Chapter Seven: The Color of the World is Changing

"Hello," Adam said as he walked into the dining area.

"Hi," Zoë said, before turning back to cleaning her gun.

Adam poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down across from Zoë, "Where's the Kid?"

"You mean Wash?" Zoë asked. She gestured towards the bridge. "He and Kaylee are working on something up there. Best to wait until they're done."

Adam nodded and the two sat in silence for a moment before he said with a grin, "So you never did tell me how the Kid ever wound up with a such a beautiful creature such as yourself."

Zoë rolled her eyes, "Now I know where he gets it from."

"Got that right, ma'am," Adam said. "I taught that kid everything I know, but he must have picked up a few other tips along the way since I was never lucky enough to come across anyone as lovely as you."

Zoë eyed Adam, "Those lines ever work?"

Adam laughed, "Unfortunately no, another thing that the Kid learned from me. I think he started using his own lines from the time he was 16." He raised his mug at her, "And obviously they worked."

Zoë shrugged, "Not really, all they did was bug me at first. Then the next thing I knew…."

Adam nodded, "That sounds like the Kid. That's how it was with us, at first he bothered me and I didn't want anything to do with him but it didn't take long before I loved him more than anything in the 'Verse." He looked straight at Zoë, "And that hasn't changed."

"Then why did you let him think that you were dead?" Zoë asked. "If he means that much to you?"

Adam sat back in his chair, "What did he tell you about the last time we saw each other?"

"Not much," Zoë said. "Your ship crashed and he wasn't able to see if you were alive or not."

"The ship crashed and we were separated right after," Adam explained. "I was told that he was dead. I never quite believed it since I thought that I heard him calling for me after the crash but I wasn't able to locate him until the other day."

"So you knew that Wash was piloting Serenity?"

"I didn't know when I took the job," Adam said. "I was just as surprised as he was."

"Pleasant surprise then?" Zoë said, mildly.

"Yes," Adam said.

Zoë let it go at that. As she had told Wash, Adam hadn't given her any reason not to trust him and it was a small 'Verse for people like them. It was actually more surprising that they hadn't met up with Adam before.

Adam glanced down the hall towards the steps leading to the cargo bay and passenger dorms, "So I take it I've met the entire crew, no one else on board."

"That's everyone," Zoë said.

"Interesting group," Adam commented. "That little girl, River, where'd you find her?"

"Does it matter?" Zoë asked.

"Not really," Adam said. "She just seems very young to be aboard a ship."

Zoë shrugged, "I've seen younger than her onboard a ship," She said in a tone that suggested that Adam drop further questions.

They sat quietly for a moment, Adam looking around the dining area while Zoë continued to clean her gun.

The silence was broken when Adam asked, "Did you fight with Captain Reynolds in the war?"

Zoë looked up from her gun, slightly startled, "How did you know that?"

"Ship named Serenity with a Captain wearing a brown coat," Adam pointed out. "Doesn't take much to figure it out."

Zoë nodded, "I was with the Captain at Serenity Valley."

"Horrible thing," Adam said, taking a sip from his mug.

"You were there?" Zoë asked.

"No," Adam said. "But I heard enough about it to be glad that I wasn't."

Zoë didn't answer for a minute then she asked, "Did you fight in the war?"

Adam hesitated and answered, "No."

Zoë didn't pursue the subject; Adam sounded exactly the way Wash did when he didn't want to discus something further.

Voices came from the direction of the bridge…

"All we have to do is rewire the valve and we get twice the power we got now."

"Right," said another voice. "And then the whole system overloads, circuits short out and we're drifting."

"Not if we watch it," said the other voice.

"No, won't help you."

Wash and Kaylee walked into the dining area and Kaylee said, "Can one of you convince Wash to help me rewire the proton valve? It'll…"

"Overload the system, short out the power and kill us all," Wash interrupted. "Not going to happen."

Kaylee glared at him and flopped down onto a chair, "You're the one complaining about the valve."

Wash sat down next to Zoë, "Nothing's getting rewired."

"You know," Adam said. "For someone who helped me rewire an entire information database at the age of 13, rewiring a valve sounds pretty easy."

"First of all," Wash said, ignoring the amused looks coming from Zoë and Kaylee. "Rewiring that database was not done at the risk of our lives.."

"You must not remember Headmaster Samuels," Adam said.

"And Second," Wash said, as if Adam hadn't spoken. "I did not help you rewire that database. I kept an eye open for Samuels while you rewired the thing."

"Ah yes," Adam said. "You were the perfect look out. We never were caught."

"You were never caught," Wash said, all traces of humor gone from his voice.

"What?" Adam said, alarmed. "What are you talking about?"

"They knew you did it," Wash told him. "And if you did anything, then I had to be involved. You had already left so…."

"What happened?" Adam asked.

Wash shrugged, "Detention."

"Detention," Adam repeated. "Samuels?" Wash nodded and Adam's face fell, "Kid, I'm sorry. I didn't think.."

"Forget it," Wash said, shortly. "It was a long time ago and the guys made up for it once I get back…the party they threw…along with the look on Teacher Richard’s face when he realized that he was reading aloud from "The Companion's Texbook” instead of his regular lesson…..”

Kaylee giggled, "You guys did that?"

Adam smiled at her, "It was my going away gift. I had more interesting ideas but," He gestured to Wash, "The kid still had a few more years to go."

"What'd you do when you left?" Kaylee asked.

Wash just grinned and shook his head, "Sorry, they haven't pinned it on me yet, not going to confess now."

"Who's confessing?" Mal said, entering the dining area.

"No one yet," Kaylee said.

"Good," Mal said, pouring himself a cup of coffee and sitting down at the table. "We're on enough people's bad sides." He glanced at Kaylee and Wash, "You guys get that thing on the bridge taken care of?"

"Yes," Wash said quickly before Kaylee could bring the valve up again. "We're still on schedule."

"Can you speed us up any?" Mal asked.

Wash shook his head, "Not worth the fuel we'd waste."

Mal nodded, "Just get us there then."

"We got a job lined up?" Zoë asked.

"Possibly," Mal said. "Won't know for certain until we get there. Inara's got some clients too so we may have to stay for a few days."

Wash looked at Adam, "What are your plans once we land?"

Adam shrugged, "Deliver the cargo and then look around for another job."

"Anything lined up?" Wash asked.

"People I’m working for now probably will have something for me," Adam said. "I may look around for something more steady too, just depends on how this job goes."

Wash hesitated then said, "Why don't you stick around here?"

Mal started to speak but Adam beat him to it, "Stay?"

"Why not?" Wash said. "Not forever, but maybe for a little while."

"We're not taking any passengers," Mal said before Adam could answer.

Wash started to protest but Adam broke in, "I can't stay anyway. My client will probably have something in mind for me."

Wash stood up, "I'm going to check that valve again." He looked at Adam, "Could use a second opinion, come take a look."

The two of them headed off to the bridge. Once there Wash said, "Sure you can't stay?"

Adam shook his head, "Can't," He glanced under the controls, stood up and said slowly, "What about you?" Wash looked at him, confused. "I mean, why don't you come with me. Remember what we talked about right before…"

"Starting our own shipping business," Wash said.

"Right," Adam said. "What do you think? Between the two of us…"

"I don't know," Wash said, glancing towards the dining area. "It's tempting and I know that we planned to but…"

Adam followed his glance, "Zoë wouldn't go for it?"

Wash shook her head, "She's too loyal to Mal. She'd never leave him and I won't be the one to make her."

"She won't even consider it," Adam asked.

"No," Wash told him. "There's a lot of reasons that we should, better pay once we got going, still be able to fly, more stability, safer, kids…." He shook his head, "Won't happen, too many ties to this ship."

Adam glanced at Wash, "Alright, but if ever you change your mind."

"I'll let you know," Wash said. "And if you ever get it started give us a call."

******* Wash sat looking out at the stars. It was late and Serenity's crew was asleep. He hadn't been tired so had stayed up to monitor some of the systems.

He couldn't stop thinking about Adam's offer. It had been tempting. They'd always discussed starting their own shipping company with Wash being the main pilot while Adam managed it. It would be the perfect chance for a calm, safer life but it also involved leaving Serenity, something neither he or Zoë could do Wash loved Serenity almost as much as he did Zoë and Zoë would never willingly leave Mal.

Wash's thoughts were interrupted by a crash. He looked around the bridge and saw that all systems were working. The crash sounded like it was coming from the cargo bay. He headed towards that direction.

He walked through the dining area but stopped when his foot hit something. Wash glanced down and saw a gun. He picked it up and made a note to have a talk with Jayne. Jayne knew better than to leave one his guns laying around.

Wash walked down the steps into the cargo bay. He glanced towards the doors and didn't see anything. Then he heard a noise in the direction of the passenger dorms. He turned and said, "What in the tyen shiao duh is going on?"

tyen shiao duh- name of all that's sacred