Firefly Drabbles

[author_by_night]

Title: Keep Flying
Author: author_by_night
Fandom: Firefly
Rating: PG-13

I

When Zoe was a girl, nothing gave her more joy than her grandfather.

He had never known anything outside of a spaceship. The departure from Earth That Was had taken a century, and his family came close to last. The Alleyne family had been part of the initial move, so most of them had stayed behind to tie up loose ends. He was born on one, and therefore always attached to them. When Zoe herself managed to be born on a spaceship, he was very proud of this - if not surprised. Her family never stayed anywhere for long, because they didn't know how. It wasn't like other families, who had been settled on one planet for centuries. At one point, Zoe made a friend named Kiara, whose family had been there since day one. She could not process this.

Until she was too big, Zoe would sit on Paul's lap as he flew, helping him maneuver, turn the wheel, and warn him of anything coming his way. Sometimes he would go a little too fast, not enough to hurt anyone but just enough to give her a gasp of surprise and a giggle. When Zoe was too big for his lap, she settled for the seat next to him, and eventually, he began to teach her.

Paul had a dislike for the alliance. Her mother always said, "Dad, don't talk like that in front of the children," but Zoe had to know more. He told her how on Earth That Was, there was no universal government - everyone had their own people, their own cultures, their own ways, and within those governments, people had rights. Of course there were countries where governments told everyone what to do and when and how to do it, but such leaders were called dictators, and the Alliance was forming a dictatorship.

One day he said it with such venom that Zoe began to cry. It was embarrassing, really, being twelve years old and crying out of the blue, but she was beginning to grow fearful. Paul quickly changed his tone, taking her into his lap and letting her get it all out.



II

Zoe met Malcom Reynolds when she was in University, studying criminology and hoping she would be able to do something with it.

Zoe missed her grandfather. She missed all of her family, of course, but they weren't being honest with her like Paul was. In one semester, several of Zoe's classmates had disappeared; those same ones were critical of the Alliance. Her parents said it had to be a coincidence, but she knew they didn't really believe it. The more protective they grew, the more Zoe broke away. She took to learning how to use a gun and taking self defense classes, just in case she ever needed one or the other. Only her Grandpa knew that, because it helped him sleep better at night.

One day, two spokesmen from the Alliance came to give a talk to her University. Zoe listened carefully, and the lies burned her.

"We are doing all we can to find your peers."

"We are as saddened as you are."

Zoe rolled her eyes walked away, not in any mood to listen further. She was stopped by a man in the middle of the road.

"Disgusting, ain't it?" He asked. He had an accent that indicated he was from a more rural planet, and his farmer's boots confirmed Zoe's initial impression. She noted the cross around his neck and the Bible in his arms; he must have been one of those religious people who insisted on trying to convert her.

"Look," Zoe began, "I'm sure you're a nice guy and all, but... I'm not one for Church. I prefer to worship in my own way."

"Who do you worship?" The man asked.

Zoe shrugged. "God. I don't know much about him, just that he exists, or she. And I'm content with that."

"Do you think they're God?" The man's head indicated the spokespeople, now at a slight distance.

"I... am not in the mood for this," Zoe said quickly.

"I saw you looking all disgusted," he told her.

"I've had a really long day, and I'm upset that my classmates went missing."

"They're not missing, they were apprehended."

Zoe felt her heart sink. "What do you know?"

"That there's some things worth fightin' for."

"Where are they? A friend of mine was amongst them! And if they're arresting students, who knows who else..." Zoe thought of her grandfather, who would not keep quiet no matter what.

"I'm not going to ask that you follow Jesus, although I will tell you this - he condemned the Romans, and that's where we are. Living in Rome."

"Who are you?"

"Officer Malcolm Reynolds, hopefully a Captain someday but I mustn't get my hopes up. For now, I'm recruiting."

"Recruiting for what?"

"War."

Zoe's heart began to pound.

"No," she said. "I won't kill. I'm sorry, I wish you the best of luck but... you're talking to the wrong girl."

She hurried off without letting Malcolm Reynolds say anything more, and threw her practice gun out the window. She would not become that sort of person.

III

"I'm so sorry."

Zoe stared at her mother, then looked at her grandmother. The woman had fallen to the floor and was staring in shock.

"No," Zoe said. "No."

"He loved you," Susan said, brushing her daughter's hair.

"How did he die?"

Susan sighed. "I can't hide it from you any longer. He'd been getting warnings from them for a long time..."

"Who?"

"The Alliance."

First, Zoe was blank, emotion evading her. Her sister and brother reached out to her for comfort, but she just let them cry on her shoulder, not moving. Emotion would only make it worse.

Then she was angry. Angry as they carried him to a small graveyard. Angry as her grandmother had to be carried away because she had fainted. So angry that she went home, packed a few personal belongings, and made her way into town looking for Officer Malcolm Reynolds, without even saying goodbye to her parent or siblings.

She found him at a tavern, in a fight with some drunkard who was calling him a traitor. and looked ready to kill him, considering the rifle pointed at Officer Reynolds' chest. Zoe jumped in, practiced some karate that led to the man flying across the room, and held his rifle to her closely.

"And we meet again," Officer Reynolds said.

Zoe looked at him. "I'm in."

IV

When they lost the war, they spent days with the dead bodies, burying them. It felt ironic, really, that their comrades should rest in the valley where they had died, but perhaps it was right. It would make the message very clear to the Alliance: They would never leave Serenity Valley.

In any case, it cleared up the stench.

When they were finally picked up, Tracey went his own way. Zoe and Mal sat at a pub in a ship town, similar to the one they had met in years before.

"We should go," Zoe said.

"But where?" Mal asked.

Zoe shrugged. "Fly, I guess. That's what my gr- some people would do." She didn't want to talk about him, and hated herself for thinking of him. He would be ashamed of her failure, and made her sick.

Mal nodded. "I flew in a ship once. I've always wanted to again."

"Then it's settled," Zoe said.

Mal got up. "I'll find us one."

"I didn't mean-"

But he was already gone, and Zoe thought it was just as well. She needed to be alone.



Title: It
Author: author_by_night
Fandom: Firefly
Rating: PG

Zoe wanted It before, which surprised most of the crew. They figured she wasn't the type, and who could blame them? With the crew, Zoe put on her hard face. The face that said "come here, talk to me, but not for long." The face that was serious. The face that was expressionless as Mal did something stupid, which, really, was every day of his life. Mal was a breech baby; he hadn't even come out the womb without some drastic means. Maybe that was why he had gone to war. Too bad, really; the world could've used another preacher about now, with Book gone and the 'verse reeling after being told what the Alliance had done. Not that Zoe was one for religion herself, she believed in God but had never been a Churchgoer, but if history was anything to go by, religion always came through stronger than government, especially an oppressive one.

Zoe wondered what Wash's parents thought of those damn Browncoats now. She hadn't told them; Kaylee had. Zoe knew it was wrong, but she couldn't face them, not after they had turned from their son. Not that it had been something out of a tragic novel, mind; no, it was a sadder kind of abandonment. The kind where he'd go home for Christmas and they'd gladly receive him, but make cutting remarks every chance they got. The kind where his parents had given him toy dinosaurs for Christmas, presumably hoping to awaken the child within. If they had really known him they would realize it wasn't necessary; he was a man child without. Of course. that hadn't stopped Wash from cherishing those toys. He'd said it was a sign his parents meant well, and while Zoe didn't think she bought it, she still threatened to punch Jayne for cracking wise about them.

His parents had been distraught, apparently, and Kaylee was annoyed that Zoe hadn't told them herself. But Zoe knew she would just look at his brother and say "you should have been there, dumbass." She would have looked at his mother and asked her if she knew her failure of a son had died because of the government they believed in. Then his father would have gotten involved, and Mal would have punched him... really, it might have been kind of funny after that, but mostly it would add to an already big mess.

It didn't stop Zoe from feeling like a coward.

She would have to talk to them now, though. It would be too cruel not to tell them the one piece of good news, that they had one second chance. At least, she guessed it was good. It was hard to be excited; it made Zoe feel better, but it made Zoe feel worse. It was what Zoe and Wash had wanted, but only one of them would get any real joy out of it. It was a comfort, but it was ironic too.

"You have to tell them."

River had taken a seat next to Zoe, and was looking at her seriously. River got better every day but she still had her moments.

"I know," Zoe said.

"But you can tell me first."

Zoe looked at River, took a deep breath, and said, "I'm pregnant."

Comments

[daintress.livejournal.com]

I wanted that for Zoe from the first time I watched Serenity. I think it might be the only thing that would prevent her from sealing herself off entirely.

These are lovely. I'm sorry I didn't see them yesterday. :)

[vifetoile.livejournal.com]

Both of these were great. I loved your development of Zoe's relationship with her grandfather, and young, idealistic Mal. Poor pre-broken guy...

Also, "They would never leave Serenity Valley"... great.

And It was beautiful, especially the moment with River at the end.