I am happy to say that this chapter has FINALLY been finished. I really struggled with how to handle the whole hospital bit of Ariel and I hope you guys are happy with the end result. Thank you to I-am-a-slash-addict, hideher, chacra, Moon FireStar, and for the great reviews. It means a lot that people continue to read this story. Anyways, on with the show!
Spirits of the Dead…I Need a Doctor…Ruled by Secrecy
XXX
The salvaged ambulance ship flies toward Saint Lucy's. Mal, Zoe, and Jayne all sit patiently, refusing to look back at the two caskets while Wash pilots them to the hospital. Jayne is silently repeating his lines to himself and clearly concentrating on what he has to say.
"We speak only when spoken to, we avoid all unnecessary contact, and we stay together until we reach the morgue. Understood?" Mal says as he begins to slip into his Sergeant mode.
"Yes, sir." Zoe says.
"We applied the cortical electrode..." Jayne mumbles.
"Jayne?" Mal asks suspiciously.
Jayne continues mumbling. "...were unable to get a neural response…Yeah, yeah, I got it."
"Are we gonna have a problem?" Mal asks.
"I know what I gotta do. Don't worry about me…as long as I get paid I'm happy." He says as he goes back to mumbling his lines. "We applied the cortical electrodes and were unable to get a neural response. We applied the cortical electrodes...
The ambulance lands outside the hospital and the shuttle doors open. Mal, Jayne, and Zoe load the two caskets onto gurneys.
"We've only got a few hours left before the morning shift." Wash says as he gets ready to take off.
"Won't be an hour." Mal says.
XXX
"What do you got?" The receiving doctor asks.
Mal begins his lines now. "Got a couple of DOAs, by the time we got there..."
He's interrupted though. The receiving doctor is uninterested. "Take them down to the morgue."
Mal looks back at Zoe, who just begins to push the gurney forward.
"We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient." Jayne says with confidence. Zoe merely shakes her head and laughs a little.
The doctor looks at Jayne for a second, then looks down, still uninterested. Mal grimaces at Jayne, and they head toward the morgue.
It doesn't take them very long to get there and when they do they close and lock the doors behind them. They open the caskets, and Mal injects each of them as Zoe and Jayne move them onto gurneys.
"That should bring them out of it in a few minutes. Let's get going, ain't got much time." And with that Mal, Zoe, and Jayne take the empty caskets out of the room.
XXX
River's POV
When she wakes from the drug induced stupor she can feel his mind already alert and awake.
"Nice of you to join me sleeping beauty." He says from his stand at the door. She sits up and sees he's peering out to make sure no one comes in.
"ETA to evac?" She asks as she slides off the gurney. She can feel the drugs in her system…feel them course through her veins. It's taking longer than expected for her body to break them down…and she has to mentally tell herself to focus.
"Forty minutes."
She feels it pull at her mind, it will provide complications….But she can't think about that now…She proceeds to strip out of her clothes and into the hospital gown she plans on wearing as a disguise. She stops before she slips the gown over her head though. She can feel him watching her, with lust filled eyes.
"Copper for a kiss." She says playfully and he chuckles.
XXX
Jayne, Zoe and Mal push the caskets off of an elevator, moving down the hall.
"Two lefts, two rights, and we're there. You see anyone, smile." Mal says.
"I don't think anyone smiles in hospitals." Zoe replies.
"Of course they do, it's the Core. Everyone's rich and happy here, why wouldn't they smile?" Jayne says.
XXX
Riddick's POV
I'm in this stupid orderly's uniform and pushing River through a recovery area, with doctors and nurses milling about checking on patients in beds when I feel her tense.
"They're doing it backwards; walking up the down slide." She says quietly. "They're going to die."
"No one is going to die."
She points to a bed three places in front of us. "He is." River looks at the patient she indicated as monitors start to beep wildly. She starts to rise from her wheelchair, and I quickly place a hand on her shoulder to keep her in her seat.
"River, we don't have time." I say, but something changes in her demeanor and I feel her relax under my hold. I look up and see a man run into the room and to the patient crashing. I try and push her along but she slams on the wheelchair breaks.
"What do we have?" The guy says as he starts examining patient.
"Forty-two year old double-bypass post-op, prognosis was positive." The younger doc says.
"BP's 60/20, pulse is thready." Say a nurse as there is a loud beep. "He's crashing."
The first doctor says. "Get the cart."
"We have flatline!"
"We've got to crack it." The second doc says.
"We're not cracking a post-op."
"He's non-responsive, should I call the code team?"
"Get the infusers and point-four of atropine." The first doc says to the nurse; he then turns to the younger doc. "What did you give him?"
"Just twenty of alprazoline push." The young guy responds.
The older guy sighs disgustedly, holds syringe in his teeth, takes defib paddles. "Clear."
He looks at monitor. "Clear." This time the monitor shows a heartbeat.
"We've got rhythm." The nurse says.
"He's going tachy." The young guy says worried.
"Yeah, but his heart's beating." He then injects the atropine, the monitors stabilize, and the nurse and young doctor look on.
"He's okay."
The older doctor now turns on the younger one and begins to berate him. "Explain to me how you justify administering a vasoconstrictor to this patient."
"Alprazoline is a pain killer, not a vaso…"
But the older guy interrupts. "Unless you combine it with dilaftin. Which any first-year should know is the standard prep medication your patient was taking before surgery. Your patient
should be dead." He says as he walks away from the now deflated young doctor.
"Simon." River says.
XXX
"Here it is." Mal says as he, Zoe, and Jayne stop in front of a set of large doors. He swipes his key card through the reader. But the indicator light doesn't flash green. "No go. Zoe?"
Zoe swipes her keycard, and the indicator flashes green and the door clicks open.
They quickly enter the medvault pushing the gurneys before them. Once inside they quickly close the door behind them and stand in awe at the racks of medicine in the room.
"Gorram, she sure wasn't kidding." Jayne says as he looks around the room.
"Remember just stick to the stuff on the list." Mal says as he hands Zoe and Jayne small hand written shopping lists with things to find.
Zoe doesn't need to be told twice and she starts scanning bottles, picking up the ones she wants and putting them in her casket; Jayne and Mal follow suit.
XXX
…Reality shifts…
The after effects of the drugs keep claiming her vision… the faces blur together…she blinks and the walls decay before her eyes, the wallpaper melts into the floor, and the people passing by her morph into shadows of reality.
…Thy soul shall find itself alone
'Mid dark thoughts of the grey tomb-stone…
She knows it's the drugs, but can't stop the words from echoing in her ears…
…Not one, of all the crowd, to pry
Into thine hour of secrecy...
She has to pull it together…she has to summon her strength.
…Be silent in that solitude
Which is not loneliness - for then
The spirits of the dead who stood
In life before thee are again
In death around thee - and their will
Shall then overshadow thee: be still…
"…I can do this…" She thinks to herself. And she keeps repeating it. "…I can do this, I can do this…" Because it's the only thing she can do to keep from screaming…
…Reality shifts again…
XXX
River's POV
Her vision clears and she can feel a cold sweat along her skin…She takes a deep breath and settles back into the wheelchair as Riddick pushes her along. She knows it's only momentary relief though…it the same song and dance she is used to…moments of clarity….moments of drug induced fractured reality…
They follow Simon silently down the hallways. The bustle and noise of the hospital masks their pursuit; he doesn't notice the strange pair tracking him. Despite all the noise, the mechanical beeps of machines, the scuffle of shoes on the worn linoleum floor, and the earlier…distraction… her mind is eerily silent.
As Simon turns the corner towards his office, she motions for Riddick to duck into a room she knows to be empty. She gets out of the wheel chair as soon as they are in the room. She begins to pace.
"How do you want to play it?" He asks her after he closes the door.
She doesn't answer him though. Again the drugs play with her…pull at her strings like she is a puppet…and for the first time in a long time she feels a strange mix of emotions. Nervousness, anxiety, and confusion begin to blanket her mind.
…I'm about to lose my mind
You've been gone for so long…
She closes her eyes and works hard to suppress these feelings. She needs to remember why she is here, why she came all this way.
"River?" Riddick says.
…I'm running out of time
I need a doctor
Call me a doctor…
"She is good." She answers.
"You sure about that?" He asks.
She tilts her head to the left and thinks about it for a moment. "When is a person ever sure of their sanity?" She asks.
"Part of being sane, is being a little bit crazy." He says with shrug as he walks out the door and towards the office down the hall.
She takes a deep breath and follows.
…I need a doctor, doctor
To bring me back to life…
XXX
Riddick's POV
I scan the hallway to see if anyone is going to notice us walking into the doc's office. There are a few nurses at the end of the hall but they are preoccupied talking amongst themselves.
"Come on." I say as I creep down the hallway. River follows closely behind.
I reach the door and look back to her, she gives me a small nod to proceed, and I quickly open the door and walk in.
The doc is sitting behind his desk and looks up when he hears someone open the door. "Can I help you?" He asks.
I move to the side and let River pass, and I see the doc's eyes go wide.
"Simon." She says in a small voice.
"River." He says, but he doesn't get up to greet her. He's wary of her, of why she's here. "How did you…"
She cuts him off though. "Irrelevant. Now is not the time to discuss it…"
"Why are you here?" He asks acerbically and this just begins to piss me off.
"Girl went through an awful lot of trouble to see you doc, least you could do is act like you're glad she is here."
"I'm sorry who are you?" He says with an air of condensation.
See now that just makes me ever madder and I take a step forward to yank him out of his chair when River places a hand on my arm. She gives me a look that screams 'let me handle this' and I stay put.
"He's someone important to me." River says.
Simon scoffs. "Looks like a lowlife thug to me."
"I prefer murderer as my official title." He blanches a little when I say this and River glares at me again.
XXX
River's POV
Their arrogance is irksome. It's like watching two roosters circling each other, each getting ready to scratch the other's eyes out.
"What are you doing here River?" Simon asks again.
"She came to save you."
"Save me? From what? You? The feds showed me what you did to our…"
"DON'T!" She practically yells. He looks at her like she is a wild animal, and his fear is palpable. "Do you know what they did to me…the hell I lived through? Did the feds tell you about how they cut me apart like science experiment?"
"What in Buddha's name are you talking about?" Simon asks disbelievingly.
"It wasn't a school…it was torture! I was thirteen and they cut my brain open for their sick amusement!"
"They said you ran away! That you were psychotic!"
"News flash doc, the feds lie." Riddick chimes in from behind the girl. She turns and gives him a pointed look before returning to face her brother.
"You still murdered them in cold blood!"
"They deserved it! They sold her…they sold her into slavery; they delivered her into the blue hands of torturers. Brave men do not gather by thousands to torture and murder a single individual, so gagged and bound she cannot make even feeble resistance or defense."
XXX
Wash is cooling his heels, sitting by the ambulance. Jayne, Zoe, and Mal come out of the hospital, pushing the loaded caskets towards him as fast as they can. Wash helps Zoe pick up a casket while Mal and Jayne get the other.
"How much did we get?" Wash asks.
"What bit said. More than enough to keep us flying." Mal says as they slide the caskets into the ambulance.
"Can we fly somewhere with a beach, Maybe a naked beach?" Jayne asks.
"My mind is scarred just thinking about that." Wash says as he tries to shake the image out of his head.
"Cut it out. Job's not done until we're back on Serenity." Mal barks. He is growing agitated. "Where are the others?"
Now Zoe looks a little worried.
"Time?" Mal asks.
"Two minutes to rendezvous." Zoe answers. Jayne and Wash both grow more serious now.
"Bit's making me awful anxious today."
XXX
River's POV
"You're crazy." Simon says with a modicum of disgust barely concealed in his voice.
"I'm not. No, I'm not." She says with barely controlled anger.
"Your dangerous!" Simon says yelling now. "And you're associating with thugs!"
"Doc, it's the business of the future to be dangerous." Riddick says with a sneer.
"Oh is that supposed to scare me?"
"If you weren't her brother…"
"You'd what? Listen I…"
She can't take it anymore and she feels her anger bubble over. "ENOUGH!" She yells and both men look at her.
"Simon you aren't safe. They will be here soon…they intend to use you to get to me."
Just as Simon goes to open his mouth to question her, there is a knock on the door and two armed federal agents walk in. Great, just great…Captain Daddy is going to be mad they are going to be late.
"Hands up…all of you! We are going you to need you to come with us."
XXX
Riddick's POV
This is just great…just fucking great, the cherry on the mother fucking sundae.
"Thank Buddha you are here." The doc says as he moves towards them.
"Stop right there Doctor Tam!" One of the feds barks. "Our orders were to take you and anyone else with you into custody."
"WHAT!" Simon yells. "I didn't do anything wrong!"
"You think they care Simon." River says as she turns to face the two men at my back. I see her giving me hand signals and nod my head slightly.
I can't help but chuckle as I inch closer to the first fed. "See you gentleman made three mistakes. First, you took the job…Second, you came light. A two man crew? Fucking insulting. But the worst mistake you made..."
I quickly yank the barrel of the gun from the first fed toward the second one as the first guy starts to fire. The second guy goes down with bullets in his stomach and I quickly snap the neck of the other first guy.
"…not knowing who the fuck you were dealing with." I say as I toss the gun down.
"What the hell did you just do!" The doc screams from in back of me.
"My job." I answer with a smirk. The doc just opens and closes his mouth a few times.
River quickly moves to close the door and then turns to a shell shocked Simon. "You can't stay here, they will come for you…we are offering you salvation." River says.
"How am I any safer with the likes of you two?" He questions her. "You just killed two Alliance feds!"
"If we wanted you dead you already would be." I say coolly, which just earns another look from the doc and an eye roll from the girl.
"He's crass, but there is truth in his words." The girl says as she turns back to her brother. "Come with us if you want to live."
XXX
…On Serenity…
Book and Kaylee are sitting on the bridge when the chatter comes over the scanner.
"Shots fired in the east wing…"
"Oh shit." Book says as he sits up and starts prepping Serenity for a fast departure.
Kaylee grabs the comm unit that is linked with the Captain. "Cap'n we got a problem…"
XXX
…Back at the rendezvous point…
"What was that Kaylee?" Mal says into his comm.
"Reports of shots fired in the east wing Capn'." Kaylee's voice repeats over the comm.
"Shit." Jayne says as he turns toward the shuttle to pull out his shotgun, and is followed by Zoe.
"Kaylee I want you to bring up a hospital schematic on the Cortex." Mal says as he turns toward the shuttle. Zoe hands him a communicator and they put on earpieces. Zoe then hands Mal a gun. She straps another gun to her ankle.
"So, you're just going to walk in through the front door?" Wash says mildly confused.
"No. Knowing bit, she's gonna give us a signal. We're gonna wait for that and then haul their asses out."
XXX
River's POV
…Doubt startin' to creep in, everyday it's just so grey and black.
Hope, I just need a ray of that
'Cause no one sees my vision…
She pushes open a heavy metal door, she runs across the empty operating auditorium. Simon and Riddick are right behind her. She's trying so hard to hold on…between the drugs and the dogs of war licking at their heels…she can barely manage as the fly through the halls…
"This must be a mistake…I'm a doctor! They couldn't possibly mean to arrest me…" Simon says mumbling to himself as he runs after River.
…Let me turn on the lights and brighten me and enlighten you.
I don't think you realize what you mean to me, not the slightest clue…
"Where the hell are we going?" Riddick asks.
"Almost there." She says as she races to the door to the stairwell on her left now. But instead of going down, she heads up.
…You saved my life, now maybe it's my time to save yours.
But I can never repay you, what you did for me is way more…
"We're going the wrong way!" Riddick barks behind her.
"No they are not." She says as she continues to climb. After climbing about five flights of stairs she stops and opens the stairwell door. She peaks her head out to see that the hallway is deserted.
She feels strong hands pull her back into the stairwell. "River, where the fuck are you leading us." He says as he glares down at her.
"You should not ask questions without knowledge…You know exactly where she is going…she is going to Captain Daddy."
This comment seems to snap Simon back to reality. "WHO?" He asks, however his question is ignored.
"How is going up going to get us out?" Riddick asks.
"Umm, hello? Who the hell is she talking about?" Simon tries again. It just earns him a 'you're a boob' look from both Riddick and the girl before they turn back to their conversation.
"They don't suspect it; they will look down, while we will fly away." She says as she turns back to the door and cracks it open to make sure that the hallway is still deserted.
"Almost there." She repeats.
…But I ain't giving up faith, and you ain't giving up on me.
I'm dying, I need you, come back for fuck's sake…
XXX
"Are you sure about this Mal?" Wash asks as he hovers several hundred yards away from the hospitals east wing.
"She wouldn't go down, it would be too messy. Better chance of getting them from up top." He says as he studies the face of the building in front of them.
"Yeah but how the hell is she gonna let us know where they are?" Jayne asks somewhat disbelievingly.
"I imagine she'll figure something out."
XXX
Riddick's POV
I could kill the girl for her fuckin' little charade right now. My every instinct was telling me to gut them both, and leave them. Leave all of them behind. I could do it too, her back's turned, the sweet spot is right there… I can almost taste it.
But the moment passes, and the girl walks out the door into a deserted corridor. I follow a moment later, as does the doc.
"What floor is this?" I ask the doc.
"It's nothing right now. It's due to be refurbished soon so everything that was here has been moved out." He says as he walks into the hallway.
River quickly moves to jam the door with a broom leaning up against the opposite wall. As soon as she has done this she starts off down the hallway, her bare feet barely making a sound.
"Twinkle twinkle little bat…how I wonder where you're at…" She says as she wanders further down the hall.
"What exactly are you looking for River?" My patience is stretching thin.
She turns and looks at me now, her hair creating a rather eerie veil. The girl looks like a mental patient. She turns back the other way and looks around, and then quickly moves into a side room.
"Is she always like that?" Simon asks from behind me. He comes up and stands near me, studying where River stood a moment ago.
"You mean creepy? You get used to it." I say as I walk towards the room she entered.
She's sitting on the floor, a trash can in front of her, and she's pouring some liquids into the trashcan. It begins to smoke.
"I need a fire extinguisher." She says without looking up.
"There should be one down the hall where the nurses' station would be." Simon says as he turns and walks back out to get it.
I gotta say I'm impressed that she could make something that fast. "How much of a hole is that going to make?" I ask as a predatorily smirk plays at my lips.
"You will want to stand back." She says as she glances up at me.
XXX
They finally see what they have been waiting for…There is an explosion on the east side, and at least ten twenty feet of windows on the side of the building are blown out.
"That would be our signal." Mal says as Wash pilots them closer.
XXX
River's POV
"What did you just do?" Simon screams after the blast. The hallway begins to fill with smoke.
"She made an exit, now move." Riddick says as he walks into what's left of the room.
The girl and Simon are quick to follow. The floor is littered with broken glass and debris, and she cannot help but smile at her handiwork. The windows have been completely blown out along with part of the concrete wall.
Riddick walks up to the gaping hole to peer out. He scans the skyline and then shakes his head a little at what he sees.
"Calvary is here." Riddick says as the fake emergency shuttle comes into view.
Mal quickly slides the side door open. "You think you could have made a bigger hole Riddick?" He says with a chuckle.
"You can blame the feng-lei one for that. That was all her doing." He says as he hops into the shuttle, turns around and offers his hand to Simon, who hesitates at the edge.
"Like the girl said, if we wanted you dead you already would have been." Riddick says to Simon.
Mal merely shakes his head. "Scaring the poor doctor already Riddick?"
"Just stating facts Mal." Riddick says as Simon grabs his hand and hauls him in.
"River! Get your ass in here!" He yells at the girl.
However, she is unable to move closer to the shuttle…something she has been dreading has rooted her to the spot….Two by two…hand of blue….
XXX
…Reality shifts…
She's standing outside of her body…watching it tremble. She's screaming at herself to move, to run to the others…but all her body does is stand there and shake.
…Repress and restrain
Steal the pressure and the pain…
They are getting closer; she can feel them drawing near…hear the footsteps coming up the stairwell.
…Wash the blood off your hands
This time she won't understand…
She can't hear the others…can't hear Riddick or Mal screaming at her…can't hear the whir of the shuttle's engines…all she hears are the footsteps getting louder.
…Change in the air
And they'll hide everywhere
And no one knows who's in control…
Everything goes into slow motion now…she watches as her eyes snap open… hears the pounding footsteps down the hall… and watches as her body runs toward the shuttle…
…You're working so hard
And you're never in charge…
She can feel the glass stinging at her feet…can feel the air move around her…can hear the guns being fired behind her…and feels something tear through her shoulder as she runs…but she doesn't stop….
…Your death creates success
Rebuild and suppress…
She watches as her body jumps into the air…and watches as she barely makes the jump…Mal and Riddick grab her hands and haul her into the shuttle as Wash flies them away from the hospital…She is safe…for now…
…Change in the air
And they'll hide everywhere
And no one knows who's in control…
…Reality shifts again…
XXX
River's POV
Her mind and body become one again, and she looks up at Riddick and Captain Daddy from the floor of the shuttle. There are lots of voices now, and she cannot discern who is who.
"What the fuck was that!"
"Who the hell were those guys?"
"Tell me we weren't followed."
"Nothing in our rearview the whole way back."
"This is crazy. There must have been some mistake."
"Keep dreamin' doc."
She tries to sit up now and screams in pain as she falls back…that's when the attention in the shuttle shifts…all eyes are on her now.
"Oh shit…"
"They hit her?"
"Let me see." And Simon hovers over her now and begins to inspect her shoulder.
She feels his hands and winces in pain…she knows she has lost some blood and she can feel her mind begin to go fuzzy…
"Oh, well, that ain't hardly a mosquito bite."
"Some mosquito." She mumbles to herself.
"What do you feel River. Stay with me."
She chuckles a little now. "Are you asking me to dance...?"
"Tell me your ship has an infirmary?" And that's the last thing she can distinguish from the voices.
"Two by two…" She mumbles to herself.
XXX
"This is not satisfactory." The first man says.
"He will not be pleased." The other man replies as he walks forward and looks out at the city.
"We need to bring him something."
"We shall review the security logs."
"Yes, that should provide something satisfactory."
And with that the two men with their gloved blue hands walk out of the demolished room.
XXX
…A few minutes later…
Riddick's POV
After another minute the shuttle lands in front of a waiting Serenity. Wash opens the side door and they all quickly disembark.
"All right. Take us out of the world, as quick as you can." Mal says to Wash as the group walks up the cargo bay ramp.
"We'll be out of atmo in five minutes." Wash says as he runs up the stairs toward the bridge.
I'm carrying River out of the shuttle when Kaylee comes running into the cargo bay.
"What happened?" Kaylee asks in shock as she looks over River.
"Big mosquito." River says. She's barely conscious now.
"Damn feds managed to knick her shoulder." Mal says.
"Two by two…hand of blue." River mumbles.
"Stay with me River." The doc says as we walk through the cargo bay towards the infirmary.
We are rushing into the infirmary now. I quickly set River down on the infirmary table.
"I need an extractor and some anesthetic." The doc says as he begins to look through the drawers.
Book and Inara come into the infirmary now.
"What happened?" Book asks.
"Do you need help?" Inara asks as she rushes forward.
But that's when the room goes silent as River's blood curdling scream fills the room.
XXX
River's POV
She can barely feel anything as the torrential flood of emotions hits her square in the chest. It's like the winds of a hurricane, and the sheer force of them causes her to gasp for breath as she sits up and looks between the horrified Inara and the equally horrified Simon who stand staring at each other. Their voices scream in her head.
"…YOU!..."
"River?" Captain Daddy asks as she begins to struggle to breath.
"River?" Riddick says as he moves to hold her down on the infirmary table.
She sees everything…everything hidden behind the flood gates…the music…the memories…the missing puzzle pieces…and the last thing she hears before her vision blurs and she blacks out is Inara's voice in her head…
"…I'm sorry, I didn't know…"
XXX
AN: Please don't hate me! I know you guys are going to kill me for ending at that point, but I promise it will be worth it! It was always in my head/ intentions to have Simon play a key part, and I have been DYING to write this scene. I hope you all enjoy this twist and can refrain from throwing things at me. It really would be counterproductive to me updating…Till next time ;)