Blue Sun Room FICTION - GENERAL
A NEW DAY, ch. 17: Watching & Waiting
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Set three months after A NEW BEGINNING. Jayne anxiously awaits for River to wake, while Alicia continues to help Rylee as best she can. On Harvest, Simon and Kaylee try to live normal lives, but the uncertainty of their daughter's fate weighs heavily on them. S/K, R/J, M/I
CATEGORY: FICTION TIMES READ: 3233 RATING: 9.0 (G) SERIES: FIREFLY
A/N: You'd think that Rylee's rescue would have signified the start of an angst-free period for our BDHs, but alas, the angst has not lessened yet.
Thanks to Leiasky for the beta - once again.
Please continue to read and respond - comments make me happy!
***
A NEW DAY, ch. 17: Watching & Waiting
***
For the five days that they had been in the hospital, River had yet to come out of her coma, making Jayne nervous, agitated and not at all pleasant to be around. Even the nurses and doctors had started giving him a wide berth, whether it was when they passed him in the hall, the cafeteria or entered his wife’s room to check on her.
Simon had spoken with the doctor and assured Jayne that River was receiving the best possible care, and while he was fairly certain that Simon was pretty much useless a good portion of the time, Jayne did know that his brother-in-law knew plenty about doctoring and if he said his sis was on the road to recovery, than it was true.
But that did not change the fact that Jayne was going just a bit crazy. He needed her to wake up – it wasn’t the same way he needed food or air or water, but he still needed it, he needed her, in a way he had forgotten in their years together and every day as he stared at her peaceful face, he could only remind himself never to take advantage of her again.
It was late and he was dozing. They had tried to tell him he couldn’t stay in the hospital all hours of the day, but that hadn’t gone over well, and so after Regan had made a few calls, the nurses stopped reminding him about visiting hours. So he had set up two chairs in the corner of the room facing each other, and he was stretched across them now, waiting and sleeping occasionally until his wife awoke.
His head falling forward at a particularly fast velocity caused his eyes to snap open and deciding to switch positions, he got up and headed back to River’s side. With his forehead resting on the soft mattress next to her hand, he was soon asleep and snoring lo
Comments
Saturday, 30 September 2006 23:21
First post! Huzzah!
Oh....I don't know how you keep doing it, TamSibling! The level of quality and skill in your work continues to amaze me...and chastise me for even thinking about trying to write;D
Gotta admit right off the bat...River needs Alicia's help just as bad as Rylee does. And that needs been aroud a lot longer than Rylee's. I really think you've hit on a topic that Joss would have covered (or had covered by a trusted scribe): River's need for an unbiased stabilizing force to deal with a lot of issues stemming from her childhood, her time at the Academy and her time with Serenity. Cuz for all good the crew does...they're too invested in River's life to give her the kind of psych counselling she needs after coming back from psychosis and losing her brother temporarily and especially after losing a child. Besides, River needs to be on even keel in order to help Rylee properly, as you pointed out here:)
I just hope that Alicia's miracle can come true, cuz if this is going to 33...there's still 16 more times where something could happen to either River or Simon that would prevent the siblings from having final closure on this matter. And I would at least like to see some harmony between Simon and River if either one of them or their spouses end up dead by the end. Cuz while Joss (and you, my dear acolyte of Whedon) like to field goal kick puppies...you're not completely without reason;)
BEB
Oh....I don't know how you keep doing it, TamSibling! The level of quality and skill in your work continues to amaze me...and chastise me for even thinking about trying to write;D
Gotta admit right off the bat...River needs Alicia's help just as bad as Rylee does. And that needs been aroud a lot longer than Rylee's. I really think you've hit on a topic that Joss would have covered (or had covered by a trusted scribe): River's need for an unbiased stabilizing force to deal with a lot of issues stemming from her childhood, her time at the Academy and her time with Serenity. Cuz for all good the crew does...they're too invested in River's life to give her the kind of psych counselling she needs after coming back from psychosis and losing her brother temporarily and especially after losing a child. Besides, River needs to be on even keel in order to help Rylee properly, as you pointed out here:)
I just hope that Alicia's miracle can come true, cuz if this is going to 33...there's still 16 more times where something could happen to either River or Simon that would prevent the siblings from having final closure on this matter. And I would at least like to see some harmony between Simon and River if either one of them or their spouses end up dead by the end. Cuz while Joss (and you, my dear acolyte of Whedon) like to field goal kick puppies...you're not completely without reason;)
BEB
Saturday, 30 September 2006 23:28
BEB - Fieldgoal kick puppies, huh?
I'll take it - thanks so much for the great post.
And you're not wrong, we do have 16 more chapters of the sh** hitting the fan ... so stay tuned!
I'll take it - thanks so much for the great post.
And you're not wrong, we do have 16 more chapters of the sh** hitting the fan ... so stay tuned!
Saturday, 30 September 2006 23:45
Oooh, this is good.
I am really pleased to see that Alicia is giving some of her time not only to Rylee, but to River. I said a few chapters back that River might need some counseling to help her deal with the loss of her baby (and who wouldn't? I don't see that as a weakness in River); and that was BEFORE everything else that has happened: Inara's miscarriage, Rylee's kidnapping, and everything else.
Tamsibling you ripped them all apart - now you're slowly putting them back together.
It's shiny. And i really like the things Alicia had to say to River in this chapter.
Wonder who asked Alicia to talk to River?
Hmmmmm :-) Will we find out?
I am really pleased to see that Alicia is giving some of her time not only to Rylee, but to River. I said a few chapters back that River might need some counseling to help her deal with the loss of her baby (and who wouldn't? I don't see that as a weakness in River); and that was BEFORE everything else that has happened: Inara's miscarriage, Rylee's kidnapping, and everything else.
Tamsibling you ripped them all apart - now you're slowly putting them back together.
It's shiny. And i really like the things Alicia had to say to River in this chapter.
Wonder who asked Alicia to talk to River?
Hmmmmm :-) Will we find out?
Sunday, 01 October 2006 00:43
Very very shiny, and glad that things are settling into the happy again. Loved Inara's news about tbeing pregnant again and Simon and Kaylee close again is wonderful. I don't think River will ever lose Simon's love, it just has been a hard time with everything that happened with Rylee. Almost losing River will surely bring that home to him, at least I hope so. Ali D :~)
You can't take the sky from me
You can't take the sky from me
SCIFICHICA
Sunday, 01 October 2006 04:08
I have a question more than a concrit.
Is the hospital they're all at still on Osiris? Because if the Blue Hands are such badasses, which we know they are, aren't the Tam/Cobbs sitting ducks if they stayed on the same planet? If they've been in the same place for weeks why haven't the Blue Hands just walked in and taken Rylee back?
And I love the therapy session between River and Alicia. While I think Alicia calling Rylee's abduction a "coincidence" to River's actions is being overly generous to River. Their interaction was a really brilliant piece of insight about Simon I never thought of. Gave me chills actually. I certainly don't want to see River just let off the hook. She wasn't completely honest with Alicia. She wasn't just "snooping." But I like the point about Simon's need to be right.
Is the hospital they're all at still on Osiris? Because if the Blue Hands are such badasses, which we know they are, aren't the Tam/Cobbs sitting ducks if they stayed on the same planet? If they've been in the same place for weeks why haven't the Blue Hands just walked in and taken Rylee back?
And I love the therapy session between River and Alicia. While I think Alicia calling Rylee's abduction a "coincidence" to River's actions is being overly generous to River. Their interaction was a really brilliant piece of insight about Simon I never thought of. Gave me chills actually. I certainly don't want to see River just let off the hook. She wasn't completely honest with Alicia. She wasn't just "snooping." But I like the point about Simon's need to be right.
Sunday, 01 October 2006 05:18
Once again, absolutely excellent! I especially loved the insight from Alicia. It's about damn time a professional stepped in to help River (but at this point I'm so 'effing hoping it's Zoe that is killed. Only because at this point in the story she's the only who won't have me in tears when she goes).
I have to admit, the Inara/pregnancy thing was a bit... mmm, not obvious, but not unexpected.
I would love more dialogue with Alicia/River//Alicia/Rylee... only because those interactions are really fascinating and touching to read. And I love the scene with Jayne snoring while River wakes up. Somehow just perfect.
And as always: more please!
I have to admit, the Inara/pregnancy thing was a bit... mmm, not obvious, but not unexpected.
I would love more dialogue with Alicia/River//Alicia/Rylee... only because those interactions are really fascinating and touching to read. And I love the scene with Jayne snoring while River wakes up. Somehow just perfect.
And as always: more please!
Sunday, 01 October 2006 05:38
Scifichica, it was mentioned in the last chapter that Regan took them all to Ariel, the best hospital next to the one in Capitol City.
Good chapter, interested to see what goes wrong next. And please, PLEASE tell me that Jayne or Regan killed Gabriel. Cause if they didn't, well, they ain't very smart. After everything he did it would be so stupid to walk away with him alive. My only regret would be that it wasn't a good... bad?... enough death for him and we didn't get to see it.
Also enjoying Alicia's return. I'm conflicted if I want you to continue having time pass really quickly, thus meaning we see less of the recovery, or keep skimming over it all and reunite everyone on Harvest. I had a moment of hope that Alicia would go back to HArvest and I could have both, a reunion and in-depth therapy/recovery but it was dashed when she said she was staying close to home (bah, she isn't even showing yet, it'd be a different story if she were 8 months pregnant).
ANYway, Kaylee's still really bugging me, and I hate to say it but I don't think I'll ever like her again in this story.
Yeah for Mal and Inara! Every time someone gets pregnant, though, I can't help feeling bad for River all over again. She still hasn't fully dealt with losing her kid and until (if) she does, being around people who are breeding like rabbits probably isn't the healthiest thing in the world.
Actually, I don't see the crew staying together much longer. They're becoming too different (not to mention too numeorus) to continue living on little ole Serenity. They'll always be family but I imgaine Simon and his brood will settle somewhere. Mal and Inara might even - Mal could do it for his family's safety, and he did come from a rancher's family. I think dirt's in his soul as much as the stars. That just leaves River and Jayne to inherit Serenity and gather their own little merry band of crew - ha! Wouldn't that be wild? But then, someone does have to die which throws a wrench into things. Hmm... will speculate again later once I have more intel.
Wherever this story goes, and I imagine it won't be anything like my wild speculation, I'm sure I'll enjoy the rest of the ride.
Good chapter, interested to see what goes wrong next. And please, PLEASE tell me that Jayne or Regan killed Gabriel. Cause if they didn't, well, they ain't very smart. After everything he did it would be so stupid to walk away with him alive. My only regret would be that it wasn't a good... bad?... enough death for him and we didn't get to see it.
Also enjoying Alicia's return. I'm conflicted if I want you to continue having time pass really quickly, thus meaning we see less of the recovery, or keep skimming over it all and reunite everyone on Harvest. I had a moment of hope that Alicia would go back to HArvest and I could have both, a reunion and in-depth therapy/recovery but it was dashed when she said she was staying close to home (bah, she isn't even showing yet, it'd be a different story if she were 8 months pregnant).
ANYway, Kaylee's still really bugging me, and I hate to say it but I don't think I'll ever like her again in this story.
Yeah for Mal and Inara! Every time someone gets pregnant, though, I can't help feeling bad for River all over again. She still hasn't fully dealt with losing her kid and until (if) she does, being around people who are breeding like rabbits probably isn't the healthiest thing in the world.
Actually, I don't see the crew staying together much longer. They're becoming too different (not to mention too numeorus) to continue living on little ole Serenity. They'll always be family but I imgaine Simon and his brood will settle somewhere. Mal and Inara might even - Mal could do it for his family's safety, and he did come from a rancher's family. I think dirt's in his soul as much as the stars. That just leaves River and Jayne to inherit Serenity and gather their own little merry band of crew - ha! Wouldn't that be wild? But then, someone does have to die which throws a wrench into things. Hmm... will speculate again later once I have more intel.
Wherever this story goes, and I imagine it won't be anything like my wild speculation, I'm sure I'll enjoy the rest of the ride.
Sunday, 01 October 2006 09:16
I have to agree with scifichica. Alicia's talk with River was what one would expect from a therapist: tell them what's wrong, dissect it, and find what situation in the world is causing it, and eliminate it, being careful to not cast too much blame on the patient lest you turn them off. Her insight about Simon wanting to be right is spot on - he certainly is a control freak, and hey, who wants to be wrong? - but ultimately is not the point.
Like it or not, Simon was right. He begged her not to do it, he told her what might happen - which wasn't just paranoia; it was totally forseeable as possible, even likely - and she did it anyway. What happened? Yep. Exactly - EXACTLY - what he said would happen. River *is* at fault, even if she didn't intend it. Road to hell, and all.
Simon has basically spent months (years?) being kicked around by his sister, his wife, and sometimes other random females who happen to be on hand at the time. Every time it turns out he's not wrong and didn't really deserve the thrashing he took, and every time the ladies claim "Oh, but I'm just so stressed!" Be stressed on your own time, dears. It's not like Simon's perfectly happy with the situation, but at least he's trying to do something about it instead of wailing and gnashing his teeth. Honestly, he needs to wake up, grow a gorram spine, and stand up to the girls until they start acting like mature humans and not selfish 12-year-olds.
*steps off of soap box, mops brow, takes a sip of water and a valium*
Otherwise, I like having the return of Alicia. She was a good person - I daresay as altruistic as Simon is - and deserves a chance to close out what was a fairly lousy parting four years back. I also think it would be good for her to actually come into contact with Simon again. I'm sure somewhere in the back of his head he has some issues that need working out with her (as does she, married or not), although I doubt Kaylee's going to let them take off for a private chat. ;)
Like it or not, Simon was right. He begged her not to do it, he told her what might happen - which wasn't just paranoia; it was totally forseeable as possible, even likely - and she did it anyway. What happened? Yep. Exactly - EXACTLY - what he said would happen. River *is* at fault, even if she didn't intend it. Road to hell, and all.
Simon has basically spent months (years?) being kicked around by his sister, his wife, and sometimes other random females who happen to be on hand at the time. Every time it turns out he's not wrong and didn't really deserve the thrashing he took, and every time the ladies claim "Oh, but I'm just so stressed!" Be stressed on your own time, dears. It's not like Simon's perfectly happy with the situation, but at least he's trying to do something about it instead of wailing and gnashing his teeth. Honestly, he needs to wake up, grow a gorram spine, and stand up to the girls until they start acting like mature humans and not selfish 12-year-olds.
*steps off of soap box, mops brow, takes a sip of water and a valium*
Otherwise, I like having the return of Alicia. She was a good person - I daresay as altruistic as Simon is - and deserves a chance to close out what was a fairly lousy parting four years back. I also think it would be good for her to actually come into contact with Simon again. I'm sure somewhere in the back of his head he has some issues that need working out with her (as does she, married or not), although I doubt Kaylee's going to let them take off for a private chat. ;)
Sunday, 01 October 2006 11:34
I'm ditto-ing ManicGiraffe - you've said what I was thinking, but said it better than I could.
I'd like to add that I don't understand how keeping Rylee from her parents helps Rylee heal. There seems to be a line of thought coming from Alicia that Rylee won't be allowed to see/return to her parents until she's 'better'. Or is Rylee only in Alicia's care until such time as River can be moved?
Or is this part of the angsty plotline - a misguided/farsighted Alicia won't release Rylee into the care of her parents so her parents have to take action to get her back? Because, if so Tamsibling, this kind of twist in the storyline would definitely have me in knots.
I'd like to add that I don't understand how keeping Rylee from her parents helps Rylee heal. There seems to be a line of thought coming from Alicia that Rylee won't be allowed to see/return to her parents until she's 'better'. Or is Rylee only in Alicia's care until such time as River can be moved?
Or is this part of the angsty plotline - a misguided/farsighted Alicia won't release Rylee into the care of her parents so her parents have to take action to get her back? Because, if so Tamsibling, this kind of twist in the storyline would definitely have me in knots.
Sunday, 01 October 2006 13:28
To all -
About Rylee's recovery - the child went through an extremely traumatic experience and there are a few things that motivated me to keep her on Ariel.
1) You're right, until River is well enough to be moved, it's kind of a moot point.
2) Even though Kaylee and Simon love Rylee very much, neither of them is as well-equipped to deal with her recovery/trauma.
3) Rylee is smart - super-smart - and as Alicia mentioned when talking to Simon, she can figure out exactly what to say so that she can get what she wants, aka to go hom. If she were to talk with her parents, she'd be able to read off of them their desperation to have her home. Once she welled up those big eyes with tears, Simon and Kaylee would insist she be brought back to them and possibly undo all the work Alicia has been doing. Mental illness/trauma is not easy to recover from and gets much, much worse before it gets better.
FYI - Alicia is in no way duplicitious. She is not keeping Rylee from her paretns for some unknown reason - I couldn't do that to the child or Alicia the character - I like her too much!
Thanks to all for reading and responding, you guys are making my weekend.
About Rylee's recovery - the child went through an extremely traumatic experience and there are a few things that motivated me to keep her on Ariel.
1) You're right, until River is well enough to be moved, it's kind of a moot point.
2) Even though Kaylee and Simon love Rylee very much, neither of them is as well-equipped to deal with her recovery/trauma.
3) Rylee is smart - super-smart - and as Alicia mentioned when talking to Simon, she can figure out exactly what to say so that she can get what she wants, aka to go hom. If she were to talk with her parents, she'd be able to read off of them their desperation to have her home. Once she welled up those big eyes with tears, Simon and Kaylee would insist she be brought back to them and possibly undo all the work Alicia has been doing. Mental illness/trauma is not easy to recover from and gets much, much worse before it gets better.
FYI - Alicia is in no way duplicitious. She is not keeping Rylee from her paretns for some unknown reason - I couldn't do that to the child or Alicia the character - I like her too much!
Thanks to all for reading and responding, you guys are making my weekend.
Monday, 02 October 2006 12:02
When Simon said Kaylee could hold the twins, I thought something was going to go terribly wrong.
*Laughing* You scared the hell outta me.
*Laughing* You scared the hell outta me.
Monday, 02 October 2006 14:41
I have to agree with several posts and say I think Alicia was overley generous - River was way out of line, and Simon was right. It is her fault and she needs to deal/live with that. Also, despite the explanation I dont see how keeping a 4 year old from her parents can possibly be a good, even if she needs treatment. But, I will freely admit that the options that could make that happen would obviously seriously mess with the plot line. :)
A wonderful read as always...
A wonderful read as always...
Monday, 02 October 2006 15:18
I'm glad Kaylee finally got to hold the babies. She'll probably be doting on them even more to fill the hole in her life by Rylee being gone.
I like Alicia trying not only to fix Rylee but River as well. That little psychic has a lot of issues to deal with.
I like Alicia trying not only to fix Rylee but River as well. That little psychic has a lot of issues to deal with.
Wednesday, 04 October 2006 16:47
and while he was fairly certain that Simon was pretty much useless a good portion of the time, Jayne did know that his brother-in-law knew plenty about doctoring and if he said his sis was on the road to recovery, than it was true
~ hehehehehehe, it never ends between those two
They had tried to tell him he couldn’t stay in the hospital all hours of the day, but that hadn’t gone over well
~ I can see some little orderly or nurse trying to tell Jayne to do something, then changing immediately and asking as politely as possible when he stood up
“He’s a good man and he loves you very much.”
~ Who would've thought ANYONE would ever say that about Jayne? :)
“And if Simon is going to hold you solely responsible for all the bad things that have happened in his life, than I certainly hope he’s giving you credit for all the good ones as well.”
~ Best advice for River that I have heard in a long time
~ hehehehehehe, it never ends between those two
They had tried to tell him he couldn’t stay in the hospital all hours of the day, but that hadn’t gone over well
~ I can see some little orderly or nurse trying to tell Jayne to do something, then changing immediately and asking as politely as possible when he stood up
“He’s a good man and he loves you very much.”
~ Who would've thought ANYONE would ever say that about Jayne? :)
“And if Simon is going to hold you solely responsible for all the bad things that have happened in his life, than I certainly hope he’s giving you credit for all the good ones as well.”
~ Best advice for River that I have heard in a long time
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