The Morning After
Title: The Morning After
Author: ZoeWarren
Rating: PG
Challenge: The Morning After
Characters: Inara, Mal, crew
Pairings: none
Spoilers/Timeline: post-BDM
Disclaimer: Joss is boss, I'm only playing
Author's Note: I've been working on the second part of Leave of Absence, and I came across two little scenes that aren't going to fit into the structure I've got going. I like them, though, so I thought I'd post them as wee drabbles. They're in the same 'verse as the rest of my stuff.
The Morning After
Inara stayed at the med facility until the last of the crew were released; Mal and Simon, with their belly wounds, were both kept several days longer than the others.
Serenity had been towed to a dry dock on Haven, and Kaylee, River, Zoe and Jayne were already hard at work on the repairs. As soon as Mal was able to walk unassisted, he insisted on joining them.
** **
Inara could feel Mal bristle beside her as they crossed the shipyards towards Serenity, past a sea of Alliance ships in similar states of disrepair. She could feel the repair crews staring at them. Not the stares she was used to getting.
** **
Stepping into the cargo bay was… heartbreaking. The damage, clearly visible now in the light of day, was extensive. She couldn’t imagine what Mal was feeling.
They stood for a long moment in silence.
“I’m going to find Kaylee.”
His hand brushed the small of her back, a brief touch, before he stepped past her.
** **
Inara watched him go, feeling small and useless. Someone had cleared a rough path to the common room, the only route, now, to the rest of the ship; the catwalks were bent and twisted, hanging at precarious angles. Her shuttle, she noticed, was completely inaccessible.
She had no mechanical skill to help Kaylee and River, no brute strength to help Jayne and Zoe, so she headed for the kitchen. They would need that to be functional before almost anything else.
Cleaning, at least, was something she could do.
Author: ZoeWarren
Rating: PG
Challenge: The Morning After
Characters: Inara, Mal, crew
Pairings: none
Spoilers/Timeline: post-BDM
Disclaimer: Joss is boss, I'm only playing
Author's Note: I've been working on the second part of Leave of Absence, and I came across two little scenes that aren't going to fit into the structure I've got going. I like them, though, so I thought I'd post them as wee drabbles. They're in the same 'verse as the rest of my stuff.
The Morning After
Inara stayed at the med facility until the last of the crew were released; Mal and Simon, with their belly wounds, were both kept several days longer than the others.
Serenity had been towed to a dry dock on Haven, and Kaylee, River, Zoe and Jayne were already hard at work on the repairs. As soon as Mal was able to walk unassisted, he insisted on joining them.
** **
Inara could feel Mal bristle beside her as they crossed the shipyards towards Serenity, past a sea of Alliance ships in similar states of disrepair. She could feel the repair crews staring at them. Not the stares she was used to getting.
** **
Stepping into the cargo bay was… heartbreaking. The damage, clearly visible now in the light of day, was extensive. She couldn’t imagine what Mal was feeling.
They stood for a long moment in silence.
“I’m going to find Kaylee.”
His hand brushed the small of her back, a brief touch, before he stepped past her.
** **
Inara watched him go, feeling small and useless. Someone had cleared a rough path to the common room, the only route, now, to the rest of the ship; the catwalks were bent and twisted, hanging at precarious angles. Her shuttle, she noticed, was completely inaccessible.
She had no mechanical skill to help Kaylee and River, no brute strength to help Jayne and Zoe, so she headed for the kitchen. They would need that to be functional before almost anything else.
Cleaning, at least, was something she could do.