Duet: Ties of Blood and Water Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: Not mine don't sue
“SIMPLE!!!!” Kaylee shouted, striding away from Simon’s bunk past the infirmary and into the middle of the rec room.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Kaylee,” Simon pleaded, following her, buttoning his shirt. He still limped slightly from his injuries sustained in their battle on Mr. Universe’s Moon.
Inara covered a smile as she walked into the room. The honeymoon period had apparently ended, and rather predictably, it had been over a careless remark from Simon. She stood in the doorway of the cargo bay and watched for a moment.
“Well, how in the name of Hades am I supposed to take that exactly?" Kaylee huffed as she whirled around to face Simon.
“I just meant that I don’t have to explain myself to you and that you don’t care about how your clothes look or about things like that,” Simon explained earnestly.
“So, what? I’m so simple that I just don’t care about anything?” Kaylee volleyed back.
Inara’s eyes drifted over to Kara and Sam who were entwined on the couch and clearly entertained by the display.
“I just mean that you're not…” Simon struggled for the words. “Shallow and materialistic and that you care about people and the important things and...and...”
Kaylee melted and took a step back towards Simon. “Stop before you say something stupid again,” she said. Then she closed the gap between them and kissed him.
Inara smiled now, happy as the two of them maneuvered back towards the cabins, still kissing.
Kara grinned and Sam chuckled. “Communication: It’s the cornerstone of every relationship,” he joked.
Kara laughed slightly and then said, "It's never as easy as it sounds, though, is it?” She looked pointedly at her husband.
“Those two are champions at miscommunication. You two certainly seem beyond that,” Inara commented.
Kara’s grin became slightly more ironic. “We’ve had our moments.”
Sam looked at his watch and said, “Well, we must be getting close to Shinon. We should get to our action station.” Sam stood up and Kara followed suit, stretching.
Inara noticed the abrupt change of subject. The two seemed rather closed off about their past. Like Mal, they seemed to prefer to leave who they were behind them. They were friendly enough, but they also seemed guarded as if they didn’t quite trust the situation yet. She supposed the fact that no one was supposed to know about the baby yet didn’t help, although she had noticed several tell-tale signs, and she wondered if Simon had noticed the same. She almost wanted to say something as she followed them towards the bridge but then Mal was standing in the kitchen, grabbing something that looked like it might be coffee.
“We getting close?” Mal asked.
“We should be, so long as the auto nav isn’t leading us into a sun,” Kara remarked.
Mal followed in behind them. “We should start listening to local radio chatter as soon as we get close enough.“
Mal took a sip from his mug before continuing as they entered the bridge. “The fake beacon and registry that Fanty and Mingo provided for this expedition looks good but I still want to be on the look out for trouble. Officially, the Alliance just wants to go back to pretending we don’t exist, but I still don’t trust them any more than I ‘d trust Jayne with my share of our latest take.”
“I’m sure we won’t be here more than a few days,” Inara broke in, somewhat defensively.
“I know. I just like to take care where’s the Alliance is concerned,” Mal said, raising a hand to reassure her. He took another sip of coffee before adding, “Thanks to the political liefest going on here this week, they’ll be plenty of folks from the rim about and anyways there's plenty of Fireflies in my sky.”
Kara smiled as she disengaged the auto-nav. “Well, we should be in comm. range in about thirty seconds, so Longshot here should fire the receiver.”
“Why do I have to listen for the chatter while you do all the fun stuff?” Sam asked.
“Because you got to have all the fun last trip,” Kara shot back. “Besides, with all the traffic around here, this is a tricky landing for me, and I’ve done quite a few planetary approaches.”
Mal smiled down at Kara and said, “Just take her easy. I like my ship in one piece.”
Kara grinned. “Don’t worry, Captain. I love a challenge.”
“I should contact Mother and let her know exactly when we’ll be arriving,” Inara said as she swept over to the comn station.
“We shouldn’t be more than half an hour landing with the traffic,” Kara called from behind her as Inara punched in the familiar digits.
Inara stood up straight and smiled broadly as her mother's face came onto the screen. “Hello, Mother.”
“Hello, Inara Serra,” her mother replied, smiling as well.
“We’re just entering the atmosphere here so I should arrive at Shinon House within the hour.”
“Wonderful. I cannot wait to see you,” Inara’s mother said sweetly.
'I’ll bet you can’t, Mother' Inara though. It was obvious to Inara that underneath, her mother was furious at her, which was just as well since Inara was just as angry. Inara was sure they would have a very interesting conversation when she arrived.
Disclaimer: Not mine don't sue
“SIMPLE!!!!” Kaylee shouted, striding away from Simon’s bunk past the infirmary and into the middle of the rec room.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Kaylee,” Simon pleaded, following her, buttoning his shirt. He still limped slightly from his injuries sustained in their battle on Mr. Universe’s Moon.
Inara covered a smile as she walked into the room. The honeymoon period had apparently ended, and rather predictably, it had been over a careless remark from Simon. She stood in the doorway of the cargo bay and watched for a moment.
“Well, how in the name of Hades am I supposed to take that exactly?" Kaylee huffed as she whirled around to face Simon.
“I just meant that I don’t have to explain myself to you and that you don’t care about how your clothes look or about things like that,” Simon explained earnestly.
“So, what? I’m so simple that I just don’t care about anything?” Kaylee volleyed back.
Inara’s eyes drifted over to Kara and Sam who were entwined on the couch and clearly entertained by the display.
“I just mean that you're not…” Simon struggled for the words. “Shallow and materialistic and that you care about people and the important things and...and...”
Kaylee melted and took a step back towards Simon. “Stop before you say something stupid again,” she said. Then she closed the gap between them and kissed him.
Inara smiled now, happy as the two of them maneuvered back towards the cabins, still kissing.
Kara grinned and Sam chuckled. “Communication: It’s the cornerstone of every relationship,” he joked.
Kara laughed slightly and then said, "It's never as easy as it sounds, though, is it?” She looked pointedly at her husband.
“Those two are champions at miscommunication. You two certainly seem beyond that,” Inara commented.
Kara’s grin became slightly more ironic. “We’ve had our moments.”
Sam looked at his watch and said, “Well, we must be getting close to Shinon. We should get to our action station.” Sam stood up and Kara followed suit, stretching.
Inara noticed the abrupt change of subject. The two seemed rather closed off about their past. Like Mal, they seemed to prefer to leave who they were behind them. They were friendly enough, but they also seemed guarded as if they didn’t quite trust the situation yet. She supposed the fact that no one was supposed to know about the baby yet didn’t help, although she had noticed several tell-tale signs, and she wondered if Simon had noticed the same. She almost wanted to say something as she followed them towards the bridge but then Mal was standing in the kitchen, grabbing something that looked like it might be coffee.
“We getting close?” Mal asked.
“We should be, so long as the auto nav isn’t leading us into a sun,” Kara remarked.
Mal followed in behind them. “We should start listening to local radio chatter as soon as we get close enough.“
Mal took a sip from his mug before continuing as they entered the bridge. “The fake beacon and registry that Fanty and Mingo provided for this expedition looks good but I still want to be on the look out for trouble. Officially, the Alliance just wants to go back to pretending we don’t exist, but I still don’t trust them any more than I ‘d trust Jayne with my share of our latest take.”
“I’m sure we won’t be here more than a few days,” Inara broke in, somewhat defensively.
“I know. I just like to take care where’s the Alliance is concerned,” Mal said, raising a hand to reassure her. He took another sip of coffee before adding, “Thanks to the political liefest going on here this week, they’ll be plenty of folks from the rim about and anyways there's plenty of Fireflies in my sky.”
Kara smiled as she disengaged the auto-nav. “Well, we should be in comm. range in about thirty seconds, so Longshot here should fire the receiver.”
“Why do I have to listen for the chatter while you do all the fun stuff?” Sam asked.
“Because you got to have all the fun last trip,” Kara shot back. “Besides, with all the traffic around here, this is a tricky landing for me, and I’ve done quite a few planetary approaches.”
Mal smiled down at Kara and said, “Just take her easy. I like my ship in one piece.”
Kara grinned. “Don’t worry, Captain. I love a challenge.”
“I should contact Mother and let her know exactly when we’ll be arriving,” Inara said as she swept over to the comn station.
“We shouldn’t be more than half an hour landing with the traffic,” Kara called from behind her as Inara punched in the familiar digits.
Inara stood up straight and smiled broadly as her mother's face came onto the screen. “Hello, Mother.”
“Hello, Inara Serra,” her mother replied, smiling as well.
“We’re just entering the atmosphere here so I should arrive at Shinon House within the hour.”
“Wonderful. I cannot wait to see you,” Inara’s mother said sweetly.
'I’ll bet you can’t, Mother' Inara though. It was obvious to Inara that underneath, her mother was furious at her, which was just as well since Inara was just as angry. Inara was sure they would have a very interesting conversation when she arrived.