Kaylee wrapped herself in the fleece blanket. She was grateful to the girl, whoever she was, for giving it to her. For the first time in days, she was just a little bit warmer.
Suddenly the door opened. Kaylee panicked—if it was that hundan behind the field, she would be punished severely for even having the blanket in the first place. She quickly the folded the treasured item and buried it deep underneath the mattress of the great four-poster. Kaylee then sat back down on top of it, gritting her teeth as the cold air rushed over her naked form. Kaylee desperately wished she had clothes of some kind—even the thinnest piece of cloth would afford her just the smallest bit of modesty. She silently cursed the tamade xiao du liaumang for taking away even that shred of decency from her.
The visitor stepped inside—it was the girl that usually brought her food. Kaylee had tried to talk to her more than once, but her attempts at conversation had been crushed by the girl's silence. Today, however, the girl spoke as she placed her food on the table. "Smart girl, hiding he blanket," she whispered. "Did it help?"
"Yes," Kaylee replied, also in a whisper.
"I don't have long—just to leave the tray," the girl said. "There are cameras everywhere in this place. The head doctor here, he sees everything. Make sure you hide that when you hear the door open. You'll have a few minutes to do so."
Kaylee was overjoyed. These few words, though a warning, were the first conversation she'd had in months. "Thanks," she said gratefully.
The girl placed the tray and turned to leave. "What's your name?" she asked.
"Kaylee."
"I'm Sarah," said the girl, looking at her naked and shivering form, her clear eyes fixed on Kaylee's growing abdomen. "What they're doing to you, I think it's wrong," she added as she made her way to the door. "I'll be back soon."
Kaylee watched as Sarah stepped through the door; the door she could never walk through unguarded. There had been no visit from her captor today, no test or experiment she needed to be dragged out for. After waiting about ten minutes to be sure there was no one coming, Kaylee pulled the warm blanket out from under the mattress and wrapped herself inside of it. Her heart leapt at the thought of seeing the girl—Sarah—again, and she waddled over to the table and began to eat.
***
Gabriel Tam snapped off the vid-screen. Somehow, the wretched girl had managed to get a blanket—and not one he had authorized her to have. Cold waves of fury washed over his once elegant features.
He would be watching those who came in contact with the girl very closely. Someone had defied his authority, and that person would pay dearly. The girl would suffer as well, but for now he would let her think she was getting away with having the blanket. Once he found the little whore's accomplice, he would delight at making her watch as he slowly destroyed the person who'd defied him.
He called up a few more screens, relishing the thought of finally breaking the young woman's spirit.
***
Simon was beginning to hate the thought of time. There simply wasn't enough of it.
Considering Kaylee's date of conception, Simon knew that she would be due to give birth in about three weeks—that is, if his lunatic father hadn't already just simply cut the baby out of his wife and left her to die. We have to get there before she goes into labor, he thought grimly. Otherwise, Kaylee doesn't have a chance.
He pulled out his pocket watch—a small gold clam shell with and old-fashioned face. A circular snap of Kaylee and himself lay inside the cover. He rubbed his thumb over the image of his wife's smiling face, her eyes sparkling on their wedding day. The couple had remembered several of Shepherd Book's stories from the monastery featuring a fellow called Shepherd Wallace, and they had sought him out to perform the ceremony. Simon had even risked Alliance capture by signing his own name on the certificate—it was the one thing he simply couldn't lie about, not even to save his own life. Marriage was simply too sacred an institution to consider it, as far as he was concerned. The captain had offered to marry them personally, but Simon had shot down that idea in favor of having the man act as his best man instead. In all honesty, he'd feared what Jayne's reaction would have been had he asked him instead.
Simon always wore this watch. He didn't have a wedding ring—he'd thought it to be an easy way for the Alliance or some other enemy to find and hurt Kaylee as a way to get to him—but the watch served as a treasured replacement. For her part, Kaylee had a simple silver teardrop pendant she wore on a length of black cord. Like Simon and his watch, she never took the necklace off. The paperwork might be found eventually—Shepherd Wallace had had to file the certificate, but he'd hidden it in the system very, very well—but at least no lawman or Alliance federal would come to any conclusions at first glance.
There were sounds of steam escaping from a pipe or connection of some sort in the engine room, and Simon winced. He was running desperately low on supplies with which to patch up the other crew members that were now taking turns with the engine maintenance. He'd tried to take a turn at the engine himself, but both Mal and Zoe had shot down that idea on the grounds that if the only doctor got hurt, who would patch him up?
A flurry of curses, both in English and Chinese, came floating out of the engine room. "Well, now you've gone and gorram done it," yelled Jayne.
"Jayne. Your mouth is moving. Best see to that," said Mal in a calm but deadly tone. "We'll just tie this thing off, and see to fixing the backup feeds…"
"You sure you know what you're doing, sir?" asked Zoe, who was standing just outside the engine room door.
"Honestly, Zoe?" asked Mal. "Not a chance in hell." Simon's face fell at that. If the engine was badly broken, they'd need to stop for repairs. There just wasn't enough time.
***
The first few conversations were halting, at best.
"Where am I?" the girl—Kaylee—had asked.
"A medical facility in the Cerephus belt," Sarah had replied, keeping her voice at a whisper.
---
"Why's it so cold in here?"
"I don't know. It's chilly in the halls, but nothing like this."
---
Gradually, Sarah managed to find ways to stall for time and allow the girl to open up. Dropping the empty tray, she stooped down to pick it up.
"I like your necklace."
Kaylee fingered the silver teardrop. It was the only thing that that monster hadn't taken from her. "It's my wedding necklace."
"Never heard of those," Sarah said, smiling. "All I know are rings."
"'S a long story…"
---
"Why is the doctor so interested in your baby?"
"Dunno," Kaylee said, clasping her banded wrists around her bare stomach. "Think it has something to do with it being his grandbaby, maybe."
Sarah was silent. Dr. Tam's grandchild?
She knew the stories, about the Tam children. They were more like legends than stories, now—it seemed impossible that they could even be real. "Then your husband…" she breathed.
"Yeah," Kaylee said sadly. "Wanted Simon to be here when the baby came, but…" She hung her head, and Sarah could see a tear fall softly onto the girl's chest. "He's gonna kill me," she sobbed. "Soon as the baby comes, he's—he's…"
"No." Sarah was quiet, but adamant. She didn't know how she could help the poor girl, but the thought of Dr. Tam hurting this sweet person reviled her. She collected the tray and left, her mind already working a plan.
***
That's it, thought Gabriel as he stared into the vid-screen. There's the little traitor…
He pressed a button, and within minutes a pair of guards appeared. "Bring me the girl from the kitchens," he snapped. "Harper, I believe her name is…"