Hello All,
Well here's another chapter up and ready to go. I'm starting to really have fun with this and I hope you all are enjoying it. Please R&R!
-Moki
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Wash was covered in sweat and breathing hard but happier than he'd been in a while. He was glad that he'd decided on this late afternoon run to clear his head. He'd been feeling so tense on the ship that it was nice to just get outside on his own for a little while.
They had landed on a warm and sunny planet near the outskirts of the latest system they were visiting and Wash was taking full advantage of being planet-side. He was using this time to think about what he could do about his situation.
Music played in his ears, especially picked by him for running so that he could keep tempo with it. He did that now and for a minute or two tried not to think about anything but the rhythm.
One, Two. One, Two. One, Two.
His feet were light below him and he kept his pace easily. Though running was certainly easier planet-side (well actually that depended on the planet) he could do it on the ship as well. He had already found the weight-room and the treadmills there so it was easy to keep up his routine. Though he could have made do even without such a set-up. The crew on his last job had gotten quite used to seeing him run through their ship. The cargo bay and even the hallways became his track and he had used it whenever he could.
One, Two. One, Two. One, Two.
Wash's mind quickly went back to the problem at hand as he tried to figure out what to do. He never had trouble getting along with a new crew so this was definitely something unusual to him. The captain and he got along well and each got what they wanted from the other. Wash already respected the captain and felt quite loyal to him. He also trusted Mal and that was no small thing. Not that Wash usually distrusted people but sometimes in his line of work he didn't feel that way about someone for a while. He accepted the fact that as an independent pilot he might work with less than savory characters from time to time. But he knew immediately that Mal was different. He could tell that Mal liked him just fine as well.
Nope, the problem isn't with Mal. Wash thought.
One, Two. One, Two. One, Two.
Wash turned up his headphones a bit and they crackled with a little interference. He had set them up so that they could receive 'com. from the ship in case anything happened while he was out. It meant that as his music played it was periodically interrupted with internal communication from the ship. But he quickly tuned it out as it was just routine business (Mal ordering Kaylee to fix some danged broken ship part and the like). He was passing the small town where they'd already done some trading and received waves from those still outside of their homes in the late day sun.
One, Two. One, Two. One, Two.
Kaylee and he got along just fine too. She was as sweet as she could be and he was enjoying working with a great mechanic who wasn't a know-it-all jerk. He'd worked with too many of those types so she was certainly a breath of fresh air. He even found himself feeling very older-brother like towards her. Already he felt that if anyone tried to hurt her, they'd have him to deal with whether they liked it or not. She liked him just fine too.
Nope the problem isn't with Kaylee, Wash thought.
One, Two. One, Two. One, Two.
Wash had passed the town now and headed towards the foothills behind it. He found a trail leading upwards and took it, wanting to push himself a little more. The music continued playing in his ears and he hummed along for a few moments. As he headed up the trail he rounded a corner and was able to get a birds-eye view of the small valley below. He was above the treetops and he watched as the wind gently blew through the branches. He looked up above him and saw the reddish sky of sunset through the trees on the trail with him. It was beautiful.
One, Two. One, Two. One, Two.
Now as for Zoe. Well that was something else entirely, Wash thought. True she was a bit cold but he didn't reckon that she particularly disliked him in any way. Zoe just sort of let him be and he let her be. She was definitely a striking woman but Wash didn't have to be hit over the head to know when a woman had no interest in him whatsoever. At first he thought that maybe Zoe and the captain were together but quickly dismissed it after observing them awhile. No doubt theirs was a unique relationship but it wasn't a dating one. From what he'd gathered within the first few days he'd been on board he knew that they'd been in the war together and Mal had been Zoe's sergeant. He knew they'd been through a lot together and their bond was strong. Actually it made him feel sorry for any man to which Zoe did decide to give her heart. Those two were so close, how would any other man be able to compete? Oh well, at least I don't have to worry about that. Zoe and he got along just fine.
Nope the problem isn't with Zoe, Wash thought.
One, Two. One, Two. One, Two.
Jayne. Therein lied the problem. No matter how hard Wash tried the big brute acted like either Wash didn't exist or that he was an enemy specifically put on board to ruin Jayne's day. Wash didn't mind as much when the man ignored him but the constant picking was grating at his nerves. Wash had tried to be nothing but nice but somehow it just didn't work. He had been on board Serenity for a week already and nothing had changed. Wash had rather hoped that Jayne would either get used to him or get bored with berating him but neither seemed to be happening anytime soon.
Wash wasn't about to do anything stupid like go to the captain or anyone else though. He prided himself on being able to handle his own problems and this one was no different. He was just going to have to figure it out on his own and that was that.
One, Two. One, Two. One, Two.
Noticing that it was growing increasingly darker now Wash turned on the trail and headed back down. Just as he did he heard static in his ears through the music and Mal's voice came on the 'com.
"Wash we need you back in here now. It's gettin' a mite late and I want to close Serenity and lock her up for the night. What's your ETA?"
"No problem Captain I'll be back right away. I'm about 2 kilometers out right now" Wash replied without slowing down.
"Fine, see you back here in 10 minutes" Mal replied matter of fact and the line was cut.
Ten minutes? Wash was incredulous. Well best not to be arguing over the impossibility of that right now. He decided and took off with a faster pace. If he hadn't already been running for an hour he probably could easily have made that time. But right now it was going to be tough.
Taking a deep breath, Wash took off and started running for his life. While he knew that Mal probably wouldn't be all that upset if he was a bit late he still wanted to prove that he could do it. He had distinctly felt Mal's smirk over the 'com and was sure the captain didn't think he could make it back that fast. Well I'll show him.
Wash ran like he'd never run before. He ran back down the hill he'd just come, back past the town and out into the open valley. He ran harder and harder and just when he thought his legs or his lungs were going to give out he saw Serenity looming ahead over the treetops. He rounded a bend in the canyon where he'd set her down. Right then and there he decided that there never was anything more beautiful than that ship. Knowing that he was going to make it he slowed just a tad and immediately felt his body want to stop completely. No, he told his tired limbs, this is just a rest and you have to keep going.
Smiling to himself in satisfaction he finally reached his goal and ran onto the cargo ramp like a competitor passing the finish line. Arms up in the air to a non-existent crowd he whooped in glee. Behind him Serenity's cargo hold door began to close and Wash knew that Mal must have seen him arrive. Wash grinned knowing that he'd probably surprised captain.
Completely spent now, he stopped and leaned over to allow his gasping lungs to take in some much-needed oxygen. After a few seconds he straightened up and with hands on hips walked into the cargo bay. He headed straight for the weight-room and proceeded to cool off and stretch his aching limbs. All in all a good run, he thought to himself.
Wash never noticed a dark set of eyes on him. They watched his every move now that he was on board and in fact had been watching him since he'd become visible on his way back to the ship. They were thoughtful eyes and their owner hardly knew why they were watching. They had started watching simply because they'd been looking out at the sunset and spotted a speck on the horizon. The ears that belonged to the eyes had heard the captain's challenge and out of curiosity had come to see if it would be met. They would never admit it but the eyes were impressed. After a while they stopped watching and headed off on their way, taking the body with them.
Zoe smiled to herself. Well, well, well…. looks like we got ourselves a spry little pilot.
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Jayne spotted Wash heading towards the weight room and grinned snidely. Time to have a little fun with the new recruit.
Wash was just finishing up with some final stretches and about ready to try some weights when he heard footsteps behind him. The feet making those steps were much too large to be anyone else and Wash sighed. Here he comes.
"Hey Wash, you want I should spot ya?" Jayne asked as he walked in and found Wash fussing with the weights.
"Uh, yeah sure" Wash replied. He looked at the other man to see what he was up to but Jayne had his best poker-face on and Wash couldn't tell what he was thinking. Not that there was much going on up there anyway, Wash thought.
Hoping that this was some kind of a peace offering but also knowing that the chances of that were about as good as him sitting down to a nice romantic dinner with a Reaver, Wash laid down and let Jayne put the dumbbell into his hands. Wash had purposely not set the weight too high so as not to give the other man an easy target. But it wasn't light either and within a minute he was ready to set the weight back. Wash was surprised when Jayne helped him do it without a word and without being asked.
Then it was Jayne's turn and silently Wash watched as the bigger man set the weights heavier. Much heavier. Wash expected some smart-ass comment about his feeble attempts now that Jayne was lifting about the same amount of weight as Wash himself. But it didn't happen. After a minute or two Jayne simply nodded that he was done and Wash helped (okay, struggled) to get the dumbbell back on the bar and they switched again.
They continued like this for a little while in complete silence. Wash kept expecting Jayne to do or say something, anything, to upset him but it never happened. Wash was beginning to think that maybe this was Jayne's idea of a peace offering and suddenly that didn't seem like such an odd idea. After all, Wash thought, the guy's not very big on words so maybe this is the best he could do.
Finally comfortable Wash lay down for his last rep and put his hands out for Jayne to hand him the dumbbell. As he reached out he noticed that it looked different but his mind was so happily distracted with the idea that he and Jayne were finally getting along that he didn't pay it any mind.
So it was with great shock that he felt the weight hit his hands and practically slam into his chest. How he managed to keep enough control over the gorram thing to not break any ribs was beyond him. Both hands pinned, Wash looked up to see Jayne laughing fit to be tied. It was obvious now to Wash that Jayne had purposely lulled him into a false sense of security so that he could pull this trick. It hadn't actually taken much effort as all Jayne had done was simply left his own weights on the bar, without changing it back for Wash.
Mortified and angry as a cornered rattlesnake Wash struggled to free himself.
"Gorramit Jayne" he growled. "Get this ruttin' thing off of me!"
Jayne paid absolutely no mind and continued to guffaw heartily. He was really enjoying his little joke and seemed to have no intention of ending it anytime soon.
Wash's arms were burning and he was having a hard time keeping the thing off his chest. The more he struggled the harder it became and soon the weight was bearing down on his ribcage. Despite Wash's pleas Jayne made no move to help and Wash was beginning to feel dizzy as the weight bore down on him. Wondering just how long he would last Wash was feeling about ready to pass out when he heard another voice holler Jayne's name.
"Jayne! What in the sweet depths of hell do you think you're doing!" Mal screamed, shoving Jayne aside and grabbing the weight off of Wash's chest. Mal struggled for a moment with it but was finally able to get it back on its rack.
Wash immediately felt the relief as the weight was lifted from him and took a nice deep breath. Sitting up and trying not to look too bedraggled, Wash did his best to smile reassuringly at Mal.
"Nothing to worry about Captain" he said. As he spoke he felt Jayne's eyes on him but chose to ignore him for the moment. Don't want to make this any worse than it is. Wash knew from dealing with schoolyard bullies that if they got in trouble then you'd be in trouble. Damage control was the name of the game now.
"We were just having a little fun is all. Really, I'm fine" Wash said. He could tell that Mal didn't believe him one tiny bit. Wash thought that Mal was going to make a fuss and silently waited to see what would happen next. Looking at Wash carefully Mal shrugged. While it was obvious he didn't believe Wash, he was going to allow the fable to stand for the real story.
"Fine. Maybe you too should finish up here and go get some grub. We got us a big job tomorrow and I need you both ready to rise and shine mighty early in the morning" Mal said as he looked Jayne in the eyes. Knowing that he'd gotten his message across, Mal walked out.
If Jayne was happy that Wash hadn't turned him in to the Captain, he sure didn't show it. Barely glancing at Wash (though still managing to convey hatred in that small glance) he followed after the captain.
Left to himself, Wash rubbed his aching chest and sighed.
Well, that could have gone better.