Firefly fic: The Present (River/Jayne), R: Chapter Nine

[toxic_corn]

Series: The Present
Title: Chapter Nine (9/11)
Author: toxic_corn
Rating: R
Pairing: River/Jayne
Disclaimer: Firefly belongs to Joss Whedon. I own nothing and earn no money from this.
Summary: A mysterious package from Jayne's past will change the course of his future.
Notes: Another AU. This time, I didn't kill the crew. :D Everything is pretty much the same except River and Simon aren't on board the ship. At least, not right away.

Catch up on earlier chapters at the organizational post


CHAPTER NINE


After getting a compress for Simon's split lip, the crew went up to the mess as Wash got them off world.


"Are you alright, mei mei?" Simon asked River. The girl had yet to release her brother's hand, almost as if she were afraid he'd fade away into nothing if she didn't constantly remind herself that he was there.


River nodded. "Yes. Jayne's been taking good care of me." She gently touched her brother's temple, frowning at the gray hair there. "You've changed as well."


"Yes." Simon looked sad, turning his gaze down to their joined hands. "You've been gone a long while, River. Much too long, I'm afraid."


Mal cleared his throat. "Speaking of which, would you mind shedding some light on that little quirk? Who froze your sister and why?"


Suddenly, Wash's voice came over the com. "Hey, don't be explaining everything while I'm out of the room! Wait until I can get the auto pilot on!"


Everyone wilted in disappointment at having to wait even longer. Kaylee looked the most disappointed out of them all but she pasted on a smile for Simon's benefit. "So, Dr. Tam, how much older are ya supposed to be than River? If ya don't mind me asking?"


"Oh, no, I don't mind at all. I'm technically seven years older than River," Simon said, looking uncomfortable. "Five years older than Jayne. Also, you can just call me Simon."


Kaylee nodded and her smile turned sincere. "I'll try ta remember."


All the while, Jayne had been silent and had kept his gaze trained on River. She looked so happy to see her brother it felt as if she'd forgotten Jayne was even in the room. He knew it wasn't fair to pout over something like that since she hadn't seen Simon in twenty years but in the time he'd spent away from the good influence she'd had on him, he'd grown petty and mean among other things.


After what felt like an eternity, Wash joined them and everyone looked expectantly at Simon.


The man looked uncomfortable under everyone's scrutiny. "I'm not sure how much of the story you already know..."


"Just start at the beginning, son," Shepherd Book said kindly.


"Well, River was born quite gifted. She was-"


"Not that far in the beginning," Jayne snarled.


Kaylee looked scandalized. "Jayne, that's mean! Let him start the story how he wants!"


"You all already know she went away to a government school and I never saw her again," Jayne snapped. "Start there, Doc."


Looking taken aback, Simon adjusted his story-telling. "Right. Well, because she was born gifted, she was accepted into a very exclusive school. The Academy. I received letters from her for a few months and then... nothing. Toward the end, the letters had gotten strange. River would mention events that had never taken place, names of people we didn't know. It was a code. It said, 'They're hurting us. Get me out.'"


"They was hurtin' you?" Jayne demanded of her. She didn't look at him, kept wringing her hands in her lap. "Apple blossom, why didn't ya write ta me?! I woulda come 'n got ya in ten seconds, you know I would've!"


"Called and called but didn't have the right words." River looked up at him, her big brown eyes wide with weary grief.


"What are you-"


"Let him finish the story, Jayne," Mal said, quietly.


Jayne swallowed his anger and nodded at Simon to continue.


"It took years to build up the contacts necessary to infiltrate an institution as large and encompassing as The Academy. There were many false leads, lost informants, coded information... They had my sister and they were making it impossible to get to her. But finally, about ten years ago, I found out that River had been placed in stasis years ago with instructions to be let out and the experiment continued in the event of a Dr. Mathias' death."


"What experiment?" Mal asked.


"I have no idea," Simon said, running a hand over his face tiredly. "After that, I had people following Mathias wherever he went; I wanted to know the very second he died. I had an insider find the place where River had been stored and he relabeled her holding cell while someone else hacked into the system and changed the written instructions. At the time of Mathias' death, River was to be sent to the hospital I work at. It took a few more years to get that into place and then I merely had to wait until Mathias passed."


Jayne snorted. "Why didn't ya just have him killed?"


"I'm a doctor," Simon said tightly. "I save lives; I don't end them. Not matter how undeserving one man may be of life."


"So Mathias is dead then?" Inara asked, stopping the argument before it could escalate.


"Yes. Two weeks ago he had a stroke. A few days after that, River arrived at the hospital and I transferred her into a cryogenic chamber that would keep her frozen for a few months if I needed. But she didn't have far to go."


Mal nodded. "You sent her to Jayne."


"I sent her to Jayne. Our parents are no longer living and Jayne was the first person I could think of who would protect River with his life." He sent Jayne a grateful look. "I knew he'd take care of her when I couldn't."


Jayne shifted uncomfortably, unused to the warmth on everyone's faces as they looked at him. "So... why'd this Mathias guy freeze River, anyhow?"


"I don't know." Simon touched River's shoulder gently. "Mei mei, do you remember anything about-"


"I wouldn't do that, Doc," Jayne interrupted as River started to look a little wild-eyed. "She goes all wooly if you bring up the A-C-A-D-I-M-E in front o' her."


River relaxed and gave him a weak smile. "Your spelling hasn't improved over the years, Jayne Cobb."


"Nah, it's only gotten worse." Jayne smiled back at her, glad to see a bit of the old her.


"So what are you gonna do now?" Kaylee asked. "I guess ya can't go home if the Alliance is gonna be lookin' for ya."


Simon took a deep breath. "No, that's certainly out of the question. I just want to get River away. Far away from the Core. That's where all of you come in." He looked around the room at the crew. "If you could suggest a safe world for River and I to settle on-"


"A safe world?" Mal repeated with a snort. "'m afraid one o' those don't exist."


"Well, somewhere the Alliance doesn't have much of a hold, then," Simon said, looking embarrassed.


Mal and Zoe shared a look. "We're headed to one o' those right now. It won't be as fancy as you're used to."


"That doesn't matter," Simon said hastily, taking River's hand. "Just so long as she's safe, I'll be happy."


"So ya'll are leavin'."


Everyone seemed surprised by Jayne's hollow sounding voice and they all went still.


"I don't see or hear a thing from either o' you for twenty years and then you show up all sudden-like for a quick favor 'fore you're on your way again?" Jayne's nostrils flared. "Glad to see ya only value friendship for what you can get out of a body."


Mal raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like how you operate, Jayne."


"I wasn't always like this!" Jayne snapped and pointed a finger at the Tams. "They made me- They were- Aw, to hell with this. Good riddance to the both of you."


"Jayne-" Simon started to say.


"Oh, shut yer face!" Jayne snarled. "You knew she was in danger and you let me think I wasn't hearin' from her because she'd given up on me. You can go ta hell, Tam."


"I didn't want you in danger, either!" Simon shouted back. "You were like a little brother to me!"


Jayne laughed without humor. "If that were true, you woulda trusted me with this. I woulda-"


"You would've gone in guns blazing and gotten yourself killed." Simon thumped the table with his fist, making the dishes and Kaylee jump. "And that would've helped River how?!"


It was hard to let go of a decades-old resentment, Jayne was finding. "It- She wouldn't be thinkin' I'd forgot her if you'd a told me!" With that reminder of River, he quickly turned on her. "And you! I write you a letter every goddamned day for two years and you couldn't write me back once?!"


Her jaw dropped. "I never received letters from you!"


"Don't believe me?! Ask Mr. Jenkins at the post office 'bout how often I came in asking if I got anything, or how much money I spent on stamps, or how many times I asked about lost mail! If anybody was doin' any forgettin' here, it was you."


River shook her head. "No."


"No? Well, I guess ya wrote 'em in invisible ink and they never got to me then." Jayne stood up and slammed his chair in hard. "I'll be in my bunk."


"Jayne-"


But he ignored the captain and stormed away, not wanting anyone to see he'd broken his vow of no tears.


< Chapter Eight : Chapter Ten >

Comments

[mores0ul.livejournal.com]

And by "not writing", I mean "not getting over." Naturally. :P

[toxic-corn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think those two years are going to be difficult to forgive, let alone forget. *sigh* Poor Rayne.