Chapter 13

Galley a Few Hours Later

The table was over loaded with food. The women had slowly awoken to the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen. They had slunk to the table one by one and filled themselves to the brim before sitting in the living room area to chat quietly.

Jayne sat at the table testing every dish that appeared and eating more than his fair share of the bounty before him. He had went back to his bunk for more than a shirt. He had come back scrubbed up and fully clothed in clean clothes down to his freshly wiped boots. Mal stumbled into the galley following the aromas in the air and he stopped to look Jayne up and down. Then he saw Lara in the kitchen smiling and humming softly as she washed a few mixing dishes. He frowned before the aroma overtook him and led him straight to the table where he loaded up his own plate and dove in.

Lara saw the Captain and walked over with a cup in one hand and coffee in the other. She set the cup down and started to pour.

"Jayne said you were a coffee person," Lara said as she finished pouring and walked back to the kitchen.

Mal stopped, swallowed hard, and just looked at the coffee.

"Where did you rustle up real coffee?" Mal croaked as he pounced on the cup.

River strolled in and took a piece of pancake off Mal's plate, "I stocked up on what Lara would call essentials when we were last on Persephone before our job."

Lara looked at River, "You knew I'd be here."

River nodded and took a whole pancake off Mal's plate.

Mal hovered a hand over his plate and glared at River, "Get ur own."

River snickered and took the spot across from Jayne. She loaded up a plate and dove in as well.

"Where'd you learn to cook like this?" Mal asked with a half stuffed mouth.

"My mother," Lara said smiling sadly as she dried a bowl and put it away.

"You must be achin to get home then," Jayne said quietly as he stared at his plate frowning.

"I wouldn't say that," she said as she walked in and sat next to Jayne.

She loaded up a plate and started eating.

"There a reason you don't wanna go home?" Simon asked as he walked in a grabbed a plate before sitting next to River.

Lara stopped eating and looked up slowly at Simon. He saw a sadness there.

"Lara?" Simon asked.

Lara's throat felt like it was sore and her mouth glued shut. Her eyes watered a bit before she smiled and shook it off.

River looked at Simon and said, "Shes not welcome home anymore than we are."

River looked back at her plate and stabbed a pancake viciously. Simon looked from River to Lara and back again.

"I thought you were kidnapped?" Simon asked confused.

Jayne, Mal, and Simon looked at Lara. She swallowed hard and looked at River.

"Not by slavers," she whispered as she lost her appetite.

Lara looked at her plate and pushed it away. She stood and headed back to the kitchen to finish washing up the dishes.

River looked at Mal and whispered, "Alliance."

Zoe and Wash walked in closely followed by Kaylee as Jayne, Simon, and Mal looked towards the kitchen with concern. Zoe caught the look, but made no comment as she sat down next to Wash.

"Someone sure knows how to cook Cap," Wash said as he loaded his plate.

Zoe nodded in agreement, "Wouldn't happen to be anyone we could hire could it? Cap always said we should hire a cook."

"One of my better ideas actually," Mal said thoughtfully as he finished his plate.

An Hour Later

Dishes were all clean and put away. Food was packed up and stored for snacking. Mal sat at the table again for a different purpose. Lara sat next to him as he offered her a job. Her eyes lit up and she smiled as she nodded her acceptance. They discussed terms and shook hands. Mal stood and headed to the bridge. Lara stood and ran off to find River.

She found River in her room reading a book. She ran over to her and hugged her hard. River smiled and returned to her book.

"Told you we needed a cook," she stated as Lara smiled at her.

Bridge

"Wash are they lettin us loose yet?" Mal asked as he stepped up next to Wash sitting in his chair.

"You are going to love this Mal," Wash said as he spun the chair towards him grinning.

"What?" Mal asked confused.

"One of the women you saved had a husband that tracked her to this planet. Turns out he was looking for information on his wife in a local bar here when the news came on with the story about Atherton."

"Yeah?" Mal asked waiting for the rest.

"He contacted us about a meet up to see if his wife is really here," Wash said, "He informed me that Atherton would not be hurting anyone again."

"Hows he so sure?" Mal asked.

Wash sat back in his chair and said, "Atherton's little brother is going to be testifying against him and it looks to me like he'll get life. His brother had evidence of other...illegal activities. While in custody Atherton sustained a few injuries from other inmates."

"So basically he got the crap beat out of him and hes goin to jail for life?" Mal asked.

"So it would seem Cap," Wash said cheerfully as he swung his chair back around, "And we're free to leave once the husband meets up with us."

Mal thought for a bit, "Only time I've regretted not killin a man."

Couple Hours Later

The woman who had told them Atherton had taken Lara to the ball waited anxiously in the cargo bay as the door slowly opened. The crew stood with her and a few other women from the same planet. A short, young man walked in and looked around as his eyes adjusted after being in the bright light. His eyes stopped as he saw her. He smiled and walked towards her as fast as he could. She met him halfway and they hugged tight. She stood a foot taller than him, but you could tell they were deeply in love. She whispered in his ear and he nodded. She motioned for the other women to follow. He would take them all back to their planet and make sure they were returned to their family. The women waved their thanks and followed the couple out of the ship.

As the door closed behind them the crew wandered off to pick up where they had left off. Wash prepped the ship for takeoff while Zoe, River, and the remaining women picked up all the clothing and bedding while setting the rooms to rights. Kaylee tinkered on a repair and Simon showed Lara around the medical bay. Jayne went off to his bunk to finally sleep he hoped as Mal sat on the bridge. Once they had departed, Mal showed Wash the map of where the nearest companion academy was. They would drop off two women on a planet before that, eight would go to the academy, and the last two made their home on the same planet as their next job. Sometimes things went smoothly. Mal wasn't inclined to believe this luck would hold however.

His thoughts drifted to breakfast as he remembered the scene he'd walked in on. He stood and made his way to Jayne's bunk. He knocked and heard a loud groan.

"Can't a guy get some sleep?" Jayne hollered as he opened the hatch and climbed up glaring at Mal.

"What exactly did I walk in on this mornin?" Mal asked.

Jayne looked at Mal in total confusion.

"Huh?"

"This mornin I walked in to breakfast to find you all spiffed up and our new cook humming and smiling away. Do I need to be concerned about somethin here?" Mal asked as he crossed his arms in front of him.

Jayne's eyes cleared as he caught Mal's insinuation and his eyes narrowed, "I'm not the type to take advantage of a woman. Can get plenty of willin ones, don't need to force myself on anyone."

"I seem to recall a speech from old Shepard Book. Part of that made mention of a special hell for those who take advantage of young women," Mal stated firmly.

Jayne straightened to his full height, "I haven't done anything to her Mal. Lara saved my cousin. Don't you think I'd feel a mite protective of her too? Do you take me for an animal?"

They heard someone clear their throat loudly. They both turned to find Lara standing there with a plate full of cookies. They both seemed to shrink in size as she raised an eyebrow at them and shook her head.

"I can hear you two all the way in the kitchen," Lara stated as she turned to Mal, "Captain I am quite capable of speaking for myself. I do appreciate the sentiment, but I'm not made of china."

She turned to Jayne and shoved the plate of cookies at him, "You haven't tried these yet."

She turned and stormed back into the galley. Jayne and Mal looked at each other with wide eyes.

"I guess she knows what she wants then," Mal said quietly before smirking, "Good luck with that. Hurt her and the Tams will probably kill you."

He turned towards his own bunk and started whistling as he headed off. Jayne looked down at the cookies and then towards the galley. His gaze returned to the cookies as he grinned and started back down to his bunk.

After eating the whole batch and drifting off to sleep, despite the sugar rush, he remembered something his mother used to say about his dad. Way to a man's heart is through his stomach. He just smiled and finally dozed.