Bane lay on her back, sweaty and sated but wide awake, looking at the ceiling. Karl’s bunk was pretty much the same as hers, except tidier. The trouble was with her, the more things she had to do, the messier her quarters got. The downside of being in his bunk was that when he was asleep and she awake there was nothing she could do but lie there. If she was in her own place then she could start cutting wires to the right length for the new batch of grenades. It was no good doing any stripping in her bunk as it was a messy job, and after the first time she tried it, she did not want to break her neck. If River or Mal was doing the flying today she could make a start on that in the cargo bay soon as morning came. “You wanna think a little quieter?” murmured Karl. Bane turned her head to him and saw that he had opened an eye. She smiled ruefully. “Sorry. Can’t sleep.” “Don’t make me get Jayne’s guitar,” he yawned. Bane chuckled, her thoughts naturally switching to Jayne and Esper. “You know Zoe told me that Jayne used to interrupt us on purpose, afore we got to Whittier.” Karl breathed in deeply. He should not have spoken as Bane had taken his words as a sign he was awake. Which he was not, yet. “Mmmm,” he responded. “Reckon it’s payback time.” Karl came further awake. “Leave him be,” he said. Bane propped herself up on an elbow and looked at him, unable to resist touching him as well. “Why exactly should I do that?” a level tone to her voice to indicate that she was not happy at being instructed to do something by someone other than the Captain or Zoe. Karl was not blind to it, even half-asleep, but it did not phase him. He blinked, sighed again and rubbed both eyes. “Because this thing he’s got with Esper, it’s new to him. I saw him in the church. If he doesn’t already, I reckon he’s halfway to loving her, though it’d prob’ly take a pile of torture to get him to admit it.” “But he’s only known her for five minutes,” argued Bane, running a finger down his torso, distracted. “Long as it takes sometimes,” he said and Bane raised an eyebrow. She then felt uncomfortable as to where this conversation could go. “Okay, I’ll lay off – but not because you told me too,” she added defensively, “I’ve got a mountain of grenades and putty to make anyway.” She snuggled up to his heat and started to trace the outline of one of his tattoos, but Karl was not up to anything else other than going back to sleep. She got the message and decided to get up even though it was four in the morning. Insomnia could be a real pain in the ass sometimes. Bane dressed, gathered her tools and notebook from her bunk, then made a pot of tea before going down to the cargo bay to begin stripping the parts she had bought all that time ago on Greenleaf. As she worked she remembered that she was missing one of the ingredients she used to make the putty – cordite. There might be a chance she could pick it up on Haven, but almost definitely on Newhall. Unfortunately, that would mean a delay in finishing the order. She would have to let Mal know. “Are those scaffold joints?” asked Abe. Bane looked up, surprised out of her thoughts, and stopped squinting, she had not even heard him approach. “Shi, but light duty ones, rather than industrial.” He inspected further. “What are you doing with them?” Bane realised that Abe did not know what she did. “I’m making EMP grenades.” “That your trade?” “That and anything that goes boom – plus a few other things.” “Dangerous line of work to be in.” “Has been.” Abe settled in as he was real interested. “So how does a scaffold joint go on to become an EMP grenade?” he asked. Bane, always used to doing several things at once, explained. “Firstly all these have to be stripped and then cleaned. I use an acid based solution for that. From then on, I wear gloves.” “And when you use the acid, I presume,” Abe added. Bane grinned. “Yep. But these are all sold on so it’s important that there are no prints of mine left on it. Once they’ve been cleaned I use chips from pretty much any household appliance, though I tend to favour waste disposal chips on account of their reliability.” She saw Abram’s eyebrows raise and continued. “I use stuff that’s commonly available and therefore untraceable.” “How’d you get into this line of work?” “My mother taught me. It’s what we did through the war.” “Which side?” asked Abe. Bane gave him an amused glance. “Which do you think?” Abe reckoned that answered his question. “From that look, I reckon you caused a heap of trouble to the Alliance.” Bane grinned and Abe got up and offered to make her some more tea. When she declined he took away the teapot and mug as he was going to the galley anyway. Abe found he had the Captain for company when he got there. He thought he had got up early at six, but Bane had looked like she had been working for hours. Seemed the Captain was an early riser as well. “Mornin’ Abe. Seems a few of us are up early today.” “You’ve seen Bane then?” “Heard her,” Mal corrected. “Reckon I ought to glue some matting to the bottom of her boots to get her to go around the place a little quieter.” Abram laughed as he made himself some breakfast. “I looked in on Jayne on my way up. I think he’ll have no problems recovering.” Esper had been sitting next to him with her head leaning on the couch of Jayne’s good side. He had his arm cradled across her shoulders. They were both asleep. “You handled yourself well yesterday. So did Esper.” “I wonder if people’ll ask you that when you’re eighty one?” asked Abe with an amused glint in his eye. Mal smirked. “I wasn’t always an old man. Taught my children to look after themselves too. Can’t be too careful in this ‘Verse, war or no war.” Mal nodded sagely, he could not agree more. “Mind you even she surprised me yesterday.” “How so?” asked Mal. Abram shrugged. “I’ve never seen her shoot anyone before, so I suppose I don’t have no frame o’ reference. But the minute Jayne was shot, a hardness came over her face like I’ve never seen. She took out that man without flinching. Worried me some.” Mal was not worried and it was his turn to shrug. “She jus’ did what needed to be done, like you.” Abram did not argue the point. Mal looked towards the cockpit when he heard a noise and saw it was River. As Abram sat down he got up. “Gotta have me a word with our pilot, s’cuse me Abe.” Mal walked into the cockpit pulling up his braces and River knew that it was reckoning time. She had let him down. “I’m sorry, Captain,” she said, still unable to look at him. “Sorry for what exactly?” “I’m sorry for not being aware of those men.” “But not sorry for waving the Rosalyn?” River bit her lip, but did not respond. “I know it ain’t any use putting a lock on sending out waves on account of you bein’ a genius an’ all. But let me ask you this. Do you think it’s right for you to be lookin’ to your own needs when there’s people need protectin’?” “No, Mal,” answered River, using his first name. “You let me down some yesterday, Albatross. Jayne dint haveta be shot.” “Found his princess though,” she put in, but Mal was not interested. “Like I said – it dint need to happen that way. He could just have easily have died.” “Are you going to punish me?” Mal smiled. “The only way I know how at this minute. You’re gonna offer to help Bane strip those parts – long as it takes.” “That’s dirty work,” River answered, grimacing a little. “Exactly,” said Mal, taking over the controls, “Now hop to it like a good little pilot.” For a fleeting second, River looked at him mutinously and then obeyed. Mal took a sip of his coffee. It was good to be back in control again. The chat he had with Tony last night meant that the Rosalyn would not be sending any more unauthorised waves. At least Tony did not have any rutting geniuses on board, he was losing count of the amount of geniuses he had. “Mornin’, sir.” “Hey, Zo’ – sleep alright?” “Some,” she said, adjusting the leather lacing around her neck. “Sorry I wasn’t around when it kicked off yesterday.” Mal looked at her surprised. “You were officially off duty – River wasn’t. ‘Sides you weren’t feelin’ well.” “What did you say to River?” Mal explained and Zoe laughed when he told her about the punishment. “She doesn’t like gettin’ dirty like that.” “Well she ain’t likely to do anythin’ about it. She knows she did wrong.” “How’s Jayne?” “More in danger of losing his heart than dyin’ by all accounts.” Zoe looked at him like he was moonbrain and Mal nodded to confirm. “Bound to happen one day, however unlikely the chances.” “Bit like me havin’ a baby?” Zoe said, making it sound like a question when it was really more of a statement. She turned. “Simon left me instructions that I was to take my blood pressure every day while he was away. Very insistent he was too.” “Better do what the doc says, he can be real ornery if’n you don’t do what he tells you.” Zoe looked at Mal and suppressed a smile. “Like a few other people I know,” retorted Zoe. She made her way down to the Med Bay, making plenty of noise in case Jayne was in a compromising position, or naked – either way it was something she did not wish to view this early in the morning, if ever. His eyes were closed as she stepped in and when he opened them it was clear to her that he was expecting someone else. “How you feelin’?” she asked. “Like I’ve a bullet wound in my side,” Jayne said normally. Zoe had to admit that he looked mighty chipper for someone who had been shot the day before. She went over to the counter and got the notepad that Simon had shown her out of the drawer. “Where’s your nurse?” she said quietly. Jayne frowned, wary of further scrutiny, but he answered her question. “She’s gone to get some breakfast.” Zoe wrapped the pressure pad around her arm and got Jayne to secure it. “She handled herself well yesterday.” It seemed to be the right phrase of words because Jayne’s face cracked into an expression resembling proud. “Cool as anythin’. Was something to see an’ no mistake. I thought she’d be the kinda person who’d fall to pieces in that situation.” “People do things you don’t expect when they’re backed into a corner.” “There weren’t no corners I could see,” said Jayne, missing the point. “She could just as easily of run and hid.” Zoe scoffed gently. “With guns on the two people in the ‘Verse she cares deeply about? No, that’s not Esper – not from what I’ve seen of her.” Jayne flushed, embarrassed by her perception. “She’s someone who protects her own and is not afraid of dyin’ to do it.” Jayne swallowed and watched Zoe for a while, thinking. “How long was it before you married Wash from the time you got together?” Zoe’s face remained impassive. The temptation to ask him on why the question was real hard to resist but she managed it. “Well I took some wearin’ down,” she joked gently, keeping her eyes on the task of taking her blood pressure, “But it was about three months after meetin’ that we got together an’ I married him ‘bout nine months later. It was real quick.” “You dint think that was too quick?” “Like I said to Wash, I’m not so afraid of losing something that I won’t try havin’ it. Can’t live your life worried that someone’s gonna try an’ take away the happy moments. That’ll happen either way. Look at Esper and Abe. They’ve bin living in this ‘Verse a pile of years on the memory of what they lost – not lookin’ to what they could have.” Jayne was drinking every word, making Zoe feel much older than her years. “Might be that bein’ on Serenity again has given them both the kick they needed to look ahead rather than behind.” She stepped out of the Med Bay, seeing Esper coming down the stairs with a tray. “You need anythin’ you jus’ holler on that comm.” “Thanks, Zoe,” said Jayne. Zoe walked into the cargo bay and found Bane and River up to their elbows in grease and oil. She caught the end of their conversation. “…You huff and puff any more, River Tam, an’ I gonna wipe my oily hand in your face.” “It’s so … icky.” “You offered to help me, remember?” to which River had no smart retort. “Everything alright?” asked Zoe. Bane looked up at her. She had smudges of grease all over her, just like when Kaylee worked in the engine room all day. She found it hard to believe it was still so early. “Hey, Zoe,” said Bane and she was reminded of something else she had been thinking over. “Been working on making you a baby alarm.” “Oh yes? An’ what’s one of those?” “You know. When it gets nearer the time, I’m making you quick hit button that’ll alert Simon if you go into labour in your bunk.” Zoe was impressed. “Made one before, have you?” she asked curiously. “No, but there used to be one on our old ship when I was growin’ up an’ I reckon I can cobble together something similar.” “That’ll be very kind. Thank you.” River, frustrated with all the guck, blew air through her lips making a buzzing sound and before she could even think that she would do it and duck, Bane planted the palm of her greasy hand in River’s face. They both laughed as River gave an annoyed yelp, but then carried on working with her head down, refraining from making any more noises. ~ * ~ There were a few people missing from the dinner table that evening. Esper had taken a tray down to Jayne in the Med Bay and stayed with him. For once, he seemed happy to lay just where he was instead of insisting he go back to his bunk as soon as possible. “Should I wake Bane?” Abe said, coming into the galley and sitting down. “She’s fallen asleep on that crate in the cargo bay.” Mal snorted and Karl answered. “She does that a lot when she’s making that stuff. She can’t seem to pace herself. Just leave her.” “Bane’s an insomniac,” explained Zoe when she saw that Abe was thinking they were a bit uncaring about their crewmate. “More so when she gets to creatin’ them munitions. There’s nothing we can do ‘cept leave her be.” “She once stayed awake for four days solid and then slept for two,” said Karl. Abe smiled. “Have you tried slipping something in her tea?” he suggested. They all laughed. “Now that’s not a bad idea,” said Mal chuckled. “But I don’t hold with giving people drugs like that. Music seems to work though. Still, if it gets too bad I might consider it - specially if we ever go to Deutschland again.” After dinner, Abe went and got a blanket from his room and put it around Bane’s shoulders as she slumped over the crate. She would have the side of her face covered in fetching mix of grease and oil when she lifted her head. He quietly headed off to the engine room to take some time in Kaylee’s hammock to read. Bane came awake wondering why it was dark in the cargo bay, especially when the lights were never usually turned off. She had never realised it would be so completely pitch black and could not remember where the switch was, cursing whoever it was that had done it, as she could just as easily break her neck trying to find it. She stumbled up the stairs and found it gradually getting lighter, like someone was using a dimmer switch. “Merciful Buddha!” she said, her stomach clenching in realisation. “You alright, Bane?” asked Esper. Bane blinked then squinted, looking around towards the sound of her voice. In the vague light, she made out Esper’s form coming towards her from below. “Y-yes. I’m fine. Just woken up.” By the time Esper reached her, she could just about see her clearly, as well as the normal full brightness of the cargo bay. “You’ve been asleep for about four hours. We left you some dinner. Come on, I’ll heat it up for you.” Bane untensed her hand which had been gripping the rail like her life depended on it. “I’ll sort myself out,” she snapped. “Sorry,” she said in a kinder voice, “I guess I’ll go to my bunk and get some more sleep.” “Okay,” replied Esper cheerfully, and left her to it, returning the way she had come. Bane tripped several times in her haste to get to her bunk, but finally she reached it and locked the hatch behind her. She sat on the bed and put her face in her grimy hands. “Please, God, no.” she repeated over and over, breaking down completely and rocking back and forth. Simon had warned her to take it easy but she had not listened. He had not spoken the words, only cautioned her, but now she knew the consequences. She was going blind. Not in years like the Alliance doc had said, but sooner. How long would it be? Bane tried to sniff away her running nose then wiped it uncaringly on her sleeve. She went to her desk and picked up her journal. The lines of her coded script were blurry but just about readable. No one else could read this but her. She threw it against the bulkhead angrily and then swept the rest of the stuff off her desk in the same temper. Tian xiz shou you de ren dou gai si. As if she had not been through enough already, what use was she to anyone blind? * * * * * * “You think you’re ready to get back to your own bunk now?” asked Esper. She had been watching as Jayne hobbled painfully around the Med Bay and common area. “Might not make it down the ladder without help, but I reckon I need to walk around some and,” he sniffed himself, “Take a shower.” Esper laughed. “I musta got used to it,” she said, “Cuz you smell fine to me.” Jayne looked self conscious and completely happy. Esper spoke quieter, “You could always have – share my room, until you’re well enough.” She walked over to him as she said it. Jayne grabbed her by the waist on his good side and pulled her against him. “Not sure I’m up to anything like that yet, girlie, much as it’s real temptin’ – but I’ll definitely take you up on the offer of sharing.” Esper helped him along the corridor to the bathroom, leaving him to shower on his own. Jayne felt the hot water pound his body and he rested his head against the side wall, mainly so that his wound was not in direct spray, but he was also trying to come to terms with all that had happened recently. Was this really what it felt like? His guts twisting every time she came into the room, each one of her movements and nuances tearing into him like fire. He did not deserve it, not with the life he had led, but he also wanted to shout it out. Go out the airlock and proclaim it to the ‘Verse that this woman was his and he would gladly die for her. Maybe proclaiming it out the airlock was a bit extreme. A letter to his Ma might be better, though he had not written to her for a long while. And a letter for Esper to show her that he intended to keep his word about writing. He was far away in his thoughts as he tried to think about what to write. “You all right, Jayne?” he heard her voice in the bathroom, “You’ve bin in there for half an hour.” Jayne grinned stupidly and called out. “Be out in a sec, just makin’ sure I don’t still smell like a horse.” He heard her low chuckle and his body responded. Might be able to work himself up to something after all. * * * * * * Pye Eatings were already well underway when Serenity landed on Newhall. As soon as she had finished the landing sequence and shut down the piloting systems, River ran to her quarters to get changed. The Captain may be able to prevent her from waving Stan over the comm.., but she was officially off duty now and so would Stan be. She could not wait to see him and almost screamed in frustration as her dress got caught in her hair clip as she tried to pull it on over her head. “Need a hand?” came a familiar voice. River yanked her head through the hole not caring if she lost a chunk of hair in the process. She had not felt his presence at all and Stan was perched in the doorway of her quarters with his hands in his pockets, all larger than life. River found her voice. “How d’you know where I was?” and then realised that Bane must have told him. She read his mind and concluded that he had. “Got family connections,” he stated with a grin. River had wished and waited more than months for them to be alone like this but now it was finally here she did not know what to do. Stan saw the indecision on her face and propped himself upright. He bowed formally and reached out his hand. “I’ve made a picnic and wondered if you’d care to join me somewhere out in the middle of nowhere.” The image of what Stan wanted to do when he got her alone made River shudder as it fluttered through her head. She grabbed a jacket and took his hand. Stan had borrowed the mule from the Rosalyn and they drove away without telling anyone where they were going. Bane watched them go and then opened the hatch to her workshop. There was barely room to move with all the crates piled up on one side; empty scaffold joints waiting to be made into EMP grenades. She lifted several trays down from the shelf. One of them contained some more scaffold joints. She took the blindfold out of the tray, tied it around her eyes and began working again. ~ * ~ Abe shook Tony Pye’s hand and Esper was quick to follow. He would have been able to tell he was related to Bane without knowing his name, they looked so alike. As did Anna, his wife, and their daughter who were standing a little apart from them trying her best to eavesdrop over the noise. Tony spoke. “I’m not going to beat around the bush an’ not pretend that I know anything about engines. Kaylee says that you’re a good mechanic and she don’t lie as far as I’ve known her. This is my cousin, Angel, an’ he’s gonna show you around, as well as question you.” “I would expect it, Captain,” said Abe amiably. Tony turned to Esper. “I do, however, know cooking. I’ve cleared one of the stands over there and put some ingredients on it. You have fifteen minutes to make something that the customers – and I – will like.” Esper’s eyes widened and she felt like she was at school again. While Abe was led away by Angel, she walked over to the stand. She already knew what was on there before she saw as she could smell it. Fresh fish. It had been years since she had seen fresh fish and she wondered where Tony Pye had managed to acquire it from. She picked it up and felt the weight and the texture. There were two types in front of her, mackerel and some cod. Fifteen minutes to presumably make a tasty dish and make the ingredients go as far as possible. She rolled up her sleeves and began working. Jayne and Karl looked over from the table they sat at. “Think she’ll do alright?” Jayne said, sounding worried. Karl rolled his eyes at him but answered. “Course she will. We’ve had her cooking for us and it tasted well enough.” Jayne bit at a nail. “I know but this is business. An’ if she don’t get the job then who knows where she and Abe’ll end up.” “You really care about her, don’t you?” Jayne shifted his gaze briefly to Karl and then back again to Esper. “I want to marry her,” he replied almost too quietly for Karl to hear. Karl choked on the food already in his mouth. He coughed and thumped his chest until he had recovered enough to talk, finding then that he did not know what to say. “When?” he asked finally and just as quietly. “When I can provide for her,” he stated, and Karl could see that the topic was now closed. Jayne knew that it could be a long time before he might be able to provide for a wife and, in Esper’s case, her father too. Life in the Black was dangerous and unpredictable and he refused to allow Esper to lose any of that again. He would want her to be able to have a roof over her head that was hers, that no one could take away. The thoughts made him sad, mainly because so far in life he had only managed to keep his own head above water, let alone save money for the future. Jayne’s revelations were a shock to Karl. He knew the man was smitten, but had no idea things went that deep for him. He had never even thought about marriage himself, figuring he was too much of a drifter to be inclined that way. Even now that he was with Bane, it had not crossed his mind, and surely it was much to soon to be thinking of anything like that. He looked around realising that he had not seen her since they had landed. She had been her usual insanely energetic self lately but he had also noticed her being distant and somewhat evasive. He put it down to her insomnia and was considering putting something in her tea like Abe had suggested, or borrowing Jayne’s guitar. Esper breathed a sigh of relief and wiped her sweaty forehead with her sleeve. Tony, who had been watching her, now came up. There was not one but two dishes laid out before him and enough to feed at least thirty. He picked up a spoon and dug in. The first dish tasted wonderful. “Kedgeree?” he queried, chewing, and Esper nodded. Tony swallowed, “You’ve got the job. Welcome aboard.” “Don’t you want to taste the other one?” she asked. Tony shook his head and got a piece of chalk out of his pocket. He wrote on the black board beside the stand. “Just tell me what it’s called and you can start dishing it out. If all your food tastes like that, I ain’t gonna have any trouble selling it.” “What about my father?” Esper was concerned that he might not be so lucky. “Angel says his knowledge surpasses his – which, between you an’ me, doesn’t surprise me – so he’s hired too.” Esper looked over to Jayne who had been watching her while she cooked. She gave him a joyful smile to which he responded in kind. “Welcome aboard, Esper,” said Anna. “Thank you for giving us a job,” she replied. Anna, always on watch around the room, saw some problems kicking off at Maloranty’s counter. She shoved Rosie into Esper’s arms and disappeared across the cargo bay to take issue. Esper looked at the baby who seemed quite used to being shoved into the arms of strangers. Rosie starred and blinked up at her and then shrieked with laughter. She looked over at Jayne again and he had an awful strange expression on his face. “She likes you,” stated Tony, bringing her attention back to him. People started to drift towards the counter to be served and Esper handed Rosie over to her father, picking up another spoon to dish up. She did not notice Jayne leave the Rosalyn’s cargo bay. ~ * ~ “There you are,” said Karl coming into Serenity’s cargo bay smiling broadly. Bane was walking through the gym area with a box of tricks and some other things. She jumped and gave a thin smile. “Fancy comin’ over to the Rosalyn for a bit?” “Er, no – not yet. I’ve got some experiments to do.” Bane slotted the box into one of the compartments on the mule. Karl came up behind her and squeezed her waist. “That can wait – we’ll be here for another day or so at least. We can always conduct our own experiments, if you like.” He kissed her neck but Bane shifted away out of his grip and climbed onto the mule. Karl frowned, confused. “Somethin’ wrong?” “No, nothin’. Just wanna get this out of the way today.” She started up the engine. “Mind if I tag along?” he asked, persistent as always, but more concerned than anything. Bane sighed and looked across at him. “I’d rather do this alone, Karl. I’ll be back before it gets dark. I’m heading west out of the settlement. I need to go far enough away from anything electrical.” “EMP testing again?” he asked, still not completely satisfied that everything was okay. “Yes,” she replied, reversing the mule and then driving out at speed before he could say anything else. Karl watched her go, something was definitely wrong. She was normally distracted, having about a million things going through her head at once, but he had never seen her so serious before. There was always a glint of humour and warmth in her eyes – it was one of the things he liked about her – but he had also seen fear as well. Bane drove out past the settlement and out towards the wild brush land. A couple of miles out, she stopped by a clump of trees and turned off the engine. She then walked a further distance away from the mule with the gear she had brought with her. She placed the first grenade on the ground, set the timer and walked away. She took out the lead lined scope reader and waited. Nothing happened. She walked back and picked up the grenade to inspect it. The timer had worked but the grenade had not gone off. She tried the next one. This time the EMP activated but at quarter the strength it was supposed to. Bane went on to test all the grenades she had brought with her; the ones she had attempted to make blindfolded. None of them worked up to anything close like the standard she was used to producing. Finally, she sat down in the dirt, rubbing her eyes, and just starred out across the endless brush wondering how many more days, weeks or months she would be able to see like this. As the sun started to set, she collected the tricks and trudged back to the mule. By the time she got there, she realised that she was exhausted. Maybe some rest would help her focus and then she remembered that she had not spoken to Tony or Anna or even bothered to go over to greet them since they had arrived. She started up the motor and drove straight to the Rosalyn. She walked into the familiar cargo bay that was noisy with eatings. As she passed Karl, she dropped her hand across his shoulders and then went over to hug her brother warmly. He ruffled her short hair. “You gonna tell me now how come you cut your hair?” Bane smiled. “Got a bit of head lice – thought it best to get rid of it before I gave it to anyone else.” The full story would take more than a few minutes of explaining. Tony was not impressed – he remembered her saying it was a long story. Anna came up and Bane gave her a warm hug too. “You look tired, sis. Is the Captain keeping you hard at work?” “You know me, I like to keep busy,” she answered non-committal. She reached for her niece who was looking rather sleepy. “So, this is Rosie. How big she’s got.” The baby felt warm and comforting in her arms and eased the pressures in her mind somewhat. Bane kissed her soft forehead. “Welcome to the family, tian shi.” Tony produced her a tray of food and Bane found herself a chair with a back so she could sit down. Anna offered to take the baby back but Bane wanted to keep hold of her, hanging on to the warmth and peace emanating from the small body. She ate with one hand while Rosie slept with her head on her shoulder. When Tony left them, Anna leaned over to her, out of earshot of Karl. “I know it’s probably too soon to say anything, but I think I might be pregnant again.” Bane blinked. “Already?!” She looked down at Rosie who was barely three months old. Anna blushed and shrugged. Bane laughed, “You’ll have to get those extra crew quarters built before you run out of bunk space.” “I know,” she giggled. “I haven’t told Tony yet, so don’t say anything.” She looked more seriously at Bane, “Are you sure you’re looking after yourself?” Bane evaded her gaze long enough for Anna to know that something was wrong. “I’m fine...Just been doing a lot lately. I need to catch up on some sleep is all.” Anna could tell it was something other than tiredness, she was troubled by something. She had also know Bane all her life and it was clear she was not going to say what it was. “Just make sure you do,” she replied and then looked around to see that she was needed. “Do you want me to take Rosie?” Bane shook her head. “No. She’s fine too. You go on.” When she had left them, Bane carried on eating and Karl shifted himself further up the bench towards her. “Did the experiments go well?” he asked. Bane swallowed her mouthful before answering. “Fine,” she answered neutrally. Dammit, things were not fine, he could see it with his own eyes. Bane put down her fork and settled back in the chair, eyelids already drooping. Karl refrained from saying anything further and watched her fall asleep in front of him, despite the noise around them. Mal came and sat down opposite him and looked over at Bane shaking his head in amusement. “She really does pick the oddest places to fall asleep.” He pulled her tray of food over to him and started to eat it. No sense in wasting good hot food. “Doesn’t seem to know when to quit either,” muttered Karl. Mal shrugged. “It’s her way. Probably comes from her time in the system,” he answered. Karl did not respond. ~ * ~ Even with her bag in her hand, Esper did not want to leave anymore. Serenity was no longer the Firefly she grew up on, it had evolved into something else. Somewhere, that things had changed for the better. The ‘Verse was still a scary place but there were plenty of people in it willing to give their all to help others. “What you thinkin’ about?” asked Jayne, sliding his arm around his waist. “How I don’t want to leave, but stay here with you.” Jayne looked all kinds of pleased. She reached up to kiss him briefly. “I left you a present.” Jayne raised his brows. “What is it? “It’s under the pillow in my quarters.” “Is it a pair of your panties?” he asked eagerly. Esper laughed her low chuckle, genuinely amused. “Well, you write me and tell me whether you would have preferred panties an’ I’ll send you some.” “Panties through the mail,” Jayne thought out loud, “Now there’s somethin’ I wouldn’t mind receivin’.” Esper hugged him hard, her laughter quelling, she wanted to prolong the moment. “G’bye, son,” said Abe coming up to them. They parted and Jayne shook Abram’s hand warmly. “Look after yourself, Abe, hope you’ll do well on the Rosalyn. They’re good people. Bit inbred for my liking,” he said, quickly making sure Bane was not in earshot, “But they’re fine folk to be livin’ and workin’ with. They look after each other.” Coming from Jayne that was about the highest compliment to be paid. “Good to know,” he answered with a smile, “Let me take your bag, Esper,” he said, without giving her the option of refusing even if she had wanted to. Left to themselves, Jayne gathered Esper in his arms again. “I thought of a name for that bee sting of yours.” “Mmm?” she encouraged. “Ianthe,” he said. “That’s a pretty name for a gun.” “It’s a pretty woman who owns it,” Jayne answered sincerely and Esper blushed. Then they heard Mal say it was time to go. Jayne wasted no time and kissed Esper hard and deep, wanting to still feel the touch of her lips long after they parted. He watched her walk away and then went straight to her quarters without stopping to speak to anyone. As soon as he slid the door shut, he lifted the pillow off the bed. She had not left him panties, but something much better. She had cut about a finger’s width of her hair and plaited it. There was a good two foot of the stuff and Jayne lay on her bed and held it to his face with both hands. Esper’s scent filled his nostrils and he closed his eyes in remembrance. He already missed her and it hurt worse than when he had been shot. ~ * ~ The cargo bay doors had just shut and Bane was about to lift off when Mal heard the comm.. beeping at him. It was Tony Pye. “Mal. Any chance you can give me back my pilot before you disappear? I kinda need him.” “What!” “I ain’t seen him since you landed but I reckon, if that’s Bane sitting next to you, I can guess he’s with your pilot.” “Ri shao gou shi bing!” exclaimed Mal flinging himself out of his chair and out of the cockpit. Bane settled the engines. After a long sleep, both in the chair in the middle of the Rosalyn’s cargo bay and then in her own bunk, she felt more refreshed and positive about things – ready to try again. She smirked to herself, hoping River would not get into too much trouble. Mal hammered on the door to River’s room. There was a lot of noise coming from the other side and finally he just wrenched the door across. Stan Togashi was hopping about the room trying to put his leg through his trousers. River had thrown on a large jumper but it was clear that she was wearing little else. “Get your stuff and be gone,” Mal shouted at Stan. “No need to be grumpy,” said River. “I don’t pay you to be sexin’ it up with your boyfriend when we’re about to take off,” he continued. “You’re just jealous,” she shouted back. Mal grabbed Stan, who had finally managed to do up his trousers, and toed him out of the room by the scruff of his neck. Once in the cargo bay, he let go. Stan was more than a little angry himself. “There’s no need to get so worked up. We weren’t doin’ nothin’ that ain’t natural.” Mal opened the back door. “You want on my ship again, you ask my permission. Next time we’ll be airborne when I throw you out.” “Understood, Captain Reynolds,” retorted Stan through his teeth. He looked back at River and cheekily blew her a kiss before walking out of the ship. Mal shut the door and then got on the comm.. telling Bane to take off. River looked dangerously close to snapping. “That wasn’t necessary,” she said. Mal started to walk up the stairs. “Maybe I should ask you brother whether he would think it necessary.” “I’m not a little girl anymore.” “Then stop acting like one.” ~ * ~ There was little choice in bunks, there being only two spare, but Esper chose the higher one so that Abe did not have to climb up and down all the time. The bunk room of the Rosalyn was the centre of activity, just like the galley was on Serenity. It took a while for them both to get used to the noise. “Here’s something for you – from Jayne,” Abe said, handing over the small hand-made package. Esper opened her mouth in surprise. “When did he give this to you?” “This morning.” Esper climbed up to her bed and opened it. Inside there was a letter and another smaller package. She opened the letter and experienced Jayne’s atrocious handwriting and imaginative grammer: Espa, Thiss is my 1st letter to you to show that I mean to start well by continyouing the habite. The last fewe weeks have been the beste of my life. I even dint mind getting shott all that much. I used to have rules when it came to women which included no kissing and no virgins but I guess you’re worth the breaking of them cuz I barely hesitated. I ain’t accustomed to writting no love letters – I dont have the learning for it. You take my breathe away, Esparanzza Pedrosa, and I ain’t afraid of saying it no more. Long as you’ll have me, I’m yours. On account of not having the learning to write you something decent, I asket to borrow Abe’s book with the poetry. I was rite embarrissed about it two, but I reckon the old coot undastood. He ain’t seen thiss letter but he suggested some of them poet writers so that I might find the right thing. This sertainly couldn’t be read out in churche, but I reckon these words describe the way I feel best. If you tell anyone elsse I wrote it down for you I’ll deny it. Woman who wrote it was called Ella Wheeler Wilcox and it’s called Surrender, which it pretty fitting two. She wrote some mytee fine stuff about sexin and the like, which gave me all sorts of ideas – copied out a few others to keep me going, but this one was the shiniest: Love, when we met, ‘twas like two planets meeting. Strange chaos followed; body, soul, and heart Seemed shaken, thrilled and startled by that greeting. Old ties, old dreams, old aims, all torn apart And wrenched away, left nothing there the while But the great shining glory of your smile. The other package is for you too cuz I think its important to remember the past but not live in it. I hope you will writte in return. Your troublemakker Jayne “Everything all right, my dear?” said Abe looking concerned at his daughter’s tears. Esper sniffed and brushed at her eyes. “Man says he can’t write a love letter. That’s just about the most beautiful thing I’ve ever read.” “What’s in the other package?” Abe asked, already knowing. Esper placed the letter reverently on the bed cover and untied the other small package. She gasped as it slid out into her hands. It was her rings, the ones she had worn on her hand for years, but they were now welded to a smaller chains to form a necklace. “It’s the boys,” she whispered barely able to the speak. “And Carmen,” said Abe, a lump in his own throat. Esper looked at him confused and he explained. “The smaller chain used to be Carmen’s necklace, the one I gave her on our wedding.” He stepped up the ladder to take a closer look. “That’s real fine work he’s done on that, I wonder when he had the time.”