(Most Of) "String Theory" Chapter 7
Firefly "String Theory"
Michael and Bonny, crew
String Theory
7. Father's Day
“And this,” Wash said proudly, wiping a stray piece of dust off the creature’s back, “is Herman. He’s a little shy but he’s got a mean bite.”
Bonny laughed, taking the plastic dinosaur from him and turning it over in her hands. There was a poorly scrawled “Wash” on one of the back feet. Absently, she ran a thumb over the name. “So this is the secret to good flyin’, huh?”
“Absolutely,” Wash assured her solemnly. “These are the greatest tools of my trade!”
“Well obviously.” Bonny set the dinosaur in her lap, smiling absently at the man before her. “I appreciate you doin’ this,” she told him seriously. “I get good trainin’ from the pilot back home, but she… She’s technical about it. Everything’s figures an’ facts an’ perfect procedure with her - I don’t think she’s got the heart for it like you do.”
“Yeah.” Wash ran a loving hand across the ship’s control panel. “I don’t think there’s anything in the ‘Verse for me besides flying.” He stretched his hand out towards the big window, and though all they could see was Beaumonde, it was easy to imagine a dark, vast stretch of space instead. “Like a siren call.”
Though his remark was half-meant as a joke, Bonny didn’t laugh. “Yeah,” she said quietly. “I know what you mean.”
There was a certain wistfulness in her voice that caught his attention, and Wash turned his head to look questioningly towards her. “Okay, there? Have I reeled you in? Are you ready to be assimilated?”
She just chuckled weakly, still staring out past the view of Beaumonde.
“I think it was a little funnier than that.” He cleared his throat, feeling a little awkward. He didn’t know the girl well and he certainly didn’t know how to comfort her. "So... Looking for your crew, huh?"
Bonny shot him a knowing smile. "Yeah. Still. Mike and I had, uh, planned to get off here, but..." She folded her hands together, not meeting his eye. "Well. Looks like we'll be stayin' after all."
Now that was a safe topic Wash could get onboard with. "For how long?" He grinned. "Not thinking of becoming a permanent fixture, huh? Because I do have to warn you, there may be a place for you here, but the position of big and surly's already been filled."
"Oh, I know it seems like Mike's mean an' grumpy, but that ain't how he always is. Normally he's a real kind, sweet - "
"Zoë said sensitive - she told me you said he was sensitive." Wash grinned delightedly.
Bonny laughed. "No really - he is. He’s real good with all the kids in the crew.”
“Good with kids, huh?” Wash shook his head. “I would have guessed they’d run from him. He’s like an ogre! Big and kind o’ scary.”
“Oh… oh no,” Bonny said, shaking her head slowly. “To people who don’t know him well I guess his size does make him a mite bit intimidatin’ but really…” She shrugged. “All the little ones love Mike. ‘Specially his sisters. They adore him more than just about anything.”
“All the little ones, huh? Big family boat?”
She nodded. “Yeah, four families. We got ten kids when we’re all there, including me an’ Mike.”
Wash gaped at her. “Ten? Ten kids, really? I admire the patience of anyone living on that boat.” He shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong - kids are great. They’re small and sticky, but they’re great. I don’t think I could handle one, though, let alone ten.”
Bonny put her hand to her cheek, a stricken expression on her face. “Wh-what? Y’don’t want kids?”
He didn’t notice her sudden distress. “Oh, eventually I do. And I know Zoë does like crazy. A little fat baby with her strength and my dashing good looks… Just not right now.” He shrugged. “Kids make me… itchy.”
“Oh.” She cleared her throat. “That makes, uh… Well, I understand. Kids are a big responsibility. Lots o’ work. Not somethin’ to… rush into.” Her voice trailed off and she stared intently at the floor.
“That’s what I try to tell Zoë!” He laughed, leaning back in his chair, his arms folded behind his head. “But I have to say I sure don’t mind practicing.” He sighed contentedly, head swimming thoughts of his beautiful wife. He hummed a little and turned to Bonny. “So, what’s your… Hey, what’s wrong? Did you find out Jayne’s been kicking puppies again?”
She let herself smile. “No, nothin’ like that. Just… I guess missin’ home. I know it ain’t been long, but we’re all so close that it just doesn’t feel right bein’ away.”
“Well tell me all about them!”
“Hey guys!” Kaylee interrupted suddenly, stepping onto the bridge. “I been lookin’ everywhere for you, Bonny. Thought you might like to play a game ‘r somethin’ ‘fore dinner.”
“Join us!” Wash invited. “Our new friend here was about to tell me all about her crew. An’ it’s like a zoo apparently.” He leaned closer to the mechanic and said in a stage-whisper, “They have ten kids!”
Kaylee gasped, stepping up behind Bonny’s chair and resting her arms on the top. “Ten really? Oh, I love kids! What’re they like? I been wantin’ to know ‘bout your crew, but since Mike always gets so angry whenever you get to talkin’ ‘bout yourselves I figured it weren’t a good idea to ask.”
“Oh, it’s fine,” Bonny assured her with a nod. She glanced surreptitiously to Wash before saying “I don’t think it’d hurt anything.”
“All right then!” Kaylee grinned hugely. “Let’s hear it.”
“Well I’m the oldest. An’ it’s just me an’ my mother. My dad was…” She swallowed. “Well he died before I was born. He was the pilot ‘fore Mike’s momma.”
“Aww, I’m sorry,” Kaylee said sympathetically.
“Oh, it’s okay.” Bonny waved off the sympathy, carefully avoiding their gazes. “I hear enough stories about him from all the others. An’… well anyway, Merrilynn’s next.” She grinned up at Kaylee. “You’d like her - she’s our doctor an’ just about as cheerful as you are.”
“As cheerful as Kaylee?” Wash gave the mechanic a teasing grin. “Wouldn’t ‘a’ thought the ‘Verse could stand it.”
“Well that’s Merrilynn. She’s got three brothers - two of ‘em are trainin’ in mechanics while the youngest…” She laughed. “Well let’s just say that Bobby ain’t really the sharpest o’ wits. His poor daddy…” She shook her head, letting out the last dregs of laughter. “He tries so hard but Bobby’s just… dumb. He’s adorable an’ we all love him, but brains certainly aren’t ‘is strong suit.”
“So that’s…” Kaylee ticked off on her fingers. “You an’ Mike, plus those four… that’s six! Ya got four more.”
“That’s just the captain’s kids an’ Mike’s sisters.”
"What about the captain's kids... an' Mike's sisters?"
Bonny shot out of her chair and turned to face Michael, standing at the entrance to the bridge with a dark, stormy expression on his face. Kaylee and Wash exchanged quick looks, then turned to look at the two newcomers, the tension in the air almost palpable. "Mike..." Bonny set her mouth in determination and said "I was only tellin' Wash and Kaylee 'bout our crew. Since they're helpin' us find 'em, I thought it was only fair to let 'em know somethin' about 'em."
"Only fair?" Michael repeated incredulously, glaring at her angrily, "What the hell's fair about that, Bonny? Do you know what you could do? Do you know what you could change? This ain't a game! I agreed to stay on the ship because I knew how much it meant to you, but... but we can't afford the risk! We cannot take the chance that we might do something to change things. Do you have any idea how hard it's been for me, too?"
"Hard for you?" Bonny snapped, moving towards him. "Don't think that I don't notice what you're doin' too. I don't know if it's intentional 'r not, but you are changin' things, too!"
Michael opened his mouth, a sudden stricken expression on his face.
Wash cleared his throat, signalling to Kaylee that maybe they needed to leave.
"Uh... Hey Wash, is that Cap'n callin' us? Sure sounds like he needs us... not here." Carefully, they walked between Michael and Bonny, stepping as though the ship was made of eggshells.
Mike stared at Bonny for a long, hard moment, then sighed and looked down to the floor. The anger around him dissipated and he ran a big, heavy hand through his shock of dark hair. "Ain't exactly subtle, are we?"
"It's hard to be when we both have such a vested int'rest." Bonny crossed her arms over her chest and levelled Mike with a look of measured calm. "She's gettin' better. Everyone says so. Don't you dare tell me that ain't your doin'. You're just as bad as me."
~~~
That is just a sneak-peek! (Okay, so it's most of the chapter.) I still need a beta-reader for it, so if anyone wants to, let me know. Or if there's a good community/something you could recommend. Rayne-friendly preferrably, of course.
Hope you enjoyed! ^^ Also, I've decided to start a Photo Diary to help practice my camera skills and just because I think it would be fun. Heh. That'll be in my other journal, starting today. ^^ So yeah, that's neat.
Guess that's it! I'll probably write a little more - today was so very, very, very, very, very, very bad that I need a little recuperation time. Ciao!
-ILB
Michael and Bonny, crew
String Theory
7. Father's Day
“And this,” Wash said proudly, wiping a stray piece of dust off the creature’s back, “is Herman. He’s a little shy but he’s got a mean bite.”
Bonny laughed, taking the plastic dinosaur from him and turning it over in her hands. There was a poorly scrawled “Wash” on one of the back feet. Absently, she ran a thumb over the name. “So this is the secret to good flyin’, huh?”
“Absolutely,” Wash assured her solemnly. “These are the greatest tools of my trade!”
“Well obviously.” Bonny set the dinosaur in her lap, smiling absently at the man before her. “I appreciate you doin’ this,” she told him seriously. “I get good trainin’ from the pilot back home, but she… She’s technical about it. Everything’s figures an’ facts an’ perfect procedure with her - I don’t think she’s got the heart for it like you do.”
“Yeah.” Wash ran a loving hand across the ship’s control panel. “I don’t think there’s anything in the ‘Verse for me besides flying.” He stretched his hand out towards the big window, and though all they could see was Beaumonde, it was easy to imagine a dark, vast stretch of space instead. “Like a siren call.”
Though his remark was half-meant as a joke, Bonny didn’t laugh. “Yeah,” she said quietly. “I know what you mean.”
There was a certain wistfulness in her voice that caught his attention, and Wash turned his head to look questioningly towards her. “Okay, there? Have I reeled you in? Are you ready to be assimilated?”
She just chuckled weakly, still staring out past the view of Beaumonde.
“I think it was a little funnier than that.” He cleared his throat, feeling a little awkward. He didn’t know the girl well and he certainly didn’t know how to comfort her. "So... Looking for your crew, huh?"
Bonny shot him a knowing smile. "Yeah. Still. Mike and I had, uh, planned to get off here, but..." She folded her hands together, not meeting his eye. "Well. Looks like we'll be stayin' after all."
Now that was a safe topic Wash could get onboard with. "For how long?" He grinned. "Not thinking of becoming a permanent fixture, huh? Because I do have to warn you, there may be a place for you here, but the position of big and surly's already been filled."
"Oh, I know it seems like Mike's mean an' grumpy, but that ain't how he always is. Normally he's a real kind, sweet - "
"Zoë said sensitive - she told me you said he was sensitive." Wash grinned delightedly.
Bonny laughed. "No really - he is. He’s real good with all the kids in the crew.”
“Good with kids, huh?” Wash shook his head. “I would have guessed they’d run from him. He’s like an ogre! Big and kind o’ scary.”
“Oh… oh no,” Bonny said, shaking her head slowly. “To people who don’t know him well I guess his size does make him a mite bit intimidatin’ but really…” She shrugged. “All the little ones love Mike. ‘Specially his sisters. They adore him more than just about anything.”
“All the little ones, huh? Big family boat?”
She nodded. “Yeah, four families. We got ten kids when we’re all there, including me an’ Mike.”
Wash gaped at her. “Ten? Ten kids, really? I admire the patience of anyone living on that boat.” He shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong - kids are great. They’re small and sticky, but they’re great. I don’t think I could handle one, though, let alone ten.”
Bonny put her hand to her cheek, a stricken expression on her face. “Wh-what? Y’don’t want kids?”
He didn’t notice her sudden distress. “Oh, eventually I do. And I know Zoë does like crazy. A little fat baby with her strength and my dashing good looks… Just not right now.” He shrugged. “Kids make me… itchy.”
“Oh.” She cleared her throat. “That makes, uh… Well, I understand. Kids are a big responsibility. Lots o’ work. Not somethin’ to… rush into.” Her voice trailed off and she stared intently at the floor.
“That’s what I try to tell Zoë!” He laughed, leaning back in his chair, his arms folded behind his head. “But I have to say I sure don’t mind practicing.” He sighed contentedly, head swimming thoughts of his beautiful wife. He hummed a little and turned to Bonny. “So, what’s your… Hey, what’s wrong? Did you find out Jayne’s been kicking puppies again?”
She let herself smile. “No, nothin’ like that. Just… I guess missin’ home. I know it ain’t been long, but we’re all so close that it just doesn’t feel right bein’ away.”
“Well tell me all about them!”
“Hey guys!” Kaylee interrupted suddenly, stepping onto the bridge. “I been lookin’ everywhere for you, Bonny. Thought you might like to play a game ‘r somethin’ ‘fore dinner.”
“Join us!” Wash invited. “Our new friend here was about to tell me all about her crew. An’ it’s like a zoo apparently.” He leaned closer to the mechanic and said in a stage-whisper, “They have ten kids!”
Kaylee gasped, stepping up behind Bonny’s chair and resting her arms on the top. “Ten really? Oh, I love kids! What’re they like? I been wantin’ to know ‘bout your crew, but since Mike always gets so angry whenever you get to talkin’ ‘bout yourselves I figured it weren’t a good idea to ask.”
“Oh, it’s fine,” Bonny assured her with a nod. She glanced surreptitiously to Wash before saying “I don’t think it’d hurt anything.”
“All right then!” Kaylee grinned hugely. “Let’s hear it.”
“Well I’m the oldest. An’ it’s just me an’ my mother. My dad was…” She swallowed. “Well he died before I was born. He was the pilot ‘fore Mike’s momma.”
“Aww, I’m sorry,” Kaylee said sympathetically.
“Oh, it’s okay.” Bonny waved off the sympathy, carefully avoiding their gazes. “I hear enough stories about him from all the others. An’… well anyway, Merrilynn’s next.” She grinned up at Kaylee. “You’d like her - she’s our doctor an’ just about as cheerful as you are.”
“As cheerful as Kaylee?” Wash gave the mechanic a teasing grin. “Wouldn’t ‘a’ thought the ‘Verse could stand it.”
“Well that’s Merrilynn. She’s got three brothers - two of ‘em are trainin’ in mechanics while the youngest…” She laughed. “Well let’s just say that Bobby ain’t really the sharpest o’ wits. His poor daddy…” She shook her head, letting out the last dregs of laughter. “He tries so hard but Bobby’s just… dumb. He’s adorable an’ we all love him, but brains certainly aren’t ‘is strong suit.”
“So that’s…” Kaylee ticked off on her fingers. “You an’ Mike, plus those four… that’s six! Ya got four more.”
“That’s just the captain’s kids an’ Mike’s sisters.”
"What about the captain's kids... an' Mike's sisters?"
Bonny shot out of her chair and turned to face Michael, standing at the entrance to the bridge with a dark, stormy expression on his face. Kaylee and Wash exchanged quick looks, then turned to look at the two newcomers, the tension in the air almost palpable. "Mike..." Bonny set her mouth in determination and said "I was only tellin' Wash and Kaylee 'bout our crew. Since they're helpin' us find 'em, I thought it was only fair to let 'em know somethin' about 'em."
"Only fair?" Michael repeated incredulously, glaring at her angrily, "What the hell's fair about that, Bonny? Do you know what you could do? Do you know what you could change? This ain't a game! I agreed to stay on the ship because I knew how much it meant to you, but... but we can't afford the risk! We cannot take the chance that we might do something to change things. Do you have any idea how hard it's been for me, too?"
"Hard for you?" Bonny snapped, moving towards him. "Don't think that I don't notice what you're doin' too. I don't know if it's intentional 'r not, but you are changin' things, too!"
Michael opened his mouth, a sudden stricken expression on his face.
Wash cleared his throat, signalling to Kaylee that maybe they needed to leave.
"Uh... Hey Wash, is that Cap'n callin' us? Sure sounds like he needs us... not here." Carefully, they walked between Michael and Bonny, stepping as though the ship was made of eggshells.
Mike stared at Bonny for a long, hard moment, then sighed and looked down to the floor. The anger around him dissipated and he ran a big, heavy hand through his shock of dark hair. "Ain't exactly subtle, are we?"
"It's hard to be when we both have such a vested int'rest." Bonny crossed her arms over her chest and levelled Mike with a look of measured calm. "She's gettin' better. Everyone says so. Don't you dare tell me that ain't your doin'. You're just as bad as me."
~~~
That is just a sneak-peek! (Okay, so it's most of the chapter.) I still need a beta-reader for it, so if anyone wants to, let me know. Or if there's a good community/something you could recommend. Rayne-friendly preferrably, of course.
Hope you enjoyed! ^^ Also, I've decided to start a Photo Diary to help practice my camera skills and just because I think it would be fun. Heh. That'll be in my other journal, starting today. ^^ So yeah, that's neat.
Guess that's it! I'll probably write a little more - today was so very, very, very, very, very, very bad that I need a little recuperation time. Ciao!
-ILB