xfirefly9x (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
xfirefly9x) wrote2006-11-19 02:03 am
xfirefly9x) wrote2006-11-19 02:03 am
Entry tags:
#000 Realisation (Ch. 5-12)
PREVIOUS CHAPTERS HERE!!!
Title: Realisation (Chapters 5-12)
Fandom: Firefly
Characters: Mal/Inara
Rating: PG
Summary: Something comes clear between Mal and Inara. Set immediately after "Our Mrs Reynolds."
(5. 522 words)
“So, what did you do in Persephone, anyway?” Mal questioned. He had remained in the shuttle for several minutes after his encounter with Inara and finally decided to join her out the front. Inara flicked several switches and adjusted their course, not answering.
“Business?” Mal pushed.
“It was a personal trip.” Inara turned her attention from flying, back to Mal.
“Personal, huh? What do you mean by that?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Inara teased. She smiled mysteriously at him.
“Hey! That’s not fair! I told you stuff before! The least you can do is return the favour! What were you doing there?”
“Nothing too interesting, actually. Just stocking up on some supplies – tea, incense and more parchment. Oh, and I found you a job.” For a few moments, Mal gaped open-mouthed at Inara. Inara watched him, amused.
“You found us a job?” Mal finally asked, disbelievingly.
“Yes, Mal. I found you a job. It’s through an old acquaintance of mine, Dave Harding. He has some cargo that he wants to move off world. He’s offering quite a large sum for it.”
“By acquaintance, do you mean…?” Mal dropped off and let his eyes fall to the floor.
“No. Dave isn’t…never has been…one of my clients.” There was an awkward silence. “I knew him in school, before I went to the Guild for Companion training. We were…good friends back then.”
Inara turned away from Mal to avoid his questioning gaze. Her focus back on flying, she fought with herself to keep her guard up and to not let her emotions show.
“I get the feelin’ you’re not telling me something.” Mal paused. “You were more than just good friends, weren’t you?”
When Inara didn’t answer, Mal reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder.
”Inara?”
Inara trembled slightly and pulled her arms around herself. She could not let Mal see her cry!
“You okay?” Mal asked, clearly concerned.
Inara blinked furiously several times and finally turned back to Mal, a fake smile on her face. It was obvious though, that something was wrong. She was holding something back.
“Inara! You don’t have to hide from me!” Mal frowned at her sudden distance.
He pushed her to the side gently, leant over the controls and put the shuttle on autopilot. Taking Inara by the arm, he led her back into the confines of the shuttle.
“What aren’t you telling me?” He asked, once they had sat down on the couch.
Inara trembled, still without an answer for Mal. She felt her control sap away and in just seconds, she broke down in tears. Sobs wracked her body and she found herself leaning against the back of the couch for support.
Mal reached for her, pulling her into his arms and stroking her hair comfortingly. “It’s okay.” For several minutes they remained there, Inara crying into Mal’s chest and him providing her with much needed solace.
“You can tell me anything, you know.” Mal whispered to her after awhile. Inara took a deep breath and prepared to tell him the truth.
“Dave…was my first…” She stuttered. “He…he’s the reason I came to Serenity.”
(6. 461 words)
“Dave…was your first?” Mal asked confused. “I thought you said he wasn’t a client.”
“He wasn’t.” Inara started. She faltered when she looked up and met Mal’s gaze. He stared down at her baffled.
“He wasn’t a client? Then how –?” It took several seconds for him to comprehend what she was saying. “Oh.”
An awkward silence fell. Inara gazed helplessly at her feet, wishing that she had kept her guard up earlier and shown no emotion when Mal had asked how she knew Dave. If she had managed to do that, she wouldn’t be in her current predicament. At the moment, anything would be better than the situation she had found herself in.
Focusing on her Companion training, Inara tried as hard as she could to reinforce her defences. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and then another one and another one. Keeping her gaze as steady as possible, she glanced over at Mal who seemed to be feeling equally unsettled.
Mal was putting all of his energy into studying the wall off to his right, as if his life depended on it. It was looking extremely shiny and new with the red satin that was decorating it and Mal had decided that it was definitely something that needed considering.
It was a good distraction from what Inara had just confessed to him.
“So, how is he the reason you came to Serenity?” Mal finally asked, a little reluctantly. He tore his eyes away from the wall and forced himself to look Inara in the eye. He could tell just how troubled she was by the pained expression that glowered back at him and found himself regretting his question the moment it came out of his mouth.
“I…he…I can’t explain it.” Inara began pacing the room, not in the least caring now about how she was behaving. Companion rules and self-control never stayed around long when it came to Mal. In fact, when she was around the Captain all her carefully put-up shields fell away. She couldn’t explain why – it just happened that way.
Another silence fell, this time as Inara pondered on what to tell Mal and how much he needed to know. Mal waited wordlessly, a grim expression on his face. He watched as the Companion paced in front of him, restlessly and grimaced inwardly at his part in her pain.
Finally, Inara paused wearily and turned around to face Mal, looking him in the eyes. “Can we not do this?” She chewed at her bottom lip. “I just…can’t.”
Mal nodded slowly, letting her know that he understood. “Yeah, sure. Right.”
He let his gaze linger on Inara for a moment longer before he returned to the couch, sighing. “So, tell me about this job.”
(7. 511 words)
Inara smiled gratefully at Mal, silently thanking him for dismissing the topic. She just couldn’t handle him interrogating her about her and Dave’s past relationship – at least not now, anyway.
Letting out a deep breath of air that she didn’t realise she had been holding, Inara joined Mal on the couch. She flattened her black skirt out and prepared herself mentally for his inevitable reaction to her job offer, and then took a deep breath.
“The job is really simple. And it’s an illegal one, too.” Inara added with a small smile.
“Illegal, huh? I thought you didn’t approve of that sort of work.” Mal grinned. “Change your mind, did you?”
Inara rolled her eyes good-naturedly and turned her mind back to the job. “What you have to do is…” She stopped, suddenly remembering about the files and blue prints that Dave had given her. Shooting Mal a sympathetic glance, she stood and moved over to her bed.
“I’ll just be a minute.” She explained, pulling an old leather trunk out from under her bed. She opened it and removed a collection of silks, placing them neatly on the bed. Turning back to the trunk, she fiddled with the base and a concealable portion fell out of it, revealing the files.
“Shiny drawer thing you’ve got there.” Mal noted, teasingly. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were hiding something.” He stopped and thought for a moment about his last words. “You aren’t hiding anything, are you?”
Inara smiled. “Wouldn’t you like to know!” She teased, returning to her place on the couch.
Grinning, Mal repositioned himself, moving a bit closer to her. “Yeah, I sure would!” He played along, hoping somewhere in the back of his mind that things could change between them and be easier. He was disappointed by the Companion’s next move.
Inara, suddenly serious, pulled away and gestured at the papers. “We should…uh…get back to this.” She said, quietly. “There’s a lot of planning still to be done.”
“Right.” Mal nodded. “Let’s get back to the planning, then.”
“Okay, good.” Inara shuffled the papers and selected a few particular ones that Dave had shown her earlier at her stopover at Persephone. “Have a look at these.” She handed Mal the files, her hand accidentally brushing his.
Mal ignored it, but a shiver shot through Inara that she couldn’t deny. “Mal –“ She started nervously, looking up at him. “This…this thing that we have. What is it?”
Mal turned to her, taken aback at her forwardness. “I don’t right know.” He answered, sincerely.
“It’s just that I’m a Companion. Nothing can ever happen between us. Nothing like what I think has been happening.” Inara explained. “I need to know what you’re thinking – “
“I’m thinking nothing. There’s nothing to think about.” Mal replied, his expression hardening.
“Oh.” Inara dropped her gaze to the floor, somewhat wounded by his remark. She continued staring at the ground for a while longer before finally turning back to the files once again.
“We should get back to work.” She said, sadly.
(8. 433 words)
Mal sighed and opening the files that Inara had given him, began to study them. There were several copies of the blueprints of a mansion and some random pages of information that told him things such as security measures used, where the guards patrolled and more importantly, the times of their shifts and when they changed over.
“This job looks too good to be true!” Mal glanced up at the Companion with a small smile. “Maybe you should line up jobs for us more often!”
”Yes, Dave told me it was a good deal,” Inara agreed. “And thanks for the job offer, but I’m not sure that I’d be able to keep up with how busy I’ve been lately. I have a lot of appointments with clients that I have to keep.” She reached over and poured herself a refill of tea that she prepared earlier, taking a sip of the lukewarm liquid.
“Huh,” Mal scanned the rest of the information and once finished, slipped the papers back into the file and handed it back to Inara. A thoughtful expression crossed his face and he leant back on the couch quietly and rubbed absentmindedly at his temples.
“Well?” Inara finally asked, breaking the silence. She watched as Mal rested his hands back on his lap and chewed at his bottom lip hesitantly before responding.
“You sure this guy can be trusted? I mean, it’s been how long since you were… uh...friends? It could be a trap!” Mal interjected, his expression hardening considerably. “I just don’t want you gettin’ yourself in the way of trouble,” he added at Inara’s furious glare.
“Fine, Mal. If you don’t want to trust him, don’t! But I do trust him and you’re going to have to deal with it!” Inara stood and moved behind the curtain to the shuttles’ controls, locking onto Serenity and preparing to rejoin the rest of the crew. Mal followed.
“Hey! I was just sayin’! Don’t get all tetchy with me now!”
“Don’t get all tetchy?“ Inara’s voice was venomous. She glared at Mal as the shuttle moved towards its position on the side of Serenity. “Don’t tell me what to do, Captain. You’re not in charge of me and you never will be,” she glared at him icily.
The shuttles’ engine clicked off.
“I didn’t mean it like that!” Mal argued defensively, his voice somewhat louder now that he didn’t have the shuttle’s drone to compete against. “I meant to say that –“
“Get out,” Inara interrupted. She stood up and gestured at the door. “Now.”
Dropping his head, Mal left Inara’s shuttle.
(9. 344 words)
Mal stormed towards the mess, muttering heatedly under his breath about how stubborn a certain Companion was. Why couldn’t she just act like everyone else for once? Why couldn’t she drop her Companion training and just be herself? It didn’t make sense.
He was so caught up in his ranting that he didn’t see the doctor come around the corner and was too late to try and stop. They collided with a heavy thud that flung Mal awkwardly against the wall and Simon to the ground.
”Uhnph!” The air went out of Mal’s lungs as his jaw connected with the cold metal of Serenity’s wall. The impact of his fall forced his mouth shut suddenly, and his teeth cut roughly at his tongue, causing blood to fill his mouth.
He tasted copper as a trickle of blood ran down the side of his mouth and gagged. The blood splattered over the floor and Simon moved quickly out of the way, pulling himself up.
The doctor had managed to sustain a very minimum amount of injuries and at the most would probably only suffer from various bruises and scratches.
Mal, however, found that he was much worse off and not just because of his bleeding mouth. His vision blurred, he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand to alleviate an itch and pulling his hand away, brought it up to his face revealing blood.
As if this was an invitation, the red liquid began to trickle more freely down the side of his head from a wound he had received from the wall. Mal rubbed at his head again, smearing the blood down the side of his face.
“Mal?” Simon asked, worriedly. He moved closer to the Captain and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Groaning softly as the pain finally hit him, Mal propped himself up against the wall, his head drooped lightly to the side.
“Doc? I think I’ll be needin’ some help here –“ he started. He moved his head around to face Simon and then everything went black.
(10. 314 words)
“Zoe! Jayne! Mal’s been hurt!” Simon hurried into the cargo bay where the Captain’s first and second mates were hauling boxes of goods into the various hiding places on Serenity. Their last heist had gone particularly well and a considerable amount of crates remained in view.
“What’s the problem?” Zoe asked, her attention jumping straight to the situation. Dropping the crate she’d been holding, she walked over and met him at the bottom of the ladder leading up to the catwalk.
“Mal’s hurt. He’s unconscious and I need help getting him to the infirmary!”
“Where is he?” Zoe asked, steadily. She looked to be prepared for anything.
“He’s in the hall leading to the mess,” Simon explained, turning and moving back towards Mal. Zoe joined him immediately and had passed him in seconds. A determined expression crossed her face and she was clearly very concerned about the well being of their Captain.
“Right then,” she muttered in reply, moving out of sight.
Simon paused, noticing that the mercenary hadn’t made any attempt to move. He glanced over at him. “Jayne? Are you coming?”
“Just a sec – gotta put this crate back in and I’m there,” Jayne grunted, hauling the box towards the others.
“C’mon! We need to hurry!” Simon snapped. The mercenary looked up, taken aback at his severity.
“Comin’!” Jayne dropped the crate, swearing and joined the doctor. They headed to the hall where Mal was and joined Zoe, who was crouching over his limp body.
“Okay, let’s move him down to the infirmary,” Simon instructed Zoe and Jayne. They positioned themselves around Mal and lifted him slowly. “Gently!” Simon barked at Jayne. He nodded in reply.
A few minutes later, after moving Mal quite awkwardly to the infirmary bed, Simon leant over him to check his vitals.
“He gonna be okay?” Zoe enquired, not taking her eyes off Mal.
Simon sighed. “I don’t know.”
(11. 431words)
Inara was still sitting in her shuttle, running the spiteful words she’d said to Mal over and over in her mind, when Wash called her on the intercom system. “Inara?” he started, sounding much less cheerful than the Wash she knew.
“Yes?” she asked, carefully controlling her voice so that it remained as steady and casual as possible. She put up her walls of defences as she had been taught while training on Sihnon and forced herself into a blank, impassive mood.
“We’re making a quick stopover planet-side. Might not get to your appointment in time, sorry,” Wash explained quickly and quite detachedly. He was obviously concentrating on other matters. Flying Serenity, presumably.
Inara sighed. She’d forgotten all about the appointment that she had made. It had been one she’d normally have looked forward to, as well. What with all the distractions, namely Mal, it had slipped her mind.
“What’s Mal done this time?” she asked the pilot wearily. She imagined it had something to do with the argument they had just had, having no idea on the turn of events after Mal had left her alone in her shuttle.
Wash was silent for a moment. “You haven’t heard?” he finally said. It was a statement rather than a question and the tone of his voice spoke of defeat and concern mixed with sympathy, something that Inara found all kinds of unsettling. Wash was rarely anything but cheerful.
“I haven’t heard what?” she enquired nervously. She chewed on her bottom lip as Wash went quiet once again.
“It’s Mal,” he explained slowly. “He was hurt in that last upthrust. Simon’s down in the infirmary with him now; said he needs more supplies for Mal, thus the stopover.” He paused and waited for Inara to reply.
His efforts were wasted though. Inara was already on the way out the door. “Inara?” Wash’s voice crackled uselessly from the intercom to the empty shuttle. “You there?”
Inara felt a wave of nausea wash over her as she half-walked, half-ran down the catwalk towards the infirmary. Her last words to Mal had been so…hurtful. And now this had happened. Why did things have to be so damn complicated between them all the time!?
As she reached the hallway just before the infirmary, she slowed down a little to catch her breath. However much she tried though, she couldn’t fight back the fear that had taken hold of her. She couldn’t help thinking that something was terribly wrong.
Heart beating furiously in her chest, Inara took the last few steps towards the infirmary and walked in...
(12. 433words)
When Inara saw Mal’s unmoving figure on the infirmary bed, she didn’t know what to think. Was he drugged? Was he badly injured? Would he be okay? She honestly couldn’t tell. Her fear for his safety left far from sated, she slowly made her way to his bedside and gingerly took his hand in hers.
His hand was cold; too cold. Inara dropped it and took a few involuntary steps back towards the door, a sudden urge to turn and flee before she completely broke down coming over her. Just as she was about to follow her instincts, Simon hurried in with an armful of medical supplies.
He nodded grimly to the fearful Companion and busied himself with setting his equipment down on the bench before turning his full attention to her.
“How’s our patient doing?” he asked her carefully. He fiddled with the buttons on his shirt absentmindedly as he spoke; a gesture that Inara recognised immediately as a bad sign. If Simon was as nervous as he seemed, it was more than likely that he was in possession of a whole lot of bad news regarding Mal’s condition.
“I…uh…I don’t know,” Inara admitted. “His hands – are they meant to be that cold? They feel like ice!” She felt something catch in her throat and swallowed it back down forcefully before looking up to meet the doctors’ eyes.
Simon stared back at her for maybe half a second and then without a word, turned and moved over to see for himself. Checking Mal’s temperature manually first, by feeling his forehead, and then with a thermometer, he studied the man carefully as he lay on the bed, taking care to examine all of his vitals again in the case that he had missed something earlier.
Reading the temperature off the thermometer to himself, Simon shook his head. “Well, he doesn’t seem to have a temperature,” he confirmed slowly. He paused and stared thoughtfully into space for a moment. Breaking from his reverie after what felt like ages to the Companion, he added, “He had some ice in here before. Maybe it was that. I’m sure he’ll be fine though.” He glanced around the room awkwardly, as if pondering what to say or do next. Inara stepped in for him.
“So, how long do you think it’ll be before he wakes up?” she asked quietly, letting her gaze move from the doctor down to the silent form of Mal. She wrung her hands nervously and began to chew at her bottom lip.
Simon just shrugged. “There’s no way to be sure,” he told her.
Title: Realisation (Chapters 5-12)
Fandom: Firefly
Characters: Mal/Inara
Rating: PG
Summary: Something comes clear between Mal and Inara. Set immediately after "Our Mrs Reynolds."
(5. 522 words)
“So, what did you do in Persephone, anyway?” Mal questioned. He had remained in the shuttle for several minutes after his encounter with Inara and finally decided to join her out the front. Inara flicked several switches and adjusted their course, not answering.
“Business?” Mal pushed.
“It was a personal trip.” Inara turned her attention from flying, back to Mal.
“Personal, huh? What do you mean by that?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Inara teased. She smiled mysteriously at him.
“Hey! That’s not fair! I told you stuff before! The least you can do is return the favour! What were you doing there?”
“Nothing too interesting, actually. Just stocking up on some supplies – tea, incense and more parchment. Oh, and I found you a job.” For a few moments, Mal gaped open-mouthed at Inara. Inara watched him, amused.
“You found us a job?” Mal finally asked, disbelievingly.
“Yes, Mal. I found you a job. It’s through an old acquaintance of mine, Dave Harding. He has some cargo that he wants to move off world. He’s offering quite a large sum for it.”
“By acquaintance, do you mean…?” Mal dropped off and let his eyes fall to the floor.
“No. Dave isn’t…never has been…one of my clients.” There was an awkward silence. “I knew him in school, before I went to the Guild for Companion training. We were…good friends back then.”
Inara turned away from Mal to avoid his questioning gaze. Her focus back on flying, she fought with herself to keep her guard up and to not let her emotions show.
“I get the feelin’ you’re not telling me something.” Mal paused. “You were more than just good friends, weren’t you?”
When Inara didn’t answer, Mal reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder.
”Inara?”
Inara trembled slightly and pulled her arms around herself. She could not let Mal see her cry!
“You okay?” Mal asked, clearly concerned.
Inara blinked furiously several times and finally turned back to Mal, a fake smile on her face. It was obvious though, that something was wrong. She was holding something back.
“Inara! You don’t have to hide from me!” Mal frowned at her sudden distance.
He pushed her to the side gently, leant over the controls and put the shuttle on autopilot. Taking Inara by the arm, he led her back into the confines of the shuttle.
“What aren’t you telling me?” He asked, once they had sat down on the couch.
Inara trembled, still without an answer for Mal. She felt her control sap away and in just seconds, she broke down in tears. Sobs wracked her body and she found herself leaning against the back of the couch for support.
Mal reached for her, pulling her into his arms and stroking her hair comfortingly. “It’s okay.” For several minutes they remained there, Inara crying into Mal’s chest and him providing her with much needed solace.
“You can tell me anything, you know.” Mal whispered to her after awhile. Inara took a deep breath and prepared to tell him the truth.
“Dave…was my first…” She stuttered. “He…he’s the reason I came to Serenity.”
(6. 461 words)
“Dave…was your first?” Mal asked confused. “I thought you said he wasn’t a client.”
“He wasn’t.” Inara started. She faltered when she looked up and met Mal’s gaze. He stared down at her baffled.
“He wasn’t a client? Then how –?” It took several seconds for him to comprehend what she was saying. “Oh.”
An awkward silence fell. Inara gazed helplessly at her feet, wishing that she had kept her guard up earlier and shown no emotion when Mal had asked how she knew Dave. If she had managed to do that, she wouldn’t be in her current predicament. At the moment, anything would be better than the situation she had found herself in.
Focusing on her Companion training, Inara tried as hard as she could to reinforce her defences. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and then another one and another one. Keeping her gaze as steady as possible, she glanced over at Mal who seemed to be feeling equally unsettled.
Mal was putting all of his energy into studying the wall off to his right, as if his life depended on it. It was looking extremely shiny and new with the red satin that was decorating it and Mal had decided that it was definitely something that needed considering.
It was a good distraction from what Inara had just confessed to him.
“So, how is he the reason you came to Serenity?” Mal finally asked, a little reluctantly. He tore his eyes away from the wall and forced himself to look Inara in the eye. He could tell just how troubled she was by the pained expression that glowered back at him and found himself regretting his question the moment it came out of his mouth.
“I…he…I can’t explain it.” Inara began pacing the room, not in the least caring now about how she was behaving. Companion rules and self-control never stayed around long when it came to Mal. In fact, when she was around the Captain all her carefully put-up shields fell away. She couldn’t explain why – it just happened that way.
Another silence fell, this time as Inara pondered on what to tell Mal and how much he needed to know. Mal waited wordlessly, a grim expression on his face. He watched as the Companion paced in front of him, restlessly and grimaced inwardly at his part in her pain.
Finally, Inara paused wearily and turned around to face Mal, looking him in the eyes. “Can we not do this?” She chewed at her bottom lip. “I just…can’t.”
Mal nodded slowly, letting her know that he understood. “Yeah, sure. Right.”
He let his gaze linger on Inara for a moment longer before he returned to the couch, sighing. “So, tell me about this job.”
(7. 511 words)
Inara smiled gratefully at Mal, silently thanking him for dismissing the topic. She just couldn’t handle him interrogating her about her and Dave’s past relationship – at least not now, anyway.
Letting out a deep breath of air that she didn’t realise she had been holding, Inara joined Mal on the couch. She flattened her black skirt out and prepared herself mentally for his inevitable reaction to her job offer, and then took a deep breath.
“The job is really simple. And it’s an illegal one, too.” Inara added with a small smile.
“Illegal, huh? I thought you didn’t approve of that sort of work.” Mal grinned. “Change your mind, did you?”
Inara rolled her eyes good-naturedly and turned her mind back to the job. “What you have to do is…” She stopped, suddenly remembering about the files and blue prints that Dave had given her. Shooting Mal a sympathetic glance, she stood and moved over to her bed.
“I’ll just be a minute.” She explained, pulling an old leather trunk out from under her bed. She opened it and removed a collection of silks, placing them neatly on the bed. Turning back to the trunk, she fiddled with the base and a concealable portion fell out of it, revealing the files.
“Shiny drawer thing you’ve got there.” Mal noted, teasingly. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were hiding something.” He stopped and thought for a moment about his last words. “You aren’t hiding anything, are you?”
Inara smiled. “Wouldn’t you like to know!” She teased, returning to her place on the couch.
Grinning, Mal repositioned himself, moving a bit closer to her. “Yeah, I sure would!” He played along, hoping somewhere in the back of his mind that things could change between them and be easier. He was disappointed by the Companion’s next move.
Inara, suddenly serious, pulled away and gestured at the papers. “We should…uh…get back to this.” She said, quietly. “There’s a lot of planning still to be done.”
“Right.” Mal nodded. “Let’s get back to the planning, then.”
“Okay, good.” Inara shuffled the papers and selected a few particular ones that Dave had shown her earlier at her stopover at Persephone. “Have a look at these.” She handed Mal the files, her hand accidentally brushing his.
Mal ignored it, but a shiver shot through Inara that she couldn’t deny. “Mal –“ She started nervously, looking up at him. “This…this thing that we have. What is it?”
Mal turned to her, taken aback at her forwardness. “I don’t right know.” He answered, sincerely.
“It’s just that I’m a Companion. Nothing can ever happen between us. Nothing like what I think has been happening.” Inara explained. “I need to know what you’re thinking – “
“I’m thinking nothing. There’s nothing to think about.” Mal replied, his expression hardening.
“Oh.” Inara dropped her gaze to the floor, somewhat wounded by his remark. She continued staring at the ground for a while longer before finally turning back to the files once again.
“We should get back to work.” She said, sadly.
(8. 433 words)
Mal sighed and opening the files that Inara had given him, began to study them. There were several copies of the blueprints of a mansion and some random pages of information that told him things such as security measures used, where the guards patrolled and more importantly, the times of their shifts and when they changed over.
“This job looks too good to be true!” Mal glanced up at the Companion with a small smile. “Maybe you should line up jobs for us more often!”
”Yes, Dave told me it was a good deal,” Inara agreed. “And thanks for the job offer, but I’m not sure that I’d be able to keep up with how busy I’ve been lately. I have a lot of appointments with clients that I have to keep.” She reached over and poured herself a refill of tea that she prepared earlier, taking a sip of the lukewarm liquid.
“Huh,” Mal scanned the rest of the information and once finished, slipped the papers back into the file and handed it back to Inara. A thoughtful expression crossed his face and he leant back on the couch quietly and rubbed absentmindedly at his temples.
“Well?” Inara finally asked, breaking the silence. She watched as Mal rested his hands back on his lap and chewed at his bottom lip hesitantly before responding.
“You sure this guy can be trusted? I mean, it’s been how long since you were… uh...friends? It could be a trap!” Mal interjected, his expression hardening considerably. “I just don’t want you gettin’ yourself in the way of trouble,” he added at Inara’s furious glare.
“Fine, Mal. If you don’t want to trust him, don’t! But I do trust him and you’re going to have to deal with it!” Inara stood and moved behind the curtain to the shuttles’ controls, locking onto Serenity and preparing to rejoin the rest of the crew. Mal followed.
“Hey! I was just sayin’! Don’t get all tetchy with me now!”
“Don’t get all tetchy?“ Inara’s voice was venomous. She glared at Mal as the shuttle moved towards its position on the side of Serenity. “Don’t tell me what to do, Captain. You’re not in charge of me and you never will be,” she glared at him icily.
The shuttles’ engine clicked off.
“I didn’t mean it like that!” Mal argued defensively, his voice somewhat louder now that he didn’t have the shuttle’s drone to compete against. “I meant to say that –“
“Get out,” Inara interrupted. She stood up and gestured at the door. “Now.”
Dropping his head, Mal left Inara’s shuttle.
(9. 344 words)
Mal stormed towards the mess, muttering heatedly under his breath about how stubborn a certain Companion was. Why couldn’t she just act like everyone else for once? Why couldn’t she drop her Companion training and just be herself? It didn’t make sense.
He was so caught up in his ranting that he didn’t see the doctor come around the corner and was too late to try and stop. They collided with a heavy thud that flung Mal awkwardly against the wall and Simon to the ground.
”Uhnph!” The air went out of Mal’s lungs as his jaw connected with the cold metal of Serenity’s wall. The impact of his fall forced his mouth shut suddenly, and his teeth cut roughly at his tongue, causing blood to fill his mouth.
He tasted copper as a trickle of blood ran down the side of his mouth and gagged. The blood splattered over the floor and Simon moved quickly out of the way, pulling himself up.
The doctor had managed to sustain a very minimum amount of injuries and at the most would probably only suffer from various bruises and scratches.
Mal, however, found that he was much worse off and not just because of his bleeding mouth. His vision blurred, he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand to alleviate an itch and pulling his hand away, brought it up to his face revealing blood.
As if this was an invitation, the red liquid began to trickle more freely down the side of his head from a wound he had received from the wall. Mal rubbed at his head again, smearing the blood down the side of his face.
“Mal?” Simon asked, worriedly. He moved closer to the Captain and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Groaning softly as the pain finally hit him, Mal propped himself up against the wall, his head drooped lightly to the side.
“Doc? I think I’ll be needin’ some help here –“ he started. He moved his head around to face Simon and then everything went black.
(10. 314 words)
“Zoe! Jayne! Mal’s been hurt!” Simon hurried into the cargo bay where the Captain’s first and second mates were hauling boxes of goods into the various hiding places on Serenity. Their last heist had gone particularly well and a considerable amount of crates remained in view.
“What’s the problem?” Zoe asked, her attention jumping straight to the situation. Dropping the crate she’d been holding, she walked over and met him at the bottom of the ladder leading up to the catwalk.
“Mal’s hurt. He’s unconscious and I need help getting him to the infirmary!”
“Where is he?” Zoe asked, steadily. She looked to be prepared for anything.
“He’s in the hall leading to the mess,” Simon explained, turning and moving back towards Mal. Zoe joined him immediately and had passed him in seconds. A determined expression crossed her face and she was clearly very concerned about the well being of their Captain.
“Right then,” she muttered in reply, moving out of sight.
Simon paused, noticing that the mercenary hadn’t made any attempt to move. He glanced over at him. “Jayne? Are you coming?”
“Just a sec – gotta put this crate back in and I’m there,” Jayne grunted, hauling the box towards the others.
“C’mon! We need to hurry!” Simon snapped. The mercenary looked up, taken aback at his severity.
“Comin’!” Jayne dropped the crate, swearing and joined the doctor. They headed to the hall where Mal was and joined Zoe, who was crouching over his limp body.
“Okay, let’s move him down to the infirmary,” Simon instructed Zoe and Jayne. They positioned themselves around Mal and lifted him slowly. “Gently!” Simon barked at Jayne. He nodded in reply.
A few minutes later, after moving Mal quite awkwardly to the infirmary bed, Simon leant over him to check his vitals.
“He gonna be okay?” Zoe enquired, not taking her eyes off Mal.
Simon sighed. “I don’t know.”
(11. 431words)
Inara was still sitting in her shuttle, running the spiteful words she’d said to Mal over and over in her mind, when Wash called her on the intercom system. “Inara?” he started, sounding much less cheerful than the Wash she knew.
“Yes?” she asked, carefully controlling her voice so that it remained as steady and casual as possible. She put up her walls of defences as she had been taught while training on Sihnon and forced herself into a blank, impassive mood.
“We’re making a quick stopover planet-side. Might not get to your appointment in time, sorry,” Wash explained quickly and quite detachedly. He was obviously concentrating on other matters. Flying Serenity, presumably.
Inara sighed. She’d forgotten all about the appointment that she had made. It had been one she’d normally have looked forward to, as well. What with all the distractions, namely Mal, it had slipped her mind.
“What’s Mal done this time?” she asked the pilot wearily. She imagined it had something to do with the argument they had just had, having no idea on the turn of events after Mal had left her alone in her shuttle.
Wash was silent for a moment. “You haven’t heard?” he finally said. It was a statement rather than a question and the tone of his voice spoke of defeat and concern mixed with sympathy, something that Inara found all kinds of unsettling. Wash was rarely anything but cheerful.
“I haven’t heard what?” she enquired nervously. She chewed on her bottom lip as Wash went quiet once again.
“It’s Mal,” he explained slowly. “He was hurt in that last upthrust. Simon’s down in the infirmary with him now; said he needs more supplies for Mal, thus the stopover.” He paused and waited for Inara to reply.
His efforts were wasted though. Inara was already on the way out the door. “Inara?” Wash’s voice crackled uselessly from the intercom to the empty shuttle. “You there?”
Inara felt a wave of nausea wash over her as she half-walked, half-ran down the catwalk towards the infirmary. Her last words to Mal had been so…hurtful. And now this had happened. Why did things have to be so damn complicated between them all the time!?
As she reached the hallway just before the infirmary, she slowed down a little to catch her breath. However much she tried though, she couldn’t fight back the fear that had taken hold of her. She couldn’t help thinking that something was terribly wrong.
Heart beating furiously in her chest, Inara took the last few steps towards the infirmary and walked in...
(12. 433words)
When Inara saw Mal’s unmoving figure on the infirmary bed, she didn’t know what to think. Was he drugged? Was he badly injured? Would he be okay? She honestly couldn’t tell. Her fear for his safety left far from sated, she slowly made her way to his bedside and gingerly took his hand in hers.
His hand was cold; too cold. Inara dropped it and took a few involuntary steps back towards the door, a sudden urge to turn and flee before she completely broke down coming over her. Just as she was about to follow her instincts, Simon hurried in with an armful of medical supplies.
He nodded grimly to the fearful Companion and busied himself with setting his equipment down on the bench before turning his full attention to her.
“How’s our patient doing?” he asked her carefully. He fiddled with the buttons on his shirt absentmindedly as he spoke; a gesture that Inara recognised immediately as a bad sign. If Simon was as nervous as he seemed, it was more than likely that he was in possession of a whole lot of bad news regarding Mal’s condition.
“I…uh…I don’t know,” Inara admitted. “His hands – are they meant to be that cold? They feel like ice!” She felt something catch in her throat and swallowed it back down forcefully before looking up to meet the doctors’ eyes.
Simon stared back at her for maybe half a second and then without a word, turned and moved over to see for himself. Checking Mal’s temperature manually first, by feeling his forehead, and then with a thermometer, he studied the man carefully as he lay on the bed, taking care to examine all of his vitals again in the case that he had missed something earlier.
Reading the temperature off the thermometer to himself, Simon shook his head. “Well, he doesn’t seem to have a temperature,” he confirmed slowly. He paused and stared thoughtfully into space for a moment. Breaking from his reverie after what felt like ages to the Companion, he added, “He had some ice in here before. Maybe it was that. I’m sure he’ll be fine though.” He glanced around the room awkwardly, as if pondering what to say or do next. Inara stepped in for him.
“So, how long do you think it’ll be before he wakes up?” she asked quietly, letting her gaze move from the doctor down to the silent form of Mal. She wrung her hands nervously and began to chew at her bottom lip.
Simon just shrugged. “There’s no way to be sure,” he told her.