New Moments 'Verse Fic - The Replacement
Feb. 13th, 2021 06:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cmk418So, just about 10 years ago, Trillingstar went around randomly pairing up different icons in her collection for what was called "The Crossovers of Guh meme". One of these pairings was Malcolm Reynolds of 'Firefly' and Ryan O'Reily of 'OZ'. Never having met a rare pair that I didn't like, I jumped at the challenge to write the couple, beginning with How Ryan O'Reily Escaped from Oz, Trillingstar jumped in with Breaking Atmosphere. These were followed by You Always Wanted to Travel and In Limbo. Trillingstar has made the most recent contribution to this series in 2018 with The Haunting of Ryan O'Reily. Flash forward to today and this way-beyond-a-drabble came into my head as I was looking for an entry for Femslash February. As always, anyone is welcome to jump aboard and contribute to this 'verse wherever they see fit.
Enough of the drabble-length author's note. Here's the fic:
Mal read through the note one more time then slammed his fist on the table and cursed.
Ryan took the paper out of Mal's hand. It was a note explaining that Simon had met someone, found honest work, and was going to stay off-world.
“Knew we shouldn't've stayed this long on Athena. Gorram pilot said it was necessary and then told me not to worry. She knew,” his fingers clenched.
Ryan put a hand on Mal's arm. “You don't want to lose a pilot as well as a doctor.”
“Not the only thing I'm worried about. Simon planned some of our better jobs.”
“And that,” Ryan said, punctuating his words with a kiss, “is one of the reasons why you have me around.” With that, he left Mal standing in the galley and headed toward the bridge.
There was the turbulent swoosh of the feeling that he was greeted with when he first set foot on Serenity, the feeling of slipping through a wormhole. “You're on it already, I see,” he said, heading to the bridge.
“Just varied the coordinates slightly. It was a good idea.”
A beam of light shining directly through the car window forced Gloria to hit the brakes. The two lane road didn't seem big enough for whatever what was coming toward her.
And whatever it was seemed to hover a bit before landing. Gloria blinked, certain she was seeing things, then blinked again as a walkway was lowered and a familiar figure strode toward her. She turned off the ignition and got out of the car.
She hadn't seen Ryan O'Reily in over three years, not since he managed to escape from Oz. This would explain the manner of escape and the hole in the kitchen wall that still hadn't been repaired. “Gloria,” he said.
“Ryan, what is this?”
“Serenity. She's the best ship in the 'Verse.” Ryan continued on about his adventures, but Gloria's attention was captured by the beautiful woman she saw heading down the gangplank, wrench in hand. Ryan turned his head to see what Gloria was looking at. “Oh, that's Kaylee, ship's mechanic. Really knows her stuff.”
Gloria gave a slight nod.
“Ryan, you didn't notice anything weird coming down the walk?” Kaylee called out.
“No,” Ryan answered. Kaylee mumbled something about River and 'checking out' as Ryan turned his focus back to Gloria.
“Why are you here?” Gloria asked. “You had to know it wasn't safe.”
“Well, that's kind of a funny story. We've got a spot on board that needs filling and Mal, that's the Captain, he doesn't like using people that he doesn't trust.”
“But he still has you on board.”
“Mal and I have an understanding that works out for both of us.”
There was a noise and the gangplank rose from the ground. Ryan bolted toward the vessel with a “No, no, no.”
Kaylee walked over from where she was still on the ground, watching the plank's progress. “Relax, Ryan. Cap's not gonna leave without you, especially since you've got the Doc with you.”
“The what?” asked Gloria.
“Hi, I'm Kaylee,” said the mechanic, extending the hand with the wrench still in it. “Sorry.” She switched the wrench to the other hand so she could shake Gloria's hand with her free one.
“Gloria Nathan.”
“River, lower the gangplank!” yelled Ryan. He turned back to the women. “We stay much longer and I'm gonna get pinched again and I am not going back to Oz.”
“New doctor?” Gloria asked.
“Yeah, I was getting to that. Our old doctor up and left and Mal's all for hiring folks he trusts- something about this war that happened after Earth was destroyed.”
“Earth was what?”
“Don't worry. It doesn't happen for another fifty or so years, I think. I'm still trying to figure it out. So what do you say?”
“No.”
“Oh, come on, Gloria. What's here for you, really? You go home to an empty house, come back here in the morning, drink the same weak-ass coffee, deal with the same bureaucratic bullshit, and listen to the same complaints from the inmates. Every single day. You're trapped. Oh, you have the illusion of freedom, but you're in a prison same as everybody else. Out there,” he said, gesturing to the sky, “everything is different. You wake up, not even sure what planet you'll be on the next day. And Mal, I love him, but I'm sad to say, the man does get shot a helluva lot.”
“You what?”
“Yeah, who'd've thunk it? So you don't need to worry about me if that's why you're hesitating. I'm just here because we needed a doctor and you are the best.”
There was a whirring sound as the gangplank lowered back to the ground. Kaylee smiled warmly at Gloria. “Gotta get back. I hope Ryan can convince you to join us,” then she was off, heading back up the gangplank toward the ship.
Gloria watched her as she walked away.
“You know, Kaylee's got a thing for doctors,” he said, grinning at her.
In the morning, Gloria's car was found, abandoned by the side of the road. A search was conducted. She had disappeared as completely and thoroughly as Ryan O'Reily all those years ago.
Enough of the drabble-length author's note. Here's the fic:
Mal read through the note one more time then slammed his fist on the table and cursed.
Ryan took the paper out of Mal's hand. It was a note explaining that Simon had met someone, found honest work, and was going to stay off-world.
“Knew we shouldn't've stayed this long on Athena. Gorram pilot said it was necessary and then told me not to worry. She knew,” his fingers clenched.
Ryan put a hand on Mal's arm. “You don't want to lose a pilot as well as a doctor.”
“Not the only thing I'm worried about. Simon planned some of our better jobs.”
“And that,” Ryan said, punctuating his words with a kiss, “is one of the reasons why you have me around.” With that, he left Mal standing in the galley and headed toward the bridge.
There was the turbulent swoosh of the feeling that he was greeted with when he first set foot on Serenity, the feeling of slipping through a wormhole. “You're on it already, I see,” he said, heading to the bridge.
“Just varied the coordinates slightly. It was a good idea.”
A beam of light shining directly through the car window forced Gloria to hit the brakes. The two lane road didn't seem big enough for whatever what was coming toward her.
And whatever it was seemed to hover a bit before landing. Gloria blinked, certain she was seeing things, then blinked again as a walkway was lowered and a familiar figure strode toward her. She turned off the ignition and got out of the car.
She hadn't seen Ryan O'Reily in over three years, not since he managed to escape from Oz. This would explain the manner of escape and the hole in the kitchen wall that still hadn't been repaired. “Gloria,” he said.
“Ryan, what is this?”
“Serenity. She's the best ship in the 'Verse.” Ryan continued on about his adventures, but Gloria's attention was captured by the beautiful woman she saw heading down the gangplank, wrench in hand. Ryan turned his head to see what Gloria was looking at. “Oh, that's Kaylee, ship's mechanic. Really knows her stuff.”
Gloria gave a slight nod.
“Ryan, you didn't notice anything weird coming down the walk?” Kaylee called out.
“No,” Ryan answered. Kaylee mumbled something about River and 'checking out' as Ryan turned his focus back to Gloria.
“Why are you here?” Gloria asked. “You had to know it wasn't safe.”
“Well, that's kind of a funny story. We've got a spot on board that needs filling and Mal, that's the Captain, he doesn't like using people that he doesn't trust.”
“But he still has you on board.”
“Mal and I have an understanding that works out for both of us.”
There was a noise and the gangplank rose from the ground. Ryan bolted toward the vessel with a “No, no, no.”
Kaylee walked over from where she was still on the ground, watching the plank's progress. “Relax, Ryan. Cap's not gonna leave without you, especially since you've got the Doc with you.”
“The what?” asked Gloria.
“Hi, I'm Kaylee,” said the mechanic, extending the hand with the wrench still in it. “Sorry.” She switched the wrench to the other hand so she could shake Gloria's hand with her free one.
“Gloria Nathan.”
“River, lower the gangplank!” yelled Ryan. He turned back to the women. “We stay much longer and I'm gonna get pinched again and I am not going back to Oz.”
“New doctor?” Gloria asked.
“Yeah, I was getting to that. Our old doctor up and left and Mal's all for hiring folks he trusts- something about this war that happened after Earth was destroyed.”
“Earth was what?”
“Don't worry. It doesn't happen for another fifty or so years, I think. I'm still trying to figure it out. So what do you say?”
“No.”
“Oh, come on, Gloria. What's here for you, really? You go home to an empty house, come back here in the morning, drink the same weak-ass coffee, deal with the same bureaucratic bullshit, and listen to the same complaints from the inmates. Every single day. You're trapped. Oh, you have the illusion of freedom, but you're in a prison same as everybody else. Out there,” he said, gesturing to the sky, “everything is different. You wake up, not even sure what planet you'll be on the next day. And Mal, I love him, but I'm sad to say, the man does get shot a helluva lot.”
“You what?”
“Yeah, who'd've thunk it? So you don't need to worry about me if that's why you're hesitating. I'm just here because we needed a doctor and you are the best.”
There was a whirring sound as the gangplank lowered back to the ground. Kaylee smiled warmly at Gloria. “Gotta get back. I hope Ryan can convince you to join us,” then she was off, heading back up the gangplank toward the ship.
Gloria watched her as she walked away.
“You know, Kaylee's got a thing for doctors,” he said, grinning at her.
In the morning, Gloria's car was found, abandoned by the side of the road. A search was conducted. She had disappeared as completely and thoroughly as Ryan O'Reily all those years ago.
