A?N: Rizzoli and Isles isn't mine. Neither is this 'verse or any other characters in it. I'm just having a grand old time with them.
Maura was light on her feet, dodging running children, keeping her head down as venders yelled around her. Her feet scuffed up dust with every step, her legs already caked in dirt, leaving them a few shades darker than the rest of her. She tightened her grip on her small piece of luggage, shifting it to make sure it felt heavy enough. It did, and, the slowly quieting crowd, she found the courage to look up, examining the ships parked in the docks.
"Hey," an enthusiastic man called somewhere beside her, "Classy lady such as yourself should want the best. Smoothest ride, shortest trip. Entertainment. Floating World cruise liner's the one for you—"
Her stride didn't falter. She didn't care for flashy. She didn't care for pricey. All she wanted was away. Out.
"Slow your roll," a woman laughed, her voice clear and bright over the jumbled mess of shouting advertisers and annoyed citizens.
Maura did, in fact, slow, turning her head toward the sound of the voice. She was met with the sight of a woman, late twenties, light brown hair. She looked as relaxed as ever, reclining right there in the middle of the road in an old lawn chair. No one paid her any mind, walking around her, and she looked utterly relaxed. Like she was meant for society. Her face, Maura realized, reminded her of innocence, her smile like that of a child's: unhindered by the faults of everyone around her. Maura didn't even need to mention the teddy bear patch adorned on her pant leg to match her adorable face and eyes.
The woman casually twirled her umbrella over her head, her head tilted ever so slightly, as if taking in Maura's appearance as Maura took in hers.
A brilliant smile spread over her face when she realized she'd caught Maura's attention. She stood, dropping her umbrella to the ground and practically sashaying over. No one in the flowing crowd touched her, simply moving their paths to allow her to walk towards Maura.
"You knew from the moment you stepped on the docks you were comin' with us," the woman laughed, her eyes sparkling. "That's the third time you walked by."
Maura blushed, embarrassed she'd been made, and she looked down at her feet.
"You never know," she mumbled. "Maybe I'm eyeing up that mighty fine Knorr over there…" She tilted her head to the obviously trashy, relatively puny ship beside the woman's rather modest looking Firefly.
She chanced a glance back up at the woman, who was absolutely beaming.
"You're pretty funny," she laughed. "Almost had me goin' there for a time. You know them there Knorrs run just 'bout's good as Serenity's shuttles."
She jerked her thumb back to the entrance of her ship.
"That there's Serenity. I'm Kaylee, by the way. I can promise you the smoothest ride to Bernadette better'n anybody else in this fēngfù, liánméng zhīchí, sorry excuse for a planet."
She caught Maura's taken-aback expression.
"Oh. You're onea them there proper folk, ain't ya? I'm sorry, for my swearin' and the like. I ain't real used to…ladies. I mean, I got 'Nara, but she don't mind half as much's she should when I go off—"
"Nara? You mean…Inara? Inara Serra?" Maura asked, a slight hopefulness hidden in her higher pitch.
"You know her?" Kaylee asked excitedly.
She then held her excitement back, her eyes scanning Maura, unabashedly, head to foot and back.
"You're not…are you a companion?" she asked.
Maura chuckled. It was a fair assumption. It was, after all, Inara's profession.
"No. I'm afraid I declined that lifestyle long ago."
It was revered to be a companion. It was sacred. Wonderful to carry on the traditions of their ancestors. Granted, if not certified with the proper Academy training, it was simply common whoring. But the credentials received from becoming a certified companion? Gave some very weighty power.
"I'm sorry," Kaylee tried, her smile never fading, but simply turning apologetic. "I guess I never knew Inara had friends outside her House. It was awful rude to assume—"
"It's fine," Maura assured, her hand reaching out to brush Kaylee's arm. "Really. Is she…is she in?"
"I don't think I heard her shuttle come in," Kaylee shook her head, turning to look back at Serenity.
Sure enough, only one of the shuttles was present, parked right on top of the Firefly class transport ship. The other side of the ship, where the other one should have been, was only a negative space.
"Would you mind if I talked to her? When…she gets back?"
"Does that mean you're sailin' with us?" Kaylee asked, a grin in her voice.
Maura pretended to think, letting out a false sigh.
"Well I guess so," she breathed, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face.
"Shiny!" Kaylee exclaimed. "Great to have you aboard. You can leave your stuff in the cargo bay if you like. We'll get you set up in a passenger dorm soon as the Cap'n comes back."
Maura smiled.
"Yes. Of course. I look forward to meeting the other crew members."
She walked up the ramp that lead into the ship. Kaylee watched her go, her eyes tracing the curves of the stunning woman through her silk dress. She was beautiful. That was for sure.
Her attention was pulled away, though, by aggravated yelling. The voices were in an accent she hadn't heard in a long while. Pure Italian. All the way back from Earth-that-was.
"MAAA," a younger woman whined, practically dragging her mother along with her, the older woman clutching her tightly. "C'mon, lemme go!"
Her mother did not release her, though, but went even more limp, causing her daughter to grimace, but still rally forward.
"But Jane! Why do you have to go?! Greenleaf is safe. There's Alliance presence everywhere. Half these transports go to outer planets. Backwash moons. I won't be able to sleep at night knowing my baby's out there—"
"Could you lay off the drama?!" Jane groaned, yanking free from her mother's grip. "I'll be fine, alright? I can take care of myself."
"Why can't you take care of yourself here? You could have a life! A husband, God forbid."
"Gorramit, I'm goin' and you can't stop me!"
She gave a huff, swiping the few locks of hair out of her eyes that had been moved by the wind.
Kaylee bit her lip, trying to suppress the laughs the two rather loud women were stirring up in her. She instantly composed herself when the woman, Jane, walked up to her.
"You goin' to Beaumonde?" she asked tersely, avoiding Kaylee's gaze, no matter how sweet she looked.
"We're certainly gonna try," Kaylee assured. "We got some pretty fouled up d'rections from Alliance needs, but we always try. And 'f we can't, we'll set ya up with transport on the closest plant to it. If that's what ya want a'course."
She watched Jane's mother out of the corner of her eye.
"Just get me off this gorram planet," Jane hissed.
"Anyone and everyone's allowed on Serenity. If you can pay…."
She looked at Jane warily, taking in her slightly ratty appearance, from the tattered jeans to the faded, what used to be white, t-shirt.
"You can…pay…right?"
Jane chuckled in her raspy tone, a small smirk twitching at the edge of her lips.
"Yeah. Yeah, I can pay. When's take-off?"
"An hour or so. Cap'n's got some business in town. He's mostly on time, but ya never can tell with them there strong-minded types, can ya?" There was a hint of teasing in her voice, a smug smirk in her eye.
Jane understood her point. The woman obviously read people for a living. She had to know Jane got…passionate.
"That's perfect," Jane muttered, not acknowledging the insinuation. "Can I go in…now?"
Before Kaylee had even fully nodded once, Jane was rushing past her and into the ship.
Kaylee let out a contented sigh, looking over the sea of faces running about before her. It was going to be a good year. A really good year. She took the few steps back to her chair, collapsing down into it and raising her umbrella back up to ward off the unrelenting sun.
Inside, Maura had found a couch, located just outside the infirmary, and was currently sprawled across it. The sweltering heat had taken its toll, and she was more than looking forward to heading off into the black. She had shed her dress in the privacy of the infirmary, switching instead into a tank top and shorts. It hadn't helped a whole lot. Less movement stimulates less heat output, she repeated over and over again. The crook of her elbow balanced on her nose, her arms blocking out her vision, as well as the blinding sunlight streaming in from the open cargo bay door.
She didn't even bother looking up as clanging footsteps echoed down the metal stairs and in her general vicinity.
Jane froze mid-step, taken aback by the woman she hadn't expected to see. Most of her face was hidden by her arm, but she could clearly make out a dainty chin and plump pink lower lip. Her golden hair splayed out all around her, spilling over the edge of the cushions and all around her head. A sheen of sweat covered her entire body, and Jane could almost picture how slick the skin would feel under her fingers.
The woman's long, toned legs seemed to stretch on forever, starting at her feet dangling over the arm of the couch, all the way up the sculpted thighs and to the shorts that left just about nothing to the imagination. Her tank top was pushed up slightly, revealing the soft skin of her stomach, almost to her navel.
"Is there something you needed?" Maura asked, not removing her arm from her face.
Jane blushed, glad her cheeks were already pink from the heat, and cleared her throat uncomfortably.
"No, I uhh, I was just getting…acquainted with the ship's…layout. Ain't never sailed before."
This caused Maura to move, her arm falling from her face and propping her up slightly. Her hazel eyes caught Jane's chocolate ones, and Jane swore she felt weak at the knees.
"You picked a very good ship for your first time."
"Uhh, lucky pick," Jane mumbled. "It was…well it was the closest one to the entrance. I needed to hide from my….mother."
Maura laughed, swinging her legs off the couch and patting the cushion beside her. Jane happily obliged, starting over quickly, before checking her enthusiasm and going for cool, sinking down into the seat slowly, casually.
"That bad?"
"You don't even know," Jane muttered.
She felt bad. Lying. Or…half-lying. She did want to get away from her mother, but the truth was, she was a Fed, a field agent, sent out for the first time to investigate any independent transport ship she wanted. If she saw nothing suspicious, she could simply move on to the next ship. The next job. Still, making the best of every experience was her goal. And she knew….she knew if she didn't make this woman a part of her experience, she'd most certainly regret it.
"I'm Jane," she said, self-consciously wiping her sweaty palm on her pant leg before reaching toward the angel of a woman.
"Maura," the honey-blonde laughed, both at the formality, and at the nerves Jane seemed to be experiencing.
"So what're you doing on here?" Jane managed. It seemed like the easiest conversation-starter.
"Oh, you know. Got tired of the life I was leading. Just wasn't doing it for me."
"Really?" Jane asked.
She didn't mean to sound shocked, but she heard the unmistakable rise in her pitch.
"Yes. Believe it or not. Having money leads to a rather boring lifestyle…"
"No, I can see that," Jane agreed, nodding her head absentmindedly and staring into the infirmary in front of them.
"Granted, it wasn't boring working on Arial's main hospital ward—"
"You worked in Arial?!" Jane gasped. "That's the…the most renowned hospital in all the 'verse!"
Maura blushed at the impressed tone Jane gave off.
"It's not…that impressive. Not many people wanted my….position."
"Don't go undermining yourself! Only the smartest people at the Academy get jobs there. Why'd you leave?"
"It didn't feel…right there," Maura admitted. "I mean, it was my dream job, don't get me wrong. But for some reason I just felt off." Lonely.
She left that out. Her problems didn't need to be other's problems too.
"Okay…That explains why you're traveling. Not why you're on this ship."
"Don't you know?" Maura asked, turning her torso to look at Jane.
The brunette mirrored the action, her brow creasing.
"No…what?"
"Whoever built this ship, not just this model, but this vessel….they're an artist. Aught three engine, extenders for better takeoffs, landings, and overall cruising, standard radion-accelerator core, Class-code 03-K64, Firefly."
A low laugh echoed from behind them.
"Everyone's always trying to one-up me with all the facts and the knowing about my ship's stats."
Maura was quick to backtrack.
"No, sir, I didn't mean anything by it. I swear, I just—"
He laughed again.
"Just messin' with ya, Miss. I'm the Captain. Captain Reynolds. If I like ya, you can call me Mal."
"How will I know if you like me?" she asked curiously.
He stared at her for a moment, his piercing eyes searching Maura in a few very long seconds of silence.
"I do," he said simply. "Ship-wide meeting in ten, dining room. Meet and greet, rules and regulations. You know…Formal crap."
He gave a half-assed, dismissive wave as he walked away, using the railing to swing himself up the first few stairs before disappearing around the corner.
"He seemed…nice," Jane tried.
"I was going to go with…rugged," Maura said slowly, catching Jane's gaze sheepishly out of the corner of her eye.
Jane rolled her eyes.
"So your brain works like that does it?" she teased, to mask her disappointment.
"What?" Maura laughed. "It was a perfectly rational response. He's got quite the strong presence."
She twirled her bracelet to avoid looking Jane in the eye.
"Not unlike yourself."
A/N: This has been stuck in my head since the beginning of time. I honestly cannot remember when this scene has not been in my head, and it feels really good to get it out. This is in the Firefly Universe, but as always, I try my best to keep anyone, even those who haven't seen it, pleased. And my question to you is, is it worth pursuing? I only have this one scene written, so it won't be for a while until I get to it, but I figured I'd see if there was an interest. Get an idea in my head of where it should fit in my priorities list.
Oh, and if you haven't read My Serenity by setarcosjemia, you probably should. It's great. Kind of opposite of what I'm going for with this, but wonderfully written and super interesting. I've always been interested in how Jane and Maura would handle the original characters from the show. But again. Great story. Check it out.