(no subject)
Title: Stay.
Author: graiae
Fandom: Firefly
Pairing/characters: Simon/Kaylee, Simon/OC
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I'm not Joss, I don't own firefly. Though it is my understanding that he supports fanfiction in general so I don't think it's much of an issue.
Prompt: 37: Any fandom: a past LGBT partner comes back into a character's life, and how he/she reconciles their past and present.
Summary: Simon runs into someone he used to know during a delivery.
Warnings: mild swearing.
Author's Notes: Thanks to my friend Nikki who went above and beyond the call of beta.
----
October 11th:
Four more children died today. Their village was inoculated but it was too late. They had already contracted the plague. If only I could figure out how the whole thing spreads. No contaminated person has been anywhere near this last village, not since the quarantines started 6months ago. Furthermore we’ve tested most of the local wildlife and they seem to be largely immune. This village had taken all the necessary precautions; they should not have been hit.
Betsy is making a planet wise announcement that someone left containment. She’s afraid that if word got out that the precautions don’t work, there would be a panic. I hate it when she has to lie to people. It frightens me that she’s learned to lie so coolie, she never used to. I guess her innocence is another casualty of this disease.
I’m starting to believe this illness is bacterial in nature and I’ve been playing with different combinations of medicines. It would be a lot easier if out supplies weren’t so low. Every failure on my part wastes life saving medicines and we can’t afford to waste it. The alliance keeps promising to send us aid but we haven’t heard or received anything for 6 months.
Betsy claims she found a supplier who, for a price, would deliver high quality supplies. We’ve pooled all of our resources to pay for these supplies so they had better be damn high quality.
I’m exhausted and at my wits end. I would give almost anything to be able to sleep for 5 straight hours. If I sleep though, people die.
Casualty List for Today:
Jenna James
Alice Copperfield
Toby Burns
Maggie Coffman
---
“Bring us down, Albatross.” Captain Reynolds said, climbing out of the navigator chair.
“Yes Sir!” River chirped cheerfully from her position at the helm.
Malcolm pressed his finger to the button on the intercom and his voice echoed tinnily throughout the ship. “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We’ll be arriving planetside in approximately 15-”
“13.43,” River interrupted.
“Approximately 15 minutes. No one goes anywhere near open air until they get their shot. That means you, Jayne, since you’re the only one the doc hasn’t gotten yet.”
“But I hate needles!” Jayne shouted from the mess area.
“I don’t give a damn. If you don’t have your shot by the time we’re planetside, you’re gonna be locked in your room for the duration of our stay with only some rations and a bucket.” Mal called over his shoulder, away from the comm.
“Aww Mal, you wouldn’t be that cruel,” Jayne wheedled.
“Feel free to find out.” Mal turned back to the comm. “For those of you going planetside, they still got a decently functioning economy despite the plague so they’ve got some lovely shops with real cheap prices...and for our resident gun master, who may or may not be locked in his room, there’s a brothel. Thank you for flying Serenity and enjoy your stay.” Mal smirked as he heard Jayne grumble to the infirmary and switched off the comm.
“Seven Minutes, Captain,” River chimed, “and there may be some turbulence. There’s a bit of a storm going on, might be shaky.”
“You gonna be able to handle it?” Mal asked, ready to take over if there was even a second of hesitation.
“Course,” River answered with a grin, before waving dismissively “Now shoo.”
--
“Come on Jayne, it’s just a little needle” Simon said through clenched teeth, as Jayne pulled his arm away. Every time Simon got the needle anywhere close, Jayne would panic and yank his arm out of Simon’s grip.
“It damn well ain’t a ‘little needle’. It’s a gorram huge needle!” Jayne said, his eyes filled with terror.
“If you can survive a bullet, this should be no problem.” Simon said, reaching for Jayne’s arm once again.
“Bullets are at least honest. A bullet hits you and it hurts and you can die. Those things,” Jayne growled, gesturing towards the needle, “They go in all sweet and innocent like, but who knows what their leavin’ behind. One little bit of air in one of those can make a fella’s heart stop, or if I’s allergic or some such. Those ‘little needles’ are tricky little bastards.”
Mal approached the infirmary and leaned against the doorframe. “You know Jayne, those whores probably ain’t had any decent customers in months. They’d probably be willing to have a go at you two or three at a time.”
Jayne’s eyes seemed to glaze over slightly.
“Imagine,” Mal continued, “All them lush bodies with pert breasts moaning your-”
“Done,” announced Simon, putting the used needle into sterilization.
“Thank god,” Mal exclaimed. “Jayne, go out and check on the cargo. You’re not going anywhere until it’s all unloaded.”
Jayne scurried out.
“Thanks for that,” Simon said, cleaning up his space, “I thought he’d never stop moving.”
“I’m just glad you finished before I had to go into any more detail,” Mal shuddered. “Anyway, I’ve been meaning to ask: we haven’t got any new jobs lined up for a few weeks. Would you be opposed to staying planetside and helping out with their plague?”
Simon’s face lit up. “Really?”
“I’m a little disturbed that you’re so happy about it, but yeah. It’s just that we got us one of the best docs in the Verse. Seems mighty selfish not to share. ‘Sides, the rest of us could use a vacation.”
“Yes, yes, I would love to!” The excitement in Simon’s voice was almost painful to Mal’s ears. “I’ve been reviewing all the literature on it the whole way here. It’s absolutely fascinating. A true medical marvel.”
Mal stared at Simon for a moment, his brow furrowed. Then he shrugged. “Well, don’t say we never did nothin’ for yah.” With that, he left the young doctor to his frantic packing, hoping it wouldn’t take long to get the unnerving image of Simon’s giddy expression out of his mind.
---
The planet was dusty. It had some trees and vegetation, but every time the wind blew, the air filled with dust. With Mal and Zoe side-by-side in the lead, the crew of Serenity approached their destination town, where they were met by a small welcoming party.
“You must be Malcolm Reynolds,” stated the petite woman at the front of the three-person committee. She approached him and offered her hand with a genuine smile.
“And you must be Mayor Mitchells,” Mal replied, taking her hand and returning her smile politely.
“Everyone just calls me Betsy,” she warmly informed him.
Mal nodded. “We’ve got the supplies, as per our agreement.”
“They’d better be good,” one of the two men behind Betsy grumbled.
“Brett,” Betsy asked in tense politeness, “why don’t you go see to the shipment?”
He rolled his eyes and grabbed one of the crates before storming off.
“You’ll have to forgive him, he hasn’t been sleeping well lately.” Betsy pleaded, “He really does appreciate your help.”
“No problem,” Mal casually replied. “I understand the circumstances. In fact, we’d like to volunteer the services of our ship’s doctor for a few weeks as a gesture of goodwill. He’s pretty good.” He gestured at Simon, who had only just run out to join the rest of the crew, bag in hand.
Betsy bit her lip nervously. “Uhm....I truly do appreciate your offer. It’s just I’m not sure how our doctor would like it. He’s a little....finicky about his staff.”
“And abusive,” the remaining man behind her chimed in.
“....Thank you, Jeremy,” Betsy said sternly. “And as Jeremy so helpfully pointed out, he can be demanding.”
“Abusive.”
“Demanding.”
“As I live and breathe!” a third voice, belonging to Brett, exclaimed from outside the collective periphery, having returned for another crate. He lengthened his stride, heading toward the crew.
Mal’s hand instinctively went to his holster. He locked eyes with Zoe and Jayne to see that they had done the same.
Brett either didn’t notice or didn’t care: he just kept coming, bypassing Mal and heading straight for a wide-eyed Simon.
“Simon Gorram Tam!” he exclaimed, curling his hand around Simon’s neck and pulling him into a passionate kiss.
There was a moment where the sounds of Brett’s enthusiastic tonguing and the dust in the wind were all that could be heard, as the remainder of Serenity’s crew stared in dumbfoundment. Mal glanced from a slightly flailing Simon to the other members of his party. Part of him was glad when he saw their equally flabbergasted expressions, because for a moment he thought maybe he was having uncomfortable hallucinations that would really cause him to question some very basic facets of what he knew of himself. Leaving that out of the picture, though, he was left with the hope that someone else might have some inkling of what exactly was happening. Didn’t look like it, though.
All the while, Brett’s free arm snaked its way around Simon’s torso, pulling him even closer and holding him there tightly. His tongue continued its happy invasion of Simon’s mouth. After a very long series of seconds, Simon finally pulled himself out of the kiss. His face was bright red and he looked at Kaylee guiltily.
Seeing this, Kaylee just raised an eyebrow. Everything else about her was completely unreadable.
In one motion, Brett pulled out of the embrace and twisted Simon into a headlock. Simon went back to his helpless flailing as Brett ranted at him, “People have been looking all over the Verse for you!” He turned the two of them around and dragged Simon towards the hospital. “Just disappear one day, you don’t call, you don’t write....only way I knew you weren’t dead was because you were still wanted. You better believe you’re helping me with this stupid plague. It’ll be just like before! ....Do you remember the Earth-That-Was recipe for antibiotics?”
And then they were out of earshot. Simon, obviously still unable to get a word in edgewise, hobbled along beside Brett, his head still trapped under Brett’s arm.
Betsy cleared her throat, politely attempting to regain the crew’s attention. When their eyes drifted vaguely back in her direction, she smiled. “Captain Reynolds, we would love to accept the services of your doctor. Please feel free to enjoy the hospitality our planet has to offer during your stay.”
Mal took a moment to re-collect himself. “So....that was your doc?” He inclined his head in the direction that Simon had gone.
“Yep: Doctor Brett Bartholomew. One of the best doctors in the Verse. He was trained in the core.” Her face glowed with pride, as if she were talking of her own son.
Mal turned to look at his crew, hoping someone would have something intelligent to say, as he was fairly certain he’d be likely to say something stupid at this juncture. The stares that were returned to him were equally helpless, and others simply avoided his gaze, quietly refusing to volunteer to look stupid for him.
A moment passed. And then another.
“....Okay,” Mal said to Betsy when the silence became to awkward, “Well. We’ll leave him in your doctor’s ha-your-. ....We’ll leave him with you.”
Betsy very kindly held back her laughter, and Mal appreciated it. He led his crew into town with a hasty word of parting. Zoe followed him with a smirk, and the others fell into step behind her.
“Y’know,” Jayne mumbled to River, “you coulda mentioned your brother had a taste for the menfolk. Now I gotta worry ‘bout what he’s really doin’ when I’m unconscious on his table.”
“Don’t worry. He finds you repugnant.” River reassured him. Before Jayne could decide whether he felt relieved or insulted, she added, “He just lets me play with any entrails you happen to drop, is all.” A final, twisted smile left Jayne stumbling over his feet, and River skipped cheerfully away to join the Captain and Zoe in front of a fruit stand.
As Jayne struggled to his feet, Kaylee and Inara passed by.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Inara was asking cautiously.
Kaylee nodded, distractedly.
“I’m sure Simon was just as surprised as the rest of us. There’s probably a perfectly reasonable explanation.”
“Yep,” Kaylee agreed, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Kaylee,” Inara pressed with a gentle smile,”he loves you.”
Kaylee finally looked at her friend with clear eyes. “Oh....oh, I know! It’s....um.” The corners of her lips were tugging upward, as much as she tried to fight it. Inara looked on in concerned curiosity as Kaylee brought a hand to her mouth to stifle her embarrassed smile.
“What? What is it?”
“Um. It’s just that....well, am I the only one that found that....kind of....really hot?”
Inara exhaled a delicate laugh and her eyes rolled upward, “Oh, God, I’m so glad I wasn’t the only one.”
As the ladies’ voices faded and their figures grew smaller in the distance, Jayne blinked.
“....Wait, what?”
---
It was evening before Mal had the chance to check on Simon. He’d had to see that all the supplies got delivered to their absolute final destination, make sure that the payment was in order, and order what they needed to restock the ship. When he finally found Simon, it was in the office building that had been converted to a hospital due to the emergency.
Simon was in a dimly-lit room, reading under a small lamp. Mal stepped through the door, knocking slightly to get Simon’s attention.
“Shh,” Simon whispered, looking up from his book and gesturing with his head towards the other side of the room. There was Brett in the shadows, asleep on a couch.
“He’s been awake pretty much nonstop for the last four days. He’s been keeping himself awake with shots of adrenaline. Practically treating them like candy,” Simon whispered. His expression showed disapproval, but also a certain degree of respect and, Mal noted, fondness.
“That so?” Mal prompted as he took a seat beside Simon.
Simon nodded. “Brett was never much good at delegating. Doesn’t help that he thinks his staff are idiots.” He sighed. “Essentially, he dragged me here, handed me his research notes and journal, told me to solve any problems that may arise, and pumped himself full of sedatives. If he’s awake in two days, I’ll be shocked.
“Reminds me of someone I know,” Mal slouched in his chair and studied the ceiling.
Simon put down the journal. “Listen, Captain, about the....um....you know, with Brett....”
Mal glanced sideways at Simon. “You don’t need to be explaining anything to me.”
“I know, but....I....He and I used to go to school together. We were.....close. I have no idea what he’s doing on the rim though. Last time I saw him, he had a cushy job in the core as head of infectious diseases on Persephone.”
“...Is this something we need to be concerned about?” Mal sat up a little straighter.
Simon’s gaze shifted from Mal to Brett and back again. “...I don’t think so. The Alliance has mostly given up on River, there’s no price on our heads anymore. It’s just strange.” Simon answered, his eyes settling again on Brett’s unconscious face. “There is no reason for him to be here. He was never the best doctor in our class, but he was the most ambitious. He would never leave a career on Persephone to help fight a disease on a planet no one has ever heard of.”
Mal dragged himself out of the chair and paced the room. “I’ll pass the word along to keep an eye out for anything weird on the planet. You do what you can about this plague but if you even think for a second there might be trouble, I want you and the albatross back on the ship and we’re out of here. Understood?”
“Yes sir,” Simon pulled his eyes away from Brett. “Can you ask Kaylee to stay close to River? ....And tell her I’ll explain everything as soon as I have a spare moment?”
“Sure thing, Doc. If there’s anyone that does deserve some explaining, it’s her.”
“Thanks, captain,” Simon mumbled before returning to the journal.
---
A couple days later, Kaylee had discovered the best milkshakes she had ever had. They were thick and delicious. River hadn’t left her side since they’d arrived. The Captain had been adamant that they had to stay together and in public places. As such, they’d practically moved into ‘Mike’s Milkshop’ and were drinking their way through Mike’s entire stock of Strawberry.
It was at Mike’s that Simon finally caught up to Kaylee.
“Hi,” he said nervously, unsure of what his reception would be.
Kaylee jumped up, “Simon!” She swallowed another gulp of her shake before saying “You’re here! Finally! Me and River decided if you weren’t out of that hospital by the end of today we were going to drag you out, plague or no plague. It ain’t healthy bein’ inside with all them sick people all the time. You gotta eat just like everyone else.”
“And you have to try the milkblend. I’m sure you’ll find chocolate flavoured to be appealing.” River chimed, waving her cup in Simon’s face.
Simon’s lips curled upwards into a sweet smile. “Can you go get me one?” He asked her gently.
“Fine,” River said in world weary huff. “Brothers!” She declared to the world at large. “...Completely incapable doing anything for themselves.”
“Listen, Kaylee.....about Brett.” Simon licked his lips apprehensively, and his eyes darted away from hers momentarily, before he forced himself to look at her again. “I had no idea he would be here or that I would be working with him....or that he would greet me in quite that manner.” He laughed nervously, then paused and thought for a moment. “Actually, the greeting wasn’t that unusual for him. Had I known he was here, I would have been shocked if he hadn’t greeted me like that. But the point is, I didn’t know he was here.”
Kaylee smiled. “Simon, you’re rambling.”
“I know.”
“Do you love me?” Kaylee asked lifting his chin so he would look her in the eye.
“Of course,” Simon answered earnestly.
“Are you going to leave me imminently for him?”
“No!....I mean, he and I used to have something, but it was a long time ago and I’ve changed since then. I’m not the same person as I was when I fell for him....I mean....”
“Ok, now that we’ve cleared that up.” Kaylee said cheerfully. “I want to know all the details.”
“Wha-?” Simon asked dumbfounded.
“River’s told me as much as she remembers about him but-”
“Wait, River?”
“Yes?” River asked, returning with the milkshake.
“What have you been saying about me and Brett?”
“Just that you started writing home about him in med school, you seemed rather smitten and it was adorable.”
Simon turned beet red. “I was not smitten, and I was most certainly not adorable”
River grinned “Of course you were, if only I still had access to those letters. Like the one where you waxed lyrical about his-”
“I have to go back to the hospital now,” Simon said quickly, almost leaping out of his chair. “I’m glad we had this chance to talk,” he finished, leaving the room at a run.
“Simon, you forgot your milkshake!” Kaylee called after him.
“Oh, well.” River grinned. “Mine now.”
---
Simon jogged into his office and threw his jacket on the couch. After the first 12 hours, he had Brett moved to a bed where he could be hooked up to IVs and other necessities, since it was rapidly becoming obvious he would be sleeping for several days.
It had been strange reading Brett’s journal. It was, of course, filled with all of his theories and attempts to solve the plague - probably why Brett gave it to him in the first place. What was strange though was the fact that Brett listed every person who died, every day. In medical school, they were taught to save who they could and move on from those they couldn’t. Brett espoused that belief more than anyone. This list was not something the Brett he knew, would write.
There were other things too: little things mentioned in passing; concern for people. Ms. Thatcher, for instance, who hadn’t been able to find her cat for three weeks. Alistair Smyth, an elderly gentleman who had no one to care for him since his daughter passed on. Shortly before passing out, Brett had introduced him to Nurse Amelia Fay who lost a father, and they’ve been getting along smashingly ever since.
The worst part was that the diary only began with the plague. It told Simon everything Brett knew about the origins of the disease, the spread pattern and the symptoms but it held no information about what Simon really wanted to know. Why was Brett here? Why had he changed?
Simon sighed and pulled out his notes. He had gone over the blood samples from the first victims and was now comparing them to later cases to see if it had mutated.
“Now there’s a sight I never thought I’d see again,” Brett’s voice rang from the door.
Simon looked up with a start. “I didn’t think you’d be up yet.”
“Standing orders, if I’m not awake in 48 hours, they’re to wake me.” Brett walked briskly into the room, with more dignity than anyone in a hospital gown ought to possess.
“You probably should have slept longer. I have everything under control, here.” Simon gestured vaguely to the desk.
“Have you kept up my list?” Brett asked, walking toward his in-suite bathroom with a pile of clothes.
“In your journal?”
“Yeah.”
“As much as I’ve been able. People aren’t sure what to make of me around here so they’ve been a little quiet,” Simon answered, moving around the desk and leaning against it.
“Hmm.” Brett’s tone was slightly muffled by his sweater being pulled over his head. “They’re a little paranoid of newcomers out here, I’ve noticed. That’s especially true if we speak in ‘them fancy core accents’.”
“Why are you here, Brett?” Simon asked, unable to hold back the question any longer. “You loved the core, you loved your career…..being here is essentially the furthest from both.”
Brett's lips formed a tight line and he walked around Simon to take a seat at the desk. “Looking for a mutation in the blood samples? Interesting idea…I probably would have thought of it sooner if I'd been rested enough.” He perused the notes. “Any luck?”
“Not yet. I’m still waiting on some of the tests.” Simon crossed his arms. “You can’t just avoid answering.”
“Of course I can, I’m very good at it.” Brett said, opening his journal and writing some more notes.
“You shouldn’t be here. Even when I was planning on rescuing River, all you could talk about was your career and how if I was going to be so stupid as to throw away mine, I should at least have the decency to leave yours alone.” Simon’s voice grew louder with each passing second. “You went on and on about how your career was more important than friends, family and more important than me. What the hell was so special that it made you give it all up?”
“Careful Simon, you almost sound jealous,” Brett said spitefully.
“What? Jealous of the fact that my sister, whom I love, was being tortured and you couldn’t be bothered to help me save her? Yet here you are, careerless in the middle of nowhere. What am I supposed to think?”
“Did it ever occur to you that I had no choice?!” Brett yelled, rising to his feet. “I’m here because this was the first planet out of the core to which I could get passage. Why did I have to leave the core? Because YOU used my father’s name to get the contacts to find your sister whom you love. The alliance assumed I was involved and I lost everything. So I’m terribly sorry I didn’t help you with your sister, I really am, but you didn’t have to take away everything else I had to get back at me!”
Simon was struck dumb. His hand, having flown to his mouth, muffled his words slightly. “…..I’d forgotten I used your father’s name….”
Brett took a deep breath and sank back into his chair. “When did you say those tests would be ready?” He said in a controlled voice.
“I used it long before I ever knew how much trouble getting River would cause, long before you and I were even fighting about it.”
“Simon, I have work to do, and frankly I don’t care.”
“You do though, or you wouldn’t have been shouting.” Simon pointed out logically. “I honestly never would have destroyed your life, no matter how hurt I felt that you weren’t going to help me. I just wouldn’t have done that to you.”
“Well, congratulations Simon, because you did. Now when are those tests going to be ready?”
“We have to talk about this. You can’t just stay mad at me forever.”
Brett looked up from his notes. “You want to make this up to me? Stay here and help me cure this plague.”
Simon was speechless. “That could take years!”
“Then let it take years. Isn’t this what you always wanted, Si? You wanted to help people, make the Verse better. I know that puzzle loving part of your brain is enjoying every minute of this.” Brett smirked.
“I can’t-”
“I need the help Simon; I can’t figure this out on my own. God knows I’ve tried. If this is about River, she can stay here too. I’m sure they would love to have her. The way you’ve always described her, she sounds like a sweet girl.”
“I-”
“Just think about it, okay?”
Simon looked almost pained… “I’ll think about it.”
“Good” Brett smiled. “Now when are those tests going to come in?”
---
On to Part two.