Firefly. Zoe Washburne. Years 010
Title: Okay At Last
Fandom:Firefly/Serenity
Characters:Zoe, with apprearances by Inara and Simon
Prompt: Years
Word Count: 523
Rating: PG
Summary: How Zoe has had to deal with pain, both physical and emotional, through the years.
Author's Notes: Serenity and Out of Gas spoilers
There was screaming. Zoë ran towards her mother as they came for them. But she couldn’t reach her in time. They were pulled apart by rough hands. She fought hard against them, screaming for her mother. They dragged the older woman away from her, beyond her sight.
Zoë stepped on the man’s foot and ran towards her mother again. But she didn’t get far before she heard the gun shot. She saw her mother’s body crumple to the ground as the man who had been behind her backhanded her across the face.
She snapped, fighting them, punching them, kicking them. Tears of rage streamed down her face as she beat them, one by one. A bright light shown on her face as more men rushed to surround her.
She walked towards the bright light and heard the cries of shock. She turned and was suddenly lying in the infirmary of Serenity. Simon was pulling a long needle from her chest. She couldn’t open her eyes. It hurt so bad.
She knew that Inara was crying. She could hear Book praying quietly as she sensed Simon moving around her. ‘Oh, God, it hurts.’ There was so much pain.
She couldn’t understand. There was so much tension. She heard Mal’s voice. She heard Kaylee ask something and she sensed Mal leave the room. But something was missing. Where was Wash?
She screamed these words as Simon told her to push. It hurt so bad and all she wanted was Wash. Her eyes squeezed shut with the effort of bearing down. She felt a cool cloth on her head and a hand grasped hers.
Inara held her hand, trying to soothe her. It wasn’t working. She opened her eyes as she heard the crying. Simon was holding her child, her baby boy. Fresh tears sprung into her eyes as Simon placed him in her arms.
The child stopped crying the instant she held him. He was perfect. She searched her memory for a name Wash would have wanted. He hated Hoban so much that she had sworn never to make that their son’s first name. Then it came to her.
“Mark. Mark Hoban.” She held her son close to her and wept freely in front of both Simon and Inara. She wept for her son who would never know his father. She wept ay everything Wash would miss. She wept because he wasn’t there to share this with. But most of all, she wept because, when her son opened his eyes and looked up at her, all she could see were Wash’s eyes looking back.
Then he started to cry and Zoë knew then that her time to cry was over. She rocked her boy in her arms as Inara sat down next to her and placed her arm around Zoë’s shoulder. She kissed her son, but he wouldn’t stop. She searched the room for something. She grabbed the dinosaur from the night stand and handed it to Mark, wo promptly put the tail in his mouth, quiet again. She smiled and leaned back against the pillows, closing her eyes. She would be okay at last.