Long Road Home – Chapter Sixteen
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Disposing of Jenkins' remains took two minutes. Jayne simply hefted him over behind the crates stacked to the side, and that was that. Mal looked at his assembled crew.
"I've had enough of this," he said quietly. "I aim to end this once and for all. Jenkins' ship is here somewhere, and likely his crew. I don't know that they'll leave without him, but I doubt they'll go back to Argo. And there's no reason to keep after us if they ain't gettin' paid." He looked to Kaylee.
"Mei-mei, see to Serenity. I want to be off planet the minute we can be. I'll see the Dockmaster, see to having the Companion refueled. Then we head home. When we get there, we'll see to Withe, and Ball. And that Sheriff if needs be."
"Mister Tarrant? Want that job?" Tarrant looked at Mal for a moment, then studied the assembled crew. His eyes came lastly to Zoe, who watched him, her face expressionless. Her eyes, though, were not. He looked back to Mal.
"I'll give it a shot," he nodded.
"Go with Kaylee, then," Mal ordered. "No one in the 'verse can get you trained up on a Firefly quicker than she can." Kaylee beamed at that, and Tarrant nodded. Followed by Hollins, the mechanics set off.
"Jayne, River, keep an eye on the ships, and an eye out for the others. Zoe, you're with me."
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"How'd you do that?" Jayne asked, as he and River followed the engineering trio back to the ship.
"Do what?" River asked, though she knew what he meant.
"Talk to me that way. In my mind, I mean."
"I don't know, exactly," she admitted finally. "I never have, before. With anyone. Don't think I can with anyone else."
"Makes me kinda special, huh?" Jayne grinned. She stopped and stood on her toes to kiss him lightly.
"Very special, Zhang fu," she whispered, eyes shining. "So very special."
Jayne smiled at her, the real smile that he used only for her. The one where his face was alight, and his eyes shone so brightly. This was the real man, she knew. The one that drew her like a moth to flame. The one only she knew so well, and so few others rarely got to see.
"Pretty special yourself, you know," he told her quietly. He took her hand in his and the two continued on their way.
"Yes, I am," she giggled. "Gifted is the term, I believe."
"Well, you're a gift. I know that," he said seriously. "A gift from on High, one I don't. . .can't deserve." She stopped again, and looked at him, her eyes bright. This man loved her more than anything in the 'verse, including his own life. How could she have been so. . .
"Blessed," he finished for her, smirking. "That's the word you're looking for, River. We're blessed, the two of us. To have found each other." River's eyes widened at that.
"Did you. . .?"
"Hear you?" Jayne asked quietly. "Yes, I did. Clear as if you were speaking." He grinned a little. "That's gonna take some gettin' used to, baby girl."
"I. . ." River tried, but couldn't find the words. Instead she reached up and gently stroked his jaw in wonder.
How can this be? she wondered.
You're the genius, she could almost hear his smirk. Don't ask me.
"Jayne, this is. . .incredible!" she gasped. "I never imagined. . .I mean never in my wildest dreams did I ever think. . ." she trailed off, once again at a loss for words.
"Take it as it comes, baby girl," Jayne told her softly. "We'll work it out."
She nodded, and the two of them resumed their trek back to the ships.
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"How much work you ever done as an engineer?" Kaylee asked Tarrant as the three walked up the ramp.
"Some," Tarrant shrugged. "First started right after the war, on a Vigiro inter-system liner. Gradually worked my way onto a freighter, and afer the mechanic quit I sorta took the job on."
"But not on a Firefly," Kaylee said, making sure.
"I've helped with the work on a 'fly," Tarrant stressed. "But never done the job. I know the basics well enough to get by, I feel sure. Not enough to do your job, though."
"No problem," Kaylee assured him cheerfully. "We'll have you goin' 'fore ya know it."
"So how long has Shade been with you?" Tarrant asked casually. Kaylee shuddered at the name.
"We call him Jayne," she pointed out. "Been with us, five years? I guess. Give or take."
"Long time for him to be in the same place," Tarrant said, more to himself than anyone else. "Must be a good job."
"Well, it is mostly," Kaylee nodded. "And course, now him and River are together, he ain't like to go nowhere," she added with a giggle. "So you and him were in the war together?" Tarrant nodded.
"For a while. I got hit a few months after he joined up. Year maybe. Never saw him again. Always figured he was gone."
"He has a knack for making it," Kaylee told him.
"Yeah, he was always good at that," Tarrant agreed.
"So, Mister Tarrant," Kaylee began.
"Please, call me Goldie," Tarrant said suddenly, and wondered why he did.
"Goldie, huh?" Kaylee grinned at him. "Well that fits. Okay, Goldie, this here is Serenity. Flagship of Reynolds' shipping. As you can see, the plant's been modified a good bit over the years. . ."
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It was seven hours later when Kaylee's grease smudged face popped up in front of Malcolm Reynolds.
"All ready, Cap'n," she chirped. "You can lift off when you please."
"Good job, mei mei," Mal smiled. He looked at his crews. Plural.
"Zoe, you'll take the Companion," he ordered, and the Amazon nodded. "Kaylee, if you're sure we're good, take Mister Tarrant aboard Companion and get him settled in. That'll be his berth, once we get things sorted out. Make sure he's familiar with the ship."
"I want us on Argo in three days. When we get there, everyone stays with the ships, Jayne, until we get ready to move. Dong Ma?" Everyone nodded, including Jayne, who frowned in hurt at Mal's singling him out. Mal snorted at that.
"Don't give me that look, Jayne," he said, emphasizing his point with a finger. "You the one most like to run off looking for Jenkins' friends, and I don't want this to play out like Zhang did." Tarrant started at that.
"That was you?" he asked Jayne. The big man shrugged, looking at the floor.
"Figures," Tarrant snorted, grinning. "You never could wait for. . ."
"That's a discussion for another time, I conjure," Mal broke in. "Let's get these ships on the fly. I wanna be off the ground in fifteen, and in the black in thirty." He paused, looking from face to face.
"Let's go."
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Once out into the black, things settled down. Despite the charged atmosphere ground side, it was still three days to Argo. Long time to be worked up.
"So, tell me about Zoe," Tarrant asked, as he and Kaylee took a break from working through the engine room.
"Whatcha mean?" Kaylee asked cautiously.
"Tell me about her," he repeated. "What kinda woman is she? What's she like, not like. Gonna be working for her," he added innocently. "Need to know a bit on how to not screw up."
"Uh huh," Kaylee grinned. "Just business, huh?"
"Of course," Tarrant replied. "Just tryin' to get by is all."
"Well, Zoe's good people, Goldie," Kaylee said seriously. "Strong, tough, able. She's smart too. Sometimes you don't see that, on accounta she's always behind Cap'n in whatever he does or says. But don't let that fool ya none. She's sharp."
"Married?" Tarrant asked. Kaylee's face fell.
"Was," she admitted. "Husband died about two years back. Killed by reavers."
"Man, that's tough," Tarrant grimaced. "Ran into them a time or two over the years. Bad business. I take it her and Reynolds served together?"
"Yep," she nodded. "Last place was called Serenity Valley. Where Cap'n's ship got her name."
"Serenity Valley?" Tarrant's eyebrows rose at that. "He's that Reynolds? Sergeant Reynolds?"
"One and the same," Kaylee nodded proudly.
"Well, how 'bout that," Tarrant mused. "Damn, he's a hero, you know. To those of us who served, anyway. Imagine the Alliance don't see him that way."
"Nope," Kaylee grinned. "He's a thorn in their side." They both laughed at that.
"Better get back at it," Tarrant said finally, rising. "Got only so long to get myself up on the job. Can't be wasting it."
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"Quite a sight, isn't it?" Inara asked from the pilot's chair. Mal was looking out the starboard bridge window where Companion held station, almost as if the ships were flying in formation.
"Yes it is," he turned to face her. "Makes everything feel different, somehow."
"Coming up in the world?" Inara asked with a raised eyebrow. "Moving forward, that sort of different?"
"I guess," Mal shrugged. "I don't. . .I can't really explain it." He crossed over to her chair and kissed her lightly.
"But I'd give it all up in a minute to keep you, ai ren," he told her softly. She blushed at that.
"You say the sweetest things," she murmured, kissing him again.
"Well, it took me long enough to learn, I admit," he chuckled. "But I like to think I'm makin' progress."
"Great progress," she murmured again, her lips touching his. "Great, great progress."
"Conjure this thing can fly itself now?" Mal asked, his voice heavy with desire.
"I'm sure it can," Inara nodded, hastily throwing switches to activate the auto-pilot.
"Then what say we adjourn to more cozy surroundings?"
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"How are you feeling, bao bei?" Simon asked as Kaylee entered the room the two were sharing for the trip back.
"Tired," she admitted.
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," he told her, nuzzling her neck softly. He kissed her neck gently, hands rubbing on her shoulders.
"Not that tired," she grinned, turning to face him.
"Oh, good," he chuckled. "I didn't want you to miss this."
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Zoe wandered the passageways of the new ship, looking it over with a critical eye. It was mostly a stripped bare version of Serenity, she knew, lacking the touches that had made the other vessel home.
But that would come, she knew. She was the Captain now, she thought wryly. Mal owned the ship, true enough, but it was her's in the sense that she was in command. She, River and Jayne would make it a home.
And Butler Tarrant as well, she added to herself, if he chose to stay. She pondered on their newest crew member.
There was no denying he was attractive. A lean, hard, good looking man. And not a kid, either. He had been a soldier, like her. Well, she reflected, not like her, exactly. The fact that he called Jayne 'Shade' was proof that Tarrant had been a Banshee during the war, at least part of it.
She knew, in the way that all women knew those things, that he was attracted to her as well. She found herself wondering, again, why she'd extended the invitation to join them. True, she'd been grateful for his help, but there was more to it than that.
There had been an instant, when he'd clasped her hand, that she'd felt a spark pass between them. It had taken her completely by surprise. She was almost ashamed of it, remembering Wash.
"Wouldn't want you to feel that way, Zoe," River's voice floated to her. With a start, Zoe realized that she had walked into the cargo bay without even realizing it.
"No peekin'," Zoe admonished with a grin. River shrugged.
"Wasn't. Emotions too strong to ignore."
"Sorry," Zoe told her. "Just thinking."
"I know," River smiled warmly. "Time to heal, Zoe. Wash was a good man. Loved you with all he had. He would not want you to be so alone in this world."
"I know, sweetie," Zoe nodded sadly. There's been a time when she couldn't have talked to anyone, especially River, about this. Maybe that she could now was a sign she was healing. Some anyway.
"What do you think of him?" Zoe asked suddenly. "I mean. . ."
"Not like Jayne," River assured her, knowing what Zoe feared. "To him it was a job. A mission. His way of serving, as you and Ba Ba served. No darkness in him save that which all of you carry, after what you have seen."
"I didn't mean for that to sound like I was judging Jayne, River," Zoe said quietly.
"I know," River replied, her voice light. "My Jayne is dark, Zoe. One of the reasons I love him, I think. We both have that darkness. Mine is not so bad as his, I think, but strong none-the-less. I want him, just as he is. Wild, free, unfettered. He loves me so strongly that sometimes it almost overwhelms me," she added, face burning a little. "I am very lucky. Blessed, Jayne would say."
"Yes, you are," Zoe smiled. "I never in a million years would have thought to associate the words 'Jayne' and 'love' in the same sentence. But you seem to have brought out at least some of the boy he must have been before. The man he might have been, had things not been what they were."
"We will make a life together," River nodded firmly. "Have the life denied to both of us. It was no accident that we met, Zoe. Some things are simply meant to be, and no power in the 'verse can stop them." She paused for a moment.
"There is no one, not even Simon, who can come so close to understanding what happened to me. To understanding me, period. No one who can make me feel safe simply by being nearby. Many men would be intimidated by me, if not fearful. My Jayne is not. He loves me with all his being, just as I am. Would not change me if he could, save to make me better. And he makes me better, just by being."
"It shows," Zoe nodded with a grin. "He looks at you like you're Christmas morning, River. And maybe like he's a little bit hungry," she added with a wink. She was rewarded by a furious blush that spread from River's neck to her forehead.
"He has a very vigorous. . .appetite," she giggled. "Love it, as well."
"I wonder how many places on this ship the two of you. . ." Zoe started.
"Lips are sealed," River laughed outright. "But it was a very long road home," she added with a wicked grin. Zoe laughed so hard that her eyes watered.
"You should get to know him," River suggested. "He might be. . .he might be your Jayne, Zoe," she smiled. "He might be the one who heals you. Makes you whole again."
"We'll see," Zoe said, standing once again. "We'll see."
As the warrior woman walked away, River smiled. Yes, they would see. River would enjoy watching.