Title: Serenity: Livening Things Up
Universe: Serenity/Firefly
Pairings: None
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Author's Note: Kaylee's attempt to bring a little color to the engine room end's badly. This is my flash fan fiction for the theme, "Nature." I really tried for the 300 word count, but with all the characters here, I had to bump it up to a 500 word fic. Word count: 481

"Kaylee...," Captain Malcolm Reynolds growled as he stormed towards the engine room.

"I got it, Cap'n!" her frantic voice answered.

"Kaylee!"

"S'all good!"

Mal stomped into the tiny room, bleary-eyed, hair mussed from sleep. He'd thrown some pants on when the alarms sounded, but little else. He focused on the whirl of motion that was his engineer, Kaylee, as she hurried about. In the corner of the engine room, trying to stay out of her way, stood the impeccably dressed Dr. Simon Tam.

Mal glanced behind him as two more crew members joined him; Jayne, wearing only boxers and a gun belt, and Inara, wrapped in a silk nightrobe, hair falling in perfect waves.

He glowered at Kaylee. "Care to tell me why my bird is spinning all wild like through space? We're meant to be flying straight and true. You're meant to make that happen."

"The stabilizer's out, Cap'n. I'll get it nice'n shiney again."

"What? That same stabilizer that'd last us five years, you said? Ain't been five years!"

"'Tweren't its fault!" Kaylee paused long enough to point a wrench at him. "It's a good stabilizer! It's jammed, s'all. It just … got dirt in it."

Mal looked around Serenity's walkway. "This is a spaceship. In space. Where'd gorram dirt come from?"

Kaylee met his eyes, wincing. "The … bonsai." Turning to Inara, who stood farther back, she said, "I'm sorry."

"Why you apologizin' to her? It's my boat!"

"Bon – what?" Jayne cut in.

"Ah," Inara said with a sad sigh. Lowering her voice, she explained to Jayne, "It's a tree."

"Ain't no tree in there."

"My boat!" Mal interrupted. "Why's there a bonanza and gorram dirt litterin' up my engine?"

"That's my fault, Captain," Simon spoke up, half raising his hand. "The dirt, that is."

"Fancy elaboratin' on that, Doc?"

"I went to see Kaylee, since she was working late. She didn't see me come up behind her. I said, 'Hello,' perhaps a bit louder than necessary. She jumped." Simon carefully examined the floor as he retold the events. "Her elbow struck the bonsai, which then ricocheted into the machinery."

Mal turned to his engineer. "Why have a weed in here, anyways?"

"That would be my fault, Mal," Inara said, voice calm, "I gave it to her. I thought she'd like to liven the place up."

"Liven somewhere else up! Not here!" Mal turned and jabbed a finger at Kaylee and Simon. "Clean my engine up! I don't like spinning in space. You too, Doc. I don't care if …," he glanced at the others, "if Jayne's arm gets cut off, you clean this place up!"

"Hey! What am I s'posed to do, then, if'n my arm gets cut off?" Jayne protested.

Mal spared him a brief glance. "Bleed."