Radio Nowhere, Chapter 31
Nov. 16th, 2008 11:38 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 Thirty-One
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 1-30
Radio Nowhere
Jayne sang out lustily, as though all he lacked was a mug of Mudder’s Milk in his hand. “The Hero of Canton, the man they call… me!”
He looked down at Beck, her eyes flickering back and forth behind closed lids. “I know that’s yer fav’rite song, biter. Too bad it ain’t got ‘bout eighty more verses, huh?”
Jayne didn’t get a response, but he wasn’t really looking for one. “’Kay, what other songs do y’ know? Zoë says yer heart rate went up when she started singin’ that one Christmas song y’ like, the one with all the verses. But I know y’ don’t want t’ hear that one again.”
He thought, then began to sing again: “Well, a good man went down to the tavern at night, and they poured him a pint and sang hey-nonny, ho-nonny, hey-nonny, ho!”
In the hallway, Simon stopped. Inara had been walking behind him, and she crashed into him. “What is that noise?” she asked.
“It sounds like Jayne,” Simon answered.
“Well, I figured that. But is that a… song?”
“Either that, or some sort of ritualistic chant,” Simon said. He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. He was so very tired.
Inara crossed her arms over her gold brocade dress. “How’s Beck doing today?”
Without opening his eyes, Simon sighed. “The same as yesterday. Her brain waves are still flat. The ventilator is still taking every breath for her, and it’s taking more pressure to do so. I guess the best news is that her organs are all still functioning more or less the same… except for the lungs.”
“But she had lowered lung capacity to begin with,” Inara pointed out, trying desperately to find a kernel of good news in Simon’s answer.
“Yeah, she did.” He opened his eyes. “We’re going to Adair Lake.”
“Excuse me?”
“That was the location on the data-port,” Simon said. “The one I took from my father. It leads to Adair Lake.”
“I’ve never been to Adair Lake,” Inara said.
“It’s a middle-class sort of Core planet. They have advanced hospitals there, somewhere my father could have stashed Daisy.”
“Do you think it’s a good idea to go looking for Daisy?” Inara asked gently. “I mean, with River and Beck…”
“I can’t do anything about either of their conditions,” Simon said snappishly. “Beck’s either going to come out of the coma or she’s not. And River’s sedated until I can figure out why she regressed like that.”
He pushed off from the wall and went into the infirmary.
“… and they poured him a pint and said hey-nonny, ho-nonny, hey-nonny, ho!” Jayne belted.
“I think that’s enough for today, Jayne,” Simon said.
Jayne looked up. “Th’ biter’s listenin’,” he said, pointing to the heart monitor. “And ‘sides, I still got six verses to go.”
“You’re done, Jayne,” Simon said. “I need to give Beck her meds, and it’s about her bedtime, anyway.”
Jayne looked disappointed. Simon forced himself not to see it.
“All right, biter,” Jayne said, moving to kiss Beck on the forehead. “We’ll pick it up tomorrow.”
Simon waited until Jayne had gone before he started to prepare Beck’s medications. Something stopped him, though, and he turned to look at the heart monitor. Sure enough, the beats-per-minute number was higher than it had been when Beck had been alone in the infirmary.
“You were listening to Uncle Jayne, huh?” Simon said.
The monitor bleeped in response. Simon wasn’t sure if he imagined it, but he thought he saw Beck’s cheek jerk.
“Are you listening to me?”
Nothing.
“I figured as much. You never did like listening to your Uncle Simon.”
He screwed a Luer-lock syringe onto a bottle of medication and drew the proper dose, then set the syringe on a clean paper towel. He did the same with all of Beck’s medications, lining up the full syringes on the towel.
Simon had just screwed the first syringe onto Beck’s feeding tube port when Kaylee rushed into the infirmary, looking panicked. “Simon, come quick!”
His finger was still on the plunger, pressing the medication through the tube into Beck. “What is it?”
“River, she… she stopped breathing!” Kaylee managed to gasp. “Cap’n’s doin’ CPR.”
Simon grabbed for the tube and removed the syringe, which he tossed onto the counter. He managed to wipe his hands on his apron before grabbing his kit of supplies. He hurried into the hallway, running after Kaylee.
Behind him, in the empty infirmary, Beck opened her eyes.
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 Thirty-One
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 1-30
Radio Nowhere
Jayne sang out lustily, as though all he lacked was a mug of Mudder’s Milk in his hand. “The Hero of Canton, the man they call… me!”
He looked down at Beck, her eyes flickering back and forth behind closed lids. “I know that’s yer fav’rite song, biter. Too bad it ain’t got ‘bout eighty more verses, huh?”
Jayne didn’t get a response, but he wasn’t really looking for one. “’Kay, what other songs do y’ know? Zoë says yer heart rate went up when she started singin’ that one Christmas song y’ like, the one with all the verses. But I know y’ don’t want t’ hear that one again.”
He thought, then began to sing again: “Well, a good man went down to the tavern at night, and they poured him a pint and sang hey-nonny, ho-nonny, hey-nonny, ho!”
In the hallway, Simon stopped. Inara had been walking behind him, and she crashed into him. “What is that noise?” she asked.
“It sounds like Jayne,” Simon answered.
“Well, I figured that. But is that a… song?”
“Either that, or some sort of ritualistic chant,” Simon said. He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. He was so very tired.
Inara crossed her arms over her gold brocade dress. “How’s Beck doing today?”
Without opening his eyes, Simon sighed. “The same as yesterday. Her brain waves are still flat. The ventilator is still taking every breath for her, and it’s taking more pressure to do so. I guess the best news is that her organs are all still functioning more or less the same… except for the lungs.”
“But she had lowered lung capacity to begin with,” Inara pointed out, trying desperately to find a kernel of good news in Simon’s answer.
“Yeah, she did.” He opened his eyes. “We’re going to Adair Lake.”
“Excuse me?”
“That was the location on the data-port,” Simon said. “The one I took from my father. It leads to Adair Lake.”
“I’ve never been to Adair Lake,” Inara said.
“It’s a middle-class sort of Core planet. They have advanced hospitals there, somewhere my father could have stashed Daisy.”
“Do you think it’s a good idea to go looking for Daisy?” Inara asked gently. “I mean, with River and Beck…”
“I can’t do anything about either of their conditions,” Simon said snappishly. “Beck’s either going to come out of the coma or she’s not. And River’s sedated until I can figure out why she regressed like that.”
He pushed off from the wall and went into the infirmary.
“… and they poured him a pint and said hey-nonny, ho-nonny, hey-nonny, ho!” Jayne belted.
“I think that’s enough for today, Jayne,” Simon said.
Jayne looked up. “Th’ biter’s listenin’,” he said, pointing to the heart monitor. “And ‘sides, I still got six verses to go.”
“You’re done, Jayne,” Simon said. “I need to give Beck her meds, and it’s about her bedtime, anyway.”
Jayne looked disappointed. Simon forced himself not to see it.
“All right, biter,” Jayne said, moving to kiss Beck on the forehead. “We’ll pick it up tomorrow.”
Simon waited until Jayne had gone before he started to prepare Beck’s medications. Something stopped him, though, and he turned to look at the heart monitor. Sure enough, the beats-per-minute number was higher than it had been when Beck had been alone in the infirmary.
“You were listening to Uncle Jayne, huh?” Simon said.
The monitor bleeped in response. Simon wasn’t sure if he imagined it, but he thought he saw Beck’s cheek jerk.
“Are you listening to me?”
Nothing.
“I figured as much. You never did like listening to your Uncle Simon.”
He screwed a Luer-lock syringe onto a bottle of medication and drew the proper dose, then set the syringe on a clean paper towel. He did the same with all of Beck’s medications, lining up the full syringes on the towel.
Simon had just screwed the first syringe onto Beck’s feeding tube port when Kaylee rushed into the infirmary, looking panicked. “Simon, come quick!”
His finger was still on the plunger, pressing the medication through the tube into Beck. “What is it?”
“River, she… she stopped breathing!” Kaylee managed to gasp. “Cap’n’s doin’ CPR.”
Simon grabbed for the tube and removed the syringe, which he tossed onto the counter. He managed to wipe his hands on his apron before grabbing his kit of supplies. He hurried into the hallway, running after Kaylee.
Behind him, in the empty infirmary, Beck opened her eyes.