Chapter Eleven. Wo De Tian A

Kaylee fidgeted in her chair, frowning. Simon crossed his arms next to her, regarding Mal and Zoe with critical eyes.

"You two might have noticed that Serenity's pretty banged up," Mal started. He was standing on the other side of the table from where his mechanic and doctor were seated. Zoe was off to the side, leaning against the kitchen counter. "I have a proposition for you - both of you. They can be accepted separately, but the nature of them lends me to giving to both a' you at the same time. Kaylee, I'll start with you."

"You're makin' me nervous, Cap'n," she told him with a frown.

"Don't be," he assured her. "I do, however, have a job for you. Y'see, Serenity's engine... well, it's in need of a little lovin'. I want you to rebuild her." His mechanic's mouth fell open. "Don't worry about the parts. You'll have everything brand new. She's already gettin' a pretty makeover, I figured you'd want in. Asides, I've got a crew comin' to fix her, and there's no one I trust better to keep them in line and respectin' our home than you."

Mal watched as her expression changed from surprise to disbelief to excitement. While she was absorbing the information, Mal turned to Simon. He was still pretty possed at him, that was for certain.

"Simon, I have a similar job for you. I don't want to ever have to take one of our crew to a hospital again. How many credits would it take to build an infirmary up to your standards to do just that?"

Simon shifted in his seat. "I-I'm not sure."

"Ballpark it. Spare no expense. I want one of those dermal weaver machines, too, like what you sewed my ear back on with," Mal added.

Simon leaned back, trying to recall everything he'd put on Serenity if money wasn't an option. "I'd say… well… If you're rebuilding it anyway, if you could make the infirmary bigger, you could fit a complete ImageMed machine. It's like the 3D NueroImager I took River to on Ariel, but it's designed to be more mobile. And to stock the ship with an actual pharmacy would be nice… I'd say… ten thousand credits would do the trick."

Mal grinned, looking over to Zoe for a moment. He leaned on a chair in front of them. "That sounds like a deal. Both of you would be in charge of making sure that Serenity becomes a proper home. The crew I'm bringin' in will take care of everything we need 'em to, but you two would get to make sure it's done to your specifications."

"Where exactly is this money coming from?" Simon inquired, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"I'm glad you asked. That piece of work West wrote earned Zoe and I a fair amount of credits. And, in according to how we share the loot from jobs, you two will be getting your cuts as well. I think West is taking care of setting up the accounts. We don't get any hard cash, bein' as it's a legal transaction and all. I figure you two wouldn't mind."

Simon raised a brow at his cavalier captain. "And... how much is the payout, exactly?"

Zoe uncrossed her arms, grinning a bit. "You're sittin' on seven thousand credits. Each."

Mal cut in. "That's a lot of money. I know that some of our crew will leave us as soon as they get their payout. But I need you two to at least help out for the next few weeks gettin' Serenity straight. And then you two can leave, make your own life with your credits. Or…" Mal leaned in a bit. "Or you're welcome to come with us. You two would be awful hard to replace. Our mission would be the same. We'd make a home on Serenity, fly as we please, stay out of the reach of the Alliance. Live like real people." He stepped away, and Zoe followed him to the front door. "I'll give you until sunset to decide. You two have a lot to talk about."

"Jayne." Mal found his gun for hire sitting outside of the bar, relaxing on one of the benches, drink in hand.

"Well if it ain't our celebrity," he greeted with a grin. He was properly sauced.

"Yeah, that's what I came to talk to you about." Mal wanted to make this as quick and painless as possible. "I wanted to make sure you got your cut."

"My cut?"

"Yep. Seven thousand credits. Wish I could give it to you in cash, but that ain't exactly an option." Jayne fell silent, and then nodded.

"That's about enough to retire for a while," he commented, strangely calm about the news.

"I figure so," was Mal's easy reply. They stared out into the town of Lampasas as the sun started to hang low in the sky. "I suppose you'll be headin' off world soon then."

Jayne didn't reply for a few moments, but eventually nodded. "Yeah. Go pay my ma' a visit. Then who knows." Mal always knew that, given enough money, Jayne would leave. At that moment he was just thankful that it was him giving Jayne the cash, and not someone else buying his favor. They didn't speak, but sat there, side by side. They didn't need words. They had understanding.

Mal stood in front of Serenity as the sun started to set on the eventful day. Hands on his hips, he surveyed the Firefly class ship in front of him. She was a complete disaster. Yet even as his ship lay practically in pieces in front of him, he began to imagine what she might look like when they were done with her. The crew he had hired were experts in what they did, and he was sure that by the end of it, she wouldn't look much like the ship he bought. She'd still be a smuggling ship, there was no doubt about that. He wouldn't dare change that about her, but he imagined that she'd be cleaner. Shinier. The engine rooms would be less cluttered, and there would be actual showers in the crew's bunks.

Mal felt her hand slip into his, her head rest against his shoulder. "Well hey there, darlin'," he greeted his pilot. She was humming softly, a familiar melody he couldn't place.

"Live like real people," she stated. "All shiny and new."

"That's right, baobei." He turned, wrapping her up into a tight embrace, kissing her lips. "You know, you've got seven thousand credits to your name right now to do with as pleases you. What do you plan on doing now?" River grinned against his lips.

"I want to build a library," she said. "On ship. If she's going to be my forever home, I'm going to need more books."

Mal rested his head against her own. "Does that mean you ain't leavin'?" He asked quietly. "You've got every right to." But she shook her head.

"My home is here," she explained quietly, pointing to his chest. "Besides, you need a pilot."

Mal agreed. "You're right. I need you."

"Kaylee and Simon are staying," River told him.

"Yeah? How'd you know?" Either she'd been eavesdropping or she'd read their minds, because Mal wasn't expecting an answer so soon.

"They told me."

"Oh."

River laughed at his expense. "Inara wishes to speak with you," she finally told him.

"Did she tell you that?" Mal asked, but River shook her head. "Well, s'pose I should go see what the lady wants." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Unless you just want to tell me yourself? Save me some troubles."

The reader gave him a playful grin, and shook her head 'no'. Mal kissed her lips, pulling her to him, pressing their bodies together. Every time he'd had a moment to himself, he'd thought about her the curves on her body, the way she moved around him. She didn't pull away.

"I've been thinking about you, too," she admitted, pulling away from the kiss for only a moment, before biting his bottom lip.

"Forget about Inara," Mal ordered, and grabbed his lover's hand, pulling her towards the ship. The sun had set, and he pulled her around to the opposite side of the extender so that they wouldn't be seen. He pressed her small frame up against the warm metal, and River let out a soft moan, trembling. Mal pushed her dress up deftly, placing his fingers in just the spot that made her close her eyes and gasp.

"Malcolm," River moaned, loudly. No one was around, and Mal assumed that she would sense if someone wandered by. Either way, he didn't really care. His heart was racing now, his mouth against the soft skin of her neck. Biting, kissing. Her hands were around his neck, pulling at his hair, holding herself up against him.

"Oh River," he whispered into her ear, causing her to moan again. "You've been thinkin' about this, haven't you?" Mal asked. He could tell.

"I thought I was the Reader," was her breathless reply. Her head leaned back against the metal of the ship, giving him better access to the pale skin on her neck. Mal's free hand went to the top of her dress. It tied in the front, which he was grateful for. It only took him a moment to pull the string at the center of her chest, and push the side of the dress off of her shoulder, exposing her breast. As he lavished his entire attention on her, River made no attempt to keep quiet.

"More," she pleaded, and Mal was eager to oblige. He pulled her panties down roughly, and they fell to her ankles. She stepped out of them, and he moved himself between her. River's impatience grew, and she unbuckled his trousers with expert fingers. They hung loose on his hips as she reached inside of his boxer for what she really desired. Mal felt himself press against her hand, letting out a growl in earnest.

"River." His tone was low. It was an order. With a trembling hand, she guided him to the right place, and gasped loudly as he entered her.

"Wo De Tian A," she cried. River wrapped her arms tighter around his neck. Mal expertly pulled her up, one leg at a time. She let out a small noise at this, and Mal kissed her, hard on the mouth. He felt her rock against him, encouraging him. She was just as fierce as she kissed him back, letting him know that this rough treatment was something that she was enjoying. Their first time he had been gentle, sweet even. Now he could tell that she wanted something else entirely. She wanted him to take her. To claim her. Mal did just that. He'd never done this kind of thing in such an open area. The idea of getting caught thrilled him, made his blood rush faster. He had to taste her, to kiss every inch of his skin that he could get to. River moaned his name, her pitch rising with each movement.

"Oh." There it was. His movements became more frantic, maybe even sloppy as he spent himself, River melting into him in return.

River was numb. Her eyes were closed serenely, and she was only upright because of Mal's weight against her, pressing up against the ship's warm metal. A smile crossed her face. "This is nothing as I imagined it would be," she said, her voice a rasp. Mal let out a chuckle as he pulled away, setting her down on solid ground again. He kissed her sore lips and ran his fingers down the side of her face. Gentle, now.

"You're not what I imagined, either," was his reply. He began to fasten his trousers, and adjust his clothing. River picked herself up as well, tying her disheveled dress, patting down her hair. She fixed Mal's collar for him, but laughed at his mussed up hair. Mal thought that he might go see what exactly Inara wanted, but decided that if the Companion really needed to speak with him, she would come and find him like a grown woman. There were more important things in front of him now.

Awh, come on. Don't lookit me like that. 'Course I left! Ain't seen Maw in too long. Asides, now I had enough cash to get them a proper house. So's that's what I did. I didn't wanna make much fanfare 'a sayin' goodbyes. Just packed up and left that mornin'. Wasn't a big deal at all. Of course, that ain't to say I spent all 'a the cash wisely. Shepherd Book surely wouldn'ta approved. But he's dead now. 'Sides, what were we even gonna do with all that cash? Float around space? No thanks. I'll go have an adventure. At least, that's what I thought.

Jayne Cobb