It's been forever, I know! I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how to proceed. So this chapter is super tiny, but I wanted to get it out there! Thanks Jamiekid for catching a mistake I made in my rushing. I will try to update more frequently in the days to come, promise!
Once Evie calmed down enough, Mal coaxed her back into the dining hall where everyone was still gathered, finishing their meal. Everyone looked up when she wandered in. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Mal patted her back reassuringly.
"I j-just wanted to say sorry. F-for, you know… before," she struggled to get out. Jayne scoffed but everyone else wore a sympathetic smile at her wide eyed and remorseful look. No one said anything for a minute. Finally, Kaylee jumped up and grabbed an empty plate and started scooping food onto it.
"Come on mei mei, sit down and eat." She set down the plate at Evie's spot at the table. "Just no more throwing plates," she playfully chastised. Evie hesitantly walked over and sat down and looked around the table meekly. Since the excitement had died down, most everyone had their eyes back on their plates, some even resuming their conversations. Finally, she met Wash's eyes and he was staring right at her.
"Hey, some people juggle geese," he said with a shrug and it had his desired effect of relieving the tension in the room.
Mal shook his head and then spied Simon sitting in his spot next to Kaylee, barely trying to suppress a smirk. "Doc?" Simon's head popped up. "A word?" Mal gestured outside the dining hall with his chin. Simon coughed into his hand and nodded and stood, patting Kaylee's shoulder and walked toward where Mal was gesturing.
Once outside the dining hall and hearing distance, Mal leaned his back against the hull and regarded Simon with a look. Simon looked back at him, a little put off by being singled out, but having a good idea what he wanted to discuss. "Remarkable behavior change in the girl," Simon tried to change the subject, gesturing at the laughing adolescent in the dining hall.
Mal watched as the little red-headed jade-eyed girl took a mouthful of rosemary-seasoned tomato and almost spit it on Kaylee, laughing at the joke she had told her. He grinned. "Yeah, imagine that, with such an "archaic" form of discipline and all," he taunted, referring to his quip at the way he'd punished Kaylee in the past.
They both regarded the way the young one charmed the rest of the table, slowly. Even Zoe smiled as the child kidded with her.
"I don't mean to be insensitive, Doc, but we have to be off soon," Mal warned after a few minutes. Simon shot him a hard look. "I know you's looking for your sister, but we got a job. We gotta do it. I can't wait til high and heaven so you can find this elusive ghost of a girl you're looking after," he reasoned.
Simon folded his arms at him. "Well, then I will stay," he said stubbornly.
Mal cocked his head to the side, regarding him. "No offense, Simon, but… you wouldn't last a week on this planet on your own. I'm not saying that we need to abandon this ridiculous pursuit of yours, jest… I got a gig and I need to make a living." He pursed his lips and then blew out a breath and voiced, "Perhaps we should come back."
Simon's eyes hardened. "I'm not leaving until I find River."
Mal threw his hands in the air. "Now what the hell am I supposed to say to that?!" he asked, beginning to be frustrated.
Suddenly, a loud clanging sounded against Serenity's hull from the outside. Everyone paused and looked around. "I'm sorry, did someone just... knock?... on my ship?" Mal asked, baffled. He told Inara to take Simon, Book and Evie to safety and called Zoe and Jayne to come to arms. "You stay with Inara and the rest, troublemaker. No matter what you hear, y'all don't come out til I tell you," he ordered. She nodded her head, not about to argue with him after their recent discussion. She let Inara gently lead her away by her shoulders, Simon and Book following in tow.
He looked at his young mechanic. "Kaylee, I need you to get down to the engine room and get ready for a fast getaway."
He looked at his comedian pilot who was already anticipating what he was going to say. "Wash! Start the engine, we may need to pull off in a hurry."
"Righty-O, Sir," he said as his wife hurried down the into the cargo bay with the captain and the mercenary. Mal nodded as Jayne took position from high up on the bridge and Zoe hid behind a cargo box. Mal signaled for everyone to quiet, and once he saw that the bay was cleared of those that would have a problem defending themselves, he pushed to button to open the door and lower the ramp.
He saw the mop of curly brown hair before he saw anything else and his hand relaxed where it had been on the handle of his gun. "Mitchell?" he asked incredulously, taking in the boys flushed face and lack of breath. "Seems we're due to run into each other quite a bit, boy. What do ya need?"
The boy nodded his head respectfully. "Captain..." he said, and then looked around himself self consciously. "Think you and I need to have a chat. Probably that Doctor too. Got something I think he'd be interested in," he said, breathing heavily.
Mal sighed and closed his eyes. He had a bad feeling about this already.
