Radio Nowhere, Chapter Twenty-Eight
Oct. 19th, 2008 11:11 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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firefly_fanfic
Title: Radio Nowhere
Author: Sarah-Beth (memorysdaughter)
Email: memorysdaughter@gmail.com
Summary: Fourteen years in the future, River takes a turn towards the more-crazy, leaving Serenity's crew to care for her daughter.
Series: Chapter Twenty-Eight
Rating: PG
Spoilers/Timeline: Post-BDM, except with two very important changes.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never have been, never will be. The title comes from a Bruce Springsteen song.
Chapters 1-27
Radio Nowhere
It was getting harder for Simon to breathe. Something about the small, dirty white coffin had knocked all of the air out of him. Without noticing, he had fallen to his knees before the coffin, his hands stroking the wood.
Next to him Kaylee was crooning painfully: “Daisy, Daisy…”
River’s voice overlapped: “Beck? Beck?”
Simon pulled at the lid, wiggling it on its rusted hinges.
“Hurry it up,” Gabriel Tam said.
Simon glared up at him, his eyes dark. “Until you bury your child… don’t you ask me to hurry.”
Momma? Momma, please!
The coffin felt rough under Simon’s palms, which seemed to be sweating. Carefully he raised the lid.
Whatever he was expecting, it wasn’t there. They had buried Daisy in an embroidered white dress, and there it was on the bottom of the coffin, along with what looked like clumps of dirt.
Before Simon could reach in, to touch what remained of his daughter, Gabriel Tam shoved him out of the way, reaching in with his bare hands.
“No!” Kaylee cried.
Always at the ready, Jayne scooped up the shovel from the ground and whacked Gabriel across the chest. The man crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
Avery and Chapman reached for their guns, but Jayne had already dropped the shovel and grabbed his sidearm, pointing at the private investigators. “Get on th’ ground,” Jayne ordered, waving his gun.
With nothing else to do, Avery and Chapman obliged.
“Doc, you ‘n Kaylee take as much time as y’ need,” Jayne said gruffly.
“Beck? Beck?”
“We’re gonna go look fer th’ ballerina,” Mal said. “Zo, you keep an eye on these dirt bags. We’ll be back. ‘Nara?”
“I’ll go with you,” Inara said.
“All right, albatross, tell us where th’ ballerina is,” Mal said, looking down at River.
“Beck?”
Momma, there’s too much water here!
“Water?” River asked.
“Water,” Mal repeated.
Momma, I don’t want to drown!
“There’s a lake to the east of Tupping Forest,” Inara said. “Is she there?”
Momma, Aunt Kaylee sounded mad.
“No strawberries here, Beck,” River said.
“What is she talkin’ ‘bout?” Mal asked Inara.
River pushed at Mal’s chest, trying unsuccessfully to get away from him. “Go… get… Beck.”
On the other side of the clearing, Regan Tam appeared, pushing Beck’s wheelchair. She saw Gabriel slumped on the ground. “Gabriel!”
She ran forward, pushing through the veritable wall that was Avery and Chapman. At the same time, River managed to break free from Mal, and stumbled across the clearing towards her daughter.
“What did you do to him?” Regan demanded, falling down next to her husband.
“Jayne may have whacked him with a shovel,” Zoë said frankly.
“Why would he do such a thing?”
“Because he’s a stupid, heartless git,” Jayne answered promptly.
“Oh!” Regan cried. “It was completely unnecessary! He’s only… he’s only trying to do good work.”
Momma! She’s here! She’s here! Did you see her?
“Nobody else here, Beck,” River said, her hands running over Beck’s face, searching, caressing, feeling. Finally she found the small scar she was looking for, behind Beck’s small ear. “Hurt over in a minute, Beck.”
Quickly she picked the scab from the cut and gently pulled the computer chip from behind Beck’s ear.
No, Momma, I saw her! She’s down by the lake!
“Who, Beck?”
Daisy!
“Ma’am, let me handle this,” Avery said, and stepped forward. With one muscular arm he rolled Gabriel Tam over and patted his employer’s face. “Mr. Tam?”
Gabriel groaned.
“Daisy’s right here,” River said, and pointed to the coffin.
No, Momma!
“Arrest them!” Gabriel managed to grunt, waving his arm in the general direction of Jayne and Mal.
“Gabriel, do they… do they know?” Regan Tam asked, leaning in towards her husband.
Gabriel struggled into a sitting position. “Chapman, get me the package.”
“Yes, sir.” Chapman reached into the coffin.
“No!” Kaylee shrieked.
But Chapman came up with something wrapped in brown paper, which he handed to Gabriel.
“You see, Simon,” Gabriel said, as he began to take the paper off, “the Alliance asked us to make sure that we didn’t fail again.”
“What are you talking about?” Simon asked.
Regan buried her head in her hands. “Because we failed with your sister.”
Momma’s not a failure! Beck cried indignantly.
“If they couldn’t have River, they were going to take your daughter,” Gabriel said matter-of-factly. “They asked us to bring her to them.”
“I didn’t want to have anything to do with it,” Regan said quietly.
“That’s why we met up with you when Rebecca was four,” Gabriel went on. “We had planned on taking her from you then. Imagine our surprise when we realized the child we were looking for was dead. Perfect, really!”
“How hard did y’ hit him with th’ shovel, Jayne?” Mal asked quietly.
“We thought there was no possible way the Alliance would be interested in Beck,” Gabriel continued. “I mean, after all, she’s… well, look at her! But after we returned to Osiris the operative contacted us again. Apparently we’d overlooked Rebecca’s Reader abilities. They were very interested.”
“What does all this have to do with Daisy?” Simon asked.
Gabriel finished removing the wrapper and held up a data-port. “Do you remember when Rebecca was admitted to the hospital in Londinium?”
“No,” Simon said.
“Yes,” Kaylee said, looking up.
“What?” Simon asked, confused.
“Yeah, we didn’t tell you ‘bout it,” Mal said, suddenly remembering. “You an’ Wash an’ ‘Nara were in jail in Back Hand.”
“Beck got real sick,” Zoë added. “She was throwin’ up and stuff, and we couldn’t get her trach cleared.”
“And you took her to a hospital?”
“Didn’t want pretty girl to die!” River pointed out.
“Yes, yes, it was all very touching,” Gabriel interrupted. “But whatever the circumstances, Rebecca was admitted to a hospital in Londinium, and tests were done on her to determine the extent of her condition.”
“And you… buried the results… with Daisy?” Simon asked, still not understanding.
Daisy wasn’t here anyway, Beck told River.
“What? No, no, son,” Gabriel said. “You misunderstand my point. We used the data to create… shall we say… a copy of the child the Alliance actually wanted.”
Author: Sarah-Beth (memorysdaughter)
Email: memorysdaughter@gmail.com
Summary: Fourteen years in the future, River takes a turn towards the more-crazy, leaving Serenity's crew to care for her daughter.
Series: Chapter Twenty-Eight
Rating: PG
Spoilers/Timeline: Post-BDM, except with two very important changes.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never have been, never will be. The title comes from a Bruce Springsteen song.
Chapters 1-27
Radio Nowhere
It was getting harder for Simon to breathe. Something about the small, dirty white coffin had knocked all of the air out of him. Without noticing, he had fallen to his knees before the coffin, his hands stroking the wood.
Next to him Kaylee was crooning painfully: “Daisy, Daisy…”
River’s voice overlapped: “Beck? Beck?”
Simon pulled at the lid, wiggling it on its rusted hinges.
“Hurry it up,” Gabriel Tam said.
Simon glared up at him, his eyes dark. “Until you bury your child… don’t you ask me to hurry.”
Momma? Momma, please!
The coffin felt rough under Simon’s palms, which seemed to be sweating. Carefully he raised the lid.
Whatever he was expecting, it wasn’t there. They had buried Daisy in an embroidered white dress, and there it was on the bottom of the coffin, along with what looked like clumps of dirt.
Before Simon could reach in, to touch what remained of his daughter, Gabriel Tam shoved him out of the way, reaching in with his bare hands.
“No!” Kaylee cried.
Always at the ready, Jayne scooped up the shovel from the ground and whacked Gabriel across the chest. The man crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
Avery and Chapman reached for their guns, but Jayne had already dropped the shovel and grabbed his sidearm, pointing at the private investigators. “Get on th’ ground,” Jayne ordered, waving his gun.
With nothing else to do, Avery and Chapman obliged.
“Doc, you ‘n Kaylee take as much time as y’ need,” Jayne said gruffly.
“Beck? Beck?”
“We’re gonna go look fer th’ ballerina,” Mal said. “Zo, you keep an eye on these dirt bags. We’ll be back. ‘Nara?”
“I’ll go with you,” Inara said.
“All right, albatross, tell us where th’ ballerina is,” Mal said, looking down at River.
“Beck?”
Momma, there’s too much water here!
“Water?” River asked.
“Water,” Mal repeated.
Momma, I don’t want to drown!
“There’s a lake to the east of Tupping Forest,” Inara said. “Is she there?”
Momma, Aunt Kaylee sounded mad.
“No strawberries here, Beck,” River said.
“What is she talkin’ ‘bout?” Mal asked Inara.
River pushed at Mal’s chest, trying unsuccessfully to get away from him. “Go… get… Beck.”
On the other side of the clearing, Regan Tam appeared, pushing Beck’s wheelchair. She saw Gabriel slumped on the ground. “Gabriel!”
She ran forward, pushing through the veritable wall that was Avery and Chapman. At the same time, River managed to break free from Mal, and stumbled across the clearing towards her daughter.
“What did you do to him?” Regan demanded, falling down next to her husband.
“Jayne may have whacked him with a shovel,” Zoë said frankly.
“Why would he do such a thing?”
“Because he’s a stupid, heartless git,” Jayne answered promptly.
“Oh!” Regan cried. “It was completely unnecessary! He’s only… he’s only trying to do good work.”
Momma! She’s here! She’s here! Did you see her?
“Nobody else here, Beck,” River said, her hands running over Beck’s face, searching, caressing, feeling. Finally she found the small scar she was looking for, behind Beck’s small ear. “Hurt over in a minute, Beck.”
Quickly she picked the scab from the cut and gently pulled the computer chip from behind Beck’s ear.
No, Momma, I saw her! She’s down by the lake!
“Who, Beck?”
Daisy!
“Ma’am, let me handle this,” Avery said, and stepped forward. With one muscular arm he rolled Gabriel Tam over and patted his employer’s face. “Mr. Tam?”
Gabriel groaned.
“Daisy’s right here,” River said, and pointed to the coffin.
No, Momma!
“Arrest them!” Gabriel managed to grunt, waving his arm in the general direction of Jayne and Mal.
“Gabriel, do they… do they know?” Regan Tam asked, leaning in towards her husband.
Gabriel struggled into a sitting position. “Chapman, get me the package.”
“Yes, sir.” Chapman reached into the coffin.
“No!” Kaylee shrieked.
But Chapman came up with something wrapped in brown paper, which he handed to Gabriel.
“You see, Simon,” Gabriel said, as he began to take the paper off, “the Alliance asked us to make sure that we didn’t fail again.”
“What are you talking about?” Simon asked.
Regan buried her head in her hands. “Because we failed with your sister.”
Momma’s not a failure! Beck cried indignantly.
“If they couldn’t have River, they were going to take your daughter,” Gabriel said matter-of-factly. “They asked us to bring her to them.”
“I didn’t want to have anything to do with it,” Regan said quietly.
“That’s why we met up with you when Rebecca was four,” Gabriel went on. “We had planned on taking her from you then. Imagine our surprise when we realized the child we were looking for was dead. Perfect, really!”
“How hard did y’ hit him with th’ shovel, Jayne?” Mal asked quietly.
“We thought there was no possible way the Alliance would be interested in Beck,” Gabriel continued. “I mean, after all, she’s… well, look at her! But after we returned to Osiris the operative contacted us again. Apparently we’d overlooked Rebecca’s Reader abilities. They were very interested.”
“What does all this have to do with Daisy?” Simon asked.
Gabriel finished removing the wrapper and held up a data-port. “Do you remember when Rebecca was admitted to the hospital in Londinium?”
“No,” Simon said.
“Yes,” Kaylee said, looking up.
“What?” Simon asked, confused.
“Yeah, we didn’t tell you ‘bout it,” Mal said, suddenly remembering. “You an’ Wash an’ ‘Nara were in jail in Back Hand.”
“Beck got real sick,” Zoë added. “She was throwin’ up and stuff, and we couldn’t get her trach cleared.”
“And you took her to a hospital?”
“Didn’t want pretty girl to die!” River pointed out.
“Yes, yes, it was all very touching,” Gabriel interrupted. “But whatever the circumstances, Rebecca was admitted to a hospital in Londinium, and tests were done on her to determine the extent of her condition.”
“And you… buried the results… with Daisy?” Simon asked, still not understanding.
Daisy wasn’t here anyway, Beck told River.
“What? No, no, son,” Gabriel said. “You misunderstand my point. We used the data to create… shall we say… a copy of the child the Alliance actually wanted.”
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-20 05:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-21 02:26 am (UTC)But thank you for coming along for the ride!
I have no idea what's going on with Mal/Inara... although I soon will. It amuses me that you asked this question, since in another fic I am attempting to get the other characters to discuss Mal and Inara's relationship... and I definitely got confused, like, "Didn't we just talk about this?" and then remembered this is a totally different story. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-21 02:35 am (UTC)