Shades of the Past – Chapter Twenty-Four
Writer does not own Firefly or Serenity or any part there of. Simple fanfic, with no money changing hands. Labor of love, or love of labor, is all it is:)
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True to his plan, Mal and company lay very low for the next two weeks. During that time, both he and Jayne healed well. River's arm was back in shape long before their respective leg wounds were healed. Serenity stayed on the move, once again going planet side only to pick up and deliver cargo.
Jayne and Ami visited regularly on the ship, and Ami and River continued to build their friendship. River no longer saw Ami as a rival for Jayne's affections, and Ami saw River as a balm to her adopted sibling's injured soul.
Kaylee and Simon spent a great deal of time together as well. Hopes of being able to establish a home on Argo fueled yet more hopes of a home and family.
Mal and Inara likewise drew closer together. There were rough spots for them, but despite Mal's own 'foot in mouth' issues, the two were steadily working things out between them.
Jayne and River were not quite inseparable, but usually where you found one, the other was nearby. Jayne would often sit on the bridge with her, and she would likewise sit with him in the bay while he worked out. Inara noted that they often simply sat quietly together, each occupied with something.
It was that companionable silence that convinced her the two would make it. She and Mal had yet to develop anything like that, and even Kaylee and Simon were not as close.
Yet, Inara thought, it wasn't so strange. Jayne and River were much alike. Both had suffered a great deal, and both were very like minded. They made a good pair, she thought, watching them one evening in the cargo bay. Jayne's lack of education was offset by River's sheer genius, while her diminutive size and instability were likewise offset by Jayne's great strength and calm demeanor.
Thus it was no surprise when one night, as Jayne returned another of the books she had loaned him, he asked her advice.
"'Nara," he said hesitantly. She smiled at him.
"Yes, Jayne?"
"I need some help, sorta. See I want to court River proper, only I never learned how, on account o', well. . .you know," he wasn't quite blushing.
"That's very sweet Jayne," Inara said to ease his discomfort. "How can I help?"
"Well, I mean. . .what do I do?" he asked desperately. "I mean, some stuff I figured out on my own, like. Flowers, and candy and what not. But. . ."
"But what else?" Inara asked. "Jayne, it seems to me you're already doing a fine job. You spend time with her, listen to her, even when you don't understand what she's talking about. You're there for her, a presence in her life."
"You let her stand on her own two feet, which not all men would do. You work to make her feel safe, and protected, even though she's more than capable of doing it herself. That allows . . . it gives her a haven, Jayne. A safe place where she can relax, and just be, well, River."
"But shouldn't there be, I don't know. More?" he asked.
"There can always be more," Inara giggled. "Women do like to be pampered, Jayne, and despite her. . .abilities, River is a woman."
"That part I got figured out," he grinned sheepishly.
"Are you two intimate?" Inara asked softly, and Jayne's face went red.
"Not. . .like that, no," he told her. "I mean we, you know, kiss and stuff. Make out, like. But we ain't. . .that is I don't want. . .I mean. . ." he trailed off, spluttering a bit.
"I think that's very sweet, Jayne," Inara soothed. "Most men would be putting pressure on her for physical intimacy. She's very attractive and desirable."
"Yeah, she is," Jayne displayed a goofy grin. Inara couldn't help laughing. To his credit, Jayne managed not to blush too much.
"I think, when we can put all this unpleasantness behind us, the ideal thing would be for the two of you to have a night out. Take her to dinner, perhaps to a show of some kind. River loves the ballet. If you can find one, either here, or on Astra, take her. You will probably find it boring, but she will love it."
"I don't mind sittin' through something like that," Jayne nodded. "Not for her."
"And she'll realize that, Jayne. River is very smart."
"Thanks, 'Nara," Jayne said, rising from his seat. "I think I got it for now."
"You're welcome, Jayne. Anytime."
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When Serenity touched down on the landing pad at the processing plant, it was evident that something had happened. There were vehicles and people everywhere, and the plant showed signs of damage, apparently by fire.
Mal, Jayne, and Simon walked over to the scene, while River and Zoe secured the ship. Simon wanted to see if he could be of assistance. He tugged at his body armor uncomfortably, but hadn't even thought of leaving the ship without it. If he had, Kaylee would have had a screeching fit. After her meeting with a bullet, stopped by Jayne's gift, she never went near the cargo bay without it, and made sure Simon did likewise.
Mal saw Harwell, looking frazzled and weary, and stepped over to him with Simon at his side. Jayne hung back, watching.
"Trouble?" Mal asked.
"You could say that," Harwell nodded grimly. "They hit about sunup. I had hired a few men to watch the place. They put up a fight, but there were too many raiders. Managed to set fire to a warehouse, but didn't damage our plant. We got lucky, for once. The Sheriff was out this way with several men, looking for a robbery suspect. He was close enough to get here and run the raider's off, though he lost men doing it. Losing the warehouse will hurt us, but it won't stop us," he declared.
"Anything we can do to help? Mal asked.
"Could use your doctor," Harwell nodded at Simon. "Got several injured. Doctor's on his way, but may take a while. And Ami's got her hands full." Simon looked to Mal, who nodded, and then set out to the infirmary. Mal motioned for Jayne to follow, and the big man set off behind.
"Mister Harwell," Mal said, after Simon and Jayne had gone. "It ain't my business, you understand, but I'm curious to know what's being done about all this."
"Not much to be done, Captain," Harwell shrugged in frustration. "Sheriff is doing all he can, but he's only got so many men. And so far, despite the fact that we know Zhang is behind all this, there's nothing to prove he is, if you take my meaning."
Mal nodded in understanding. Knowing and proving were two horses of different colors. A fact he himself had been thankful for on more than a single occasion.
"I gotta be honest, here, Mister Harwell," Mal said after a pause. "My crew have been attacked three times in the time we've been working for you. My ship was almost blown up. We ain't scared of trouble, but if there's no end to the trouble in sight, I gotta be thinking on me and mine."
"I understand," Harwell nodded dejectedly. "I'm grateful to you for hanging in as long as you have."
"Well, we ain't ready to quit just yet," Mal said, and Harwell's face lifted some. "Truth is, we kinda hoped to stay around and work here permanent like, if you'll recall our earlier discussion. But I can't keep risking my ship and my crew without knowing there's an end to all this. Somewhere. Or at least a workable plan to put an end to it."
"I wish I had one," Harwell admitted. "But I don't know what else I can do, Captain. I hired the only men I could find that were trustworthy. And they put up a decent fight, too. But no matter how many men I can come up with, Zhang has more. And he's got deeper pockets than we do," Harwell admitted. "If I hire mercenaries, there's no guarantee that he won't just offer them more to sell me out."
Mal nodded in understanding. It was an age old problem.
"Have you had any contact with Zhang at all?"
"Just his weekly 'offer' to take our struggling business off our hands at a 'very reasonable price'. Which amounts to less than half what it's worth." Mal nodded again, having expected something of the sort. He sighed with frustration. He had really wanted this to work.
But he couldn't just keep his crew locked away forever. They were starting to show signs of fatigue, and Serenity had to have regular maintenance, something hard to accomplish in the black. Maybe a place to call home and the hope of a steady paycheck had been too much to hope for after all.
"If you have any ideas, or suggestions, Captain, I'm willing to listen," Harwell interrupted his thoughts. "I've worked here for more than thirty years. Braz built this place from the ground up. Started out as a general store. I don't aim to just give up."
"Let me think on it," Mal said suddenly. "We've encountered things of this sort before, a time or two. Maybe we can come up with something."
"I'll try most anything that has a hope of success," Harwell assured him. "If you'll excuse me, Captain, I need to see how things are going." Mal watched as Harwell walked off, options running through his mind.
He wanted this to work out. Badly. His people deserved a place to hang their hats, a safe place to call home, and a chance of steady, dependable work. They had the promise of that here, but for this trouble with Jian Zhang. Zhang had deep pockets, Harwell said, so outlasting him probably wasn't an option.
Maybe Jayne was right, he decided reluctantly. Maybe it was time to take a more direct approach.
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"Hey, sis," Jayne said quietly as Ami walked out from behind a curtain, She looked exhausted. Her gloves and gown were covered in blood and soot from working on victims of both the raid and the resulting fire.
"Ni hao," Ami smiled tiredly.
"Better'n you, it looks like," Jayne snorted. She looked to his injured leg.
"It's fine," he assured her. "How 'bout you?"
"I'm so tired, Shade," she leaned against him. "It's never going to end. Or if it does, it will end badly, for us. So many hurt, so many dead," she shuddered. "I've been too long away from things like this, Shade. Forgotten how it can be."
"That ain't a bad thing jie-mei," Jayne said comfortingly. "Ain't a bad thing at all." She looked up with a smile.
"No, I suppose not," she agreed. "How's River?"
"Beautiful," Jayne grinned, and Ami laughed.
"You're a lucky man, xiao xiong," she grinned.
"That I am," he nodded with a smile, then turned serious. "Stormy, if we leave, I'm sure the Captain would let you haul freight with us. Somewhere away from this Zhang character, and all this," he waved his arm at their surroundings.
"I've thought about it," she admitted. "But where would I go, Shade? I don't have anywhere to go, and nothing to do when I get there."
"Could talk to Mal," Jayne offered. "He knows lots o' people. Might even know a ship needs a good medic. Ain't everyone lucky as we are, havin' a real Doc on board."
"I've thought about that too," she nodded. "But would I really be any safer on a ship than I am here?"
"Depends on the ship," Jayne admitted. "And where she works, what she does."
"I'll think about it," she promised. "I've got to get back to work. See you later?'"
"Should," he nodded. "Depends on Mal. But I don't think he'll leave 'til Simon ain't needed here no more. Mal's a soft touch for people hurtin'."
"He's not the only one," Ami poked his ribs, kissing his cheek. She had turned to go when Jayne called her back.
"Hey Stormy? Do me a favor?"
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"Jayne? Talk to you a minute?" The crew had just finished supper, and were beginning to break up. Jayne was helping River with the dishes. He looked at Mal for a minute, and nodded.
"Be right back, bao-bei," he whispered, gently patting her backside. She giggled softly, pinching him. Jayne followed Mal out onto the catwalk. The ship was still on the ground, and would be for at least a day.
"I been thinkin'," Mal said. "Maybe you had the right of it. We need to think on taking some action of our own. I'm tired of waiting and watching for someone to hit us." Jayne nodded.
"What you got in mind?" he asked softly.
"Looking for options," Mal admitted. "Got any?"
"Mal, you know me," Jayne said after a minute. "I say we kill him, and have done with it. He's responsible for a lot o' hurt and grief. Be a mercy for folks here if some tragedy were to befall him."
"Befall him?" Mal smirked. "You really are putting an effort into that, ain't ya?"
"I am," he nodded again. "Don't want to embarrass my Captain, or my girl."
"You ain't a embarrassment, Jayne," Mal told him. "Any man'd be right proud to have such as you on his crew. I know I am." Jayne beamed at the praise.
"As to the impending demise of said Mister Zhang," Mal went on, "I don't know that we could kill him. Don't know where he abides, what he looks like, or any useful information such as that."
"Information ain't hard to come by, Captain," Jayne pointed out. "Most likely everyone knows at least where 'bouts to find him. And we ain't got to get all that close no how. Bullet in the head can be done from five, six hundred yards. With the right man, and the right gun."
"Seems a bit. . ." Mal trailed off.
"Clean?" Jayne offered. "It is. And not very sportin' either. But he ain't deserving o' such no way."
"We're in agreement on that," Mal nodded. "Just seems too much like, well, murder, I guess."
"Pure self defense," Jayne argued. "He's tried to kill all of us at least once. And I'm right tired o' that. And," he added, "I'll tell you this. One more attempt on River? And I'm gonna pay him a visit anyway."
Mal smiled at the big man's protectiveness. He'd never had believed the two of them would ever wind up together. Course he'd learned a good deal about Jayne in the last couple months that he'd never imagined could be true, either.
"Well, be thinkin' on this," Mal ordered. "Try and come up with something other than outright assassination if you can. I'd prefer this be settled with a minimum of problems, as we hope to stay here when it's over."
"I'll be doin' that," Jayne assured him, returning to the kitchen.