A.N.: I introduce Sky in ‘First Job’… here’s how I imagine they met her. It’s not officially part of the Namesake series, and I don’t think up to that quality level either, but hey, I wrote it in church this morning.

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It started in a bar. She lifted the money right out of his pocket and Jayne still regretted that he hadn’t felt her hand on him. Mal had noticed and grabbed her wrist, but she met is look with a disarming smile and managed to break his wrist without anyone noticing. Anyone except Jayne who knew Mal weren’t prone to reaching out at loose women. She was half way to the door when Jayne caught up to Mal, saw his mangled hand, and worked out his shocked face. He was about to laugh at Mal for being mishandled by a girl when Mal said those magic words. “She stole your cash.” The humor drained from Jayne’s spirit as he felt his empty pocket and looked after those swishing blonde curls, weaving through the crowd. In a swift, lithe move counter to his size, Jayne stepped onto the pool table and leapt over the crowd to tackle the woman. A startled cry went through the room and Mal reached across his body for his gun, bracing his broken right hand against his chest. Jabs, rolls, uppercuts, hooks. She blocked his blows as easily as he blocked hers. Evenly matched, Mal would have guessed the spar was choreographed, but as neither made progress in defeating the other, the moves became more vicious. The fight traveled into the street, down the block, through a hotel lobby, and out to a courtyard. Mal followed a few steps behind waiting for Jayne to ask for help, but at the moment, the merc seemed to be enjoying himself too much, and Mal knew the man had some pent up anger that needed releasing. They pursued the woman to an Intalian restaurant at which point Jayne suggested they break for dinner and she agreed. She introduced herself as Sky, and the battle continued with words as she and Jayne one-upped each other with stories of past heists. Her slang was tinged with the distinct accent of the overly educated, her stories tinged by the mark of the overly lazy. She’d had a ship once but abhorred being tied to anything requiring so much maintenance. As she spoke, Mal used a butter-knife and a napkin to splint his hand, not willing to leave the two unchaperoned. When she paid with the stolen money, Jayne growled fiercely, nearly knocking over the table, and the tussle began again. By this time, Mal had grown weary of the spar and both Jayne and Sky were scraped and bruised. He corralled the fight in the general direction of Serenity, radioing ahead so the Doc would meet them by the door. As Simon properly attended to Mal’s broken hand, the two duelers continued in circles, their movements slowing. “Let’s call it a draw,” Mal ordered loudly, his voice summoning Jayne inside. “Not while she has my money,” Jayne barked, grabbing her arm and bracing her body against his, searching for the stolen cash. She laughed haughtily and flipped Jayne over her shoulder. “You ain’t gonna win this,” Sky sneered, pressing her boot onto Jayne’s face, careful not to harm Jayne to a point that would make Mal draw his gun. Mal raised an eyebrow as Jayne grabbed her foot and failed to throw her off balance. “You strapped for cash, I could offer you a job.” “Come on,” Jayne taunted, still struggling against her leg, suddenly interested. “Can you imagine the take if we work teamwise!” Now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow. “What’s the split?” Mal knew he had her at that. He laid the ground rules, and she laid out a few of her own. The next afternoon, she shipped out with Serenity and as far as Mal knew, she never gave Jayne his money back.

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Continue the Namesake Series at 'His Women'