Aug 30th, After The Job
Title: After The Job
Author: selonianth
Rating: FR15
Crossover: Firefly
Disclaimer: Don’t own Firefly or BtVS. Both are owned by the indestructible Joss Whedon.
Summary: Serenity's crew resrs after a job well not done. You read that right.
Buffy smiled in her bunk, having heard the conversation between companion and captain through the air ducts, several days previous. The ongoing teasing was just too funny.
A familiar urge to look out on the black hit her so she listened for a moment or two, till she was sure the cockpit was clear she left her room, ascended the ladder to the Bridge level in the blink of an eye and walked into the bridge, empty now, and sat in the co-pilots chair. Not because she enjoyed flying, she could do it but it wasn’t her favorite thing to do. It simply had the best view of the black as they soared through it and sometimes the empty black was what she needed to keep her centered.
She’d been sitting there for a couple minutes when the door opened and the ship’s mechanic, Kaylee, entered. Buffy turned her head to regard the eternally chipper mechanic, “Did you need something?”
The bubbly mechanic nodded, “Actually, I was looking for you.”
“Really?” Buffy asked, swiveling her chair to face the mechanic, it would be rude not to give the bubbly girl her full attention after all.
“Yep! Mal and the others are in the dining room right now talking about if they can trust you or not. Jayne, Inara, and River are arguing for you. Simon, the Shepard, and Wash are neutral it appears. Mal and Zoe seem to be the most nervous about you to be honest.”
Jayne, Inara, River were no real surprise as to their sides in such a debate. Jayne liked her for having so many blades, Inara and River both liked her because they knew the truth about her. Nor were the neutrals a big surprise. Mal and Zoe she might have wished were less nervous but there was little she could do for that unless they got in the right mindset to ask the right questions, “And you? You never mentioned your opinion.”
Kaylee beamed, “I could see your face shortly after you got on this boat. That look of happiness isn’t fakeable. Plus, you’ve single-handedly pulled the boat back into a place where it’ll keep flying for a long time to come so you have my vote right there, no one who did for this girl what you did would ever be evil. I already made my opinion known, then I came to find you.”
“Why though? Not that I’m complaining, mind. You’re yummy as hell.” Buffy asked, giving Kaylee an exaggerated lookover. Seeing how the Mechanic froze she laughed, “I’m just teasing hun. You’re cute but I wouldn’t want you uncomfortable around me.”
Kaylee’s face reddened almost deeper than her favorite chinese dress. “I’m not!” She yelped sharply causing Buffy’s laughter to stop and raise an eyebrow. She blushed deeper, “It’s... well... It’s nice to get attention sometimes.”
Yet another troubled romance on this boat? Ye gods, what was wrong with these people that none of them could make a relationship work? “Having trouble attractive Simon’s attention huh?”
Kaylee winced, “That easy to tell? What do you think?”
“I’m not the person to ask about this. I don’t have the best relationship history myself,” Then with a bitter chuckle she mentally admitted that was a bit of an understatement.
The mechanic’s face fell for a moment, “But... you helped Inara.”
Damned if she could find fault in the brunette’s logic, “Take a step back and try and decide if he’s the right person to pursue. Think about it from his perspective. His sister is... well... she’s River. He doesn’t know how to help her and that’s occupying his entire mind. If you can wait till he’s able to focus on something else, if he ever is, then you might get your shot. If you can’t... I’d find someone else to go after because you’ll only find heartache.”
Buffy almost felt bad when the mechanic looked sad, but thoughtful, for the first time. She nodded thanks and hummed in thought as she left the bridge. Buffy frowned, she hadn’t wanted to make the happy-go-lucky mechanic seem so dour, but hopefully she’d be ok.
The blond slayer stayed in her seat until Wash returned. As she stood to leave, the hawaiian shirt wearing pilot, whose clothing both hurt her eyes and reminded her of Xander, who had died at a ripe old age surrounded by his slayers, spoke up, “You don’t have to leave you know. It’s nice to have company up here sometimes.”
“Be that as it may, I’m going to my bunk now. It’s nothing personal against you... it’s just...” The blond smiled and vacated her seat for a more private area of the ship, her bunk. Wash giving her an understanding nod as she fled the man who reminded her so much of a one eyed californian who wore shirts just like him. She’d separate him and Xander eventually, but not tonight.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When she entered her bunk she smirked to see River waiting. “It’s been a couple days huh? Have you been thinking about what I said? Other than the times you’re sneaking through the vents and spying on people that is.”
River gave a confused face, extremely out of place on the reader’s face, “I don’t understand what is missing. The weapon, the girl, and the beast are all I can feel in my head.”
“You really can’t think of the missing piece?” Buffy paused and the slim reader shook her head, “Come on sweety. You’re more clever than that. Here’s a hint. She never left, she’s not hiding, she’s right there.” While Buffy could just tell the reader that the person missing was her, herself, it was better if the reader realized it herself.
River’s face contorted in confusion and thought for another moment. “Me?”
Buffy smiled gently, “Why does this confuse you so much? None of them have something you do, your Reading and your clever mind. You are the final piece. Of course, even knowing this is only helpful in that now it’s known. We still need to discover how to recombine the pieces evenly so none of them gains control. That will take time. For now I want you to work on meditating. Try to get to your mindscape without my help. Once you accomplish that come back here and we’ll talk more.”
River gave her a frustrated frown, she was impatient and for once she couldn’t just pull the information out of her frustrator’s head but did as she was told, stalking out of Buffy’s cabin with a pout and heading to her own.
Buffy smiled at the childish response but otherwise didn't react. She settled into her daily meditation to wait, nothing needed her attention at the moment, not even her blades.
The next few days passed in relative normality except for Kaylee being quiet and thoughtful instead of bubbly and upbeat, a change that freaked Jayne out to a hilarious level, and Inara and Mal's teasing being less bitter and more like two kids teasing 'cause they don't know better.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The ship eventually made its way to Beaumonde where true to Mal's word, selling most of their ill booten gotty took just over thirty-six hours. It helped that despite its sordid origins all their haul was sqeaky clean, mostly due to the fact that there was no one left to report it stolen.
Swollen with cash Mal pointed the Serenity in the direction of drydock and reluctantly handed the ships coffers to Kaylee. From there it was all hands at the evil mechanic's beck and call retrieving brand new parts she'd ordered, helping extract the older worn out parts, making sure she ate, and being an all round gopher. When she finally finished in the engine room the process repeated in the cockpit with all of the instrumentation and other electrical components. Then all outside metalwork they'd been putting off. Finally a large water tank installed in a section of the null space above the top passenger dorms, large enough to water the entire growing floor for a month paid for, as promised, by Buffy, a fact which caught both the admiration of, and the increased curiosity of, the entire crew.
When a very satisfied Kaylee handed back the Serenity's coffers she'd spent less than a tenth of them, further proof of her ability and skill at the game of bartering. This was in spite of the fact that she'd also purchased an entire set of tools to replace the old and beaten up tools she had been using as well as several replacement parts just in case the new ones managed to fail.
While the mechanic was busy fixing everything on the ship, Buffy and Inara were busy renovating the rooms right under the large water tank. Transforming the three passenger dorms into three moderate sized growing rooms, one for fruits, one for herbs and grains, and one for vegetables. They bought nearly fully adult versions of each plant and seeds, all genetically altered to grow at an accelerated rate. Inara turned the ceiling of the dining room into an herb drying rack and with Buffy's funds bought herself a full compliment of cooking utensils and pots and such, claiming them to be tools of her trade.
When Serenity pulled out of drydock it was noted life wouldn't be quite as hard from then on and oddly, everyone was ok with that.
______________________________
A/N: No, ill booten gotty is not a mistake or typo.
Author: selonianth
Rating: FR15
Crossover: Firefly
Disclaimer: Don’t own Firefly or BtVS. Both are owned by the indestructible Joss Whedon.
Summary: Serenity's crew resrs after a job well not done. You read that right.
Buffy smiled in her bunk, having heard the conversation between companion and captain through the air ducts, several days previous. The ongoing teasing was just too funny.
A familiar urge to look out on the black hit her so she listened for a moment or two, till she was sure the cockpit was clear she left her room, ascended the ladder to the Bridge level in the blink of an eye and walked into the bridge, empty now, and sat in the co-pilots chair. Not because she enjoyed flying, she could do it but it wasn’t her favorite thing to do. It simply had the best view of the black as they soared through it and sometimes the empty black was what she needed to keep her centered.
She’d been sitting there for a couple minutes when the door opened and the ship’s mechanic, Kaylee, entered. Buffy turned her head to regard the eternally chipper mechanic, “Did you need something?”
The bubbly mechanic nodded, “Actually, I was looking for you.”
“Really?” Buffy asked, swiveling her chair to face the mechanic, it would be rude not to give the bubbly girl her full attention after all.
“Yep! Mal and the others are in the dining room right now talking about if they can trust you or not. Jayne, Inara, and River are arguing for you. Simon, the Shepard, and Wash are neutral it appears. Mal and Zoe seem to be the most nervous about you to be honest.”
Jayne, Inara, River were no real surprise as to their sides in such a debate. Jayne liked her for having so many blades, Inara and River both liked her because they knew the truth about her. Nor were the neutrals a big surprise. Mal and Zoe she might have wished were less nervous but there was little she could do for that unless they got in the right mindset to ask the right questions, “And you? You never mentioned your opinion.”
Kaylee beamed, “I could see your face shortly after you got on this boat. That look of happiness isn’t fakeable. Plus, you’ve single-handedly pulled the boat back into a place where it’ll keep flying for a long time to come so you have my vote right there, no one who did for this girl what you did would ever be evil. I already made my opinion known, then I came to find you.”
“Why though? Not that I’m complaining, mind. You’re yummy as hell.” Buffy asked, giving Kaylee an exaggerated lookover. Seeing how the Mechanic froze she laughed, “I’m just teasing hun. You’re cute but I wouldn’t want you uncomfortable around me.”
Kaylee’s face reddened almost deeper than her favorite chinese dress. “I’m not!” She yelped sharply causing Buffy’s laughter to stop and raise an eyebrow. She blushed deeper, “It’s... well... It’s nice to get attention sometimes.”
Yet another troubled romance on this boat? Ye gods, what was wrong with these people that none of them could make a relationship work? “Having trouble attractive Simon’s attention huh?”
Kaylee winced, “That easy to tell? What do you think?”
“I’m not the person to ask about this. I don’t have the best relationship history myself,” Then with a bitter chuckle she mentally admitted that was a bit of an understatement.
The mechanic’s face fell for a moment, “But... you helped Inara.”
Damned if she could find fault in the brunette’s logic, “Take a step back and try and decide if he’s the right person to pursue. Think about it from his perspective. His sister is... well... she’s River. He doesn’t know how to help her and that’s occupying his entire mind. If you can wait till he’s able to focus on something else, if he ever is, then you might get your shot. If you can’t... I’d find someone else to go after because you’ll only find heartache.”
Buffy almost felt bad when the mechanic looked sad, but thoughtful, for the first time. She nodded thanks and hummed in thought as she left the bridge. Buffy frowned, she hadn’t wanted to make the happy-go-lucky mechanic seem so dour, but hopefully she’d be ok.
The blond slayer stayed in her seat until Wash returned. As she stood to leave, the hawaiian shirt wearing pilot, whose clothing both hurt her eyes and reminded her of Xander, who had died at a ripe old age surrounded by his slayers, spoke up, “You don’t have to leave you know. It’s nice to have company up here sometimes.”
“Be that as it may, I’m going to my bunk now. It’s nothing personal against you... it’s just...” The blond smiled and vacated her seat for a more private area of the ship, her bunk. Wash giving her an understanding nod as she fled the man who reminded her so much of a one eyed californian who wore shirts just like him. She’d separate him and Xander eventually, but not tonight.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When she entered her bunk she smirked to see River waiting. “It’s been a couple days huh? Have you been thinking about what I said? Other than the times you’re sneaking through the vents and spying on people that is.”
River gave a confused face, extremely out of place on the reader’s face, “I don’t understand what is missing. The weapon, the girl, and the beast are all I can feel in my head.”
“You really can’t think of the missing piece?” Buffy paused and the slim reader shook her head, “Come on sweety. You’re more clever than that. Here’s a hint. She never left, she’s not hiding, she’s right there.” While Buffy could just tell the reader that the person missing was her, herself, it was better if the reader realized it herself.
River’s face contorted in confusion and thought for another moment. “Me?”
Buffy smiled gently, “Why does this confuse you so much? None of them have something you do, your Reading and your clever mind. You are the final piece. Of course, even knowing this is only helpful in that now it’s known. We still need to discover how to recombine the pieces evenly so none of them gains control. That will take time. For now I want you to work on meditating. Try to get to your mindscape without my help. Once you accomplish that come back here and we’ll talk more.”
River gave her a frustrated frown, she was impatient and for once she couldn’t just pull the information out of her frustrator’s head but did as she was told, stalking out of Buffy’s cabin with a pout and heading to her own.
Buffy smiled at the childish response but otherwise didn't react. She settled into her daily meditation to wait, nothing needed her attention at the moment, not even her blades.
The next few days passed in relative normality except for Kaylee being quiet and thoughtful instead of bubbly and upbeat, a change that freaked Jayne out to a hilarious level, and Inara and Mal's teasing being less bitter and more like two kids teasing 'cause they don't know better.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The ship eventually made its way to Beaumonde where true to Mal's word, selling most of their ill booten gotty took just over thirty-six hours. It helped that despite its sordid origins all their haul was sqeaky clean, mostly due to the fact that there was no one left to report it stolen.
Swollen with cash Mal pointed the Serenity in the direction of drydock and reluctantly handed the ships coffers to Kaylee. From there it was all hands at the evil mechanic's beck and call retrieving brand new parts she'd ordered, helping extract the older worn out parts, making sure she ate, and being an all round gopher. When she finally finished in the engine room the process repeated in the cockpit with all of the instrumentation and other electrical components. Then all outside metalwork they'd been putting off. Finally a large water tank installed in a section of the null space above the top passenger dorms, large enough to water the entire growing floor for a month paid for, as promised, by Buffy, a fact which caught both the admiration of, and the increased curiosity of, the entire crew.
When a very satisfied Kaylee handed back the Serenity's coffers she'd spent less than a tenth of them, further proof of her ability and skill at the game of bartering. This was in spite of the fact that she'd also purchased an entire set of tools to replace the old and beaten up tools she had been using as well as several replacement parts just in case the new ones managed to fail.
While the mechanic was busy fixing everything on the ship, Buffy and Inara were busy renovating the rooms right under the large water tank. Transforming the three passenger dorms into three moderate sized growing rooms, one for fruits, one for herbs and grains, and one for vegetables. They bought nearly fully adult versions of each plant and seeds, all genetically altered to grow at an accelerated rate. Inara turned the ceiling of the dining room into an herb drying rack and with Buffy's funds bought herself a full compliment of cooking utensils and pots and such, claiming them to be tools of her trade.
When Serenity pulled out of drydock it was noted life wouldn't be quite as hard from then on and oddly, everyone was ok with that.
______________________________
A/N: No, ill booten gotty is not a mistake or typo.