WARNING AND DISCLAIMERS: I do not own Firefly or any of its characters. Hopefully, Joss Whedon doesn't mind me playing in his sandbox. I promise to return his toys unharmed. I'm just borrowing them for a little while.

This story will contain the disciplinary spanking of an adult in later chapters. If you do not like this, do not read it. You've been warned.

SUMMARY: Kaylee learns a hard lesson about the consequences of disobeying Mal's orders. This story takes place a few months after she joined the crew of Serenity.

CHAPTER 1

Mal dropped down off the ladder leading to Kaylee's bunk. She'd painted the walls and decorated the small space with a garden's worth of colorful flowers. The small room had an almost homey feel to it. Unfortunately, he wasn't there for a friendly visit – there was unfinished business between himself and his young mechanic.

Kaylee looked up from where she sat curled on her bed. "Were any of those men killed?" She didn't quite suppress the trembling of her hand as she lifted one to brush a lock of hair out of her face. It wasn't so much a reaction to the events that had occurred only hours before, as it was nervousness over what was going to happen next. She was in serious trouble, and she knew it.

Mal moved to sit on the side of the bed. He was still angry with her, but he had managed to work off enough of his fury that he felt he could now handle the matter calmly. He still couldn't believe Kaylee had disobeyed a direct order that way. Mal reached out and pulled Kaylee closer until she was tucked up against his side. "I don't know mei mei. Probably. I didn't stick around long enough to find out." He grasped Kaylee's shoulders and pushed her far enough away that he could look down into her tear-stained face. "We need to talk about what happened today."

* * * * * *

Six hours earlier

"How soon 'fore we reach Ivy?" Mal asked Wash as soon as he stepped onto the bridge of Serenity.

"'Bout four hours, give or take." Wash swiveled his seat around to address his captain. "I checked the posted warnings for that moon."

"And?"

"Seems a lot of women have been going missing from port over the last several months." Wash's concern for the women aboard Serenity was evident in his face. He always seemed to be the worry wart of the crew.

"Aiya! Slavers?" In this instance, Mal shared his concern. Zoe was first and foremost a warrior. She could more than take care of herself. He was sure that Inara could take care of herself to some extent as well, but he'd rather not have that notion put to the test. Kaylee, on the other hand, would be vulnerable.

"That's the current theory," Wash replied. "How're you gonna handle it? Inara has probably lined up some clients, and Kaylee'll want to go into the market to look around, like she usually does, and I overheard her tellin' Jayne about the part she needed to buy." Although Wash was concerned about Zoe – he always worried when she went out on a job – he knew his wife would likely seriously injure or kill anyone who tried to snatch her off the street.

"I'm gonna confine Kaylee to the boat and tell Inara she has to cancel any appointments she's made." Mal stated as he moved out of the bridge into the corridor, intending to find Inara and Kaylee.

"Good luck with that, sir." Wash didn't envy his captain the confrontation he'd likely have with the beautiful licensed companion. He didn't figure Kaylee would be too happy, either, but she'd follow Mal's orders.

* * * * *

"You're not my husband, Mal." Inara paused in the process of brewing tea and sent a glare in Mal's direction. "Nor are you my father, my brother, or my house mother. Just because I rent the shuttle from you doesn't give you the right to tell me what I can or cannot do." The metal pot clinked gently against the rim of her mug as she poured boiling water over the tea leaves.

Mal didn't move from his position, leaning against the kitchen table. He'd expected this reaction from Inara. They'd already butted heads more times than he could count over this exact same issue. "I'm the captain of this ship, and the owner of the shuttle you're rentin'. In my eyes, that gives me the right." He sighed heavily. "Look, Inara. Women are getting' snatched off that rock. I don't want you ta be one of them."

Inara was aware of the posted warnings for Ivy. Unbeknownst to Mal, she routinely checked the warnings whenever she learned of their next destination. Because she had, she had already decided against taking any clients during their visit to that particular moon. But, she wasn't going to tell that to Mal. Why make his life any easier than it had to be?

Silence weighed heavy in the room while Inara considered her response. "I'll consider your request." She turned to walk out of the kitchen. "But right now, I have business to attend to." Inara swept out of the kitchen before Mal could respond. She smiled, knowing just how frustrated the Captain would be at her seeming refusal to obey his orders.

"Fay-fay duh pee-yen." Mal slapped the table in frustration before he left the kitchen to go in search of his mechanic. He only hoped she'd follow his orders better than the licensed companion.

* * * * * * *

A few minutes later Mal found Kaylee right where he expected – the engine room. She looked up from where she was tinkering with Serenity's engine when she heard the sound of footsteps.

"Hey, Captain." She smiled and wiped a hand across her cheek to remove the ever present lock of hair from her face, leaving a smear of grease behind. Kaylee had only been on the ship for a few months, but she was already becoming an important member of Mal's improvised family. She was the little sister he'd never had.

"Hey, mei mei." Mal moved further into the engine room and picked up a wrench from Kaylee's tool box. "We're gonna be settin' down at Ivy in a few hours."

"I figured that." Kaylee went back to tinkering with the hose she was fitting to the compression coil. "I'm planning on heading into the market to see if I can find that press regulator valve I need."

"That's what I came down here to talk to you about." Mal tossed the wrench back into the tool box. "You ain't to set foot off this ship while we're in Ivy."

Kaylee dropped the screwdriver she'd been holding and stood up. She couldn't believe the Captain would confine her to the ship after he'd told her she could go into the market and buy the part she needed for Serenity. Plus she wanted to do a little window shopping. Just because she always wore grease-stained coveralls didn't mean she didn't appreciate more girly things, too. She just didn't have any use for them aboard Serenity.

"What do you mean I can't leave the ship?" Kaylee demanded.

"Just what I said. Women are getting' snatched, and I don't want you to be one 'a them." Mal moved to give Kaylee a hug to console her disappointment. "I know you wanted to go into the market for more than just that part, so maybe after we finish our business with Lee Yong there'll be time for one of us to escort you. But, you ain't gonna go by yourself. Dong le ma?"

"Yes, sir," Kaylee reluctantly replied.

"Good girl." Mal patted her back and told her to get back to work on whatever it was she'd been doing. However, as he stepped out of the engine room he had the oddest feeling that Kaylee was planning something, and whatever it was he wasn't going to like it.

Kaylee watched as Mal left the engine room. She was upset at his latest order. No, she was more than upset – she was angry. Having completely overlooked his statement about the posted warnings, Kaylee felt like being confined onboard Serenity while they were at Ivy was a punishment, one she knew damn well she hadn't earned. She gave the hose clamp one last twist then tossed the screwdriver into the nearby tool box. If she was going into the market to buy that press regulator valve, she had some planning to do.

* * * * * * *

Four hours later

The crew of Serenity were all gathered in the cargo bay. The crates of merchandise they were delivering were loaded on the mule, and Jayne was in the driver's seat waiting to take off. Mal and Zoe would be leaving with him to make the delivery.

"Wash, you keep an eye on things here. And keep her locked up. Anything comes up give me a call." Mal gestured with one of the hand-held radios they used for communicating with each other outside of the ship. "Kaylee and Inara, stay onboard and out of sight. Don't want anyone getting' a peek at you and hatchin' ideas they shouldn't."

Mal motioned for Zoe and Jayne to follow him and turned to leave the ship, but stopped short when he heard Kaylee's snort of derision.

"You got somethin' to say to me, Kaylee?" Mal moved to stand in front of her. He knew she was upset about not being allowed to leave the ship, but he sure as hell wasn't going to put up with her pulling an attitude on him. "You'd best be watchin' that attitude of yours young lady, or I'll personally see to it that you won't sit none to comfortably for a good long while. Dong le ma?"

Silence weighed heavily in the air. Everyone on board Serenity knew the Captain had a soft spot for Kaylee, but they had never seen the young mechanic act that way before, and they weren't quite sure Mal wouldn't carry out his threat then and there.

"I asked you a question, Kaylee, and I expect an answer." Mal took a step toward Kaylee. But before he could take her arm and pull her to her feet she responded, "yes, sir."

"Best you keep in mind that before your pa would let you take this job, I had to promise him I'd take my belt to your backside if you gave me any trouble. So far, I ain't had cause to do that. But you think real hard on that 'fore you do anything you might regret." Mal turned and walked down the cargo bay ramp, Zoe and Jayne, aboard the mule, following in this wake.

Kaylee squirmed under the scrutiny of Wash and Inara. She couldn't believe that the Captain had threatened to whip her. She wasn't a little girl anymore. She was the mechanic on a spaceship. Somewhere deep in her brain her subconscious was warning to forego her planned trip into the market, that it would only end badly for her. Never one to be overly cautious, she ignored the warning. Besides, the Captain wouldn't really take his belt to her, would he?

"Sweetie?" Inara interrupted her train of thought. "Why don't you come to my shuttle with me. I'll fix some tea, and we can talk."

"Thanks, Inara." Kaylee slid off her perch on some crates and stood. "But, I think I'm just gonna go to my bunk."

"Well, if you're sure. I'll stop by later to check on you."

As Kaylee left the cargo bay, Wash turned to Inara. "What just happened there?"

Inara shrugged. "I don't know, but I certainly hope Kaylee knows what she's doing." They started toward the stairs leading to the upper levels of the ship. "I don't think I've ever seen her act like that before. Nor have I ever seen Mal that angry at her."

"Yeah." Wash stopped and turned to look at Inara. "You don't really think he'd do what he threatened, take his belt to her, do you?"

Inara paused at the top of the stairs and turned to reply to Wash. "Yes, I think if she pushes him far enough, he'll do exactly that."

TBC

* * * * * *

Author's note: I tend to write as the mood strikes. Hopefully, I'll have the next part up soon.