Chapter Three. Passengers.
Kaylee looked up at the captain, a bit hopeful, a bit apprehensive. "Are we really taking on passengers in Beaumonde?" she asked quietly as they prepped for landing.
"We sure are, little Kaylee," was his easy reply. Mal grinned at her as he fiddled with some straps on their cargo, getting it ready to take to their buyer. "You know the drill. So long as they aren't rich doctors with strange cargo and they can pay a fare, they're more'n welcome aboard. Oh, and no Feds either." Simon snorted as he approached, coming up behind Kaylee and kissing her neck. Kaylee giggled, reaching back behind her to give Simon's hair a gentle tug, and Mal averted his eyes. As soon as he did, he caught sight of River standing just off to the side by the stairs to the catwalk, regarding him. The corner of her lip turned upwards as she turned away, and Mal felt his stomach give a jolt. River had made his life complicated from the moment she'd arrived into his life, and she would probably continue to do so for all of time. "'Asides," he added, "I reckon this boat's feelin' a bit empty as of late."
Zoe and Jayne met him in the cargo bay, River appearing with perfect timing, as usual. "Now you sure you don't want to carry?" Mal offered her. She gazed up at him with her wide eyes. "We've got a few extra guns about your size. Not that you need it, I reckon."
"No touching guns," she recited, and Mal rolled his eyes. "Don't make faces."
"You're never going to let that go, are you? Fine by me, Albatross." With a shake of his head, they headed out into the overcrowded city, Jayne and Mal each carrying a crate of goods.
"Think we'll pick up anyone interesting?" Zoe asked, sounding intrigued as she glanced back for a moment.
Mal shrugged. "Don't reckon we care as long as they can pay. Kaylee's been complainin' that Serenity's startin' to fall apart. I've already had one scare, I ain't lookin' for another."
"Not supposed to talk to strangers," River added, and Mal laughed.
He nudged her, grinning widely. "Don't make 'em much stranger than we've already got." River laughed too, and shook her head.
Back at Serenity, Kaylee and Simon were sitting outside of the airlock on some folding chairs, tasked with greeting and boarding passengers. Kaylee had her iconic blue umbrella, and Simon couldn't help but be taken back to the day he first saw this ship.
"Honestly I thought she was the ugliest ship I'd ever seen," he recounted to her, poking Kaylee's side. She gasped loudly, obviously offended, but still smiled. Truth was, he'd been scared out of his mind of flying, but so determined to get his sister off of Persephone before someone noticed him that his fear had been put on the back-burner.
"You did not! Serenity's a real beauty. Prettiest ship I ever seen." She leaned her head on his shoulder, and he kissed her hair.
"You're the prettiest," Simon added sweetly, causing her to guffaw.
Their first interested passenger was a tall fellow, though portly around the middle, with short brown hair and bright green eyes. He was well dressed enough, but had a casual, at-ease air about him. The man may have been forty at the oldest, and carried nothing but a small suitcase and a leather bag at his side. "Firefly class," he noted aloud with a lilt in his tone. "That's interesting. Are you taking passengers?" His voice was low, smooth like butter.
Kaylee stood quickly, and reached out her hand to shake his own. "You betcha! I'm Kaylee, and this is my ship, Serenity. Best ship in the 'verse. Where ya' headed?"
"That's quite a grip you've got!" The man grinned widely, amused. "Best ship in the 'verse, eh? Well, who can pass that up? I'm not headed any way in particular. Just ready to get somewhere I can see the stars and maybe have some adventure. I'm West, pleased to meet you miss Kaylee. Is this your captain?" he questioned, turning to Simon. Once upon a time, the doctor would have stammered out a nervous 'no', but he laughed instead.
"Not quite," he replied, standing as well. "I'm just the medic. Simon."
West still seemed interested. "Just the medic, eh? No formal training or anything?" Simon's mouth fell open for a second as he wondered how to reply.
"Ah, I'm actually a doctor. But medic sounds less pretentious." While Simon was being humble, Kaylee beamed with pride. Her love for him was clearly written across her sweet, innocent face.
"He's even fixed me up a couple times! Best there is. Used to be a fancy-pants trauma surgeon back on Osiris, but now he's one of the crew!" Simon flushed as she entwined her fingers with his own. His free hand went to his hair, running through the strands nervously. The story was more complicated than that. It was still awkward introducing himself to people. Even though he was no longer a wanted fugitive, he still had a deep-seated fear of the Alliance finding him, and that kind of fear was hard to let go.
"You'll have to forgive my pestering questions," West replied. "I'm curious by nature. Y'see, I'm a writer, but things have been slow for me lately, so I thought I'd get off of this rock and find some muse. I can pay, of course," he explained, and showed them some coin.
Kaylee looked happier than a kid in a candy simulator. "Shiny! That sounds lovely. We're excited to have you aboard, I'll show you around the ship! Simon, wanna stay and watch for more passengers? Cap'n said we could bring up to four!" Simon nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets and turning back to the crowd. It was a while before anyone else came by.
Finally, a young couple approached. Simon noticed they'd been staring at the ship listings for a while, as if they were searching for something specific, before coming over to him.
"Hey, you two looking for a ride?" he asked. Kaylee's extroversion had been rubbing off on him, making it easier to talk to strangers. Besides, he figured that more passengers meant better parts for the ship, which always filled Kaylee with joy. That in itself was something worth going out of his comfort zone for. The couple had quite a few bags, and when the wife let on slip and rest on the ground for a moment, Simon noticed she was very, very pregnant.
"Yeah, actually," the man replied. They were a handsome couple, no older than their mid twenties. The woman was rather tiny, and her swollen belly made her seem even tinier. Her short hair was black as night, cut at a bob that bounced around her ears. Her husband was a short fellow, too, though he was a few inches taller than her. Their clothing hinted to him that they came from money, but they were humble in their manner.
"We noticed on your manifest that you have a medical doctor on board," the woman chimed in, her voice light and soft. Everything about her was graceful. She reminded him of River, instantly endearing her to him.
"That'll be me," he replied, pride coloring his words. "How far along are you?"
"Eight months," the man chimed in, also quite proudly. "We're hoping to make it to Persephone before she pops. I'm Mathias, and this is my wife Kiva."
"Congratulations," Simon said, though his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm not going to lie to you, I've only delivered one baby before as the primary, but we should have the right equipment on board should something happen before schedule. And we'll be by Persephone in about three weeks." At that moment Kaylee came back, was quick to inquire as to if they would be joining them. Her excitement almost made Simon nervous. Not that he ever needed a reason.
Kiva smiled, blushing. "What do you think, dear?" Matthias lifted the bags his wife had set down.
"I think this'll do." Kaylee jumped for joy, and Simon was happy that she was happy. Honestly, the idea of delivering another baby terrified him, but he would do whatever was needed of him.
Simon showed them to their room, and helped them get settled in, as Kaylee had done for West. He explained to them the same routine Mal had done for him on his first day on the ship. Which, at this point, felt like ages ago. By the time he rejoined Kaylee at the front, Mal and the rest of the crew had returned from the drop. It seemed like a relatively successful adventure, and the coins jingling in Mal's pockets confirmed.
"How'd it go?" he asked curiously. Jayne was noticeably pissed, and he had knot on his head the size of an apple.
"Jayne's mad because he didn't duck quick enough," River explained. Zoe and Mal were poorly concealing their laughter.
"Ruttin' bar fights," Jayne groaned. "Y'didn't give me enough time was all." His pride was hurt more than anything.
"False," River stated, "Humans only need one point three seconds to react to sudden events. I gave you three." Jayne glared, and made a mean face at her. She stuck her tongue out at him and danced away from his reach.
"Do you need me to take a look at that for you?" Simon offered, but Jayne waved him off.
"Did we get any passengers?" Mal asked, cocking a brow at Kaylee.
Kaylee couldn't be happier to tell him the good news. "Sure did, boss! Three of 'em! They should be back down here to meet you in a minute!" As if on cue, the three passengers, already exchanging introductions, returned to the cargo bay.
"Cap'n, this West, he's a writer," Kaylee explained happily. "West, this is-"
"The captain. What a pleasure," West said, reaching his hand out. Mal regarded him for a moment before returning the gesture.
"The name's Mal, sure is a pleasure to have you folk on board." He turned to the couple, and then noticed Kiva's advanced state, and glanced to the doctor for assurance. "Whoa there. We have a permit for this load?" Mal asked, giving a grin. Kiva and Mathias chuckled, but River was eyeing Zoe. The first mate was obviously ill at ease, but after a few deep breaths she was able to regain her composure as they exchanged introductions. No one else seemed to notice. River bit her tongue, trying not to recite the babble in her head from all of the voices that swarmed her brain. While she was getting better at filtering out other people's thoughts, large groups made it difficult for her to concentrate.
Mal went on with the introductions, oblivious to the struggles of two of his crewmates. "This here's the crew: here's my first mate Zoe. Appears like you've met my mechanic and the doc. This fella here's called Jayne, and this wild animal is our pilot, River." River had moved forward, bending over and staring at the baby bump. She was making Mathias uncomfortable, but for some reason Kiva didn't feel the slightest bit awkward.
"She's an old soul," River stated, though it sounded like she was talking about herself, Mal suspected she was talking about the child. Placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, he reigned her in.
"Anyways, dinner's at seven. River, let's take off." River saluted comically, dancing away after the captain.
"Actually, I brought some foodstuffs," Mathias announced, showing a bag of fresh fruit and vegetables.
"Oh, Mathias loves to cook," Kiva explained, placing a proud hand on his arm. "We were hoping you'd let him prepare a meal for all of us as a thank you for taking us on." This was an instant hit.
"Shiny! Ain't gonna hear no complaints against that," Jayne remarked, obviously excited to have someone cook him a meal.
Up in the cockpit, Mal's hand brushed against River's as they entered, sending shivers up his arm. River turned to him, regarding him through those dark lashes. He hated when she did that. Mal had a hard time thinking of anything else when she gave him that look.
"What do you think of our passengers?" he asked her, taking his seat before she did something else that made him want to kiss her pretty mouth. A distraction.
"They're lovely. Mathias is carrying a gun, and the baby is thinking about coming early, but I don't think she will." Mal snorted.
"That's about what we need on this boat. A baby." River frowned, her mind spinning back to the blood on Zoe's sheets. Then a pair of sharp eyes interrupted.
"Weston Oro… now he'll be interesting. Everything so shiny and new..."
Mal turned to her. "He got somethin' to hide?"
River shook her head. "Quite the opposite. He can be trusted," she explained.
"With what?"
"Anything."
"Oh." Mal didn't know what that meant. He suppose he wouldn't until after it happened. That usually about how things went with her. "You know Albatross, you've been quiet-like lately. Kinda missin' our conversations. Somethin' botherin' you?"
River stared at her feet. There was a moment of quiet before she replied. "You know." That morning that he had woken up with her next to him, he'd ended up asking her to leave. Her feelings were still hurt, and she the more she tried to ignore those feelings, the stronger she felt them.
"River…" He let out a sigh, and rested his elbows on his knees. "What do you think is gonna happen? If we start to get all close-like, imagine what that could do to the ship, the crew. Your brother would still kill me."
River didn't say anything for a few moments. As usual, when she did speak, her poignant words stuck to him.
"Your mouth says one thing but your heart says another." She didn't break eye contact. "Malcolm Reynolds wants River to be his, but he's scared. He stares death head-on but he has a hard time looking at the water. He sees his reflection. He makes her think he doesn't want her…" She took a deep breath, closing her eyes as if she were trying to concentrate. "Sometimes I still get confused. I see you when you're not around. I hear your thoughts and your heartbeat. Some of it's made up and some of it can't be quantified. But I'm not a little. I want what I want." She peered at him, a hint of sadness in her tone. "Is it because I'm broken?"
Mal sighed, his heart in his throat. He finally stood, moving closer to her. He took her hand into his own, glancing at her pale, skinny fingers as he chose his words carefully. "I can't rightly call you broken, River. I ain't exactly right myself. I don't exactly broadcast it, but I s'pose you've seen enough. Call me a paranoid and crochety old man if you will, but yeah, Albatross. You scare me a bit. That ain't easy to say, neither." Her hand tingled. She wanted him to touch more of her, and she felt herself lean in closer towards him. River inhaled the smell of him in this proximity, and the scent clouded her mind and cleansed her at the same time. The voices quieted. She was just a girl, now. Not a weapon, not a Reader. Just a River-girl. Her lips parted, just slightly as she met his gaze. Mal brushed a stray hair out of her eyes, glancing up at the controls for a moment before looking back down at her. "Tell me sweet girl, do you really see a future between us?"
She closed her eyes for a moment. "The future isn't set, it isn't solid. It's in a liquid state, flowing between possibilities. In one place we're drowning, in another we float along. It depends on you." She placed her other hand on his chest. "Mal…" Finally she opened her eyes. His lips were closer to her own, and her breath hitched in her throat as his hands gently let hers go, his fingers drifting down to her waist. Her skin was electrified, and she heard his heart begin to race, thumping loudly in his chest. "They took everything away from the girl and made her into what they wanted. A weapon. An assassin. Now the girl wants to be her own. She wants to be yours."
Mal's chest tightened, ideas that Shepard Book would condemn him for dancing around in his head in black combat boots. "River…" It was a protest, but he wasn't pulling away from her. Her hand travelled up to his face, gently feeling the slight stubble of his cheek. His eyes closed, and let let out a sigh he hadn't realized he'd been holding. As soon as he did, River pressed up onto her toes, and brushed her lips against his. Instinctively, he moved to pulled her closer, to deepen the kiss, but she slipped out of his embrace. He felt the loss of her more than he was comfortable admitting, but a few moments later Zoe was on the bridge. Relief flooded through him as he silently thanked his pilot. He looked over at River, who was already flipping the controls, getting them ready to break atmo.
"Everything alright, sir?" The first mate inquired.
"Peachy keen."
"Ready for takeoff," River announced. As soon as the words left her mouth, the ground fell away from them. Zoe watched, studying the girl pilot as she navigated. Mal worried maybe she was being critical of their youngest crewmate. He always had a hard time reading what the women on his ship were thinking.
"She's a mighty fine pilot," Zoe commented, which sent a pang of sadness through River. River glanced at the dinosaurs on her dash for a moment as they broke atmo, and launched themselves into the wild, vastness of space.
"That she is," Mal replied, and placed a hand on his first mate's shoulder for a moment. Wash's absence would never be forgotten. His essence filled up the room like a heavy silence that fell over them as they soared through the black.
You know, a lot of people have asked me why I chose Serenity. Firefly classes were used in the Unification War, and then later for smuggling. I wanted to get away from it all, maybe get a good story. I had no idea that I'd find Malcolm Reynolds, or the Tams. How could I? The chances of that… Would I go back and change anything? Hmm… I imagine now. I still think it all happened for a reason, as badly as it turned out. The time I spent on that ship changed my life. Everyone's life, I imagine, in the long run.
West Oros
