ext_72147 (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
memorysdaughter.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
firefly_fanfic2008-04-07 10:03 pm
memorysdaughter.livejournal.com) wrote in firefly_fanfic2008-04-07 10:03 pm
How We Used to Be, Chapter 26
Title: How We Used to Be
Author: Sarah-Beth (memorysdaughter)
Email: memorysdaughter@gmail.com
Summary: Set in present-day America, an AU fic. Dr. Simon Tam thought he lost everything when his parents were killed in a car crash. Forced to move back home to care for his fifteen-year-old “vegetable” sister, River, Simon comes face-to-face with all of his fears and misgivings about the past. When it becomes necessary to take in boarders to keep the Tam home, he ends up finding a family he never thought could exist. But what will it take to make him see that things might turn out all right despite the odds?
Series: Chapter Twenty-Six
Character(s): Kaylee, Simon, River, Zoe, Wash, Inara, Jayne, Shepherd Book, Mal
Pairings: Wash/Zoe, Kaylee/Simon, eventually Inara/Mal
Rating: PG
Spoilers/Timeline: set in present-day America
Disclaimer: Not mine. Word.
Chapters 1-25
Chapter Twenty-Six
They went down to the courtyard of the hospital. Under a glass roof, fountains spouted and perpetual-motion machines clanged and rang. Kids and their parents where everywhere, some in wheelchairs, some attached to IV lines, some with sutured wounds or bandages. River moved out of the elevator with a few jerking stops and starts and a lot of giggles.
“Okay,” Jayne said when they were clear of the elevator’s doors. “Why don’t you go down to the flowerbeds down there and then turn and come back?”
“Okay!” River agreed happily. She tilted her head down and sped away from the three men.
“She’s a natural,” Shep Book commented.
Jayne rubbed at his grizzly face. “She’s a natural because she wants it,” he said at last. “She’s going to do just fine at camp.”
Simon tried to speak, but found he was a little choked up. Rather than admit it in front of Shep Book and Jayne, he forced the tears away.
Of course, two minutes later, as River nearly mowed down a toddler in a hospital smock and a mask, the tears were forgotten. Simon yelled out, “RIVER!” in his worst angry-parent voice.
His sister looked up suddenly and her chair shot to a halt. “What?”
“Be careful,” Simon admonished her in a quieter voice. “You’re going to hurt somebody.”
She beamed up at him. “Can we get ice cream when we’re done?”
Back upstairs, Jayne went over the care instructions for the new chair. “No rain. Sprinklers, maybe. If it’s raining, you stick a poncho over the little lady here or you get her to roam around inside. Battery needs to charge every night, all night – you can probably charge it when you do the vent and portable suction batteries. If there’s any problems bring it right on back to us and we’ll fix it up. Shep’s in the office five days a week and I alternate between Fairview’s clinic and an out-patient clinic in Boston, so somebody will be here to assist you. We’ll see you back in three weeks for a seat check if nothing goes wrong between now and then.”
He smiled over at River. “You take it easy on this chair, you hear me? Give it some time to get used to you.”
Simon and River said their goodbyes and checked out at the desk. Simon had folded up River’s manual chair and pushed it along in front of him.
“I was serious about the ice cream,” River said as they were in the elevator, going down to the parking garage.
Simon checked his watch. “Sorry, we actually need to get home. I have a call with Dr. Clemson to discuss my hours for the weeks you’re at camp.”
River tried not to let disappointment show on her face. “Okay.”
“Maybe we’ll go out tonight,” Simon proposed.
“Okay.”
They reached the van and Simon opened the doors. “Let me just put your other chair in here,” he said. “Then we’ll be ready to go.”
“Go on,” Simon said when they were back in the garage, after he’d opened the back door. “Head right on up into the house. I’ll be right there. I’m just going to get the mail.”
River rolled her eyes. “Whatever,” she muttered. Simon was acting strangely distant. He’d been proud of her at the hospital – well, until she’d nearly taken out that little kid – but now he wasn’t even paying attention.
She maneuvered herself up the ramp by the back door and into the kitchen. “Hello?” she called. “We’re home!”
The kitchen was empty. She turned the chair around to look out the back door, but Simon was nowhere in sight.
Sighing, she turned back around, thinking of homework or maybe a nap.
“Surprise!”
A handful of people leapt out of what had obviously been lousy hiding places – Kaylee from under the kitchen table, Colleen from behind the potted ficus in the corner, Jen from the coat closet, Wash and Zoë from the hallway, and even Inara, who had been behind the corner bookshelf. Colleen was holding a massive sheet cake decorated in bright pink and purple icing; it read “Happy Chair Day, River!”
“Wow!” River said, totally amazed. “Wow!”
“Oh, congratulations, sweetheart!” Jen said, and threw her arms around River. “We’re all so proud of you!”
“We sure are, mei-mei,” Simon said, coming up behind her and kissing her on the top of the head.
“Now show us those skills while Jen cuts the cake,” Colleen said.
“Why do I have to cut the cake?” Jen asked.
“Well, because you were a surgical intern once,” Colleen said, “and you have infinitely steadier hands than any of us.”
“Excuse me, Colleen, I’m actually a surgeon,” Simon reminded her.
“Yeah, that’s right!” Jen said indignantly.
“Okay, okay… Jen always just cuts really big pieces,” Colleen said at last.
“Fine, I’ll cut,” Jen said. “But don’t let it distract you from the real attraction. Go ahead, show off, honey.”
River grinned and obliged, doing a quick tour of the room, ending with a few circles.
“It’s an awesome chair,” Kaylee said. “They did a really great job. Now you’re going to be able to run laps around the rest of us.”
“Yeah,” River said dreamily. “Yeah, I am.”
Author: Sarah-Beth (memorysdaughter)
Email: memorysdaughter@gmail.com
Summary: Set in present-day America, an AU fic. Dr. Simon Tam thought he lost everything when his parents were killed in a car crash. Forced to move back home to care for his fifteen-year-old “vegetable” sister, River, Simon comes face-to-face with all of his fears and misgivings about the past. When it becomes necessary to take in boarders to keep the Tam home, he ends up finding a family he never thought could exist. But what will it take to make him see that things might turn out all right despite the odds?
Series: Chapter Twenty-Six
Character(s): Kaylee, Simon, River, Zoe, Wash, Inara, Jayne, Shepherd Book, Mal
Pairings: Wash/Zoe, Kaylee/Simon, eventually Inara/Mal
Rating: PG
Spoilers/Timeline: set in present-day America
Disclaimer: Not mine. Word.
Chapters 1-25
Chapter Twenty-Six
They went down to the courtyard of the hospital. Under a glass roof, fountains spouted and perpetual-motion machines clanged and rang. Kids and their parents where everywhere, some in wheelchairs, some attached to IV lines, some with sutured wounds or bandages. River moved out of the elevator with a few jerking stops and starts and a lot of giggles.
“Okay,” Jayne said when they were clear of the elevator’s doors. “Why don’t you go down to the flowerbeds down there and then turn and come back?”
“Okay!” River agreed happily. She tilted her head down and sped away from the three men.
“She’s a natural,” Shep Book commented.
Jayne rubbed at his grizzly face. “She’s a natural because she wants it,” he said at last. “She’s going to do just fine at camp.”
Simon tried to speak, but found he was a little choked up. Rather than admit it in front of Shep Book and Jayne, he forced the tears away.
Of course, two minutes later, as River nearly mowed down a toddler in a hospital smock and a mask, the tears were forgotten. Simon yelled out, “RIVER!” in his worst angry-parent voice.
His sister looked up suddenly and her chair shot to a halt. “What?”
“Be careful,” Simon admonished her in a quieter voice. “You’re going to hurt somebody.”
She beamed up at him. “Can we get ice cream when we’re done?”
Back upstairs, Jayne went over the care instructions for the new chair. “No rain. Sprinklers, maybe. If it’s raining, you stick a poncho over the little lady here or you get her to roam around inside. Battery needs to charge every night, all night – you can probably charge it when you do the vent and portable suction batteries. If there’s any problems bring it right on back to us and we’ll fix it up. Shep’s in the office five days a week and I alternate between Fairview’s clinic and an out-patient clinic in Boston, so somebody will be here to assist you. We’ll see you back in three weeks for a seat check if nothing goes wrong between now and then.”
He smiled over at River. “You take it easy on this chair, you hear me? Give it some time to get used to you.”
Simon and River said their goodbyes and checked out at the desk. Simon had folded up River’s manual chair and pushed it along in front of him.
“I was serious about the ice cream,” River said as they were in the elevator, going down to the parking garage.
Simon checked his watch. “Sorry, we actually need to get home. I have a call with Dr. Clemson to discuss my hours for the weeks you’re at camp.”
River tried not to let disappointment show on her face. “Okay.”
“Maybe we’ll go out tonight,” Simon proposed.
“Okay.”
They reached the van and Simon opened the doors. “Let me just put your other chair in here,” he said. “Then we’ll be ready to go.”
“Go on,” Simon said when they were back in the garage, after he’d opened the back door. “Head right on up into the house. I’ll be right there. I’m just going to get the mail.”
River rolled her eyes. “Whatever,” she muttered. Simon was acting strangely distant. He’d been proud of her at the hospital – well, until she’d nearly taken out that little kid – but now he wasn’t even paying attention.
She maneuvered herself up the ramp by the back door and into the kitchen. “Hello?” she called. “We’re home!”
The kitchen was empty. She turned the chair around to look out the back door, but Simon was nowhere in sight.
Sighing, she turned back around, thinking of homework or maybe a nap.
“Surprise!”
A handful of people leapt out of what had obviously been lousy hiding places – Kaylee from under the kitchen table, Colleen from behind the potted ficus in the corner, Jen from the coat closet, Wash and Zoë from the hallway, and even Inara, who had been behind the corner bookshelf. Colleen was holding a massive sheet cake decorated in bright pink and purple icing; it read “Happy Chair Day, River!”
“Wow!” River said, totally amazed. “Wow!”
“Oh, congratulations, sweetheart!” Jen said, and threw her arms around River. “We’re all so proud of you!”
“We sure are, mei-mei,” Simon said, coming up behind her and kissing her on the top of the head.
“Now show us those skills while Jen cuts the cake,” Colleen said.
“Why do I have to cut the cake?” Jen asked.
“Well, because you were a surgical intern once,” Colleen said, “and you have infinitely steadier hands than any of us.”
“Excuse me, Colleen, I’m actually a surgeon,” Simon reminded her.
“Yeah, that’s right!” Jen said indignantly.
“Okay, okay… Jen always just cuts really big pieces,” Colleen said at last.
“Fine, I’ll cut,” Jen said. “But don’t let it distract you from the real attraction. Go ahead, show off, honey.”
River grinned and obliged, doing a quick tour of the room, ending with a few circles.
“It’s an awesome chair,” Kaylee said. “They did a really great job. Now you’re going to be able to run laps around the rest of us.”
“Yeah,” River said dreamily. “Yeah, I am.”