78) I've Built My Dreams Around You
Mal had mixed feelings about Kowlonshi as a rock. On one hand, it was where they'd picked up Kaylee and she was a treasure not to be dismissed lightly. But on the other hand, it was where they'd left Bester and, as the tattooed man had proven last time, not in an altogether pleasant mood. But they had a cargo to deliver and another to pick up. And it was rainy season which made life even more interesting considering the main docks weren't much on tarmac where the ships weren't berthed.
He had taken what he considered to be reasonable precautions before they landed. Had River check the cortex for Bester's whereabouts and found nothing that said he was still on the rock. Part of him wondered if they couldn't leave Bea on the same gorram rock.
Kaylee and Simon were headed over to see her parents again. Simon was a bit more nervous than usual, and Kaylee was trying to reassure him. River simply looked at her brother as he fussed with his scarf, "Imagines troubles where there are none. Worries about disapproval when he has proven himself worthy."
Mal had no clue what that meant but Simon relaxed marginally. He had made sure to have his side arm and that he could get to it quickly. Clearly the man wasn't taking any chances on Kaylee being hurt or scared again. Not that Mal blamed him. He was pretty sure that Bester was more responsible for Simon's practice with his aim than the Reavers. Which was an oddly skewed set of motivations but again, Mal could see where he was coming from.
"Don't bother with an umbrella," Kaylee shook her head. "Ain't a point to it. Rain just blows sideways."
"At least it won't be dusty," Simon pointed out.
"Nope," Kaylee's sunshine couldn't be dampened by the clouds and rain. "Once it dries up, the mud'll bake solid as a rock in town." She shrugged, "Rainy season we get more rain, more wind, but out past town the ground needs the water. Folks'll collect it and keep it for later in the growin' season when rain's scarcer an' the crops need it."
"Surprised they don't put pavement down," Mal had always wondered about that.
"Won't take," Kaylee pointed at the cracks on the tarmac where Serenity stood. "Ground expands an' contracts so much it ain't worth the time an' trouble or coin. 'S why you see all the houses are prefab or pier an' beam. Ain't one concrete foundation among 'em."
"So what happens when the ground shifts under them," Carolyn wondered as she came to look out at the rain with the rest of them. "Must make opening and closin' doors interesting."
"Oh, you call a neighbor with a jack an' a level, you just shore up whichever side's leanin' with more block," Kaylee shrugged. "Or you cut down some."
"You two be careful now," Mal watched as they made their way down the ramp and out into the driving rain. He looked at River who was leaning back against Rick like the man was a wall, "They gonna be all right?"
"Rain stops soon," River pointed at the edge of the dark clouds in the distance. "Mud will dry."
"All right then," Mal took that as reassurance and looked at his assembled crew (and Bea). "We got cargo arrivin' in about three hours, give or take, an' our buyer for our crates should be comin' along here pretty soon." River frowned and him and Mal sighed, "Tell me you ain't heard nothin' bad 'bout the man Little Albatross?"
"Frugal," River shrugged at him.
"That ain't such a terrible thing," Mal tried to find the bright side and got a scornful look usually reserved for Simon.
"Frugal the way Patience is frugal," She clarified and Mal gave up finding the silver lining.
"Wonderful," He scrubbed his face with his hands and wished for a better run of luck. Jack, Carolyn, Zoë (with Emma) and Bea were all hanging around the cargo ramp, most likely enjoying the fresh air. Rick and Jayne were also present which was never a bad thing since they were both pretty gorram big. "Dà xiàng bào zhà shì de lā dù zi…Carolyn, I'd appreciate you takin' Jack up to the bridge after we get the cargo set for off-loading. We have our usual run of luck I don't want you or Jack takin' a bullet."
Zoë had her lips pressed to Emma's curly hair, "She'll be better off up there with you too I think."
Jack grinned at the baby, "Hey Emma, we get to look at pretty colors on the cortex again."
Mal nodded his agreement, "Bea, you go back to the passenger lounge and stay there." He looked at Zoë and River, "You two, set up perches on the catwalks. Jayne, Rick an' me'll be down here."
"Stay to the right side of the ramp," River ordered. "Leave us clear shots."
"Well let's hope it won't be needful but we'll do our best," Mal nodded. "Go on to doin' that, Jayne, Rick, let's get the cargo ready."
He wasn't altogether easy about Bea being around for these sorts of doings. The girl had been appalled at the suggestion of money laundering which argued for her generally doin' things legal like. Most of their business had been on the mostly legal side, except for Sir Harrow's cows. But River and Simon's paperwork had disguised that issue nicely.
But the jobs they were taking didn't exactly pay well and he knew they'd start to pall before long. Which was part of why he wanted to get her off the boat. The sooner they got her off Serenity the sooner they could pull one of their more lucrative jobs.
As it was, havin' a 'client' try to take the goods at gunpoint was more than a little awkward with a law abiding (mostly) citizen in the passenger lounge. Thankfully between Rick and Jayne's bulk and glares, River and Zoë's carefully aimed warning shots and his charm, the client was persuaded to simply give over the payment and take his crates of merchandise.
"All right, got two hours or so until the cargo we're carrying out gets here," He threw Zoë the bag of coin. "Put that somewhere safe until we can divide it up."
"Figured I'd take Jack, hit the secondhand market, see about findin' her some shoes," Jayne offered. "Some pants too if we can find any cheap."
"You do, see me or Carolyn, we'll cover her," Rick nodded. "Mal, River had in mind to check the shops, see if there was anything we could use to stock the pantry."
"Good," Mal nodded. "Jack should have a list for you. She's been keepin' track of what we're low on."
"On it," Rick took the steps two at a time, overtaking Zoë who was already on her way up to the mid deck.
"Jayne, for the love of God an' little green apples, if you see anything…I dunno, that Jack seems taken with, go on and get it for her, within reason," Mal lowered his voice. "Girl's been behavin' fairly well an' ain't complained once 'bout her chores an' bein' 'grounded'. Figure to ease her off punishment detail."
"Mal, you know she wants a gorram gun," Jayne reminded him.
"I ain't easy with her usin' a gun yet, not 'til I know she won't get it taken away," Mal shook his head.
"Ain't what I meant," The man shook his head. "I mean, a nice little gun, somethin' she can practice with when she is allowed. Somethin' she knows is hers. Y'know, to look forward to. We can keep it locked up in the armory until she's able to carry it safe. Rick an' me, we're workin' on makin' her a set of practice knives, kind you can chalk so you know where you've hit."
"That's a good notion," Mal nodded. "Okay, you find a gun you think'll suit her, go on and get it. But if you see anything else…y'know…girly?"
"Think the girl wants 'girly' stuff Mal?" Jayne sounded dubious and Mal wasn't sure he could blame him.
"Who wants girly stuff?" Jack wanted to know as she and Rick came down the steps.
"You," Jayne gave her a roguish grin.
"You get me a curlin' iron an' I'll shove it straight up your pì gu," Jack warned him with a grin back.
It was obviously some private joke between the two of them because Jayne just laughed, "Nah, with those curls of yours, it'd be a straight'nin' iron." He tugged on one of the dark curls over her ears and got swatted away with a laugh.
"Uh huh," Mal shook his head. "Go on with you, got about two hours. You go past that, I'll give considerable thought to leaving you on this ball of mud."
"Probably why Bea ain't come out of the passenger lounge," Jack muttered as she and Jayne trooped down the ramp and into the town proper.
Mal chuckled and waved them off along with River and Rick who headed in a slightly different direction. Hopefully receiving cargo wouldn't be as hazardous as selling it.
The crates being loaded onto Serenity had all gotten secured into place, which Mal had done with Zoë and Carolyn's help since his burlier crew members had taken off with the diminutive crew members. He'd actually begun muttering to himself (much to Carolyn and Zoë's amusement) about no shore leave on their next stop if this was how his crew kept track of time. Emma babbled now and then as if to add to his muttered monologue and he took that to mean that at least the baby sympathized with him.
Finally, he saw all six of his missing crew heading towards the ship. Of course, this was where everything had gone wrong last time, so he wasn't at all embarrassed to step onto the tarmac holding his side arm in case Bester showed up out of the blue again and tried another kidnapping/shanghai attempt.
Kaylee was beaming as if someone had told her she could have all the new parts she wanted and fluffy dresses on top of them as she and Simon hurried towards the ship. Mal saw River say something to Rick that made him grin. Well, that made four people who knew what was going on, and he was hoping to be included in that number soon.
He'd gotten all six of them into the cargo bay and raised the ramp and doors, so Serenity didn't feel like she'd come over in mildew any moment before he heard Carolyn exclaim in surprise and saw her hug Kaylee. So five crew who knew more than he did. He supposed he should probably get used to that sort of thing but it (sometimes) still rubbed him the wrong way.
"Somebody wanna let me in on the big secret," He tried to keep the testy out of his tone. "Seein' as ya'll cut the deadline I gave you pretty gorram close?"
"Cap'n, we're gettin' married," Kaylee's shriek almost made him sorry he asked, and he caught Rick's wince at the sound.
"We who," Was his first reaction and held up a hand. "Ignore that, that was a stupid question." He took a breath and looked at Simon and then at River and Rick. "So ya'll were late because…?"
"I had to ask her father's permission," Simon explained, a bit pink cheeked but obviously happy. "And I had the ring but until he said I could, I couldn't propose and then when I asked her…"
"Mama an' I started talkin' 'bout weddin's an' all an' we lost track of time," Kaylee admitted.
Rick reached over and tugged a few pieces of hay off the back of Simon's vest, "I think we can all understand losing track of time." He remarked sardonically, "Especially since I'm sure that was Simon's first tour of a hayloft." Simon's blush got a little darker, but Kaylee just giggled.
"That explains those two," Mal nodded as he looked at River and Rick.
"Had to stop and get ingredients for a cake to celebrate," River shrugged at him as if to say the delay could not be avoided. "Chocolate because that is Kaylee's favorite besides strawberry."
"You knew he was gonna propose," Bea's voice, curious as a cat, cut through the cheerful talk like a knife.
River shrugged, unconcerned with the implications, "Simon is less subtle than he thinks." She smirked at her brother, "Pacing at night and mumbling his words to practice."
"Brat," Simon shook his head fondly.
"Boob," She retorted and stuck out her tongue.
"Times like these I don't have any trouble believin' ya'll're related," Jayne commented dryly. He looked at Mal, "Sorry, we were tryin' to get a bargain, an' we got it, but it took longer'n we wanted."
Jack nodded, "We had to run back."
Mal nodded, "But you got everything you needed?" He looked at Jayne who gave him a grin and a wink over Jack's head.
She nodded, "Yep, found some boots that I can wear, with a couple pairs of socks for now. My feet grow anymore I can go down to one."
"Well, we've got our cargo, let's set off shall we," Mal looked at Rick who nodded.
"Be off the ground and in atmo in ten minutes," The huge man headed for the stairs.
Mal braced himself for an evening full of talk about weddings and dresses. He supposed it could be worse. Kaylee could be cryin' again.
Author's Note: Sometimes I feel bad for Mal. He always seems to be the last to know. But at the same time, he can be sooooo obtuse.
Chinese Translations:
Dà xiàng bào zhà shì de lā dù zi (To have the explosive-type diarrhea of an elephant)
pì gu (butt)