Even Roses Have Thorns, Chapter Seventeen
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Angst is afoot: The job goes right, but the date goes wrong. Jayne offers some words of comfort. Canon pairings. This chapter is rated PG13, for adult themes. Positive feedback perfered.
CATEGORY: FICTION TIMES READ: 2949 RATING: 9.0 (PG13) SERIES: FIREFLY
Even Roses Have Thorns
Chapter Seventeen: Hinc illae lacrimae (hence these tears)
*** *** ***
, , , , , *** *** *** “Simon Tam, you are the most insufferable man!” He’d seen the horror cross her face almost as quickly as she’d said. Not, of course, because of what she’d said – she’d said harsher things – but because of where she’d said it, and the volume at which she’d said it. That was her first mistake. It was her second mistake that had been fatal. When the older gentleman approached what he’d rightly assumed was a lover’s tiff, it was probably just to make sure the offending young man knew better than to harm a lady. Kaylee had recognised him, and it unnerved her: the man looked like a story-book old sheriff; there wasn’t one on the Skyplex, but that only made things worse. She knew that he was most likely a retired Alliance officer. So, to diffuse the situation, to get him to go away quickly, Kaylee stepped up to the plate to let him know what he thought was happening wasn’t – “Oh, no, Sir. It’s nothing like that. I’m his sister.” Simon didn’t miss the penny drop in the man’s eyes before he nodded and walked away, appearing satisfied. Apparently, Kaylee hadn’t either. “God, Simon, he’s gone to get the Feds. We gotta run.” She hastily whispered, pushing her chair back. “No. You walk out of here, nice and quiet. Call Zoë, tell her what’s happened. Get to the shuttle. If I’m not right behind you, get back to Serenity. I’ll stay a minute, pay the bill, then leave. Go now. Like everything’s ok. Go.” “Simon, I can’t leav
I posted this twice, and managed to delete one copy - it's claiming that this is the first read, so I hope nobody commented on the other one, and had their comments deleted. If so, you have my sincerest apologies. The magic vanishing comment trick tends to happen to my best thought-out comments, so I do appreciate how frustrating it is.
I will continue with my hopes that you enjoy, and comment, and again, I thank those that have.
I do have a question, however.
I think I will be done with chapter 18 today. Should I wait and post it tomorrow, or would it be okay/preferable to post it tonight? My thinking is that posting one more isn't likely to drive any new stories off of the front page, but I honestly don't know if there's a set protocol for this. Help is appreciated.
I love Zoe. She and Inara run the damn ship at this point - Mal is merely a figurehead.
Simon must have been paying attention to Mal lately. He actually played that one right to get Kaylee out of there so he has one less thing to worry about. He no doubt going to be quite pissed when he gets back (assuming he survives...but you wouldn't kill him, right?).
I'm not sure how Simon's brain will play this, honestly: if it were me, I wouldn't be too keen on being around the girl who not only goes out of her way to "punish" me aboard ship, but now she got me arrested, too. Kaylee might have burned hereself for good here.
On the other hand, it seems that Simon still loves her a lot, so maybe he'll manage to deal with it. If he can forgive Jayne for turning him in on purpose, he can forgive Kaylee for doing it on accident.
Wouldn't it be interesting if River had a few choice words for her? About putting her ge ge in danger? That might be a nice take on the reader dynamic.
I'm wondering how the custody of Simon will proceed; will he wind up getting beaten up by purplebellies intent on beating River's location out of him in hopes of securing that large reward the Alliance has on her, or will he wind up in the custody of people with far more, uh, finesse? There has to be folks out there who'd really like to know how he managed to successfully break his way into and out of a secure Alliance facility.
Zoe was fab here, especially the way she remained level-headed and gave Mal and Inara their orders.
Gotta admit...I found this chapter to be rather brilliant in how Mal and Inara are basically running the show, and that Simon actually had a moment of pragmatic heroism that he knows he won't get rescued from right away...if ever. Really can't wait to see how this event changes the dynamic of things on board Serenity...cuz it will;)
BEB
Post Your Comments
You must log in to post comments.