Opus 2- Nocturne
Mal couldn't sleep. He was thinking about Kaylee. Many nights he would hear Simon coming and going from the bunk next to his. Through the bulkhead he could hear that they never did anything but talk. It annoyed him, but there wasn't really anything he could do about it.
Tonight was different.
Simon hadn't been down there in a week, ever since that fiasco with the bounty hunter. And now he could tell she wasn't sleeping. He could hear her moving around next door nearly every night.
Something was wrong with little Kaylee, and it was his job to fix it.
He heaved himself out of the warmth of his bed and climbed up the ladder. Once in the hall, he tapped quietly on Kaylee's door. "Kaylee? It's me. Can I come in, nian qing de?" After a muffled reply of 'Yeah, Cap'n," he kicked open the hatch and slid down her ladder. "Hey."
"Hi."
"Can't sleep, little Kaylee?"
"Nope. You neither, huh?"
"Nah. Don't need to. You, on the other hand, should get some rest. What happens when somethin' blows up and you're too tired to fix it?" That got no response, so he sat on the edge of her bed. "What's on your mind, meimei?"
She shrugged and sat next to him. "Nothin'."
He sighed, and then tried to cover it up. "Haven't seen Simon around here much lately. He avoidin' you?" he teased playfully.
"No, I'm avoiding him," was her defensive response. "He…I don't want him to be mad at me."
"Now what would he go and do a thing like that for?"
"'Cause…'cause I told the bounty hunter where River was," she blurted out. "I didn't know what else to do, he said if I didn't he would…I'm so sorry, Cap'n!"
This made him sit up and pay attention. "He said he would what?"
She looked up at him, eyes wide. "Nothin'."
"Come on now, Kaylee," Mal chided gently. "Tell me."
"It weren't nothin'. Cap'n," she muttered, looking down at the floor, fiddling with the edge of her blanket. Her evasion told Mal that it was something he should worry about.
"Kaywinnit Lee Frye, you take your eyes off that floor and look at me," Mal commanded sternly. "Lyin' ain't never been your strong point, girl, so why don't you tell me exactly what that xiong meng de kuang ren said to you."
She looked up at him, wide eyes scared and beginning to fill with tears. Then she looked down again and spoke in a voice that was close to a whisper. "He tied me up. Said if I didn't tell him where River was he would…you know." Mal thought he could feel his heart break as Kaylee's voice cracked with sadness. "Please don't be mad at me."
"Wo de ma, child," he murmured. "I ain't mad at you, dong ma?" He wrapped the girl in a hug." You ain't done nothin' wrong. I could never be mad at you, xin gan." He ran a hand down her hair, soothing her gently. "I'm never gonan let anything like that happen to you ever again. You know that, right?"
He could feel her beginning to cry. "I'm sorry, Cap'n. I shouldn'ta told him-"
"Hey. You listen to me, Kaylee. You got nothin' to be sorry for. You understand me?" She didn't respond, just kept her head buried in his shoulder, so he gently took her chin and raised it so she was looking him in the eye. "I said, do you understand?"
"Yes, Cap'n."
"That's my girl" He sighed and took her back into his arms. "That's my good girl."
Mal stayed in Kaylee's bunk until she fell asleep, then made his way back to his own. He found that he was still unable to think. Still thinking about his young mechanic.
Kaylee depended on him. He knew that, maybe more than she did. It was his job to look after her, see that she stayed safe. That was why it pained him so much that this had happened, and that he hadn't been able to help her.
Also, the last time a nineteen-year-old girl had trusted Mal to protect her, she had wound up dead.
He'd be damned if he'd let that happen again.
He was trying to make up for it with Kaylee- trying to get rid of some of the guilt that ate away at him like acid every day. But it could never be enough, because there was no going back and saving someone who had died fifteen years ago. And no matter how hard he tried, it still seemed like there was something missing, something he could have done that he didn't do to make it all better.
Oh well. It was too late- or too early- for self examination.
Mal turned off the light and fell asleep.
X
Uh…hey, Uncle Mal. It's Jonah…your nephew. I checked the Shiplog registry for your WAVE link…I guess I kinda always knew my dad was lying. He told us that you got killed in the war. Anyways, I need to ask you something. There's a lot of stuff going on, and I really need to get Breezy off this planet. So if you could give us a ride to…well, to anywhere other than here, it'd be great.Uh…my WAVE link is JMBtango09. Sorry to bug you like this, but it's not me, it's Breezy. I can't let her stay here. End WAVE.
Mal switched off the screen after watching the WAVE for the third time. So Aaron had told the kids that he was dead. Tamade hundan. Jonah would be seventeen by now and Breezy two years younger. And it sounded like they were in some kind of trouble. Well, he wasn't gonna let the kids twist. He immediately typed in his nephews WAVE link and waited until the screen flickered on with Jonah's young face. "Jonah. So your pop told you I was dead, eh?"
Jonah only vaguely resembled the seven-year-old Mal had known. His hair had darkened from bright red to a rusty auburn with subtle blonde streaks that hung down into his eyes and over his ears in loose curls, giving the impression that it badly needed to be cut. However, his most distinctive feature- long lashed eyes the light grey color of ice- remained the same. "Yeah. I'm sorry."
"Weren't nothin' you did, son. So what can I do for you?"
Jonah was up front. He wasn't about to shy away, not when his sister was counting on him. "We need a ride, me an' Breezy. Anywhere, just not here. Please."
"You mind tellin' me what kinda trouble you're in?"
"I…it's nothing with the law," the boy answered nervously. "I just need to get Breezy outta here, and our dad can't know."
"An' where exactly am I s'possed to take you?"
"Anywhere," Jonah repeated. "Anywhere but here. Please, Uncle Mal." He was almost pleading. "You gotta help us. Or Breezy. Just help Breezy. I can't let her stay here with…here."
Mal was a criminal. He had fought in a war. He knew a desperate situation when he saw one. "Be at the docks at noon in two days."
Jonah grinned in relief. "Thank you. Thank you so-"
"Forget it, kid. You're family. Give Breezy my best."
"I will."
"Good. Oh, and Jonah?"
"Yeah?"
"Glad to hear from you, son." The screen flickered off, and Mal stared down at the mass of buttons and switches that adorned the console. How the hell would he set this thing for Vici?
X
Translations
ben tian sheng de yi dui rou- stupid inbred sack of meat (from chapter 1)
nian qing de- young one
meimei- little sister
xiong meng de kuang ren- violent lunatic
xin gan- sweetheart
tamade hundan- fg bastard
Capo- Beginning
Nocturne- At night, piece for the night.
All chapter titles will be types of musical works or dynamic markings. R&R, please.
