4
Mal rubbed his eyes tiredly as he headed to the gallery for a strong cup of coffee. The rest of the crew was getting some shut eye, and he, once again, was driving the bird. "Hire two more damned pilots, and I still end up in the Pilot's seat come midnight." He groused to himself but without any real rancor. Harry and River were making real progress. It was cursed odd walking in on them in the med bay, legs crossed and hands resting inert on their knees, eyes closed and breaths matched and slow. The sessions lasted hours, and often as not, they both stumbled off to their respected rooms, begging exhaustion. Other times one or both would go to the cargo bay, where Sirius and Jayne had expanded Jayne's original workout equipment to include a sparring mat, punching bags and a couple more weight training machines. Simon had learned the hard way not to bar River from the sparring mat or punching bag when her mouth was clenched in that grim way and her eyes were hard, chilled and dark as coal.
She was polite incapacitating him, but thorough. Nothing broken, or strained, but it took the better part of an hour for the pain she'd caused by hitting several nerve clusters to fade enough that he could stand, let alone walk. By the time he'd hobbled over to the cargo bay's upper walkway, no one was going to be crazy enough to try and stop her and Harry's bout. Not even big brother.
It had been an interesting sort of entertainment, the crew finding places in the cargo bay or on the walkway above to watch River exorcise the demons memories and her treatment at the school brought up in sparring matches or exercises. When she needed a sparring match, Harry or Sirius, sometimes both, met her on the mat. Those times the crew watched with their hearts in their throats - River proved time and time again she was deadly without weapons. Harry and Sirius were amazing to watch, phenomenal on their own and so synced in their movements there were times they looked as if they shared one mind. They reminded Mal of the early times in the war, when he and Zoe served under one lackwit or another and had used wit and talent to get out of sticky and stickier situations. He had never had that level of fighting skill, but Zoe had. Still did, those times she decided to join in on Harry and Sirius' daily sparring practice. Except for Kaylee, they'd all joined in at some time or another and Jayne seemed to love it, the savage. Mal accounted well for himself, if he did say so.
Sirius and Jayne's matches were entertaining. Sirius seemed to live off chaos, having found everyone's buttons in his first few days aboard Serenity, and expounding on the ways a man could tease another in the best of ways. Mal had seen Zoe laugh more in the past month than he'd thought he'd ever see again. More, whenever she fell into her frequent fugues, Sirius provoked her out of them, whether through a prank, a drawling tease that pinched in just the right way, or some faux pas that could have been accidental but most likely was intentional. The only other person he'd seen that could slice through her cool and distant demeanor had been Wash. The difference between Wash and Sirius was Wash had wanted desperately to earn Zoe's affections. Sirius seemed to want to see her explode, and to take joy in the fact that several days after one of his more touchy pranks she would scowl and mutter whenever she caught sight of him. It was a wonder she hadn't killed him. Mal grinned and mentally tacked on a 'yet.'
The work Harry and River were doing had done more than make his crew more physically fit and better able to take care of themselves - they'd found a number of traps and triggers within River's mind and worked through them in the four weeks they'd been sailing the Black, and she was already showing improvement. That was worth a few long hours to cover when she went down to tackle another trigger. Mal shook his head. He liked to see his crew getting better, and he was growing to respect and like both Harry and Sirius, though they were both cursed odd, and the secrets held behind those sometimes bleak or stony gazes made him powerful uncomfortable… They'd have to have it out, one of these days. He didn't want another mystery like Shepherd Book's to drive him insane, unanswerable as it was.
Mal came back to himself as he turned into the gallery, shaking his head and glancing up - and froze. Not quite able to believe his eyes, he closed them tightly, shook his head, and opened them again. No, his eyes hadn't been playing a trick on him.
A damned big dog was standing in his kitchen.
One paw braced on the countertop, the other splat in the middle of Simon's birthday cake - Kaylee had threatened them all with dismemberment and evisceration if anyone so much as laid a finger on this cake. She'd held a rolling pin under Jayne's nose while she did it, shaking the pin threateningly and giving them all a look that said castration could be added to the list if they dared defy her. The dog's expression couldn't have said "oh shit" more clearly if it had been able to speak. A tickle of amusement burbled in the back of Mal's throat, though it could have been a moan. He hadn't seen a dog this big in ages, not since his home world. Big and black and rangy, with glossy fur and silver-grey eyes, motionless as it did it's best impression of a man caught red handed at a crime, with its paw still on top of the cake.
"Hey pup." Mal said, keeping his voice low and even. The logical side of his brain scorned him mightily, insisting it was impossible to have a dog on the ship - where would it have hidden these last few weeks in the Black? The rest of his mind simply took the evidence in front of his face and got out of the obvious' way. "Hey now, big fella. Chocolate ain't good for you, and the little miss who whipped it up won't much care for its ruination, why don't you just leave that cake alone."
The dog's tail tick-tocked in a friendly manner, and the dog's lips parted to allow his tongue to loll out the side. It eased back off the counter and sat, both paws (one covered in chocolate frosting) set in front of him.
"That's it, boyo. Good dog." Mal encouraged, regarding the dog quizzically. "How in the name of hell did you get on my boat?" He asked the question rhetorically more than he addressed it to the dog, who returned his look with a friendly, dopy canine grin. Mal took two steps in, and stopped, because the dog's ears had pricked up in alarm, and his posture had changed from happy dog to cautious and flighty. That wouldn't do. The last thing Mal wanted to do was chase this behemoth all over his boat. "Easy boy, easy pup, ain't nobody interested in hurting you here. You just take it easy." Mal eased forward another step, then two, slowly coming further into the kitchen. The dog regarded him warily, his tail wagging slightly. When Mal was almost in touching distance he stopped and held out his hand for the thing to sniff.
The dog… grinned at him, there was no other word for it, and spun on it's hind legs and…
...POP!...
...vanished. Just, there one moment, and the next, gone, just like that. Mal stared at the place where the dog had been for a full moment, his jaw slack with dumbfounded wonder. Finally he closed it, and looked down. Surely he'd been having some sort of dream. No dog could be on Serenity, not after this long in the Black, and no sign of it until now.
He stared a long time at the chocolate frosting on the floor in shape of a large paw print. His gaze shifted to the the cake, with the impression of a paw pressed dead center. Then, softly at first and gaining volume, he began to curse in Chinese. There was nothing for it. He was just going to have to pretend this never happened.
##
Harry gave a token knock on Sirius' door before opening it and jumping down the ladder. He landed cat-quiet and closed it. Sirius flashed him a grin from the wash bin, then patted his face dry.
"Morning, Pup. How's progress?"
Waving that away, Harry leaned a hip against the wall and crossed his arms. "Came back from the gallery a moment ago."
Innocence poured off his godfather as he continued his morning routine. "Anyone cooking breakfast yet?"
"There's cake." Harry suggested, his voice all helpfulness and cheer.
Sirius turned and put his hands on his hips, adopting the rather peeved and disappointed look he'd made the effort to learn from Ronald Weasley's mother. "Harry James Potter, you know Kaylee worked hard on that cake, and that we're not to lay a finger on it. I hope you didn't take a slice for breakfast."
Harry snorted. "Nice try. You do realize we will eventually have to share our… gifts… with our friends, one way or another. Are you ready for the backlash if you drive these folk crazy with Padfoot?"
Sirius' stern demeanor faded away like the facade it was. "Well worth it, even if one of them shoots me."
"Probable." Harry said drolly.
"Besides, you should have seen Mal's face." Sirius snickered. "I'm bored, Harry. If I don't do something to alleviate the boredom I will go mad myself."
"Too late." Harry said, his voice and face deadpan.
"Why you little brat." Sirius said, his voice not at all offended, his body relaxed. "I resemble that remark."
Harry shook his head. "Just make sure you make it up to Kaylee, yes? She's not going to be happy about someone messing up her cake. She'll probably cry."
"Now, maybe, with the babe in her belly. I have a feeling that if her hormones were at the usual level, Kaylee would find that dog print as funny as I do." Sirius smiled. "Your mother was the same way with you. Pranks that had made her squeal and try to hex our nose hairs into braids with our beards, or laugh until she hiccuped caused her to bawl and shrill like a shrew. James thought he'd go mad, having spent all that time courting her trying to find out how well they'd mesh, only to find his long accustomed knowledge of her triggers added up to nought. It took him - and me, I'm ashamed to say - nearly the whole nine months to figure out she was playing things out, pranking us, and that half of her reactions weren't true." Sirius grinned at Harry's chuckle. "Remus laughed until he cried when James finally cottoned on. Stood their with his fool mouth agape, eyes wide as that other form of his caught in the headlights. 'You're having us on! This whole time, you've been having us on!' He grabbed her up and twirled her around, swollen belly and all. 'A proper wife for a Marauder, clever Lily.' He kissed her, and set her down, tapping her nose and saying in a stern, knowing voice. 'You are trouble.' Lily grinned at him and said in her meekest tone, 'No, sir. I married Trouble.'"
Harry smiled. "So Kaylee reminds you of my mom, huh?"
The dog animagus nodded. "Some, your mother was a genius when it came to potions and charms. A lot like Hermione, without the know-it-all flair that makes you want to rap her on the nose. Kaylee's talk and manner sometimes makes people think she's not all that bright, but she's got us all figured out, and knows the way this ship works to its tiniest part. She uses people's expectations of her to take them off guard, just like your mother used to."
"Does that mean Kaylee's probable tears later aren't going to make you feel like an absolute wretch?"
"No. It doesn't mean that at all. See yourself out, Harry? I hear movement about, and I've got more mischief to achieve."
Shaking his head, Harry let himself out. He headed for the bridge, making a slight detour up to the old storage compartment just above the walkway that he'd made into his room. He'd told Mal he'd rather be closer than as far away as the passenger bays, and that this worked just fine for him. He ducked inside and made a few adjustments to his wards. When Sirius was bored, no one was safe, and he'd rather not give his godfather the easy in. That accomplished, he tucked his wand back into it's disillusioned holster, and dropped back to the bridge.
River looked over her shoulder and grinned at him from the pilot's seat as he approached. "Does that crazy godfather of yours ever give it a rest?"
"He's been behaving himself, believe it or not." Harry made a face. "Although I think that's at an end."
The young woman laughed softly. "He knows I can read his mind, right? That anything pulled on me, I'll know as soon as he does it? That I won't be fooled or surprised?"
Harry groaned. "Do me a favor?" He said, settling into the copilot's chair. "Don't tell him that. He'll see it as a challenge, and I don't have enough headache solution stored up to put up with a prank war between the two of you."
She pouted at him. "That sounds like fun, though."
"You." He said firmly, pointing at her sternly. "Have too much work to be doing to involve yourself in a prank war." Her pout changed slightly, and he had the feeling she was entertaining the idea of biting his admonishing finger. "So let's make it a reward. Learn your mind, get it back in working order, clean as a whistle, with controls and emergency contingencies in place, and then we can work on pranking my godfather within an inch of his life."
A predatory grin spread over River's face, filled with an impish delight. "Mr. Potter," She said formally. "We have a deal."
##
Kaylee sat in the observatory, a small smile on her lips. Alright, she'd been a little pissy when there'd been this giant paw print in the middle of that cake she'd worked so hard on for Simon. It had made her mad, and then it had made her cry in front of the whole crew. Everyone had taken a sample of the cake after wishing Simon a happy birthday, and swore it was the best cake they'd ever had. Sirius had spent two hours telling stories that had her snorting water out of her nose and reduced half the crew to tears of laughter. He was a wonderful storyteller, with a perfect grasp of timing and effect. Her little family had been more relaxed and naturally happy than she'd seen them in some time. It was worth the slight imperfection of the cake to see the Captain looking so baffled over the paw print. She didn't know how they'd pulled it off, but whoever had done it got multiple points for creativity. River had kept looking over at Mal and looking hurriedly away, laughter dancing in her eyes as she tried hard not to snigger openly. Something inside his head was tickling the Reader quite a bit, and Kaylee wanted to know what it was.
Best yet, they had a job. It would be the first job they'd had since picking up Harry and Sirius, a pretty basic smuggling run done for a small moon's governor. Governor Hannah had been a Browncoat Lieutenant in the war, someone Mal had known and still thought kindly of. He'd apparently contacted Mal last night while he'd been piloting Serenity and everyone else had been sleeping. They were taking contraband off his moon and getting it to another ship. It seemed this official didn't like the Alliance, either, and liked to do his business undercutting the Alliance while seeming to work for them. Kaylee liked the man for that reason alone. She hoped they'd start doing more things like this, thumbing their noses at the Alliance, cutting their legs out from under them. She'd never felt so determined as when they'd flown to Mr. Universe to let the 'Verse know about the Alliance's monstrosity on Miranda. Like she'd been doing something important, something that was right. It had ripped out her heart to lose Wash, she'd loved the man like a brother, but she thought he'd approve of them, if they took things further. Going back to their old ways seemed like backing down, like giving up the fight before it was finished. The Alliance killed all those people trying to make them less obstinate, less of a threat to their control all the way out there in the Black. They'd killed thousands more by insisting reavers were only fairy tales, instead of owning up to their mistakes, if such a colossal failing could be called such, and helping protect the Rim from what they'd created. If they were capable of that, what else did Parliament sweep under the rug?
She had a feeling Mal felt the same but was trying to allow them all to get back on their feet, but was also struggling with the failure to protect a member of his crew. He needed to get his own feet back under him. Kaylee smiled softly and turned a page of her book. It was happening, she thought. They were starting to wake up, now. Harry and Sirius helped in that, their easy camaraderie and playful, teasing natures had been enjoyable. Harry was helping River so much, it seemed each day that River pieced more of who she'd been before the Academy back together, got a little stronger. She hardly seemed to lose it at all any longer, except when the work they were doing triggered something. It was a little scary when that happened - River had such a presence when she was angry or upset - Kaylee could feel it push against Serenity. She always had to spend a little more time on her girl when River had her bad spells. Things wore out a little quicker, didn't work quite as well as it should. It took a lot of fussing to get Serenity back in working shape on those days, and it seemed to take a little more out of her than it properly should. Harry had noticed, she thought. He always came by and offered to help, well, too learn from her and seemed almost… fascinated… by what she did. She couldn't for the life of things understand why.
Thinking of their new crew members got Kaylee on a different line of thought. Little things kept happening, little accidents that could have been just that, except they triggered in just such a way that ended up as hilarious fodder for a 'you'll never guess what happened' story, or for whoever got to view the happening. Kaylee had a feeling that's why Mal had looked the way he did last night. Now though, things were quiet. Simon was napping on the couch beside her, his head in what lap her expanding stomach allowed him. She had a book propped up on the couch's back, her own back pillowed against the armrest. Mal was in the gallery, taking his turn at cook's duty. River had slung herself sideways in the armchair across from Kaylee with a book of her own, legs dangling over the chair arm and cuddled sideways against it's cushioned back. Zoe and Jayne were in the cargo bay, putting in the day's workout, though, come to think of it, she could hear Jayne's stomping step heading towards the bunks, drowning out the muted sound of quiet conversation from the bridge, where Harry and Sirius were adjusting their course out of the way of a meteor field the proximity alert had warned them of just half an hour ago. They were probably done by now, but they seemed to truly enjoy one another's company. It was clear Sirius was proud of Harry and respected him, just as it was clear Harry looked up to the older man, was grateful for him and proud of him, as well. They were probably having another one of those conversations they were prone to, where they insulted one another and cast aspersions on all aspects of their day, cracking little jokes that had one or both clutching their sides and gasping with laughter that was too worn out to be audible. Just as the thought crossed her mind, Sirius' bark of a laugh sounded down the hall. Score one for Harry, Kaylee though with a fond grin.
Yes, a relatively peaceful day, as they went on this ship. Kaylee wondered if she should name her baby something along those lines, almost as a talisman for peaceful days, or healing, or hope. It was so nice when they all got to relax like this and if she was going to have a child in troubled times, she wanted to do all she could to make sure her babe always had a little peace with her...
Peace shattered by an almost animal howl coming from the bunks. Simon jolted out of his sleep, floundering off the couch before he remembered where he was. Kaylee was on her feet a moment later, helping him up and turning towards the sound.
"MAL!" Jayne hollered, banging up the ladder of his bunk and storming down the catwalk.
"Joo Fuen Chse, Jayne, what in the 'Verse-" Mal managed to get out before a very angry Jayne stormed into the gallery, holding up - Kaylee blinked. Where those Jayne's combat boots? What had happened to them?
"A gorram dog has chewed my shoes to shreds." Jayne shouted at Mal, his face purpling in his excitement over the fact.
"Jayne," Zoe admonished, coming up behind him, wiping sweat from her face with a towel. "You'll wake the neighborhood. How could a dog-"
He whirled, holding up the items and waving them in Zoe's face. "Look at them!" He near about screamed. River let out the slightest choking noise behind her, and Kaylee couldn't blame her. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Jayne this worked up about something. And to see him losing it over a pair of shoes... Now Harry and Sirius had joined the group, standing on the gallery's threshold, identical baffled stares leveled at the crew's strongman. Jayne whirled to face the captain again. "I won't have it, Mal, I won't rutting have my stuff mauled by animals on this here rutting ship."
Mal gave an exasperated huff. "Jayne, have you seen a dog on this ship?"
"Well, no, I -" Jayne started, before Mal cut him off.
"We've been in the Black for four weeks. We would have heard or seen any dog that was on this ship before now."
"But what about the cake?" Jayne insisted. "Unless one of us is carrying around a damned dog's paw, how did that get there?" Mal's eye twitched, one of his not so subtle warning he was reaching the end of his very short rope of patience.
"What do you want me to do, Jayne? Order a mandatory search of everyone's bunk, put out cameras? Maybe I should go about with a bone whistling and calling 'here, doggy, good, doggy, here boy! We've got a job, are landing on that gorram little moon in less than two hours. I don't have time to turn the ship inside out because your shoes tore up."
"Well -" Jayne looked flustered, glancing around at the crew now. She caught Simon opening his mouth out of the corner of her eye, no doubt to make a scathing comment about Jayne's intelligence. They didn't need the animosity that would start between them, so she brought her heel down on his toe at the same time she heard the unmistakeable sound of a flat palm connecting with the back of a hard head. River didn't think Simon needed to antagonize Jayne either, it seemed. Hiding a smile, she rubbed her husband's back in a soothing way and turned back to the drama.
Jayne seemed to find his thread again. "Well, I don't know about that, Mal, but if I find that gorram dog, I'm skinning it and roasting it for supper. Don't think I won't." Threat delivered, Jayne stomped back to his bunk, muttering a slew of curses as he clambered down and slammed the hatch.
"Huh." Mal said into the sudden silence. "That was damned uncanny."
"Do you think he's cracked, sir?" Zoe asked lazily from where she'd propped herself up against the wall.
"I don't think I'd rightly be able to tell, when it comes to him." Mal answered absently, rubbing the back of his head. "He shoes did look awfully mauled about."
"Who's to say he didn't chew them himself?" Simon asked, scowling at his sister. "I wouldn't put it past him. We've not visited a town big enough for a whorehouse in months. Maybe he's frustrated."
"You see," River said primly. "That's why Kaylee and I stopped you from speaking earlier. You would have had the whole feud between the two of you up again, and just after we'd got it to go away in the first place. Speak civil or don't speak at all." She swept back to her chair and settled back into reading without another word, leaving her brother gawping like a fish. Kaylee giggled, and towed him through the kitchen before he managed to put his other foot in his mouth. They'd spend some time in their own bunk before dinner, and just let everyone calm down. Then they'd eat, and after that would be time to do the job.
##
"Alright," Mal said as their target planet, not much bigger than a moon and usually discounted. He had some apprehension being here: Badger had been from Dyton, but Governor Hannah had been Lieutenant "Georgie" Hannah during the war, and had too strong a personality and had been too trustworthy for Mal to seriously consider him an Alliance man, now. He'd hated the Alliance more than Mal had, truth be told. Still, sometimes even the best of people got desperate, and there was a hefty reward on his crew's persons. "Here's how this is going to play. Kaylee, Simon, Harry, you've got bay watch. We're putting up a friendly show here, peddle our wares, make people think we're here for legitimate business.
"Zoe, you, River, Sirius and Jayne are with me. You know me and Georgie go way back, but power changes people, and I want enough cover to make sure we can make it out of any trap this little spit of a planet can offer. The cargo we're being paid to take is Alliance, they're getting all the benefit of it, and most of the coin, leaving none of the benefit for people who could use it. Georgie thinks the Alliance could stand to lose it, so we take it from them and get the hell out of here, then meet a trade ship not too far from here who will come in with proper papers, documented sales and nothing to do with us. They'll sell for less than the usual price, and the Alliance won't see a dime of it, because Georgie doesn't think taxes will be all that easy to collect this year. River, you keep that inner eye of yours peeled for anything that so much as hints at a trap, and you let us know the moment you sense it. We've had too many bungled jobs here lately, and I'd dearly love for something to go smooth, just this once."
"Shiny, Captain." River responded with a grin and a salute. He tugged a lock of her hair in retribution.
"Anyone got questions?" He asked. No one replied, so he grinned. "Then land this bird, and let's get to work."
##
River walked silently beside Mal as they approached a dockside building to the side of a rickety warehouse. Jayne and Sirius had slipped off of their six when they'd entered the dockside district, finding an alternative route to their destination so they could set up a proper sniper's nest. She could sense them ahead of them, laid flat on a rooftop with a good view of the street before and behind the warehouse.
The piece in her ear let out a hissing, quiet crackle before Jayne's voice formed out of the static. "We've got eyes on you, Mal. Sirius scouted the far side, says there's nothing but the river, but if they've got boats they could slip up on us pretty easy."
"It'll do." Mal replied, his voice relaxed as his eyes took in every nook and cranny. She could hear his thoughts as he surveyed his surroundings. Good a grab site as I've ever seen. Here's to hoping old Georgie wants to see me twitch. I'd hate to shoot an old friend today.
"We going through with this, Sir?" Zoe asked, her head on a swivel. Her thoughts aligned with Mal's, but Zoe trusted Georgie less. The canny old bastard always had five different things going on at once, believing he wants a simple smuggler's run is about as mad brained as these things come. If Mal gets shot again, he damned well deserves it.
River choked on a tiny laugh, earning a frown from Mal. "Something wrong, River?"
"No Captain, tripped over a thought, is all." Zoe quirked a brow at her, and she shrugged in apology. Her expression said, 'what? I don't disagree.' The First Mate flashed a quick grin and turned back to her survey.
"Well stop tripping over your thoughts and start looking for others. You sensing anyone?"
"I'm getting a feel of four minds inside the building. Two are on the roof there." She made a tiny gesture towards the building directly across the street from Sirius and Jayne. "They've spotted us, but not our boys yet."
"I see them, Captain." Sirius informed them crisply.
"Good work." Mal frowned. "Protecting their backs or waiting to take us out, River?"
"Protection, same as ours." She replied, her brow wrinkling as she listened. "They're upset, though. Someone's been taken - snatched by the Alliance during a job gone wrong. They're anxious about her, fear she might be killed and that they're wasting time here. They had a turncoat on the crew. They're waiting 'til she gets back to do with him what he deserves. The two up there think he needs to get what he deserves soon rather than later."
"Georgie's getting us in on a rescue?" Zoe's tone was surprised, but her face stayed smooth, her expression detached.
"You remember how he worked." Mal said. "We always did what he said we were going to do, but it was always larger than that, with more wheels than a Tri-Planetary Hamster Rally could account for. Bet that we'll be stealing the goods from hardy, decent Alliance soldiers, either running a diversion for this other crew, or a cover up."
"Or both. Or neither." Zoe snorted. "The old man always gave me a headache. Here, Sir." She stepped in front of them and knocked, standing to the side of the door as if ready for a barrage of bullets to splinter through it. Mal and River stood behind her, also to the side, and waited a tense moment. A single set of footsteps approached the door, and a moment later it creaked open.
"Malcolm Reynolds, you uppity byblow from a yak's left nostril." A cheerful crackling voice from the darkness. "Get inside here so I can greet you properly."
Mal eased past Zoe, ignoring her breathy hiss of admonition, so soft only River and Mal heard it. "If it isn't the slipperiest bastard of the Northward Platoon. Eeled your way into a plush position and you're still finding dark corners to ooze into. Haven't changed a bit, have you, old timer?" River tapped Zoe's arm and signalled quickly, pointing in quick succession to the fore, slightly to the right, again to the right side of the door, and a final time to the left. She jabbed her finger left again and touched her breastbone. Zoe nodded and slid into the warehouse. River stepped in right behind her and turned to stare down the barrel of a very serious looking gun, her own weapon leveled at the right height for making men sweat and rethink their sins.
"Zoe Alleyn, let the boy shut the door now. You can compare your bits and pieces later."
"Things have changed a mite since we last met, Georgie." Zoe said cooly, keeping her weapon trained on the man and easing until she stood back to back with Mal. The man slid the door closed. "It's Zoe Washburne, now."
"Married, is it?" Georgie's voice sounded surprised. River's lips twitched as she overheard what the man thought of that. Apparently Zoe had been too damned scary in her war days for him to ever consider her in a relationship.
"Widowed, sir." She replied, deadpan. "Married came before." River hoped she never found out if she was strong enough to do what Zoe was doing now, speaking casually the words that made her bleed anew inside. She could feel the anguish like a brand,searing into the edges of the raw wound still gaping on Zoe's soul. She damned the reavers and the Alliance's Operative anew for costing them the man that smoothed out Zoe's edges and eased the rest of the crew together. In some ways, Wash had been the most vital member of their crew, easing tensions, diverting tempers, listening to fears and consoling those who needed it. She missed him terribly, but not like Zoe missed him.
Governor Hannah heaved a sorrowful sigh. "I'm sorry to hear it, soldier. I would have enjoyed meeting the man deserving enough to get you to agree to marry him."
"I wish you had, too. Wouldn't have minded him sticking around some."
"Why the guns, Georgie?" Mal interjected, and River caught the tiniest of movements as he leaned back and pressed his shoulder against Zoe's. She didn't think anyone would have caught it, or if they did, saw it as anything other than an accidental bump. "Thought we were doing you a favor, friendly like. This is an odd greeting for old friends."
"Some things have changed since the war, Sergeant. Just making sure things haven't changed too much. Now, you never were quite as stupid as you let others believe, so I know this isn't all of you. Where're the other one or two tucked away, eh Mal?"
Mal shook his head slowly, not taking his eyes off of Governor Hannah. He completely ignored the man holding a gun to his temple. "I don't think so, Governor. I try not to bring in Jayne when I'm having a friendly conversation. His manners are a bit too rough around the edges for polite company."
River's earpiece picked up Sirius' near silent chuckle and Jayne's growled protest. She tucked her own urge to smile away since her gaze was locked with the man's before her. "Governor, can we move this along?" Her soldier said. "This hard-eyed gixie is staring a hole in me. I think she's getting excited about shooting where her gun is aiming, and if it's all the same, I'd rather not draw this out longer than we have to, in case she gets too disappointed and shoots me anyway."
Georgie barked out a laugh. "Fine, boy, let's not get too worked up. Mal? Your word that we'll have a friendly chat before we make any decisions?"
"You invited us, Governor. We just want work, is all. Nothing complicated. River?"
She sighed theatrically. "It's been so damned long since I got to shoot someone's bits off, but they don't mean us any harm. Spoilsports."
He laughed. "Down, Killer, there's a good girl."
Georgie let out a low whistle. "River Tam, I take it? Alliance is pretty hot and bothered over you. Have been for a long time, it seems. Wonder what a little slip of a thing like you has to do to get them dancing like that." River gave him her iciest polite smile, the expression she'd practiced in the mirror especially for Harry, to tell him what he could do with his questions and hints, how many times and in which direction. Harry always snorted like Georgie did just then when she did it, so she knew the message came across just fine. "To business, then. Mal, I want you to meet Atticus Maine, First Mate of the Saoirse. He and his crew were doing a bit of business for me when it went south. Their captain, Leandra Bryss, was betrayed and taken yesterday evening by Alliance soldiers, who are holding her for an Alliance ship specifically interested in her crimes. The place they're holding her is the same place the cargo I asked you to liberate waits."
Mal sighed. "I don't see why you couldn't have told me this last night, Georgie. We would have been here twice as quick."
Georgie shook his head. "You got here in plenty of time. The Alliance ship is near, now, so the guards have slackened their guard, thinking themselves undetected and safe. Will you work with the crew of the Saoirse to free their captain? She's one of us, Mal. A Browncoat not content to give up the fight when so much of what we fought against still rules and breaks us all."
Mal stayed quiet. He knew Georgie pretty well. He was getting something else from this, not just freeing an ally and helping out a crew, not just earning his planet a cheaper cargo of food when the Alliance would have parted with none of it… what else…? River stepped up beside him. "What will the Alliance think, seeing Serenity's crew working with the crew of the Saoirse?" She asked Georgie, and it struck Mal suddenly. He narrowed his gaze at the man.
"Governor, huh, Georgie? I don't think that quite fits."
"Oh, Mal? What 'fits' me, then?"
"Not today, Georgie. We'll talk about that soon, but not now. I will help, but I'm thinking my crew and I will need help in return. This is going hit a panic button in the core. Are you prepared for that overreaction?"
"What will they see except for a couple of marauding bands joining forces to steal from my planet?" Georgie spread his hands out wide. "What was I to do, with the Alliance soldiers refusing to allow my aid in form of men and information? What could I have done that fully trained soldiers didn't try, and fail to do?" The older man chuckled mirthlessly. "They will reprimand and scold, and send out a new, wet-behind-the-ears trainee-turned-lieutenant to fret at me. At least let me fret them in return. We will talk when you complete my errand. Get the supplies, get the captain, fly with the Saoirse to rendezvous with my merchant friends. Then we will talk about what is to come."
River cocked her head at the older man, eyes narrowed slightly. His mind ran at lightning speed, making it hard to get a grip on what he was about with all of this. Zoe was right, he had more than a couple of plans in regard to this plot. He'd seen the reaction of his people to the news of Miranda. He knew how soldiers had responded to Mal in the past, and thought if he could get Mal in the right position, they'd have a better chance in this war, especially since the Alliance was making fool moves and putting the minds of the wealthy and privileged at ill-ease. He thought the crew of Serenity was necessary, just like he thought the crew of Saoirse was necessary, but neither was near as necessary without either of their captains. He wanted to see how well the crews worked together, because there was much work his inner circle could do if they had the right meld. The old man wanted the revolution to happen again, and he was taking the reigns this time. River carefully tucked her smile away as she read what he thought of the last leaders of the Brown Coat revolution.
Then she caught a thought that made her start. Of course. She thought, a little bit of wonder in her mind. All of these little resistance groups, bandits and thieves, little nuisances and plagues for the Alliance in individual cases, but taken together, starting to put a dent in their response times, in their day-to-day routine. They're not random, but carefully timed. There's already a revolution going. She stared at the crafty old man with a new respect, wanting badly to know how he'd done it, how he'd accomplished so much without the Alliance catching on. Then she glanced at Mal. No, he didn't need to know this yet. He was still working through a few things, and if he weren't pushed, he'd pick up the sword himself, and be all the better for it.
She tucked her new found information away. When the time came, when all those little niggling ideas in Malcolm Reynolds' head came together, she'd tell him where to look for aid. Even if he wouldn't need the confirmation at the time. Instead, she nodded when he looked at her. They had a rescue to do.
"We'll do it, then." Mal said after another couple minutes of stubborn resistance. "You've got a plan, Georgie?"
"Lieutenant Maine has a serviceable one, though it needs a couple of your more interesting tweaks. Why don't the two of you discuss it on the way back to your ship. Atticus, you and your four here will be adequate in addition to Captain Reynolds' crew. Don't waste time."
"Yessir." Atticus Maine replied. River was impressed that the man's face showed no sign of his vehement disagreement. She was even more interested in the fact that, despite his dislike of the order, the lieutenant was going to follow it. Mal turned on his heels, nodding at Atticus as he passed them by.
"Jayne, Sirius, join us on the ground, we've got ourselves a rescue needs doin'. Lieutenant, tell me about your plan."
River remained just a tic behind the last of the Saoirse's crew, turning back to Governor Hannah. They regarded each other silently.
"That school they say you broke out of." Georgie started.
"They don't say it's a school." River replied, her voice cold.
"No, they don't. But you and I both know I've better sources than that, don't we?" He smiled a bit too knowingly, and she caught sight of an encrypted code in his mind, his fingers finishing the final additions to instructions to a cell on Osiris...
For the second time that night, she was startled by his thoughts. This time her eyes widened. "You? You helped my brother, got him the people to get to me?"
"So you are a Reader." He murmured, satisfaction coloring his thoughts. "They never confirmed that, though the lengths they went through to recapture you, to silence you, they didn't make much sense if that wasn't the case. Yes. Your brother was making noise, too much noise. He was beginning to draw the eye of the Alliance down on himself, and my cell was too valuable, and too vulnerable at the time to weather that sort of attention. And we've got some interest in that school. So we helped him. When he left, the Alliance's eye went with it. We both got what we wanted, yes?"
"Wanted?" River asked, her eyes narrowed. "To become fugitives? To travel to the ass ends of the 'Verse? To be chased by Blue Hands and operatives, to lose friends? For Simon to lose what what he's worked on his whole life? His career, his place as a respected and accomplished doctor?"
"To save his little sister, your brother was determined to risk everything. And has it been so bad for you, in the 'ass ends of the 'Verse?' Or have you enjoyed yourself, just a little? As for your other charge - we all lose people when tyrants hold sway. It makes losing them all the worse, knowing the cause for which they were lost." Georgie said this all in an even tone, eyes level. She wanted to kick him for it. He was right, damn him. And he hadn't meant for the people he'd lost to flick across his mind, but she knew them, now, all the same. She was able to measure the depth of emotion he held for each. It made her bite her tongue.
"I suppose I should thank you, then." She said, a little reluctantly. Could she and Simon have done better, taken into his organization? And not meet Mal? Zoe and Wash, Kaylee, Jayne, Shepherd Book or Inara? Could I have handled all of the plots and plans, the revenges and… no, I needed Serenity. I still need her, and all she comes with. I don't think he can claim credit for that, though. River shook her head. "Yes. Simon doesn't owe you - he paid his part of that endeavour. But I do. What price will you claim?"
Georgie shook his head. "Catch up with your Captain. Help convince him to join my little soiree, when the time comes. I need him, I think. I think I need you, too." River agreed with him. Without another word she turned and trotted out of the warehouse. Those were things she could do. Better, she wouldn't have to work that hard at it.
##
Mal stood behind River, eyes on the vid screen as they ghosted through the rain and the mist, approaching the Alliance stronghold housing both the cargo and the abducted captain. Zoe lounged against the wall, her eye on the big man called Atticus. He towered over them, 6 foot 4 inches of solid muscle, with pale blue green eyes framed by sandy lashes. His face was clean shaven to go along with clean lines, a proud, curved nose, high cheekbones and a stubborn jaw. His hair was more brown than sand, though the lighter color shown here and there. Mal wasn't too thrilled to have him at his back - despite being a mountain of muscle, he moved silent. With all that implied about his fighting prowess, he was just as glad Zoe had him in her fix. He was also fairly certain the man's ire was firmly on the Alliance at the moment, and if his crew were smart, they'd stay out of his way.
Naturally, Jayne hadn't taken five seconds into their walk to start needling the man, and Atticus seemed inclined to needle back. The stroll back to the ship had become something of a hardship, with the two sniping at one another. Sirius had added his own quips in, striking indiscriminately and startling a laugh out of the lieutenant once or twice. After Mal had fed Jayne the usual line about his mouth moving, and that being a problem, things had settled down enough for Atticus to point out his four companions. Darien Coin, Marcus Row, Rhetoric Thames, and Jamison Boulders summarily named, they hoofed it to the ship, Atticus relaying quietly what his plan was. It was a good plan, but easily seen through, and Mal thought Georgie was looking for more of a smoke screen.
The gorram coin pincher could have added his own thoughts to the plan while they were waiting for Mal to join them, but that was one of the things he liked about Georgie. He had it all figured out, but he liked to let others do for themselves.
In front of him, River suddenly stiffened. "Harry, can you block us?"
Harry glanced at her, then whipped his head forward with a succinct flurry of curses. "Got it, did he sense us?"
The girl closed her eyes, a faint frown wrinkling her brow. Mal bit the urge to demand what in the hell was going on, noting the tension both his pilots were showing. At last, she relaxed and shook her head. "No. No, we're in the clear. Captain, there's a Reader down there. I can't be sure, but I think he's from the Academy."
Now it was Mal's turn to curse.
"What does that mean?" Atticus asked.
"It means that one of our enemies can read our thoughts. If they're Academy, it also means they'll fight like thirty men and kill without a second's hesitation." Zoe replied, her eyes narrowed.
"I need to come with you." River said firmly. "And so does Harry."
Mal didn't argue. He hit the intercom button. "Black, get up here."
Black hadn't quite made it through the door when Mal told him. "Plan's changing. Potter and River are with us, you're flying the bird. They've got a Reader down there."
"Nasty one." Harry said, nodding his head at River, indicating he got his inclination from her. "He's causing someone some pain, and he's enjoying it. I'll need to go to keep us blocked from him. Otherwise he'd have sensed us already." He said for Atticus' benefit. "River and I are Readers, River's far stronger than I am, but I can hide myself from them for a short time, something I hope is unique to the others."
"Understood." Atticus frowned. "That changes more than who's going, then."
"Yep." Mal sighed. "River, Harry, you're with Atticus and Zoe, along with - "
"Captain, less is more on a rescue, especially with your group causing the big boddabang." Harry said. "Send Atticus so his Captain sees a familiar face. River can handle the Reader, Zoe and I can handle whatever else is there."
Atticus didn't like it, being out numbered by strangers on a rescue mission. But he seemed to agree with Harry, at least about stacking too many on the rescue side of things. Mal jerked his chin down in agreement. "Agreed. Anything else we need to know, you two?"
River's voice was strained and haunted as she answered. "Tell Simon to prep the med bay. Captain Bryss will need it."
##
Atticus followed the dark haired young man and the slip of a girl, noting despite himself that they were both perfectly suited to stealth. He tried to ignore the itch between the shoulder blades caused by the first mate of Serenity being behind him. It set off his every instinct for danger, and that instinct he had honed over a lifetime of harrowing situations. He didn't like this situation one bit. His own crew should be rescuing their captain, he should be backed by men he trusted.
But did he trust them? A member of his own crew had betrayed Leandra. Someone he'd known since the war, had fought alongside, had saved his life over and over again. Could he trust them? Could he afford to? Atticus set his jaw. Those were questions for another time. If another betrayal happened between that time and now, he'd take as many of these bastards with him as he could.
They ghosted across the darkened facility grounds. He only knew Potter and Tam were in front of him because his eyes told him so. He knew Washburne was behind him because his skin was prickling in warning. He was fairly certain if she decided to kill him, he wouldn't know it until his body hit the ground. He'd met her type before. If he could get past the itch of having her at his back.
Harry stilled, holding up his hand. They froze as a pair of guards strolled by, ignorant of their watchers. River set her fingers on his shoulder when Harry would have signaled them on. A moment later the ground trembled under their feet as a building on the other side of the facility lit up, the boom of explosives rattling their eardrums. The quiet facility shot to wakefulness immediately. They hunkered down as the pair of guards rushed back past them.
Zoe's quiet, scornful breath hit the back of his neck. "Sloppy." She breathed, and he contained his jump by a hair. He turned a glare on her, and wasn't surprised to get a smirk in return. She knew she made him nervous, and it amused her.
"Captain tells us never to complain when the enemy does something stupid." He replied, his voice soft as hers. "Complaining about people who make our lives easier is just as stupid." She nodded at him, and eased passed him. Harry and River were on the move again, shadows on shadows. Harry tried the door, and despite his own advice, Atticus felt his own scorn rise when the door opened after just seconds of fiddling on the boy's part. Another boom shook the ground as they slipped into the building. They'd made it halfway down the corridor when a hoarse scream split the silence. It ended with a choking groan, before ascending into a shriek once more.
River and Zoe grabbed hold of him before he could take half a step, before he'd even realized he'd moved. Atticus didn't think there was anything in the 'Verse that could make Leandra scream like that. "Lieutenant," Zoe hissed, "get ahold of yourself." He stilled instantly, and they cautiously let him go. Harry glanced back once to see if they were ready, then pushed forward again. Atticus had barely registered movement in an adjacent corridor before Harry had neutralized the threat, easing an unconscious soldier to the ground as River plucked his weapons from his belt and hands. Another rending cry sounded, and Atticus ground his teeth against the urge to sprint down the hall. It was hard. Everything in him was telling him they needed to act now.
Without warning, River straightened, squared her shoulders and swung around the corner, for all the 'Verse strolling as if she owned the place. She was halfway down the hallway before the two guards stationed at a partially opened door took notice of her, and then she moved. One man staggered, his hand going to his head as the other opened his mouth to sound an alarm. A solid kick with combat boots made sure the call was never raised, and another spinning kick sent the remaining soldier sliding to the ground. Silence held sway for a breath-holding moment, and then a sweet voice called out from the room.
"Is that you, River Tam? Have you come to play?"
##
Mal grinned as the explosion went off right on time. Jayne ought to complain a little less for a while, getting to set off explosives was one of his favorite things. He and Marcus should be moving around to set another couple charges off to get this place really stirred up. He and the remaining three of Bryss' crew had made short work of the bare contingent of guards in the cargo yard, and were nearly finished loading everything on the mule. They took a bit of everything waiting, leaving behind three boxes of the protein and medicine the Alliance had bought from under this planet. Weapons and further supplies weighed down the mule, but they didn't have far to go. It was time to clear out, and hope the rest of his crew's nights went as smoothly.
##
Two at the door, two inside. One is the captain, the other the operative. River heard Harry's thoughts as if he'd spoken them out loud, a trick of his he'd shared with her when they were working on levels of 'listening.' They practiced speaking mind to mind often, and it came in handy in enemy territory. She didn't need his update, though. She felt the four minds clear as day. The two guards at the door were uneasy, not liking the joy the operative seemed to find in making the captive shriek. The Captain's mind was awash in a haze of pain and dizziness. River was shocked she was still conscious. The operative's mind was a focused, foul thing, the sickening giddiness at causing another pain swamping the rest of the emotions in his vicinity. She gritted her teeth against the foul feel of the man's emotions.
Stay here. She thought to Harry. I will take care of the guards, and then engage the operative. I want him thinking I'm the only one, so keep Zoe and Atticus with you until I'm through the door. Once I've got him fully engaged, get her out of here - she doesn't have much time. Can you do anything about that? River thrust her gleanings of the female captain to the forefront of her mind, so that Harry could study them. He pursed his lips, his expression suddenly grim.
A general healing spell to strengthen her vitals is about all I'd dare do. Merlin's tits, but this is one gory bastard.
River felt the sad smile on her lips. He didn't used to be.
She knew who he was, now, having caught a glimpse of him in the Captain's mind. The cruel caricature of a smile, hard face and slightly glazed eyes didn't fit with the face her memory tried to show her, and the mad cackling they could hear from the corner wasn't at all like the goofy little giggle the boy this slight young man had been was prone to.
She stood upright, and before anyone could stop her, strolled around the corner like she owned the place. The guards barely had time to notice her before she launched herself forward, two spinning kicks did the job. In seconds they were down, and she stilled.
The boy's voice still had that ring of sweetness when he called, "Is that you, River Tam? Have you come to play?"
Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the room.
"Hello, Jeremy. It has been a long time."
Jeremy clapped his hands together and went up on his tiptoes in an odd sort of hop, even as he slid away. "Ooh, it is you! They said I'd find you, but it's been so long." The boy waggled his finger at her, his face and voice sliding into a mocking scold. "You've been very naughty, River Tam, and the Masters have sent me to bring you back." All pretense of the scold faded and the boy pushed up onto his tiptoes again, his hands clasped earnestly before him. "But before we leave, we get to play first."
"Play?" River murmured, moving to keep Jeremy in front of her. She tilted her head at Captain Bryss' torn form. "Your games have changed over the years."
Those hands clapped in excitement, and that unhinged laugh sounded again. "I've learned better games. Did you hear? I've got her singing just the way I like it, now."
"You've almost killed her, Jeremy. What did she do to deserve this?"
"She is a criminal. She is part of a rebellion, she fights against the Alliance. So many secrets in that thick head of hers. So many sweet tidbits the Masters will just love to hear. I will be rewarded greatly for my efforts."
River pursed her lips. "I can't let that happen, Jeremy."
He snarled at her, flinging a tray full of instruments at her in a sudden fit of temper. "You can't stop me."
Enough. She thought, and didn't bother to reply. River dodged the tray and sprang on top of the table between them. He danced backwards, cheerful again, taunting her in the boy's sing-song tones. She wrenched herself sideways to avoid the two swiftly thrown knives, and leapt forward. They danced, she and Jeremy, to the rapid tempo of blood racing through their veins, gasping breaths and pounding hearts. He continued to cackle while she stayed silent. Jeremy liked blades - they seemed to always be at hand, either to be thrown or used as a slashing defense. River snatched two from where they'd impaled the wall, and pressed him, forcing him to go onto the defensive. Several burning slices traced fire down her arms, one on her leg, and another across her left cheek, right beneath her eye. Similarly, Jeremy bore his own gashes. He was lithe, strong and fast, but she was faster. She always had been.
River was going to win this contest. She didn't think she could manage to win without killing him. The part of her that grieved the death was already mourning what the man had been - a shy little boy who's delighted giggle hallmarked their games. Back before the Academy had unmasked itself. Back before they'd lost their innocence. What he was now was a perversion of what he had been, twisted beyond recognition.
"So strong, so fast." The boy crooned. "Always so perfect at everything you do. But you went to the same school I did. You follow the rules when we say the words. Huàlóngdiǎnjīng." The last phrase, spoken in chinese, dripped with satisfaction, a sort of crowing victory. He stopped, clapping his hands together with glee, knowing the command would freeze her, knowing that she would attack whoever he ordered her to, now. Like her friends, just coming through the door. He went up on his toes in anticipation, and giggled.
But River hadn't stopped. She'd felt the brief tightening of her muscles before the command slid away, and she lunged forward, sliding the tip of dagger between his ribs to lance his heart. His eyes went wide, and he stumbled back. River went with him, propelling the dagger home with unyielding force.
"Sorry, Jer-Jer." She said quietly, gripping his arm as he tried to grasp her. His knees buckled, and blood bubbled at the corners of his mouth. "I slipped the leash." Now it was her turn to croon, a last tribute to the boy playmate she'd once known. "Sleep, now, there's a boy. It's all over." Jeremy slid to the floor, shock and disbelief warring with pain, his own dagger imbedded in his heart. He died before River laid him all the way out. She gently closed his eyes, and turned back to Captain Bryss.
Atticus was unstrapping her from the table, while Harry and Zoe quickly constructed a stretcher. The big man was cursing up a storm, his face grim while distress played in his eyes. His captain's breathing was a shallow, bubbling thing, very labored, and she was bloody everywhere. It didn't look like Jeremy had left an inch of her skin untouched by one instrument or another.
Harry glanced at her. "Are you up for more?" River nodded. "Good, Atticus and I will man the stretcher. You and Zoe take care of anything that gets between us and the ship. She needs help as fast as we can get it." He helped Atticus lay the captain out on the makeshift stretcher, and Zoe and River slid out the door.
They found Mal and Jayne waiting for them in the Mule, as planned, having slipped through the anthill the explosions and theft had kicked up. River didn't know how they'd slipped past some of the frantic groups of soldiers, with their bawling officers threatening incarceration for incompetence as they searched, but she suspected Harry had something to do with it. She glanced back at him, and he dropped an eyelid in a quick wink. Jayne and Mal helped haul the stretcher up, Mal's face turning grim at the sight of Captain Blyss' wounds.
"Jayne, Atticus, River, Mule only holds four, follow on foot. Harry, Zoe, you're field medic until we can get back to the Doc. I'll be back for you three soonest." Jayne leapt down to land beside Atticus and River as River snapped off a quick salute. They began to run as the mule sped away, and River marveled at the big man's speed.
They hadn't been running for ten minutes before the mule was back, and they piled in. "Sirius says the Alliance is sending in reinforcements from Scribble. It's time to get our bird in the air and out of here." Mal informed them.
"How did things go?" River asked, settling into the seat next to the captain.
"Got the cargo, set off the baddabooms, got our captive free. Without jinxing the outcome, so far so good."
"Shiny. How is Captain Bryss?" Serenity came into view - Mal was pushing the Mule for all speed.
"Touch and go, mostly go. She might pull through, with Simon as her surgeon. If we had the usual sort of doctor, she would have died already."
Sirius' voice crackled over the radio. "Uh, Captain, we've got incoming ships heading our way. They haven't spotted us yet, but if we don't get going, we're had."
Mal jetted the small transport inside. "We're in, Sirius, get us airborne."
##
Sirius strolled through the ship, hands in his pocket, utterly bored. He was going up to the bridge to see who was piloting. Everyone else was asleep, or otherwise occupied in their own bunks - though both Kaylee and Simon were in their own workstations, Kaylee fiddling with the engine and in a foul mood if the muttered curses and banging and clanging was anything to go by. Simon minding Captain Bryss' recovery. After hours of surgery, Bryss was out of danger. Atticus had set up shop in the med bay, taking the other bed and still armed to the teeth. He had his Captain back, and no one was going to take her away from him again. Simon had groused like a bear before the other members of their crew settled in the lounge outside. They were sleeping there, or working on small items while they waited for their captain to come to.
Their crew is airtight, and bothering them right now seems like a bit too much. As for my own crew, one is too angry to pester, the other impervious to pestering when it comes to his work, in which he is precise, expert, and boring as a stump. He thought with a wry smile. Kaylee was fun to fire up, but she was already steamed about something and seemed to need some time to herself, if the wrench she'd thrown at him when he'd poked his head into the engine room was any indication. Add to that, Harry and River were once again mucking about the inside of River's head… at least, that's what they said they were doing. Sirius didn't think they were doing anything else yet, but 'yet' was the operative word. The ties they were forming as they worked through some of the trickier knots of River's mental entanglements were becoming solid bonds of partnership and understanding.
Sirius didn't think it would be long before those bonds grew into something more, and if the looks the young woman occasionally shot Harry's way when he wasn't looking were any indication, River was starting to wake up to that idea. He was fairly sure his godson would cotton on soon enough - they were in each other's heads, after all- and that when he did, it would be the matter of a short discussion, ascent, and the two would be off. He rather thought James and Lily would approve - River may have spent a good deal of time off her rocker, but she was improving daily, and her other traits were beginning to emerge more fully.
You would have liked her for sure, Lils. Sirius mused silently, remembering the red-haired woman's sharp wit and sharper tongue. She's smart, smarter than even you and Remus put together, I think. Certainly smarter than James, and me. She's a spitfire, too. She doesn't let Harry get away with much, unless she can be in on it. That's probably something about her you'd like, Prongs. She's Marauder material for certain sure. Mischief and humor and just a bit of mean with a ruthless streak. She's a good match for Harry, will keep him on his toes, and he needs that. Someone who will meet him on his level, challenge him even. I wish you had been able to be part of his life, be a part of what he's grown into. He shook his head. It was a wish he'd had time and time again, and there was nothing to be gained by dwelling on it.
Back to his other train of thought, then. You'd like all of these people, I think. I know I do. Mal's steady, a good man to have on your side, even if he's determined to act dumber than he is. Simon is a truly capable muggle surgeon, and a fine man besides. He's got a sense of humor, too, though he doesn't use it much - Kaylee would have been like oil and tender with you, Lils. She's funny, frank, and keeps everyone on their toes. Jayne, well, he's a man's man for sure. Great workout partner, good to chat with when you want to let the adult and respectful side of your brain rest and let the part that's all male out to play. He rather thought Lily would have hexed his bits into raisins a time or two. Jayne had that effect on females. There's not much to the man, layers, I mean. He is who he is, and that's that. Zoë…
Sirius let his mental babble trail off, his grin fading into a sad smile. She's a survivor, a warrior, and loyal friend. And she's hurting so bad right now. Sorrow so deep, anger so vast, along with guilt and jealousy and regrets so sharp - I can smell the pain on her, thanks to my animagus skill. She hides it well, though Mal seems to know her well enough to see through the front. Everyone else is, well, not fooled, not entirely, but… They think she's better than she is. I think she needs to let it out, her grief her husband's death. She's held it in so long she might even have to exorcise some of what I sense. I know I did, once I got out of Azkaban and was able to finally, finally think through all that happened. It was as if I'd been on pause for twelve years, and someone hit the play button, and I could feel it all again, two days fresh after the death of my best friend and his wife, a woman who had grown close as a sister to me. Harry, orphaned, and all of us betrayed - He broke off, feeling his throat tighten and his belly clench. He leaned his head against the wall and took a few deep breaths as he let the grief wash through him again. Merlin, but it catches me again and again. I don't think it's any less, but I know how to tread water now, while everything tries to swamp me. It used to take me hours to get back to dry land, as it were. I don't think Zoe's gotten there yet, I think she's still out in the deep, holding onto the flotsam of what had been. He allowed himself a humorless smile. And I'm being philosophical, whimsical even. Regardless, I want to help her with that, strongly want, though I don't know why. That was a lie, one that Prongs would have called him on in an instant, had Prongs still lived.
You know why. He'd say, and refuse to fall for Sirius' stupid act, poking and prodding until he finally provoked Sirius' confession. Yes, he knew why. Zoë was… extraordinary. Strong and resilient, smart as a whip, with a hidden mischievous side. She was also drop dead gorgeous, and when Sirius compared her to any of the women he'd known, she stood out like a star in the black. He was strongly attracted to her, and his pretending not to know it was all bunk, just like his casual stroll to pester whoever was in the bridge was all bunk. He knew exactly who was piloting right now. He stopped in the kitchen and looked up the catwalk with a crooked smile. He really wished he could court her, but he was pretty sure he knew the reaction to that. She would turn him down in a flat second, and she'd be right to. Zoë wasn't ready for another man in her life. She'd hardly allowed herself to grieve. And right now she viewed him as more of an interloper than a crew member.
Friends, then. That's where they, if there was ever going to be a they, would have to start. And wasn't that going to be a job and a half?
A tiny sound reached his ears, and he perked up, attention riveted up the catwalk. Had that been... yes. A very quiet choking noise, and then a gasp, just as soft. He knew that noise, how could he not? Anyone who'd lived through two wars knew the sound of quiet weeping. Silently, he started up the hallway, absently noting the 'occupied' lights were on the Captain's bunk, as well as Jayne's and River's. That confirmed what he already knew - there was only one person who could be on the bridge, and she was crying. He wanted to help her, but how to do it?
A flash of memory, of the time before River had come to him with visions of his own death, before he'd jailbroke Harry from the muggle hospital his aunt and uncle had taken him to when he'd worked himself into collapsing. A little while after Remus had come to join him in that secluded wizarding home, his hiding place since it was a vacation home seldom visited by its owners. Sirius had been a wreck, and trying to hide it, then, for the first time fully able to grieve for James and Lily without the emotional pall the dementors had held over him, or the distractions of finding the rat and keeping Harry safe from him. The leisure time had relaxed him that little bit, and with the relaxation, everything else had come roaring back. Self incrimination and loathing, rage at Peter, grief and guilt over Lily and James had crashed into him, twelve years after the fact and feeling as fresh as year one. Then Remus had come in, with twelve years of practice with his own grief and, as always, wiser than Sirius had ever been. One didn't get a better friend than Moony, Sirius thought, smiling at the memory of the words Moony had shared with him. Yes, that was as good a place to start as any.
He settled into the Captain's chair without making a sound, but she knew he was there. She was too aware of her surroundings not to. She'd turned away from him, muffling her already quiet sobs with a hand to her mouth, the other pressing something that glimmered in the faint light of the console to her stomach. He didn't speak, just sat quietly waiting for her next step.
After several long, quiet minutes, she heaved a watery sigh. "You're not going to go away, are you?" Zoë asked, still not looking at him.
"I can if you want." He replied, his voice solemn. "Or I could keep you company. Sometimes that helps."
Zoë twisted towards him, her eyes flinty with a hard and brittle anger. "What makes you think I want your help or your company?" Her voice was soft but deadly, searing and frigid all at once. "What makes you think you know anything about how I feel?"
"I can't even imagine what you feel." He said it quietly, meeting her gaze steadily, knowing that most had scuttled out of the way of that anger time and time again. "I won't insult you by saying I do."
That pulled her up short, and she sat up a little, blinking. She'd been prepared for platitudes, meaningless and about as helpful as a hole in a bucket. "You've lost someone, haven't you?"
Sirius nodded. "A few people. We had a war going on, where I come from. It started back in my school days, and the first part of it lasted a few years after I graduated. The second part of it began again while Harry was at school, and only ended a few months ago. Harry was heavily involved in the second part, my friends and myself in the first." He gave her a dry smile, and nodded at the picture frame in her hand. "Is that a picture of your husband?"
Zoë looked down at it, stroking a finger gently across its surface. "Yes. My Wash." She handed the picture over. "Who did you lose?"
He let out a short bark of a laugh. "Don't you hate that phrase? 'Lose,' like you dropped something in the park. I guess it's accurate enough, though, the way our minds niggle at it. Like a lost wallet, you check your pockets for it over and over again, just to make sure, just in case you're wrong…" He looked down at the picture, at the stocky man with a hawaiian shirt, cargo pants and bright, laughing eyes. He wore a grin that seemed to say 'I can annoy seven shades of shit out of you in seven seconds, want to give it a try?'
"James, who was more a brother to me than even my own blood brother - and that doesn't even begin to describe it. His family took me in when I couldn't stomach my own any longer. We grew up the best of friends, got into the stupidest shit together, made discoveries, played with fire. He, a couple other friends we made in first year, and myself formed a club, of sorts. Pranks were our game, the Marauders our name."
"What are their names?" Zoë took the photo back when he offered it, holding it like a treasure.
"Remus and Peter. We didn't call ourselves by our given names, though. Part of being a Marauder - I was Padfoot, James was Prongs. Remus went by Moony, and Peter was Wormtail." That stab of anger was as strong and fresh as ever. Sirius felt his face twist into a snarl and took a deep breath, forcing it away. Zoë didn't miss it - she didn't miss much, he'd noticed.
"What happened to them?"
He glanced at her. "It's a bit of a story. Do you want the short version, or the long."
Zoë settled back into her chair, tucking her feet up into it as well. "Might as well tell the whole thing, if you're going to say anything at all."
Sirius chuckled. "True enough. Its long enough without all of the particulars, though, so I'll keep some of it vague. It's not a pretty tale, I'll warn you of that right now." He sat back, too, angling his head so he looked out at the stars in the Black.
"We lived in a pretty isolated community, and like any community, it had its sects. The older, more wealthy residents thought poorly of a newer group of people, and despite all living on the same planet, they thought the newer group was getting too big a slice of the pie, disrupting too much of the way of things, the traditions and structure that came before them. A very ambitious but very wrong minded individual made a bid for power, and united a bunch of other racial bigots behind him. He told them the only way to keep what they feared to lose was to eliminate the newcomers, and so they tried it. The others fought back. We fought back. Despite the fighting, the first bit of it was okay. We hardened, you know how war is, but we had something bigger than us to fight for, and that united us even more than 7 years of prankers' unity had. James and I joined the military force, and, when the government showed it was inept and corrupt, we joined a group of vigilantes sworn against the old crowd, let's just call it 'the Order'. Remus and Peter joined, too, as well as James' school sweetheart, Lily. She and James married not long after that, and then Harry came along pretty soon after that. From school until three months after Harry's first birthday - a little less than three years - we fought, but we lived, too. Harry was a joy as a baby, all smiles and noises and so delighted by every new discovery. I've never seen two people love each other or their child more than James and Lily did. It was refreshing, washing all the grime and hurt of the war away, just for a few hours at a time. Remus was often away on missions for the Order, but when he was around it was just like old times."
"Then it all changed." Zoë's voice was quiet. She understood war, he knew that without knowing all of her story.
"Then it changed. It changed before that, around eight months back, truth be told. Things started to go wrong, our enemy began to surprise us more than we surprised them. They knew things they shouldn't have known, and the deaths began to add up. James was a lot like Harry is now, strong, stubborn, a damned good fighter. Lily was smarter than anyone had a right to be, and quick. They made a hell of a team, and they foiled many of the enemy's plans. Enough that he took notice and actively began to come after them. They went into hiding after that, the Order's leader talked them into it. They'd turned into something of a symbol for the war, and he worried what it would do to moral if they died. So they took Harry and hid. I knew where, so did Petey. We'd started to suspect a spy by that point, and some suspected Remus. He was kept out on more and more missions, so he never knew where Lily and James hid out. But Peter did. He led the Enemy right to them, and he killed James and Lily. Harry has a scar on his forehead, you've seen it? It's from the same man who murdered his parents - Lily was able to stop him from getting Harry, somehow, and he fled. Peter managed to get me framed for it all, and faked his own death and disappeared, so I was arrested and jailed for twelve years. I can't describe the prison - it was hell. Isolated hell, their methods drove most imprisoned there insane. I don't like to think about it, and it took a visit from the Minister and a photo in the paper that showed me how close Wormtail was to Harry to get me up again. I escaped, tracked him down, and managed to ruin his disguise so he fled again. I wish I'd killed the bastard." Sirius ground his teeth, feeling the rage boil up and over again. He clenched his fists and bared his teeth. "If I'd been able to get my hands on him when James and Lily died I would have ripped him limb from limb and served the sentence with a smile on my face. I still can't believe how he played us for fools - who would have thought he had it in him?" Shaking his head and forcing his hands open, Sirius took a breath and continued.
"I went on the run, keeping in touch with Harry now that he knew the true story, and trying to track down the rat so I could either kill him or clear my name - preferably both. But I didn't find him. He found his old master instead, and helped him return to power. By the end of Harry's next school year, they succeeded in kidnapping him and another student, and getting the core of their old crew back together. They planned to kill Harry in a sort of ritualistic beginning to the second part of the war. They killed the other boy, but Harry escaped, and was able to bring the boy's body back to the school. The Minister at the time refused to believe the Enemy had returned, but the headmaster of the school, the self-same leader of the Order, did, and brought the Order back together. He sent Harry back to his family for the summer-"
Sirius broke off and let out a long breath through gritted teeth, his grey eyes flashing. "I still get so angry about that. A fourteen year old boy just saw a friend murdered in cold blood, and his parents' murderer stood before him and tried to off him, too. He defied the odds, and managed to warn everyone about it, too, and this arsehole packs him off with a pat on the shoulder to a home he knows is about as nurturing as a prison. And I didn't see it at the time, more the fool I. It took River speaking to me that summer to make me do something about it - ripped the wool right off my eyes, showed me the man for who he really was, a sly, maneuvering, unfeeling zealot who'd lost sight of 'right' in order to bring about what he called 'the Greater Good.' So I did what I seem to do best, and jailbroke Harry, too. We stayed on the run for a few years, training, gathering support, helping those we could when we could. Remus joined us for a little while."
Sirius found suddenly that it was hard to swallow, and that his mouth was suddenly dry, and that a suspicious burning and pressure was building behind his eyes. Merlin's sac, but his chest ached. This was a newer wound, harder to handle after all the other losses. He swallowed a couple of times, and cleared his throat. When that didn't help much he pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes and took a couple of deep swallows. "Damn it. This doesn't get easier. We'd heard of plans for a raid and intended to help out - Remus was playing the part of a double agent in the Order. A few of the members thought Harry and I had the right of it, and were starting to see some of the Order leader's faults, and it just happened to be that group that was elected to take care of the raid. It was a set up. We arrived too late to help. Remus and his lover and a couple of the younger order members were dead, and only a handful were left fighting." He dropped his hands from his eyes and stared bleakly out the window again. "I killed Peter a few weeks after that. James, Remus, Peter, they were my chosen family, the people I loved best in the world growing up. I lost them all. It made leaving easier, after Harry took care of the bastard that killed his family. The leader of the Order had tried his best to see that Harry died a martyr, but we escaped instead. Now…" He shrugged. "I'm grateful to River twice over. Helping her put herself back together is having a similar effect on Harry. Anytime they run into something he resonates with too strongly to continue, she pounces on it, turns the tables, like. She's made so much more progress with him than I ever have."
"I think you've helped him more than you give yourself credit for. Yes, I do," she said to his patented 'come on, pull the other one' disbelieving look. "Coming into his life after living with people who didn't care for him as they ought, and the only other adult interested in him was setting him up like a pawn on a chessboard. You might have been the first adult in his life to act on his behalf, and then you rescued him, supported him, trained him up strong enough to stand on his own two feet. And then you stood beside him, instead of letting him take the world onto his shoulders."
He stared at her in amazement. "You got all of that from one little story?"
The dark skinned woman shook her head, amusement playing on her lips. "No. I got that from watching the way he acts around you, and you around him. The story helped me fill in the gaps. He still looks for you when he's feeling all turned out - when River throws him off his stride, or the memories ride him too hard. He never says it, but he seeks you out. He knows he's important to you, that you're proud of him and respect him, and that's never not going to matter to him." She grinned at him. "Just in case you were worried he'd fall in love with River and forget all about you."
Sirius shook his head in wonder. "Your skills of observation are near about terrifying, woman." Then he gave her a small, bracing smile. "Your skills of deflection are nearly as good, but they didn't work this time. What's got you up here by your lonesome, crying over your husband's photo?"
She sagged back in the chair, reaching up to place the photo next to his dinosaurs. "Our anniversary. I've got all the momentos, my wedding dress, our things, the photos and the holographs and his silly letters he used to slip under my door, back when I thought I hated everything about him and his courtship was just something to get my back up. Sometimes they're a comfort. Sometimes they hurt so bad I want to pack them all up and shoot them into the Black. Sometimes all the memories in this old boat makes me want to run and never look back, find some moon, some scrubby job, and disappear into a new woman, someone who wasn't so foolish to forget all the pain losing someone could cause, someone who wasn't so stupid as to allow love into her life for the pain it was bound to cause later."
"Do you really?" Sirius asked softly, no judgment in his voice. She looked up at him, holding his gaze for a long moment before letting out a shuddering sigh.
"No. For all the pain feels like it could kill me some days, I wouldn't trade a moment with that man for less hurt. I loved him, as improbable a couple as we were together. I love him still. Does that make me a fool?"
Sirius laughed quietly. "It makes you courageous. Strong. It means that even though all that love has turned into missing him, it won't break you in the end."
Zoë looked at the photo, lifting her fingers to touch it's occupant gently. "Some days I think it might."
"It won't." Sirius said it with heartfelt surety. "Drive you into a rage, into tears, into dull silences, tumble over you like breaking waves when you least expect it, knock you off your feet - yes, it will do all of those things. That's grief, and the price we pay for giving away a piece of our hearts. But it won't break you, not if you think loving him in the first place was worth the pain. I'd place money on it."
She smiled at him, then. A full, lovely smile. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." He smiled in return. "How did you meet him?"
"Mal had just bought the ship - a bigger hunk of junk you never did see. I didn't think this old bird would ever fly again, but Mal knew it, believed in it. He tends to make the things he believes in happen. We'd hired a mechanic - not Kaylee, at first - to help us put her back to workin', and started looking for pilots. Wash was the best pilot out of a long list, even flew for the War, though he only managed one battle before being taken to a POW camp for the remainder of it. Despite that, he had plenty of experience, and was a credible hacker, too."
"You said you thought you'd hated him - it obviously wasn't love at first sight." Sirius prompted.
"Hell, no." She snorted a quiet laugh. "He had this god awful mustache. And he… I never could put my finger on what it was, he just bothered me. It niggled and niggled at me. He had the most awful sense of humor - thought my stone-cold-I-could-kill-you-with-my-pinky glares were funny. I nearly killed him a dozen times over before a flip switched one day and I realized I had feelings for this man that I'd never had for anyone else." Her smile softened into something loving, gentle and kind. It wasn't a side of her Sirius had seen often, which was a pity. It looked good on her.
"What flipped the switch?"
"He started courting me. Flirting, joking, doing silly romantic things; flowers, letters - his bunk was two doors down from mine, what the hell do you need letters for? - little trinkets and surprises. I hated it. I thought he was just getting off on driving me crazy, especially since Mal wouldn't let me shoot him. I threw away the flowers, or handed them back to him. I refused the trinkets. He slipped the letters under my door, so I kept those, just shoved them into my dresser most times, not even bothering to read them. It probably would have gone on like that until I either shot holes in him or he gave up in discouragement. A job went south - most of them tend to, I swear, we've either had the best luck in the 'Verse or the worst. Mal and I came back from a successful mission to find Jayne knocked out cold, and four men with guns on Wash. Kaylee was on the ship, the cargo hold was closed up tight. They were trying to get Wash to get them in the ship, plannin' on stealing it." She shook her head, a fond grin playing on her lips.
"Wash wouldn't do it. He just gave him that grin of his, said he was sorry to disappoint, but he was several months into courting the woman he wanted to love for the rest of his life, and he'd almost persuaded her to think of him in the same light. Letting them onto the ship would ruin all that hard work." She laughed. "It was absurd. I hadn't given him even the slightest bit of hope, hadn't even considered he was serious for a moment, and there he was, risking his life to say such a ridiculous thing, and having the balls to wink at me when the men looked at one another in sheer bafflement." Zoë shrugged. "Like I said, a flip switched. Right then and there I knew I had to give him a try, or I'd regret it for the rest of my life. We got married six months later." Sirius laughed softly, and Zoë chuckled. "I asked him later why he never gave up - he told me it was because I'd kept the letters. He'd had Kaylee sneak in to search for them. I was mad at him for a month for that one."
Laughing and crying tears in turn, they continued to trade stories late into the night. Friends, Sirius thought, listening with a small smile, didn't seem that far off, after all.
##
A/N: Well, another one bites the dust - I did promise sooner than the last time, but I wasn't planning on it taking this long, either. This story fights me harder than anything I've known. Enjoy it, because, though it may take me another decade to get it all out there, it will continue come hell or highwater. As always, your thoughtful reviews and atta-girls are a huge help. Thank you!
