Life Onboard Serenity: #42 - Of Jobs, Vaults and Things Gone Wrong by EnglishIvy

Doc let out a long stream of innapropriate Chinese slang before standing, shooting the other man in the knee caps and walking to his location. John, knowing Doc to be a vengeful woman, worried how long this might take.

She lowered herself by the first man and pulled out a knife. "I don't like it when people touch my stuff," she seethed before chopping off one of his fingers.

"Doc we don't have time for this!" John said. Too hurried to comment on her brutality.

She turned to the other man. "He appears to be already dead. Too bad. But now I have my full attention on you." She removed another finger, this time slowly drawing out the pain.

"Where are you guys?" the comm chattered. "We're on our way, captain." John replied.

"Doc, if you want to get off this planet you come with us now."

"HE TOUCHED MY THINGS!" she said not turning from the man. She puntuated the next comment with non fatal stabs to the man's body. "I get very angry. when people. touch my things!"

"Well I don't have time for your anger. Jayne shoot him" John said.

"Just leave her to her torture and let's go" he replied turning away.

"I owe her a favor, just do it."

"Fine" Jayne fired at the man's head, killing him.

Doc sttod an turned seething. She wiped her knife on the man's clothes before sheeting it. "You're no fun." she said walking past him. In silence the quartet rushed to the rest of the crew.

John, Jayne, and Doc began to fire on the unsespecting men as they approached. Many of them hit the floor before noticing them. Once they had been noticed they hid with the captain. "Why aren't we getting back to the ship? This job's a bust and someone is going to get hurt!" John whispered loudly.

johnttf

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Saturday, March 21, 2009 3:52 PM

In the Stairwell

Quote:
Originally posted by EnglishIvy:
"Yes," Ivy confirmed. "Anyways, I have you to protect me, right?"

"Of course." replied Pain as they started to head up the stairs double time.

Pain wasn't quite sure Ivy was up to the task at hand, but she wanted to help and she adamantly insisted to Pain exactly that. He would do his best to make sure she was safe and hoped that 13 would too, despite his recent behavior towards them. Failure at this point was no option. Pain would have to do his best and be on his toes to insure Ivy's safety, even though she'd be on the firing line with both him and 13. He knew he could do it or least try to.

"No." he thought. "I can and will protect her."

At the Shootout with Mal and Crew

Quote:
Originally posted by johnthetheatrefreak:
"Why aren't we getting back to the ship? This job's a bust and someone is going to get hurt!" John whispered loudly.

"You know, John, as much as I'd like to high tail it out of here with all my parts accounted for and non-perforated by lead, we're short a few people and crates if you haven't noticed." Mal replied over the gunfire, a hint of disdain in his voice. Mal exchanged some gunfire in return from behind his cover, and continued as he ducked back down, "We don't and can't leave until everyone's accounted for and those crates are sittin' pretty in our cargo bay, don..."

An explosion coming from the other side of the facility cut Mal's words off and echoed off the walls. It caused both sides of the firefight to cease fire and wonder who or what had caused it. Where there once was a door on the east side of the facility leading to the stairwell, a gaping, smoldering hole two times the size of said door replaced it. Black smoke and a trickle of flame obscured the entrance. Bits and pieces of flaming door and wall lay scattered over the place haphazardly.

As the confusion and smoke started to wane, a tall, heavily armed man emerged. His bullpup configured assault rifle aimed at chest level spat fire and lead at those he didn't know before he fired a flashbang from the grenade launcher. The man took cover back inside the entrance to the stairwell and looked away as the flashbang exploded in deafening sound and blinding white light. At the sounds of the dazed and confused, he stepped back out and fired, ushering his female companion to some stacked crates for cover. Once his magazine was empty, he too followed her right as the gunfire erupted again.

"Nice of you and Ivy to join us, Pain." came Mal's voice from Pain's earpiece.

"Thought I'd make a grand entrance, sir." replied Pain. "That and I was too lazy to bother openin' the door with my hands."

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Sunday, March 22, 2009 6:43 PM

OOC: Here is a really bad rendition of what the tarmac where the crates, other ship and gunplay is happening. My graphics prowess is less than good.

Pain and Ivy has come out of what was left of the northeast stairwell and hid behind some crates. Bullets flew all around them. She looked to her left at Pain, who seemed very much in his element. Across the way to her right were the rest of the crew. Mal's group had come from the command center and John's group from the northwest stairwell/elevator.

She cocked her head a little when she saw John's group. Who was that extra woman with them? She wasn't onboard the ship before. Ivy pushed it out of her mind and concentrated at the task at hand.

The crew all seemed to embody the idea of military and efficient. Well, everyone but her and maybe Cate. It was all very surreal. The only thing that made it quite realistic were the bullets that threaten to make them into swiss cheese.

"You OK, bao bei?" Pain asked as he paused to duck down behind his crate.

"Just dandy," Ivy called back to him, trying to make light of their circumstance, but her wavering voice betrayed her confidence.

"Just stay where you are, darlin' and let me take care of the rest."

"O-ok."

Ivy surveyed the area around her. She could see the other ship and Serenity. There were other entrances to the underground facility nearby and the Command Center was about 50 yards behind them. Crates and such littered the entire tarmac. That was everything and there she was too. Right in the middle of it all.

Breathe, she thought. In and out... In and out...

She saw some muzzle fire erupt from Serenity's cargo bay. She squinted and saw River standing there. One of their competitors fell to the ground. River ducked back inside the bay as her actions drew attention and fire away from the rest of them. She heard the footsteps of Mal's and John's groups seeking better positions.

The other ship started rumbling as their engines were coming online.

"They're gonna bolt!" she heard Pain yell.

Ivy peeked over the crate to see the crew of the other ship retreating back towards their ship.

"We need that cargo!" she heard Isahiah exclaim.

What can I do? she asked herself.

Ivy looked around again and an idea was born.

"I'll be right back," she shouted over to Pain as she sprinted away from her position.

"Ivy! Get back - " yelled Pain. He tried to follow her, but bullets rained down on his position and he was forced to focus on that instead. "IVY!"

She ran towards the Command Center. That was the place where a land lock might be able to be done. She was going to make herself useful. She would show them all that she could be a part of the crew. Then they would let her stay.

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Monday, March 23, 2009 4:15 PM

John flinched as he felt the pain of each shot. The crew was suprisingly together, even Doc. He managed to catch part of the conversation she and Jayne were having. Something about how now he'll never get any. He continued to shoot at the men. They were beginning to retreat.

John began to dive from crate to crate shooting in between. They had to get the cargo to leave and maybe a direct approach was called for.

johnttf

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Monday, March 23, 2009 8:41 PM

"Gorrammit!" Pain spat as he returned fire.

What the hell was that girl thinking? Running off like that without using any cover. Did she think they were firing magical bullets or something? Was she trying to get herself killed and make him go through one serious guilt trip?

A bullet whizzed past Pain's head and brought him out of his mental conniption fit about Ivy. He saw the culprit and returned fire with a three round burst to the man's chest. Another person took a shot at Pain and missed. Pain fired back, but missed as well. He swore as he ducked behind his cover and listened to bullets hit the crates, sending a shower of splinters every which way. Pain waited for a moment and then brought his assault rifle up and fired another burst, catching the man in the right shoulder and clavicle.

As the man fell screaming and cursing to his comrades, Pain caught movement from out of the corner of his right eye. He turned his head to see John diving from crate to crate and let out a long string of Chinese swear words just as another couple of rounds went Pain's way.

"John, you crazy ruttin' fool, you're goin' to get yourself killed." Pain muttered to himself as he ducked down and loaded another grenade into the launcher mounted underneath his assault rifle.

"But not if'n I can do anythin' about that." Pain said to himself as he knelt on one knee, aimed for the ceiling above where he spotted a couple of baddies hiding and watching John.

As one was about to aim and fire at the crate diving man, Pain fired and watched as the ceiling above the men exploded and rained debris down on them. Seeing one of the men still alive, but crawling, Pain carefully aimed and fired a single shot at the man's head. He then gave John a nod and a smile before getting up and following the man's lead, providing cover fire along the way.

"This is probably not the smartest thing you've done, John" Pain said between shooting and moving. "Most likely wind up gettin' shot and whatnot, but I'll help nonetheless because you're crew and well.."

Pain shot another guy and continued, "I miss doin' stupid go-se like this." Pain fired another burst at few more of the rival ship's crew and asked, "How about I shoot while you grab the loot. Sound like a hoot to you?"

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Tuesday, March 24, 2009 10:27 AM

Ivy dodged behind crates and such as she made her way back to the Command Center. She let out a small scream each time a bullet hit near her, but she was resolute about getting to her intended goal.

Finally she was inside. She looked out the window and saw that the ship was very close to being able to take off. The air around the dock area was swirling, whipping the hair and clothing of her fellow crewmembers around.

"Land lock... Land lock..." she whispered as she searched the consoles looking for something that resembled what she was looking for.

She had a boyfriend on her home planet who had worked part time at the local dockyard. She had been in there many times visiting him while he was at work and he had gotten so excited the one day he got to put a land lock on a ship. He talked about it for weeks, showing her every time she came which buttons he pushed as though it was the first time she had heard the story.

"Aha!" she exclaimed as she found the panel she needed. Looking at it she tried to remember what he had done. "Where's that switch? Where's..."

She located the land lock initiation sequence switch. She flipped it on and then looked at the screen to determine which spot the other ship was currently situated. She looked from the screen to the outside and back to the screen, trying to orient herself. She finally stood up completely by the window to see if there was a designation marked anywhere. She saw it just as a bullet crashed through the glass. She screamed and ducked to the floor.

Staying low, she crawled over to the screen, entered in the designation she saw and pressed the button marked "ACTIVATE."

Immediately, the ship's engines began to power down and a red flashing light pulsed around the ship's depiction on the screen.

"So there!" she whispered as if Mal was in the room with her. "I CAN be helpful."

She stood up to try to return to her original spot out by Pain, but another bullet richocheted off the window frame changed her mind. She sat down on the floor in a spot where she could watch for passers by, clutched her gun tight and made herself ready for anything.

"I think I'll stay right here."

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Tuesday, March 24, 2009 4:29 PM

"It wasn't that stupid," John said in defense, "I knew someone would back me up, and they did. Sounds like a plan." John continued his journey toward the cargo, diving and twisting to make a difficult target. He was very good at this, despite how it seemed. He shot at the men in front of him when neccessary, but never to kill. He reached the crates, suprinsingly small. "Is this all of them!?!" he shouted over the fire fight.

"Yes," said River suddenly at his side.

Together they gathered the crates and attempted to return to the ship.

johnttf

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Wednesday, March 25, 2009 2:15 PM

"Shouldn't you be back on the ship?" Pain asked River, as he ejected the empty magazine from his assault rifle and slapped in a fresh one.

"Ship's fine." she replied as she helped John with the crates. "Needed here more."

The rest of the crew was now joining in on helping to get the crates back to Serenity and shooting those who tried to shoot back. Pain noticed that the other ship's engines no longer were on, which must have meant that someone, probably Ivy or someone else, activated the land lock. Pain was sure that whoever was aboard that ship was sure having a heck of a time trying to override that land lock. That was if they weren't part of the dead or injured in the facility.

Pain along with Jayne and 13, stayed behind while the others headed back to Serenity with the crates. They did it to make sure no one from the other ship either tried to follow or shoot them. There were only a few of the crew from the other ship left. Pain, Jayne, and 13 traded lead with them, which only lasted for about two minutes until those from the other crew were subdued.

Jayne pressed his hand to his ear and then looked to Pain and 13 and said, "Cap says to pack it up and head on back."

"Alright." replied Pain. "I'll go find Ivy while you two head back."

"You sure?" asked Jayne, his brow furrowed.

"Yeah." Pain replied, slinging his assault rifle across his shoulder. "Probably shouldn't take more than a few minutes. I think she's in the Command Center."

"Probably take longer than that." muttered 13 loud enough for both Pain and Jayne to hear.

"What was that?" Pain asked, raising an eyebrow as he turned to 13.

"I SAID IT'LL PROBABLY TAKE LONGER THAN A FEW MINUTES!" 13 shouted.

Jayne let out a chuckle and said to 13, "Good one." Patting Pain on the back, Jayne said with a grin on his face, "Just remember to comm us when you two are done, so we can tell the Captain not to leave you behind."

Both Jayne and 13 shared a laugh as they headed back to the ship while Pain stood there fuming. He took a breath and let out a sigh as he headed up to the Command Center. While Pain did that, 13 stopped and cocked his head. With his hearing he could hear footsteps come from elsewhere in the facility. They didn't match those from Serenity's crew, which told 13 that they belonged to those from the other ship. They were stragglers most likely. Late to the party as always.

Jayne stopped and saw that 13 was standing there. Tilting his head slightly, he asked, "Hey, Bot Boy, somethin' gettin' yer gears in a bind?"

"No." 13 replied. He turned around and started to head back to where Pain was before stopping once more and adding, "Get back to the ship, Jayne. It's nothing I can't handle."

Command Center

Pain approached the door to the Command Center. He stood there for a bit before knocking and asking, "Baobei? You in here? We've got the crates and are ready to head back to the ship."

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Wednesday, March 25, 2009 2:59 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DRPAIN:
Command Center

Pain approached the door to the Command Center. He stood there for a bit before knocking and asking, "Baobei? You in here? We've got the crates and are ready to head back to the ship."

Ivy jumped up and into Pain's arms.

"Did you see it? Did you see me put the land lock on that ship?" she exclaimed. "Mal and the others will have to see that I can be useful now. After all, I was very useful."

"Well, let's go, while the getting is good," Pain said as he grabbed her hand and led her out of the Command Center.

The kept to the crated area, just in case they needed any cover. Ivy looked over at the door that Pain had blown up making their entrance.

"That was a little overkill, wasn't it?" she stated, giggling a bit.

"But you have to admit, bao bei," Pain chuckled back as he turned to look at her. "It was fun-"

Pain was interrupted by the sound of gunfire. He shoved Ivy behind a crate and took up behind another one himself. The gunfire was coming out of the other ship's cargo bay. Reinforcements had arrived.

"Gorrammit!" he swore as he dropped the gun that he was holding in his right hand. He started to assess the damage from the bullet that ripped through the muscle between his shoulder and elbow. It didn't look bad, but moving his hand and shooting with it would now be problematic and also painful.

From behind the other crate, Ivy tried to look over at Pain. Pain was crouched down too, but something was wrong.

His gun.

His gun lay on the ground and he was holding his arm. A grimace played over his face.

“Pain?” Ivy asked shakily.

“I’m fine, bao bei,” he called out to her. “Just a slight graze.”

She looked over again as more bullets flew over her head. She cringed. Pain ripped his shirt, wrapped it around the wound and using his teeth, he tied it off.

She closed her eyes and pulled the gun up between her knees to stop her hands from shaking.

Pain picked up his gun in his left hand and got a few shots off, killing one of baddies in the cargo bay.

“Ivy?” he yelled over to her. “I’m gonna need you to help.”

Ivy shook her head slightly, the shaking spreading to her whole body.

“Ivy?” Pain gently called out to her again.

Bullets from a slightly different angle rained down on their location. A couple of stragglers had come on the scene from the Southwest entryway.

“Ivy!” he yelled at her. “We got more visitors from the stairwell! They’re gonna move around to our right to get a better shot at us! They get there, we’re goners!”

She didn’t move.

“TOMMY!”

The shaking stilled and Tommy looked over at Pain.

“Watch the right! I’ll watch their cargo bay!”

She nodded as they both rose up to take aim of their perspective targets. Tommy shot, cutting down one of the two stragglers. But then she felt it, bullets piercing her body. One... Two... Three... It knocked her backwards and onto her side, her gun skidding a few feet away from her.

It was surreal. Too surreal. She was thinking that when she felt herself slip away and her heart stop.

Meanwhile...

River was running at full speed up to the bridge when she fell. She couldn't get her breath and was trying to get up but couldn't.

John had been behind her, wanting to get up to the engine room in case Kaylee needed him.

"River!" he exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

River clutched her chest, but was finally able to stand partially straight.

"Ivy..." she ground out. "Get Simon."

Slowly she started back on her trek to the bridge. She had to get them off this rock before things got worse.

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Wednesday, March 25, 2009 4:37 PM

John had learned long ago not to ask questions when getting Simon was involved. He rushed to the infirmary and found the man standing there.

"Simon," he said

"Oh," Simon said turning, "I guess we're lucky no one got shot out there. Are we leaving now?"

"Not quite so lucky, someone's hurt." Without replying Simon grabbed his bag and went up to the cargo bay. John followed but stopped when they entered and he noticed Doc standing still in a corner. As Simon made his way to the hatch, John approached her.

"Guess we're on the same boat again."

"I don't like it."

"Soesn't change the facts."

johnttf

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Wednesday, March 25, 2009 7:11 PM

"Kao!" shouted Pain as another hail of lead rained in his and Tommy's direction. "We certainly could use some backup right about now, don't you think?"

He fired again at the guys from ship, sending them ducking behind cover. Another round from the remaining gunman on the stairs whizzed past Pain's head. He turned and fired in the man's direction, hitting him in the gut and causing him to stagger. Pain aimed lower and shot the man in the groin, causing him to fall down the stairs.

He wondered why Tommy wasn't firing back and asked, "Babe? How come I ain't hearin' anythin' comin' from your end?" When he didn't get a response from her, he made his way over to her crate, firing his gun behind him. When he got to her all the color drained from his face. The next words that came out of his mouth were just barely above a whisper, "Lao tyen boo."

Tommy laid on the ground motionless. He saw three bullet wounds and quite an amount of blood pouring out of them and starting to pool around her. Bullet #1 had punctured her lower right lung. Bullet #2 had nicked her aorta, which was where most of the blood was coming from. It wasn't major, but it looked that way to Pain. Finally bullet #3 had drilled its way through her left shoulder. His heart sank lower into his body as he dropped his gun and went to work on trying to stop the bleeding. He checked for a pulse and found one, albeit very weak.

Bullets struck the crates around Pain, distracting him from what he was doing. He growled and picked up his gun, aiming it in the direction the bullets had come from and emptied the magazine in a fury of rage and anger. Ejecting the spent magazine, Pain dropped down beside Tommy and loaded another into the gun as best he could. He wished he had some help right now. Either to stop Tommy's bleeding, shoot those shooting at him, or both.

"Wuh de tyen ah." he whispered, as he jackeded a round into the chamber. "Please don't let my baobei die."

There were more gunshots now, but coming from the other direction. Pain looked up and saw 13 wielding his dual submachine guns. He acknowledged Pain and made his way over after spraying a full auto burst in the direction of the other ship.

"She's hurt, man. She's badly hurt. I.. I don't know how long she's got. We need to stop the blood loss and get her to Serenity's infirmary quick." replied Pain as he talked about Tommy.

"I see that." replied 13 in almost a deadpan tone. He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow at Pain as he asked, "And I suppose she wants a medal for that?" 13 checked his pockets and shrugged as he said, "Drat. I'm out of medals."

Pain looked up at 13, his eyes filled with anger, rage, and sadness. He pointed his gun at him and seethed, "She needs medical attention now. Get her to the infirmary. Now!"

"No." 13 simply said, looking straight into the mercenary's eyes. There was another hail of gunfire and 13 fired a burst in its direction, hitting the person who fired it in the arm.

"No?" Pain repeated though clenched teeth, anger in his breath as his blood started to boil. He tightened his grip on his pistol and continued, "She could die any second and you're refusin' to help save her life? What the rutt is wrong with you, Bot Boy?"

"Nothing that can't be repaired with a little self diagnostic work." 13 calmly said. "And yes, I'm not taking her to the infirmary right now because there's still the threat comin' from the other ship."

"Well do somethin' about it and THEN help me or so help me God, I'll blow your ruttin' circuit board to motherruttin' pieces with a grenade!" shouted a furious Pain.

13 rolled his eyes and feigned a sigh as he said, "Fine, you big bawling baby. I'll go take care of the big scary bad men." As he headed in the direction of the other ship's cargo bay, 13 muttered, "Whiner."

13 moved towards the other ship as the last of the other crew opened fire on him. The bullets punctured his clothing, but did nothing to harm him. As they kept firing on 13, he ejected the spent magazines from his SMGs and slapped in new ones. As the remainder of the other ship's crew realized their bullets had no effect on 13, they stopped firing and started to run. 13 aimed and opened fire, gunning them down as if it were nothing. He continued up into the ship, finishing the job he started in the cargo bay.

Stepping out of the ship, 13 holstered his SMGs and made his way over to Pain and Tommy. He looked down at her and scanned for a pulse.

"She's dead. Lets go." he replied, looking at Pain.

"There's still a chance if'n we get her back to the infirmary." Pain shot back.

"If you say so, but I'm tellin' you she's dead." said 13, looking over Tommy's body. He gave her a nudge with his boot and said, "See? Dead."

Pain held his assault rifle at pointblank range to 13's head. His finger was resting on the trigger of the grenade launcher. His chest was rising up and down as he spat, "Take her to the infirmary. Let the doctor work his magic or I leave YOU here without the upper half of your body. Dong ma?"

13 turned his head and looked down the barrel of the grenade launcher staring back at him. He blinked and said, "Fine we'll do it your way."

13 then proceeded to bend down and used his jacket to help stop the bleeding before picking Tommy's body up and carrying her in his arms. He started to head back to Serenity with a wounded Pain in tow when he spotted the good doctor, John, and Doc in the cargo bay.

Stepping into the cargo bay and towards the infirmary, 13 said to Simon as he passed him by, "Follow me if you want her to live, doc, which will be quite the miracle since she's dead."

Kao: Goddammit.
Lao tyen boo: Oh God no.
Wuh de tyen ah: Dear God in Heaven.

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Thursday, March 26, 2009 6:16 AM

Pain got up to follow 13 as he carried Tommy back to the ship. He looked down at the pool of blood where Tommy had been laying. There was a lot of blood there. A lot. He picked up her gun and sprinted to the cargo bay door where Mal was standing guard, as Pain ran by, he slammed the door shut.

"River! We're all on!" Mal yelled into the comm. "Get us into the black!"

13 came out of the infirmary and started up the stairs. Bright red covered his shirt. God, that was a lot of blood. Pain fought the urge to rip 13’s circuitry from his robotic body with his bare hands, but it was the blood on 13’s shirt that jerked him back into reality.

“You owe me a shirt, Pain,” 13 yelled down to him.

Again, the want to blow 13 to bits with a grenade entered into his mind. Instead, Pain rushed into the infirmary, where Simon was working frantically on her. The monitor showed no heartbeat.

“Simon?” Pain asked hopefully. He hoped that what he was seeing on the monitor was wrong.

Please, don’t let her die. Please, don’t let her die. Please, don’t let her die. he prayed to himself.

“Her heart’s stopped,” Simon simply said and he kept working.

“Fix her then!” Pain urged him.

“Pain, I might not be able to.”

The stress of the past few moments caught up with Pain: Ivy getting shot, his not being able to help her and 13’s refusal to help. He snapped.

“FIX HER!” he demanded forcefully. Simon glanced up at Pain only to find himself looking down the business end of Pain’s gun. Pain’s voice got eerily calm. “Or I will end you.”

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Thursday, March 26, 2009 3:36 PM

He was interuptted by Tommy, Pain, and 13's sudden enterance. The fact that he hadn't felt her coming worried him. She wasn't feeling anything. He pushed in to her consciousness and managed to feel her there, clinging to life. He hoped she would live.

"She'll be fine, get over it." Doc said from behind him.

"See this is the problem with you! You have no feeling toward others. SHE GOT SHOT! and you just stand there all put out. Get over yourself."

"Whoa, we got a problem here," the captain said approaching.

"No, captain, we'll be fine." John shook as the ship took off.

johnttf

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Thursday, March 26, 2009 5:51 PM

Infirmary

Quote:
Originally posted by EnglishIvy:
“Or I will end you.”

"Ending me won't reverse her condition, Pain." replied Simon. "In fact it would make it quite worse."

"Well do somethin' then!" Pain demanded, his gun still trained on the doctor, finger hovering over the trigger. "Anythin' to get her breathin' again!"

His eyes began to tear up at the sight of seeing her near lifeless body laying in the tilted back exam chair. She wasn't that far off from fading completely away. He had failed at protecting her. Broken his promise that she would be safe with him nearby. One minute she was helping him dispatch some people shooting at them and the next she was lying in a pool of her own blood with three bullet holes in her body. It was his fault she was this way. He should've done a better job of making sure she was safe. He should've let her stay back on the ship instead of tag along with him.

Pain's emotions got the best of him and he felt his gun start to shake in his hand. He quickly took his finger off the trigger and lowered the gun. He walked over to Tommy's right side and collapsed to his knees. He dropped his gun on the floor and took her hand in his. He gave it a squeeze and a kiss before nuzzling it with his cheek. Her skin felt like ice next to his.

He looked at her as a tear rolled down his cheek and splashed on her hand. His voice wavered as he whispered to her, "I love you, baobei. With all my heart." He sniffled and placed another kiss on her hand. Turning his head to look up at Simon, Pain pleaded, "Please, doc. Save her. For me."

Seeing the big mercenary go from dangerous to a pleading crying mess in mere seconds must've touched a nerve in Simon as he walked over to the man, placed a hand on his left shoulder and said, "I'll see what I can do, but I've got to get her heart beating first before I can assess the damage."

"Thank you." Pain managed to eke out, as he continued to hold onto Tommy's hand.

"It's what I do, Pain. I'm a doctor." replied Simon as he took out a pair of cardiac infusers.

He proceeded to hook her up to the machines in the infirmary and then moved onto unbuttoning her shirt. He noticed that she didn't wear a bra, but that didn't matter to him none as he was in doctor mode now. He placed the infusers on her chest and felt her body arch as the electrical charge ran through her body in an attempt to get her heart beating again. When the line and tone on the heart rate monitor stayed flat, Simon charged up the infusers again and shocked her once more. He did it over and over again until he got a heartbeat. It was faint and erratic, but it was a heartbeat and that was a start.

He gave her some drugs to stabilize it and then went to work on getting her patched up. However Pain was in the way and Simon calmly asked, "Pain? I need you to move so I can get to her wounds. You can have a seat on the counter."

"OK." Pain replied as he gave Tommy's hand a kiss once more and got up to move to the counter. As he sat up on it, he asked, "How is she?"

"She lost quite a lot of blood." replied Simon as he cleaned her wounds and started to fix the damage the bullets caused. As he removed bullet fragments from Tommy, he continued, "I've got a little bit of the artificial blood I used on you. I can start her off on that, but she's going to need a transfusion of the real stuff after. I'll run a scan through the crew records for a match to her blood type, but only after I get both her and you patched up."

"That's fine, doc." replied Pain, feeling a bit better now that there was some hope for Tommy, but still guilty for her getting shot. He winced as he tried to move his right arm and said, "Thanks again, doc. For everything."

"You're welcome." replied Simon, not looking up as he continued on with his work.

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Friday, March 27, 2009 12:42 PM

The Infirmary

Ivy felt the jerking and the electricity course through her body, not once, not twice but many many times. But she wasn't feeling ay pain. It was odd.

She felt someone holding her hand. They were saying somethig, but she wasn't sure what it was. She could tell by the inflection in their voice that it was Pain.

Pain.

Her heart skipped a second, then she felt it start to beat again.

Huh, she thought.

She got up from the table only to look back and still see herself lying there. She looked into the cargo bay and where the doors should be was a bright light. She took a couple of steps forward, but stopped. She looked back at Pain, who was distraught and clinging to her hand, before moving back to the counter to let Simon work. He looked so sad...

"Tommy?" she asked, but she got no response. "Tommy?"

Again nothing. She got alarmed for a bit, but then she noticed something else. The pain from her experiences during the last couple of years was gone. She was whole again. She felt... good. She didn't need Tommy anymore.

She looked back at the bright light, only to see her Daddy standing there.

"Daddy?" she exclaimed as she went closer the light.

But then there was Pain. She looked at him again. He seemed broken and so sad. The big man had tears in his eyes.

As she stood in the middle of the cargo bay, she looked back and forth between the light and Pain. She didn't know where to go. So she ran. Ran so she might be able to think without distraction. Ran without even thinking where she was going.

She didn't even see John as she ran through him, but she felt him shudder because of it. She only stopped when she got to the bridge. Looking out into the black, she tried to think.

"You shouldn't be up here," she heard someone say to her.

"I know, River," Ivy said back to her. "But I don't know what I should do."

Ivy looked at River who stood next to her and River looked her back in the eye.

"You know you need to pick."

Ivy's eyes refocused onto the view outside the ship.

"I know," Ivy admitted. "But I can't. Not quite yet."

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Tuesday, March 31, 2009 4:12 PM

YESMYNAMEISKALI

Once John and the captain left the cargo bay, Evelyn glanced surreptitiously around for anyone else. Finding no one, she approached the only person around - her commanding officer.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, trying hard to make it sound like a simple question and not accusatory or anything.

-------------------------------------------------

"See, I've secretly been kind of a fan of me for some time now. I've seen everything I've ever done. I'd love to meet me, but I'd probably just stare and not be able to say anything witty or anything." -- Joss Whedon

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Tuesday, March 31, 2009 8:45 PM

Infirmary

Simon took out the last of the bullet fragments of the bullet that had struck her shoulder and started to patch it up. Pain had insisted that he do the best he could in order to make the scaring minimal. He told Simon that the four scars on her back were all that he could handle at the moment. Simon assured Pain that he would do his best, but there would be a possibility of some slight and rather faint scaring.

As Simon closed up the wound and sanitized the tools, he looked at the bag of synthetic blood hooked up above Ivy. It was about a third of the way gone. Luckily the records indicated that Mal was a match for her blood type, so he would have to call him in for a transfusion. But right now that could wait as Pain's wound needed his attention right now. He removed the blood soaked piece of shirt Pain had used to bandage it and discarded it into the trash can.

He looked at it thoroughly from both sides and said to Pain, "Looks like it just went through the muscle and didn't hit bone. I should be able to patch it up with no problem, but you're going to be a little weak due to the blood loss. I suggest you stay here for a while for observation."

"That's fine by me, doc." replied Pain as he looked over at Ivy, a blanket covering her up to her neck. "I've got nowhere more important to be other than here."

His eyes looked over her covered body. She was hooked up to various machines, all keeping stats on her vitals. Simon even had her hooked up to a ventilator. Pain watched as it moved up and down in tune to her breathing.

Turning his attention to Simon, Pain winced as Simon worked on him and asked, "Ho..OW! How is she, doc?"

"Stable for now." replied Simon, deeply involved in his work. There weren't any bullet fragments to remove which was good. That meant it was just a straight patch and mend job.

As Simon resumed his work, he continued, "She'll be unconscious for some time and I'll need to monitor her." Putting his instruments aside, he examined his work and said, "There finished. Let me put a covering over that. Just take it easy for a few days and it should be fine."

"Thanks." replied Pain as Simon wrapped a dressing over Pain's wound.

"It's my job." replied Simon, giving the bandage a once over, before checking on Ivy again.

Once he saw that she was doing OK, Simon left the infirmary to go tell Mal that his blood type matched Ivy's. Pain looked at her and walked over to her, taking a seat next to her. His right hand found hers' and gave it a squeeze. He winced at the pain that emanated from his patched up wound. He should've asked for something to numb it, but he refused, seeing that the pain would remind him of what he got Ivy into. Pain looked at her laying there until he heard footsteps enter the infirmary. Looking up, he saw that it was River.

"You need to call him." she said to him from the doorway.

"Call who?" Pain asked.

"Grayson." River replied back, stepping closer to Pain. Sticking out her hand she held Ivy's CorPad. "You can reach him on this. He needs to know."

"But won't Mal be a little on the fence about me callin' a Fed? Especially if'n it's to come aboard his ship?" Pain asked, an eyebrow raised at the mind reader. "He ain't exactly keen on havin' Feds traipsin' about on his boat."

"He'll get over it." she replied, placing the device next to Pain and Ivy's hand. Looking into Pain's eyes, River tilted her head a little and said, "You should call him now. Not much time before Captain Daddy comes in."

She started to leave before pausing in the doorway and saying to the big mercenary, "She loves you too."

After Pain watched River leave, he turned his attention to the CorPad next to Ivy. Picking it up in his left hand, Pain turned it on and searched for Grayson's contact info. Finding it, he took a few breaths and cleared his throat.

Gnawing at his lower lip, Pain pressed a button and said as the screen lit up and Grayson's face appeared, "Hello, Grayson, I need to talk to you."

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Wednesday, April 1, 2009 10:14 AM

"What's wrong?" Grayson asked. He knew there was no other reason that this man. This man named Pain would be calling. "Did she have an episode because you convinced her that she'd be OK where she wasn't professionally monitored?"

The disdain for Pain dripped from Grayson's words. He hated Pain. He knew Ivy wasn't safe with Pain. He had no idea.

Pain closed his eyes ad took a deep breath before opening them. This was going to be hard.

"I just want you to know I love her. With all my being," Pain started.

"It's more than that isn't it?" Grayson asked, guessing that Ivy's situation was worse than he expected.

"She's been hurt... badly," Pain whispered.

"How bad?" Grayson asked as his eyes narrowed.

Pain felt a lump form in his throat. He couldn't quite form the words.

"HOW bad?" Grayson asked very firmly.

"Her heart had stopped, but we have a good doc here. It took a while, but he got her back. She seems stable now, but it's not good. She could still... she could still..." he couldn't finish it.

The color drained from Grayson's face as he sat there silent for a bit.

"How?" Grayson finally asked.

Pain swallowed again and closed his eyes. It was all his fault. She was this way because he couldn't protect her. She was in his world and she shouldn't have been. She didn't belong there with the guns, grenades and people shooting at her. It was all his fault.

"She was... shot," Pain told him, wiping unshed tears from his eyes. "Three times. I'm sorry-"

Grayson's features changed from shock to utter rage. He flipped a couple of switches on his console.

"I've tagged your current position and pulse beacon," he stated flatly. "I'll be there in... *caculating distance* 6 hours."

Pain nodded. Grayson looked at him like he wanted to reach through the screen and throttle him.

"She dies and I will end you, dong ma?"

"Dang ran," Pain answered as the wave was cut off on Grayson's end.

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Wednesday, April 1, 2009 1:03 PM

"Really?" John had walked to the infirmary to make sure everything was ok, and had found
Pain waving Grayson. "Of all the things to do while waiting for your lady love to wake up, you call him? In what twisted reality was that a good idea?" John was furious. The last time he had seen this man he had almost been shot. And now, if John had heard correctly, he was coming here. "Also, I hope your ready to say goodbye to her, because he'll ask the captain for her, and he'll give her to him."

johnttf

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Wednesday, April 1, 2009 5:55 PM

Infirmary

Quote:
Originally posted by johnthetheatrefreak:
"Really?" John had walked to the infirmary to make sure everything was ok, and had found
Pain waving Grayson. "Of all the things to do while waiting for your lady love to wake up, you call him? In what twisted reality was that a good idea?" John was furious. The last time he had seen this man he had almost been shot. And now, if John had heard correctly, he was coming here. "Also, I hope your ready to say goodbye to her, because he'll ask the captain for her, and he'll give her to him."

"You certain the captain would do that?" Pain asked, shooting the empath a glare as he pocketed Ivy's CorPad. He stood up and winced as he let go of Ivy's hand. Taking a step closer to John, Pain continued, "After all it was Ivy who risked her life to head back to the Command Center and established the landlock on the other ship. If she hadn't done that, the other ship would've gotten away with the goods."

Pain bared down on the other man, waves of anger emanating from him as he managed to seethe out, "And for your information, it was River who suggested I call him. You got beef with that, you take it up with her. Hell, take it up with the captain too. I'll gladly repeat to him what I just told you about what she did. And believe me, I hate Grayson as much as the next man and I sure as Hell ain't goin' to let him take her back with him, but both River and I think he needs to be here.." His eyes drifted back to Ivy and the anger left his voice, being replaced with guilt and sadness, as he finished what he was saying, "..for her."

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Thursday, April 2, 2009 11:51 AM

John felt the anger from the man, but it had been a long time since anger intimidated him. "Firstly, it takes more than one show of heroism to convince the captain to trust someone. Secondly, River and I will have a chat later because I can't seem to find a reason he needs to be here except to cause trouble."

John was getting a little sick of Ivy and her secrets, Pain's seemingly blind trust, and River treating the crew like a bunch of marrionettes she could just manipulate as she deemed neccesary. He was already angry enough to have to deal with Doc again.

johnttf

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Saturday, April 4, 2009 1:43 PM

Infirmary

Quote:
Originally posted by johnthetheatrefreak:
John felt the anger from the man, but it had been a long time since anger intimidated him. "Firstly, it takes more than one show of heroism to convince the captain to trust someone. Secondly, River and I will have a chat later because I can't seem to find a reason he needs to be here except to cause trouble."

"I'm sure there's plenty of people on his boat here to hold him back should that happen, although I'm pretty sure I deserve whatever punches or bullets he may throw my way." replied Pain, walking back over to Ivy and sitting down at her side. He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze as he looked at her and continued, "I'll take total responsibility for this. For gettin' her shot up and bringin' a Fed onboard, and I'll fully understand if'n Mal wants me off this boat afterwards. Speakin' of Mal, the doc says he's a match for her blood type. Needs him to come in to participate in a blood transfusion. So just in case the doctor hasn't told him that yet, you might want to if'n you run into him."

His eyes drifted from her face and traveled down to the tattoo on her wrist. It was an intricate pattern with flowers and ivy leaves about an inch wide encircling her wrist. She told him about it on their date at the restaurant with the holo-minstrel and he had seen it many times after that as they made love to one another. He never got a very close look at it before. Peering closer at it, Pain could vaguely make out some numbers hidden beneath it. The more her looked at them, the more he could see them. He was able to make out the last four digits.

"3459. Wonder what they mean" he mused to himself as he looked at them. "Hmmmm. Does Grayson know about these and would he tell me if'n I asked?"

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Sunday, April 5, 2009 10:26 PM

Ivy looked out of the cockpit window for a while until she realized she had to go back down to the cargo bay area to make her decision.

When she stepped onto the highest catwalk, she saw the light again. The light where the cargo bay doors should be. And her father standing there waiting for her, welcoming her. It would be so easy to run into his arms. He always made her feel safe, after all, she was his little girl.

She walked slowly down until she could look into the infirmary. John and Pain were fighting although she couldn't make out what. Something about a fed.

Could they still think she was a fed?

Then she heard Pain say how he was responsible for what happened to her. Her heart broke and she went to stand next to him.

"It wasn't your fault, bao bei," she told him, even though she knew he couldn't hear her. "Don't ever think it was your fault cause it wasn't."

As she stood there, she felt such sadness. Pain looked so distraught and full of grief.

If she chose the light, would he be OK?

She looked down at herself and it was like looking at a mannequin. This body on the table didn't feel like her own. It didn't look like her. Was that because she was standing next to it instead being in it?

She looked over at Pain again, who was intently looking at the tattoo on her wrist.

Quote:
Originally posted by DRPAIN:
"3459. Wonder what they mean"

"No. no. no. no. no. no!" she said over and over as she started to panic. "He can't find out, he can't know!"

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Thursday, April 9, 2009 2:15 AM

'Where do I go? What do I do?' My mind awhirl I stood in the cargo bay not noticing as I was soon left on my own.
'Alright Doc. Let's get it together now. First things first. Where is this boat headed?' I tried to think logically and plan, but the shocks from before, like seeing John again, were just building up.
"I can't believe they murdered my ship. No! Concentrate. What is most important? Can I still be Elizabeth Reaser? Or will I have to run again, and how far?" I muttered to myself. I wasn't however so absorbed in my thoughts that it escaped my notice when someone walked up to me.
"What are you doing here?"she asked. I could think of only one thing to say.
"They killed my ship." I could here the tremmer as my voice shook.
"No what are you doing here?" John choose that moment to walk up.
"Yes. What were you doing in that building?" Turning to face him I managed to pull myself together enough for my usual snarky tone.
"You were on my planet. It is on my planet. Which you were still on."
"So...you were following us." Evelyn choose that moment to ask what was really on her mind.
"Then what am I doing here?" I replyed with the absolute truth.
"Your job. Because as soon as this piece of shit hits land I'm getting off of it."

It is the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting

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Saturday, April 11, 2009 8:31 PM

Infirmary

"3459." Pain repeated mentally to himself.

He tried to see if there were anymore numbers he could spot underneath the tattoo, but they were obscured by the tattoo's patterns. Pain let out a sigh and looked at Ivy's CorPad. The more he looked at the device and ran the number in his head, the more he thought about seeing if there was anything on the Cortex about it. Grabbing the device, Pain turned it on and went to work.

He first typed in the number into the search field and pressed 'Enter'. Much to Pain's disappointment, the first attempt brought up lots of stuff, but nothing of use to him. There were literally millions upon millions of hits for 3459, ranging from addresses to Cortex protocols to even a couple of pornographic sites. Pain muttered something and reset the search terms.

He thought about it and remembered the scars on Ivy's back. On a whim he typed in the number and scars in the search field and hit 'Enter' once more. He scrolled down through the results and flipped through the pages. It wasn't until he got to the tenth page or so that the color drained from his face and his jaw slackened. He clicked on that one result and was shocked to read what he saw.

Pain swallowed the lump in his throat and felt a wave of nauseousness hit him like a brick. He set the CorPad down next to Ivy's side looked over at her face.

Brushing a strand of hair from her face, he choked back the tears starting to form and whispered to her, "Why didn't you tell me about this, baobei? Why didn't you tell me that you were once a slave? Was that why you didn't want to talk about your scars on your back?" He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. Giving it a kiss, he continued, "I wish you were awake to tell me, baobei."

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Sunday, April 12, 2009 3:59 AM

John was furious. Everything was just being so stupid. Here he was stuck on a ship with all of these...'Calm down John,' he thought to himself as Doc stood angry. "I'd appreciate if you didn't call my home, which probably saved your life, a piece of go se." he was so sick of all this.

BEFORE:

River sat in the pilot's chair staring into the black. "She's not here" she said as John entered.

"Well the she I'm looking for sure is," he said standing in the doorway.

"Is she?"

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Seeing."

"Don't give me any of your cryptic crap right now. We're beyond that. You can just control people like this."

"Can you see?"

"River, please. You need to stop this. You're better than this. We're not your little play things. And just because you no the ending doesn't mean you should spoil it for the rest of us. You know things people shouldn't know, and that's a burden, but I honestly thought you knew where the line was."

"Lines were made to cross. You have"

"River stop!" River still did not turn to face him. "Congratulations River Tam. You're exactly what they wanted you to be."

johnttf

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Sunday, April 12, 2009 11:50 AM

I tried to ignore John's precence, and his comments, but he was determined to not let me.
"I don't want you here." His cold tone made me turn back.
"Then why didn't you leave me to my revenge?" He seemed suprised by my resonce, and his words reflected that.
"I couldn't leave you to die." Now that suprised me. 'He couldn't leave me to die? Bull, that's absolutle bull.' I desided to call him on it.
"Why not? You've done it before." Now he seemed to get mad.
"Fine." He retorted, he voice agrivated. "Maybe next time I will. It's not like I actually care if you live. It's not as if anyone in my family actually cares if you live."
His words felt like a blow to my gut. I resested the desire to physically fold over at the force of his words. The cargo bay disolved into a shadowland. Pushing back the oncoming chaos, my suroundings begain to emerge from the shadows. 'I have to say somthing. John can't know what his words can, have, done to me.' I willed my vocal cords to work, my voice to be steady, and my tone to be snarky.
"Maybe next time you should." My voice came out pale and weak. If John made a reply it was lost and distorted in the haze converging in my mind. John's words circled and pierced me again and again their jagged teeth leaving gapping wounds. 'not as if anyone in my family actually cares if you live' I knew of only one way to stop the words from attacking. I stumbled to where the door, and the engine room, should be.

It is the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting

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Sunday, April 12, 2009 4:48 PM

The Infirmary

Tears ran down her face. Pain now knew.

He knew.

Quote:
Originally posted by DRPAIN:
"Why didn't you tell me that you were once a slave?"

"I didn't want you to know," Ivy said through the tears and pain. She looked down at her body which was barely hanging on to life. Even though she spoke, Pain couldn't hear her in any physical sense, but it was like he was in tune with her emotionally.

"Did you think I wouldn't want to know?" he asked her softly.

"You'd know that I was even more broken than you thought," ghostly Ivy spoke. Pain was so in tune with what she felt that she almost thought he could hear her.

"I told you that I didn't care why you are the way you are," he said softly, tenderly touching her face. "I love you... both of you... and everything that comes with it."

"You'd think I was weak. That I should've fought harder to keep them from taking me."

"You're strong, Ivy," Pain assured her, hoping and praying that she could hear him. "And those people... slavers... they're ruthless. I don't think any less of you."

"But there is more..." she said slinking back away from Pain and her body that lay on the table. "There is so much more... Much worse than you can imagine..."

Ivy retreated into the shadows, glancing at the light at the cargo bay doors then back at Pain, confusion creeping into her mind.

"Just come back to me, Ivy," Pain whispered into her ear. "I will help you through everything. When you don't feel strong enough, I will be there to pick up the slack. Just come back, bao bei."

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Monday, April 13, 2009 6:36 PM

Simon found Mal on the bridge, looking out into the black. Mal had just came up, missing John and River's argument.

"How is she?" Mal asked Simon.

"Barely hanging on. She needs some blood and you're her type."

Mal nodded.

"I'll be down in a moment."

"I'm gonna grab some protein bars and a drink for Pain. After that, I'll be down there."

Simon left to handle his tasks.

"River? What were John and you fighting about?" Mal asked.

"He doesn't feel. His emotions are getting in the away."

"Hmm..." Mal said as started to leave. He didn't quite understand what she meant, but John did seem a little on edge. He'd have to ask him about it later.

"He's early," River said quietly.

"What'd you say, River?" Mal asked stopping by the door.

Over the comm, a man's voice was heard.

"This is Grayson Cornwell of the Law Enforcement Vessel 7767A. I will be docking in five minutes."

"What in the rutting Hell?" Mal exclaimed, returning to the console. "The feds found out about the cargo already? Can we outrun him?"

"We could, but Pain needs him."

"Pain needs..." Mal echoed. Then he remembered where he had heard the name before. "Ivy's Fed friend. Did Pain call him?"

"Yes."

Mal clenched his fists and left, making a direct path to the infirmary, passing Simon in the galley as he did. When he arrived at the infirmary, he found Pain sitting next to Ivy, whispering into her ear. He grabbed Pain by the shirt and pushed his chair away from Ivy's side, the wheels squeeking as he did.

"Would you care to tell me why you invited a lawman on board this ship without permission, especially since we have questionable cargo on board?"

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Monday, April 13, 2009 8:04 PM

Infirmary

Quote:
Originally posted by GraysonCornwell:
"Would you care to tell me why you invited a lawman on board this ship without permission, especially since we have questionable cargo on board?"

"Because he needed to know about her condition and how she got that way, sir." replied Pain as he locked eyes with Mal.

"What did you tell him exactly?" Mal asked, pinning Pain against the wall.

"Just that she got shot." spat Pain. "I didn't tell him about the job or the ruttin' cargo. Do you think I'm that gorramn stupid?"

"Well in case of current events, yes I do." replied Mal, his hands still clenching Pain's shirt. "Give me one good gorramn reason not to space you and let Grayson take her with him."

"You wouldn't dare." growled Pain, his nostrils flaring and his eyes squinting at Mal in a menacing stare.

"Try me." Mal replied, still not letting go of Pain.

"She was the one who put up the land lock on the other ship." Pain pointed out to Mal. "If'n she hadn't done that, the other crew would've gotten away with the cargo."

"That may be true, but that ain't exactly good enough for me to consider lettin' her stay aboard." replied Mal. "Not after her little stunt got her filled with lead."

"She wanted to help." Pain spat back. "She wanted to show you she could be useful and be part of the team."

"Yeah? Well she has a funny way of showin' it." retorted Mal.

Pain was angry now. He grabbed Mal's arms and forced them off of him. He clenched his left fist and took a swing at the man, his fist connecting with Mal's cheek. It wasn't hard enough to lay the captain out cold on the floor, but it was powerful enough to make him stagger back from Pain, clenching his jaw with one hand.

"That's how you wanna play then, Pain?" Mal asked, rubbing his jaw. "Fine. We'll play it like that."

The two men closed the distance between each other in mere seconds. Blows landed here and there as they fought. There was a struggle as they both grabbed each others' hands, trying to prevent the other from using them. In an odd sense, Pain and Mal looked as if they were dancing while trying to gain control over one another. Mal let out a grunt and kicked Pain in the shin. Pain let out a pained grunt through clenched teeth and returned the favor. Mal howled and kneed Pain in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to fall to the floor on him hands in knees.

"So, Pain?" Mal asked as he picked up Pain by the collar of his shirt. Ducking a swing from the mercenary, Mal continued as they traded blows, "You got a good reason for me to let her stay aboard or do you just want to keep this up until Grayson arrives in a few minutes?"

Pain was at the foot of the exam chair that Ivy was laying in. He was battered, bruised, and bloody from the scuffle. Every part of him hurt from head to toe. He looked at the CorPad still at Ivy's side as he rasped for breath and grabbed it. He hefted it in his hand before turning to look at the captain.

"Yeah." replied Pain as he wiped some blood from the side of his mouth with the back of a hand. "There is." He tossed the CorPad to Mal and as the other man caught it, Pain continued, "She used to be a slave. Got the whip marks on her back and the number on her wrist underneath her tattoo to prove it."

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Saturday, April 18, 2009 1:17 PM

Ivy stood in the corner of the room as Pain and Mal's confrontation came to blows. Tears ran down her face as she sobbed.

"Stop!" she pleaded, but they couldn't hear her. "Please stop!"

She slid to the floor as the melee continued. It finally ended with Pain tossing her CorPad at Mal and announcing what he had found. Now someone else knew what she was. A slave.

Dumbfounded, Mal gaped at the screen.

"Are you sure of this?" he asked Pain.

"Gorram it, Mal! Look at the screen!" Pain yelled at him. "She is who she says she is. She's no fed. She ain't trying to sell us out. She's just looking to gain her life back."

"And Grayson?"

"He's who he says he is too. Yes, he is a lawman. But he loves Ivy like his own kid. He's just wanting to look after her."

Mal touched the screen and a newsfeed played.

"Today, a location that used human slavery was found on Greenleaf. The compound is believed to be a base for blackmarket drugs. A large building that may have been used to house the slaves was found burned to the ground. Three bodies were found in the rubble.

The rest of the compound was found vacant, apparently evacuated. Only one woman was found on site alive, we do not have her identity yet, but sources say that she had been a slave at this location for four months. She had been physically abused, including large scars on her back from a whip. Her psychological state is tenuous... Wait! Here they come..."

"Miss! Miss! What's your name? What was your role there? Do you know who kept you captive? Where did the scars come from?"

Throughout the shouts of questions, Grayson Cromwell could seen carrying her broken form past the reporters towards a law enforcement ship located on the dock.

"Leave her alone!" he was growling as the look on his face showed deep concern for her well being while at the same time the hatred of this new group who were assaulting Ivy.

The one thing that Pain could hear plainly were the sounds of Ivy's tortured sobs.

"Turn it off!" he said, plainly disturbed by the feed. "Gorram it Mal, turn it off!"

Mal turned it off and looked onto Ivy's still form with this new knowledge and softened.

It was then that they noticed John standing in the doorway, nearly frozen with empathy, he looked straight at where Ivy's spirit was sitting, feeling like something was there.

Upstairs in the cockpit, tears ran down Rivers face.

Ivy thought about the physical abuse alone that Pain had endured on her behalf since she'd arrived. 13 and he got into a fight and now there was Mal. He had taken beatings both times and because of her presence on the job, she probably played a large role in his getting shot. It wasn't good. She wasn't good for him. She looked at the light in the cargo bay and the form of her father beckoning her. And it was looking like a much better decision. Everyone, including Pain, would be better off without her.

But she couldn't leave. Not quite yet. So she just sat there, crying.

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Monday, April 20, 2009 1:31 PM

John broke the silence. He felt sorry for the girl. Slavery was a bad card to draw.

"Look, it sucks to be her, sure. But if anything, that's just more of a reason to get her off our boat."

"How can you possibly say that!" Pain said getting angry.

"She's branded people could be after her."

"John, do you really think that?" the captain asked.

"Yes."

"Are you really that heartless! She was a slave!" Pain yelled.

John turned to leave stopping in the doorway. "So she was a slave. So she's been through go se. Doesn't make her special. Just makes her human. Captain if you want her to stay I'll respect that."

John left the room and returned to the cargo bay. He pulled a gun from his belt and sat with a clear view of the door. When Grayson got here, John planned to make him leave as soon as possible.

johnttf

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Monday, April 20, 2009 7:28 PM

Infirmary

Pain wanted to punch the man's lights out, but the fight with him and Mal plus the guilt of putting Ivy in a situation which had gotten her shot, not to mention the recent revelation that she was a slave, proved too much for Pain's mind to handle. The room started to spin a little and he had to sit down. Taking Ivy's hand in his, he rubbed it gently as he looked at her face, a tear slowly falling from his eye and weaving a trail down his cheek.

"I'm sorry, baobei." he whispered to her, planting a kiss on her cheek. He didn't know if she could hear him or not, but he hoped she did. "I'm sorry for gettin' you shot. I'm sorry for gettin' into a fight with the captain over whether to keep you onboard or not. Please forgive me."

Pain leaned down and touched her forehead with his just as there was a soft jolt outside the ship, indicating that a ship had just coupled with Serenity's airlock. Over the blare of the klaxons, River said over the comm, "He's here."

Mal stood in the doorway and looked back at Pain. He stood there for a short moment before asking, "Pain, you comin'?"

Pain shook his head, his sights not leaving Ivy's face as he solemnly answered, "No. I'm stayin' here by Ivy's side."

"Alright then." replied Mal before leaving for the cargo bay to join the others already in there.

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Monday, April 20, 2009 8:10 PM

Mal had left to stand guard at the airlock after he learned of Ivy's past. He still didn't trust Grayson, nor was he past being angry with Pain, but he understood. So he was letting the lawman board Serenity.

Pain sat in the infirmary, his hand wrapped around Ivy's. He kissed the back of her hand and sighed.

"I'm sorry, bao bei,” he whispered. “This is all my fault. I shoulda never let you come. Now you’re…”

He looked down at her. She was all bandaged up, her hand was cool to his touch and she was hooked up to a machine that was breathing for her. Most of all, she looked so small. What he wouldn’t do just to hear her voice and see her smile just one more time.

“I’m sorry,” he said again.

After Grayson docked, he came charging through the airlock. He took one look at Mal, then at John and at Jayne, who was also standing nearby.

“Where is she?” he asked gruffly, not at all intimidated by the crew.

“Before I let you completely on board, I need to set some ground rules-” Mal started.

Quicker than quick, Grayson had stepped into Mal’s personal space and was literally standing toe to toe with the man.

“You listen to me, Captain,” he snarled, his hand resting on his sidearm, but not drawing it. “I could care less if you had stolen the King of Londinium’s shiny crown and had a boat load of oompa loompas building a chocolate river in here, WHERE. IS. SHE?”

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Tuesday, April 21, 2009 11:02 AM

"Back of buddy," John said from behind the captain, "Your rescued slave girl is safe and sound in the arms of her doting and pathetic lover." He was so sick of them. Even now John could feel Pain's remorse flooding from the engine room. Blaming himself. She was a big girl, a big girl who needed to grow up and realize that if she continued to rely upon Tommy, Grayson, or Pain for the rest of her life, she would never be anyone.
John felt bad for feeling this way but it was true in his mind.

"Captain, is Ivy staying or going?"

johnttf

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Tuesday, April 21, 2009 2:25 PM

Mal pointed to the infirmary as Grayson backed off and stalked off that way.

Quote:
Originally posted by johnthetheatrefreak:
"Captain, is Ivy staying or going?"

“She’ll stay… for now,” Mal told John. “Not like we can move her right now anyhow.”

Mal motioned John and Jayne closer as they started to follow him.

“That man’s gonna kill Pain,” he whispered. “Let’s make sure he don’t.”

Pain heard the footsteps coming and he knew who it was. Slowly, he stood up and turned towards the man.

“YOU GORRAM SON OF A BITCH!” Grayson yelled as his fist connected with Pain’s jaw.

Pain just took it. Grayson threw another punch that connected with his cheek and again Pain just took it.

Mal and Jayne grabbed Grayson from behind and pulled him backwards out of the infirmary, while John stayed back, ready with his gun. They pinned him on the floor and Mal leaned in really close.

“Now, lawman,” he sneered. “That’s ground rule #1. Don’t. Hurt. My. Crew. We have an understanding? Cause the way I see it? You might be able to hurt one of us, but I have some pretty capable folk on this boat.”

The sound of Zoe’s gun cocking from above was heard, plus John stepped into view, gun in hand too. Grayson stilled and looked up to see Zoe standing a few steps up on the stairway.

“Yep, and she’d be one of them. Ground rule #2 is no guns.,” Mal continued as he relieved Grayson of his sidearm and started patting him down to make sure he didn’t have any more. “And lastly, Rule #3 is that you mind while you are on my ship.”

“Yeah, he ain’t to happy ‘bout you being here anyways,” Jayne added.

“That I ain’t,” Mal agreed. He let Grayson up. “Now that little girl is in there fighting for her life and that man with her loves her. Play. Nice. Dong ma?”

Grayson grunted and walked back into the infirmary, where Pain had taken up vigil at her side again. He looked down at Ivy. His face softened considerably. He came up to her side and took the hand Pain wasn’t holding.

“I’m sorry,” Pain said softly.

“She dies and I will end you,” Grayson told him with definite hatred in his voice.

“S’not playin’ nice, law man,” Jayne said from the doorway.

“I want to speak with your doctor.”

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Tuesday, April 21, 2009 7:16 PM

Infirmary

Quote:
Originally posted by GraysonCornwell:
“I want to speak with your doctor.”

"That would be me." replied Simon, stepping into the infirmary after seeing the ruckus that had been caused. He looked at Pain and then back at Grayson and added as he walked over to Ivy and checked her vitals, "If you're done assaulting the crew members aboard this ship, what may I ask do you want to speak about?"

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Sunday, April 26, 2009 6:03 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by GraysonCornwell:
“YOU GORRAM SON OF A BITCH!” Grayson yelled as his fist connected with Pain’s jaw.

Ivy jumped at the sound of Grayson's voice.

Grayson was there. Why was Grayson there? Grayson will blame Pain. Grayson would hurt Pain and the punch just confirmed it.

"Stop it, Stop it!" she cried out, but no one could hear her.

Quote:
Originally posted by GraysonCornwell:
Pain just took it. Grayson threw another punch that connected with his cheek and again Pain just took it.

Luckily, Mal and the others stepped in. She guessed the Captain did look after his own and it drove home the point even more - she wasn't one of his own.

She looked out at the light... and her father.

Quote:
Originally posted by GraysonCornwell:
“I’m sorry,” Pain said softly.

“She dies and I will end you,” Grayson told him with definite hatred in his voice.

"I've messed things up..." she whispered to herself. "I should have stayed at my old job with my old life. Should have let Grayson handle things. I should have stayed numb.

"But he made me feel... wanted and alive. And now it just... hurts."

She looked out at the light again and smiled.

And Ivy's heart skipped a few beats.

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Wednesday, April 29, 2009 1:59 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DRPAIN:
"If you're done assaulting the crew members aboard this ship, what may I ask do you want to speak about?"

"I want to talk to you about Toms' condition. Er... I mean Ivy's condition. It been a while since I called her anything but Toms."

"She was shot three times," Simon said as he checked her pupils with a pen light. He stood up and pointed out each wound. "First one went in here and collapsed a lung. Second one nicked her aorta. We were lucky that it was a small nick. If the bullet had hit anywhere closer, she would have bled out in a matter of minutes."

Simon pointed out the last wound.

"This one was a shoulder wound. The lesser of the three."

Pain had gotten quiet and was just resting his forehead on her hand. Grayson turned around to face Mal.

"When will we be docking with the nearest ship with medical facilities? I can get us clearance wherever we need it."

"Not going to happen," Mal informed him. "Not real fond of any big government boats."

"Well, I can't exactly leave her here under the care of your... medic," Grayson said, his concern for Ivy palpable. He turned to Simon. "Are you even a doctor?"

Simon smirked a little at the comment as he went about checking Ivy over some more.

"I can assure you, Grayson, that she is in more than capable hands," Mal told him. "If he wasn't a skilled surgeon, you'd be taking a body back with you right now."

Grayson turned back to regard Simon.

"I'm sorry if I don't quite believe you," Grayson said. "Why would a skilled surgeon be on a ship like this?"

Grayson thought a little more.

"Unless you're hiding something..." he followed up. Grayson studied him for a moment. Simon seemed to tense up a bit. This doctor suddenly looked... familiar.

But his thoughts were quickly pushed aside when Ivy's heart rate became erratic. Pain looked up at Ivy's face, his expression fearful.

"Get back!" Simon ordered as he pushed everyone aside and started working on Ivy.

"What's wrong?" Grayson asked as he watched Simon move about with the definite confidence of a professional. "What's WRONG?"

"Captain, I need to work..." Simon calmly stated. He scanned her heart and went to a drawer. He pulled out some medication, loaded it into a jet injector and administered it straight into her neck. Almost immediately, her heart rate resumed a normal rhythm. "She needs to rest. All this activity has been taxing on her."

"Let's go upto the galley and let her rest. Maybe get something to eat or drink," Mal said as he pulled Grayson out of the infirmary. "We all need to calm down a bit. He'll come get us when there's anything to report."

Mal noticed that Pain had yet to move.

"That means you too, Pain," Mal ordered softly as he stepped back inside the infirmary and laid a hand on the big man's shoulder. "Simon'll watch her for you."

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Wednesday, April 29, 2009 7:29 PM

Infirmary

Quote:
Originally posted by GraysonCornwell:
"That means you too, Pain," Mal ordered softly as he stepped back inside the infirmary and laid a hand on the big man's shoulder. "Simon'll watch her for you."

Pain stood up, picking up her gun and placed a kiss on Ivy's forehead. He stood there looking at her for a minute before putting her gun in his waistband and leaving the infirmary. He didn't want to go and leave her side, but the captain had insisted and right now Pain wasn't in the mood to argue. He decided to go to his bunk and put away his guns while Simon worked on keeping Ivy alive. Pain watched Simon as he made his way up the stairs and then focused his eyes on the metal grating of the stairs once they were out of his sight. As he rounded the corner, he made a bee line to his bunk, not stopping to chat to those in the galley.

Pain and Ivy's Bunk

Pain climbed down the ladder and closed the hatch behind him. He slowly walked over to the weapons locker and opened the doors, slowly putting his guns and gear away as well as Ivy's gun. He didn't care that he didn't put them in their respectful places. As long as they were inside the locker was just fine to him. However he did take special care in placing her gun inside the locker. As he took the last piece of gear off, he closed the door and sat on the bed, burying his face in the palms of his hands. He sat there for who knew how long, sobbing and letting his emotions out.

Finally Pain stopped and got up off the bed. He walked over to the sink and pulled it out. Turning it on, he let the warm water flow through his fingers before dousing his face with the warm water. Sliding the sink back into the wall, Pain stood there looking into the mirror. He took a few breaths and grabbed a towel, drying his eyes and face on it. Putting the towel back on the hook, Pain headed for the ladder and climbed up it.

Galley

Once he left the confines of his bunk, Pain took the farthest seat in the galley and sat down. He didn't want to talk to anybody. He just wanted to sit there by himself and hope Ivy pulled through.

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Thursday, April 30, 2009 3:57 PM

I felt my head clear as the pain in my arm flared. As I walked to the door, my arm was tilted to keep the blood running down my it from dripping on the floor. As I made my way to the infirmary, I luckly didn't run into anyone.
'Good' I thought. 'I don't want anyone to see me like this. To know.' The door to the infirmary was infront of me.
'Crap, John's here. Just get in, get it, and leave. No contact.' I told myself. I strided into the infirmary, determinatly ignoring whatever John said to me. I found the gauze I had come for, grabed it and exited the room in haste.

Wrapping my wrist I made my way to the galley. I was thirsty. I entered and got myself a glass of water. As I turned, I noticed Pain looking depressed. I hadn't paid enough attention in the infirmary. "So," I announced to the room, "is the idiot chick dead yet?"

It is the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting

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Thursday, April 30, 2009 8:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DocRagnarock:
"So, is the idiot chick dead yet?"

Before Doc could even get the glass of water to her lips, someone had grabbed her by the shirt and swung her against the wall.

"That idiot chick is still alive, which will be more than you will be if you don't shut up," Grayson snarled. He regarded her a little. "Hey! I know you!"

Grayson released her and backed away a couple of feet.

"You were the pō pó niáng who stopped me from searching this hunk of junk when we were dirtside! But you had to go and play games," Grayson continued. He clenched his teeth. "And I've never wanted to hit a woman before, but I am really close to wanting..."

Mal and Zoe pull Grayson back out of reach.

"Now let's just calm down," Mal said getting more than annoyed with the folk on his boat. As the words sunk in, he did a double take. "What do you mean by searching the ship when you were dirtside? You've been here before?"

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Thursday, April 30, 2009 10:52 PM

Dull pain radiated in my back complimenting the awnsering ache in my wrist and expounding my mental unbalance.
"Are you threatening me Cornwell? Because if you are, then I have to tell you that is one of the stupider things you have done. And that includes blowing me off and disobeying my orders planetside. And I never play games." The distain was clear in my voice.
I pushed myself off the wall that Cornwell had slamed me up against feeling the control that had been so carefuly regained wavering. It would hold. But I wasn't sure for how much longer, and I wasn't sure, when it fell, how much I would care.

Through the smiles and the tears, through the anger, and the laughter that follows...I know I will keep changing. This is my story.It'll be a good one.

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Friday, May 1, 2009 8:07 AM

As the others left, John remained in the infirmary watching Simon work. He paid little attention to Doc as she entered and left, they would need to talk later however.

He watched as Ivy held to life. He could feel her presence, slightly seperate from her body. He was no River, but he had some psychic abilities. Calling upon these and expecting no answer, he reached out to Ivy.

"Look, Ivy. We've had our differences, but it's time to wake up now. I respect what you tried to do, helping during the job, but if you don't come back, all that will be for nothing. I'd like to help you become whole again. I can feel how fractured you are, but I can't do that if I'm worried abou a fed hurting the crew. I can't do that if you're asleep." He meant what he said. He had been too hard on her, and everyone deserved second chances.

johnttf

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Friday, May 1, 2009 8:46 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by DocRagnarock:
"Are you threatening me Cornwell? Because if you are, then I have to tell you that is one of the stupider things you have done. And that includes blowing me off and disobeying my orders planetside. And I never play games."

"Hell, yes, I'm threatening you!" Grayson retorted as he lunged forward towards her again, managing to land a hand on her shoulder to push her backwards again. He snorted at her assertian that she outranked him. "Regarding disobeying your orders, you have no dominion over me and you know that."

And if it was possible, Grayson's face filled with even more disdain than before.

"And we all know you are a master at games, don't we?"

Mal swore under his breath and worked harder to keep the two Alliance people on his boat apart. Finally, tired of the whole thing, he pulled his sidearm and leveled at both of them.

"You!" he said looking at Grayson and motioning towards the end of the room where Pain was occupying. "Sit down there."

He turned to Doc.

"And you sit down here," he ordered. Neither Grayson nor Doc made any moves to comply. "NOW!"

It took the sound of Zoe's sidearm to get their attention and get them into their assigned places.

"Rule #3, people," Mal said through clenched teeth. "Is that you behave. You do something like this again and I'll have to revisit whether or not you'll be getting off my ship early."

Mal sat down across the table, but between the two of them. His gun still on the table as a warning.

"Would someone like to tell me why you all were even doing near my ship earlier?" Mal asked only to be answered by the silent glares Grayson and Doc were exchanging. "Now, I am about to lose all patience, so I am gonna say this really slow. What. Were. You. Doing?"

"I got a lead that Toms... er, Ivy... had boarded a Firefly," Grayson told Mal. "I knew she was in danger, I just didn't know how much.

"I tracked your merc back here. I'd seen him with a girl that was Toms' height and build. When asked, your people were less than helpful, so I called in a land lock and got the personell ready to search the place from top to bottom."

Mal shot an annoyed look at Zoe, knowing that she had to have been aware of what went on.

"You see I knew she was here. But then 'little-miss-self-absorbed' came along and recalled the soldiers I had planned on using, even though she had no right to do so. She was just posturing herself, trying to play top dog when she wasn't."

Grayson took a deep breath and softened a bit.

"And look where it got Toms. She'd be OK if I would have gotten her off then," Grayson told them. "Instead, she told me to go away because she wanted to choose her own path and move on with her life. Stand on her own two feet. She was so sure that her man would protect her. Well we saw where that got her. I should have made her tell me where she was and took her back where it was safe. Back to where I could watch her and make sure she got the care she needed."

River silently walked into the room.

"And back to where she could trade one type of slavery for another. Not being able to make her own decisions and having someone else run her life still made her a slave. She just changed geography."

Grayson whirled around to look at the person who suggested that he was in effect keeping Ivy a slave. He was about to open his mouth when seeing River made him snap his mouth shut. Now he was certain where he had seen the doctor who patched Ivy up was.

They were Simon and River Tam.

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Friday, May 1, 2009 11:21 AM

Ivy stood in the galley, witnessing the things around her.

Pain sat in the corner, lost in his own world. He seemed so sad and lost. She had done that to him. She was making him hurt and in turn, she hurt for him. Pain was replaying the job in his mind over and over again, looking for the point where he screwed up. If she lived, he would never let that mistake happen again.

Grayson and the other Alliance woman had come to blows over her. Mal and Zoe had to draw guns to break them up.

Then she heard Grayson's speech. He really thought she shouldn't have tried to be on her own. He didn't think she was ready to stand on her own two feet. Maybe he was right. Maybe he knew better than she did. But she couldn't go back. She had known freedom while on Serenity. She had Pain who made her feel welcome. But the others... If it wasn't for River and Kaylee, it would have been unbearable.

This was all wrong. There was too much pain and she had caused it all. She walked over to Pain and stroked his cheek. It caused him to shudder a little, then look around.

"I love you, Pain," she whispered in his ear and she left for the cargo bay.
*****
While Ivy was saying her goodbyes, River stiffened and whirled around to face Pain. Looking at the space around him, her hand came up to her chest.

"Ivy?" she asked softly.

At hearing her speak, Pain lifted his head sharply.

"What?" he asked sharply. "Did you feel something?"

"Just caught a glimpse," River said softly as she kept looking. "Haven't seen her since she came back. Just that once on the bridge."

"You've seen her since we got back?" Pain asked, not entirely sure he heard her right.

"She's confused. Been trying to decide."

Pain felt his heart quicken.

"Trying to decide what?" he asked, his heart in his throat.

"Whether or not to take the red pill or the blue," River murmured, her speech taking on a rather pre-Miranda tone. "Whether or not to go down the rabbit hole to where it is light."

"What?" came a voice from the other side of the room. It was Zoe. "She's trying to decide if she wants to live or die?"

Zoe was angry.

"Some people get the choice?" she asked. "And she has to think about it?"

Zoe scoffed and left the room, headed for her bunk. On the way, one more comment could be heard.

"Stupid rutting girl. Stupid."

Pain looked at Zoe's retreating form and back at River who had cocked her head to the side as if listening.

"You've known she's been wandering around the ship trying to decide and you didn't think we'd want to know?" Pain asked as he motioned slightly in Grayson's direction. He was getting a bit angry. "Why didn't you say anything?"

The rest of the room had changed their focus on the conversation that was developing.

"River?" Pain asked again, wanting an answer. "Why'd didn't you say anything?"

"She's decided..." River said, not much above a whisper.

Pain grabbed her arms and made her look at him, hoping she had good news. All it took was one look at her face to know that it wasn't good. Pain turned and sprinted for the infirmary, with Grayson not far behind him.
*****
In the infirmary, the monitors beeped, sounding the alarm that Ivy's heart rate was plummeting.

"No. no. no," whispered Simon as he started working on her faster. She flatlined as he worked trying to revive her, using the paddles several times. "Come on Ivy, stay with us..."

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Friday, May 1, 2009 5:25 PM

Ivy seemed to have not heard him. 'Whatever,' he thought, 'she's not worth it.' He could feel the fight from down in the infirmary. Doc causing problems, the fed getting defensive, Pain feeling guilty, and then Ivy flatlined. John knew the hell that would reign down if she died and was not ready to deal with it.

He reached out to her again, this time unitentionally speaking out loud. "No, No little girl. You don't get to do that." He walked closer to the table. "You have too men up there crazy over what's going to happen to you and I Know you're strong enough to hang on. So gorram wake up. Now."

Simon prepared the paddles. "I've never heard of ranting to patients as an effective technique," he said not looking up, "Clear." He pressed her paddles to her chest and she spasmed as the jolt coursed through her. Her heartbeat, however, did not react.

"She's giving up, Simon. She's stronger than this, I can feel it."

"Well I'm not giving up on her." Simon increased the voltage again. "But there's not much more I can do for her. Clear"

johnttf

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Friday, May 1, 2009 5:29 PM

I sat, all the while fumming internally,
'Little-miss-self-absorbed? He doesn't know me, none of them know the first thing about me!'
As Cornwell contiued his explination my anger was building and building untill I just couldn't keep it in any longer.
" Well, now that we've all heard you're nice little speach I think it's time I set somethings straight. One. I don't posture. Two. I am 'top dog', you can't even comprehend just how top dog I am. And third. You don't know me. None of you know me. Well, except John, but even he doesn't really know me. I am not 'little-miss' anything, even if I am a little self absorbed. Cornwell, don't you even dare try to blame what happens to the idiot girl on me. If she didn't know how to not get shot, then she never should have been on that job. And even if you have never wanted to hit a girl before now what's stoping you? Your lack of balls?"
I had stood up somting during my rate, and now strided twards the door. Reaching it, I nearly turned back, but I managed to pull together my control, and leave without shoting the man.

Through the smiles and the tears, through the anger, and the laughter that follows… I know I will keep changing. This is my story. It’ll be a good one.

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Friday, May 1, 2009 7:14 PM