Fic: Strangely Comfortable (3/5)
Jun. 16th, 2006 01:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jedibuttercupTitle: Strangely Comfortable (3/5)
Author: Jedi Buttercup
Rating: PG-13
Joss100 Prompt: Malcolm Reynolds, #2.76 - Terror
Summary: Firefly, Boondock Saints fusion. The crew of Serenity rescue a shipload of students from River's Academy. Connor and Murphy McManus are among them. 5x500 words total.
Previously: Chapter One | Chapter Two
Kaylee slouches into the dining room and drops into a chair next to Simon, exhaustion and engine grease making tracks across her face. As many bodies as they'd had on board the last five days, ship's systems are a mite more cantankerous than usual.
Inara brings her a cup of tea, and Kaylee takes a long sip, settling against Simon's shoulder. The doc slings an arm around her, then wipes at her cheek with the cuff of his other sleeve; she grins up at him wearily, fair glowing with quiet joy. The captain in Mal still don't have much use for shipboard romance, but the Mal in the captain can't help but smile to see it. His meimei deserves all the happiness she can get. Doc hurts her, though, he won't live long enough for repentance.
She blinks up at them after a minute, taking in all the faces around the table; whole crew's here, excepting River. Wash's place, and Shepherd's, still catch the eye like empty gums; Kaylee pauses on 'em a second, then glances out toward the cargo bay.
Mal's got a fair idea what she's thinking. "River took 'em some protein earlier," he says. "They still ain't come out of there, but they ain't goin' to starve on my watch."
She makes a worried face. "They say anything yet?"
"Not so's you can understand 'em."
The rest of the kids had all followed the plan like they were s'posed to, a fact that probably should have alerted Mal there was going to be trouble. Seven of 'em had been put on their way back to family, safe in the hands of Simon's contacts, and the rest of the lot had been herded off ship at Haven that very morning. Them boys had waited, quiet as church mice in the background, then lifted a weapon and bolted for a smuggler's hold soon's they saw the others leaving. They ain't come out since, nor spoke a word of English or Mandarin, just a few phrases of some lingo Mal don't recognize.
Not that he blames them. He knows desperation when he sees it; seen it often enough in his own mirror after the war. They clutch onto each other like there's no one else they can trust, and he knows that, too.
"Crazy girl says they ain't Readers," Jayne grunts, picking at the remains of his dinner. "Don't know we ain't plannin' on hurtin' 'em."
"They must be so scared," Kaylee says mournfully, staring down into her tea.
"I checked the Cortex to see if there were any brothers matching their description listed as missing," Inara says. "And I contacted the Guild to see if they knew of any twins their age among the higher families. Nothing turned up. If we can't get them to trust us..."
"River'll bring 'em around," Mal assures them. Truthfully, he ain't so sure, but even if she don't, they'll come out soon enough on their own.
Ain't no plumbing in the cargo holds.
-(3/5)-
(x-posted to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
joss100)
Author: Jedi Buttercup
Rating: PG-13
Joss100 Prompt: Malcolm Reynolds, #2.76 - Terror
Summary: Firefly, Boondock Saints fusion. The crew of Serenity rescue a shipload of students from River's Academy. Connor and Murphy McManus are among them. 5x500 words total.
Previously: Chapter One | Chapter Two
Kaylee slouches into the dining room and drops into a chair next to Simon, exhaustion and engine grease making tracks across her face. As many bodies as they'd had on board the last five days, ship's systems are a mite more cantankerous than usual.
Inara brings her a cup of tea, and Kaylee takes a long sip, settling against Simon's shoulder. The doc slings an arm around her, then wipes at her cheek with the cuff of his other sleeve; she grins up at him wearily, fair glowing with quiet joy. The captain in Mal still don't have much use for shipboard romance, but the Mal in the captain can't help but smile to see it. His meimei deserves all the happiness she can get. Doc hurts her, though, he won't live long enough for repentance.
She blinks up at them after a minute, taking in all the faces around the table; whole crew's here, excepting River. Wash's place, and Shepherd's, still catch the eye like empty gums; Kaylee pauses on 'em a second, then glances out toward the cargo bay.
Mal's got a fair idea what she's thinking. "River took 'em some protein earlier," he says. "They still ain't come out of there, but they ain't goin' to starve on my watch."
She makes a worried face. "They say anything yet?"
"Not so's you can understand 'em."
The rest of the kids had all followed the plan like they were s'posed to, a fact that probably should have alerted Mal there was going to be trouble. Seven of 'em had been put on their way back to family, safe in the hands of Simon's contacts, and the rest of the lot had been herded off ship at Haven that very morning. Them boys had waited, quiet as church mice in the background, then lifted a weapon and bolted for a smuggler's hold soon's they saw the others leaving. They ain't come out since, nor spoke a word of English or Mandarin, just a few phrases of some lingo Mal don't recognize.
Not that he blames them. He knows desperation when he sees it; seen it often enough in his own mirror after the war. They clutch onto each other like there's no one else they can trust, and he knows that, too.
"Crazy girl says they ain't Readers," Jayne grunts, picking at the remains of his dinner. "Don't know we ain't plannin' on hurtin' 'em."
"They must be so scared," Kaylee says mournfully, staring down into her tea.
"I checked the Cortex to see if there were any brothers matching their description listed as missing," Inara says. "And I contacted the Guild to see if they knew of any twins their age among the higher families. Nothing turned up. If we can't get them to trust us..."
"River'll bring 'em around," Mal assures them. Truthfully, he ain't so sure, but even if she don't, they'll come out soon enough on their own.
Ain't no plumbing in the cargo holds.
-(3/5)-
(x-posted to
joss100)
