Life (hopefully) Onboard Serenity: The Pain Man Returneth by DRPAIN

Sammy was lying on the catwalk, the way River used to do, if she could have remembered the way the River used to do it.

She hated it here.
She didn't even know why. Some part of her tried to remind her how it had once been her family, her home. She'd fought and loved, and shared with these people.

Kaylee and Simon hardly looked up from each other, making up for lost time. Zoe's eyes were dark, stoic. She'd stopped laughing when Wash died. Shepherd Book's voice was gone from Sammy's memories, but some part of her longed to hear it again.

This place was a trap. A cage. An empty hole.

Some old song was running through her mind, something about painting, and shades of grey. She hummed it as she lay there, looking up.

"Ertia." Mal's voice. He was standing over her and she pulled herself up.

"Gotta talk, bao bei."

"I don't want to talk." She met his gaze tiredly as she sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the catwalk to kick her feet.

"Too bad." This was The Captain, The Sergeant; "Because I've had enough of your moping around here like the worlds ending."

"World didn't end." She glanced over as he dropped down to sit beside her. "Just feels like it did."

"Pain's coming home." He said it quickly, without preamble.

Pain. A shiver ran through her. "I don't want to see him."

"Too gorram bad." Mal growled, reached out to shake her shoulder, "You're going to see him, and maybe you'll remember everything. Maybe not. But it's time you started living again."

As he stood up and walked away, she remembered, the words, somehow and sang quietly to the empty cargo bay...

"Starry, starry night.
Paint your palette blue and grey,
Look out on a summer's day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul."

("Vincent" Don Maclean)

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Friday, March 30, 2007 9:16 AM

Onboard Reggie's ship - Cargo Bay

Pain, Fly, and Annabelle were getting things packed into bags as they waited to dock with Serenity, which was still four hours away.

"Annabelle sweety, do you remember what I said about the one called Jayne?" Pain asked his daughter as he put some clothes in a duffle bag.

Annabelle smiled and replied "If he says or does anything bad, I kick him in the shins."

"That's correct, bao bei." replied Pain, ruffling the girls hair with one of his hands. Turning to Fly, Pain said "You sure you're not stayin' onboard Serenity, Fly?"

Fly gave the man a smile, then said "I'll stay for a few hours, chat with friends, perhaps sit down and eat some chow, but I'll be goin' back to Reggie's ship before we leave."

"Well I ain't goin' to twist your arm then, Fly. Just promise to wave often and try not to get shot, dong ma?" replied Pain, flashing Fly a smile.

Fly smiled back and said "I promise, Pain. You're such a worrywort."

Pain stuck out his tongue at Fly and went to help his daughter pack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WWJD: What Would Jayne Do?

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Friday, March 30, 2007 4:49 PM

Yeah new thread

John loved Serenity. He had seen her crew come together after a time of loss and anguish. The emptyness of the destroyed Haven. The sense of relief from River on Miranda. The feeling of fear and sorrow as they fought for the message. The joy and renewal when they rebuilt the ship. The anger when the Parliament's cover up worked. Doc was shakey. If they went near Knives again he would let her off but somebody needed to keep an eye on her.

Kaylee was happy so he was happy, but when he looked at Zoe he saw emptyness. John decided to take it on himself to bring the Zoe of Zoe back. He had never been able to connect with her husband but he could make up for it. He waited in the galley where he knew she would eventually come to talk to her.

johnttf

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Saturday, March 31, 2007 11:58 AM

*wolf had been very busy, getting involved in every part of the re-building of the ship, this was tricky as he had been seriously wounded in the battle,(he stayed with serenity to keep the reavers back as long as possible) because of this and his recovery, he was somewhat behind on current events.*

wolf" this is it."

*he took a deep breath, and made his way towards the engineroom with his hand in his back pocket.
as he turned the corner and walked up to the door he saw kaylee and simon "working".
he stopped in his tracks, turned around and, with a single tear, slipped the ring back into his pocket.*

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Bigwolf18, shaman.

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Saturday, March 31, 2007 3:07 PM

"Wolf" John said as he saw the man walking sadly towards the bridge. "Stop I need to talk to you!"

"What" Wolf said.

"You saw Simon and Kaylee I presume"

"What do you care ou always thought he was better for her."

"I'm sorry, Wolf. She was torn for a long time. She didn't know where your relationship was going so she went with him. I know your hurting. Bad. But, anything I can do to help alleviate that pain, I'm willing to do

johnttf

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Saturday, March 31, 2007 7:39 PM

(beginning of journal entry):

‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.’

Pretty, isn’t it? Amazing how the 23rd has remained unchanged for so many years, a constant through thousands of years of war, spoken on behalf of perhaps billions, maintaining the same meaning. Mal read it for Shepherd Book, at the rocket sendoff. Mal, for God’s sake, the man who believes in no higher spirit, who calls himself creator of his destiny. He didn’t say anything about it, and nobody asked.

Is it destiny, (or ka, if you prefer) that jagged-toothed monster, that took two of us, and will maybe take more? I’ve been trying to convince myself that it was all just bad luck, but I’m not so sure.

I got off pretty cheap in retrospect. My face took some heavy slashing, going toe-to-toe with a Reaver (Simon managed to reduce the damage to nothing but a trio of scars and a dead eye. I have a nifty artificial one, though, compliments of the regretful murderer) and I’m walking with a rough limp, but nothing terribly debilitating (except for my state of mind, ha-ha).

You know what my first thought was at that sendoff, when Zoe lit the rocket in that dress? ‘Now she’s single.’ Jesus-please-us. Does that make me a bad person? Of course. But do I care? Do I feel bad about thinking that, thrust against the very face of Death?

Honestly, I don’t know. More later.

(end entry)

The man they called Oath closed the tattered leather book with a thankful sigh, tucking it and his stylus away. Every time he put something in there, it felt like shoving his fingers down his throat to get rid of some black poison. That was the journal’s purpose: put your life on paper, and it becomes less real, as if it never happened.

That was what Oath wanted, what he sought desperately: to forget. He found himself envying Samantha/Ertia/Sammy, if not very seriously. Experience is what makes us grow, as some mock-wise old fart had once said. Of course, that mock-wise old fart hadn’t seen his friends dying in the dust with gaping bullet wounds or impaled to their chairs, hadn’t had his face sliced open, hadn’t nearly had his leg chopped off by gunfire…

Before the silence and solitude of his sparse bunk could amplify the sound of his thoughts, Oath slid the door open, fingers unconsciously tracing the scars that now dominated his face, along with the thing that failed at replacing an eye. Whenever anybody looked at him, that was all they really saw now. He looked less human now than 13, the wonder-bot who had come out of that fight grinning and hungry for more, eyes burning bright as the sun. He hadn’t been the only walking slaughterhouse during that ‘Last Stand’; River had turned into something that rivaled, if not eclipsed, the android’s capacity for destruction.

Not that Oath was complaining; he was concerned over his daughter’s latent abilities, but if not for those abilities all of them would be dead as Dad’s hatband. Even 13 would’ve fallen eventually, even if it was only under the weight of the bodies he would’ve piled up.

Oath’s ears, having remained unharmed, perked up at the sound of singing from the catwalk. He didn’t recognize the voice, but he had a single fleeting microsecond of hope that it would be Zoe up there, maybe in that dress…

‘You mean the dress she wore to her husband’s funeral?’ he told himself, fists tightening at his thoughts that ran free of the rein

A voice that sounded like a thousand sewer streams bubbled from the bottom of Oath‘s mind, whispering softly, ‘You’ve taken other men’s wives before; him being dead just makes it easier.’

Physically and mentally shaking himself, Oath hurried up the catwalk. He needed to see a face, any face. But some faces would be better than others-

“Samantha,” Oath breathed, genuinely relieved, but not for the reasons you might think: the sight of the amnesiac woman confirmed that Oath hadn’t imagined the singing after all. “Excited about your lover’s gallant return?”

The sewer-voice chuckled. ‘Excellent choice of words, dumbass.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ERTIA: Uh huh. We aren’t the one with the unusual fondness for the floor, are we?

PAIN: Well maybe the floor has an unusual fondness for me did ya ever think about that?

- Travel To Persephone PT2 (Life Onboard Serenity)

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Saturday, March 31, 2007 8:22 PM

CHOO1701

Good to see you all back. Anyone mind if i re join?? And man i think wolf's going to be pissed.

Persphrone (grr....hard to spell place times. Curse you Joss!!)

Shouldn't of gotten off...

The Party was in full swing with the band playing and the upper crust of society all gathered, chatting about trivial things, moving like little bits of paper in the wind.

Choo, decked out in the best suit favours could buy, gave a smile and nod to many of his customers, noting a lot were getting older each time he saw them. Anthon Wing still sporting a hideous scar from an unlucky duel. Choo had been stuck on three hills when that had happened and regretted it still.

"Did you hear all about that awful hoax?" one maiden chatted to the other, both gleefully laughing like old mules in a stable "Its amazing what these cortex masters can do today,"

Choo gave a nervous tug at his sleeve, trying to cover the huge glaring scar were the .... were...

Shouldn't of gotten off

Taking a deep breath, the trader headed for the balcony, trying not to catch peoples attention. heading the cold evening air to try and clear his head.

Haven or Reavers. One Crazy Browncoat and his gun wasn't going to get me killed. Haven was an apporiate name, Choo thought, until the Feds showed up.

When people describe reavers, they've never seen the Alliances Black Ops in action. In under two hours all trace of an alliance attack had been removed. Heck ANY trace that there was a small mining town there was gone. And once they'd finished with the dead..they started on him...

"Shouldn't of gotten off," Choo said quietly, eyeing the huge drop off the balcony.

"Anything i can get you sir?" a waiter enquired behind Choo, breaking him out of his trance.

"er...yes, a pan-galactic would be fine, oh, and is there any place i can send a wave here? Need to talk to someone urgently"

-----------------------------
Remember: When introducing Zoe to your shiny new ship, pay attention to where she's pointing when she says "What is that?" That's where you're going to be laying, bleeding someday.

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Sunday, April 1, 2007 4:15 AM

I'm excited for the first time in a while about this thread. I think skipping was definately a great idea. Everyone's actually posting yeah

johnttf

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Sunday, April 1, 2007 5:14 AM

“Samantha,” Oath breathed, genuinely relieved, but not for the reasons you might think: the sight of the amnesiac woman confirmed that Oath hadn’t imagined the singing after all. “Excited about your lover’s gallant return?”

Sammy stilled inside, but finished out the last verse of the song,

"You took your life as lovers often do
But I could've told you, Vincent.
This world was never meant,
For one as beautiful as you."

A half smile on her face, she turned to look Oath in the eye, trying not wince from the scarring on his face. He didn't deserve that, that way that the others couldn't look him in the face; they way they glanced and then tried not to stare.

So she looked him in the eye, in his good eye, the one where the lights from the catwalk played sparkling colors against the iris, and simply appreciated the beauty there. Van Gogh's beauty, the blurred colors of a marred lifetime told in artist strokes. And she answered his question, "Terrified, is more like."

"I'm not ready for this." She groaned, rubbing a hand over her eyes, "I mean, as far as I remember, six months ago, I was married and to know that was six YEARS not months... that my husband is dead, and never coming back, and I've been in love with another man, who I barely remember?"

"Oath? It's insanity. The whole thing, it's insanity. Look what we've done, what we've proved! But does anyone even believe us? Did it change anything? Wash? Book?" She pauses, the other ache still too fresh as she whispers, "Universe. I knew him longer and better than any of you. He was... my last connection to who I was before."

"And now, Pain is coming back. He's going to walk in that door." She gestured violently towards the cargo bay doors, her voice raising in frustration, "And expect me to be all open arms and desperate lover, and... I don't know how to do that. All I have are fragments, pieces. Memories that don't even feel like they belong to me."

She glanced over at Oath, apologetically, "Sorry, I'm ranting at you. But you asked. What about you? Where do you go from here?"

OOC: Once again, lyrics "Starry Starry Night" aka "Vincent" - Don McLean

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Sunday, April 1, 2007 11:44 AM

*wolf looked at john sternly*

wolf" thank you, its good to have someone to talk to now wash is..."

john" i understand."

*wolf turned into his small room, and closed the door behind him. when he heard johns footsteps leave, he quitly began to sob.*

*that sadness quickly turned to rage as he pounded the walls, making huge dents, with one huge effort, tears streaming down his face, he smashed right through the thick metal door.*

-------------------------------------------------

Bigwolf18, shaman.

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Sunday, April 1, 2007 12:40 PM

Reggie's Ship - Galley

Pain stood staring at a vidscreen on the wall. On it was an external sensor view of the Heinlein gas giant they were orbiting twelve million miles away. He was thinking of Ertia, of how he missed her so much. She was a drug to him and he needed his fix. It had been months since he last saw her and not being with her was driving him crazy. He missed her scent, he missed waking up and seeing her naked body laying next to his, he missed her soft lips kissing his. He missed that thing with her tongue the most.

"My God how I miss that tongue of hers and what she did with it." thought Pain as he continued to stare at the vidscreen.

He thought of what Fly had told him, about how Mal and them found her bruised and assaulted. Fly had told him that she was suffering from a form of amnesia and wondered if she was still suffering from it, or if she remembered him yet. He hoped she remembered him, but knew the first one was probably more accurate. Pain was thirty eight and didn't want to go skirt chasing again. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her and if she didn't remember him, then he'd start back at square one.

Annabelle was sitting at the table, drawing. She loved to draw and seemed t have a natural talent for it. She looked over at her father, then at Fly who was sitting across from her.

"Is my dad going to stare at that vidscreen all day or what?" asked Annabelle.

Fly smiled at the girl and said "I'll go see what's up with him."

Annabelle smiled back and watched as her aunt made her way over to her dad.

"Pain, you're thinkin' of her aren't you?" asked Fly as she stood next to Pain.

Pain was deep in thought when he felt Fly tap his shoulder. He shook his head, looked at Fly and said "How could you tell?"

He glanced at Fly and follwed her gaze downward, then blushed "Oh yeah that. I guess I was thinkin' of her."

Fly rolled her eyes and said "Typical. When you put that thing away, come over to the table and help me and your daughter draw somethin'." She then walked back over to Annabelle, sat down and said "Your dad will be over here in a few minutes okay? He's a little occupied at the moment."

"Figures." replied Annabelle as she resumed her drawing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WWJD: What Would Jayne Do?

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Sunday, April 1, 2007 12:55 PM

*wolf made his way up to the engine room with a determined look in his eye. he strode into the room and, before the doctor knew what was happening, wolf grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall, kaylee screamed and flailed at wolf, he ignored her and threw simon across the room.*

kaylee" WOLF NO!!!"

*simon tried ineffectually to hit the enraged man, wolf responded in kind, punching him in the gut...*

-------------------------------------------------

Bigwolf18, shaman.

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Sunday, April 1, 2007 1:23 PM

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Monday, April 2, 2007 11:46 AM

" 'What about you', you ask." Oath's dark chuckle rattled out of his throat. "I lost an eye and had my face slashed to tatters. No emotional scarring, if that's what you meant." 'Not much, anyway.'

"As for where am I going from here?" Oath shrugged, studying the frayed sleeve of his jacket. "I'm staying here. Not like I have anywhere else to go." He smiled thinly. "Or was that not what you meant?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ERTIA: Uh huh. We aren’t the one with the unusual fondness for the floor, are we?

PAIN: Well maybe the floor has an unusual fondness for me did ya ever think about that?

- Travel To Persephone PT2 (Life Onboard Serenity)

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Monday, April 2, 2007 12:25 PM

In the Engine Room

Kaylee watched as Simon doubled over on the Engine Room's floor. Enraged, Kaylee stormed past Wolf and stood between him and Simon.

Kaylee glared at Wolf and said in an angry tone "Wolf, what in the gorram hell's wrong with you? Simon didn't do anythin' wrong to you Wolf an' you had no right to hit him!"

She looked at Simon who was moaning in pain. She felt tears start to well up in her eyes and blinked her eyes, letting the tears fall down her cheeks.

She turned back to Wolf and said "I think you need to leave now an' don't talk to me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WWJD: What Would Jayne Do?

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Tuesday, April 3, 2007 3:28 AM

*wolf glared at kaylee, he knew she was right, but he couldent help feeling like she had betrayed him. wolf pointed a finger at simon, he got some satisfaction when simon flinched.*

wolf" im not going to forget this TAM!"

*he said Tam in the same way he would say scum.*

*wolf turned and strode out of the room.*

-------------------------------------------------

Bigwolf18, shaman.

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Tuesday, April 3, 2007 11:45 AM

CHOO1701

sorry i'm late (and why have you deleted the post?0 but thanks wolf, i'm kind of addicted to pop culture refrences. Sad...i know...

Meanwhile..

Choos fingers hovered over the cortex terminal.

Okay, he thought, if they HAD made it and out of Miranda alive, and they HAD got past the feds and reavers without getting caught and are still flying...how in the many gorram special hells would i communicate with a highly wanted ship in the black that the alliance could possibly trace both ways...

Choo stood in silence for a moment, the chatter from the party almost like a distant memory mind ticking over as the alcohol pumped through his blood.

With a shrug he touched the screen and enquired to the computer "Reverse Charge Wave please..."

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Tuesday, April 3, 2007 12:01 PM

Kaylee watched as Wolf exited the Engine Room and bent down to check on Simon.

"Are you okay, sweety?" she asked, placing a hand on one of his shoulders.

Simon looked into her eyes, giving her a brief smile before grimacing and replied "Except for the bruising and the pain, I've never been better."

On the Bridge

River grabbed the comm and said over the shipewide channel "Three hours and twenty minutes until Pain returns home. I want cake and ice cream."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WWJD: What Would Jayne Do?

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Tuesday, April 3, 2007 12:41 PM

*wolf made his way into the bridge.*

wolf" mind if I?"

river" sitting has its advantages."

*wolf sat in the co-pilots chair. river left without saying a word and wolf busyied himself with flying.*

-------------------------------------------------

Bigwolf18, shaman.

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Wednesday, April 4, 2007 11:05 AM

"Kaylee what happened?" John asked walking into the engine room. He saw Simon hunched on the floor. "Cause that's what I meant by deal with your problems thanks for taking my advice Wolf"

"What's that John?"

"Nothin' you okay Simon?"

"John Go get your doctor friend" Kaylee siad when Simon didn't reply.

"Doc's no Doc. Let's get you to the infirmary." John said as he helped Simon to his feet.

johnttf

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Thursday, April 5, 2007 2:19 PM

BUMP

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Bigwolf18, shaman.

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Friday, April 6, 2007 1:37 PM

Serenity docked with Reggie's ship with hardly a bump or shudder. Every able body person was in the cargo bay of wach ship. The light above the airlock flashed to green, meaning it had pressurized.

"All right folks, stand up straight and lets welcome home everyone's lovable pistol totin' mercenary." replied Mal.

"I'm already here, Cap'n." replied Jayne, smiling.

Mal turned to Jayne and said "I said lovable, not laughable, Jayne."

Mal pressed the button to open the doors and waited. Serenity's outer airlock door opened and through it came Fly, Reggie, and Pain who was followed by his daughter.

Kaylee's eyes lit up as she saw Fly enter Serenity's cargo bay, carrying a duffle bag in each hand. She immediately ran towards Fly and gave her a big Kaylee style bear hug.

"I missed you, Fly." came Kaylee's response, muffled by her face buried in Fly's shoulder.

Fly smiled and said "Missed you too, Kaylee."

"What about me? Doesn't anyone miss me?" replied Pain, being sarcastic and pouty.

"Of course we missed you, Pain." replied Inara, hugging Pain. Inara saw Pain's daughter, bent down and said, smiling "My aren't you pretty. Who are you, dear?"

"My name's Annabelle. I'm Pain's daughter." replied Annabelle.

Inara was speechless, but recovered herself and said "It's nice to meet you, Annabelle. My name's Inara."

Mal butted in, ignoring Inara's glare "Pain I'm sure you know my rule 'bout havin' kids onboard."

Pain nodded and said "That I do sir, but you keep Jayne onboard and he's pretty much childlike."

"Point taken." replied Mal. "All right she can stay, but don't let Jayne near her."

"We've pretty much taught her how to take care of him. replied Pain, motioning to Fly. He looked up at the catwalk, saw Ertia, then turned his attention to Mal and said "I guess I should have a talk with her."

Pain didn't wait for a repsonse and headed for the catwalk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WWJD: What Would Jayne Do?

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Saturday, April 7, 2007 2:45 AM

One of my friends si actually wanting to join the thread as Doc but her internet is down she should be posting soon.

John smiled and welcomed Pain back onboard the ship. He exchanged plesentries with Fly and had a fun little conversation with Anabelle about a bad little bunny with a funny name. But, the hole time he was worried about Doc. She stayed in his bunk the entire time she was ondoard. The only time she came out was to eat and fight Reavers in the shattered remains of Mr. Universe's home. He got away as soon as possible and wentto see her. She was normaly so social. He needed to know the problem.

johnttf

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Saturday, April 7, 2007 6:05 AM

She stood at the catwalk, looking down, feeling outside of the motion, the welcome, the anxious celebratory manner of the crew...

They'd had so little to celebrate of late, they deserved good news. They deserved a homecoming.

But she was cold inside. Fly. Pain. The faces were so familiar, yet so distant, like those dream faces you sometimes remember in the moment you wake up, but forget as soon as you rise from your pillow.

Oh goddess help her. He was coming straight up the stairs towards her, his eyes never leaving her face. Watching her like she was a rabbit that might flee.

With a wince of chagrin she shook her head, her hair falling into her face before raising her face to his gaze. Now was the moment, now was the speech she'd had carefully prepared... the I'msorryIhaveamnesiaanddon'trememberwhoyouare speech. She opened her mouth, looked into his eyes...

The maw of memories that spread out before her swallowed her whole. Gunfire, laughter, the sweet taste of honeyed mead, shower steam, strong hands holding hers through treatment for radiation sickness.

Ertia burst into tears, falling forward against him, feeling his arms wrap around her and hold her close to his chest, the only place she'd ever felt safe.

The speech fled and her choked voice uttered the only question she could remember that she wanted to ask, "Where have you been?"

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Saturday, April 7, 2007 8:41 AM

Pain held Ertia close to him, not wanting to let go. He kissed her on the top of her head and said "It's a long story, bao bei. One that needs to be told." Resting his head on top of hers, he continued "I've missed you so much, my sweet Ertia."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WWJD: What Would Jayne Do?

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Sunday, April 8, 2007 11:16 AM

BUMP

johnttf

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Monday, April 9, 2007 9:54 AM

'Isn't that just rutting precious? Witness and be in awe of primal therapy in action. Tears for your fears, my friends. Maybe we'll get a spot on a talk show. 'Tempered by Trauma,' or some homogenized pap like that.'

Oath folded his arms and looked properly 'relieved,' although his sarcastic thoughts did shine through his one eye just a touch.

After being told by a slightly stunned (perhaps buffaloed) Inara that Pain had brought along a little girl fresh from the oven of Pain's past squeeze, Oath rolled his eyes.

'Everybody's got a rutting kid. Wouldn't be surprised if Simon diagnosed himself with male pregnancy.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ERTIA: Uh huh. We aren’t the one with the unusual fondness for the floor, are we?

PAIN: Well maybe the floor has an unusual fondness for me did ya ever think about that?

- Travel To Persephone PT2 (Life Onboard Serenity)

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Tuesday, April 10, 2007 3:53 PM

Bumped just in time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ERTIA: Uh huh. We aren’t the one with the unusual fondness for the floor, are we?

PAIN: Well maybe the floor has an unusual fondness for me did ya ever think about that?

- Travel To Persephone PT2 (Life Onboard Serenity)

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Wednesday, April 11, 2007 10:15 AM

Ertia drew back, looking around her as her hands clenched on Pain's sleeve.

This was her home.
She KNEW these people! Not just fragments and bits, but all of them. The very walls of the ship closed in around her, carrying the whispers and visions of all that she had forgotten.

"You got those labels done yet?"
"Why ain't there any blue protein again?"
"Do you love him?"
"Running away doesn't solve it."
"She SHOT me!"

Laughter bubbled up from inside her and the tears were replaced with relieved hysterical laughing.

Then it all crashed back as she looked down the catwalk to where Shepherd Book had welcomed her onboard, and over to the mule, where Wash had made a joke as she tied on a load. She remembered then, that she knew them as well.

Fly stepped in front of her, "Hey, E. Missed you girl."

A half smile, a shy admission. "Wish I could say the same, sis. Wish I could say the same."

Then she blinked, looked down. A little girl? Who? She didn't remember this face. Ertia put on her best -aaaaahg-its-a-small-child- smile, "Uh.. Hi. I'm sorry, I don't remember you."

The girl crossed her arms, looking between Pain and Ertia for a long moment before using her best 'duh-you-are-an-idiot' voice, "I'm Annabelle."

Reaching up she tugged on Pain's sleeve, "Daddy, I gotta use the bathroom."

E let go of Pain's sleeve, frantically making eye-contact with anyone who would meet her gaze, "Oh, hell no! I woulda remembered that! Wouldn't I have? Someone tell me I woulda remembered that?!?!?!"

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Wednesday, April 11, 2007 12:29 PM

Pain smiled at his daughter and said "There's a bathroom next to the Infirmary, first door on your left."

"Thank you, daddy." replied Annabelle before rushing off in the direction in which Pain had pointed.

Pain turned to Ertia and smiled "Relax bao bei Annabelle ain't yours." "Though I'd of liked her to be." thought Pain as he continued "She's the result of the affair I had with Melanie and although I do regret that, I have to be honest and say that I love my daughter nonetheless."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WWJD: What Would Jayne Do?

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Thursday, April 12, 2007 1:24 PM

le bump

Where are you guys?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ERTIA: Uh huh. We aren’t the one with the unusual fondness for the floor, are we?

PAIN: Well maybe the floor has an unusual fondness for me did ya ever think about that?

- Travel To Persephone PT2 (Life Onboard Serenity)

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Friday, April 13, 2007 11:58 AM

Le Bump Deaux: Cette Fois C'est Personnel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ERTIA: Uh huh. We aren’t the one with the unusual fondness for the floor, are we?

PAIN: Well maybe the floor has an unusual fondness for me did ya ever think about that?

- Travel To Persephone PT2 (Life Onboard Serenity)

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Friday, April 13, 2007 1:11 PM

I'm here.

"I still don't forgive you for that Pain, but I do like my niece and I'm pretty sure you will too, Ertia." replied Fly, giving Ertia a smile. Turning to Pain, Fly smiled and said "Well I suppose I should leave you two alone now. I'm sure you two have a lot of catchin' up to do."

Fly gave Pain a wink after she said that last part and climbed back down the stairs, heading for the Cargo Bay to help Reggie unload more of Pain's stuff, along with some crates of food.

Pain looked at Ertia, raising an eyebrow and asked "So what do you think Fly meant when she said we have a lot of catchin' up to do?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WWJD: What Would Jayne Do?

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Friday, April 13, 2007 1:24 PM

"I think you know exactly what she meant." Ertia looked at him for a long moment, then shrugged, "But I think you can't just walk out of my life... I mean, sure I didn't remember you at all, but that's not the point...you can't just leave and then come back and pretend everything's okay. It's not. We've been through hell. All of us."

She stopped, aware of how much of an accusation that sounded. "I'm not the same person you remember, and you... Let's just take it slow, okay?" She added hopefully, "Can we do that?"

"Hey, lovebirds!" Mal's voice barks from the cargo bay floor, "We got a meet on Deadwood. Party's over. Let's get stuff stowed, say our goodbyes, and get things moving!"

"Yeah! Payin' work! That's what I'm talking about!" Jayne rumbles past them on the catwalk, stopping to slap Pain on the shoulder, "You two gonna jabber, help out, or make out?"

okay, do we have any idea where we're going from here? Is there a plan? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

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Friday, April 13, 2007 1:42 PM

Pain gave Jayne a look, then said "We'll help out, just give us a few minutes."

"Didn't realize ya were a minute man, Pain." replied Jayne, chuckling to himself as he walked into the Cargo Bay.

Pain ignored Jayne as usual and turned back to Ertia. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he said "We'll take it slow and I ain't pretendin' that everythin' is okay, bao bei. Fly told me what happened to you and when we get some time alone, I plan on tellin' you everythin' that happened to me in those past few months, okay?"

"We're not gettin' any younger, Pain! Chop chop!" yelled Mal.

"Keep your panties on Cap, we're comin'!" shouted Pain. Turning back to Ertia he said "Lets go down there and help before the Captain yells at us some more."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WWJD: What Would Jayne Do?

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Friday, April 13, 2007 4:09 PM

OOC: Destination and purpose post coming up! (Although it's more than a little crazy, but I've got an idea) Oh, and I don't speak French, so don't trust me with the quote.

"'Amour c'est semblable à mourant , à cette époque-là être né encore,'" Oath pronounced as he stacked crates in no particular order.

"Huh?" Jayne grunted, toting an especially large crate with the help of Pain; in spite of their much-bigger-than-Oath physiques, they were breathing hard as they lugged the crate, veins standing out like ropes on their arms.

'Expect Ertia's going to be more than pleased with a sweaty Pain,' he thought, seating himself on a crate. Answering Jayne's syllable, he explained, "It's a proverb. In the Old French."

"You're old and French?" Pain asked mildly, setting the crate down with a whooping sigh.

"'Love is like dying, then being born again,'" a voice called eerily, and a slim, blurred figure dropped easily from the catwalk to the grates of the cargo bay floor, causing Jayne to shout something profane.

"Hello, River," Oath said, swiveling on the crate to face the girl. "What did I say about free-falls from more than ten feet?"

"Persian grace," she replied with fake haughtiness and a half-smile. "Packages. Presents?"

Mal approached River with a grin on his face. "Coulda been worse, Oath. She might've been barefoot, instead of wearin' them big damn boots."

Before Mal could half-open his mouth, River said, "Wolf's on it. The stars are set, and the heart is beating steadily."

"That was impressive," Oath observed, watching Mal's furrowed brow. "And frightening."

River gave Oath a small smile, stage-whispering, "He's just so obvious."

"Ah."

"We haulin' presents?" Jayne called, handling another massive crate with Pain. Jayne observed the crate carefully before adding, "Little heavy fer that."

"Food and guns, Jayne," Pain said as they set down the crate. "Means you oughta take special care of these."

Oath raised an eyebrow as he counted the crates, coming up with twelve.

"How many guns do you have?" he asked Pain incredulously, answered with only a wink.

"Mayhap it ain't all guns," Jayne grinned. "Pain's always had a likin' towards them fancy Companion-type outfits."

"Not that this little debate ain't fascinatin'," Mal cut in, "but we do actually have other stuff to do other'n play luggage handlers for Pain.

"Now, there's a fella on Deadwood, name of Aaron Leeds. He's got a load he needs moved 'discreetly,' an' he needs us to move 'em."

"What kind of 'load'?"

Zoe, looking her cool and professional self, although Oath noted shrewdly the messy lacing of her boots, and that she had missed a loop putting on her belt.

Mal turned to his first-mate, saying, "This ain't a normal job. Hell, this ain't even a sane job."

Mal set his blue gaze on each person in the cargo bay, lingering on Pain and Ertia for a moment.

"It's people," he finally said. "Apparently this Leeds is some kinda hero-of-the-people type, went rescued himself some slaves offa a runnin'-boat.

"Unfortunately for Leeds, his own boat ain't in good enough shape to make the run, an' he don't trust the Alliance to handle this any more than he should. We're headin' to Deadwood, and we're droppin' the people in a small township on Greenleaf, where their family is.

"Any questions?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ERTIA: "WHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAA! THAT'S RIGHT! I'M THE BITCH WITH THE GUN!!!!!"

-from Travel To Persephone PT 2 (Life Onboard Serenity)

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Saturday, April 14, 2007 11:18 AM

Bumpers. Guys?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"WHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAA! THAT'S RIGHT! I'M THE BITCH WITH THE GUN!!!!!"

-Ertia, from Travel To Persephone PT 2 (Life Onboard Serenity)

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Saturday, April 14, 2007 1:02 PM

I prefer hoods or as you across the pond refer to them, bonnets.

"How much is this Leeds fellow payin'?" asked Pain, setting a pair of duffle bags on top of a crate.

"Just enough to keep this ship from fallin' apart for a month." replied Mal.

Pain looked at the inside of the Cargo Bay, taking notice that it looked different than last time. Turning his attention to Mal, he said "Speakin' of the ship, what'd you do to her?"

"Upgrades." replied Mal. Looking at the crates, he continued "Is this it?"

"Pretty much." replied Pain. Looking to Fly, he said "Guess that means you'll be leavin'."

"Guess so." sighed Fly, walking over to him.

Pain watched as his daughter returned to the Cargo Bay from the bathroom and called out to her "Took you long enough. What happened, you fall in?"

Fly punched Pain in the arm, much to Annabelle's satisfaction. She bent down and hugged the girl.

"I'm afraid me and you Uncle will ne leavin' soon." replied Fly, still hugging Annabelle.

"Do you have to?" asked Pain's daughter, as Fly stood up.

"'Fraid so little one, but I promise to wave you at least twice a week, okay?" replied Fly, smiling.

Annabelle hugged Fly's waist and said, sniffling "Pinky swear?"

"Pinky swear." repeated Fly, the two of them doing just that. Fly bent down and whispered into Annabelle's ear "Why don't you give your Uncle Reggie a hug, okay?"

"Okay!" shouted Annabelle and ran over to where Reggie was.

"Whatcha doeen', gurl! Ya almost knocked me down!" shouted Reggie as Annabelle hugged him hard.

"Sorry Uncle Reggie, Aunt Fly said to give you a hug because you were leaving." replied Annabelle. She continued "I'll miss you, Uncle Reggie."

Reggie shot a look at Fly, who gave him a look in return. Reggie hugged Annabelle and said "Eye'm goeen' to mees ya too, lil' one. Make sure ya keep yer fahtha outta trouble."

"I'll try." replied Annabelle as Reggie released her.

Annabelle then ran over to her father and clung to his waist. Pain smiled at her, bent down and hoisted her up in his arms. Annabelle wrapped her arms around his neck, as he held her with one arm.

"Don't get shot at too much and keep Reggie out of trouble, dong ma?" said Pain to Fly.

Fly smiled and said "I'll try, but you know Reggie."

"That I do." replied Pain, smiling. Giving Fly a one armed hug and being careful not to squish Annabelle, Pain continued "Be careful out there, Fly."

"I will." replied Fly, smiling. She turned to the rest of the crew in the Cargo Bay and said "Well looks like I'll be leavin' soon. I'm sure you all will want to say goodbye or give me hug."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WWJD: What Would Jayne Do?

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Saturday, April 14, 2007 2:31 PM

People. Moving People. John thought the whole thing sounded rather risky. Fly had left and things were returning to normal. Except no Fly. John was ready for work but he was scared. All of there hide outs had been destroyed and if thins went sour there wasn't anywhere to run. Doc had been meditating for three days now which meant bad. And bad was well bad.

Dinners had started to become less quiet. John sat with Kaylee and Simon but had little conversation with either. He turned to his other side and examined Zoe. There was something hidden deep inside a griefshe needed to release. He had an idea. He left after dinner and went to see Doc. She wasn't a medical doctor but she was called Doc for a reason. She was a practitioner of a religion that John didn't pretend to understand. But she could do things with it talk to people's insides talk to the real them. He normaly wouldn't risk taking her out of a meditative trance but he felt he owed Zoe something. "Doc I need your help"

johnttf

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Monday, April 16, 2007 3:17 AM

Bumped just in time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"WHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAA! THAT'S RIGHT! I'M THE BITCH WITH THE GUN!!!!!"

-Ertia, from Travel To Persephone PT 2 (Life Onboard Serenity)

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Tuesday, April 17, 2007 4:48 PM

Bumpizzle fo' shizzle my nizzle!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WWJD: What Would Jayne Do?

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Wednesday, April 18, 2007 9:38 AM

bump, also when we land, wolf would like to get off.he will be back just not for a while.

-------------------------------------------------

Bigwolf18, shaman.

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Thursday, April 19, 2007 2:10 AM

Would anyone like to post instead of just bumping

johnttf

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Friday, April 20, 2007 12:02 PM

where has everybody gone?

on deadwood

*in the darkend room in middle of the city 4 shadowy figures were sitting around a table.*

man#1" are we ready?"

man#2" we are gaining numbers."

man#3" soon we will be ready."

man#4" all we need now is a leader."

man#3" i belive i can help with that."

man#1" how do you meen?"

man#3" when i was scouting on three hills, i saw a ship that could be usefull."

man#4" its captain could be, removed?"

man#3" oh no! he will definatly agree with us."

man#2" the last attempt didn't go so well."

man#1" thats why we must try again."

man#3" yes they should do nicely."

this storys gonna be quite big and might take a while, but its not gonna start for a while, not until wolf comes back, he hasn't even left yet, so don't worry.

-------------------------------------------------

Bigwolf18, shaman.

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Friday, April 20, 2007 7:25 PM

Right then, Wolf. Johnnie, how's that Doc situation coming along? We looking at a new member relatively soon?

Location: Galley
Time: Several Hours outside of Deadwood

“Ya know why they call it ‘Deadwood’?” Jayne asked a protein-eating Simon, who simply rolled his eyes and ignored the question. Jayne grunted, and turned to Kaylee, and repeated the question, a glint in his eye.

“Why do they call it Deadwood, Jayne?” Kaylee said, deciding it was best to humor the merc. He had been in a rough mood for the past few days, on account of the cat coating his bunk with hairballs.

“Cause the planet is so ugly, not even the best whore in the ‘verse could give you a rise!” Jayne slapped his knee, guffawing in genuine mirth.

“You ever been to Deadwood, Jayne?” Mal asked. “Cause the picture you’re paintin’ is pretty accurate. Nothin’ but dust and huts there.”

Pain entered the galley, remarking ‘No wonder them slaves are dyin’ to get offa it.”

Jayne nodded, and his face became quizzical. “Cap, you check out this Leeds fella? Ya got a clear idea of what we’re walkin’ into?”

Mal fixed Jayne with a hard look. “You think I went into this eyes-closed? Movin’ people is serious business, Jayne, an’ I-“

“-have never done this before?” a voice finished. Inara, sleek and elegant. Mal rolled his eyes, thinking to himself about how people should stop interrupting other people.

Inara folded her arms, looking properly stern. “Honestly, Mal, why did you take this job? We’ve never done anything like this.”

“The chance to get some money for food is a powerful incentive, Inara. And since when is it ‘we’? You’ve got your whorin’ to busy yourself with, you ain’t-“

“If you’re going to call me a whore and raise your blood pressure, then I don’t think we have anything to discuss,” Inara said.

“You’re the one who wanted to discuss this!” Mal sputtered. “So let’s ruttin’ discuss it! You think I don’t know what I’m doin’!”

“I never said that!”

Mal scoffed, eyes dark. “Yeah, but you sure as hell are thinkin’ it. This ain’t nothin’ new, Inara. Same as movin’ anythin’ else, ‘cept this cargo has got a heartbeat. Now, if they had cash and cleanliness, I expect you’d be feelin’ different towards this.”

The intercom crackled, and River’s reproachful voice sounded. “This isn’t healthy. Eat and be happy. We’re almost there, and I don’t see any complications that we won’t be the cause of. So be quiet.”

“I’m the Captain, for chrissakes, I’m the one who tells people to be quiet!”

Jayne, deciding that his two cents were worth something, opened his mouth to speak. Looks from both Inara and Mal silenced him aptly, and he filled his mouth with drink instead of words as Kaylee and Simon looked uncomfortably to each other.

Mal crossed his own arms, his anger-filled eyes landing on every person in the galley.

“What?” he shouted, and promptly left, muttering something furious to himself.

“What’s stuck up his tightpants?” Jayne said after Mal had left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"WHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAA! THAT'S RIGHT! I'M THE BITCH WITH THE GUN!!!!!"

-Ertia, from Travel To Persephone PT 2 (Life Onboard Serenity)

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Saturday, April 21, 2007 4:32 AM

Doc's computer is malfunctioning but she might be able to post at my residence

"What did I specifically say when we got here."

"Never break me out of a trance or you'll castrate me and make me eat it"

"So why did you break me out of a trance."

"Because I need to ask you a favor. You see..."

"No"

"But she really needs some talkin to but..."

"I said No"

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease"

"Get out, come back later I'll answer you then"

"Fine" John left and prepared to have the human cargo aboard. People are risky you never know what they're thinking. Unless you're psycic

johnttf

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Saturday, April 21, 2007 12:21 PM

"Probably his gun." said Pain in response to Jayne's question.

Jayne snorted and said "Probably. Man's been onery since ya done went missin'."

What Jayne said made Pain remember that he had forgotten to tell Ertia everything that happened to him.

"Speakin' of missin', I do need to talk with Ertia about that." replied Pain, leaving the galley in search of Ertia and not waiting for a response from Jayne.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WWJD: What Would Jayne Do?

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Sunday, April 22, 2007 1:50 AM

bump sucka!

-------------------------------------------------

Bigwolf18, shaman.

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Monday, April 23, 2007 9:26 AM