How We Used to Be, Chapter 28
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firefly_fanfic
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-Eight
Character(s): River, Simon
Pairings: Wash/Zoe, Kaylee/Simon, eventually Mal/Inara
Rating: PG
Spoilers/Timeline: set in present-day America
Disclaimer: Joss wins. I try really hard and get "E"s for effort.
Chapters 1-27
How We Used to Be
When River was up and dressed, with her face washed, trach suctioned, hair pulled up in a heavy bun, Simon settled her in her wheelchair and let her roll down the hallway ahead of him. “I got the cereal out. Do you want cranberry juice or orange?”
“Neither.”
“No juice?”
“You put it in the feed,” she said dismissively. “Simon, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“What is it?”
“I think I want to talk to somebody.”
“Okay… do you want the cordless phone or the hookup for your computer?”
“No, Simon,” River said seriously. “I want to talk to somebody who will listen to me.”
Simon stopped with his hand on the cereal box. Something in his stomach dropped. “Yeah?” he said noncommittally.
“I mean, I love talking to Kaylee and Miss Serra and you and Colleen and Jen… but maybe, do you think I could talk to… I don’t know… Jayne?”
Simon spilled Lucky Charms over the counter. “Jayne?”
“You know, from Fairview.”
“I know who he is. But he’s not a doctor… he’s a rehab engineer.”
“Yeah, but I like him. I have enough doctors.”
“River, if you want to talk to somebody, we can make an appointment with a counselor…”
“No,” River interrupted. “I like Jayne, and I know he’d understand.”
She looked up at him with big eyes. “Please, Simon?”
Simon took a deep breath. “If… if that’s what you want, I’ll look into it while you’re gone.”
“Thanks,” she said, smiling.
“Now, do you want breakfast or not?”
“I’m so excited,” Amber Montrose said as they were waiting in the foyer of the multiplex. “I absolutely adore Nicolas Cage.”
“You do?” River asked. “Oh, no. He’s definitely not cute. Too old.”
“Are you kidding? He’s totally hot.” Janna Turtelbaum grinned as she leaned back. Like River and Amber, Janna used a motorized wheelchair to get around. Unlike them, she could propel her chair with a hand-controlled joystick, and her tracheotomy was not connected to a ventilator. Afflicted with spinal muscular atrophy, she had some control over her legs, too, which meant she sat cross-legged in her chair, at least until she changed her mind.
Jen rolled her eyes and looked over at Caroline Montrose. “I forgot how much fun it was to be fifteen.”
“Baby, I like Mr. Cage just as much as the next girl,” Caroline said with a chuckle. “He does have a nose for adventure. He can find my National Treasure any day, if you know what I mean.”
The line shifted slightly. Behind them, the doors opened, bringing more movie-goers to the line. A group of teenagers came in, laughing and jostling.
“Move up there, ladies,” Jen said. “River, did I put my wallet in your bag?”
“Yeah, I think so,” River said distantly, looking up at the movie posters.
Jen leaned down to rummage in the full bag. She found her red patent leather wallet. “I’m going to get in the line for popcorn,” she told the girls. “We want popcorn, right?”
“Yeah!” River said. “With butter.”
“Lots of butter,” Amber added.
“Sounds good. Drinks?”
“Iced tea!”
“Yeah, iced tea. But only if they have the raspberry kind.”
“Janna? What about you?” Jen asked.
“Hmm… I guess lemonade.”
“All right. Caroline, what can I get for you?”
“Oh, sugar, that’s so sweet of you. I’ll just take a Diet Coke. I’ve got to be in shape in case Mr. Cage needs to go look for some treasure later.” With a wink, Caroline smoothed down her flower-print shirt, accenting her curves.
Jen laughed. “Sure thing. We aim to please.”
“Baby, do you need some help carrying all that food?” Caroline asked. “You’re going to need more arms than we’ve got to spare.”
“I can pay for the tickets,” Janna offered.
“What a great idea,” Caroline said. “We’ll be just over there… if you need us, give a holler.”
“This line is not moving,” Amber said, looking at the crowd of people still in front of them. “We’re going to be late.”
“It’s just previews,” Janna said dismissively.
“I like previews,” River admitted.
A shove from behind jolted her forward, snapping her head forward, jerking her wheelchair into Janna’s. “Hey!”
Quickly River turned her chair around to face her attacker. It was a tall, gangly teenage boy, a red baseball cap jammed down over his crew cut, a sneer on his face. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he said, his voice dripping with insincerity. “I guess I didn’t see you there.”
“How could you not see us?” Amber asked frostily.
“Ugly girls are pretty much just wall decorations,” the boy shot back. “And you’re the ugliest of the ugly.”
“Oh, grow up,” Janna said, and moved to turn her chair back around.
The boy was in River’s face before she knew what had happened, his fingers around the tube connecting her to her ventilator. “Hey there, crip,” he whispered, his breath hot on her forehead. “What happens if I pull this tube? You deflate like a hot air balloon? Maybe die all squirmy, spazzing all over the floor? Ohh, no, I forgot… you can’t move.”
Tears came to River’s eyes, hot and unbidden, but she left them open, staring at her enemy, refusing to give in to the shame and despair rising in her chest.
“So no matter where you go, you can’t get away,” the boy breathed. “Isn’t that right, crip? I could do anything I wanted to you, right here, right now… and you’ve got nowhere to run to.”
The people all around them were seeing nothing; nobody stopped to come to River’s aid. Her brain was racing – did she call out for Jen or Caroline? Did she throw her chair into reverse, or shoot forward? How fast could Jen get to her to reconnect the vent tube?
Anger coursed through her, bright and sudden, and she jammed her head back, hurling her wheelchair back and away from the boy.
She was expecting it, but it was still a shock when she felt the gentle pop of the vent tube as it broke free from her trach.
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-Eight
Character(s): River, Simon
Pairings: Wash/Zoe, Kaylee/Simon, eventually Mal/Inara
Rating: PG
Spoilers/Timeline: set in present-day America
Disclaimer: Joss wins. I try really hard and get "E"s for effort.
Chapters 1-27
How We Used to Be
When River was up and dressed, with her face washed, trach suctioned, hair pulled up in a heavy bun, Simon settled her in her wheelchair and let her roll down the hallway ahead of him. “I got the cereal out. Do you want cranberry juice or orange?”
“Neither.”
“No juice?”
“You put it in the feed,” she said dismissively. “Simon, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“What is it?”
“I think I want to talk to somebody.”
“Okay… do you want the cordless phone or the hookup for your computer?”
“No, Simon,” River said seriously. “I want to talk to somebody who will listen to me.”
Simon stopped with his hand on the cereal box. Something in his stomach dropped. “Yeah?” he said noncommittally.
“I mean, I love talking to Kaylee and Miss Serra and you and Colleen and Jen… but maybe, do you think I could talk to… I don’t know… Jayne?”
Simon spilled Lucky Charms over the counter. “Jayne?”
“You know, from Fairview.”
“I know who he is. But he’s not a doctor… he’s a rehab engineer.”
“Yeah, but I like him. I have enough doctors.”
“River, if you want to talk to somebody, we can make an appointment with a counselor…”
“No,” River interrupted. “I like Jayne, and I know he’d understand.”
She looked up at him with big eyes. “Please, Simon?”
Simon took a deep breath. “If… if that’s what you want, I’ll look into it while you’re gone.”
“Thanks,” she said, smiling.
“Now, do you want breakfast or not?”
“I’m so excited,” Amber Montrose said as they were waiting in the foyer of the multiplex. “I absolutely adore Nicolas Cage.”
“You do?” River asked. “Oh, no. He’s definitely not cute. Too old.”
“Are you kidding? He’s totally hot.” Janna Turtelbaum grinned as she leaned back. Like River and Amber, Janna used a motorized wheelchair to get around. Unlike them, she could propel her chair with a hand-controlled joystick, and her tracheotomy was not connected to a ventilator. Afflicted with spinal muscular atrophy, she had some control over her legs, too, which meant she sat cross-legged in her chair, at least until she changed her mind.
Jen rolled her eyes and looked over at Caroline Montrose. “I forgot how much fun it was to be fifteen.”
“Baby, I like Mr. Cage just as much as the next girl,” Caroline said with a chuckle. “He does have a nose for adventure. He can find my National Treasure any day, if you know what I mean.”
The line shifted slightly. Behind them, the doors opened, bringing more movie-goers to the line. A group of teenagers came in, laughing and jostling.
“Move up there, ladies,” Jen said. “River, did I put my wallet in your bag?”
“Yeah, I think so,” River said distantly, looking up at the movie posters.
Jen leaned down to rummage in the full bag. She found her red patent leather wallet. “I’m going to get in the line for popcorn,” she told the girls. “We want popcorn, right?”
“Yeah!” River said. “With butter.”
“Lots of butter,” Amber added.
“Sounds good. Drinks?”
“Iced tea!”
“Yeah, iced tea. But only if they have the raspberry kind.”
“Janna? What about you?” Jen asked.
“Hmm… I guess lemonade.”
“All right. Caroline, what can I get for you?”
“Oh, sugar, that’s so sweet of you. I’ll just take a Diet Coke. I’ve got to be in shape in case Mr. Cage needs to go look for some treasure later.” With a wink, Caroline smoothed down her flower-print shirt, accenting her curves.
Jen laughed. “Sure thing. We aim to please.”
“Baby, do you need some help carrying all that food?” Caroline asked. “You’re going to need more arms than we’ve got to spare.”
“I can pay for the tickets,” Janna offered.
“What a great idea,” Caroline said. “We’ll be just over there… if you need us, give a holler.”
“This line is not moving,” Amber said, looking at the crowd of people still in front of them. “We’re going to be late.”
“It’s just previews,” Janna said dismissively.
“I like previews,” River admitted.
A shove from behind jolted her forward, snapping her head forward, jerking her wheelchair into Janna’s. “Hey!”
Quickly River turned her chair around to face her attacker. It was a tall, gangly teenage boy, a red baseball cap jammed down over his crew cut, a sneer on his face. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he said, his voice dripping with insincerity. “I guess I didn’t see you there.”
“How could you not see us?” Amber asked frostily.
“Ugly girls are pretty much just wall decorations,” the boy shot back. “And you’re the ugliest of the ugly.”
“Oh, grow up,” Janna said, and moved to turn her chair back around.
The boy was in River’s face before she knew what had happened, his fingers around the tube connecting her to her ventilator. “Hey there, crip,” he whispered, his breath hot on her forehead. “What happens if I pull this tube? You deflate like a hot air balloon? Maybe die all squirmy, spazzing all over the floor? Ohh, no, I forgot… you can’t move.”
Tears came to River’s eyes, hot and unbidden, but she left them open, staring at her enemy, refusing to give in to the shame and despair rising in her chest.
“So no matter where you go, you can’t get away,” the boy breathed. “Isn’t that right, crip? I could do anything I wanted to you, right here, right now… and you’ve got nowhere to run to.”
The people all around them were seeing nothing; nobody stopped to come to River’s aid. Her brain was racing – did she call out for Jen or Caroline? Did she throw her chair into reverse, or shoot forward? How fast could Jen get to her to reconnect the vent tube?
Anger coursed through her, bright and sudden, and she jammed her head back, hurling her wheelchair back and away from the boy.
She was expecting it, but it was still a shock when she felt the gentle pop of the vent tube as it broke free from her trach.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-23 01:29 am (UTC)