E-mail: browncoat_malcolm@gmail.com

Status: Completed 9/12/2008

Word Count: 2779

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Zoe woke at the sound of Mal's soft moans. She propped herself up on one elbow and looked at him. She put the back of her hand to his forehead. He had a slight fever, but it didn't seem too high. *Coulda been a lot worse seeing as how he felt like a human Popsicle when they brought him back.* That thought made her blood boil. *What the hell did they do to you?* Looking at the bruising on his face, and marks on his back, she was sure she didn't really want to know. Now that his body temperature was up, the bruising was more evident on his back. Even though she couldn't see his chest because of the way he was lying, she was sure the bruising was bad there as well.

She watched him sleep for a few minutes. Something just didn't feel right. She knew Mal well enough to know that he didn't tell them anything. So why had they brought him back so soon and, relatively speaking, in good shape. A lot better shape then she'd been expecting to see him anyways, what with him being gone as long as he was.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

Mal groaned as he rolled slightly, the movement pulling at his aching ribs. He rolled again and moaned softly, but didn't open his eyes. Something was wrong. He shouldn't be hurting so bad. Every part of his body ached and he didn't rightly know why. As he slowly came fully awake, he began to remember. "Ruttin' bastard," he said in barely a whisper. The more alert he became, the faster the memories seemed to come back. By the time he was fully awake, he remembered it all. Including why he'd been let go. He'd been relieved when he'd heard that Reginald had been ordered to release them all. As he'd been dragged away though, he'd seen the look on Reginald's face and he had a sinking feeling that, even if the others were released, the bastard wasn't done with him yet. Mal pushed the unwanted thought aside.

"Sarge?"

At the sound of the frightened young voice, Mal finally opened his eyes.

"Hi." He didn't recognize the young woman sitting a few feet from him. She was staring at him so intently that it made him uncomfortable. He looked for her rank insignia, but there wasn't much left of her uniform.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

"I'm fine." It wasn't really a lie. He shuddered as he remembered the tool Reginald had been about to use on him just before the corporal came into the cell. A sudden tickle in his throat caused him to start coughing. That motion sent sharp pains through his back and chest, causing him to grimace and moan, which sent him into another coughing fit. He clutched his sore ribs and tucked his chin to his chest, trying to control the pain. Finally, the coughing stopped and the pain eased to a dull throb.

Mal looked up to see nearly two-dozen or so men and women staring at him, concern etched on their faces. Suddenly, he remembered the woman who had asked if he was okay. Her name was Leah. She was a new recruit, a private just barely out of basic training and only nineteen years old. She'd just been assigned to Mal's unit a few weeks before they'd lost Serenity Valley.

"I'm fine, Private."

She smiled weakly and nodded, but Mal could tell she was not fully convinced.

He attempted to sit up then changed his mind and groaned as he realized just how much he hurt. *Okay. Think I'll just lay here a little longer.* The movement had caused the jacket over his shoulders to slide down. Mal looked down.

"Uh, Zoe, why am I naked?" He paused and turned to look at her. She was lying, very closely, behind him with her head propped up on her hand and a very concerned look on her face. "Why are you naked?" He vaguely remembered being dragged back to the cell and dropped into it, but didn't remember getting undressed. He certainly didn't remember Zoe getting naked. Although, he did have a vague recollection of being wet and cold. "Did we do something I don't remember?" he teased.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

"Nothin' to be ashamed of, Sergeant." Zoe smiled; glad to see he still had his sense of humor. Then she got serious again. She looked up at the others and nodded towards the corner where the sergeant's cloths had been put. One of the men pushed himself off the wall he'd been leaning on and retrieved the now dry articles.

Giving them some privacy, the others turned their backs. Zoe stood and dressed herself quickly then helped Mal stand. He swayed a little and she put out a hand to help steady him. He was pale and seemed unsteady on his feet. As he started to sway, Mal put his hand on her shoulder. They had known each other for a long time and had been through a lot together. This wasn’t the first time they'd seen each other undressed. Zoe was a little concerned about how wobbly he seemed to be, but said nothing as she helped him get dressed.

"Sorry," she said as he buttoned his shirt, "I don't know where your socks and shoes are. You weren't wearing them when they brought you back." He looked he was about to be sick, so she helped him walk the few steps to the back of the cell then helped him ease himself down into a sitting position. Mal leaned his head against the wall and took a few slow breaths before speaking.

"Don't rightly know where they are myself. Bastards took 'em off while I was still unconscious." He coughed a few times then sucked in his breath at the pain it caused.

Zoe knelt down beside him. She wished there was something she could do for him, but they had no supplies and she had a feeling calling for the guards would just bring more trouble. Again, as she looked at his bruised face and chest, she couldn't help but wonder what they had done to him. Now that he was awake and sitting up, she could see more burns on his chest. Only the one under his left shoulder was bad enough to have blistered, but the others looked painful as well.

Hearing movement behind her, Zoe looked up. One of the men was standing with his arm outstretched holding a tattered shirt. "He still looks a might chilly."

Zoe accepted it gratefully. The man nodded and smiled then walked the few steps to the other side of the cell and sat down. As she watched him, she realized that both she and Mal knew him. He had been in a different unit, but they had worked together on several joint missions during the course of the war. He was an average sized man with thinning hair, and bright hazel eyes. Despite all he'd seen and done in the war, and he had plenty of scars to account for them, he always reminded her of an overgrown child.

Zoe looked back to Mal and noticed that he did seem to shiver a bit now and then. She realized that he had fallen asleep again. Not wanting to wake him, she draped the shirt over him and sat beside her friend.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

The sound of rattling metal startled Mal and he sat up a little to quickly. Zoe had apparently fallen asleep and had been leaning on his shoulder because she sat up with a jerk as well. He winced at the pain in his chest and back caused by the sudden movement. The he gritted his teeth as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. The shirt slipped down to his lap. He shivered at the loss of what little warmth the battered shirt had offered.

Four heavily armed guards were standing outside of the cell. One of the guards was opening the door. The other three had their guns trained on the prisoners. Once the door was unlocked, the guard stepped back and aimed his weapon at Mal.

Mal tensed as Reginald came into the room. He glanced at Zoe and realized she had been watching him. She must have picked up on his reaction to the major's entry into the cell. He was sure that must have put two and two together and realized that Reginald was the one who had tortured him. She looked like a snake, coiled and ready to attack. He threw her a 'not now' look and she relaxed a little.

"I am Major Reginald Prescott Longsworth, commander of this facility. It appears that this is your lucky day," he began as he looked around the cell in disgust. "I have been ordered to release you all." He held up a hand to forestall any outbursts, but none came. Mal resisted the urge to shudder when Reginald turned and fixed him with a piercing glare. "My medic will examine you all to make sure you don't have anything that is contagious. When he's done, you will all be sent to an Alliance base on Persephone where you will all be briefed on the conditions of your release. You will then be transported to the location of your choice." An evil grin spread across Reginald's face as he added, "all but you, Sergeant Reynolds. You will be my . . . guest for a long, long time."

A man who was obviously a medic entered the cell followed by a fifth guard. The medic took a quick glance around the cell then went straight towards Mal and knelt beside him. The guard stopped in the middle of the cramped area.

Reginald stopped the medic with an outstretched hand. "Leave him for now. Check the others first."

Mal saw the glare the medic gave Reginald, but the man said nothing as he walked over to a man Mal recognized as one of three corporals who had joined his unit when their own had been wiped out about a week before the in the valley battle had ended. The medic checked each soldier as thoroughly as he could in the tight quarters. When he finished checking them all, he turned towards Zoe.

She looked about to wave him off, so Mal said, "Let him do his job, Corporal."

Zoe nodded and remained quiet as the medic checked her over. Seemingly satisfied with her overall health, he gave her a small smile and turned towards the major.

Mal watched and listened as he turned to Reginald.

"Most of them are in fairly good shape considering what they've been through in the past few weeks. However, these people," he said as he pointed to two women and four of the men, "will need to be taken to the med lab for a better exam."

Reginald nodded towards two of the guards. The two men pulled out the ones the medic had pointed to and moved them out of the cell. Two more armed guards quickly replaced them. "The rest of you will line up against that wall." Reginald pointed to one of the walls. Everyone but Zoe and Mal stood and formed a single line against the wall as instructed. They threw worried glances at Mal, but went quietly as they were lead from the cell.

"That includes you," Reginald said when he realized Zoe hadn't move.

Zoe didn't move, but Mal could see her body tense up.

"I ain't going nowhere without the sergeant," she replied with determination.

"I'll be fine, Zoe, just go." He was sure Zoe could hear the pleading tone he tried not to let come through into his voice. When Reginald took a step towards him, he was sure Zoe saw him flinch. Knowing her the way he did, knowing she was ready to strike out at Reginald, Mal reached out and grabbed her arm. "Don't," he said firmly, locking eyes with her.

Zoe relaxed slightly and Mal released her arm.

Reginald glared at her for several minutes then an eerie smile crossed his face. "Fine. If you insist, you may remain with your sergeant." Then he turned to the medic and nodded towards Mal.

Mal sat quietly as the medic examined him. He didn't particularly care for having a purple belly putting his hands all over him again, but the medic was gentle and seemed to be trying not to cause him any pain. Mal had noted how kind the medic had been to his people as well. He appeared to be around Mal's age with dark brown, almost black hair and dark blue eyes. There was something about those eyes that made Mal believe this man wasn't like the others. He relaxed some, but not much. While he was willing to trust the medic, if only a bit, he didn't trust the guards with itchy trigger fingers at all.

The cold touch of the stethoscope's medal made him flinch. The medic checked his heartbeat and breathing. That done, he put the stethoscope back in his bag and began to gently move his hands over Mal's arms. He frowned a few times, but said nothing as he made his way from Mal's shoulder to his abdomen. Next he checked Mal's legs. Mal assumed he was satisfied with what he found, or didn't find, there. Last, he checked Mal's feet. The frown came back.

"He doesn't have any broken bones, which is a good thing. He does have some pretty nasty burns on his chest and abdomen. There doesn't appear to be any permanent tissue damage, but they still need to be treated to make sure they don't get infected and to minimize scaring. His ribs are badly bruised and there is some bruising on his back. I don't think any of the lashes on his back will need stitches, but they'll need to be cleaned and disinfected too. He's also got some congestion in his chest. He needs to be moved to the med bay."

"No. He stays here until I'm ready to move him."

The medic looked angry. He glared at Reginald and said, "With all do respect, sir, he needs medical assistance now. His injuries may not be serious at the moment, but that can change quickly if he doesn't get proper care. You may be the commander of this facility, but as the head medic, I have the final say in medical matters."

Mal kept his pleasure at the situation to himself. As the conversation went on, he found himself increasingly more pleased. *This fella ain't so bad.* Matter of fact, he found himself rather liking the medic. After several minutes of arguing and staring each other down, Reginald relented.

He motioned to a guard who entered the cell. "Take him to the medical bay."

The guard grabbed Mal and roughly hauled him to his feet. Mal yelped as pain shot up and down his chest and back. Zoe jumped to her feet, but Mal shot her a warning look. 'Take it easy,' was the unspoken order, 'don't do anything stupid. We'll get out of this together. Just like always.'

x x x x x x x x x x x x

Zoe watched with barely controlled anger as the guard, despite the protests of the medic, manhandled Mal out of the cell. She considered disobeying his unspoken order and launching herself at the _Liou coe shway duh biao-tze huh hoe-tze duh ur-tze, Ching-wah TSAO duh liou mahng_, who'd hurt the Sarge. He was more than just her sergeant, he was one of the few people she had ever considered a friend. He was also the only person in the 'verse that she trusted implicitly.

Like before, she felt useless and that angered her further. She hated knowing that he was hurt and not being able to help him. While she got the impression from his actions with the sick private and his treatment of Mal and the other prisoners, she wasn't willing to trust him completely yet. Fists balled her at her sides, she willed herself to calm down.

Reginald glared at her, and she returned it, as he approached her. "You should have left with the others. Not going is a decision you will soon come to regret. I guarantee it."

Again, Zoe considered striking the arrogant bastard, but refrained. She merely glared at him until he finally turned and left in a huff. Once he was going she let out a long sigh and slumped against the wall, allowing her self to slide down it and sit on the cold, hard floor. Once again, there was nothing she could do but wait.

TBC

Liou coe shway duh biao-tze huh hoe-tze duh ur-tze = Stupid son of a drooling whore and a monkey.

Ching-wah TSAO duh liou mahng = frog-humping sonofabitch