Angelle is mine, the rest is Joss's. --------------------------------------------

Tempers...some call it the fuse before the dynamite or the red in front of the bull. All I know is I have a vicious one, courtesy of my father and right now, Mal's Companion was gettin' on my last nerve.

"I can't believe he's still telling me what to do. Like he owns me." 'Nara stomped through her shuttle tossing garments into a large suitcase as I sat listening intently on a leather stool. "Be glad he doesn't try to run your life."

"My father does that just fine." I muttered before she began to rant again. Mostly, it was about the same thing. How could the captain run her life when he wasn't very good at taking care of his own? God, I remember that fight, though it was a bit different with me. He was my father and surprisingly, he did know best.

"Are you even listening?" 'Nara's voice woke me from my trance and I looked up at her. She was beautiful and could even be nice, but right now, I wanted to wring her neck. Not that that I would. It's the assassin in me, I promise.

"Mal ain't that bad. He's just lookin' out for you."

"OH MY GOD!! He has gotten to you, too. I can't believe this. The whole ship is against me. Kaylee hates the fact I'm going to see Atherton and now, even the one who I figured wouldn't be under his spell yet, would take my side."

"Relax. I agree that you need to make the choice as to who you see, but I can also see Mal's point. He doesn't want you in danger and maybe he's plain tired of savin' your ass." Okay, I admit, the last part might just have been slightly insensitive, but please. I have been sitting in the same chair listening to this woman rant for three hours now. My left butt cheek had all, but fallen off and my right might as well 've.

"Of course, you would take his side. You backwater mud slingin' girls are all alike. He bats his eyes and acts like he gives a damn and you all just swoon."

"What did you call me?" I stood and my body immediately woke, though my backside was tingling like it had been spank a few times. Any takers?

"Please. Your planet isn't like the city or like civilization. I bet you all still deal with your problems like Mal does. Shoot first, ask questions later."

My hand was on the knife at my side, but I controlled myself. She could insult my upbringing, it would eventually bite her in the ass, and she could insult me. I had gotten use to city dwellers thinkin' we were nothing more than swamp rats. Hell, she could insult Mal. It had been what she was doing for the last three hours as I tried hard to plead his case to her and that of the crew's before she became like this.

"I'm not that polite." I growled. "We backwater folk don't ask questions. It's what gets you dead." "I suppose your dad taught you that as well. You poor thing havin' to be raised by some barbarian."

My knife was at her neck before I could even register that it had fallen into my hand. Its fairly sharp blade glistened off her golden skin as I could feel her breath catch in her throat. I growled as I spoke. "Don't you EVER insult my daddy to my face."

I heard the hammer being pulled back on a gun behind me and Mal's voice calmly speak. "Move the knife, Angelle. Don't wanna have to call your daddy tellin' him I shot you."

I didn't acknowledge him at first, but instead, let the knife fall to my side, not moving from her face. "I have respected you since I got on this boat. There are names for what you are where I come from, that make the word 'whore' look down right pretty, but my Barbarian of a daddy taught me better than that. Maybe you think you are all that with your fancy gowns and sophisticated ways, but I am here to tell you...I have been in those circles, I have socialized with those people, and damn it, I did it all with my clothes still on."

With that, I turned watching Mal's gun follow me out. Would he shoot? I didn't care if he did, I had just learned why I worked alone and why I flew on ships where I wouldn't be tempted to socialize. "Oh, and one other thing, he does what he does because he cares, so maybe you need to rethink what you say about him. Ain't many that do, anymore." My feet carried me out and as the doorway closed behind me, I fell to the ground in tears.

* * * *

“I could of killed you.” I knew it was Mal's voice, but as I sat with my head buried in my arms, I secretly wished it was dad.

“I know. I appreciate that you didn't.” My legs swung as I held tight to the rails that ran along the catwalk, where I had chose to sit. It wasn't Betsy Lou, but I had learned one thing about vehicles. They didn't judge.

“Care to tell me just what happened in there? Can't have dangerous people on my ship.”

“I wouldn't have killed her. She's your crew and maybe something more. I could never kill something you care about.” I turned to him, my swollen eyes sore from tears. “She insulted you, my heritage, my planet, hell, I was surprised she didn't tear into my dog, but then she doesn't know I have one. I was fine with it. Figured she was mad and I was the closest thing for her to take it out on, but then...then, she insulted my dad. That don't fly and my temper got the best of me.” I pulled the knife from my pocket and handed it to him. “Serves me right for carrying it. So, which way to the brig?”

“Should make you call your dad.” He looked at me. “You need to stay away from Inara until Persephone and you put another foot out of line, Angelle and I will bury you.” He looked at me and I saw the Sargent my daddy talked about all those years. “My crew comes first and even though, she said all those things, you need to control. Now, I won't tell the crew what happened tonight, but I can't say the same for 'Nara. The only reason you ain't off this ship is because of your daddy and the fact that what she said would have made anyone want to threaten her. Inara means well and sometimes in a ship like this, we get a little stressed. We don't go throwing around knives and the such.”

“That's why I should have picked a different ship.” I frowned. “It's also the reason I don't get attached to anyone outside of my planet. Too many opinions and not enough fact.”

“I know it's hard for you.”

“Hard for me?! Like it was hard for you to toss that punch when Atherton called your 'Nara a whore. The way I see it, we are no different. I didn't know 'Nara and she all, but called my family inbred and you didn't know Atherton. Seems like we both were defending what's ours.”

“But, you are on my ship. That's the difference.”

“So if I wasn't, then what I did would have been okay?” “If we weren't on this ship, Angelle, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Your dad and I would.” Those blue eyes of his held anger, but also something else, something I just couldn't read.

“Mal, I truly am sorry that I lost my temper, but I can't tell you if I had to do it all over, that it wouldn't have gone down the same way. Your crew and your ship are your life. My family's mine, everyone in my village. It's the only thing I have to defend and damn it, I'll die for that honor. My dad might say what I did was wrong, at least how I handled it, but you tell me...if it was your crew on the chopping block, would you have done any different?”

He sat for a second, both of us in complete silence before I felt a warm hand on my leg. It rested there not moving as I placed mine on top. “A gun.” “What?” I asked.

“I would've used a gun. Not one for knives, take too long.” He smiled at me, very slightly and I merely smiled back before looking back out across Serenity's cargo bay. “Not another foot, Angelle.”

“Aye yi, Captain Reynolds. Aye yi.”

* * * *

“Now if he gives you any trouble, don't fret to call.” Kaylee was in tears as Inara said goodbye. “You don't let that no good call you any names.”

“Relax, Kaylee. I won't.” She smiled and hugged the worried girl looking at me as she did. We hadn't spoke since the incident and I kept my word and stayed away from her. Mostly, I had been in my room, reading and teaching River how to swamp dance. Girl has talent coming out her ears and about an hour of watching me and she had the entire thing down pat. Would be fun to have a dance partner once I was home.

“Make sure Atherton treats you right.” Mal muttered through clenched teeth, knowing full well he wanted to stop her.

“I will and I have the shuttle's com link if I need anything. You be careful, too.” I could see the tension, but was it my imagination that it wasn't as sexual as it usually was?

“Inara.” My mouth spoke before I realized I was talking. “I'm sorry for what happened.” Maybe I figured I would never see her again. After all, who said I would leave with Serenity when they left my home world. I just wanted closure.

“You're forgiven.” She whispered it, as would a young woman with a deep secret and I knew she hadn't said a word to anyone else. “We were both mad.”

I nodded at her as the beautiful Companion walked into her shuttle, but not before embracing Kaylee one last time. The door shut behind her as Mal turned to me. “You didn't have to do that.”

“Yes, I did. Not for you or my father or even her....I did for me.” We shared a look of understanding as we felt the shuttle disembark.

“So are you ready to go home?” Mal whispered close to my ear, sending chills down my spine.

“Home.” The word rolled off my tongue as I envisioned my father, my family, my Mud Mule, and about eighty Alliance ships. It was time to feed those gators.