Long Road Home – Chapter Thirteen
And here once again, I acknowledge that I own NO rights to Firefly or any of it's related characters, and beg not to be sued for just having fun with my favorite show.
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River guided the Companion gently out of atmo, and within two hours of Harwell's request they were on the way to Argo. Then, it was time for catching up.
Simon insisted that River go first, since she'd dropped the bombshell about the Academy. When she'd finished the tale, Simon was white faced.
"Our own father," he almost whispered. "I knew he was adamant that I not try and help you, but I never thought. . .I mean how could he help them!" Simon was almost yelling. "That. . ."
"Impression I got," Jayne said quietly, "was that the Blue Hands were puttin' a good bit o' pressure on him, Simon. Might be he didn't have a choice." River knew instantly that Jayne didn't believe that for a minute, but loved him all the more for offering that out to Simon.
"Right," Simon snorted. He wasn't a reader, but he wouldn't accept that.
"Jayne took care of it, Simon," River reminded him, squeezing Jayne's hand as she said it. She had avoided telling Simon how badly she'd been affected by both the meeting with her parents, and the presence of the Blue Hands.
"Yes," Simon nodded, looking to Jayne. "I can't. . .I'll never be able to thank you enough for that, Jayne. That and, well, everything else." Jayne looked uncomfortable.
"Yes, Simon, you can," River said, suddenly blushing. She lifted her hand, displaying her engagement ring. "You can give away the bride."
Simon looked at ring, stunned. Bride? His mei mei was getting married? He looked at River, then at Jayne. Back to River. Jayne. His mouth opened, but no words would come. Jayne frowned, though in disappointment rather than anger. He'd thought Simon would be okay with this.
"That's. . ." Simon found his voice, "that's great!" he jumped up suddenly and hugged his sister tightly, then offered his hand to Jayne. The big man took it, caught off guard by Simon's reaction.
"And I'd be proud to walk you down the aisle, mei mei," Simon added. River almost collapsed in relief. She had thought, for just a moment, that things were going to be bad.
"Thanks, Simon," Jayne said quietly. Kaylee ran to River, hugging her tightly.
"I knew it'd be okay," she gushed, taking Simon's hand again.
"Now, let's hear what's been going on while we been gone," Jayne said, taking his seat once again. This time River settled into his lap rather than taking her own chair, allowing Jayne's presence to soothe her.
"Well," Simon began, "it all started with a picnic."
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It took most of an hour for Simon to relay his story, as there were questions from all three at different points. Finally he had caught them up to date.
"And that's where we are now," he concluded. Kaylee was weeping a little over the loss of the house, and River wasn't doing much better. It hadn't been like having a home of their own, what with all the crew living there, but it had been home. And now it was gone, and they were back to living on ship.
"Well, Mal says it isn't permanent," Simon told them. "And we had emptied the house a day or two before the fire, so nothing was lost. Mal says once the trouble is over, we'll either get another, or build our own. Whatever it takes. He is determined that we deserve this, and he won't give it up without a fight."
"Honestly, he was waiting for you two to get back before bracing them," he added, looking to River and Jayne. Both smiled ferally, and it shocked Simon to see how eerily alike their smiles were. While it was true that Jayne was likely the more dangerous of the two, especially when in that cold rage that seemed to hit him when River was endangered, he acknowledged that his sister was as deadly as an old earth cobra, and just as fast.
"Good," Jayne said in satisfaction. "Seems there's a bit o' payback needin' to be dished out. Hate to have missed it."
"Me as well," River grinned. "Make them sorry, we will," she said firmly.
"Well, once we get to Astra, I'm sure Mal will want to hold council," Simon told them, rising. "But we're three days from there, and I'm bushed." He looked pointedly at Kaylee, who grinned wickedly.
"Oh, me too!" she gushed, jumping to her feet and taking Simon's hand. "See you two day after tomorrow," she snickered, and Simon flushed red, but didn't argue. The two left the bridge, leaving Jayne and River alone.
"We could re-christen the bridge," River suggested slyly, looking up at Jayne through her lidded eyes.
"Yeah?" Jayne growled, and felt River shudder in his lap.
"Yeah," she whispered in his ear, her voice husky.
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Trace Jenkins was almost smiling. He wasn't of course, since that would go against the constant string of complaints he was mouthing to anyone within hearing distance.
The Captain of the Remorseless was just that. He had never had a moment in his wicked life that he'd regretted, other than once or twice he'd not killed someone. He took what he wanted, however he had to, and that was that.
And he aimed and intended to have the merc's woman. Something about her just set him off. She wouldn't be the first woman he'd taken without consent. He smirked at that thought.
First, though, he had to get rid of Reynolds. The merc might be a dangerous character, but he was still on his way back from wherever. He would be easy enough to deal with, once deprived of Reynolds' leadership.
And, as he thought on it, Reynolds had a right fine little woman of his own. Might just have to see to her as well, he decided, hitching his pants a bit higher.
He had his own crew, three of Ball's men, and two of Withe's. Ten men, all totaled, plus himself. More than enough to handle the crew Reynolds had with him. Once that was done, it was back to Argo, and deal with the rest.
Trace Jenkins might not have been so smug, had he realized that twelve hours later his ship was overtaken, and passed, by Reynolds' new vessel. And that onboard that ship was the 'merc' he so casually dismissed, as well as his current obsession.
He might have lost even more confidence had he known that the two were aware that he meant harm to the crew of Serenity, and had no intention of allowing it to happen.
Since he didn't know, however, he slept comfortably, content that he would once again have what he wanted in a few days time.
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River contacted Astra Dockworks, and asked for berthing as near Serenity as possible. As luck had it, the berth next to Serenity was empty, and River took it gladly.
The trip had been uneventful, with Simon and Kaylee spending a great deal of it making the most of their re-union. River smiled fondly at that, since she and Jayne had not been exactly idle during that time.
"Well, that's right pretty smile, ai ren," Jayne whispered wolfishly into her ear. She giggled, slapping at the large arm that encircled her.
"Make me crash Captain Daddy's new ship, and you'll be in trouble," she told him playfully.
"Get him another," he mumbled back, nuzzling her neck, kissing it softly. River felt her spine tingle, and her breathing was suddenly funny. Her relationship with Jayne was everything she'd ever dreamed, and a bit more.
"Need to. . .um. . .concen. . .ahhhhh. . .concentrate," she managed. Suddenly he stopped and stood up.
"Okay," he said simply, and took a seat in the other chair. River growled in frustration, and shot him a death glare.
"Don't start something you don't intend to finish," she pouted.
"Did I say I wasn't intending to finish?" he shot back, eyebrows raised. "I'll finish it, alright, darlin'. Once we're safe on the ground, and you don't need to um. . .concentrate, anymore."
Her mock scowl gave way at last to a sexy giggle that Jayne decided would always make his heart skip a beat. He'd never imagined anything like this, ever.
"Wave Serenity," River ordered. "Let Daddy see his new prize drifting into the berth alongside him." Jayne nodded and opened a wave.
Zoe's face appeared on the screen, and her look of surprise was priceless.
"Jayne? How'd you get through? There's some kinda orbit leg gibberish that keeps us from getting Argo."
"We ain't on Argo," Jayne replied smugly. "We're about too set down right alongside. Thought you and the Captain, and everybody for that matter, might want to see us coming in."
"What are you doing here?" Zoe demanded. "Don't you know there's a virus on this ruttin' planet?"
"Got the Doc along, and he's got the shot for that," Jayne assured her. Zoe's face lit up.
"Well, hot damn! I'd kiss you Jayne, if I wasn't scared of River." River giggled.
"It's okay this time, Zoe," she called from the pilot's chair. "But no tongue." Zoe made a face that Jayne was sure was an insult, but he didn't really care.
"We're carrying cargo, by the way, so tell Mal his new baby is already makin' coin."
"I'll just do that," Zoe nodded. "How far out?" Jayne looked at River.
"Approximately thirty-five minutes and twenty seconds," she called out.
"Get that?" Jayne asked Zoe, who nodded.
"We'll be waitin'."
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Malcolm Reynolds reflected on the long, strange, and often bloody trip he had taken to where he was now standing. His second ship, Private Companion, was preparing to set down, right next to his first ship. Ships.
He rolled the word over in his mind. Ships. Plural. He owned two ships now. Did that make him a line? A franchise? Was he now a CEO? He shrugged.
None of that was important. The important thing was that his little family, the only people in the verse who meant everything to him, was about to be re-united. That was what was important. What mattered.
As if she could read his mind, Inara gently took his hand.
"Be good to see them," she said softly.
"Even Jayne," Mal smiled, but there was no sting in the words as there once would have been. None of them knew, even now, what Book's Letter had said, save maybe River. And if she did, she wasn't sharing.
But whatever it had said, or whatever had happened, Jayne Cobb was a changed man. Or maybe, Mal reflected on what he now knew, Jayne had never existed at all. It had simply been a way for Jayne to isolate himself. To deal with a lifetime of grief and pain.
Companion flared out, and Mal smiled. River was putting on a show with the new girl, and it tickled him. The ship settled gracefully on the pad, her engines winding down. Zoe nodded in approval.
"Damn fine crew I've got," she said proudly. Mal looked at her.
"You've got?" he demanded. "Since when do you have a crew?"
"Since you gave me one, sir," Zoe replied straight faced, eyes never leaving the new bird.
"I gave you a shift," Mal stressed. "Not a crew."
"Well, you ain't gonna take'em away now, are you?" Zoe asked, eyebrows raising. "I mean, I'm good, but I can't handle the ship by myself." Inara snorted delicately, looking at the ground to hide her smile.
"Well, no," Mal replied, caught off guard.
"Seems like you got a choice to make, sir," Zoe told him, turning serious. "About where you're gonna fly your pennant."
Mal hadn't thought of that. Which ship would he take? There was no question that Zoe would command the other, and keep 'her' crew. But which one would Malcolm Reynolds take? He looked at Inara.
"Doesn't matter to me," she smiled. "So long as I don't change crews." He smiled in return, and Inara rested her head against his arm. Together they all walked out to be re-united with their family.
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Inara, typically, was the first one to notice.
"Mei mei, is that? River is that an engagement ring?" she asked, spying the very big rock on River's hand. River blushed and held her hand up for Inara and Zoe to see.
"Sealed the deal," she quipped, a telling smile on her lips. Inara and Zoe laughed at that, though Zoe's laugh was a bit sad. River felt the sorrow wash over the other woman, and regretted that he happiness caused her pain. Zoe must have noticed, because her smile brightened, and she hugged River to her.
"Don't fret over it, little one," she said quietly. "I'm very happy for you. If someone had told me a year ago that you two would have ended up together, I'd have laughed. But, you two have something special, seems to me, and I wish you every happiness."
"Thank you," River whispered, relieved.
"So, finally got 'round to making things right, I see," Mal grinned, slapping Jayne on the back. Jayne surprised him by grinning sheepishly.
"Yeah," the big man replied. "Just. . .just felt right, ya know? I don't ever want her anywhere but right by my side."
"She's the same way, Jayne," Mal replied seriously. "Though I still look at the pair of you and think I'm bound to wake up and find it's all a nightmare," he added with a laugh. Jayne joined him, something he'd not have done two years ago.
"Well," Mal continued, "conjure I'd like to see my new ship." With that he and Inara walked up the ramp, followed by everyone save Hollins, who agreed to stay with the vessel. Simon went to retrieve the inoculations he'd brought along, and started dishing out shots.
"How long before this takes effect?" Zoe demanded, suffering from a serious case of cabin fever.
"Six days," Simon replied with a straight face. At Zoe's crestfallen look, Simon laughed. "Twelve hours, Zoe, and you're good."
"Doctor, under other circumstances, I'd laugh," Zoe said in mock anger, "but after so long cooped up on that ship, I'm sorely tempted to shoot you."
"Just wait til after he walks me down the aisle!" River called from outside, and Zoe and Simon both laughed at that.
"Glad I'm important enough to take up for," Simon said loudly, and was rewarded with a very River like giggle.
Another thing I've got Jayne to thank for, Simon acknowledged to himself. The impact that Jayne had had on River was amazing. He shook his head slightly, wondering at the difference a year could make in one's life.
"Takes some gettin' used to, don't it?" Zoe offered, seeing the look on Simon's face.
"I'm just happy that she's happy," he admitted. "I worried for so long, about trying to help her, and keep her safe. I can't. . .I'm not like the rest of you, Zoe. I can't protect her, and I know it. And usually she can protect herself. But with Jayne there, I know that no matter what, she has someone beside her to take care of her when I can't."
"I don't like to think on what might happen to someone who tried to hurt her," Zoe nodded. "The love those two share is so strong I swear sometimes you can just see it. Like a glowing that follows them around."
"Yes," Simon grinned. "And I don't think River has stopped blushing since Jayne proposed."
"Nice damn rock, I noted," Zoe commented offhand. Simon agreed.
"Yes, an emerald, rather than a diamond. River's favorite." Simon looked at her. "He. . .she told me that one of the things that makes her love Jayne so much is that he doesn't try to change her. He accepts her the way she is, and loves her for that. He doesn't try to keep her shielded away from the world, as she put it."
"I can see where that'd be very important to her," Zoe nodded, recalling how Wash had been the same way about her.
"She was attacked on Persephone," Simon said quietly, and Zoe frowned. "By our father, of all people. Jayne almost killed him. And then, when Father called the Blue Hands, Jayne did kill them, both of them. Right in front of my father."
"River said she could feel Father's fear when he was facing Jayne," he smiled at the memory. "Said he wet his pants," he added with a very un-Simon like chuckle.
"I can see where that might be the case," Zoe smiled. "Jayne killed two of the Blue Hands? By himself?"
"With a knife," Simon nodded, recalling River's description of the Blue Hand's disappearance. Jayne had been less forthcoming. "Killed them both with a knife."
"Conjure that took some doing," Zoe commented neutrally. "Jayne take any damage?"
"No," Simon assured her. "According to River it was very quick. I suspect that the Blue Sun's agents are now on intimate terms with our friend, Mister Shade." Zoe suppressed a shudder at the mention of Jayne's alter ego. Or was Jayne, in fact, Shade's alter ego? Interesting question.
"Well, I'm glad he was there for her," Zoe said, rolling down her sleeve.
"So am I," Simon said quietly. "So am I."
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