Breaking Down. chpt 1 By: Keri Lewis "Breaking atmo" Wash said to the captain Mal sat cross legged in the co-pilots chair. Wash started humming a tune to a song he used to love. "Would you cut that out!" Mal snapped "Captain's in a grumpy mood" Wash joked "Humph" Zoë walked in to the bridge looking utterly terrible. "Zoë, baby, are you okay?" Wash asked. "No" "What’s wrong?" Zoë shook her head, and collapsed. She fell right onto Wash's lap. He looked like he just watched someone die. "Get the Doc!" He yelled. Helping up Zoë, who lay over him like a rag doll. "What’s up with her?" Jayne asked as her came in. "The doc is down in there, best get her, down there too" Wash glared at him. Mal saw Jayne's hands ball into fists. "Hey" He said standing between the two. "No fighting, Zoë’s...,um, well she's, not doing good" "They’ red be no fight Mal" Jayne said, "They’ red only be me beating up Wash as he lay there he-" "That’s enough Jayne" He turned to Wash, "Come on lets get her down there" They lifted her together and brought her down to the infirmary. Kaylee and Inara were sitting on the sofa talking, when they arrived. "What’s wrong with Zoë?" Kaylee asked "She just fell, for no reason!" Wash said as they brought her onto the table "Now, where’s the doc?" Just then Simon ran in, "What going on?" He asked "I heard a bang" They all looked at each other, "No bang, just Zoë fell on to my lap, it didn't make a bang" Said Wash. "Then, what-" "Hey" Mal cut Simon off "Just, you know, look at her. Do your job, ask questions later" Simon nodded and went over to Zoë. He looked over her several times before he spoke. "Nothing is wrong with her on the outside. But I'm reading some stress and ..." He looked at the screen in horror. "What is it?!" Wash yelled "She appears to be...having a mental break down" "What in the 'verse do that mean?" Kaylee asked. "It means, well it means..." Simon looked at the screen again. "Alright, it means, right now, she's in a worse condition than River is in, right now, that is" Everyone just stood there. Wash gave a little squeal. "WELL THAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!" Wash yelled, throwing his hands up. Simon nodded and went to get a needle. He put it in Zoë’s arm. "Okay" he said "Now we're just gunna have to wait in tell she stabilizes, if she does" “Well I aint waiting ‘round” The whole crew glared at Jayne, who shrugged. “Just...a...tea pot” “A tea pot?” “Yeah, makes you all. Tea pot. Crazy aint it?” Jayne walked out drunkly. Wash buried his face in his hands. Kaylee went over and patted him on the back. "This ain't shiny" She said with a frown. He looked up at her and gave her a half smile. Then everyone left the room. Wash was the only one in the infirmary. He stood up and walked over to Zoë. "Please" he said, almost crying "Please, please be okay" He took her hand and closed his eyes, praying she would come through. Cuz if she didn't, he didn't know what he would do.

* * *

Simon was standing in the middle of the room, everyone was looking at him. "Okay" He began "What Zoë is going through is something called a mental break down, and it's when the brain can't take anymore pressure. I suspect, because Zoë was in the war, that her brain has been through much mental trauma, and after a while it takes it's toll" They all looked on, waiting to hear more. "The only way to help a person who is experiencing this, is to give them a stabilizing drug and hope for the best" Mal clapped his hands once and stood up. "Well than, we are going to do what about it?" He asked "And I was in the war why ain't I mentally breaking down?" "We're gunna do what I just said" Simon replied. " And it's harder on females, and more likely for them to get it" "What could happen to her?" Mal asked "She could get better, she could get worse, she could have to live with a shaky mental state, or she could...die" "Oh!" Kaylee cried "This is gunna kill Wash!" Inara patted Kaylee's shoulder. Then they all looked into the infirmary. Wash was standing by Zoë. His face was all blotchy. Kaylee started to cry and ran out of the room. Inara stalked off in the direction of her shuttle, Book sat down on the couch, face low, eyes closed. Mal left and so did Simon. River looked into were Zoë lay. "Survive, it's what you wish" Wash looked at her, his eyes wide. River crossed the room and stood on the other side of Zoë. She took Zoë’s hand and smiled. "Love will get her through, the human mind is growing on love, she needs you" Wash half smiled and looked down once more at Zoë.

* * * Kaylee sat in her hammock trying desperately not to cry. She found it odd , that she had this powerful urge to cry. She didn't usually feel weepy. She was usually strong, stronger than this. "Kaylee?" "Yeah captain?" "What'cha doing?" Kaylee sniffed and waved her hand in the air. "Oh nothing cap'n, just-" Her voice cracked "-Just..." Then she burst into tears. "Can't have my mechanic getting all weepy" He tried to joke but when he looked into Kaylee’s face, he could see her pain. He reached over and took her hand, "She’ll be fine, d'you think so?" Kaylee just stared at the captain, definitely the wrong choice of words, he thought. "I guess," Kaylee said, then she bounded out of the hammock, "Are we going cap?" "That we are" “Cheese cap, there all going to cheese” Mal and Kaylee looked confusingly at Jayne, who now stood in the door. “Yeah and you.....feel like...WAIT!” Jayne glared at Mal “You where tight pants, are you....GAY?"