Again, here there be SPOILERS, folks! This is a fan fiction set in the Firefly/Serenity universe created by Joss Whedon. It takes place after the events in the television series and the companion motion picture that followed. So since the very premise of the tale reveals something major, PULEEZE please don't read this unless you get the chance to see the series and the movie -- both, in my opinion, some of the best science fiction ever created for the big or small screen.

FIREFLY: CONNECTING FLIGHT
by Randalynn

Chapter 2 -- Lost Luggage

Wash moved through the door with a "thank you" nod to Mal, and climbed the long spiral stairway towards ground level. She was very much aware of how her new hips moved, and how the slight bouncing of her chest with every step pulled just a little on bra straps that tugged her shoulders. Wash could even feel the movement of her hair against her neck and shoulders through the fabric of her flight suit and jacket.

She spent an awful lot of mental energy not thinking about what wasn't between her legs anymore -- almost as much energy as she spent not thinking about what was, now.

But as Wash climbed the stairs, just using her new body made it easier to deal with. By the time she reached the top step, the edge of the newness had almost worn off. She still wasn't happy with the way things had turned out, but at least she didn't hate the way every step made her feel.

'Hell, I'm alive, right?' she said inside. 'Got to be better than dead, even if my skin doesn't quite fit anymore.'

But no matter how many times she repeated it, the words didn't seem to kill the sense of loss Wash felt. She was surrounded by her closest friends in the 'Verse, and yet, she had never felt so alone.

She could almost feel Mal's eyes watching her from behind as she climbed the stairs, but strangely enough, it didn't seem to bother her at all. 'It's okay,' Wash realized, a little surprised. 'After all, Mal's a man -- a good man, but still a man. And men look, especially at a body that looks this good. Hell, if the old me were back there, I'd look -- if Zoe weren't there to catch me, that is.'

The new girl grinned, thinking about the thinly-veiled warnings Zoe would deliver, and the things she'd do in private later to show him why he didn't need to look at other women. The smile faded as she thought of Jayne, and the expression on his face in the bar. Mal would look her over if the opportunity presented itself, but he might feel bad about it afterwards if she caught him at it. If Wash caught Jayne, he'd would probably smile and nod and wink, as if undressing her with his eyes were some kind of bizarre Jayne-ish compliment. Wash could feel him eyeing her from behind with some odd extra sense she knew only women possessed. From past experience, Wash knew the man had no clue about how to be subtle at all, and the weight of his attention was almost a tangible thing.

'I am going to need to do something about Jayne,' she thought with a mental sigh. 'I know damned well he wants me, and he won't touch me unless Mal gives him the okay. And Mal will tell him I'm off-limits if I ask him to. But I also know Jayne will chase me anyway, whether I want him to or not, and I'm still man enough not to want to be chased by any guy, let alone Jayne.'

Wash stopped at the top of the stairs and looked around. Her memory came back in a rush.

'Santo,' she remembered, her smile returning. 'We're on Santo! How Joh Bu Jian! I haven't been here since the week after flight school ended -- that little vacation I took before starting my gig with that transport line. Oh, yes. The gambling . . . the drinking . . . And that was the "Crash and Burn" we just left? Man, I don't remember it being such a dive. I guess I shouldn't be surprised -- a lot of pilots looked for pick-up work there.'

Mal moved around her, muttering an apology, and she quickly stepped aside before Jayne could use her blocking the way as an excuse for a quick brush with girl-flesh -- her girl-flesh. Wash shivered, and hurried to keep up with Mal.

###

Jayne watched the new girl speed up to walk near Mal and smiled.

'She don't know me yet, but I bet I can make her want to.' He watched her move through the crowded streets with that kind of girlish wiggle that always made Lil' Jayne sit up and take notice. Most unwelcome hands passed her by with Mal so close, acting all grim and purposeful and captainy and such, but a few snaked past to give her a quick pat on her ass before she could avoid them. Jayne could tell it didn't make her happy.

'She ain't gonna be easy,' he thought. 'No Jien Huo, that's for sure. But not Bu Ku Nuhn neither.' He watched her more, wondering what she would be like in bed and finding the idea more than interesting. 'Hell, sometimes a man needs a gorram challenge. And I ain't had me a woman for long enough that I don't much mind working for it.'

Jayne's lips moved into a predator's grin. 'Girl, you just became my newest hobby. Just lay back and enjoy the chase . . . and what comes after. Dohn-mah?'

###

Zoe wasn't quite sure what to make of the newcomer. On the one hand, she was obviously bright, friendly, and professional. The Captain liked her, which said a lot. And it didn't hurt that she came highly recommended by people she and the Captain could trust.

On the other hand, she wasn't Wash.

Since Wash's death, River had flown the ship, and she was damned good at it. Still, she had always left Wash's seat empty, preferring to fly from the left-hand station. When Simon asked her why, she smiled and replied, "because that's Wash's place, Ghuh. And it always will be." That was one reason Zoe never minded River taking her man's job -- especially when she did so well at the controls.

'But now this redheaded girl was just going to step into Wash's shoes?' Zoe shook her head. It just grated some, is all. It shouldn't be that easy.

She knew it was wrong and unfair, but she couldn't help what she felt. Her husband had been the best pilot in the 'Verse. And Zoe wasn't going to make it any easier for this Hu Li Jing to take his place than she had to. Linda would have to earn that pilot's seat, one way or another.

Zoe would make sure of it.

###

Wash squirmed again, trying to ignore the hands that kept darting out of the crowd to touch her. As a man, she'd never been subjected to such casual abuse. Women didn't usually go in for recreational groping, as much as the teenaged Wash sometimes wanted them to. But now that he was a she, Wash was discovering how totally uncomfortable and humiliating it was to be trapped in a crowd and fondled without a thought for who she was. She thought about saying something to Mal, but she knew that he might see her as less than she was if she called for help over something a man might see as trivial. As angry as this was making her, Wash thought it might be best to just let it slide. After all, they were almost to the spaceport. It couldn't last too much longer.

'Just let it go,' she repeated to herself. 'Leaf on the wind, right? Rise above it. Nothing but a bunch of jerks, having their fun. It'll be over soon.' For a while, it almost worked.

Then one hand touched, grabbed, and squeezed. HARD.

Wash's anger flared. Without thinking, she reached back, snagged the interloper's hand, and pressed and twisted simultaneously. A teenaged boy fell to his knees at her feet with a yelp of pain, and she looked down at him with a snarl.

"HEY!" she shouted into his face. Mal turned around, surprised at the outburst. Jayne and Zoe stopped in their tracks and stared. "Just because my ass moves around a bit, doesn't mean you get to reach out and grab it, Sah Gwa. What're you, a monkey? Something wiggles and you just have to see if you can catch it?"

A few of his friends stood just a few feet away, shocked into silence by how easily their leader was caught -- and how angry his target turned out to be.

"That's my butt you're messing with, Bei Bi Shiou Ren." Wash twisted the hand again, and the boy whimpered. "Time you saw this body has hands, too -- and knows how to use them."

Tears began to rise in the boy's eyes. The pilot raised her voice and looked up to catch the eyes of the gang members.

"You listen up, all of you! Anyone touches me like that again, and I'll twist something else -- hard enough to break it off, dohn-mah?" She stared at them all and let them see how serious she was. "Dohn-luh-mah?"

The entire gang looked down at their feet and nodded quickly. "Yes, honored miss, donh-mah, donh-mah!"

Wash let go of the leader and pushed him away with her boot. "Kwai Jio Kai. Take a hike." The gang grabbed him as he fell and they all disappeared into the crowd without a backward glance. There was a smattering of applause. Some of the women on the sidelines laughed, while the men eyed her warily and gave the crazy pilot-girl a lot of room.

Wash was breathing heavily, letting the adrenaline burn itself off. 'Hell, was that me? Or Linda? Or both? Either way, it felt good! Damn!' Then she began to realize how dangerous it had been.

Mal approached slowly, not quite sure what to say.

"That was . . . impressive," he said tentatively. "Really . . . something."

Wash shook her head, still shaking a bit. "No, Captain. I really shouldn't have lost my head like that. What if he had a knife or a gun? It's all manner of stupid for me to get myself killed to stop someone from a bit of grab and go." She looked down at the floor and sighed. "The smart thing to do was just ignore it. The whole thing could have gone south real fast."

Mall cocked his head, curious. "If that's how you feel, why'd you do it?"

She looked up into Mal's eyes, her mouth set in a grim line. "Because I got mad. I'm nobody's play toy. I'm a pilot, and a damned good one. If I let them treat me like a piece of meat, they're stealing who I am -- who I worked hard to be. I can't let that slide."

"Ain't wrong to take a stand when you need to." The Captain's voice held a question, even though none was asked. "Sounds like you've had to fight before."

Wash remembered being the smallest guy in flight school, and having to prove himself to the rest of the jocks -- sometimes with his fists, but more often with his quick wit and a ready grin. As she remembered her own history, some of Linda's past slipped through as well, and Wash smiled as the memories washed over her. "I'm a woman and a pilot. Most of my classmates were men." She shrugged. "Sometimes you just have to draw a line and make it stick, or folk will walk all over you. Men folk in particular. Most guys have to be told where the line is, and made to stay on their side of it. Can't help it, goes with the testosterone." She grinned. "Present company excepted, of course."

Zoe stepped up, a smile twitching across her lips. "Oh, don't make an exception for the Captain. He's crossed a few lines in his day, haven't you, Sir? When he thinks a woman's worth all the yellin' and carryin' on that follows."

Mal grinned and then looked away, embarrassed. "That's enough tellin' tales, Zoe."

"Sorry, Sir," Zoe replied, still smiling. "My lips are sealed."

Jayne smirked and snorted, and Mal shot him a look. Then he turned to Wash with a smile.

"Serenity's over this way, Linda," he said. "Best get to the boat so we can see if you fly as good as you fight."

"Sounds good to me, Captain." She smiled and started walking. "Been too long since I broke atmo. Be nice to be in the black again."

###

Serenity was . . . Serenity. There were a lot of Firefly-class ships out there still, but Wash felt a pull to this particular boat that wasn't quite rational. They'd been through a lot, since he first joined up with Mal and met Zoe, but the connection between pilot and ship had never been stronger.

Now, standing here looking at her through Linda's eyes, she could still feel that connection deep inside. Serenity had missed her, and it almost seemed as if the ship welcomed her back. 'Silly, I know,' Wash chided herself inside, 'but if there wasn't more to the 'Verse than you could see, I wouldn't be here.'

'Of course, I AM inside a body of the wrong sex -- one that Jayne wants to play with.' Wash sighed. 'Just more proof the 'Verse is not perfect, and never will be.'

Hands on her hips, Wash gave her old ship a once over, and what she saw made her sad, just a little. She was shiny, and obviously well-cared for, but there were scars that no amount of care could eradicate, and a tear slipped out and left a trail down her cheek.

"Sorry, baby," she whispered. "I did my best."

Mal turned, not sure what he heard, and found his new pilot with a tear on her cheek.

"Linda?" he asked, his voice tentative. "Are you okay?"

Wash shook her head and smiled. "Yes and no," the girl replied, "She's beautiful but I can see she's been through a lot. I sort of . . . feel her pain, if that makes any sense."

Zoe's voice came from over her shoulder. "What do you feel, exactly?" She turned and found her ex-wife wearing the blank look Wash recognized as her bargaining face. It hid her skepticism from all except those who knew her. Wash shrugged and turned back to Serenity .

"She's been hurt . . . in a crash," she said softly. "Whoever landed her must have been one hell of a pilot. She's been put back together again by folks who care, and it shows. But like every ship that comes back from a crash, there are always scars. And that's . . . well, that's always a shame."

There was a long silence, and with a shrug of her shoulders, Wash started forward, leaving the others behind.

###

"Now that's downright creepifyin'," Jayne whispered to Zoe. The first mate shrugged.

"Any half-decent pilot can see she'd crashed, Jayne."

"Yeah, but what about the other stuff? Bein' put back together by folks who cared and such?"

Mal stepped in. "It don't sound like she's lyin', so I think she believes it. And since River joined the crew, I'm not exactly willin' to think Linda's crazy because she thinks she can feel the ship's past just by lookin' at her. Wash used to talk to the ship like she was alive all the time. Ain't no different, to my mind."

Zoe gave Mal a dark look, and Mal shrugged. "It just don't seem different to me, Zoe. You got another opinion, fine." Zoe looked at Mal and said nothing.

Jayne backed up a step, then another. 'The one place nobody wants to be is between Mal and Zoe when they's fixin' to argue,' he thought.

The Captain leaned forward, and his voice became sharp. "You may not like it, but we need a pilot -- a licensed one, and that's a fact. River's done fine, but we just managed to dodge having the Alliance take Serenity in tow twice, just 'cause the forged papers we bought on Persephone don't fly as well as River does."

Zoe looked down, biting her lip. "I ain't sayin' we don't need a pilot, Sir. Just ain't too sure she's the pilot we need is all."

"Well, I am," Mal said, watching Linda walk around the ship. "I don't think she's lyin' about what she feels for Serenity , and she seems pleasant enough company. If Kaylee and River like her, and if she lives up to everything I've heard when she takes the controls, she's gonna be flyin' my boat full-time. I don't want to have to worry about you treatin' her as less than one of the crew, just because she's trying to fill Wash's shoes."

Zoe took a deep breath and shook her head. Mal turned his eyes back to Zoe, and she raised her eyes to meet his. He sighed. "I'm not askin' you to bunk with the girl, Zoe. Just don't hold it against her that she ain't him, dohn ma?"

"I'll do my best, Sir."

"Can't ask for more than that," Mal said with a smile. "Your best has always been better than anybody's, and that's a fact."

Zoe smiled back, and Jayne let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. There had been more of these head bumpin' almost-fights since they lost Wash -- both Mal and Zoe were a little rougher around the edges than they used to be. He shrugged. 'Like when Ma and Pa used to almost go at it,' he thought, 'before they moved on to the real fightin' and cussin'. And ain't that a scary place for my mind to be goin'.'

Jayne watched as Mal and Zoe started off to catch up with the new pilot. He shook his head. 'What's past is past, chun zi. Stay in the here and now. Think about the new girl, and how great it's gonna be to have somethin' warm and soft in your bunk for a change.'

Watching Linda as she walked away, a smile grew on Jayne's face, and he moved to follow.

###

Kaylee stood in the open hatch to the cargo bay and watched the new pilot approach.

'She's pretty, all right,' the mechanic thought, chewing on her lower lip. 'Heck, she's beautiful. All that red hair and those curves and that smile . . . I can see Jayne puttin' on his girl chasing face plain as day from here.' Her heart raced a little faster, and she frowned in distress. 'Damn, she's -- I can't compete with that! She's gonna come on board and see my Simon, and that's gonna be it for lil' ol' Kaylee. One look . . .'

"One look at my brother, and she'll shake his hand and keep her distance," River said from behind her. Kaylee turned quickly, one hand on her mouth, and blushed.

"You didn't say it out loud, mei mei." The younger girl smiled and gave her a quick hug. "But I don't need to be a reader to see what's going through your head." She turned her eyes out to the approaching group. "She's pretty, but Simon loves you. You know that. No other girl is going to steal him from you." Her eyes narrowed, and she grinned. "Especially THAT girl. Trust me, Kaylee, she just wants to be a friend. If you let her. She could use a friend right now."

After another quick hug, River looked into her friend's eyes. "And you're beautiful too, you know."

"Oh, I ain't." Kaylee shook her head and turned away from the hatch. "I'm just me. Nothin' special to look at."

"Somebody needs a mirror," River sang in a teasing voice. Kaylee blushed deeper. "Besides, Simon loves you for you. All of you. What's outside and what's in. That's what matters."

"River's right, Kaylee."

Kaylee turned and found Simon standing behind her. She looked up at him with a small smile. "About what?"

"About everything." He smiled down at her. "That's part of what makes her so annoying sometimes, don't you think?"

River grinned, stuck her tongue out at Simon.

"I love you, too, big brother," she said, then turned and did a perfect set of cartwheels clear across the cargo bay, leaving the two lovers alone. Kaylee's eyes turned back towards the hatch, and Simon stepped forward and put his arms around her.

"I've already found the girl I love," he said, the look on his face making her melt. "And nobody's going to take me from her, or her from me -- not without a fight."

"You say the nicest things," Kaylee murmured, her lips pressed against his.

Simon kissed her quick and grinned. "I've been practicing."

Her eyes opened wide and she slapped him hard on the arm. "Hey! You ain't supposed to tell a girl that!"

"Well, remember how my mouth managed to get me into trouble with you before, on that commerce station . . . with the 'alien' cow?" Kaylee tried to wriggle out of Simon's arms, but he held her tight and looked into her eyes. "I think I'm smart enough to figure out I need a little help in the romance department once in a while, so . . . I think ahead a little. Because I love you, and you deserve romance."

Kaylee looked up and saw Simon's smile, and her resistance slipped through her fingers. "Awwwww, that's sweet." Then she frowned a little. "Did you practice that one up, too?"

"No," Simon replied as he bent to kiss her, "Just came up with it right now. Inspired, honest."

"Good. I like inspirin'. Let's do some more." Their lips met and the rest of the world slipped away . . . until Mal made his presence known by tromping heavily up the cargo bay entry ramp. They separated slowly and turned to see the new pilot silhouetted against the spaceport skyline, bracketed by the Captain, Jayne, and Zoe.

"Oh hell, you two, get a room," Jayne growled, then stopped and grinned. "Oh wait! That's right, you already got one." He leaned against the door frame and smirked. "But if you two want to get to ruttin' right here, I ain't about to stop you. 'Bout time we had some in-flight entertainment on this boat. Maybe we could even get the new girl to join in."

For an instant, Zoe felt embarrassed that Jayne would be . . . well, Jayne . . . in front of an outsider. But then she remembered that Linda might wind up crew, and maybe it was better for her to see Jayne in all his "glory" before thinking about signing on. She kept silent.

Mal, on the other hand, didn't want the new pilot driven away. "Jayne!" he growled, shooting him a look that should have pinned him to the spot. Jayne just smiled back, although the wattage in his grin seemed to dim a bit.

Wash shook her head, and Mal looked at her. "Remember what I said before, Captain, about some men forgetting where the line is?" She walked over to stand in front of Jayne and looked up into his smirk. "Mister Cobb here seems like the type that needs reminding more than most."

"Ain't that a fact," Zoe said under her breath.

"Aw, heck, sweetie," Jayne replied, looking down the front of Wash's flight suit, "Let's not be so formal. You can call me Jayne. Mister Cobb was my father."

"Really?" Wash leaned forward, eyes wide. "Then maybe we should send him a wave, so he can give you a crash course in female anatomy. Obviously, he missed a few things when you were growing up. I'll give you just a small lesson for now, though." She reached out with a finger and shoved his chin upward until they were face to face. "When you're talking to a woman, her eyes are up here!"

"Well, yeah," the mercenary said, still smiling, "but even as pretty as yours are, they ain't half as much fun to look at while you're jawing. Or any other time for that matter." He moved his face closer to hers, and she could see he didn't care what she thought. "And as for learnin' 'bout a woman's body, I already know how all the pieces fit. But if you really want to show me somethin', I do better with 'hands on' trainin'." He looked down into her flight suit again, and his fingers twitched.

"Jayne!" Mal's voice held an anger Jayne knew better than to ignore. "Walk away now, or they'll be pickin' pieces of you up off the ground from here to the control tower once we lift. I'll throw you into the engine myself. And you know that's a fact."

Jayne looked into Mal's eyes, and what he saw there was truth. Still, he wasn't about to look shy in front of the new girl, so he snorted, turned and walked slowly towards the stairs to the crew quarters. He stopped, turned and gave Wash's whole body a long looking over. Then he looked into her eyes and grinned. "If . . . anybody . . . wants me, I'll be in my bunk."

Then he turned and started climbing the stairs.

Wash suddenly had the weirdest feeling -- a cross between wanting to slowly roast the man over the plasma exhaust, and not being able to take her eyes off of his bottom as Jayne climbed the stairs. The mixed signals between soul and body made her head hurt, and she turned away and clenched her fists, trying to regain control.

'An Fen Shou Ji,' she thought angrily. 'Stop acting like a . . . a . . . just stop it! I may have to live this way, but there are lines Mrs. Washburne's little boy is not going to cross any time soon. Men? Maybe, someday . . . when pigs fly. I like sex too much to just sit it out for the next ninety years. But if there's any man in this 'Verse I'm NEVER getting moon-eyed over, it's Jayne Neanderthal Cobb!'

Mal saw Linda turn away, looking like she was trying to regain control of her temper. He saw how Jayne treated his orders, and decided he needed a little one-on-one time with his head of "public relations."

"Zoe, make some introductions and show Linda around," Mal said, his tone sharper than he'd like. He flashed Linda a tight smile and turned back to Zoe. "I need to have a few words with Jayne."

"Understood, Sir."

As Mal barreled up the stairs after Jayne, Kaylee stepped forward.

"Hi! I'm Kaylee!" She reached out a hand and gave Wash's a squeeze. "I'm the ship's mechanic. And this is Simon Tam, the ship's doctor."

Wash smiled. She had always liked Kaylee. Simon, too -- both sweet kids. "Hey! Two folks who fix things, machines and people. Now there's a match made in Heaven." As Kaylee blushed and Simon looked down, Wash gave the mechanic's hand a squeeze in return. "I'm pleased to meet you both." She turned and shook the doctor's hand as well.

"Sorry about Jayne," Kaylee said. "He's usually not this . . . direct."

Zoe shook her head. "I've seen him chasing women before. Remember at the Heart of Gold? This is usually the way he . . . catches the ones he wants." She shrugged. "With girls, he likes using a sledgehammer to rip down a rice paper wall."

"Maybe in a whore house, sniffing after a doxy . . . or two," Kaylee replied, uncertain. "But this is home, Zoe. He's teased me a little from time to time, but he's never done that with any of the crew before."

The first mate gave Wash a cool look. "Still hasn't -- yet."

Wash saw the distance in Zoe's eyes and looked away. 'God, it hurts when she looks at me like that. Like I mean less than nothing to her.'

"No, Zoe. Kaylee's right." Simon frowned. "He's usually more . . . civilized than this, especially with us, and especially around Mal. Most of the time, what he lacks in social skills he makes up for just being crude -- but I thought Mal had some kind of influence over him. Enough to keep him at least pretending to be a regular human being."

Wash thought back to when she was a he, and impressing a woman put every other consideration on the back burner. "Sometimes when a guy decides he wants a girl, he checks his brains at the door and lets other body parts think for him," she said. "Jayne seems like the type who lets his body do the thinking more often than not."

Zoe gave it a bit of thought, then dismissed it. "Not our problem right now," she said briskly. "Captain will set it right. He always does. Right now, I've got my orders. Ms. Wehr, if you'll come with me?"

Kaylee put her arm through Wash's. "Linda will come with us," she announced, giving the first mate a dark look. Forgetting her earlier worries, she handed Linda off to Simon with a smile. "Why don't you take her down to the engine room, Simon. That's the best place to start a tour, at least when I'm the one givin' it. I'll be right with you."

Slightly confused, Simon nodded. Wash gave Kaylee a look over her shoulder, and Kaylee nodded happily at her before she disappeared with her man into the depths of the ship. Then she turned on Zoe with a ferocity that took the first mate totally by surprise.

"Honestly, Zoe, why're you're being so gorram mean?" The mechanic put her hands on her hips and thrust her face forward. "The Captain wants her on the crew, and anybody can see she's sweet as a strawberry sundae, but you're treating her like a redheaded stepchild that's been sprayed by a skunk and wrapped in your best dress. That girl could be family, maybe, someday -- if she don't run for the hills 'cause of the first impression you're givin' her. What's wrong with you?"

Zoe set her jaw and wisely said nothing. Kaylee's eyes widened. "You want to drive her away? What the hell for?" There was a long silence as Kaylee figured it out. Then all of the emotion drained from her face, except for a disapproval so powerful that Zoe could feel it across the cargo bay. Her next words cut deep.

"Captain would be disappointed in you. Wash would, too. I know I am."

Shaking her head, Kaylee turned away and started walking towards the back of the ship, leaving the first mate to think about what it meant to disappoint the Captain -- and what her husband would really think about the way she was acting.

###

"Jayne, what the hell were you thinkin'?" Mal stepped into Jayne's room with murder on his mind and stopped short. Jayne was sitting on his bunk, and from the look on his face, he was thinking harder than any other time Mal had ever seen the mercenary think.

"Somethin' about that girl ain't right," he muttered, then looked up at Mal.

"You think the girl ain't right?" The captain was stunned. "You're the gorram idiot who insulted her in front of a whole mess a new people!"

"Insulted?" Jayne looked up at the captain, his confusion evident. "Damn it, Mal, I was tryin' to court her. Usin' my best stuff, too. She shoulda jumped me before I took two steps out of the bay." He shook his head. "That girl ain't right."

"Are you brain-blown? You expected her to jump you?" Mal shook his head in disbelief. "She's ain't a whore, Jayne. She's a professional pilot, and a damned good one. She ain't gonna start chasin' you around the cargo bay in the middle of a job interview, even if she is interested, which believe me, she ain't."

"How do you know?"

"'Cause I saw her looking mad enough to chew a hole through the hull when you walked off."

"Dammit, Mal, why would she be mad?"

It suddenly got real quiet, and Mal realized Jayne's social skills might actually not be up to dealin' with a woman as more than a sex toy. "Because you treated her like a whore, Jayne. Whores jump when you tell them you want 'em 'cause there's a stack of credits waiting when your wanting them is through. But women in general . . . well, women are people, Jayne. They need to know you think of them as more than warm things to play with. They need respect." Mal sighed and shook his head. "Jayne, you never treated Kaylee the way you treated Linda just now, did you?"

"Hell, no, Mal!" Jayne looked confused. "That'd be like tryin' to make time with my sister!"

"Or Zoe?"

He snorted. "Come on! She'd KILL me!"

"Or Inara?"

"YOU'D kill me!"

"Gorram right, I would. Inara would, too. You treat most any woman we come across the way you treated Linda, you'd be dead before you hit the ground."

Jayne stopped, and squinted at Mal. "If that's true, why ain't I dead yet?"

"Maybe 'cause you're lucky," Mal replied. "Maybe 'cause Linda was way too busy interviewin' to kill you. Keep at her like that, though, and I reckon she'll find the time soon enough. And if she don't, I most certainly will."

Jayne sat heavily on his bunk, pulling down the blanket that covered his collection of weapons. "Well, ain't that shiny. We got a new girl comin' aboard and I'm already humped." Mal smiled, and Jayne looked up and scowled. "You know I don't mean it like that! I mean she needs the kind of courtin' I can't do."

"Jayne, you're a grown man," the captain said slowly. "You tellin' me you never courted a woman before?"

"Oh, I tried," Jayne growled, staring at the floor. "Never got nowhere with any of 'em. I guess now I can figger out why."

"Didn't nobody ever teach you how?"

"Daddy ran off long before I started noticing how much better girls looked with curves." Jayne stood up and walked over to the desk. He picked up a holo of his family. "Ma sure didn't want to teach me how to catch a girl. Get her in trouble, that's one more mouth to feed. So when I got out and started seeing the 'Verse on my own, I had to figger out how to catch a girl -- and what to do with her when I caught her."

"Oh? How's that working out?" Mal managed to keep the smirk from his face, but Jayne heard a touch of it in his voice.

"Now that ain't fair, Mal! I do the best I can. It just ain't . . . all that good is all. At the catching part, anyway. Never got no complaints about what happens after, least from the whores I could catch." He snorted and put down the picture of his family. "This ain't about getting sexed, Mal. The kind of work I do, I never expected to settle down or nothin', least not 'til somebody settled me with a bullet or two. But suddenly, it's a few years later, and I ain't dead. And things start to look a mite different when you start thinkin' about the future -- specially when you thought you'd never have one."

He stared at the far wall, looking at nothing at all. "I seen what Zoe had with Wash, and what Kaylee has with the Doc, and I started wondering what it would be like to be with a woman who wanted me instead of my cash."

"I started thinkin' it woulda been nice to have the chance someday, if I stayed alive long enough." Jayne shrugged. "But if I can't even talk up a reg'lar girl without shootin' myself in the foot, I got nothin' to look forward to but a hole in the ground and some words from a preacher. If I had somebody to show me when I was growing up, maybe . . ." He drifted into silence, shaking his head. "But now? No chance at all."

Mal saw that this was really somethin' bothering the mercenary. 'Jayne may not be much, but he is crew,' he thought, 'and to be fair, he did stand up without a thought for coin when we fought the Reavers and the Alliance to let the 'Verse know about Miranda. He's a hell of a lot better than he was when he first came aboard, and that's a fact.'

'If I help him get together with Linda and she takes a shine to him, he might actually be a mite easier to manage. Anything that makes Jayne behave himself is fine by me. And it'll keep the new pilot from strayin' off the boat if they hit it off.' His lip twitched, and he scratched an ear to hide it. 'Kept Wash here right enough.'

Mall took a deep breath and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I wouldn't say no chance, exactly," he said, letting a little reluctance creep into his voice. "I mean, if you go back and tell her you're sorry -- and really mean it -- she might let it go, just this one time."

Jayne thought for a second and shook his head again. "It's no good, Mal. Even if I fixed it now, I'd just make a mess of it again later, you know that."

There was a long silence, then Mal spoke.

"What if you didn't?"

###

Wash followed Kaylee from the engine room on forward, remembering all of the good things that had happened on this ship in her past life. Every room held its own memories, and as she drifted behind the mechanic, she almost felt as if she was touching her past with her fingertips as she moved through Serenity .

Simon excused himself when they reached the infirmary, after getting Linda's authorization to access and download her medical records over the Cortex if the captain gave her the final okay to join the crew. He also mentioned something about scheduling a complete physical as soon as possible once they were on their way. As Ship's Doctor, her health was his responsibility, and she could see he took it seriously.

Wash nodded numbly with a wooden smile, eyeing the collapsed stirrups under the exam table with a barely suppressed sigh.

As they left Simon behind, Kaylee nudged her with a shoulder and gave her a little smile. "Looked like the idea of getting squeezed, poked, and prodded don't quite set right with you."

Wash ducked her head and gave the mechanic a small grin. "Does it ever?"

"Well, you don't need to worry," Kaylee said, giving her a small hug and an understanding smile. "Simon's really good at what he does. Won't hardly hurt at all. And he's got a gentle touch when it counts the most."

The pilot shivered and then tried to put it out of her mind.

When they reached the dining area, she stood looking at the well-worn table, with its homelike touches and its mismatched chairs. Wash remembered all the happy meals that had been shared there, as Kaylee went on about how everyone usually ate together.

"Sometimes it's loud, sometimes it ain't," she said with a cheery smile, "but it's almost always a good time. Like eatin' with family. 'Course, when you're out in the black as much as we are, crew is family."

Wash felt a pang of sadness, thinking about Zoe and the family she had wanted so badly to start. She had pushed so hard against it, but Zoe had finally begun to win her over. She had even started thinking about what it would be like to raise a son or daughter and show them how to fly.

Then the Alliance started pushing harder for River. Then came Miranda, and then came Wash dead -- and Zoe's hopes for a baby went with him.

Kaylee saw the pain flit across Linda's face, and immediately thought, 'Oh, no what did I say?'

She reached out and touched the new pilot on her arm.

"Are you okay?" She asked, her voice full of concern.

Wash felt a tear roll down her face, then another one. "Just thinking about family," she said, her voice trembling. "I lost mine recently. Sure would be nice to find another one."

"Well, once the captain says yes, you'll have one here," Kaylee said firmly, taking Linda into her arms and giving her a hug. "I could always use another sister."

Suddenly the whole situation landed on Wash's back with an almost audible thump -- everything that had happened to her since Chiang pushed her into Linda's body down at the Crash and Burn. Seeing how Zoe felt about her now, trying to get used to being female, her whole past life gone -- it all just caught up with her, and tears just started flowing from her eyes. She did everything she could to hold it all back, but the crying quickly turned to sobs, and Kaylee just hugged her until it finally wound down.

"Okay now?" the mechanic asked, letting the new girl loose. Wash just nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed. Kaylee smiled. "You must have had a whole lot of sad in you to make you just start bawlin' like that."

Wash nodded again. "I did, and I'm sorry." She sniffled a little and rubbed her eyes. "Thanks a lot, Kaylee. I feel so silly."

Kaylee shook her head. "Oh, don't go worryin' about a few tears. A girl needs a good cry sometimes. And keeping you company while you cry is a sister thing." She patted Wash on the arm. "I thought I'd get a head start on being yours."

The pilot gave her a quizzical look, and Kaylee grinned. "I'm thinkin' the captain's gonna give you that pilot job if I've gotta give him puppy eyes for a week straight. You, girl, need a family, and we need you. So come on, let me show you where you're gonna stay. It was my old room before I moved in with Simon."

The mechanic stopped and turned. "But before we head out, you deserve to know why Zoe's treatin' you so mean. I need to tell you about Wash -- the man who used to fly this boat. He was a great pilot, and a good friend." She took a deep breath. "And he was also . . . Zoe's husband."

###

Wash stood in the doorway to the cockpit, staring at the place she used to call home. Kaylee had run off to find the captain, to see if he was ready for Linda's "maiden voyage" piloting Serenity . Was wasn't even sure she was ready, but she wanted to be back at those controls, and she needed to be out in the black.

'I need something familiar,' she thought, moving slowly towards her old flight station. 'After all I've been through, I need the feel of Serenity slicing through atmo. Shake the dust off my boots and touch the sky again.'

Wash touched the control panel, and a wave of longing moved through her, almost bringing the tears back again. She blinked them back, and then she saw what she never thought she'd see, so many months after the crash.

Two plastic dinosaurs, standing right where she left them so long ago, with a few plastic palm trees.

Her dinosaurs.

The tears threatened to fall again, as she reached out to touch the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Just as the tips of her fingers touched it, a voice came from above.

"Don't even think about playing with them, 'girlfriend,'" it said, the smile in its tone coming through loud and clear. "That's a 'dead' giveaway, don’t you think?"

Wash looked up to see River perched on an overhead girder, grinning from ear to ear. She lowered herself slowly to the deck next to the secondary console, as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

"You know you need to be careful, 'Linda,'" she said playfully. "You don't want anything coming out in the 'wash,' right?"

Slowly, what River had been saying sunk in, and Wash's mouth dropped open. 'She knows! She knows it's me!'

"Of course I know who you are." River's eyes twinkled as she looked at the pilot. "You're family."

Then, without warning, River stepped forward, threw her arms around the new girl, and gave her a big hug. After a second of confusion, Wash returned it as best she knew how, and she felt River stand on tiptoe and give her a small kiss on the cheek.

"Welcome home, Hoe-bann," she whispered, still smiling. "It's good to have you back."

###

© 2008 as a work in progress. The Verse belongs to Joss Whedon, I'm just borrowin' it some. Posted by the author.