I do not own Firefly or anything belonging to the franchise. I do own most of this plot and Halo and my friend owns Nikita Shen. The fic is rated for language (in English), violence, blood, gore, drinking, smoking and sexual situations. Please enjoy responsibly.

Space Dementia.
Chapter Two. Unexpected Reunion.

The big man—evidently named Jayne. Why did he have a woman's name?—was dressed in a t-shirt and cargos, army boots and a surly attitude, with a veritable arsenal strapped about his person. He was rough-looking and Halo knew there were more weapons concealed somewhere; he didn't look like the kind of person Niki would voluntarily be involved with. He was dark and dangerous. Halo frowned as Niki made her way across the docks to the firefly, trying to picture Jayne and Niki hanging around, trying to make the connection between the two, and she was having a lot of trouble doing so. They were just so different. Niki was bright and shiny, not angry and confrontational.

The only conclusion Halo could draw was that Jayne must have been a very different man whenever he and Niki had known each other.

Halo followed Niki at a walk, a deep frown creasing her brow. She didn't like where this was going. Maybe she was being paranoid or maybe she was just suspicious, but she didn't like this. Something about the situation was making her skin squirm. Or maybe she just needed a drink.

"Jayne! Jayne!" Niki called again as she neared the ship, her face already split in a wide grin.

Jayne, a confused look on his face, turned from his conversation with the Shepherd just in time for Niki to slide to a stop in front of him and throw her arms around his neck. She pulled herself to him with an enthusiasm that said she was seeing someone she hadn't in a long time and someone she had never expected to see again. It had to have been at least seven years since they saw each other, because Halo had never seen Jayne and that was how long her and Niki had been together. As for never expecting to see him again… Well, everyone in Niki's past, in her family, was dead, and once the Reavers attacked and survivors scattered, you didn't hold out hope for ever seeing them again. The Verse was a big place with lots of holes to hide in, after all.

Halo would not have been shocked Niki hugging the man—the overly-affectionate action was not out of her sometimes scatterbrained behaviour—but she found herself surprised when the man called Jayne briefly returned the embrace before pulling Niki off of him and pushing her back far enough to get a good look at her, up and down. He gave her a strange look, like he was trying to place her face. It was a look that was quickly replaced by surprise and a disbelieving hint of a smile.

"Niki?" he asked.

Evidently, he knew her too.

Halo watched Niki beam up at the man, looking like a much younger girl and like some deep-seated hope had come to fruition, and suddenly Halo knew who Jayne was, why he looked familiar to her when she had never met him. She could have slapped herself. There was only one person who Niki would look at like that, one person who was still alive anyways; Halo put her hand over her face and rolled her eyes. This could not go well. Aside from a potentially free ride somewhere, this could really not go well, not with Niki acting like a little girl. She resisted the urge to grumble loudly and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger.

Naturally, Niki and Halo had told each other stories about their lives after they'd spent a little time together, after they'd decided to live together in the new settlement and had grown comfortable around each other. Or, as comfortable as Halo ever got around someone. Once they had felt comfortable enough with each other, Niki had been the first to share; it was the first hint Halo had had to what Niki's true personality was. Her favourite stories had been about her oldest brother and his friend, two guys she had worshipped and looked up to and all that little-sister stuff. Halo knew what that was like—she had been the youngest of five and the only girl—but Niki's fascination with the friend had gone beyond what Halo would have considered normal; beyond following them everywhere and idolizing them. Halo had never managed to get the whole story out of Niki, but she had had her suspicions. All Halo knew for sure was that Niki had talked about Jayne a lot, but had only mentioned his name a few times.

Halo was pretty sure she'd never talked about anyone from her old life as much as Niki had about Jayne. That was mostly because she didn't want to dwell on what she had lost. Unlike Niki everyone, absolutely everyone, from her life before Niki was dead. There wasn't even a friend of a friend kicking around. She didn't have any one or any faint hope to cling to.

Halo sighed to herself and moved to stand at the bottom of the loading ramp, arms crossed under her chest and hand on the butt of her gun again, squeezing the weapon hard enough to make the metal dig into her hand and cause a little pain. Her movements caught the attention of those at the head of the ramp, but she didn't move her eyes from Niki, she didn't look at anyone else. She tried to convey what she was feeling through that gaze and trying to tell Niki not to do what Halo was sure was going to.

"Who's your friend?" Jayne asked, looking down at Halo over Niki's head; since she only came up to his chest, that wasn't hard.

"Her name is Halo," Niki said before Halo could introduce herself. "No last name and don't ask for that story because I don't even know it."

Halo pulled her eyes from Niki to look at Jayne. She narrowed her eyes a little. Jayne smiled at her.

Before the introductions could start, finish or whatever, someone else appeared on the ramp. He looked at all assembled, one eyebrow raised and a curious look on his face, before he turned to Jayne; the Shepherd and the young woman disappeared inside of the ship without a word. The newcomer was wearing a long, brown trench coat and there was a sidearm visible near one gloved hand.

"What's taking so long?" he asked. "We've got to get underway."

Niki didn't seem keen on giving anyone else an opportunity to speak that day. She stepped around Jayne and stood in front of the man Halo assumed was in command of the firefly; something about the way he stood there in the ship said he owned it. She beamed up at him and clasped her hands behind her back, playing up the innocence that was such a large part of her appearance. "I'm Nikita Shen; that's Halo, no last name. I was just saying hi to an old friend and she is being all surly about it."

The owner of the firefly peered around Niki's shoulder at Halo and then looked back at the woman in front of him. "And is there anything else we can do for you?" the man asked, putting his hands on his hips and giving Niki the full force of his attention.

Niki's smile didn't falter. She remained bright and shiny and even put a little swing in her posture. Halo kind of wanted to smack her; she knew what she was dreading was about to come into light. "We're looking for passage," Niki said in a tone that was nearly sing-song. "We're willing to work for it."

Halo groaned and started up the ramp, prepared to grab Niki and march away. She didn't like to beg or broadcast willing to work and that's what Niki was doing. Halo would do a lot for work, but she didn't whore herself out. Before she could grab Niki, the young girl moved out of the way, still smiling and continued talking to the captain of the ship. She moved as if she could see Halo out of the back of her head. Halo threw her hands up and stomped back down the ramp, heading back towards the main part of the Eavesdown Docks. As consumed in her emotions as she was, she was unaware of someone following her.

"Where are you going?"

Halo didn't stop walking, just shouted over her shoulder at Jayne. "I'm going to find a drink. Tell Miss Can't-Keep-Her-Fucking-Mouth-Shut over there that I'll be at the nearest bar and she can come and find me when she's done whoring us out."

"Why should I let you on board my boat? We're tight on space as it is and you've already told me you had no money to pay your way. I'm not in the habit of giving free rides."

Niki looked up at Mal from underneath her eyelids with her mouth twisted in frustration. She was leaning on the counter in the dining area of Serenity, which was the name of the ship, with part of the crew arrayed around her. Mal and Zoe, the captain and first mate, were standing directly in front of Niki, both with their arms crossed across their chests and had matching expressions on their faces. Jayne was mirroring the posture behind Niki, almost like he was keeping her from running or attempting to escape. Niki was the one with the patience, and it was growing thin. It wasn't so much the questioning by the crew as it was Halo's vanishing act, and that was because Niki knew it was her fault.

"We don't have any money," Niki began, "but we will work for passage as I've already said. We'll do whatever we can to pay our way. Halo works security all the time; she's strong and a skilled fighter. She's killed Reavers before and survived two attacks. She doesn't go down easily and I haven't seen her meet a weapon she couldn't use including her own two hands."

"Say we take her on," Mal said, "why would we bring you as well? What can you do?"

Niki didn't miss a beat. "I can cook. I know how to use a gun, especially anything that's long range, and I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty. I'm also the more diplomatic of the two of us, and the only one who can talk Halo down. All her fighting ability comes with a temper and a terrible attitude. If you want Halo, you've got to bring me so you don't toss her out the airlock." She leaned a little farther over the table. "Something tells me, Mal, that you don't want a murder charge under your belt and believe me, if you bring Halo on board you are going to want to throw her out an airlock at some point." Niki may have been scatterbrained sometimes, but she wasn't stupid and she knew how to talk her way into or out of a situation.

"You'll do anything for passage?" Mal asked, his eyebrow raised again.

The young woman stood up and crossed her arms to match the others. She put a smug look on her face. "As long as it doesn't involve anything seriously illegal like transporting humans, then yes."

"You can answer for Halo?"

Niki looked at Zoe and nodded, her face dead serious. "We've been together for seven years."

"'Been together' how?"

The look Niki gave Jayne over her shoulder was not overly happy. "We're friends, family." She turned back to Mal, the smug look gone on the heels of desperation. "Look, Mal, it's been a long fucking time since me and Halo have had a decent meal, a job that'd give us a chance at settling down somewhere else. We need work. Halo's about to break and either kill someone or kill herself."

"How do you know that?" the captain inquired, actually looking a little concerned.

"Her temper has been more out of control than usual and she's doing things she's never done before. She's survived a lot, but she doesn't like change, but this is the worst I've ever seen her." Niki's eyes went distant and she continued talking, but the words were quiet and she was no longer talking to anyone in the room. After a relatively quiet minute—where Mal, Zoe and Jayne exchanged looks of confusion—Niki looked up and sighed. "Halo would hate it if she knew I was going to do this, but please, please will you at least take us to wherever your next destination is? We will pay you somehow, someway, when we can."

Mal echoed her sigh and nodded. "You and Halo will help with our current job. No one rides for free and I don't do I.O.U.s."

The smile that broke out across Niki's face was brilliant, full of that young girl charm. "Thank you so much." She gave Mal that smile a moment longer. "Now I've got to go find Halo…"

Jayne moved to stand beside Niki. "She said she was going to be at the nearest bar," he said. When the others looked at him curiously, he gave a half-shrug. "What? She told me before she took off."

"Shit. That means she's going to be drunk." Niki started moving quickly.

Mal grabbed her arm and swung her around, pulling her when she started to struggle. "You're going the wrong way."

She pulled herself free and nodded her thanks.

"Jayne, go with her. If she is drunk, she might need help getting this Halo back here."

As the big man followed Niki off Serenity, Zoe turned to Mal, her lips twisted into something between a grimace and a frown. "Are you sure this is a good idea Cap? Taking on these strangers?"

Mal sighed again and shook his head. "Truthfully, no, but we've got a lot of cargo to move quickly and two girls willing to do some heavy lifting. Besides, how much do we ever know about the people we take on as passengers?" He looked in the general direction of the guest quarters. "I mean, of the last three, two were fugitives. These two can't bring any more heat than that."

The bar Halo had found was a dark, dingy and smelly place, but it was full up and there wasn't a whole lot of room to move. Lights from the displays around the room cast everything into sharp relief and made it hard to tell who was who; what Halo had noticed when she entered the place however, was most of the people inside were men. Big men. Probably dock workers. She had shrugged and walked to the bar to get a drink. Unfortunately for her, she had apparently cut in front of someone and he was none too happy about it. He had pulled her back from the bar and started yelling.

Halo, always ready for a fight, had slapped him across the face.

His answering punch connected solidly with Halo's chin and sent her stumbling back a few steps, back towards the bar and into the arms of the patrons still standing there. They pushed her back into the small area that had somehow managed to become clear of people. Her mouth filled with blood. As she righted herself, she turned her head to the side and spat the bloody spit all over some guy's shoe. He growled and Halo gave him the biggest grin she could manage.

"Why don't you join in asshole? It'll be fun."

Number Two took the bait and attempted to punch her in the face as well. She ducked under the swing, but missed the foot of number one headed for her ribs. It connected and sent her flying backwards into a table, bringing the dishes down on her head.

Number One grabbed her ankles and hauled her out from under the wreckage. "Why don't you give up girly?"

Halo did her best to look innocent and put her hands above her head. When the men began to back off, Halo drove her foot into Number One's crotch and attempted to leap to her feet, but thanks to the alcohol in her system, she fell onto her side, knocking Number Two onto his ass. But he recovered quickly.

Number Two was on his feet in a few seconds; clearly, he hadn't had as much to drink. He grabbed the front of Halo's shift and pulled her up, off her feet, pulling his arm back at the same time to punch her in the face. The punch broke her nose and blood cascaded down the front of her face. Halo just hung there and laughed. That made Number Two's face turn a brilliant shade of red as he bared his teeth at the woman in front of him. Halo tried to struggle some more as she laughed, but the man just growled as he tried to figure out the best way to hurt her while Number One writhed on the floor, clutching himself.

"HEY!" someone with a deep voice boomed.

Halo tried to figure out who the person was, but her eyes didn't seem to be working too well. A fist hit Number Two in the cheek and he went down. Unfortunately, that meant Halo dropped, her head bouncing off the floor and her world turning black.

Author's Note.

Har har, Hero of Canton reference. THE MAN THEY CALL JAYNE!

So I'm happy to see some interest in this fic, but man, is it going to get crazy. I hope I'm able to live up to first impressions and to keep the characters in character. Man, is that a weird statement when you really think about it. Or, it could just be that I'm in a weird mood. That's always a possibility.

But yeah. I'm serious about the "it's gonna get crazy." But bear with me. The crazy comes mostly from Jayne, who doesn't exactly have the same outlook on things as most people do. So, open your minds and follow along if you want to.

Also, Nathan Fillion's show Castle is quite excellent. You all should watch it if you're hankering for some more Mal. *grin* Especially the Halloween episode from season 2, where he dresses up as Mal at the beginning. THAT was funny.

As always, enjoy.

Oh, and FYI, Niki and Halo aren't actually sisters. When I write "Halo and Nikita Shen" it doesn't mean they have the same last name. Halo has no last name, and the girls are not related. The story ain't gonna be THAT kind of weird. Not like Game of Thrones. *shudder* Anyways, just thought I'd clear that up because I have had some confusion expressed to me. Also, Halo is 29 and Niki is 26. I couldn't think of a decent way to get that into the fic, so there's the info. The ages are based on the only age I could find, which was Mal's in the movie, and that was 31.

And I'll share a revelation. Characters are subjective like the books, movies, television shows or whatever they appear in. I've discovered this recently after getting into a debate with one of my coworkers about the intentions of a character in a TV show. I mean, theoretically, I always knew that characters were as subjective as their media, but seriously, I never realized how much. Different people, based on their experiences and outlook and prejudices, will take the information given about a character and do different things with it. Now, this may be a defence for potential out-of-characterness in my own fics, but I thought it was pretty damn insightful.

Food for thought.

Next Chapter: Space for Passengers.