Life Onboard Serenity: #41 - Changeable Weather
POSTED BY: Isahiah
UPDATED: Monday, February 9, 2009 04:48
VIEWED: 34529
PAGE 12 of 15
"Close the hatch, Jayne." Zoe said relaxing. Jayne moved and did so, if he wanted to watch it would be the door. As he did, John turned to River.
"Where is she?" he asked. River simply pointed. John stalked toward her.
"He didn't take the ship off ruttin' landlock," Jayne commented.
John made it to where Ivy and Pain were standing. "Ivy you need to wave that man. Quickly would be better. And then you, Zoe and I are going to have a chat and if you can convince us not to tell the captain about this, we won't." John began to walk away not convinced on texactly what to do.
johnttf
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Quote:
Originally posted by johnthetheatrefreak:
"Ivy you need to wave that man. Quickly would be better. And then you, Zoe and I are going to have a chat and if you can convince us not to tell the captain about this, we won't."
As John talked, no... threatened her, Ivy moved around to hide behind Pain, her hands gripping parts of his shirt. Pain could feel her tremble, than stiffen and stand tall, then tremble again. He knew what was happening. She was cycling between Ivy and Tommy. Ivy trying to keep in control and Tommy wanting to protect her.
After John stormed off, Pain turned around to look at her and saw Tommy looking past him at John's exit.
"Tommy?" he asked. "Are you allright?"
Her jaw was clenched and she acted like she didn't hear him.
"Is she allright?" Pain added.
She started to tremble again and she looked up at him with tear streaked eyes.
"I thought he was my friend," she cried softly.
Pain started to reach out for her, but 13 came around the corner, catching his attention. She took a couple steps back, then bolted, running away from them all.
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Pain glared at Bot Boy who was standing in front of him with a grin on his face and his hands behind his back. As he started to roll back and forth on the balls of his feet, Pain muttered something to him and stormed past on his search for Ivy. He was angry at them. Not all of them, but some of them. In fact he just plain out ignored those in his path. He was a little mad at Ivy for not staying put in the crew shower, but he was sure that would soon wane.
He decided to check their bunk to see if she was there. As he opened the hatch he climbed down only to see that the bunk was empty. He growled and stormed up and out of the bunk, closing the hatch behind him as he decided to check her old room. 13 was there standing in the galley, but Pain avoided him as he headed down the stairs that lead from the fore deck to the cargo bay. Traversing the cargo bay's expanse, Pain made it to the passenger dorms and checked the one filled with plants. After some peeking through the numerous plants and getting smacked with a few springy leaf covered branches, Pain muttered once more and stepped out of the room, sliding the door shut behind him.
As he stood outside Ivy's former residence, Pain rubbed the back of his neck and tried to figure out where she could be. 13 appeared in the doorway, still grinning from ear to ear.
Pain turned towards his direction, sneering at the cyborg and growling, "Don't start anythin', I'm not in the mood."
"Oh, but I am." 13 replied in a chipper mood.
"Don't." Pain growled again. "Neither me nor Ivy are quite in the mood for whatever the rutt you have to say, dong ma?"
Without waiting for a reply or remark, Pain stormed off to search Serenity's every nook and cranny for Ivy.
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WWJD: What Would Jayne Do?
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Grayson got even more angry when the residents onboard Serenity closed up the ramp and closed the door, shutting off any good view he had of the inside of the ship. He clenched his jaw and tried to think of what to do.
After 10 minutes, he saw the door to the left of the cargo bay doors open and a girl, toting a duffle bag nervously sneak out. Grayson slid off the crate and eyed her as she walked swiftly away from the ship. He quickly ascertained it was the girlfriend of the big man he had observed earlier. She was the one that wore the blue poncho. What was her name again?
Inara.
He ran after her.
"Inara!" he called out, but she didn't answer. "Inara!"
He finally reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder and gently turned her around to face him. Luckily, he was still in view of Serenity.
"I'm glad I caught up with you," he said as he smiled at her. Aiko looked back at him with a scared look in her eyes. "Can I ask you a question?"
"I don't know anything, mister," she said shakily.
Grayson looked at the sizeable duffel.
"You leaving?" he asked warily. Aiko nodded and turned to walk away, but Grayson stopped her again. "You have a fight with your boyfriend?"
"Not my boyfriend," Aiko said. She thought about Ivy and how she had been nice to her. She quickly added. "Anymore."
"Do you know of the girl I was asking about? Her name is Ivy. May have been called Tommy as well?"
"I don't know anything, mister," she repeated. She pulled away from Grayson and scurried off as fast as she could.
This woman was spooked. By what, he didn't know, but he let her go. What kind of people were onboard this firefly? More scenarios played out in his mind. Again, none of them were pleasant.
One thing that he noticed was that she had left the door open. Smiling, he set up "residence" in a new location so he could see in, but made sure he was hidden from their view should anyone peek out.
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John walked back into the cargo bay. He saw Zoe and joined her.
"What was that?" she asked him.
"Man coming for Ivy, seems to think she's going to breakdown. I'm giving her a chance to explain to us. If she can I don't think we should tell Mal."
"He'll kick her off."
"Exactly."
"Is that really a bad thing?"
"I really don't know. I don't know who to believe. Her or Grayson."
"She's hurt." River walked over to them.
"Of course she is," John replied, "But she brought him down on us."
"Did she?" River said walking away.
"I agree with your idea to have her talk to us," Zoe said. "But she better be real convincing."
johnttf
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In search of Ivy
She wasn't on the bridge. Pain checked both levels thoroughly and not a trace of her. He checked all the bunks in the fore deck even Jayne's, in which he voiced his concern about Pain's unannounced visit with some choice words. He then checked the space below the deck plating, retrieving the duffel bags he stowed and returning them to his bunk. It didn't help that 13 had decided to tag along, following Pain and grinning like a gorramn fool all the while. Pain did his best to ignore Bot Boy as he walked into the galley and continued his search.
He first checked the pantry, making note that there was a space on the shelf where he could store the sweets she bought. He thought that over and decided against it, knowing either Jayne or Kaylee would find them and get into them. No, he'd probably be better off stashing them in Inara's shuttle, with permission of course. Getting back to the searching, Pain closed the pantry and checked the surrounding area.
"Nothin'." he muttered as he left the galley and headed for the engine room.
"Ya lookin' for somethin', Pain?" asked Kaylee.
Pain looked at the mechanic, but said nothing as he resumed his search. Nothing in the infirmary, nothing in the other passenger dorms, although he did notice Aiko's room was cleaned out and her stuff was gone along with her. He noticed John, Zoe, and River in the cargo bay, but paid them no mind as he walked of the stairs and headed for the shuttles. He paused and noticed the open door, but then resumed walking. Hopefully Ivy would be in one of the shuttles. Otherwise he'd have to venture outside and deal with Grayson.
"Hmmmm." he mused to himself as he made his way to the second shuttle. "Maybe Grayson could use a sometimes annoyin', but ocassionally useful cyborg."
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Ivy ran upstairs and into Shuttle 2. She closed the door behind her and went up to the console. She sat in the seat in front of the cortex screen and waited a bit for her hands to stop shaking and the trembling to pass. If she looked like a wreck when she waved Grayson, it wouldn't help one iota. It would only make things worse. After a couple of minutes, she finally was ready and she waved him.
Grayson answered all too quickly.
"Ivy! Thank God! Where are you? Tell me and I'll come get you," Grayson started. He looked so happy to see her, but that was not the case for her.
"What do you think you are doing?" Ivy asked him with an even voice.
"I'm getting ready to come get you. I'm taking you home."
"No."
Grayson did a double take at the screen.
"Excuse me?" he asked.
"I said no."
"Ivy, you know you need to be somewhere safe, somewhere someone can keep an eye on you, make sure you are OK," Grayson told her, talking to her like she was a child.
"No, Grayson," she repeated. "I am 26 years old. I think I can choose my own path in life."
"Can you, Ivy?" Grayson asked her. "Did you forget what happened 2 1/2 years ago? Did you think anything was going to be normal again after that?"
Ivy swallowed thickly.
"I am well aware of what happened," she growled at him, full well knowing that she really didn't have all the pieces. "Something like that just doesn't go away. But I have to put it in the past. I am not going to let that event define my life. I have to move on."
"But, Ivy, you're not safe."
"I am. He will keep me safe."
"This man you've met? How much do you know about him? Give me a name and I'll run down his history..."
"I know all I need to know. I care for him and he does for me. He makes me feel safe. I haven't felt this safe for a very long time," she told him. "Not since Daddy was around."
A tear ran down her face.
"And Daddy left big shoes to fill," she added. "I have people around me that I have become friends with."
She thought about John and how he had been so angry with her. She thought he was her friend. Could she be wrong about any of the others? But then Kaylee popped into her mind. Kaylee was her friend. River too.
"Why don't you just tell me where you are? Let me see for myself."
"No. You'll just try to muck things up," she told him. "You've already done enough for one day. You've made my friends on Serenity quite nervous. It's not every day they get a trigger happy fed beating down their back door."
"Ivy-"
"Grayson, go home," she told him firmly. "If I start to feel bad, I promise that either I or Tommy will contact you. And if neither of us is available, then I will have him wave you."
"Just give me a name, Ivy," Grayson pleaded. "And the location where you're at. Please."
"No. I am going to make it on my own. I have to stand up on my own two feet. I can't spend my life afraid and I won't. I refuse to. Not anymore."
"But..."
"Go home Grayson."
Grayson sighed. He knew he wasn't going to win. She did seem more like her old self than he'd seen in a long, long time. Maybe she was right. Maybe she did need to try this whole thing on her own.
"Ivy, does this man know about Tommy?"
"Yes."
"And he hasn't tried to take advantage of that?"
"He's been great. He doesn't try to change me. He doesn't push me. He just let's me... be me."
"Are you sure everything is OK?"
"I'm sure," she told him. She smiled brightly. "If it make you feel better, one of my new friends is a doctor."
"A psychiatrist?"
"No, but he knows as well. He'll be able to help me if needed."
"Ivy..."
"I'm fine, Grayson."
"OK," he finally gave in. "I want you to wave me... often. Every three days. If you don't I will hunt you down."
"Deal."
"And Ivy?" he asked her. "If this man hurts you, I will kill him. Make sure he knows that."
"I'll tell him," she giggled. "Now just go home. You have charges that are in more need of your help than I am. Spend your t
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Starboard Shuttle
Pain stopped at the hatch to the shuttle, turned to face 13, and said flatly, "Leave. Now."
13 rolled his eyes and said, "Fine. Whatever."
As 13 headed down into the cargo bay, Pain turned back to the shuttle and opened the hatch. Immediately as he stepped foot into the shuttle, he was pounced on by Ivy. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him hugs and kisses. He returned the kisses and the hugs, but she knew his heart wasn't fully in it.
"Are you mad at me?" she asked as she looked into his eyes.
"A little." he replied as he let her down. "You should've stayed where you were in the crew shower."
"I'm...I'm sorry." she replied, her voice starting to hitch. She wrapped her arms around him and could feel the tears starting to well up as she pressed the side of her face into his chest.
Pain placed a hand on her back and gave her a slow soothing rub. He tilted her head up after a while and wiped away the tears on her cheeks with his free hand.
Giving her a honest and sincere smile, he said to her, "It's alright, darlin'. I can't stay mad at you for long." Leaning down, Pain placed a kiss on top of Ivy's head and added, "Your hair smells nice by the way."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WWJD: What Would Jayne Do?
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Grayson sighed as he disconnected from Ivy's wave. He didn't feel good about the whole thing, but at least the scenarios that had been running through his head were now less horrific in nature.
As much as he wanted to stay and watch Serenity's inhabitants, he had promised Ivy that he would leave and go on with his own business.
But she was his business. Well, she used to be. Now he had been replaced. By a man he didn't know a single thing about nor had he even seen before.
He stood up from his hiding spot and walked a few paces forward so that Zoe and John could see him. Once he was sure, he gave them a sarcastic salute and went about his way.
As he walked towards his ship, he sent a message to the port authority to make sure the landlock he put on Serenity was lifted. Then he wondered whether or not he really needed to make a visit to the Alliance official who had demanded that he come to her office.
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John watched Pain enter the shuttle from his position in the cargo bay. "She in there River?"
"Yes."
"Now or never," Zoe said walking toward the shuttle. John followed her and they entered the shuttle. "Pain," Zoe began , "We need to talk to Ivy, whether you stay in here or not doesn't matter butyou have to let us talk to her."
John felt a twinge of pain from Ivy, betrayal more like it. It made him feel bad. He hadn't meant to throw her to the Reavers, but she said no one was coming. "I'm sorry if what you saw hurt you," he told her, "But I was just trying to protect my home."
Zoe took over from here. "I need to know who that man was"
johnttf
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