Title: The Middle
Author: Just A Marshmallow
Summary: Firefly's newest paying cargo is young, blonde, and driving Jayne crazy. xPre-Seriesx
The Middle
"Where're you goin', miss?" Mal asked casually to a young blonde woman standing still in the middle of the bustling port, bag tossed over her slim shoulder, eyes turned upwards, towards the ships that were landing all around.
The girl smiled brightly and turned her wide green eyes towards the man. "Anywhere you're going, sir," she replied, shifting the bag in her hand.
Mal smirked slightly. "Is that so?"
"I ain't look like much but I've got cash to pay," she told him. "You own one o' these here ships, right?"
"I do." He turned to point to Serenity. "There she is. There ain't no other ship like her.
"My, my, she's a beauty." The girl offered her hand toward the man. "Chalsea Davies."
"Malcolm Reynolds," the Captain shook Chalsea's hand.
She grinned. "Nice to meet cha."
Less than an hour later, the crew of Serenity packed up, with three new inhabitants. Besides Chalsea was a middle aged man with a bad leg who insisted on staying in his room until they reached his destination, and an older woman with white hair and handsful of knitted caps and gloves.
The instant Chalsea met Kaylee, it was inevitable that the two young women would find some common ground while the former was on the ship. Since Chalsea showed an interest in it, Kaylee showed her the engine, rattling off mechanical terms and bubbling over with excitement when Chalsea understood what she was talking about.
As the two of them were standing around, grinning and talking adamantly about coils and wires and feeds, Jayne walked down the hallway to the engine room and paused in the doorway like a thief caught in the act. He wasn't unused to seeing Kaylee sweaty from work, but that new girl...whatever material of her shirt that was still attached to the seams was clinging to her curves, and did nothing to cover her midriff…add sweat and glistening female skin to that equation and he was thinking of skipping dinner and spending some time in his bunk.
"Jayne!" Kaylee yelled suddenly, noticing the man standing there, oogling.
Jayne cleared his throat and stepped down into the room. "Cap says for me to tell yers food's ready."
"Okay," Kaylee replied, seemingly obvious to the difference in his voice. "Oh right. Jayne, this is Chalsea. Chalsea, this is Jayne. You can ignore 'im if you like."
Jayne nodded and Chalsea smiled slyly. "So food. I'm starved."
Jayne still didn't stay long in the kitchen.
Later on, he and Mal were in the cargo bay and Jayne decided to not-so-casually bring up the new girl.
"Met that Chalsea yet?" the mercenary asked.
Mal swung his head in the other man's direction before nodding. "'Course. I invited her on."
"I dunno if it's right smart to keep her 'round."
"Why? She's payin'. You'll be gettin' some coins."
Jayne shook his head. "Nah, that's not it. It ain't easy to keep yer mind on thin's when her middle's showin' and all."
Mal chuckled. "Then don't be 'round her when somethin' important comes up," he advised.
Jayne grumbled, Mal left.
Serenity wasn't that large of a ship. Chalsea found it interesting to prowl all the corridors to see exactly where everything and everyone was. Much to her surprise, and disappointment, she didn't end up bumping into Jayne. Only during dinner did he materialize, late, and was left to take the only seat left open: the one next to her.
She hadn't planned it that way, but she sure wasn't thanking some sorta higher power about it later.
He mumbled a greeting in her direction.
The old lady had brought some real food with her, so that's what they were having. Legitimate, real food that could be served in bowls and passed around the table. The best was the potatoes. They had been small, but abundant, and mashed with a bit of salt made them taste like heaven.
That bowl managed to stop in front of Chalsea, who was enjoying the rather energetic conversation that was going around the table. Halfway through the meal, Wash was nearly drooling with his eyes focused on those potatoes. Chalsea noticed and half-stood, bending over the table to hand over the food. In doing so, she just happened to flash Jayne with her stomach and maybe a bit extra without meaning to. That's what she got for wearing shirts cut barely long enough to cover everything necessary.
It didn't take long for Jayne to finish eating and announce that he was going back to go work out. He did that often enough that no one even paid him any mind. Except Chalsea. She stood and followed after him when he left the room. Kaylee noticed that much.
She, however, went to his bunk, not to the cargo bay. She climbed down the stairs and pushed the ladder closed behind her. The room was small, a bit smaller than her guest room, with a bed, a patch of naked women on the wall and there…fabric covering something in the wall.
Chalsea sat down on the bed and tugged on the green material. It came down off the wall and revealed a gorgeous selection of guns. Her eyes widened like she had just found a stash of fresh fruit.
Half an hour later, Jayne was lowering himself down the ladder to his room and was greeted by a unexpected sight.
First, he noticed Chalsea. Second, he noticed, immaturely, that she was there, sitting on his bed. Third, he noticed that she had his guns splayed out around her.
"What in the hell're yer doin'?" he demanded.
Chalsea turned towards the bunk's owner, eyes sparkling, a grin on her face. "I di'n't know ya had so many beauties," she exclaimed.
"Git away from them there guns," Jayne told her.
"But they're so gorram pretty! 'Specially this one." Chalsea pulled the shiniest of the guns off the rack.
Jayne was impressed with her taste, but furrowed his eyebrows at someone else putting their hands on Vera. "Put 'er down."
"Do ya name them? Do they all got names? Will ya tell me?" She put aside the gun slowly and cleared room for him on the mattress. "Can't ya humor a gal?"
With Vera nestled on his pillow, he felt a little less anxious and sat himself on the end of his bed. "That un there's Vera," he told her, pointing.
Chalsea grinned. "She's real nice." She turned and ran a few fingers over the metal. "I got a buncha guns myself."
"Yer lyin'."
"Nope." She looked him right in the eye, leaning towards him ever so slightly. "Show me yours 'n I'll show ya mine."
A/N: I plan to do a bunch of short oneshots with Chalsea. Because she's kick ass. And mysterious. And amazing. Ha. So yeah.