FF/SPN: Xinwuwei Docks
Blessings against the Thunder
Xinwuwei Docks, 1
by Vanzetti
FF/SPN
John/Zoe
Thanks to musesfool and rez_lo for beta-reading, and to the_grynne for help with Chinese language.
Earlier parts:
Eurydice Settlement
Caieta Port
Xú Landing, 1
Xú Landing, 2
Zoe has to roll John over toward the wall to get out of the bunk; he mumbles in his sleep and rolls back. She's starting to wonder whether it's time to talk to him about getting something bigger. Simplest thing would be for them to sleep back on Serenity, where she has a bed she knows is big enough for two, but somehow she ain't ready for that, and John sure hasn't said a word about it. They meet up when his business and hers lead them to the same places, and if she thinks John might be trying extra hard to find trouble where she says she'll be next, that's not something she's complaining about. The bunk itself, though, that leaves her with a cramped neck.
She's on her way back from the head when she hears a click and a step. She knows the main cabin well enough to find a gun without a light: two steps and she reaches and turns around all in one movement. Her eyes are used to the dark and she can make out one tall shape that doesn't belong in here; it proves it by raising its hands and taking a step forward. "Hey now," it says. "I'm just looking for my dad. Got to say, though, that you're a hell of a lot easier on the eyes than he is."
That don't make her less inclined to shoot, even if it is one of John's boys. But then there's a rustle and a foot on the step down from the bunk, and a low voice says, "Dean."
"Yes, sir," says the shape.
John clears his throat. "Zoe, you can stand down now. And, uh..."
"Yeah," she says. "I'll put some clothes on."
"Eyes, Dean," John says as he steps aside to let her up into the bunk. The curtain doesn't block any noise, so she can't help overhearing them. "Wasn't sure you'd show."
"You said it was about Sam," Dean says. "I thought I'd check things out before I told him you were here."
John's quiet a moment. "We both know Sam ain't the one mad at me."
"No, sir," Dean answers, and there's an insult hiding in there, Zoe thinks. "What's so important that you decided to pick up the transmitter?"
"Before this all started, Sam had an interview coming up. Money for law school, right? Who was that interview with?"
"Not sure I recall. Blue something -- Blue Star, maybe?"
Wa cao! Zoe yanks her shirt over her head and steps out into the main room. "Blue Sun," she says. "You want to tell me what the hell this is about, John Winchester?" He's put the lamp on. Dean's fairer than his father, she sees, but they're standing just the same, arms crossed over their chests and the same half-scowl on their faces. She ain't feeling too generous herself right now, come to think of it.
"I'm not wholly sure," John says. "But it's the same group, Blue Sun Educational Division. And if the people who did whatever they did to River took an interest in my son, we may have a problem."
"River went off to that Academy young," Zoe says. "Some interview might not mean the same kind of interest." They had ordinary workers, didn't they? And hell, she had a guess as to what John thought of his two boys, but parents always get a little starry-eyed, stands to reason. Don't mean they were looking at another version of River and what happened to her. Don't mean they're about to go through the same thing, all over again.
"We moved around a lot, out on the Rim. Sam might've stayed under their radar until he left. River grew up settled, in the Core, a lot of records. Easy for them to pick her up."
"Hold it now," Dean says. "Who's this River person, and what's all this got to do with Sammy? And -- no offence, ma'am -- but who the hell is she?"
"She's Zoe Washburne, off Serenity." John's already grabbed his coat; he tosses hers to Zoe. "You're gonna take us over to Impala now, Dean. I don't intend to explain myself twice."
"Not until you tell me what kind of crazy plans--"
"Dean." John interrupts him and Dean falls silent. "You want to think about what you're about to say."
"Sir." A muscle tightens in his cheek. "Sam's doing fine, now. Since you forgot to ask."
"And I aim to keep him that way," John says. "We going now, or we gonna fight about this?"
Dean stares at him for what seems like a long time. "We're going now." He leads them out.
They walk side by side through the port, and Zoe, trailing a little behind, wonders if they know that they've matched their steps, how they keep close without actually touching. Tension there ain't her problem, she tells herself: this Blue Sun thing, though, that's another matter.
Dean leads them to a small ship, not new by any means, but she looks well-kept to Zoe's eyes. "See you still haven't fixed the rear port panels," John says. Dean pulls the hatch open and steps in. There are voices coming from inside and Dean already has a gun in his hand; so does John. Zoe's a step behind them, and she's pretty sure she knows what she's hearing.
Through the cargo hold and up a set of stairs to the main quarters, and she was right: there's Simon saying to a tall young man, "I'm sorry, again, that we disturbed you. River doesn't always know what she's doing." They both look over when the three of them come in. Simon's confused "Zoe?" is overshadowed by the other man: his face lights up and he steps forward quickly with a cry of "Dad!" and wraps John in an embrace.
Zoe looks away. "What are the two of you doing here?" She's not surprised, exactly, but it's definitely further cause for worry.
River answers for them. "He was only a little baby," she says. "And then he was hidden away safe. I wanted to know what he would look like."
"She dragged me out," Simon says. "She seemed to know where she was going but I don't understand who..."
"Seems these are John's boys," Zoe says. She catches Dean's eye. "That right?"
"Ma'am," he says; she introduces Simon and River, just first names. Dean looks as wary as she feels, keeps casting a weather eye to John and Sam; they've broken apart and are talking in a low voice.
River pokes around the cabin, looking at this and that, books and amulets and charms, the kind of thing Zoe's getting familiar with from her time with John. Then she lifts a box and shakes it, puts it down and comes up with a nice little pistol, and Dean says, "Hey!" and takes a quick step toward her. Then Simon's in his space and in the way, all tensed up, and River wide-eyed behind him. Dean's got his hands clenched into fists. Zoe's not exactly relaxed herself; but she can't help smiling when John and Sam say at the same time, "It's OK, Dean."
"The gun, River," Simon says; she passes it over, looking sorry. He turns and hands it to Dean.
"Fine," Dean says as he takes it. "We're all good. Someone want to tell me what's going on here?"
"This is Simon and River's business, as well," Zoe says. "You want to do your talking now, John?"
"Don't have much to say," John says.
"Dad?" says Sam. He steps closer to Dean, and now he's got his arms folded. "Is there something going on?"
But it's River who speaks. "They were going to come for you, but the pretty girl died and you disappeared. Your brother kept you safe."
"Yes." Sam unfolds his arms and concentrates on her like there's nothing else in the room. Zoe takes in the whole scene: Dean watching Sam with that same intensity, John staring at the two of them with something like hunger on his face. "Who were going to come for me?" Sam asks.
Simon has his hands on River's shoulders. "Hands of blue," she whispers.
And when it's clear that she won't say more, John says, "Blue Sun. They were tracking Sam from infancy, is that right, River? And they lost him after..." He clears his throat. "When we left Lawrence. But they found him again when he went to that university of his."
"The law school scholarship?" Sam says. "That wasn't on the level? Wow. That's just... We never catch a break, do we?"
"You never went to the Academy," Simon says. "I'd consider that a break."
River rests a hand on his. "Everything looked perfect on the outside, but on the inside it was rotten."
Dean looks at Simon a moment, as if for permission, then he leans close to River. "What'd they do there, River?" he says. "Can you say?"
But she shakes her hair into her eyes and looks away, so Simon says, "We always knew that River was special, and at the Academy... They said that they would help her fulfill her potential. They didn't mention that they were going to slice her brain apart to do it. When I realized what was going on, I got River out. But it took everything I had, and the damage was already done."
"And that Academy wasn't too happy to lose her," Zoe adds. "Alliance's been after us off and on. Got bad last year, but we thought it might be over. Thought we settled them."
"That's not how they are," River answers. "There's a hundred heads, and even when you cut them off, they still grow back."
"Cutting off heads sounds good to me," Dean says. "Slaying monsters is the family business. When we cut off heads, they stay off."
"Metaphor, Dean," Sam says.
"I know that, jerkface. My point is, if there's some kind of big evil after you, bro, we will take it out."
"That's right," John says, low and serious. Zoe looks away again, doesn't want to see the way he's looking at his sons. They got no idea what they're up against, she thinks, and don't know enough to be scared.
"Don't worry, Zoe," River says.
They all look at her. "Ain't worried," Zoe mutters. It's not exactly a lie. "I'm gonna walk these two back to Serenity. You three come by tomorrow. We all need to hear about this, the whole crew." John steps toward her, but she's already most of the way out, herding the Tams along with her. Once she's outside she takes a deep breath of night air, tinged with oil and fuel and all the other port-smells. "You reckon Blue Sun's planning a move, River?" she asks as they walk.
River tilts her head to look up at the cloudy sky. "Everything is in motion all the time, bringing us together or taking us apart."
That don't sound reassuring.
Lights are on when they get back to Serenity, and Mal greets them at the hatch, dressed to go out, with a pistol in his hand. "See you found our lost sheep."
"Yes, sir," she says.
He takes another look at her and the grin fades from his face. "Something brewing out there?"
Zoe nods. "Trouble. The kind we've seen before, and maybe something new. Looks like Blue Sun has an interest in one of John's sons." She watches his face set, and curses the night she stopped by a burying ground to help a man fight something that wasn't there.
"It was always coming to us," River says. "All together, we stand a better chance."
"They'll be by in the morning," Zoe says. "Reckon we'll see then."
She stands with Mal as Simon and River head across the hold; at the door River turns around. "Zoe was naked," she says. "He kept thinking of that." She twirls around and just like that, she's gone, Simon following with that apologetic look again.
Mal's got his eyebrows raised, like he's ready to say something smart. Then he seems to reconsider. "None of my business, right?"
"That's right," Zoe says. "None of your business."
end
Link to next part: Xinwuwei Docks, 2
A note on language: I've allowed John's speech to conform to the dialect used by Mal and Zoe in Firefly; it sounds right to my ear, given the way I've translated the character. I know it doesn't match his speech patterns in Supernatural.
Xinwuwei Docks, 1
by Vanzetti
FF/SPN
John/Zoe
Thanks to musesfool and rez_lo for beta-reading, and to the_grynne for help with Chinese language.
Earlier parts:
Eurydice Settlement
Caieta Port
Xú Landing, 1
Xú Landing, 2
Zoe has to roll John over toward the wall to get out of the bunk; he mumbles in his sleep and rolls back. She's starting to wonder whether it's time to talk to him about getting something bigger. Simplest thing would be for them to sleep back on Serenity, where she has a bed she knows is big enough for two, but somehow she ain't ready for that, and John sure hasn't said a word about it. They meet up when his business and hers lead them to the same places, and if she thinks John might be trying extra hard to find trouble where she says she'll be next, that's not something she's complaining about. The bunk itself, though, that leaves her with a cramped neck.
She's on her way back from the head when she hears a click and a step. She knows the main cabin well enough to find a gun without a light: two steps and she reaches and turns around all in one movement. Her eyes are used to the dark and she can make out one tall shape that doesn't belong in here; it proves it by raising its hands and taking a step forward. "Hey now," it says. "I'm just looking for my dad. Got to say, though, that you're a hell of a lot easier on the eyes than he is."
That don't make her less inclined to shoot, even if it is one of John's boys. But then there's a rustle and a foot on the step down from the bunk, and a low voice says, "Dean."
"Yes, sir," says the shape.
John clears his throat. "Zoe, you can stand down now. And, uh..."
"Yeah," she says. "I'll put some clothes on."
"Eyes, Dean," John says as he steps aside to let her up into the bunk. The curtain doesn't block any noise, so she can't help overhearing them. "Wasn't sure you'd show."
"You said it was about Sam," Dean says. "I thought I'd check things out before I told him you were here."
John's quiet a moment. "We both know Sam ain't the one mad at me."
"No, sir," Dean answers, and there's an insult hiding in there, Zoe thinks. "What's so important that you decided to pick up the transmitter?"
"Before this all started, Sam had an interview coming up. Money for law school, right? Who was that interview with?"
"Not sure I recall. Blue something -- Blue Star, maybe?"
Wa cao! Zoe yanks her shirt over her head and steps out into the main room. "Blue Sun," she says. "You want to tell me what the hell this is about, John Winchester?" He's put the lamp on. Dean's fairer than his father, she sees, but they're standing just the same, arms crossed over their chests and the same half-scowl on their faces. She ain't feeling too generous herself right now, come to think of it.
"I'm not wholly sure," John says. "But it's the same group, Blue Sun Educational Division. And if the people who did whatever they did to River took an interest in my son, we may have a problem."
"River went off to that Academy young," Zoe says. "Some interview might not mean the same kind of interest." They had ordinary workers, didn't they? And hell, she had a guess as to what John thought of his two boys, but parents always get a little starry-eyed, stands to reason. Don't mean they were looking at another version of River and what happened to her. Don't mean they're about to go through the same thing, all over again.
"We moved around a lot, out on the Rim. Sam might've stayed under their radar until he left. River grew up settled, in the Core, a lot of records. Easy for them to pick her up."
"Hold it now," Dean says. "Who's this River person, and what's all this got to do with Sammy? And -- no offence, ma'am -- but who the hell is she?"
"She's Zoe Washburne, off Serenity." John's already grabbed his coat; he tosses hers to Zoe. "You're gonna take us over to Impala now, Dean. I don't intend to explain myself twice."
"Not until you tell me what kind of crazy plans--"
"Dean." John interrupts him and Dean falls silent. "You want to think about what you're about to say."
"Sir." A muscle tightens in his cheek. "Sam's doing fine, now. Since you forgot to ask."
"And I aim to keep him that way," John says. "We going now, or we gonna fight about this?"
Dean stares at him for what seems like a long time. "We're going now." He leads them out.
They walk side by side through the port, and Zoe, trailing a little behind, wonders if they know that they've matched their steps, how they keep close without actually touching. Tension there ain't her problem, she tells herself: this Blue Sun thing, though, that's another matter.
Dean leads them to a small ship, not new by any means, but she looks well-kept to Zoe's eyes. "See you still haven't fixed the rear port panels," John says. Dean pulls the hatch open and steps in. There are voices coming from inside and Dean already has a gun in his hand; so does John. Zoe's a step behind them, and she's pretty sure she knows what she's hearing.
Through the cargo hold and up a set of stairs to the main quarters, and she was right: there's Simon saying to a tall young man, "I'm sorry, again, that we disturbed you. River doesn't always know what she's doing." They both look over when the three of them come in. Simon's confused "Zoe?" is overshadowed by the other man: his face lights up and he steps forward quickly with a cry of "Dad!" and wraps John in an embrace.
Zoe looks away. "What are the two of you doing here?" She's not surprised, exactly, but it's definitely further cause for worry.
River answers for them. "He was only a little baby," she says. "And then he was hidden away safe. I wanted to know what he would look like."
"She dragged me out," Simon says. "She seemed to know where she was going but I don't understand who..."
"Seems these are John's boys," Zoe says. She catches Dean's eye. "That right?"
"Ma'am," he says; she introduces Simon and River, just first names. Dean looks as wary as she feels, keeps casting a weather eye to John and Sam; they've broken apart and are talking in a low voice.
River pokes around the cabin, looking at this and that, books and amulets and charms, the kind of thing Zoe's getting familiar with from her time with John. Then she lifts a box and shakes it, puts it down and comes up with a nice little pistol, and Dean says, "Hey!" and takes a quick step toward her. Then Simon's in his space and in the way, all tensed up, and River wide-eyed behind him. Dean's got his hands clenched into fists. Zoe's not exactly relaxed herself; but she can't help smiling when John and Sam say at the same time, "It's OK, Dean."
"The gun, River," Simon says; she passes it over, looking sorry. He turns and hands it to Dean.
"Fine," Dean says as he takes it. "We're all good. Someone want to tell me what's going on here?"
"This is Simon and River's business, as well," Zoe says. "You want to do your talking now, John?"
"Don't have much to say," John says.
"Dad?" says Sam. He steps closer to Dean, and now he's got his arms folded. "Is there something going on?"
But it's River who speaks. "They were going to come for you, but the pretty girl died and you disappeared. Your brother kept you safe."
"Yes." Sam unfolds his arms and concentrates on her like there's nothing else in the room. Zoe takes in the whole scene: Dean watching Sam with that same intensity, John staring at the two of them with something like hunger on his face. "Who were going to come for me?" Sam asks.
Simon has his hands on River's shoulders. "Hands of blue," she whispers.
And when it's clear that she won't say more, John says, "Blue Sun. They were tracking Sam from infancy, is that right, River? And they lost him after..." He clears his throat. "When we left Lawrence. But they found him again when he went to that university of his."
"The law school scholarship?" Sam says. "That wasn't on the level? Wow. That's just... We never catch a break, do we?"
"You never went to the Academy," Simon says. "I'd consider that a break."
River rests a hand on his. "Everything looked perfect on the outside, but on the inside it was rotten."
Dean looks at Simon a moment, as if for permission, then he leans close to River. "What'd they do there, River?" he says. "Can you say?"
But she shakes her hair into her eyes and looks away, so Simon says, "We always knew that River was special, and at the Academy... They said that they would help her fulfill her potential. They didn't mention that they were going to slice her brain apart to do it. When I realized what was going on, I got River out. But it took everything I had, and the damage was already done."
"And that Academy wasn't too happy to lose her," Zoe adds. "Alliance's been after us off and on. Got bad last year, but we thought it might be over. Thought we settled them."
"That's not how they are," River answers. "There's a hundred heads, and even when you cut them off, they still grow back."
"Cutting off heads sounds good to me," Dean says. "Slaying monsters is the family business. When we cut off heads, they stay off."
"Metaphor, Dean," Sam says.
"I know that, jerkface. My point is, if there's some kind of big evil after you, bro, we will take it out."
"That's right," John says, low and serious. Zoe looks away again, doesn't want to see the way he's looking at his sons. They got no idea what they're up against, she thinks, and don't know enough to be scared.
"Don't worry, Zoe," River says.
They all look at her. "Ain't worried," Zoe mutters. It's not exactly a lie. "I'm gonna walk these two back to Serenity. You three come by tomorrow. We all need to hear about this, the whole crew." John steps toward her, but she's already most of the way out, herding the Tams along with her. Once she's outside she takes a deep breath of night air, tinged with oil and fuel and all the other port-smells. "You reckon Blue Sun's planning a move, River?" she asks as they walk.
River tilts her head to look up at the cloudy sky. "Everything is in motion all the time, bringing us together or taking us apart."
That don't sound reassuring.
Lights are on when they get back to Serenity, and Mal greets them at the hatch, dressed to go out, with a pistol in his hand. "See you found our lost sheep."
"Yes, sir," she says.
He takes another look at her and the grin fades from his face. "Something brewing out there?"
Zoe nods. "Trouble. The kind we've seen before, and maybe something new. Looks like Blue Sun has an interest in one of John's sons." She watches his face set, and curses the night she stopped by a burying ground to help a man fight something that wasn't there.
"It was always coming to us," River says. "All together, we stand a better chance."
"They'll be by in the morning," Zoe says. "Reckon we'll see then."
She stands with Mal as Simon and River head across the hold; at the door River turns around. "Zoe was naked," she says. "He kept thinking of that." She twirls around and just like that, she's gone, Simon following with that apologetic look again.
Mal's got his eyebrows raised, like he's ready to say something smart. Then he seems to reconsider. "None of my business, right?"
"That's right," Zoe says. "None of your business."
end
Link to next part: Xinwuwei Docks, 2
A note on language: I've allowed John's speech to conform to the dialect used by Mal and Zoe in Firefly; it sounds right to my ear, given the way I've translated the character. I know it doesn't match his speech patterns in Supernatural.