oldMal's Serenity. The galley. Job hunting ((happens the day after the last Serenity post))

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Sam looked around the corner and watched as Jayne turned away from the table where he'd been polishing Vera to grab a drink at the sink, then darted into the kitchen and back out, the big gun cradled in his arms as he gave a maniacal stage laugh.

Jayne paused with his lips halfway to his glass and noticed what the kid was doing. "Hey!" The cup was abandoned in the sink as he took up the chase. "Yer too young to be tossin' around a gun that big..."

Seriously. One day the kid would blow his brains out and then it'd all fall on Jayne's head.

Mal took a leisurely pull at the cup of coffee he was drinking, grimacing slightly at the taste, then set the cup down and looked at Zoe and Iroh. "That's gittin' ta be a mornin' tradition. Thought Jayne would'a clued in by now."

Zoe chuckled as Jayne disappeared, then reappeared, looking angrier than before. "Well, if there's one thing I know about that man, it's that cluing in ain't by no means one of his strong suits."

Iroh joined in with the chuckling. "I find it endearing," he said with a shrug, "although one day I do think Jayne might go insane."

Mal lifted his eyebrows as Sam poked Jayne in the back with one of his toy lightsabers and took off again. "See, Iroh, by sayin' that it makes me think yer figurin' that he's right in the head ta start with."

"Well," Iroh said wryly over his own cup of tea, "I have learned in the past that people aren't entirely what they seem."

Zoe laughed even harder. "Unfortunately, Iroh, that's not the case with Jayne. He's absolutely transparent." She watched as Jayne yelped, turned around several times and took off again.

"Speakin' 'a transparent...." Mal helped himself to Zoe's cup of tea and sipped, wondering why he had ever expressed disgust at the stuff. "Anybody notice how much time the Doc's spendin' in the engine room lately?"

Iroh shrugged enigmatically. "Perhaps they're spending time together," he said innocently.

Zoe stared. "What do you know?"

"I don't. Just speculation." Another sip of tea and he leaned back, stroking his beard.

"Looks like the kid lockin' 'em in there together done the trick." Mal smirked, then winced slightly as an enraged yell echoed through the corridors.

"Oh, is that how it happened?" Iroh asked. "I had thought it was all voluntary."

"You never noticed the nut matchmakin'?" Mal looked innocent as Zoe looked for her missing teacup.

Zoe reached over and snatched the cup from Mal's fingers. "I didn't."

Iroh shrugged. "I tend not to get involved in such manners..."

"Hey!" protested Mal, then belatedly remembered whose tea it was and quickly picked up his coffee cup. "Anyway. Iroh, how's the cupboards look?"

His smile faltered. "We could use a little bit more of... well, everything. And there's something wrong with the refrigeration system - what needs to be kept cool isn't exactly staying as such."

Zoe sipped her tea and nodded. "We should have Abby take a look at it. Might be related to somethin' bein' not right in the engine."

Mal gave up on the coffee and pushed it away, then rubbed his face before wincing and putting a hand near, but not touching his leg.

"We gotta get a job," he muttered. "It can't have all dried up."

"Sure we're ready for that?" Zoe looked at him. "We ain't as young as we once were...."

"We gotta eat. Serenity needs parts." -Needs a whole new engine, accordin' ta Abby... God... a little help here?-

"Luke! I am your father!" came a Samish roar from outside.

"I don't wanna know," Mal growled.

There was a scuffling sound, and then Jayne reappeared in the kitchen, looking a bit sheepish.

"What just happened?" Iroh asked.

"Managed t' get Vera away. Then went and locked 'er up."

"You know that won't work for very long."

Jayne scowled and adjusted his hat. "Worth a try."

"Mee Tarzan, you Jaaaayyyne!" whooped Sam from outside, followed by the sound of a resounding clang and silence.

Mal exchanged a glance with Zoe, poised to try and get up and help if he didn't hear something else pretty quick.

Iroh leaned back in his chair. "Is Tarzan still alive?"

"Yes," said Sam sheepishly, followed by the sound of his footsteps fading into the distance.

Mal shook his head and rubbed his face. "Siddown, Jayne, we gotta talk shop."

Jayne grabbed the nearest chair and sat on it backwards. "This about the fridge? 'Cause I didn't do it."

"It's comin' outta yer pay," said Mal, then turned back to his best friend and the cook. "Any a ya heard any leads? Iroh, ya were in the market on Dustbowl."

Iroh cleared his throat. "There was a community on the far side that needed medicine..."

"What pay?' Jayne interjected.

"Didja hear what kind? Don't wanna be walkin' inta no plague epidemic." Mal reached for Zoe's cup again, his eyes fixed on the cook.

"Sammy's back." The lanky teen flopped into a chair as his brother wandered blankly over to a cupboard and looked inside.

"There wasn't a plague. Farming towns with old equipment, it seems - plenty of injuries and not enough antibiotics and hypoderms to keep infection at bay." Iroh shrugged.

And Zoe clutched her cup to her chest.

"I know where we useta be able ta git that stuff," said Mal thoughtfully, then frowned at Zoe. "I just wanna sip! I ain't gonna drink it all."

"Get your own cup," Zoe said. "And where exactly were you going to get this stuff?"

"Remember that old gal that ran that place on that moon... what was her name... Sid? She got stuff that was surplus. Oh @#$%&, but I'm gonna need ta scrape together the...." He eyed the jewel that Sam plunked down on the table and resisted the urge to tell Jayne to turn the kid upside down and shake him.

"Dragon rock," said Sam innocently. "Here it talk?"

"No." Mal gave him a narrow look and turned to Zoe.

"You think that's a good idea, cap'n?" Zoe frowned. "Sid has it in for ya, don't she?"

"I'm gonna turn that kid upside down," Jayne breathed, inadvertently echoing Mal's sentiments.

"Leave him alone." Dean turned and frowned at Jayne as Sam stuck out his tongue.

"So I'll just tell 'er I'm taken'." The words came out before Mal thought of all the details he'd need to remember to keep such a lie going. Like who he was taken by, for one thing. "We gotta have money, or we're gonna be stuck dirtside."

"Fair enough," Zoe said, wondering if they had enough ammunition and fuel for the Mule. Operations like this had a marvelous history of never going as planned. "So which one of us gets to raise her on the Cortex?"

"Not it!" Jayne declared bitterly. "Ain't dealin' with that hag."

Iroh just looked from person to person and shook his head.

Mal almost told Jayne that he'd called it, just to hear him curse, but then stopped and thought it over for a moment before turning to Iroh. He'd seen the smaller man's way around women. "Iroh, ya wanna do me a favor?"

"Ding dong bell," murmured Sam, staring blankly into space. "All shot to @#$%&$. Alliance @#$%& on our back. Best laid plans are gonna crack."

"What the...?" Mal stared at him, then shook his head and turned back to Zoe and the others.

"Sam?" Dean walked over, looking spooked. "What's shot? Did you see the Alliance following us?"

Mal gave him an impatient look. "We're tryin' ta plan here."

"He knows things, alright?" Dean scowled.

Mal just turned back to the rest of the crew, thinking that he'd believe the crazy knew the future when he found out Jayne had a university degree.

Iroh chimed in with his easygoing smile. "Then again isn't the Alliance always on our ... #$%#?"

"I could call Sid..." Zoe offered, sounding very resigned to the fact.

"Batman!" Sam was up and gone.

"Good idea." Mal nodded absently, watching him go and feeling relieved that he hadn't started yelling.

Dean sighed and looked around. "Is this a crew meeting that I should have been in on?"

"Jayne, tell the Doc what's goin' down." Mal sighed and pushed his chair back, then got his cane and heaved himself to his feet with pain and difficulty. Food and parts weren't all they were running short on, as Dean had pointedly let his leg remind him lately.

"Just tryin' to figger out where to get some money. We think we might have a job on the far side o' Dustbowl. Only problem is that we gotta contact some gorram crazy lady who's half in love with Mal."

Zoe nodded. "The long and short of it."

"Oh. Well that doesn't sound too bad." Dean relaxed and helped himself to what was on the stove, then made a plate for Abby as she appeared.

Mal just shook his head and made his way slowly to the bridge.

Comments

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Sid had called back after Zoe had made contact, requesting to speak to Mal and Mal only. The rest of the crew had found the idea simply hysterical, but she'd told them to leave the Captain alone while he endured the task.

And now it was over. Zoe leaned on the jamb of the door leading to the bridge. "So what'd she say?" she asked, watching the plethora of stars sail by silently. "Does she want to see you in exchange for gettin' you the work?" She grinned a little evilly and waited for Mal's reaction.

"Wanted t' get together," he said, keeping his eyes trained firmly on the black and ignoring Sam as the kid popped his head up from the stairwell and looked around. "Changed 'er mind after we talked a bit 'n offered t' throw in a bottle 'a champagne."

Yes, his face was red. And yes, he had a strong suspicion that his frantic blurted lie was going to land him in hotter water than he'd ever been in before.

"You know I don't believe a gorram word of what ya just said, cap'n." Zoe's grin stayed in place. If that had been the case, Mal would have been screaming bloody murder. And champagne wouldn't have even factored into it. "What'd you really tell her?"

Mal's jaw clenched and his face colour deepened a few notches.

"Mal and Zoe, sittin' in a tree," chanted Sam softly.

Mal jumped and hurled a roll of toilet paper that was inexplicibly sitting on the consol at him. "Shut yer @#@$#%& yap!"

The lanky teen laughed and clattered down the stairs.

Zoe just shook her head and grinned. "Think it's Jayne's boots he's got?"

There was a yell: "Damn kid! Gimme them back!"

"Guess so." She shrugged. "Anyway, is she going to let us do the job or not?"

"Yeah. Said she'd been lookin' fer somebody goin' that way. But she demanded a cut instead'a lettin' the stuff go for a flat rate." He scowled absently, then blinked and smirked at a resounding 'gong' that could only be Jayne running into one of the cooling pipes.

Zoe sighed, finally walking onto the bridge and settling down into the nearby chair. "How much does she want?"

Jayne walked past the door, clutching one boot and grumbling to himself.

"Twenty five percent." Mal sighed and straightend a dinosaur.

Zoe stared at the toys and fought off a wave of residual sadness. "And what's the full price?"

"That whole rock the kid had 'n the last 'a them @#$%&$ bobble dolls."

"Wait a second." Zoe held up a hand. "Ain't we supposed to be makin' money, not spendin' it?"

"She wouldn't let go of the stuff without a 'deposit'." His jaw clenched as he remembered Sid saying that she had no proof that he wouldn't just take off into the black with the stuff and leave her with nothing. "She don't even know what the rock is."

"Peanuts." Sam sauntered in with one boot on and went over to kiss Zoe on the cheek.

Zoe smiled slightly and watched Sam for a second, then continued as though nothing had happened. "She's got her cut," she said bitterly. "But I suppose she wants collateral in case her goods get stolen." A sigh. "Business."

"Yeah." He eyed Sam narrowly as the boy walked over to his consol, but then relaxed as the kid only greeted the dinosaurs and started talking to them. "From what I hear 'a the demand we oughtta get a new engine outta this."

"Serenity'll like that. She's trying, but it's hard." Sam gave him a smile.

"Uh... okay." Mal looked at him funny.

"Well, that's not inaccurate," Zoe said. "Abby's been sayin' she needed one for ages."

"Yeah." Mal's shoulders slumped and his fist clenched slightly on the consol. His crew was all raggedy and his ship was falling apart... he really hoped there was another job after this one.

Sam frowned and shook his head, then sat on the floor and crossed his legs.

"Well, we're gettin' the cash," Zoe said with a shrug. "Once we get an engine the drive should be operational, then the kitchen might right itself..."

She really didn't know whether or not to be optimistic about the situation.

Mal looked at the screen and hit the com button. "We'll be hittin' atmo in about five minutes, so brace yourselves." -God, this's gotta work.-

Zoe nodded and strapped herself into the deck seat. "Have you reiterated to Sid that we wanna see her goods, too?"

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Mal stared in disbelief. "This ain't part'a the deal! I ain't haulin' no @#$%& hogs on my ship!"

"They're for Kibbleton," said the grey-haired woman standing next to him as she leaned casually on the side of the jerry-rigged fence. "Might as well kill two birds with one stone. 'N it'll get you a shipping fee."

"No." Mal growled and limped backward to get away from the snuffly nose of one of the piglets.

Sid looked at Zoe, then back to Mal. "I got a set'a wedding rings for cheap. See you ain't got around to that yet."

Zoe scoffed. "Ain't a concern of mine," she said. "How much will this shippin' fee be? More or less than the 'deposit' we had to pay you?"

"Depends on how good you haggle." The tattered remains of a high class accent showed in the weathered woman's speech. "Should be worth at least four hundred, at that distance."

"Four hundred." Mal snorted.

"Cap'n, that's still turnin' a profit," Zoe observed. "Think we should just take the pork and the extra money?"

"Hogs stink," he observed, wondering where the heck Jayne had gotten to.

One of the piglets, a fine dark red fellow, began telling Zoe's boot a big story through the bars of the fence.

Zoe stared down at the piglet for a moment before looking back at Sid. "But they will only stink for a short while," she said, being the voice of reason.

They needed this job. Zoe had to maneuver around Mal's cantankerousness so that everyone would be as satisfied as possible and the money would come.

He grumbled, then saw Sid looking at him suspiciously and slipped an arm around Zoe's waist. "Yer right, sweetheart. Ya wanna call Jayne 'n tell 'im ta git 'em loaded?"

"Okay." She flipped open a communicator. "Jayne, come and get these pigs and load 'em."

Jayne's voice crackled. "Pigs? I thought we was movin' medicine?"

"We're doin' both," Zoe said matter-of-factly.

Mal smirked, but then went a little green at the gills and shifted his hand from Zoe's waist to her shoulder, leaning heavily against her.

"What's wrong?" Sid frowned and turned her attention away from the sudden rodeo in the pig pen.

"Ain't none of your business," Zoe snapped. "Let's just get the business done and over with, hm?"

Later

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Mal sat in the pilot's chair, his hands gripping the head of his cane and his forehead resting against them as he clenched his eyes and tried not to be sick from the pain in his leg. One of the pigs had gotten away while Jayne was getting them on the ship, and he'd stooped down and caught the thing without thinking. He'd told Zoe he was alright.

She'd given him a look and gone off to supervise things in the cargo hold during lift off, but he was just waiting for her to come back and give him a piece of her mind for being so stupid.

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Mal set the cup down, his other hand over his mouth as he tried to get enough control to reply.

"Wrenched my leg catchin' a pig," he said at last, his voice rough but steady.

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"I hope you've seen the Doctor over it," Iroh said quietly.

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"Doc's asleep." Mal snorted with amusement despite his pain, then grabbed his tea and made a show of enjoying it as he thought that Dean really needed to learn not to leave things where his younger brother could get them.

Then he reminded himself that the kid could pretty well get anything no matter where anybody put it.

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"Zat so?" The captain lifted an eyebrow. "'N what ya gonna do with it now?"

"Space the @#$%&$# stowaway!" Sam wheeled and vanished with a laugh.

"Oh no...." Mal hit the comm button. "Zoe? Jayne? You wanna keep the kid away from the airlock?"

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Jayne's voice crackled through the speaker. "Cap'n, ya know I do that anyway. Got no desire t' be dead."

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That reminded him of the time he'd nearly spaced the man, which got a chuckle out of him for some reason. "Good. See if ya can't find somethin' ta do with that rat."

Sometime later

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"The... pigs... are secure," Zoe said, her face showing mild amusement as she watched the display.

The ship was coming in for her landing after a very uneventful transit. The pigs' squealing had died down to a dull roar and the engine was holding. They couldn't have really asked for much more.

She looked over at the Captain. "Y'okay, sir?"

Re: Sometime later

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"Yeah." He frowned at Sam as the boy made his happy, tipsy way across the bridge. "Just jealous."

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"Jealous of what? Not being a space case?"

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"Why? Ya think ya got the monopoly on cussin'?" Mal grabbed his cane and started the tricky and delicate process of getting himself to his feet. "Everybody ready?"

"Though we look for rightful gain/ this will only end in pain," said Sam suddenly, staring into space. Then he closed his eyes and hugged himself as he rocked. "Treachery will take a tole/ not all of us will leave this whole."

"Hey, Sammy? Are you alright?" Dean moved over and put a hand on his brother's shoulder, then jumped a foot as the kid gave a howl.

Mal started, then hissed through his teeth with pain as the motion jarred his leg. "Now what???"

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Zoe shook her head slightly at the two brothers - for the first time in her life she wished they would just shut up because if left unwatched Sam had the potential to screw this all up rather royally.

"This's the place where we drop off the hogs to Kibbleton," she said, pointing to the three men on horses. "Looks like that's him and his men waitin'."

She reached for her shotgun. "I think we should be cautious. No, Jayne, you can't bring grenades."

The other man pouted slightly, but hoisted Vera onto his shoulder.

"Ready when you are, Cap'n."

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"Doc, take 'im to the med bay," ordered Mal as Sam stared at Dean in shock. Then he looked up at his second in command and blushed slightly with mortification as he held out a hand for her to help him out of the pilot's seat.

"No, no," murmured Sam, putting a hand in his pocket and pushing to his feet with no sign of tipsiness. "Sammy's good. Wants to help."

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"Back up slow," murmured Sam, carefully NOT looking toward where the rest of Kibbleton's men were hiding.

"What he said," muttered Mal, keeping his eyes on Kibbleton.

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Vera came off Jayne's shoulder and was trained on Kibbleton and his remaining visible man while everyone did as Sam suggested.

"They got more men," he muttered to Mal. "I know they do."

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Mal opened his mouth to retort, but then yelped and hit the dirt as a shot whistled over his head and hit the side of the ship.

"!#$%&$#@!" said Sam, sounding just like Jayne.

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"All around us, all around, the @#$%&#@s have driven us to ground." Sam scowled and dropped Mal's gun, then reached into the pockets of his browncoat.

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"Yeah," Jayne grunted as he laid down cover fire with Vera. "Tell me about it."

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There was a sudden buzz as 'Abby' and 'Vi' snapped to life, their green blades shining brightly as Sam got up on his knees.

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Sam growled and jerked away, eyes scanning the trees. "Watch your back, Jack."

Mal groaned softly and tried to lift his head. His face was the colour of slightly off milk.

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As soon as they reached the ramp, Iroh leapt in and helped to lift Mal the last few feet and settle him down gently on a crate.

It wasn't a bed and it was very noisy with piglets snuffling underfoot, but it was a start.

Iroh looked at Dean. "So?"

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"Doing what I have to," he retorted absently, reading crate labels and then attacking the one that said it contained painkiller. Startled piglets barked and fled in all directions.

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"Yeah, but can ya do it ... quieter?" Jayne winced as the piglets started up with their squealing.