The Files of the Big Damn Principal

Zoe's phone rang about halfway through the day.

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Zoe glanced at the phone for a moment in surprise before picking it up. "Principal's office."

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A woman's voice came over the line: "Please hold for the Chief of Staff for the President of the United--" before Josh interrupted impatiently. "Zoe? It's Josh Lyman. Don't suppose you could explain to me why the Washington Monument just disappeared out my window."

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Zoe closed her eyes and held onto the phone a little tighter. "I wish I could explain, but all I can tell you is that you're not alone. This has been happening to a lot of other places as well," she said with a sigh. "I don't suppose you can get a portal to Fandom?"

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He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I was on the phone with them for the last three hours trying to get them to take the President, at least. Portals are closed here. So--"

This was going to suck beyond the telling of it.

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So he was screwed, and there was no telling how long it would be before the go-se hit the fan. "I would tell you that everything's going to be fine, but I don't think lying is going to help you," she said, somehow managing a calm tone. "I can tell you that we're not going to stop until this is fixed though, for what that's worth."

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Josh let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah. I figured if it was creepy and weird, you guys would be working on it. Don't forget about...us, okay?" Because saying 'me' was a whole new level of egotism, even for him. "We tried to make the world a little bit better before--you know, whatever this is."

At least the Republicans couldn't find a way to blame it on the Administration, or pretend it was like global warming and wasn't really happening.

...and then Josh realized he was wasting the very last moments of his life worrying about spin, and shook his head.

"Right. the world is ending and I'm not spending my last minutes on the planet on a phone call, you know?" he said, sounding a little apologetic. "I need to go kiss a blonde. Take care of the kids at the school, okay?"

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"Always," Zoe said. That was ingrained in her DNA by this point. "You're not going to be forgotten, and this is just a temporary goodbye. But kiss your blonde well anyway, all right?" From the messages people had been receiving, she didn't think what was about to happen would hurt, and she hoped that would hold true for Josh and his people as well.

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"Will do," Josh promised. "Here's hoping I'm sending you another auto-penned holiday card from the White House in a week. Godspeed, Zoe."

He hung the phone up quietly, then bellowed, "DONNA!!"

Hopefully there was still enough time to find her.

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Kaylee hadn't been in contact with Fandom in years. When she'd met her own Zoe, and River, and finally found herself a Serenity of her own, she'd been tempted.

But now she had to.

She was holding back tears when she finally dialed, because she had to use her own device. The ship's communicators had disappeared when Serenity had.

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Zoe snatched up the phone on the first ring, hoping for some good news. "Hello? This is Principal Winchester."

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"Z-Zoe?" Kaylee said hesitantly, then corrected herself. "Um, Principal Winchester, I mean -- this is Kaylee. Not your Kaylee. I used t'go to school there. And my -- people're disappearing. Not just people." And that was what was crushing her.

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Zoe didn't realize she was squeezing Grace until she said "Ow!" and tried to squirm off Zoe's lap again. "Kaylee. I'd say it's good to hear from you, but that's not exactly true with the circumstances and all," she said. "Do you have people with you?"

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"It's just me and River," she said quietly. "Simon was the first to go. We lost you 'bout a week ago, and Mal -- Mal and Serenity disappeared at the same time. She's just gone. We're lucky we were on-planet, I guess, 'cause there ain't no way we wouldn't be like Mal, or floatin' in space, but -- I can't find a portal to Fandom, neither, Zoe."

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Of course she couldn't, because that would be fair and right and god damn the people behind this, because if there was one person who didn't deserve to disappear, it was Kaylee. She brought too much light to Serenity to go out like this, and Zoe hated the helpless feeling in the pit of her stomach. Maybe that's what it was all really about, to teach the people of Fandom that sometimes, they just couldn't save everyone.

"Stay with River. You shouldn't be alone right now," she said, trying to be the strong one here. "I'm so sorry. It's happening all over."

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"Serenity's gone, Zoe. I don't know what t'do with my hands," Kaylee said softly, her voice cracking. "S'only a matter of time, ain't it? Ain't no one here with no answers, anymore. S'why I called you."

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"I wish I had answers for you, I really do," Zoe said. "We don't have much pieced together yet, but when we do, the people behind this are going to pay and then they're going to fix it all, do you understand me? I am not just going to let you go."

Zoe had always tried to give Kaylee her space while she was a student, like she had with River and Inara, but she didn't need to do that now that Kaylee knew how important she was. Damn, she hoped Kaylee knew how important she was.

"Can you try to be brave? Never could stand to see you scared."

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"I'm bein' brave," Kaylee promised her softly. "For River, too. She's real scared, but actin' funny 'bout it, y'know? Like she sees something I can't. But if Serenity's gone, I ain't got no place no more, Zoe. No you, no Mal. No Jayne or Inara, neither. It's like losin' Wash again, a thousand times over, and no one here to give me no reassurances." Was it insensitive to mention Wash? The world was endin'. Kaylee hadn't never had no room for tact, and Wash's death was still fresh to her.

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It wasn't insensitive, but it made Zoe think about John all over again, and that just made this all hurt so much worse. "I'm here, for as long as you need me to be. I won't go anywhere, all right?" she said.

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"'Kay. I don't know what else t'do," Kaylee said, in an even smaller voice. "You take care, Zoe. I'm gonna try an' get a portal there, but -- " But they both knew it weren't gonna happen, right? "But I dunno when. I'll see you."

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