BLUE SUN ROOM FAN FICTION - GENERAL

TUJIAOZUO

Lilac Syndrome: Chapter 5
Thursday, April 24, 2008

The New Haven Series; Post BDM; M/I, S/K: The crew leaves in the wake of Zoe's deterioration. However....


CATEGORY: FICTION    TIMES READ: 2688    RATING: 9    SERIES: FIREFLY

Zoe fell into a feverish sleep.

“You have got to stop dreaming about me.”

Turning, as she was on Serenity’s helm, a blanket of stars before the windshield, she saw Wash sitting in his pilot’s chair, holding a live igunadon the size of a beagle.

“I mean, you’re not dreaming about me now, you passed out and I followed you in here.” He was scratching the iguanadon’s chin, and it was purring like a tom cat. “But every time before this, you keep going into the same dreams, Baby, and it ain’t healthy. You have to let go.”

“Wash, I don’t think that’s possible.” She leaned against the co-pilot console.

“I know it’s hard, but that’s why I’m here, to help you kick this and get over me too. A two fer. Plus I get to show you Muffin.” He grinned and patted the dwarf dinosaur’s back. “She’s a Miniature Iguanedon, picked her out at the All God’s Creatures Pet Store myself.”

Muffin let out a playful noise, nibbling his finger like a happy bird, her tail swishing from side to side.

“Downside is she eats laundry and digs in the back yard, but we’re working on that, right Muffin?” He scratched the lizards back, the leathery spine arching like a cat’s. Turning, taking in her wistful face his mien became tender. “See Baby? Don’t feel miserable about me not being there. Where I am, it’s pretty darn peachy, I mean look! I gotta pet dinosaur!”

Zoe chuckled, crossing her arms against her chest. “Your greatest dream. Congratulations.”

Wash set Muffin down, and she scampered off to the galley. Getting up, he walked over and rested his warm, deceiving alive hand against her cheek. “One of my greatest dreams.”

Zoe’s face flinched, yet relaxed and leaned into the touch she had yearned for for almost a complete year. Her exhale was heavy, ribcage dropping low and pressing out the breath she had held in for so long, content yet bittersweet as she leaned against Wash.

He held her, one hand on her face, the other rubbing her back. “Zoe…”

“Zoe… ZOE!” Mal’s voice gave a dull roar, as if distant, underwater. Suddenly her body felt as if it were touched by a phantom hand, and Wash disappeared into blackness as her body was roused.

“Ai-ya, you better open your eyes.” Wash’s voice flitted away.

With a grown, her bleary eyes opened.

River, had found her first as Simon pushed Mal out of the way to examine her. They were all in a state of panic, as Inara could be heard rushing in. A stethoscope pressed against her collarbone, and the doctor’s face intensified.

Simon turned to the captain. “Get the stretcher, I want her in the infirmary.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaylee was sick and tired of being cooped up.

She was pretty sure Meilin was too, as the child had been extra fussy. Meilin wasn’t acting fussy at the moment though, she was wide awake and snuggling a shoulder, taking any form of comfort regardless she wanted to be with her parents. For two days they had been confined to the second floor, Kaylee mostly reading with Meilin either in her bassinet or resting on her own stomach.

“Zoe come on!” Mal’s voice nearly roared from downstairs, making his daughter jump at the sudden tone. “Doc…”

“Get those blankets, drape them over her she needs to stay warm. River, get the mule so we don’t have to walk all the way to Serenity. The less time she’s out in the cold the better.”

“Nara, get Kaylee and have her key Serenity up double time.”

“Mal, she can’t be around Zoe.”

Kaylee paled, the fear of the thought urging her to hold the babe closer to herself. “Zoe.” She whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mal had lost a lot of people in his life, but he wasn’t about ready to lose Zoe as he stared at Inara in boiling frustration.

He wasn’t thinking right, she was well aware of that as she went over to him. Zoe was lying on the stretcher, covered in blankets, mumbling incoherently. Sweat soaked through her garments, and sores peppered her skin. “Kaylee and Meilin cannot get sick.”

His face didn’t sink, but merely shadowed itself as it remembered that Kaylee and Meilin were seceptable. Jaw muscles twitched, and he gave Inara the look of fire in his eyes. “When she’s secured in the infirmary, tell Kaylee to git in the engine room and start Serenity up. Meantime, pack some bags.”

Simon, who had been monitoring Zoe, looked up suspiciously. “What are you going to do?”

“I mean to get some meds one way or the other.” He slipped on his coat with a jerk of his wrists. “We’re pulling anchor up as soon as possible.”

“I can’t leave this town, Captain, there are people here that need a doctor.”

“Well you are, someone needs ta look after Zoe.” The words came out of the low snarl that resonated in the pocket of his throat, making him sound like a protective Shadow beast.

Simon shook his head. “No, no I won’t do that. I can’t abandon an entire town!”

Mal spun around and barked out. “What can you do here? Tai yao bu-xing! All you do is drop by, tell them they’re dying and pull the sheet over their heads when they keel!”

Simon stood his ground, though it was obvious he was offended and hurt by the declaration he was useless.

“You’ll ride with Zoe even if I have to lock you in that infirmary! Now don't press me, boy." The latter came out as a threat, for any challange would be shot down.

Inara took a step in and blocked Mal’s view of the doctor. “And just how are you going to get the medication?”

“I…" Clearly, he wasn't thinking it through "Dunno… but I will!”

“You need to calm down and think things through before you tear off after some half formed plan!”

“I am calm! Thinking things through and perfectly calm!”

“You’re yelling!”

“Yin-wei ni kai-shi jiao-sheng!”

“Don’t be absurd!”

"ABSURD?! I..."

“Quit…. Yellin..g” Zoe wheezed out, her voice fallowed by the death of all noise in the house. “Sir.”

Reynolds voice came out hushed, if not meek. “Yeah Zoe?”

“Hate to break rank… but… Shut up….Sir.” Zoe's face turned pallid, and her eyes bobbed in her head as the strength to speak took her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Get the oxygen mask, right there, three turns to the left and it will start.”

“What about monitors.”

“I really don’t need monitors right now to tell me she’s oxygen starved.”

“Come on Baby, I’m here with you.”

They were a blur of words, colors and shapes, like watercolor painting blending before her weak eyes. Her body was on fire, too painful to realize that she had been slid onto the exam chair and strapped down. Her mind too dulled to know that Simon had just swabbed her arm and was placing an IV. Everything was surreal, dreamlike, without tactileness or solidity. Suddenly there was a sensation, something packed over her mouth. A rush of cool, pure oxygen came into her mouth and absorbed into struggling lungs. After a few breaths everything came into focus as Simon was unbuttoning her shirt and pasting sensors onto the sore covered chest and torso. Suddenly a blip jumped, and Zoe's vitals appeared on a screen.

And Wash was the first face she saw.

He was holding her hand, standing between Mal and Simon, sad but hopeful. “Zo, you can beat this. I know you can. You’ve got a million different futures ripe for the living and only one of them has you giving up and dying from this. Don’t waste 'em.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mal reached out, and hesitantly rested a set of fingers on the top of her palm. He turned to watch the monitors, and a lump burdened his throat. Too many of his crew he had buried, she couldn’t be the first one to be put out in the New Haven cemetery.

Simon stopped pumping the IV bag of electrolytes. Reaching, he took a syringe and injected something into the line. “She’s stable.” He watched as Mal’s face, grave and thoughtful, turned away as his spine straightened and his shoulders squared in an attempt to shut off his emotions and compose himself. The doctor knew, hell or high water, they were off to get medication. “I… I can tell the town that I have to leave to find the Zygramithol. I can also spray the cargo bay and common area to kill any airborne pathogens, that way Kaylee and Meilin aren’t at risk.”

“Go do that.” Mal stole one more glimpse of his second mate, and left the infirmary as his eyes threatened to leak.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What about the ranch?”

Mal didn’t give any expression as indication he heard Inara as she packed her and Meilin’s things. He grunted as strong arms pulled a heavy trunk out from under the bed, and hauled it up on the mattress. “It’s winter, no one’ll steal cows in the snow, put enough feed out for the horses and chickens and the dogs’ll watch the rest.” Turning the combination, the trunk opened and displayed an array of weaponry and ammunition. Checking everything, making sure it was all there, the captain shut the case, locking it. “Simon’s out telling the town the news, Kaylee’s keying up Serenity, Jayne's not too far out, suspect we’ll be outta here sooner than later.” Hefting the case over to the door and setting it down before grabbing his army issued duffle bag with his things and setting it down there as well.

Inara kept calm, Meilin could be heard snoring softly in her bassinet. The child was lucky, blissfully unaware of whatever hairbrained, dangerous misadventure awaited them. “Can I help?”

“With what?” He opened the safe in the closet and cleared out a few more guns as well as a small clip of money he tucked in his pocket.

“This heist.” Walking over, she pulled out of her pocket a capture screen and pressed it into his hands.

Frosty blue eyes looking down, he saw it was a security feed. A high quality feed with ‘Asclepios: Cargo Docking Bay’ reading in the corner. It showed rattle of a large ship’s docking bay, followed by an explosion. As the chaos ensued, the smoke cleared and a jeep tore out from the airlock, with a handful of people on the vehicle wielding guns. Two more people stole out with movements of precision and prowess, and finally bringing up the rear was a man. He walked confidently, head held high, stride unimpeded with the chaos in front of him as his crew incapacitated guards. The camera zoomed in on him, his tall figure nicely dressed in threads that showed he was prosperous, his complexion, his face. He turned, addressed the camera with a stoic face and glimmer in his dark eyes, and shot it. The feed went static, and the capture ended.

Inara noticed how Mal’s jaw slackened, then tightened as it was clear it was an old acquaintance. Friend or foe, that was unknown. “If you find them, you find the Zygramithol.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mal walked onto his helm.

The entire crew was aboard, Serenity growled with anticipation, and the captain stood right next to his pilot as she flicked switches and her cat sat next to a triceratops. He stared out into the distance, the white rolling hills of winter Shadow. Without peeling his gaze away, he spoke to River with a tone of a war ragged sergeant. “You’re my second… temporarily of course.”

“Will make Jayne mad.” She commented softly.

“Jayne’s leader of the forest midgets, he’s got enough responsibility on his hands and not enough brains for all of it already.”

“Boston’s my second.”

Boston chirped in seeming agreement.

“Fair enough.” He shifted his weight restlessly as his heart wrenched. For Zoe, for what he was about to do, who he was about to see, who he was about to betray, and the memories he was about to relive after suppressing for so long.

“You wish we just had to pull a heist on the Alliance.”

“That I do.”

“It’s going to be harder.”

“Always is.”

Kaylee’s voice crackled over the intercom. “We’re hummin.”

River hit the mic button. “Copy that. Course is set for Antilles, estimated of flight is eighteen hours. Everything is go.”

“Take us out of the world.” Mal ordered firmly. “Time to be the bad guys again.”

*** *** *** TRANSLATIONS/DEFINITIONS Ai-ya: Damn

Tai yao bu-xing: Your medicine doesn't work!

Yin-wei ni kai-shi jiao-sheng!: Because you started yelling!

******

**As always, the writer appreciates all comments whether they be positive, negative, or suggestions.**

COMMENTS

Thursday, April 24, 2008 1:14 PM

AMDOBELL


Have to wonder who the good gorram Mal is about to face. Sounds like an old friend, colleague or fellow Browncoat. I can imagine Mal in danger of unravelling at the thought of losing Zoe. Ali D :~)
You can't take the sky from me

Thursday, April 24, 2008 9:39 PM

JANE0904


Good way to turn up the heat! I really want to know more ...


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