Blue Sun Room FICTION - GENERAL

His Women

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Part 6 of the <a href="http://www.fireflyfans.net/bluesun.aspx?bid=16066"Namesake </a> series. Two parts angst, one part fluff. Mal narration. Inara recovers. Fear, love, and hope. Rated PG-13 for reference to horrific pre-story events... Download the first 6 installments in one convenient PDF <a href="http://www.valeriebean.com/writings/fireflyfic/"here.</a>

CATEGORY: FICTION    TIMES READ: 4192    RATING: 9.0 (G)    SERIES: FIREFLY

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A.N. Comments welcome and appreciated. Read , , , , and first or risk confusion.

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PART 16: HE FOUND HER

Mal stood in the Infirmary, watching Inara as she slept. Two-year-old Michael yawned on his shoulder, while Zoë and Cole stood on tiptoes trying to see her face. It had taken six months to find her. Six months and he’d found her broken. Though her stomach was relatively flat, he was convinced he could see the glow of new motherhood on her. Those hun dan had raped her over and over, even after she became pregnant. Pregnant and broken. Her lucid periods were getting longer now; hopefully long enough to satisfy the children. He’d kept them away from her until today, knowing it would hurt them more to see her broken than to not see her at all. It hurt him so much to see. Was this how she felt every time he nearly died on a job?

“Mama,” Michael whispered, more in Mal’s ear than to Inara. Mal teared-up at the sound of his son’s voice. Inara had missed his first words, his first steps; but she stirred when he said her name.

Her eyes fluttered open and the children collectively inhaled as if watching an angel awake. At least that was the joy Mal felt when her eyes met his. Present one moment, vacant the next, but she recognized him now more than before.

“Mommy!” Cole cried and Zoë lifted him onto the bed so he could give his mother a hug. Inara closed her eyes and leaned her head against his, but no smile came to her face. Little Zoë took Inara’s hand as delicately as if it would break off from too much pressure. For a brief moment, as Cole caught Inara up on the latest ship news and Zoë chimed in with addendums, Mal saw p

Comments
Sunday, 15 April 2007 20:50
So Little Zoë isn't a little girl anymore? Ai ya, that only means boy troubles are next!

Maybe the next section of chapters should be lighter, then another return to darker days.
Sunday, 15 April 2007 22:14
Yes, you are a cruel mistress, and this chapter had me in tears in a couple of places. So happy that Inara appears to be healing and I felt a little lump in my throat when Zoe had on her mamma's leather vest. Very well written, now we need some happy. Ali D :~)
You can't take the sky from me
Sunday, 15 April 2007 23:42
This is a wonderful series, keep up the great work!
Monday, 16 April 2007 19:35
Oh, I say pile on the angst as long as we get little douses of fluff along the way. This part was incredibly heart-breaking - I can only imagine the horror Inara had to live through being at their mercy for six months. So painful and frightening. I'm really glad that she seems to be healing as well!
Wednesday, 18 April 2007 04:47
Damn...you really are a disciple of Joss' "Go big, go dark, but for God's sake...tell a joke!" theory of writing, don't ya? Cuz this tale really lives up to that philosophy of pushing all kinds of angsty buttons before tossing out a joke....

I definitely struggled with the scenes featuring Inara's psychosis. Gotta wonder though how involved River was in assisting Inara, since she's got the most experience with dealing with trauma-induced psychosis amongst the crew.

BEB

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