and they turned to face her. She was standing and looked only a little sleepy. "I'll get something fer her t' wear." She left the infirmary, yawning.
"Anythin' I kin do t' help?" Jayne asked.
"Not at the moment, thank you though," Simon replied, still strangely touched by the large man's bizarre kindness.
"I'll go eat me some breakfast then," Jayne stated. "Be back if'n ya need me."
"Simon," River said as Jayne was leaving, "you're red."
Simon looked down at his undershirt, which was stained reddish-brown from the night's events. "It's okay, mei-mei."
"You're wearing me," she said as though something had suddenly clicked in her head, and she began to hyperventilate. "I'm all over, spread out, all over the floor and they'll never pick me up, so many pieces all over…"
"Shh, shh, mei-mei," Simon said. "It's all right. Calm down. It'll be all right." He hugged her to him, and he could feel her heart beating, way too fast, like a hummingbird's. Her thickly bandaged arms at her sides, she stiffly accepted the hug.
Kaylee reentered, carrying one of River's dresses, a light green one. "This good enough?" she asked. River nodded solemnly. "Would ya like t' wash off?" Again, another nod. "I'll take her down t' the storeroom," Kaylee offered. "There's a spigot in there and a drain in th' floor."
"I'll go with you," Simon said.
"Simon," Kaylee hissed, "t' ain't proper fer a boy t' see his sister naked."
"Well, then…" Simon said, at a loss for words. "Let me at least wrap her arms in plastic so the bandages won't get wet."
He did as he had said, then lifted River down off the counter. She was a good deal lighter than he had expected and lifting her was easy. She moved awkwardly towards the doors, Kaylee following slowly.
"Won't take but a few minutes," Kaylee assured Simon as they were leaving. "I'll have her back in time fer breakfast – oatmeal again, wouldn't want t' miss that, wouldja?"
River didn't say anything, so Simon quickly said, "Miss oatmeal? Blasphemy!"
"Y' might wanna put some other clothes on," Kaylee suggested.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied, only a little sarcastically. "Anything else?"
She smiled as she and River left. "That'll be enough fer right now, but as fer t' night…"
The storeroom did indeed have a spigot and a drain in the floor, as Kaylee had said. The mechanic filled a bucket with water. "'Kay, we're gonna have t' take yer dress off, River. I'll be gentle, I promise." River didn't respond, just lifted her heavily-bandaged arms so Kaylee could take off the blood-soaked clothing. Then she whispered, "Can't hurt me anymore. I won't be yours."
"What, honey?" Kaylee asked, but River was done communicating.
Above deck, Nona lay awake in River's bunk, staring at the ceiling. She was wringing her hands and crooning sadly, almost eerily, to herself. Her friend was hurt, her friend was in trouble. It was too much for Nona to take in.
Kate opened the door and smiled brightly at her sister. "How do you feel about purple today?" Kate asked perkily, holding up a lavender shirt and darker purple pants. Nona couldn't smile; she was worrying with River. Kate sensed that something was wrong and sat down next to her sister. "Are you worrying about River?" Nona didn't respond, but that was nothing new. "The doctor said she'd be just fine. I bet you can see her in just a little while."
Nona rolled her head to the side so she was looking at Kate. Her eyes were big. Kate said, "What pretty jewelry you have on. Did your new friend give that to you?" Nona blinked. "You can wear some of it after we change your clothes. Look at this pretty necklace – purple asters! It'll go great with your shirt."
Mother Mary was in the mess hall, stirring up a large pot of oatmeal, when Kate wheeled Nona in. The little girl was wearing the purple clothes and the necklace of purple asters. Kate had removed the rest of the jewelry and, for lack of a better place to put it, had left it on River's bed. "Well, good morning, little gem! Don't you look right shiny this mornin'!" Mother Mary exclaimed as Kate brought Nona's chair up to the table. The older woman was wearing her traditional "uniform" and had twisted her hair up, pinning it under her bonnet. Nona rewarded her with a smile.
"Will you feed her, Mother Mary?" Kate requested.
"I sure will," Mother Mary replied. "What are you goin' t' do?"
"Is the doctor around?" Kate answered Mother Mary's query with a question of her own.
"Sure he is," Mother Mary said, giving Kate a strange look. "Ya thinkin' of takin' up with 'im? He's right cute," she said, a twinkle in her eye.
"I'd just like to apologize for my behavior last night."
"What happened last night?" Mother Mary asked. "Did ya find the girl?"
Kate paused; she had forgotten that Mother Mary knew nothing of the night's events. "Yes, we found her," she answered slowly.
River and Kaylee appeared at that moment, and Mother Mary and Kate turned to regard them. "Good mornin'!" Mother Mary exclaimed.
Kaylee nodded, saying, "G' mornin', Mother Mary. Kate." She pulled out a chair for River. "Sit here, sweetie, I'll get ya somethin' t' eat."
River sat, stiffly and without comment. Kaylee moved to the stove and ladled up a bowl of oatmeal. Simon appeared, his hair freshly combed, wearing clean clothes. "Mei-mei, how are you feeling?" he asked, sitting down next to his sister.
"Heavy. My arms are too heavy. They're going to fall off."
"Do they hurt? I can give you some pain medication…"
She shook her head silently in the negative, but he could see there were tears in her eyes. Obviously, something hurt, maybe not her arms. Maybe her mind. That was a very good possibility.
"Gracious me, what happened t' her?" Mother Mary exclaimed, looking directly at River's arms. Kaylee had taken off the plastic, but they were still wound in thick layers of white gauze and pinned with medical tape.
"There was… a bit of an accident, Mother Mary," Kate hurried to say.
"What kind of 'n accident?" Mother Mary asked in abject horror, still staring at River's arms. "We gonna be all right?"
Before anyone could answer her, Wash's voice, a little panicked, came over the intercom. "Ya maybe wanna strap yerselves in! Cap'n my Cap'n, could ya get up here real quick?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the ship swung hard to the right. Mother Mary grabbed onto the counter behind her. Kate hung onto the table, one hand on Nona's wheelchair. Nona sat within, strapped in by a four-point harness, wringing her hands peacefully. Simon grabbed for Kaylee's hand as her knees buckled, catching her before she could fall to the floor. He looked over at River. Her eyes were on the ceiling and her lips were moving.
"What in the ruttin' hell's goin' on?" Jayne demanded, stumbling through. He apparently had been in the process of attaching his holsters, as they swung free around his waist. "We goin' down 'gain?"
Simon shook his head. "I don't know."
"Wash better figure it out soon or we're all dead," Jayne said through clenched teeth.
"He… he doesn't mean that," Kate said to Mother Mary, whose face had gone white. "We're going to be fine."
Inara entered as the ship jolted to the left. "We're under fire," she said.
"From who?" Jayne asked. "We ain't got anybody followin' us last I knew!"
"Random ship, Mal said," Inara answered, stumbling her way into the galley.
"What do they want with us?" Kate wondered. "We haven't done anything wrong, have we?"
"Look around, Kathryn!" Mother Mary exclaimed a tinge hysterically. "We're on a Firefly with common criminals! Done anythin' wrong, my foot!"
"Hey!" Jayne said, obviously resenting being called a common criminal.
"Holy shit!" someone yelled suddenly, before Jayne and Mother Mary could come to fisticuffs. Looking around, no one could determine where it had come from. Then they all realized that Wash must have left the intercom on. Then his voice said, a trifle fearful, "Attention everybody! We are goin' in t' atmo of Snozlund! Prepare fer landin'!"
"Too much noise," River said fervently. "She's here, she's here, she's here and she's going to come get me with her icy claws…"
"It's okay, everything will be all right," Simon said, trying to be heard over Mother Mary's praying.
"Blessed Lord o' our fathers, keep us safe in yer Blessed Hands of Mercy and Love," the older woman mumbled, her fingers fumbling at the star pin on her collar. "Blessed Lord o' our mothers, protect us by day and shelter us by night…"
"She's here, Simon!" River yelled, grabbing her head with her bandaged hands as though trying to block out her thoughts. "She's yelling at me!"
The ship hit the ground and all of its passengers held on, waiting for the ordeal to end. As soon as it did and Serenity had come to a stop, Jayne ran for the hold. The rest of them followed him. Mal, Wash, and Zoë appeared from the bridge.