Title: Fix him
Series: Heart of Gold: Rayne style
Author: Sevangel
Disclaimer: Not Mine
Rating: PG-13
FYI: Aaaaahhh, for the first time ever, I'm having writer's block or whatever and it's driving me nuts. Hopefully, it's just excitement cause of HP4 coming out on DVD Tuesday. (squeals, Professor Snape, yum)
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Simon hears his sister scream and his blood freezes. He jumps up and runs to the door, ignoring the painful protest his leg is giving. As a doctor, he knows he's going to regret it but as a brother, he doesn't care. He briefly gives a look down at the dead men scattered about but doesn't stop his progress to the huddle of people.
"Mei-mei." Simon gasps when he finally pushes through Jayne's brothers only to see his sister crying hysterically, her husband's head in her lap, blood staining both their bodies.
"Simon, fix him." River begs.
"I need to get him to the infirmary." Simon orders, switching over to doctor-mode. "Mei-mei, you have to let them move him."
Sam, Tim, and Bill pick up their big brother and start carrying him towards Serenity while Inara and Zoe help the visibly upset genius into the ship.
"Lie him down there." Simon orders as he puts on a pair of gloves. "What happened?"
"He got shot." Mal replies.
Simon looks up to glare at Mal.
River walks slowly into the infirmary, shrugging Inara and Zoe off her. In the back of her mind, she registers her brother as he prepares to do surgery but her gaze never moves off her husband. His eyes flutter open and look straight into hers, a regretful look in his eyes before they close again and his arm drops lifelessly to hang off the side of the bed.
River screams.
Simon runs over to his sister, trying to figure out why she's screaming. "Mei-mei, what's wrong…"
"FIX HIM!" River screeches, a lost, painful look in her eyes. "FIX HIM, FIX HIM, FIX HIM!" Her fists swing wildly and one hits Simon in the face.
Bill nods at his younger brothers and they follow him towards their hysterical sister-in-law. Bill reaches out and puts a gentle hand on River's shoulder, intent on pulling her out of the infirmary.
River grabs Bill's arm and spins him around before planting her foot into his back and kicking him across the room. He hits the wall with a loud thud and slides down it. Sam moves to grab her and she dunks his reaching arms. Grabbing the front of his shirt, she rolls towards the ground and throws him over her shoulder and through the infirmary window. She bounces to her feet, grabs a bedpan, and hits Tim across the face, knocking the man out cold. She drops the pan and runs back to her husband but is tackled before she can reach him.
Mal watches as his littlest crewmember knocks out three men twice her size. Preparing himself for the beating he knows he's gonna get, he tackles the genius and rolls them over until he's on top, straddling her tiny frame. "Settle down." Mal yells as his hands hold her arms above her head. River struggles lessen after a few seconds and Mal starts to think she's gonna listen to him. His grip loosens the slightest bit and without him even noticin', her thighs somehow move to wrap around his neck. His hands reach behind him to grab her legs, trying to unwrap them but she only tightens them more. His world starts to go black when suddenly the pressure from her legs is gone. He falls backwards with a pant as he tries to focus on the world around him. After a few moments, he looks up to see Zoe holding a needle in her hand. "Thanks."
"No problem, sir." Zoe replies as she holds out a hand down to help him up. Mal bends down and picks up the unconscious genius and carries her across the room to lay her down on the spare bed.
Mal then walks over to stand behind the doc, lookin' down at his expert hands as he removes the bullet from Jayne's gut. "How's he doin'?"
"I can't tell yet." Simon answers honestly. "But he is going to need blood. Wash, do you remember how to test for blood type?"
"Yeah." Wash replies.
Mal looks at his pilot with a raised eyebrow.
"From when you got shot in the gut." Wash explains as he opens a drawer to find the tester. "I had to test everyone while Simon was removing your bullet."
"Start with his brothers." Simon orders.
"Um, they're kind of not awake." Wash replies.
"Just test them." Simon orders. "I need the blood."
"Doc, you're lookin' a bit tense there." Mal comments.
Simon glances up at Mal. "Do you want to explain to my sister that her husband is dead?" Simon asks.
"Right." Mal agrees. "Okay, Wash, get to testin'. Nara and Book, work on wakin' them up. Kaylee, get a blanket and cover River up."
Robert stands in a daze as he watches the Serenity crew follows the captain's orders with without question. Every person's movement is precise and orderly; they've been in situations like this before. His hand is clasped tightly in his wife as they watch their eldest son being operated on.
"He put his socks on her." Kaylee whispers. "And his shirt so's that she wouldn't be cold."
"Little Kaylee, cover River up and then I want you to go sit outside with the little ones." Mal says quietly, seeing the tears filling his mechanic's eyes.
"He's gonna be alright, ain't he?" Kaylee asks.
Mal looks down at her and sighs; she's got that look, the one where she's trustin' him to make everything all right. "I don't know, Kaylee."
"Found a match." Wash announces. "Two actually, Sam and Bill."
"I need you and Book to get both of them ready to donate some blood." Simon orders. "Zoe, I need your help."
"Robert, you wanna help me drag your unconscious sons in here?" Mal says.
"Yeah." Robert agrees as he follows the captain outside of the infirmary. Among the broken glass, they find Sam lying unconscious, his pregnant wife kneeling worriedly by his side. "Julia, we need to take him in there, Jayne needs some blood."
"The doc will see to him once Jayne's stable." Mal assures her. "For now, I think it'd probably be best if you stayed out here."
Sam gives a painful groan and opens his eyes. "What..?"
"Sam?" Julie whispers.
"Son, you gotta get up, Jayne needs some blood." Robert says.
Julie's hands grip her husband tightly, refusing to let go.
"It's a'right, Juls." Sam assures his wife. "You just stay out here."
"I'll sit with you." Inara says as she helps the worried looking wife to her feet.
Mal and Robert help the injured man to his feet and half carry him into the infirmary. Sam glances over on the bed connected against the wall to see his big brother's wife passed out, a blanket coverin' her.
"Zoe sedated her." Mal says quietly.
"Oh." Sam mutters as he sits down on the ground a few feet away from where his brother is being operated on.
"Rita, why don't you take Andrea on outa here." Robert suggests to his wife as him and Mal start to move Bill over. The large man groans and grabs the back of his head as he starts to awaken. "It'll be better if'n you don't watch none of this."
Rita casts one last look at her unconscious son and starts to walk over to her daughter-in-law when Jayne's body arches off the table, the machines he's hooked up to going off wildly.
"Doc?" Mal questions as him and Robert lean Jayne against the counter.
"His heart stopped." Simon says grimly. "Top drawer."
Mal reaches around Bill and pulls open the top drawer. Reaching inside, he grabs a huge needle and wordlessly hands it to Simon.
"What is it?" Rita asks, her and Andrea stopped in the doorway, watching the scene in horror.
"Pure adrenaline." Simon answers as he rips the plastic covering off.
"What ya gonna do….." Rita starts to ask and then she gasps loudly when Simon brings the needle up and slams it into Jayne's chest. Her baby boy arches again and his body seizures slightly.
Simon takes the instrument Zoe is handing him, his mind focused completely on the man under his knife. He couldn't even begin to count how many surgeries he's done but this is the first time he's ever been scared. But he knows. If he fails, Jayne isn't the only one he'll be losing; his baby sister will go with him.
-
"Gorramit, this is stupid." Sam growls as he opens his eyes. "The second I fall asleep, you're wakin' me up again."
"You have a minor concussion." Simon says for the 8th time. "I have to wake you up every hour."
"It's still stupid." Sam mutters as he sits up.
Simon rolls his eyes before shining his flashlight into Sam's eyes. "Do you feel nauseous?" Simon questions.
"No." Sam answers. "I ain't gotta puke and I don't feel dizzy, all I do feel is tired but you won't let me sleep."
Simon finishes examining Sam before moving over to wake Tim up. Tim is a little less grumpy, but only a little. Bill yells at him, again, and threatens to knock Him out, again.
"Is it a male Cobb thing?" Simon asks Rita as he drops down next to her on the couch outside the infirmary. They had dragged out mattresses from the guest rooms for the Cobb brothers to sleep on so that Simon could keep an eye on all of them.
"What, son?" Robert grunts from his end of the couch.
Simon turns his head, slightly started as he looks towards Robert. "I was just wondering if being a bad patient is something I should expect when River and Jayne have children?"
"When?" Mal replies with a fake gasp. "I thought ya done said 'no kids'."
"Yes, well, I was slightly in shock." Simon defends. "But now that I've had time to absorb everything, it wouldn't be that bad if they were to eventually, sometime in the far future, have children."
"The girls ain't bad when it comes to bein' sick." Rita answers Simon's question. "But the boys are, specially once they're bigger."
"There ya go then." Mal says. "They can just have a whole passel of little girls."
"Running over your ship." Simon adds.
Mal frowns. "No kids."
Roberts sits up and then smacks Mal on the back. "Don't worry." Robert assures him. "I'm sure you'll have some kids of your own."
Mal's hands rise up in the air in protest. "Whoa there, I think you're talkin' to the wrong man."
"Hmmm." Robert says, studying Mal. "I don't think I am."
Simon's gaze shifts between Mal and Robert, confused by the exchange.
"So, doc, when's he gonna wake up?" Mal asks.
"You're tryin' to change the subject." Robert replies.
"Yep." Mal agrees. "Well, doc?"
Simon starts to answer when a loud groan is heard from the infirmary. "Now." He stands up shakily, his crutches under his arms, and hobbles into the infirmary, where Jayne is lying on the sickbed; a blanket pulled up to his waist, while his stomach is covered with a large white bandage, his wife still sedated a few feet away.
Jayne groans as he slowly comes to. He feels groggy and can't right figure out why. When he finally manages to get his eyes open, he groans again at the bright lights. He's in the infirmary. He feels somebody touchin' his wrist and manages to turn his head enough to see who it is. "Doc, waz goin' on?"
"You've been shot." Simon replies as he shines a light into Jayne's eyes. "Do you remember?"
"River." Jayne growls. "Where's River?"
Simon nods his head towards the other side of the room.
Jayne forces his head to the side and then tries to jump off the bed. "Gorramit, I can't move."
"Yes, I know." Simon replies as he quickly injects the merc.
"We doin' this again?" Jayne growls.
"No, Jayne." Simon replies. "I just knew when you saw River, you would end up ripping out the weaves I so painstakingly put in. The effects will wear off in a few minutes."
"Yeah." Jayne mutters, his head turned to face his wife. "I 'member. While we're waitin', I wanna know what the hell happened to my wife."
"She's fine." Simon assures him. "Just sedated."
Jayne turns his head to face Simon, a scowl covering his face. "She's what?" Then his eyes squint to look at Simon's face, his right eye blackened. "What happened to your face?"
"Your wife." Mal says, drawing Jayne's attention to the captain and the group of people standing behind him.
"Huh?"
"I done told you not to get shot." Mal says. "But did you listen to me? Nope."
"What happened?"
"After your brothers managed to carry your heavy ass in here, River kinda lost it, started screamin' and all." Mal replies. "The doc, behavin' like normal, ran to her side. Guess she got a bit pissed that he weren't fixin' you fast enough for her likin' and she started swingin', nippin' Simon here in the face."
"Then he sedated her?" Jayne asks.
"No." Mal answers. "Then your brothers thought to take her out of here. She kicked Bill 'cross the room, threw Sam over her shoulder and through my ruttin' window, and knocked Tim out with a bedpan. Then I tackled her…"
"YOU WHAT?" Jayne bellows as he sits up an inch or two.
Mal looks over at Simon. "Good thing he can't move."
"Yes." Simon agrees.
"I'm gonna ruttin' rip your gorram head off.." Jayne threatens.
"You ain't gonna do nothin'." Mal cuts in. "Cause you can't move and even when you can, you still ain't gonna do nothin'."
"You tackled my wife and you don't expect me to do somethin'?" Jayne growls.
"Yep." Mal replies. "Gorramit, Jayne, ain't like I wanted to. She lost it, who the hell knows what she woulda done. Hell, once I got her down and hands held down, she still managed to wrap her gorram legs round my neck and nearly chocked me to death."
"How was you holdin' her down?" Jayne asks with a glint in his eyes.
Mal looks around the room nervously. "I mighta been stradlin' her."
Jayne sits up with a growl.
Mal jumps back a foot and looks towards Simon. "Thought you said he couldn't move."
"I also said it would wear off." Simon replies. "Though it shouldn't be this fast." Simon preps another needle and walks around the bed to move next to his sister.
"What the gorram hell are ya doin'?" Jayne growls.
"Waking her up." Simon replies after he's done injecting River.
"Bring her here." Jayne orders.
"You got a bullet hole in your gut." Mal replies. "Do ya really think holdin' her is gonna be good for it?"
"Don't really care." Jayne says. "All I care bout is makin' sure she don't freak out when she wakes up. Bring her here."
Simon gently picks up his sister and carries her over to Jayne's left side, his wound being more to the right.
"Move this thing up." Jayne orders as he tries to adjust River closer to his side. His belly is screamin' at this point and he wants nothin' more than to go to sleep but needs to know she's really all right first.
Simon moves the bed upright until it's more of a chair than anything else.
"When will she walk up?" Jayne asks.
"A few moments." Simon answers. He pulls back Jayne's bandage far enough to examine his wound. "You should heal fine as long as you don't do anything to jostle the wound."
"Which I'm takin' to mean no sex." Mal says with a grin.
"Yes." Simon agrees.
Jayne glares at them and then as his brothers when they start laughing.
"Ain't no time to be laughin'." Rita scolds. "He's gotta hole in his belly and a wife who's worried sick bout him. You lot best stop actin' like children."
Mal coughs to hide a chuckle.
"That means you too, boy." Rita says, looking straight at Mal.
Wash laughs at the look on Mal's face.
"I need to warn you too?" Rita questions Wash. "And didn't I say somethin' to you bout slouchin'?"
Wash's mouth closes and he straightens up completely. Zoe glances over at her husband and barely holds back a smile at the look on his face.
Jayne's hand moves down to trace River's face, his fingers lingering over the blood on her cheek.
"It's yours." Simon assures him. "We cleaned her up as well as we could."
Jayne acknowledges Simon with a nod though his eyes never leave River's face. She's starting to stir, and he knows she'll be awake in moment or two.
"Jayne." His name is a whisper as it leaves her mouth.
"Right here baby." Jayne assures her.
River eye's stir open and she sits up, panicking wildly. "Jayne, Jayne…" She screeches as she looks around the infirmary.
"Baby, I'm right here." Jayne says, reaching up to turn her face towards him.
"Jayne." River whispers as her eyes fill with tears. Then with a pain-filled wail, she throws her arms around his neck and buries her face in his chest as her tiny body is racked with sobs.
Jayne rubs his hands up and down her back while he whispers into her ear.
Simon grits his teeth as he listens to his sister cry. Well, actually cry isn't a good word for what she's doing. It's more like wailing. He's heard her cry countless times but nothing like what she's doing now.
"Baby, ya gotta calm down." Jayne says. "You're gonna make yourself sick."
"Yo..oou a..llm..os…t w…een..t aa…wa…y.." River stutters between sobs.
"I know baby." Jayne says quietly. "I know."
"And I want..tted ttto go wit…th you." River face moves back to look up at him. "I woooul..d ha…ve wwe..nnt ww…i..tth you….ca..nn't lliiv..ve wit…th..ou..t you."
"I know baby." Jayne agrees. "Woulda went with you too." Jayne pulls her back against his chest, wincing slightly went it pulls on his stomach.
"Mei-mei, I need to finish examining Jayne." Simon says a few minutes later. "Why don't you go back to the house with Inara and Kaylee and get washed up while I make sure Jayne is okay."
"NO." River cries, squeezing Jayne tighter. "Not leaving Jayne."
"Mei-mei, it will just be for a few minutes." Simon says. "Once I'm done examining him, we'll help him into the house so you can both get some rest."
River shakes her head, refusing to look at her brother.
"Baby, I'll be fine." Jayne says, tilting her face up to his. "You just go get all that blood washed off; does me no good seein' you like that."
"You will be there when I'm done getting clean?" River whispers.
"Waitin' right outside." Jayne assures her.
"Come on, mei-mei." Inara says, holding her hand out to the still shaken genius.
River looks at the hand and then back at Jayne. "Don't leave me." River begs. "Never leave me."
"Never will." Jayne firmly says. He bends his head and kisses River gently. "Love you, baby."
"Love you too." River whispers against Jayne's mouth.
River kisses Jayne's mouth once more before moving off the bed and grabbing Inara's hand. She feels Kaylee walking up to her other side and drops her other hand for the mechanic to grab. As they walk out of the infirmary, River looks back at her husband once more, tears filling her eyes again.
"It's okay, mei-mei." Inara says. "Let's get you cleaned up. Kaylee, why don't you run down to their bunk and get her something to sleep in."
"T-shirt." River says, stopping the mechanic in her tracks. "Orange t-shirt on the bed, I wish to sleep in that."
"Okay." Kaylee replies. "Anything else?"
"Blue boxers folded up on the chair." River answers.
Kaylee moves down the hall towards the Cobb's bunk while Inara leads River off the boat and into the house.
Inara opens the bathroom door off Rita and Robert's room and ushers the smaller girl in. She gently pushes the genius down onto the toilet and then turns around to run warm water into the sink. Wetting a washcloth, she kneels down and begins washing the blood of River's face. She dips the cloth back into the water, rinsing it off again, before returning to clean off River's arms.
"It's Kaylee." River announces when there's knocking on the door.
"Come in, Kaylee." Inara says.
"Hey." Kaylee says. "Got the clothes."
"Let's get you changed." Inara says as she grabs the hem of River's shirt. She pulls the t-shirt off and sighs when she sees that the blood had coated through the t-shirt and onto the tank top River is wearing. She removes the tank top in one quick move sighing again, only this time with relief when there's no blood the girl's pale skin. She takes the t-shirt Kaylee is holding out and helps River pull it on.
River reaches under her t-shirt and pulls her shorts off. "I don't like sleeping in them." She explains when they both look at her.
"Here's Jayne's boxers." Kaylee says as she holds them out.
"Would you like me to throw these away?" Inara asks, indicating to the clothes lying on the bathroom floor.
"Yes." River replies. She opens the bathroom door and smiles when she sees Jayne sitting on his parents' bed. "You're here."
"Told ya I would be." Jayne replies.
"I have to insist that we leave Jayne to get some rest." Simon tells everyone.
"Cept River." Jayne interrupts.
"Except River." Simon agrees.
Rita kisses her son's forehead and then her daughter-in-law's. "You two get some rest." Rita orders.
"We will, ma." Jayne says.
Rita ushers everyone out of the bedroom and closes it firmly on her way out.
Jayne lies back onto the bed, his stomach burnin' fiercely. "Come on, baby, let's go to sleep."
River sits down by Jayne's waist and unbuttons his pants.
"Uhh, I don't really think I can but I'm willin' to try." Jayne says as River pulls his pants off.
"You need rest, not sex." River replies as she works his feet into the blue boxers. She pulls them up his legs, stopping to wait while he lifts his hips enough for her to work them up to his waist. She then crawls up his body to lie down next to him, her head pillowed on his shoulder.
"You okay, baby?" Jayne asks.
"Now." River replies. "You okay?"
"Now." Jayne agrees. He wraps an arm around her waist and rests his head on top of hers. "Seein' that gun aimed at you, I ain't ever been that scared. Didn't like it one bit."
"I know." River replies. "I didn't like seeing you covered in red."
"You either." Jayne agrees.
"Jayne."
"Yeah baby?"
"Your family still like me, right?" River asks quietly.
"Course, why wouldn't they?" Jayne replies.
"I injured your brothers." River whispers. "My brother and the captain. I didn't want to but I had to get to you."
"It's a'right." Jayne assure her. "They've done all had their asses kicked by yours truly, least my brothers have. They'll get over it."
"After you tease them about it." River says with a small smile.
Jayne smiles back and drops a kiss on River's forehead. "After I tease em bout it first." Jayne agrees. "And man is that gonna be fun."
River snuggles her face into Jayne's chest, careful to avoid his wound. She places a kiss against his chest and then closes her eyes.
Jayne drops another kiss on River's head before closing his eyes, the pain reliever the doc gave him finally kicking in. Despite the hole in his stomach and the pain fillin' his body, he feels perfectly content, his wife sleepin' peacefully against his side.
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