BLUE SUN ROOM FAN FICTION - GENERAL

BADKARMA00

Inferno – Chapter Three
Thursday, December 20, 2007

Jayne can't catch a break


CATEGORY: FICTION    TIMES READ: 2136    RATING: 9    SERIES: FIREFLY

Inferno – Chapter Three No claims of ownership do I make, no money for my stories do I take. ------------------- “What is troubling you, Sean?” River asked as she stretched out on top of him. They were still hurtling toward the refueling station as fast as they could go. Goldie and Zoe were on the bridge, taking the watch, while the rest of the crew got some rack time. “What makes you think anything’s troubling me?” Jayne asked, his face the picture of innocence. River smirked at him, tapping her temple with one delicate finger. “Right,” Jayne muttered. “I’m just keyed up, that’s all, Angel. This could be a really ugly deal before it’s finished.” “Yes,” she nodded, laying her head on his chest. “I know. But that’s not all that bothers you. Is it?” Jayne sighed. No use trying to hide something from a reader, was there? “I’m just tired,” he said finally. “I’m tired of trying to convince Mal and Zoe they can trust me. I’m sick of the way they just assume, after all this time, that I’m going to do, or say, something wrong.” He stroked her hair softly. “I’ve worked so hard, you know? Made an honest effort, and even Inara says she’s more than happy with all I’ve accomplished. But those two? Mal will never trust me, and since he and Zoe basically share a brain, neither will she.” River giggled at that, and Jayne frowned. “I’m serious,” he told her. River raised her head to look at him. “I know, ai ren,” she told him softly. “I was laughing at the image of Baba and Zoe sharing a brain.” He chuckled too, unable to resist her smile. “Well, it seems like it, you have to admit.” “They have shared much,” River agreed. “And that has led them to look at many things in the same way. But I think you worry over nothing, Sean. Mal trusts you, and so does Zoe.” “You’d have a hard time proving that to me,” Jayne told her flatly. “I know he was het up over that deal with Zhang, but since then, I’ve toed his line to the letter. Even to the point that it almost cost me you, which I am not going to let happen again.” “Give it time, Sean,” River urged, snuggling down closer to him. “Time heals all things.” ----------------------- “Ma’am, dinners ready,” John called over the com. Inara reached up to hit the com in her shuttle. “Thank you, John,” she called. “I’ll be there in just a moment.” Inara shut off the com, and stood. Since taking on the pilot duties aboard Serenity, she’d dispensed with her skirts and dresses, opting for pants, and button shirts. She casually placed her hand on her hip, feeling the reassuring hardness of the small pistol Jayne had bought Mal. She didn’t know these men, and while Harwell assured Mal they were trustworthy, she didn’t intend to take any chances. Satisfied that it didn’t show, she started to dinner. She had corned Holly earlier, and worked out a schedule with him. They would share the watch duties until the others were more familiar with the ship. It would put a strain on the two of them, to be sure, but it was only three days to Astra. They’d lay over the night on planet, then start back the next day. Until they were back on Argo, however, she didn’t intend to let either of the three men loaned them by Harwell have a chance to do anything. “Evening, Ma’am,” all three chorused as she entered the dining room. “Please, gentlemen, it’s just Inara,” she smiled, and Hollins hid a grin as she worked her magic on them. He’d been dazzled by that smile himself, when he’d first hired on. He had gained the woman’s trust, through hard work and honesty. They’d have to do the same. “Yes, ma’am,” all three mumbled, taking their seats. As they dug into their meal, one of the new men, Pete, spoke up. “Ma’am, reckon we ain’t never said thank you for what ya’ll done for us. Not for you folks, we’d like as not be out of a job. We’re obliged to you, all of you, for that.” The others nodded in agreement. “Well, I’m glad it worked out as well as it did,” Inara smiled. “Losing Ami was a hard blow, but it could have been worse, as hard as that is to say.” It almost had been worse. Even now, Inara shuddered to think how much worse it might have been, had River died. Jayne would likely have never stopped. “Will we be staying over, on Astra, Ma’am?” Willie asked. “Probably over night,” Inara nodded. “Is that okay?” “Oh, yes ma’am!” Willie nodded. “I was. . .well, I was hoping it would be okay to. . .well to be off ship a little while. Don’t get a chance to get to Astra much.” “Of course it is,” Inara nodded. “So long as we’ve got our work done, there’s nothing to stop you from having a good time. Just make sure you’re back on board in the morning,” she added with a grin. “Will do, ma’am. . .Inara,” he corrected at her mock frown. “Holly, do you have your list of what we need to replace what went with Companion?” she asked a few minutes later. “Yes ma’am,” he grinned. “Won’t take long to fill. Like as not, I can get everything at One Eye’s.” “Okay,” Inara nodded. “Make sure we see to that, before everyone goes out on the town, fellas, okay?” “Yes ma’am,” another chorus answered her. Maybe I’m too paranoid, Inara thought. But that never hurt anyone, did it? She resolved to follow her original plan anyway. Just to be safe. -------------------- “We’re about one hour out, Zoe,” River called over the com. “Might want to call ahead.” “On my way,” Zoe replied over the com, and headed to the bridge. “Tell’em I said hi,” Goldie threw at her back, and Zoe grinned. Goldie could find a joke in almost anything. A few minutes later, Zoe wasn’t smiling. “I’m sorry, Captain,” the face on the cortex screen was saying. “We’re backlogged about ten hours, right now. We’re trying to get things caught up, but there’s a great deal of traffic, what with the commotion over Aberdeen way.” “We’re on our way to Aberdeen,” Zoe said. “We’re kinda on a tight schedule.” “We’ll do what we can, Captain,” the harried looking man assured her. “But be prepared for a delay.” “All right,” Zoe said reluctantly, and shut off the screen, breaking the connection. “It’s not as bad as it might have been,” River supplied quietly. “We’ll still make good time.” “It’s ten hours, wasted, though,” Zoe replied. “We’ll do what we can.” ------------------ At least they were able to dock. River gently guided the ship into an open bay, and sat her down. The station was set up to service ships of all classes, but transports such as Companion could fit inside the monstrous complex, unlike some of the behemoth ships being fueled in vacuum. “We’ll be here a while,” Zoe informed the crew. “Anyone leaves the ship, takes a com unit. If we get a break, I don’t want to be looking for anyone.” Jayne slipped away silently, headed off the ship. He looked around the cavernous bay area, finally finding what he wanted. He walked over to a technician, noting that the man looked like he’d been awake a long time. “Evening,” he said casually. The man looked at him. “Long one at that,” he agreed. “What can I do for you?” “I understand there’s a backlog?” Jayne asked. The man nodded. “Almost eleven hours, right now.” “I don’t suppose we can come to an arrangement of some sort, can we?” Jayne asked politely, slipping a fifty platinum coin into the man’s hand. The man looked at the coin, then at Jayne, frowning. “Look,” Jayne told him. “We’re trying to get to Aberdeen. Our engineer’s family lives there, and they’re all gathered in one place, waiting on us to get there and lift them out. We also got a doc, and a buncha medical stuff, hoping we can help some of the folks still there.” “That’s why we’re in a hurry,” he finished. “You gonna rescue’em all?” the man snorted. Jayne shook his head. “You know better than that,” he said amiably. “We might get seventy-five, maybe even a hundred folks on board. But it’s something. And it’s family.” The man considered Jayne carefully for a moment. In truth, the coin meant little. But if the big man’s story was true. . . “I’ll be done with this rig,” he pointed to the ship currently fueling, “in two hours. You’ll be next. Best I can do,” he added. “It’s better than we had,” Jayne smiled. “I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” He shook hands with the man, and turned to leave. “Friend?” Jayne turned back. “If you’re headed to Aberdeen looking to help folks, then there’s something you oughta know.” ---------------------- “I understand our new Sheriff got himself into a bar fight the night before he took over his new duties.” Braz Guilford looked up from his lunch to see Harmon Fuller standing by his table. “How are you, Harm?” Guilford smiled. “Take a chair. And yes, he and his crew did find themselves a little taste, night before the wedding. Seems they were having a drink, toasting the groom, and someone took offense.” “That’s not how I heard it,” Fuller replied, sitting down across from Guilford. “Oh?” Guilford asked. “I heard that Reynolds started the fight,” Fuller said pointedly. “Well, you know how talk is,” Guilford smiled. “Truth is, Reynolds apologized to the man for their party disturbing him, and offered him a drink as a sign of peace. The man slapped the drink into the floor, and one of Reynolds’ crew mistook that for a sign of impending danger, and struck the man.” “After that, it was pretty much a free for all,” Guilford chuckled. “Even our young Doctor had a black eye.” “I don’t see this as funny, Braz,” Fuller said sharply. “That is not the kind of behavior we need from our sheriff!” “We don’t need him taking bribes and payoff’s from every crook in the parish either,” Guilford’s good humor evaporated. “We need a man that will fight, when needed. I spoke to the owner of the bar, myself, this morning, and got the story straight from him. Reynolds was not at fault. So put your mind at ease, and join me for some of this wonderful meatloaf.” “I hope this doesn’t backfire on you, Braz,” Fuller said, standing. “I’m meeting someone for lunch, thanks, but perhaps we can get together later on in the week?” -------------- “We’re next for fuel,” Jayne announced quietly. No one had offered to leave the ship, most taking the time to simply relax. Kaylee was in the engine room, making sure that the hard burn hadn’t caused any undue strain on the ship. Simon was with her. Greggs was asleep. “What?” Zoe looked up sharply. “I had a word with the tech,” Jayne told her. “We’re next. Be about two hours. After he gets done with the one next to us.” “What did you do, Jayne?” Zoe demanded, and River noticed Jayne tense. “I slipped him a fifty, and told him what we were doing,” he explained. “He said he’d get us next.” “You bribed him?” Zoe was incredulous. “I tipped him,” Jayne stressed the word. “They’ve been working straight through, there’s so much traffic. Never hurts to let someone know you appreciate good service.” River smiled at that. Jayne had, indeed, come a long way. “He also told me that several ships were through here yesterday that he didn’t much like the look of,” Jayne went on. “All headed for Aberdeen, or so they said.” “What kind of ships?” Zoe demanded, still undecided about whether to be angry or not at Jayne. “Slavers,” Jayne said quietly. “And pirates. Some of both.” “Slavers?” Goldie asked, eyebrows raised. “Perfect set-up,” Jayne nodded. “Planet’s had a disaster, been hit by reavers, folks will be missing everywhere. Like as not, never be found. Slaver ship slips in, takes a load, and slips out, and no one the wiser.” “Same for the pirates,” he continued, face hard. “No order left, people scrambling for a way off world. Easy pickings for vultures like that.” “And you believe him?” Zoe asked. “He’s got no reason to lie,” Jayne shrugged. “And he didn’t tell me until after we’d made our. . .arrangement. Almost as an afterthought.” “You don’t make arrangements for this ship, Jayne,” Zoe said bluntly, and Jayne’s face hardened. “I do.” “Well, I’ll just trot out there, get my money back, and we can sit here eleven hours instead of two then, you want.” River winced at the anger rolling off of Jayne, but stayed silent. “Jayne, I got enough troubles without you sulking,” Zoe said, almost hotly, and Jayne stood, abruptly. So abruptly that everyone, including River, and Zoe, started. “Well, I’ll go and sit in my room, then, Captain,” he said icily. “If you need me, you can call me.” He walked from the room quietly, rather than stomp away, a sure sign he was angry. “Um, Zoe?” Goldie said quietly. “What is it, exactly, that he did that set you off?” “He went and made his arrangement without clearing it with me!” Zoe retorted. “Perhaps Zhang fu was right,” River said sadly, rising from her seat to follow Jayne. “Perhaps you and Baba really do share a brain.” River ignored the look on Zoe’s face as she stalked to the bunk she and Jayne now shared. She could hear Goldie and Zoe in the background. “I run this ship!” Zoe was saying. “I haven’t heard anyone say different, Zoe,” Goldie told her. “But the kid was trying to help, did help, and you just whipped on him for it.” “You have to keep a tight rein on him,” Zoe replied. “If you don’t, things happen.” “Like getting fuel in two hours instead of eleven,” Goldie nodded. “I can see why you’re upset with him. I mean the very idea. . .” “I don’t need your humor right now,” Zoe warned, and Goldie looked at her closely. “I’d say you do,” he told her calmly. “You’re wound up over this, and took it out on the kid. Captain or no, that’s wrong, Zoe. And you’re smart enough to know that.” The last thing River saw before climbing down into the bunk was Goldie limping away, heading toward the engine room. She descended into the bunk, seeing Jayne laying on their bed. She closed the door, and walked softly over to him. “Are you okay?” she asked, sitting down beside him, and rubbing his back gently. “Sure,” he snorted. “It ain’t nothing new, Angel. Get used to it, after a while. Like I said, they don’t trust me, even now.” He rolled over, and she lay down next to him, resting her head on his chest. “You trust me, though,” he said, and she nodded. “That’s enough for me.” “I’m sorry, Sean,” River whispered after a minute, and he stopped stroking her hair. “For what?” he demanded. “You’re always apologizing for things you ain’t got nothing to do with, girl. You gotta stop that.” “I just meant that I’m sorry it’s this way,” she punched him lightly in the stomach. “You deserve better.” “I got better, right here,” he told her, and kissed the top of her head. “And I got better waiting for me, at home.” She lifted her head. “What do you mean?” “I mean that I think this is my last trip for Reynolds’ Shipping,” he told her bluntly. “We got a ranch now, baby, and I think I’m gonna be a rancher from now on.” “You would leave?” she gasped, eyes wide. “Leave?” he asked. “You mean leave you? Of course not! But I will leave them,” he laughed, but there was little humor in it. “I’m tired of this, baby. I can’t win, and there’s no reason to beat my head to a bloody pulp trying. I’ll raise cows.” “What about me?” River asked, fear in her eyes. “What do you mean, what about you?” Jayne asked her. “Baby, I’ll still be there.” “Do you want me to quit?” she asked pointedly. He kissed her. “Not unless you want to,” he told her softly. “I’d never ask you to quit flying, sweetheart. It means too much to you. Besides that, I want you to be happy. I want you to do what you want.” “I want to be with you,” River said simply, snuggling closer. “Tell me what to do.” “I won’t,” Jayne replied at once. “That’s your decision, Angel-mine.” “We’re married now, Sean,” River pointed out. “We make decisions together. That’s what married people do.” “Is it?” Jayne asked. “Well, I guess that means I should have asked you what you thought about me maybe quittin’, then, shouldn’t I?” “Yes,” she giggled. “You should have.” “Okay then,” he smiled up at the ceiling. “River, honey, I was thinking I might give up this life of crime, and work our new ranch, instead. What do you think of the idea, sweetums?” “I think you should do what makes you happy,” River answered at once. “And I will do whatever you do.” “Now wait a minute,” Jayne objected. “That doesn’t sound like us making a decision. That sounds more like you going along with whatever I decide.” “It does?” she asked mischievously. “I didn’t think it did.” “Tell you what,” he told her, reaching down to wrap both arms around her lithe form. “What say we postpone this little, decision, until we get this trip outta the way. Meantime, we should come up with some way to spend all this free time we got.” “What did you have in mind?”

COMMENTS

Friday, December 21, 2007 7:12 AM

KIMBER


I'm really loving this! I'm glad Inara is getting on well with the boys of course, every man would be dazzled by her smile - makes Mal a jealous man ;) I wonder how Mal feels when it's Inara that's in the black and him that has to stay dirt-side... I'm glad River is reminding Jayne that married people make choices together... I really love them!

Keep flying ;)

Friday, December 21, 2007 1:11 PM

AMDOBELL


I'm glad Goldie set Zoe straight, it is not like her to over react so much but maybe playing at Captain isn't the right hat for her to be wearing. Taking her out of her comfort zone and into a pile of not happy. Also looks like trouble is brewing for Mal. Stands to reason that the crooked lawmen and their cronies would be upset the moment an honest man stepped into the job. Don't like him being stuck landside as Sheriff, he belongs on Serenity. Ali D
You can't take the sky from me


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