Legacy-Betrayal Ch.4 Mal/Inara

[druinsanity.livejournal.com]

Title: Legacy - Betrayal
Authors: druinsanity and bashipforever
Summary: AU Takes place two and a half years after the end of the series. The movie never happened, but if you’ve read the comic book Those Left Behind, it did. Everything Inara has worked for in her life is finally happening but an old friend shows up, making her doubt everything she’s wanted.
Pairing: Mal/Inara
Rating: PG-13 - R
A/N: The title comes from an Emily Dickenson poem. This is a WIP but it is being updated daily so you shouldn’t have to wait for too long for updates.
A/N2: This is the sequel to a trilogy in this series. Please read Legacy before this to fill in any blanks. This second part is a month after the ending to the first.

You left me, sweet, two legacies,-
A legacy of love
A Heavenly Father would content,
Had He the offer of;

You left me boundaries of pain
Capacious as the sea,
Between eternity and time,
Your consciousness and me.

Ch.1 Ch.2 Ch.3


CHAPTER FOUR

Mal walked out of Serenity to where the bonfire had been the night before. Smoke still wafted from it towards the sky and as he walked past it he kicked some dirt into it. He'd woken up early, wanting to get out of the shuttle. For the first time, the air in it had been anything but liberating. It had felt suffocating. He'd needed to get out before she woke up... before Inara could wake up and convince him not to get out.

"Always was an early riser, Captain. Last to go to sleep, first to wake up."

Mal turned to see Book sitting at a wooden table and munching on a pear. "Old habits die hard." He sat at the table across from Book.

Book held a pear out to Mal. "You look a far cry from the man I saw last night... a rumpled spirit perhaps?"

"New day." Mal said simply, taking the pear and pulling out his knife to slice it open. "Gonna teach 'Nara to shoot a gun today, then we'll be on our way."

"Leaving so soon?" Book asked, surprised. "I thought you would stay more than a day."

Mal shrugged lightly. "Plans change." The truth was that he needed to get back into the sky where he belonged. The claustrophobia of the shuttle was spreading to the whole planet. It was odd. He'd never had this trapped, closed in feeling on Haven.

"Sad to hear it..." Book studied Mal, knowing that even through the tough exterior something was amiss.

Mal drew a deep breath and looked towards the movement out of the corner of his eye. Zoe, Wash, and Jayne were coming from Serenity towards them. "You ever wantin' back in the sky just let me know..."

"Nice to know the invitation is open. But we both know I do more good here." Book grinned at Mal. “Even for you.”

Mal raised an eyebrow. "Callin' me a lost cause?"

Book chuckled heartily and shook his head. "Not at all, Captain. These little visits have done more good than me being under your foot up there."

Mal grinned lightly at Book and shook his head. "Still ain't needin' savin' Preacher."

"Says you..." Book turned to greet Jayne, Zoe, and Wash as they got closer. "Good morning. Plenty of fruit for everyone."

"Mornin' Preacher," Zoe greeted as she grabbed an apple, slipped her knife from her pocket and sliced it in half.

"Lambytoes, I can almost promise Shepard didn't put any grenades in his apples," Wash said as he sat down, grabbed an apple almost out of defiance and took a bite of it.

"Old habits die hard," Zoe smirked and continued to slice her apple.

Jayne grunted in greeting, stabbed a pear with his knife and began eating it.

Inara stepped out of the shuttle, relieved to see Mal sitting next to Book by the remains of the bonfire. She hated waking up alone but she wasn't surprised after the complete lack of a fight they'd had the night before. She’d half expected to wake up with him completely gone.

"Morning," she said quietly as she walked up and got a pear out of the basket at Book's feet. She smoothed the back of her long skirt with one hand as she sat down a little ways from Mal.

"Inara," Book nodded in greeting, noticing the woman was quieter, more subdued than she'd been the night before. Combined with the difference he'd noticed in Mal, it didn't take much to come to the conclusion that they'd had some sort of argument.

"Jayne, Zoe... S'ppose you could be helpin' me teach 'Nara to shoot a gun today?" Mal asked.

"No reason why we can't, Sir." Zoe said, surprised that Mal wanted them around for that.

Inara’s eye’s widened only slightly at Mal’s words before her face went back to its customary, smooth composure. She’d rather hoped it would be just her and Mal for that. It was something she’d been looking forward to and she wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about learning how to shoot from Zoe or Jayne.

Mal nodded. "Good. Then we'll be on our way."

"Already? Just got here yesterday." Jayne argued, an eyebrow shooting up in confusion. “What happened to stayin’ a few days?”

"And we're leavin' today." Mal said curtly. "Ready to go."

Wash chuckled. "What if we aren't ready to go? I mean we're having fun with the land and the parties and the funny hats."

Mal stood up. "We're leavin' and that's final. Hear more arguin' you can all stay here on Haven."

"Maybe we will." Wash said, anger growing inside of him. He couldn't help it. This was a selfish move by Mal. They'd all been stuck onboard at Sihnon while he'd gallivanted about and now they were spending less than a day here?

"Probably for the best if you do." Mal called behind him as he went towards Serenity to get pistols and rifles.

"Wash..." Zoe said simply, watching after Mal. She knew he got stir crazy on land sometimes. It had just never happened on Haven before. He was usually comfortable here.

Wash spun around to Zoe. "No Zoe. It isn't fair. He spent all that time on Sihnon with us in the air just waiting for him. It's our turn to do the solid ground thing."

Inara dipped her head, shame and guilt washing over her at the mention of Sihnon. She fixed her eyes on firmly on her feet. She didn’t want to go after Mal because she knew he needed some space from her right now but she really didn’t want to sit here and hear this conversation either.

"Your man's got a point." Jayne pointed at Wash with his dagger. "Ain't fair way I see it neither."

"See? ... wait... while the fact that Jayne agrees with me is scary… See? He agrees with me." Wash said to Zoe then turned on Jayne. "And don't point sharp objects at me."

"Captain wants to leave, we're leavin'." Zoe said calmly.

Wash nodded as a long sigh escaped him. "Of course we are... I'm going for a walk. Make sure you call him Sir while you’re agreein’ with him. He likes that." He turned away.

"One word from you, Jayne and I'll shove that dagger down your throat." Zoe said before Jayne could get a snide remark out.

With a grunt, Jayne grabbed another piece of fruit, pushed away from the table and stalked off. He grumbled under his breath as he walked away but it was low it was little more than a growl.

"Mornin' everyone." Kaylee beamed a smile as she walked to the table, her hands shoved into the pockets of her coveralls. "Oooo fruit. What's goin' on?" She grabbed a peach from the fruit basket.

"Good morning, Kaylee." Book said. "Your smile is welcome."

"We'll be headin' out by the afternoon." Zoe said calmly before getting up and walking off.

"Already?" Kaylee asked, looking between Book and Inara.

Inara put down the pear she'd picked up uneaten and stood. "I'll just...go change into something more casual." The dress she was wearing was already as casual as she got but she needed an excuse to get out of there. Now not only was she causing problems for Mal, she was causing problems between Wash and Zoe and everyone else.

She disappeared into the ship and on up into the shuttle. Was it so hard to just say yes to Mal? She knew he wouldn't ever treat their marriage like an ownership, her being the property but she was terrified somewhere inside of herself that she would.

She sat down at the vanity in front of the mirror, staring at herself. She had her mother's eyes but she had his hair, his nose and even his jaw. He was the obsessively neat, organized one in the family. She'd inherited his compulsion to plan everything. She couldn't help but wonder what else she'd inherited from him.

"Well that wasn't shiny." Kaylee sat at the table with Book.

Book shook his head. "No, but the Captain is who he is... They're about to teach Inara to shoot, which should prove amusing to watch. Somehow I can’t imagine a lady as proper as she shooting a gun.”

River snuck up behind them all, snatching an apple from the bowl. "Benedict Arnold," she laughed and sat down on the bench across from Kaylee and Book. She pulled her feet up onto the bench, her knees to her chest and took a bite of her apple. "No power in the verse can stop me," she smiled at Kaylee and indicated her apple.

**

Mal walked off Serenity and glanced at the table. Only Kaylee, River, and Book were sitting there now. He made his way to one side of Serenity with two rifles in one hand, his pistols, and a bag of ammo

Inara followed shortly in the same peach colored skirt and cream top she'd put on earlier. She'd pulled her hair back tightly and switched her slippers for a pair of high-heeled boots. She gave Kaylee and Book a smile from a distance that had companion written all over it. She'd slipped her mask into place. She and Mal might be falling apart but there was no reason they had to advertise it to everyone. She stopped a few feet from Mal and watched him a moment. "What are we going to shoot?" she asked quietly.

Mal pointed to a bush twenty yards away. "Gonna shoot for the center of it." He told her as he stood next to her. He held the pistol up and took her hands. "This hand goes here, and the other..." He placed her hands on the pistol. His arms wrapped around her from behind and his hands went around her wrists. Even when he was this close to her in public, he could feel his heart rate pick up speed. "Always hold a pistol out from you... arms completely extended. And look along this line; see the notch above the barrel? Gotta be linin' up that with your target."

Inara could feel her heart beat harder with Mal's arms wrapped around her. She swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay..." She lined up the pistol, closed one eye and looked along the barrel the same way she would an arrow in archery. She wet her lips; the tip of her tongue sticking out in concentration then squeezed the trigger...and missed her target completely. The kick from the pistol knocked her back, right into Mal and threw all her careful aiming off.

"There now... backfire's gonna be stronger than you. It's stronger than me, so you gotta use your muscles to keep her steady. Anticipate it but don't give into it." Mal directed, helping Inara aim the pistol again. "Remember, anticipate it... don't give into it. Gotta master the weapon and don't let it master you. Aim..." He drew a breath of her hair and kept his arms wrapped around her to help her steady the pistol.

Inara nodded, trying to steady her breathing. Somehow she couldn’t help but think that while it wouldn’t be as nice to learn how to shoot from Zoe, it’d be easier. "Okay," she said again, stiffening her arms, widening her stance and trying to brace herself for the kick.

“No. Don’t lock your elbows. Gotta give the weapon some give.” Mal instructed.

Inara nodded and looked down the barrel of the gun, aiming it and firing again. She didn't quite hit her target but she got a lot closer this time, which brought a big smile to her face. "I almost got it! Did you see it that time? I was close," she said excitedly looking over her shoulder at Mal.

Mal couldn't help the small smile that spread on his own lips. Inara's smile was contagious. "Saw it." He nodded then stole a kiss while she was turned in his direction. "Say yes to me..." The words were out of his mouth before he realized it. "You know I ain't your father and you sure as hell ain't him. Marry me."

Inara's breath caught in her throat and her heart started pounding even faster. Her breath finally burst from her throat, coming in quick, shallow pants. Her chest was tight and her head woozy and she knew she had to answer him before she fainted. She nodded and her eyes filled up with tears. "Yes." It came out wheezy and breathless. She held the pistol with one hand. Her other hand tightened over Mal's wrist. She tried to take gulping breaths of air that seemed like it wasn't there. "Panic attack," she managed to choke out between wheezy breaths.

Mal chuckled and shook his head. He grabbed Inara, a hand at each side of her waist as he lifted her into the air with a loud whooping holler. He spun her around in the air and then set her down again. "No time for panicin', darlin'. Heard you say yes and I'm gonna hold you to it." He took her lips in a wet, open-mouthed kiss.

Somewhere between the kissing and listening to Mal, Inara managed to get her nerves under control enough that she wasn't in danger of fainting. She put her hand over his chest, on his heart and concentrated on the feel of his heart pounding against the palm of her hand as she returned the kiss, pouring herself into it. It didn’t matter that she was breathless. She was always breathless around him.

Kaylee and Book looked up from the table and Kaylee's smile stretched ear from ear. "Wouldja look at that..." she said, pointing at Mal and Inara. "Ain't never seen the Capt'n like that."

Book chuckled softly. "I guess she gave him the right answer this time," he smiled at Kaylee.

"Answer? Answer ta what?” Kaylee asked then realization dawned on her face and she looked like a child on Christmas morning. “You mean he asked her ta marry-You knew he was gonna ask?" Kaylee looked to Book, surprise on her face.

Book shrugged. "I had an idea he might."

"What was that? Captain okay?" Zoe ran to where Book and Kaylee sat.

"Captain's shiny." Kaylee smiled. "'Nara said yes."

River unwound herself from where she'd been curled up on the bench and wordlessly wandered in a large circle behind some of the buildings.

"Capt'n's getting married?" Zoe asked. She still had issues with Inara and she had her doubts that Inara would or could make Mal happy but for the moment, she'd hold her opinion. Captain was happy right now. It’d hold until they could discuss it more calmly.

"Ain't it shiny?" Kaylee beamed.

"Ain't what shiny?" Wash walked back to the table, looking out to where Mal was with Inara. Jayne walked up behind him and stabbed another apple with his dagger before taking a bite.

"Capt'n's gettin' married." Kaylee said happily.

Wash lifted his eyebrows in surprise. "Hey, does that mean we get to stay a few more days?"

Kaylee shrugged. "Maybe."

"I suspect you will. Got a wedding to plan after all and I don't expect Inara to let him off with some small affair," Book smiled at Wash. "Could be wrong though. It's happened before."

Mal ran his hands back through Inara's hair in an attempt to soothe and calm her. "Can even have Book do the weddin'. Nothin' to panic about." Mal said again, kissing her forehead. She still hadn’t said anything and he wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

Inara nodded as she put the pistol she was holding down and grabbed handfuls of Mal's shirt. She looked up at him, eyes still shining with tears. "You won't let me turn you into something you're not...right? I almost did on Sihnon and I didn't mean to. I didn't want to but I-I don't want to be like him and I'm scared I will be."

Mal shook his head at Inara. "We'll be on Serenity. Can't nothin' like that happen on Serenity. And we'll have all the crew with us. It'll be shiny. Won’t let it happen. You're gettin' me... honest and true."

Inara nodded, still terrified over the commitment she was making. "Okay," she whispered and nodded again. "Okay." She reached up, her hand shaking and tangled her fingers in Mal's hair. Her breath was still coming in uneven, sometimes shallow pants. "Just tell me we'll be okay. Tell me we'll be like Zoe and Wash. No matter what, we'll love each other that it's enough." Her voice was pleading and completely terrified but at the same time she was neither broken nor defeated just scared.

"Darlin' we'll be okay... This ain't a scary thing, 'Nara. It's a future with... with a life together like it should be." Mal explained. "Promise... it'll all be shiny."

Inara nodded and rested her forehead against Mal's shoulder for a moment. When she looked back up at him, her eyes were more hopeful and the smile on her face was excited. "Okay," she said. It sounded less desperate and more certain than it had before. "I’ll hold you to that," she told him teasingly.

River slipped up behind the couple silently. She picked up the pistol Inara had put down, aimed it and fired three shots lightening quick. "Traitor. Tattle tell. Won't even know it's there. Can't get it out. Can't get it out. Can't get it out," she shrieked and then crumbled to the ground, curling around herself. She rocked back and forth, muttering "Can't get it out, can't get it out. Tattle tell, can't get it out."

"NARA!" Kaylee screamed, jumping up from the table and running as hard as she could toward Mal and Inara.

Zoe passed her, getting there first. She snatched the guns up and shoved them in Kaylee's hands. "Lock those up first," she directed in that cold, no nonsense tone she had when things got bad.

Book stared in mute silence for a moment, unsure of what to do, his mouth gaping. He recovered after a moment and ran over to where Inara and Mal were.

Simon had been watching Mal and Inara from the open door to the cargo bay. The moment River had shot the gun, he'd felt his heart trip hammer in his chest. No... "River! No!" He shouted as she ran to her. He knelt next to her and gathered her in his arms. "Shh, River it's alright."

The pain was sharp at first, making Inara scream as a fire burned through her. It faded fast though, faster than she thought it would. She couldn't breathe though. Her brow furrowed and she looked up at Mal confused. "Panic attack?" she asked in a gurgled, breathless choke of words. It didn't feel like a panic attack...it felt like cold and getting colder. Blood filled her mouth and trickled out the corner and she couldn’t make sense of why or how.

Mal's eyes were wide and startled, as he held onto Inara's shoulders to hold her upright. When her knees gave out, so did his. He fell to the ground with her, holding her to him in shock. "'Nara? 'Nara look at me!" He laid her back in the dirt and turned her to her side. He tore open her blouse then ripped at his shirt then pressed the torn cloth against each of the wounds. Her white blouse bloomed crimson with her blood and her skin was smeared with red.

His eyes frantically darted up and around the area as his crew gathered around. They landed on where Simon held onto River. "Doc... you ain't wantin' me to put a bullet in you and your sister's head, you best be gettin' things to fix the wounded."

Simon knew it was an empty threat. The captain would never harm them, but still he nodded, let go of River, and got to his feet to run after his doctor's bag.

"'Nara!" Mal put one blood soaked hand to Inara's cheek and held pressure on one of the wounds with the other. "Look at me. Been shot a number of times and I’m just fine. You will be too." When her eyes rolled to the back of her head briefly, he bowed his head, his brow furrowed. No…

For a moment a hesitant prayer began to work its way through his mind. God hadn’t helped him in so long… Without another thought, he lifted her in his arms and began carrying her towards Serenity.

"Where're you goin'?" Jayne asked.

"Doc's takin' too long. Takin' her to him." Mal said, walking into the cargo bay and towards the corridor that would lead him to the infirmary. He ran into Simon. "Sure are movin' slow doc." The words came out more harshly than he'd meant them.

Simon turned following the captain back towards the infirmary followed by the rest of the crew. "My bag was in my room and the sedative was-"

"No time for excuses." Mal laid Inara on the bed in the infirmary. "Fix her." His voice carried every bit the order that he'd meant it to be.

Inara kept looking at Mal confused. She couldn't quite figure out what was going on. "C-cold," she managed to say, her words liquid and bubbling with blood. "Mal...what happened?" she asked, sounding lost and very, very young. "Scared..." she whispered. "Always so scared."

"Inara, you need to be quiet." Simon pressed a hypo to her neck that would put her under, the less blood that was pumping through her heart and veins, the less she would loose. "We're going to take care of you." He told her as her eyes slowly closed and she went under the effects of the hypo.

He turned her over onto her stomach with Mal's help and ripped the rest of the way at the material of her dress to get it out of the way. "Lung, spleen, maybe heart..."

Mal shook his head, watching Simon from the other side of the infirmary bed. "What's that mean?"

Simon felt his heart skip a beat. The wounds were bad... she'd lost too much blood. He didn’t have the equipment or the necessary stored blood to give her a transfusion, nor did he have the equipment to repair the damage that had been done to her lungs and possibly her heart. "We need a hospital."

"Come again?"

"She needs a better doctor than me, Captain. One who has better equipment." Simon explained. "River and I can't go into the core. You have to take her. We'll stay here on Haven."

"Tama de hundan..." Mal came around the bed and grabbed Simon's shirt in his hands. He shoved him against a wall, every ounce of him filled with fire and urgency. "Fix her!"

“I can’t!” Simon shouted back, and then narrowed his eyes, his voice lowering slightly. “And the longer you stay here arguing with me the closer you get to her dying.”

Mal was quiet for only a moment before letting go of Simon and looking back to Inara. He ran a hand agitatedly back through his hair. “What do I need to do?”

“Pressure to the wound. Keep them pressurized and get her to a hospital.” Simon instructed. “You need to hurry.”

“Alliance has a station around on the other side of the planet. You just have to get her there. They’ve been there for the past month.” Book instructed from the door.

Mal nodded and looked back to Simon angrily. “Get you and your sister off my boat. Wash get us in the air. Zoe, Help me. Kaylee, get the cargo door shut.” He pressured some gauze against one of the wounds at Inara’s back.

Book nodded at Simon reassuringly and went to get River off of the ship with him.

Kaylee ran and shut the cargo bay door. Wash had the ship taking off even as the door was closing. Kaylee ran from the cargo bay to the engine room, knowing Wash was going to want a full burn.

Wash hit full burn, heading for the Alliance hospital as fast as they could physically go.

Zoe grabbed some sterile gauze pads and pressed a bunch of them to the wound piercing Inara's lung. "Ain't nothin', Sir. We'll get her to a hospital...have her back in those fancy dresses in a week or so," she said in her calm, cool voice. The truth was it was bad. She wasn't sure Inara was going to make it and if she didn't, Zoe wasn't sure how Mal would make it.

Mal looked across the bed to Zoe. He’d seen enough war wound to know that this was really bad. Men died from wounds like these. "Don't need to be humored, Zoe." He said almost blankly.

"Not tryin' to humor you, Sir," Zoe said looking up at Mal. "Jus' tryin' to be optimistic. Heard there's benefits to it." She looked down at Inara. The gauze pads she was holding to the wound on her back had turned crimson. She got fresh ones and placed them over the wound. Without asking she handed Mal a fresh pile of gauze. "Alliance hospitals can do amazin' things, Sir. They'll get her fixed up. Kaylee said you got a weddin' to plan."

Mal replaced the blood soaked gauze with the fresh one that Zoe gave him. He'd completely forgotten that he'd asked Inara to marry him. It felt like a dream that hadn't really happened and this was the opposing nightmare. He swallowed hard and shook his head. "Can't think about that. Her bein' here with me... Out of place... where she's safe." Mal rambled, knowing that he was only making sense to himself. ”Ain’t lookin’ forward to seein’ Alliance again… me bein’ on their people they ain’t keen on list.”

"We'll keep her safe. Don't worry 'bout that, Sir," Zoe told him. “and we gotta do what’s gotta be done.” They both fell silent, the only sound that of them switching out pads when the old ones became soaked with blood.

Mal watched closely as Inara’s chest rose and fell with small, shallow breaths. He watched the monitor counting every heartbeat and noticing even the slightest of inconsistencies. God couldn’t be this mean. He knew that God wasn’t with him anymore, that He’d lost faith in him. But to take away something he’d finally begun to believe in. He couldn’t think that even a God that didn’t care about him anymore was this cruel.