The Contract : Plans Gone Awry 1/7 Author: hisgoodgirl Disclaimer: Joss's toys, my make-believe. No money changed hands and all that. Rating: PG-15 for adult language, later chapters R for explicit sex Pairing: Jayne/Kaylee. Part of a long story arc. If you object to this pairing, consider it AU or read something else. Remarks: Pre BDM. To read the backstories, click on my name above. This story falls fairly early in the arc, between "RED", and “Too Little, Too Late”. Italics generally represent internal dialog.

Feedback sincerely appreciated when civilly offered. Beta by the lovely ArtemisPrime.

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The Contract Chapter One : Plans Gone Awry

They were inward bound to Persephone with a cargo they'd acquired and transported through highly questionable circumstances. Against all advice from his increasingly frustrated crew, Mal had taken on a dicey job for Badger and all were relieved to be completing it. With lean times and the stress of constant vigilance, everyone on Serenity was more than ready for the short liberty the captain promised them planetside.

"Kaylee!" Wash's voice resonated in the engine room comm speaker. "We'll be hitting atmo in about five minutes."

"Roger that, Wash. I'll get her reset." The mechanic began making the necessary adjustments in Serenity's systems in preparation for their impending landing at the Eavesdown Docks. While her skilled, greasy hands went about their mechanical magic, her mind was doing what it seemed to do a lot of late - replay her increasingly frequent tumbles with the ship's big mercenary.

++++ She and Jayne were both tiring of the never-ending struggle to find opportunities for intimacy and neither of them relished the idea of the captain's tirades over a relationship he would soundly disapprove of. The intensity of Jayne's sexin' made it virtually impossible for Kaylee to stay quiet during the process, making the whole situation entirely too inhibiting to be completely satisfying for either of them.

In the wee hours of the morning, long before even Mal was a'stir, she'd risen from the merc's bed to tip-toe across the corridor to her own bunk. As she gathered up her scattered clothing, Jayne pulled her back for a final kiss and whispered to her, "Go on, girl. Get some rest. I'll catch up with ya soon as ya come off the ship at Eavesdown. We'll find someplace away from that over-protective hún dàn across the passageway where we can make all the racket we wanna."

++++

As Kaylee shifted the ship's grav drive out of compensatory mode, she realized the prospect of the night that lay ahead had her already wet with anticipation.

Blessed Buddha, a whole twenty-four hours, an' me an' Jayne ain't gotta worry about sneakin' around or wonderin' if we're gonna wake somebody up. Ain't been able to cut loose together since our first weekend alone on Serenity, when I convinced the Cap'n I needed him to leave Jayne behind to help me with repairs.

The slight burn and thrumming in her nethers from the previous night added to her eagerness and she could hardly wait to get her hands on the big man again.

++++

Serenity's pilot settled the Firefly neatly on the landing pad and powered down. As whenever they hit dirt-side, there were numerous chores to be done to close down the Firefly's main drive engine and shift the ship onto the auxiliary power source they used for ventilation and other necessary systems. Kaylee knew it would take her at least an hour to get her girl settled into parked mode, then time for a quick shower and off for the night she'd already imagined and re-imagined a dozen times.

Mal patted Wash on the shoulder and instructed, "You and li'l Kaylee get the ship all tucked in, then you're free to take off until noon tomorrow. I'm gonna go make sure Jayne ain't liberatin' any of Badger's high-priced cargo while loadin' it up on the mule. Things with that little man are messy enough as it is, without we come up short on his goods." "Sure thing, Mal. We'll batten her down and see you tomorrow, midday." As soon as Mal left the bridge, Wash buzzed his wife back in their bunk, where she was packing an overnight bag, "Hey Sweetie, I'm almost outta here. You about packed?" Zoë’s coffee and cream voice purred back, "I just need to find my red negligee."

Wash gulped. "You're taking the red one? My favorite one?" His goofy grin spread ear to ear. "Tzoo-foo-nee, this should be fun¦"

++++

Serenity's mercenary stood by, steaming, as Mal methodically opened every box and counted every single unit of Panhexidrene, an illegal drug rumored to be used by the Alliance as a booster for combat troops. The cargo, although compact, was extremely valuable, and Jayne had considered shorting the delivery by one vial per box, figuring he could sell half on the black-market and keep the rest for personal use. He didn't appreciate Mal's vigilance or haste to secure the load.

"Cap'n, I already counted all that gorram stuff when I loaded it up. Ain't no need for you to be goin' through it all over again. Can't we just get it on to Badger? I'm way the hell ready to be off this ruttin' tub," he grumped.

"…Eighteen, nineteen, twenty." Mal looked up pointedly at his merc. "Never hurts to double check before delivery. Funny how cargo has a way of goin' missing on this ship."

Jayne just crossed his arms and looked disgusted. He'd been looking forward to the extra cash he could get when he turned the drug, disliked being accused of thievery and hated Mal for being right, most of all. Behind them Zoë descended the stairs, her ‘mare's leg’ on her shoulder, and raised an eyebrow at the Captain's remark.

"Jayne, you're ridin' shotgun with me an' Zoë on this delivery."

The merc scowled and groused, "Can't Zoë cover it, Mal? I already made plans." "Ain't askin', Jayne. Given the history we have with Badger, I'd feel a sight easier with both of you as back-up. Ain't like some whore's gonna get pissed 'cause you show up late."

Mal checked his pistol and holstered the weapon, then climbed into the driver's seat of the mule, failing to notice the way Jayne's mouth curled in contempt as Mal waved his irritated mercenary into the vehicle.

"Pile in! I want this high price fei hua off my boat before Port Security decides to run a surprise inspection on us." He cranked up the small yellow ATV and smiled wryly.

"Let's us go collect some of Mr. Badger's money."

"Right," Jayne snarked, wondering whether he'd be back in time to make his rendezvous with Kaylee as promised. He pulled his jacket over the big pistol on his hip and stuck a pair of dark shades over his eyes against Persephone's mid-day glare, then tensed his mouth in the way that indicated to anyone who knew him he meant business.

"Giddiup, boss."

++++

Kaylee's hair was still damp from her quick shower and she pulled it back in a ponytail while it dried. Happy for a chance to dress in something besides the overalls that seemed to form her daily garb on Serenity, she'd slipped on a pair of calf length turquoise pants and topped 'em with a favorite peach cap-sleeved t-shirt that showed off her curves in just the way Jayne liked.

She dragged out a small knapsack and hurriedly tossed some clothes and personal items into it. "Let's see, hairbrush, toothbrush, clean top, dress. Should I oughtta pack clean unders?" The girl giggled. "Not much point, knowin' Jayne. He don't want me wearing 'em, anyways¦"

After mentally running down her list, Kaylee slipped her feet into a pair of pink jelly shoes and fastened a necklace the merc had given her around her neck. The simple oblong pendant, carved from mother of pearl, was engraved with the Chinese characters for "Togetherness". She giggled to herself, grabbed the knapsack, and climbed up the ladder from her bunk, closing it. Sure will be nice to get away together for a little while. I been lookin' forward to this ever since Jayne mentioned it a couple weeks ago, the little mechanic thought. She took the stairs two at a time and almost skipped through the cargo bay and down the ship's ramp in her eagerness.

It was mid-summer on Persephone and the sun was almost blinding at first. Kaylee wished she'd brought her parasol, but wasn't willing to risk missing Jayne by going back after it. She stopped at the bottom of the ramp and shaded her eyes with her hand, scanning the milling crowd before her. Food vendors, messengers, children playing tag, street gangs and coolies mixed with travelers from every part of the 'verse. Eavesdown was always like this, bustling and chaotic. Looking out over the milling hoard, she scanned the crowd for a big man, half a head taller than most everyone else and wide enough to cast substantial shade. Even back on Higgin's Moon, hunkered down in his fatigue jacket with that stupid aviator's cap pulled low on his head, Jayne Cobb was still conspicuous. People in crowds tended to give him wide clearance - he just wasn't the sort of man you wanted to casually bump into.

The big merc had told her he'd be waiting for her soon as she came off the ship, yet she didn't see him anywhere. Jayne was punctual or not, depending entirely on whether it served his purpose to be so. In this case, Kaylee just couldn't imagine the horny, enthusiastic lover she'd parted from that morning being late to meet her unless something had come up. As the minutes passed with still no sign of Jayne, her normally cheery face took on a tight, worried look and she began to pace back and fort on the ramp.

This ain’t like Jayne. Surely, if Mal had sent him off on an errand or something had come up, he wouldda let me know. After all, this get-away was his idea and he seemed plenty eager this mornin'

Kaylee wandered back into the cargo bay and checked the chronometer near the bay door controls, realizing with irritation she'd been waiting for him for over an hour. She pondered the situation further as her anxiety soured into anger.

Wonder what couldda happened? Ain’t like he can’t take care of his self, but surely he’d a least gotten a message to me or somethin’. I was really lookin’ forward to this and he ain’t even showed.

After pacing the ramp for another twenty five minutes in the broiling sun, Kaylee was past irritated and well into mad. "That lousy tah mah de has stood me up, sure as hell!" The girl braced her tightly balled fists on her hips and scowled. "Betcha he an' the Cap'n stopped off somewheres for a drink and he just plumb forgot about me or else he got himself sidetracked with some whore!" Kaylee stared down at the dust at the foot of the ramp and ground the toe of her shoe into it, then stomped her foot in fury.

"I'll find that drunken liou mahng and give him a piece a my mind, 'cause he sure ain't gonna get a piece a anything else! I had more'n enough of bein' ignored by Simon; I'm sure as hell not gonna put up with it from the likes of Jayne Cobb."

With that, Kaylee slung her knapsack on her back and headed for Fong Loy's, a bar on the north end of the docks that was a favorite of Serenity's crew and the most likely watering hole for the lyin’, no-count hún dàn.

++++

Pushing her way up to the bar, she was immediately greeted by an older Chinese man who smiled warmly at her. "Nee how, Missie Kaylee? It is a blessing to see an old friend."

" Xiè xie, Fong Loy. You seen Jayne or the Cap'n?"

"So sorry. Missie Kaylee. They not come here yet, dan nang. May I serve you something?"

On the offhand chance that her crewmates might appear shortly, Kaylee decided to have a drink to ease the full-blown mad she'd worked herself up into. "How 'bout a short whisky?"

"Sure thing, nyen ching-duh."

Kaylee turned 'round and surveyed the bar, but saw no Jayne.

The barkeep placed the shot before her and she paid for her drink and tossed it back. "Do me a favor, if ya please?" the girl asked. "If Jayne Cobb does show up, tell him the party's been called off."

And with that, she turned and stalked out.

Fong Loy polished the bar and chuckled to himself, "Jayne Cobb in plenty big trouble with that little girl!"

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To be continued …… 1/7