Carving Out a Future

By: Dreamfall

Summary: Her crew doesn't know that Serenity's new passenger, a carpenter with an 'unusual upbringing', is a relic from the past. Xander says he's not looking for trouble. But, then, neither are they. Not usually, leastways. It just always comes calling anyway. Gen. Canon couples mentioned, but definitely not the focus of the story.

Written for: NaNoWriMo and TTH100: Xander/Firefly

TTH100 prompt: 040-First Times

Rating: FR13/PG13/T

Disclaimer: I own neither Firefly nor BtVS.

Spoilers: Takes place post Season 7 for Buffy, and post-Objects in Space (and post the comic books, for that matter), but pre-Serenity for Firefly.

Author's Note: This is the story I started in November for NaNoWriMo. I'm thirty or so chapters into it, but since there's going to be at least one hundred chapters (since it's for tth100), they're mostly pretty short. If you're coming from this from my HP fanfics-- it's very different. Way less dark. It's also an incredibly fun story to write, and I do intend to continue with it to its conclusion. And no, it's not taking any real time away from Cat, now that I'm not working obsessively on it, like I was in November. I'll be posting every couple/few days at least till I'm caught up with my livejournal (username dreamfall(underscore)nnwm). Hope you enjoy!

Review Response: Responses to any reviews will be posted in the same livejournal as my other review responses-- username dreamfall(underscore)ff

Chapter Twenty-One
Reactions

Xander woke feeling wrung out and still tired but in a good enough mood. He pulled off his boots, which he hadn't gotten around to taking off the night before, and spent a moment rubbing his aching feet. Stumbling into his bathroom, he allowed himself the luxury of a long, hot shower. Finally, he got dressed and headed down to find a bite to eat. Kaylee was the only one in the dining room, the mechanic sitting far back from the table with her plate on her lap and a glass resting on the floor next to her. Xander blinked.

"It didn't threaten to collapse or something, did it?" he asked, doubtful but concerned. He didn't know how it could possibly collapse -- it was built to withstand Jayne's roughhousing, much less a single plate, but he couldn't think of any other reason why she'd be so far back from it.

At the sound of his voice, Kaylee spun around to face him, clutching at her plate as it threatened to topple off her lap. "What?" she asked.

"The table. Did it wobble or something?"

Her eyes widened. "No, of course not!"

Another yawn broke out of him, and he shook his head resignedly. "Not up for riddles this morning, I don't think. If it's not threatening to fall over, why aren't you eating on it?"

Kaylee stared at him for a long moment, looking as shocked as if he'd suggested eating off the floor. "Eat on it?" she finally managed.

"Well not on it. But -- you know -- putting your plate and glass on it at least?" he said, wondering if there was some weird custom of not using a table after a party that he wasn't aware of.

"On this table?" Kaylee asked blankly.

"There's not another one here," he pointed out.

"But I couldn't!"

Xander shook his head. "I'm gonna go back to my previous statement of: I am so not up for riddles. I don't get it. Spell out to me what's wrong with the table."

"Nothing's wrong with it! It's perfect!"

"Then why--"

"How could I put anything on it? I hardly dare touch it, it's so pretty!" she said. "It's like it's alive, almost, and way too good for me to just eat on."

"Huh," Xander said, blinking. He stared at her for a long moment, then looked at the table, and finally turned back to her. "Huh," he said again. "Um. Well. I think you should just go ahead and put your plate on it," he offered. "I promise that the table can take it."

"But I could scratch it!"

"Chances are you won't," he said reassuringly. "The wood's black locust -- very hard, and you're not likely to hurt it unless you try to. And -- well, sooner or later it's probably going to get scratched. It's no big deal, really."

"No big deal?" she demanded. "How can you say that? This is beautiful, it would be awful if it got messed up!"

He sighed. "Hold on a sec. Maybe this will make more sense after coffee," he said, heading into the kitchen. He filled a mug and returned to the table, sitting down across from her and setting down the mug, blinking at her cringe. They sat in silence for a long moment while Xander sucked down coffee, and he finally shook his head. "Well. That didn't work. I still don't see it," he said. "It's a table. If you don't use it, it's not a table any more. It's just in the way."

"But it's like a work of art!"

Xander laughed. "Kaylee, please. Believe me, here. You won't hurt it. And even if you do, I can fix it."

"But--"

He played his trump card. "Do you really think I made something so weak that it can't stand up to general use?" he asked, flashing her puppy-dog-eyes.

Kaylee caved. "I'm sure it's really strong, but--"

"C'mon, Kaylee, put your plate down," he pleaded.

Reluctantly, she edged forward and very carefully set down the plate, following it with her glass, nervously picking it up again to see if she'd hurt the wood.

Xander laughed again. "Just eat, Kaylee. The table's fine."

Hesitantly, she obeyed, hardly pushing down with her knife as she cut, but slowly working through her meal. Xander rolled his eyes, but leaned back to continue nursing his coffee. She'd get over it, he assumed.

When she was nearly done, the door to the fore passage slammed open, and Jayne stumbled in, heading for the kitchen. And just as he did half the time with the old table, he walked right into the table's corner, banging his thigh and swearing loudly.

"Jayne!" Kaylee's shocked shout made the mercenary wince and squeeze his eyes tightly shut, raising one hand to cover them.

"Kaylee," he said. "Shut up."

"Well, I'm sorry," she said more softly. "But you need ta watch where yer goin'!"

He split his fingers and cracked one eye open to peer out at her dubiously. "What?"

"Yer gonna hurt the table!"

"It's been fallin' apart for months, who cares about the gorram table?" he demanded, slapping his free hand down on it to make his point, and then wincing at the noise.

"Stop it!" Kaylee yelled.

"What in guay's goin' on?" a new voice demanded, and Xander looked over to see Mal, half asleep with his hair sticking up and no shirt on standing at the door with his pistol in his hand.

"Kaylee's run mad as the moon girl," Jayne stated.

"I'm not! He's tryin' to hurt the table!"

Mal looked to Xander as though waiting for him to chime in, and he shrugged in response, spreading his hands to indicate that he had no part in the fight.

"Jayne, don't hurt the table!" Mal barked. "Kaylee, don't be crazy. We got enough crazy on this ship 'thout you joinin' in. And somebody get me some gorram coffee -- if I hafta be awake thanks to your yellin', I at least need coffee."

Xander went to get it, and returned to find Jayne had finally uncovered his eyes and was now staring down at the table in blank astonishment. "It changed!" he said. "Like magic!"

Mal snorted. "Magic it ain't. Xander went and decided our old table wasn't good enough for us and made us a new un," he stated, taking the cup from Xander and taking a large swallow, then nearly choking as he realized how hot it was.

Jayne stared owlishly first at Mal and then at Xander. "You made this?"

Xander nodded.

"And it's gonna gorram break if I tap it?" Jayne demanded. "What the guay do we need a table like that for?"

Xander sighed and shook his head. "I told Kaylee it can take all kinds of abuse," he said. "But she's convinced herself that it'll get messed up if anyone touches it."

Mal turned his glare to his mechanic. "The work you do, does it fall apart if someone else touches it, Kaylee?"

"'Course not, captain," she said, offended. "I make good gear, you know that!"

"Then how come you can't trust another craftsman to do the same? He says his table's good for anything likely ta happen in here, you sayin' he don't know enough to know what his work can take?"

Kaylee's eyes dropped. "Not sayin' that, cap'n."

"Sure what it sounds like," Mal stated, warming to the topic. "Everyone on this ship does somethin', an' you trust them to do their job right. You don't trust Xander to do his?"

Kaylee sighed and shook her head, but finally looked back at Xander. "That's not what I meant," she said. "An' I'm sorry if it sounded like it was. I just mean it's so pretty I can't hardly believe it'll last long."

Xander nodded. "I understand and appreciate the compliment. But if you don't use it, it's worthless."

She nodded reluctant acknowledgment, and took another sip of her drink.

Wash and Zoë showed up behind Mal, Zoë as alert and perfectly-groomed as always, and Wash in about the same state as Mal. Both of them took in the table, and Wash's jaw dropped. He stared at it for a long moment, then looked up at Xander. "Mal said you were puttin' in a table, but this is beautiful."

"It's a table," Jayne grunted, collapsing into a seat and dropping his plate down.

"Looks like good workmanship," Zoë offered. "And for all it's a good-lookin' piece, it looks sturdy, which is more important 'round here." She nodded approval, and moved to feed herself, Wash following in her wake. Kaylee shook her head at such a cavalier attitude towards it, but managed not to say anything.

Xander refilled his coffee, and returned to find River had entered the room. She shot him a beaming smile. "It fits!"

He grinned back at her. "Yeah, I told you it would. Exact same measurements as the old one."

"Hey, how come she's seen it before?" Wash demanded.

Xander laughed. "You know she watches me work, and this has been about all I've worked on since I got my workroom set up. Of course she's seen it."

Simon stumbled into the room, vanished into the kitchen, and returned and sank into a chair, putting down his cup. Then he jerked back in surprise, nearly spilling his coffee. "This isn't our table!"

Shaking his head in amusement, Xander explained, "It is now. The old one was a wreck, and I built a new one. That's what I was doing yesterday after you guys left: installing it."

The doctor got back up to move far enough away to get a good look, and finally turned impressed eyes to Xander. "This is magnificent," he stated. "My father would have been proud to have it in his own home."

Patting the wood affectionately, Xander said, "Thanks! I'm pretty pleased with how it came out."

For a long moment then doctor just stared at him, but finally he shook his head in disbelief and sat back down to sip at his coffee.

Smiling contentedly, Xander leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, enjoying just listening to the conversations around him.