BLUE SUN ROOM FAN FICTION - GENERAL

MISSWHATSIS

Quitter: part 12
Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Serenity prepares to resume her delivery trip to Halcion.


CATEGORY: FICTION    TIMES READ: 1895    RATING: 9    SERIES: FIREFLY

Not mine, not for money. Please don't hit me.

The screaming went on and on, and the blood, the blood went on and on, too. Simon quickly determined that there was nothing physically wrong with River, and that there was nothing to be done for Exline, and turned his attention to Mal. When Jayne had leaped at Exline, Exline had fired wildly at Mal. It was the last thing Henry Exline did before Jayne cut the man’s throat with Exline’s own knife. The shot went a little wild, but not so wild that it didn’t find Mal. The bullet hit the pad of muscle above his collarbone and took a biggish chunk of Mal with it when it exited. That was bloody, but nothing like the blood Exline’s death poured onto the floor of the galley. Mal’s body lay face-up in the doorway to the galley. Unable to catch himself with his hands tied behind his back, he had hit the floor head first, and hard.

“Jayne, carry Mal to the infirmary,” Zoe said. “Book, could you find something to cover Lieutenant Exline, please.” Book took the newly-washed tablecloth and covered Exline’s body.

Once Mal was on his way to the infirmary and Exline’s body was out of sight, River’s screams wound down to juddering sobs. Kaylee had screamed only once, before she realized that Mal wasn’t dead and that Exline was. Inara stood silent, both hands to her face. Gowan still sat in his chair, whey-faced and swaying. Jayne reappeared in the galley. “Let’s get this cleaned up, right now,” Zoe said. “Take him down to the cargo bay first, though.” Jayne nodded. “Wash, when Jayne gets back, could you clean up here?”

Wash nodded.

Inara was standing outside the infirmary, while River and Kaylee looked in the window, when Zoe appeared, walking slowly, but walking under her own power. She went into the infirmary and stood by Mal’s head. “How is he?”

“He’s been shot. Not much of a shooting, for a change, no bones hit, no major blood vessels nicked; and the bullet passed right through, we don’t have to go hunting for it. I’ve already taped up the bullet wound. I’m more concerned with the head injury. Exline must have hit him quite hard initially and then he fell backward and hit his head again. It may be a while before he returns to consciousness,” Simon said.

Zoe nodded. “All right. We’re going to get ready to leave. Jayne and Wash are cleaning up in the galley, Book’s sitting with Exline’s body. As soon as the galley’s dealt with, I’ll get Jayne started on setting up the cargo bay. Once that’s done, we can think about leaving.”

Zoe sat in the cargo bay and watched Jayne and Wash organize it for the horses. When first light came, River appeared at her side. “They need to run one more time,” River said.

“What?” Zoe asked.

“The horses. Before we ask them to stand for so long. They need to run, so they can remember on the ship. How to run.”

“Can you do that?” Zoe asked.

River nodded and started out into the dawn light.

“I’ll go with her,” Book said. “Eight horses are too many for her to groom by herself and she shouldn’t try to lunge them alone.”

Zoe nodded her thanks. ***

By mid-morning the cargo bay was ready to load the horses.

“What’re we gonna do with him?” Jayne asked Zoe, gesturing toward Exline’s body.

“Bury him,” Zoe answered. “But I’d rather wait until Mal can see it done.” Zoe walked slowly back to the infirmary, Wash beside her.

Inara and Kaylee still stood outside, looking in at Mal, watching Simon watch Mal. Zoe went in.

“How is he?”

“Still unconscious. It’s going on longer than I had expected, and his heart rate and respiration aren’t what I would expect either. He’s like a person in a fever, not like someone who’s been knocked unconscious,” said Mal.

River came up to the infirmary door, but would not go in. She leaned in and looked at Mal. Book was close behind her; and Jayne behind him. Everyone felt the need to look at Mal, to see that he was still breathing.

They all stood silent, Simon watching the read-outs from Mal’s body.

“He is running. He is running and running and running and it is not fast enough,” River said. “He can’t get there no matter how fast he runs. He is never there in time and he is always afraid of what he will find.”

Suddenly she began to sing, an ancient, haunting tune. “*Now the green blade rises, from the buried grain*.” Book joined her, and then Wash and Kaylee and Inara. Simon swung around, as though to tell them to be quiet. Then, as the song went on, Simon watched in surprise as Mal’s feverish twitching died away, his heart rate slowing and his breath coming deeper.

“They teach us to talk to unconscious people,” Simon said, “because they can often hear, even though they look as though they can’t. I suppose singing is the same.”

Zoe nodded.

River led her little choir in a dozen of the songs they had sung to groom the horses, all ancient melodies. Even Jayne began to sing under his breath. They sang “Holy Manna,” they sang “Come Thou Fount of Endless Blessing,” they sang “I am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger,” they sang “I’ll Fly Away.” It was while they were singing “Wondrous Love” that Mal opened his eyes.

“’m I dead?” Mal asked Zoe. “And the choir’s singing for me?”

“Not dead today, sir,” Zoe answered.

“Good. I ain’t ready to be dead, I don’t reckon.”

“I do not think you were sure, before,” River said.

“I’m sure I’m sure, especially if being dead means Jayne sings to me,” Mal said.

“I ain’t been singing, I dunno what you’re talkin’ about,” Jayne said.

Everyone turned and stared at Jayne, while he stared at the floor and looked sheepish.

“Exline?” Mal asked.

“He’s dead,” Zoe answered. “Jayne.”

“Well, I don’t think he’s been truly alive since Bada Mir. It’s a shame, he was a good man once, but he’s been a dead man walkin’ for near ten years. That’s a long time to drag your own corpse around,” Mal said. Zoe and Book both nodded.

Mal made to get up, Simon put out a hand to stop him.

“I’d prefer you to lie here more than five minutes after you regain consciousness, Captain,” Simon said.

“We need to get on out of here, Doc,” Mal answered, sitting up. “I got work to do.”

“We’re nearly ready to go, sir,” Zoe said. “River’s exercised the horses; the cargo bay’s set up. We’re just about loaded. Why don’t you lie here until we dig a grave for Lieutenant Exline? Then you can get up, sir.” Mal nodded his agreement and lay back down. In truth, sitting up had made the room turn slowly around him.

Jayne finished the last of the loading and stowing while Wash and Book dug a grave for Exline. They chose a spot not too far from the spring, downhill, a place that had less of the Alliance about it than a place closer to the buildings would have had. The grave was a deep as they could make it, which was not as deep as they would have liked.

Inara appeared in the infirmary doorway, holding a calligraphy brush and a pot of paint.

“Mal, I would like to paint something to go on Lieutenant Exline’s grave,” Inara said.

“So paint.”

Inara pointedly ignored Mal’s tone. “What would be appropriate? Do you know his birthdate? His name was Henry, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. Henry Exline. I don’t know when he was born.” Mal turned his face away from Inara.

Inara did not sigh, although she wanted to, she very much wanted to. She went out into the cargo bay to look for something suitable to paint on and found what looked like an oversized Venetian blind slat.

“Do we need this?” she asked Zoe.

“I doubt it, because I have no idea what it is. Go ahead and use it,” Zoe answered.

Inara leaned the slat against the bulkhead and stood considering. Well, his name for first. She carefully brushed the name onto the slat. What had Mal said about him? That he took good care of his men, checked their feet, and tried to keep them out of unnecessary danger; that was what Mal had said, that he was a good officer.

“A good officer who loved his men.” Inara formed the Chinese characters with grace and care. It seemed the least she could do for a man who had lived so long fearing that the opposite might be true.

Mal came slowly down the ramp into the cargo bay. He stopped at the sight of Exline’s body covered with the tablecloth.

“We ready to do this?” he asked Zoe.

“Ready as we’re gonna get, sir,” she answered.

Mal nodded.

***

They all stood around the grave. “Do you mind?” Book asked Mal. Mal shook his head and looked away. Book prayed briefly for the repose of Henry Exline’s soul, that he might find the peace he had lost so completely so long ago. When the prayer was over, everyone poured a shovelful of soil on the tablecloth-shrouded figure. Jayne moved to take the shovel and finish the job, but Mal stopped him and took the shovel himself.

“I’ll finish. It won’t kill me to shovel one-handed. You get the horses loaded. Ask River which ones oughtta be kept far from each other,” Mal said.

“Will Crazygirl call ‘em for me?”

“I’m sure she will,” Mal answered.

Once everyone had left to finish the last few tasks before lift-off, Mal began to fill the grave. It was slow going, working one-handed. As he worked, he began to sing under his breath, without realizing he was doing so. “*I am a poor wayfaring stranger*...” As he finished the task River walked silently up behind him.

“You are singing to that Lieutenant Exline,” River observed.

“There you are again, startling me,” said Mal. “I don’t believe I was singing.”

“You were. He is dead; but maybe he is like the horses and it will make him be easy,” River said.

“Permaybehaps it will.” *End of part 12*

COMMENTS

Tuesday, November 13, 2007 2:35 PM

COLT999


I missed this the before. It's really good. Looking forward to the rest.


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