One good day

By Charlotte Summers

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Author's note: Thank you for the sweet comments on the first chapter - it's nice to hear the story is well-received!

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Chapter two ‘Stories’

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Jayne took a liking to the polishing of his guns. He did it often, and he did it with care. Oh, he loved women just as much as the next bloke – maybe even more – but no woman could ever compare to his Vera.

At the other side of the table in the dining area, on which Jayne had laid out all his favorites, Zoe, Kaylee, Simon and River were engaged in a card game. It was rare for Jayne not to join in on a game when there was money to be made, but he had taken an instant disliking to it when that crazy person joined. He just couldn’t stand listening to any of River’s nonsense, felt it would distract him from the game. Turns out he’d made the right decision. At first, it seemed River was totally off it once more and had no idea what she was doing, but the situation had soon proved to be otherwise: come third round, River suddenly seemed to no longer be ‘confused’ and started winning every single round. Simon explained it had always been like that with games that weren’t based on luck but skill.

“What do you guys think of Bela?” Kaylee asked, looking at her cards thoughtfully.

“Haven’t talked to her,” Zoe replied simply, wearing a poker face.

“I have,” Simon said, laying down a card that made River smile for some reason he couldn’t figure out. “She was very nice. Had a sense of humor. She was very eager to come aboard, very enthusiastic.”

“Until she finds out what it is we do,” Kaylee muttered a little disappointedly. “I mean, I talked to her a bit, she told me she was a writer. How shiny is that? Ain’t nothing like what we do to make a living.”

“Fay-fay d’pian”, Zoe said.

“What?”

“Big fat lie. She ain’t no writer.”

“Don’t care what she is,” Jayne muttered from the other end of the table. “Can be some bounty hunter for all I care-”

“I don’t very much like that idea,” Simon commented honestly.

“-‘cos she looks fine enough to me,” Jayne finished with such intonation the crew knew better than to respond to this.

“Still, why would she be no writer?” Kaylee asked sadly, disappointed the new passenger she seemed to like turned out to be a liar, according to Zoe.

“Saying she’s a writer only shows she’s good at telling stories,” Zoe expressed her opinion, ignoring a thoughtful glance from River who silently seemed to be winning this round as well. “Probably not the honest kind. She’s full of crap.”

“Who now?” Mal asked, entering the dining area and patting River on the head along the way, before sitting down next to her brother. “Don’t cheat,” he said to the young girl, causing her to smile a little and Simon to look surprised.

“Bela Crowe,” Zoe explained. “Let me rephrase that. She ain’t full of crap. Her story is full of crap. No way she’s a writer.”

“Right about that,” Mal agreed simply, awarding himself an offended look from Kaylee.

“But Cap-”

“Well she don’t seem no poorer than any of us, and there’s no way anyone can make an honest living being writer anymore these days.”

“Unless she’s got some wealthy family back at one of the central planets to support her needs,” Jayne commented, then broke into a grin and muttered to himself, “God knows I’d like to support her needs.”

Mal, who seemed to be the only who’d heard this, looked a little disgusted. He turned to Simon. “I think we can judge from the look on the doctor’s face she ain’t no person coming from a wealthy family. So with the money she should make – none – she most definitely can’t afford a trip aboard a spaceship for unsaid period of time.”

Kaylee looked a little annoyed. “So you all is thinking she’s a liar, then.”

“Big damn liar,” Zoe confirmed.

“But that don’t exactly set her apart from most of us,” Mal said lightly, and he gazed off. “So who are we to judge her?”

* * *

He was a middle-aged, married man, but what could he say? Wash loved his dinosaurs.

“Spread out, and conquer all!” He moved the T-Rex across the frame, the dials, the buttons, until it reached one of the displays.

“Yes, we will make This Land ours again – but what is this, a lake? What powerful force created this water overnight?” He plunged the T-Rex onto the display.

“Oh no, it’s a trap, I’m drowning, I’m drowning!” he added with extra drama in his voice, and pulled up the other dinosaur.

“Yes, ha, ha, this is payback, for your sudden but inevitable betrayal of my father, years ago!”

“No – wait, I have to tell you something,” he put the T-Rex back on its feet, facing the other dinosaur. “I… I am your father.”

“Now that’s just overdoing it,” a voice sounded from behind Wash. The pilot gave a small yell of surprise and spun around his chair. Bela was leaning against the doorframe, smiling amused and slightly viciously.

“Oh. You. I was just – I was…”

“Conquering some land,” Bela said lightly, walking in and sitting down next to Wash. “We all get that urge some time.”

She took one of the dinosaurs in her hand and stared out the window, at the black sky, filled with stars. Bela smiled. “I love this,” she said, tilting her head. “The open sky. I love looking into space, it makes me feel so small and insignificant - but not in a bad way, more like I’m part of something much greater. And at the same time it makes me feel like I’m standing at the edge of the ‘verse and that I can do whatever I want, go wherever I wanna go.”

“I share that feeling,” Wash said, fiddling with some dials. “I became a pilot because I wanted to see the sky. What I love about it so much now is that there’s no limit, I can go wherever I want. Of course there’s the exception of Reaver territory.” He unnecessarily pointed out the window for effect. “Somehow that, too, makes me feel small and insignificant, but not a good way.”

Bela grinned, handing him back the dinosaur. “Very much true. Where are we headin’?”

“Beylix,” Wash announced not with his most enthusiastic voice. “It’s not far from here, actually. Small border moon. Low security, often used for smuggling and the like… Captain thought it might be a good place to find a job.”

Bela raised her eyebrows. “And what might that be?”

Wash looked at her and immediately looked very uneasy with himself, for what he’d said. “Ah, I uh – well, it’s-”

“Don’t fret,” Bela smirked, patting him on the arm. “You’re not in trouble. I have heard of ‘Captain Malcolm Reynolds’ and how he and his crew make their money.” Wash deadpanned.

“Thieving,” Bela said half-asking. “It’s no big deal.”

The brunette shrugged and went back to staring out the window, leaving Wash a little surprised and unsure how to respond to her very much non-bothered attitude. Even if she didn’t care about their business, it would seem she’d feel affected by it somehow.

After a short silence, Wash slowly asked, “Shouldn’t you be back in the dining area with all the others, getting to know them a bit? Instead of hiding out here with a handsome pilot on the bridge?”

Bela smiled lopsided and tilted her head in a very River-like fashion. “Frankly, I think they were still too busy discussing me behind my back.”

“She said, in no way whatsoever bothered or reproaching about that at all,” Wash said, furrowing his brow.

Bela gave a one-shouldered shrug and smiled unconcernedly. “That’s because I’m not. After all, just like everyone else, they are entitled to forming an opinion about me without even having spoken to me, right?”

Wash grinned. He enjoyed his conversation with her, she seemed nice enough. He would be happy with any new passenger just to fill up the emptiness Inara and the Shepherd had left behind on Serenity and in the crew’s hearts – no matter how lame that sounded – and he was even happier that person turned out to be Bela. She seemed like someone who would fit in nicely here, if nobody was looking at her to be the next Book or Inara, and wu de tyen ah, she sure as hell was a lot nicer to have on board than, for example, undercover Alliance lawman Dobson.

Later, as Bela got up to leave, she ran into Zoe on her way out. The taller woman quickly glanced from Bela to her husband, then back to Bela, but she merely rather forcefully smiled and stepped aside to let her through. Bela hurried to the dining area where she found Mal and Jayne at the table, the latter still polishing his guns.

“Hey there,” Mal said, looking at Bela as she sat down opposite him. “What have you been up to?”

“Talking to Wash on the bridge,” Bela replied, grabbing some lint on the sleeve of her shirt between her fingers and letting it whirl down to the ground. “He’s nice, I like him. Reminds me of someone I know.” She looked up at Mal, slightly frowning. “Zoe seemed a bit offensive, though… when she walked in, on the bridge, when I was just leaving. Although she was looking more offensive towards Wash than me. I sure hope she didn’t get the wrong impression,” Bela expressed her concern and seemed sincere in it.

“Don’t worry, they got issues,” Jayne commented, not looking up from the gun in his hands.

Mal looked at him sternly. “Which are none of Bela’s or your concern,” he said clearly.

“Whatever,” Jayne grunted. “I’m getting hungry. What time is it?”

As if on cue, Bela jumped up from her seat, Mal looking at her a bit surprised. “Oh – I can make dinner. If you like,” she said to him. “I like cooking and I’m not real bad at it either. Besides, won’t the others appreciate it, maybe? Me being new and all.”

Mal looked at her as she crossed over to the kitchen, half-surprised and half-appreciative. "That, they might.”

“So I heard we’re heading for Beylix. For a job.” She glanced up at Mal. “Thieving, right?”

He didn’t stretch a muscle. “You got a problem with that, miss?”

“Not at all,” Bela replied casually. “Reason I’m inquiring is because my finances have seen better days. So if there’s any way I can help and by doing that, get my own cut of the paycheck, that’d be just shiny,” she finished with smile.

Mal felt a little speechless, and Jayne was looking at her as if he’d jump her right that instant. Before any of them could respond to this, she called back to Jayne from behind the counter. “By the way, nice gun. Le Mat revolver from 1860, right? With a barrel shroud.”

Mal got himself together but his brow furrowed a little. “And may I inquire as to how a poor writer, willing to engage in crime just to make a living, knows so much about guns?”

Bela simply shrugged. “Daddy liked hunting. Oh, and Captain?” She looked up, smile faded, just batting her lashes, and she shot him a warning look. “Don’t call me ‘miss’.”