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rivendellroseFandom: Firefly
Title: "Shore Leave, Chapter 2"
Characters: All (crew)
Warnings and rating: post-Serenity AU, so spoilers... but not the big nasty things. At the moment, thoroughly PG - expect changes in later chapters.
Summary: The crew is under fire from the Alliance again, and in desperate need of a safe haven. Staying with the Cobb family solves one problem, but it might cause more than a few others...
Previous chapter: Chapter 1.
“Alright, people, this is it. Zoe, Wash, Shepherd, and Kaylee, you’re staying here with Serenity.” Mal pulled on his long brown coat and nodded to the remaining members of his crew. “Jayne, Simon, River, Inara - you’re with me.”
“Aww, but Captain…”
“No buts, little Kaylee. Need you here getting Serenity ready for a few weeks or more of down-time. She’s gotta be ready to go when we need her, but not rustin’ away while she’s waiting, and that’s your job. Ain’t nobody else can do it, dong ma?”
“Hao le, Cap’n.”
She looked so forlorn, like a kid denied a trip to the fair, that Mal squeezed her shoulder as he passed. “You’ll get to meet Jayne’s family soon enough. Right now, got a job to be doin’. You take care of our girl, make sure she’ll be okay while we’re gone.”
Kaylee nodded, a bit cheered by the reminder that she had something important to be doing. “She’ll be snug as a bug, I promise.”
“That’s my girl. Zoe, Wash, you call if we get trouble. Anybody comes within sight of our hidey-hole here, I want to know it. Ain’t leavin’ my ship where she might be stolen.”
“Thought Eddie said this valley wasn’t used much.”
“Ain’t,” Jayne put in. “No good foragin’ around here, an’ it’s too far from town to get the kids messin’ around.”
“Still, better safe than sorry,” Mal assured Zoe. “Just see if you can find any better ways to disguise her. No tellin’ how long we’ll be here just yet, though I’m hopin’ it won’t be longer’n a week or so.” He pulled on his gloves and smiled. “Right then, folks. Let’s get movin’. Jayne, it’s your world - you drive the mule. Anybody we run into, I’d like ‘em to see a familiar face.”
The ride from the valley they’d chosen to hide in to Jayne’s family’s place gave the crew an opportunity to get acquainted with the scenery, which was pretty much what Mal had expected - dry, dusty, windy, and generally the kind of world it’d take a lot of long, hard work to eke a good living out of. On the whole, he was surprised the family could spare a man like Jayne, with all the work that needed doing on a world like this. Then again, Jayne had said there were a lot of them, in which case it was likely they’d been glad of one less loud and constantly hungry mouth to feed. Given that Jayne had one hell of a mouth, it seemed a reasonable concern.
The house Jayne set the mule down in front of was faded but clearly well-cared for, with lace-edged curtains in the tiny front window (the only one in the house made of real glass, it seemed) and a rambling collection of vegetables and flowers gathered by the front door. A couple of kids ran around in the back, giving the mule and its riders curious looks, but Mal’s attention was immediately drawn to a short, round figure standing in the doorway, hands planted on her ample hips. That couldn’t be…
“Jayne Cobb! Boy, I almost didn’t believe your sister when she said you was coming home. Get over here!”
Mal’s view of the ‘verse shifted ever so slightly to the left. He’d had in his mind a woman something like Eddie but just… older, maybe a bit softer and less with the look of a woman accustomed to working outdoors. Instead, he got this doughy sphere of a woman who barely came up to Jayne’s collar bone when he dutifully bent to hug her and accept a smattering of kisses. Mal coughed to keep from laughing as his mercenary straightened, big red blotches of smeared rouge decorating his cheeks.
“And this must be your crew? You Captain Reynolds, then? Come ‘ere, lemme get a good look at y’all, don’t just slink in the yard like barn-cats.”
“Female bear is the more dangerous,” River commented softly, swinging herself down from the mule. “Defends the young, runs the family, keeps the clan together.”
Mal regarded the woman who had already turned back into the house, apparently unconcerned by the idea that that they might not follow. “You might be right about that.”
River smiled at him and floated off toward the house, pausing to solemnly examine the ragged geraniums growing in an old crate outside the door, and to pat a slightly disgruntled-looking tabby cat (by it’s rounded belly, obviously not one of the barn cats Mrs. Cobb had referred to) who perched on the doorstep. Mal glanced at Inara.
“Somehow, I didn’t figure Jayne as coming from a place like this.”
Inara smiled, and for a moment he was struck by the way the sunlight looked in her eyes. He never did see her often enough under a sunny sky. “Somewhere with a pie cooling in the window, you mean?”
“Pie?” Mal blinked. Sure enough, a pie sat, still steaming slightly, on the windowsill. The sight of the crust alone was enough to make his stomach twist and growl. Pie was one luxury he hadn’t seen since the days when he’d still been snagging apple slices out of Big Tom’s bowl while he set the crusts. “Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea, after all... might have to thank Jayne if we all get a few square meals out of the deal.”
“Just try to be polite.”
Mal rolled his eyes. “You think I’d be rude to a woman shelterin’ us like this?”
“If you forget yourself. Or if Jayne antagonizes you.” Inara smiled. “Or--”
“You just wait and see. I can be perfectly polite, I’ll have you know.”
“I’m sure.” But she smiled as she said it, and Mal shook his head, holding the door open for her with a flourish of over-played chivalry.
Directly inside the door was a cramped living room filled with rough doilies and vaguely bottom-heavy, awkward pottery, adjoining a kitchen just as cram-packed with various dishes, pans, and cooking detritus. Eggs - real eggs, Mal noted with a rush of nostalgia - nestled in a wire basket, and the smell of that pie he’d seen earlier was getting downright intoxicating. And in the middle of it all bustled Mrs. Cobb, shuffling old shirts, towels, and pans off the table so her guests could sit. Jayne had already claimed the seat closest to the window, and was rooting around in a basket covered with a napkin.
“He ain’t here, then?”
“Your daddy’s up at the factory for the fall season, you know that, Jayne. An’ the boys are with him, exceptin’ Mattie, of course.” Mrs. Cobb turned to Mal with a slightly apologetic air. “Menfolk ‘round these parts go up to the factory for work, mostly. It ain’t easy, but it’s the best way for money to get made, and my man’s one of the best welders they got. My youngest though... he ain’t healthsome like our Jayne. Caught some kinda sick when he wasn’t but a baby, near, and never got better since.”
“He still ain’t over the damp lung?” Jayne asked around a mouthful of cornbread.
“If it ain’t that it’ll be another thing, you know that.”
“Al’as with one gorram thing or another,” Jayne agreed.
“You watch that mouth, Jayne Cobb, or I’ll wash it with the dishes, and don’t think I won’t,” Mrs. Cobb snapped. The finger pointed at Jayne was knobbed and calloused from hard work, but his mouth snapped shut quicker than if it’d been a gun at his head. “I won’t have my boy swearin’ in front of company, an’ proper ladies besides.”
Inara and Mal shared a look, then returned their attentions to the strange sight of Jayne hanging his head over his plate, silent and uncomplaining.
“Now, Captain Reynolds. What exactly is it you’re here askin’ from us? My Eddie tells me you need someplace to lay low for a while, but she didn’t have a word to say on what you lot are hidin’ from. I’ll warn you, I don’t hold truck with no slavers or drug-runners - we got children in this family, and I won’t see them brought into nothin’ like that. So if that’s your trouble, you can finish your coffee, say your goodbyes, and I don’t want another word on the subject.”
“Mama!”
“Jayne, I ain’t sayin’ more on the subject. I know you gotta take work where it comes, but I don’t want to hear a word of it, if that’s what you’ve got yourself into.”
“I appreciate your sentiment, ma’am. My people and me are no slavers, nor involved in drugs. We’re cargo-runners... sometimes illegitimate. More often than not, to be honest. But it ain’t stealin’ nor salvage that got us in our current troubles.” Mal paused, and looked at River, who returned his gaze with calm assurance and a slow nod. He nodded back and launched into the most important part of their chat. “Alliance seems to think they’ve got a right to one of my crew, and we don’t agree. River here - that’s her brother over there, our Doctor - scientists at a school she went to messed around with her brain. Simon got her out, brought her aboard my ship, but it seems now the same folks are wanting her back. We figure so they can do more work on her, or make use of what they’ve done already.”
“Messed around? She looks alright to me, if a bit small.”
Mal frowned - he’d hoped this wouldn’t need to be explained too much. “Experimented on her,” he explained - they’d all agreed it was best to be as vague as possible about River’s powers, since she had promised to keep them quiet. Nobody needed to know they were taking in a mind-reading psychic who might, at the sight of the wrong commercial transmission, turn into a killing machine. The lack of a cortex screen in the house would at least make that last easier to avoid.
Mrs. Cobb glanced at Jayne for confirmation, and he looked a little sulky but nodded. “Alright, then. That’s the brother, and this here is... older sister?” She eyed Inara speculatively. “Can’t be old enough to be her mama.”
“I’m no relation to them, by blood,” Inara replied. “My name is Inara. I’m a companion.”
Mrs. Cobb’s eyebrows climbed toward her flyaway white hair. “One of them real ones, then? You don’t look like just any kind of painted lady, that’s for sure. Didn’t think my boy had found a ship with that kind of class.”
Inara smiled, resisting the urge to give Mal a smug look at this easy acceptance of her career. “I rent one of Serenity’s shuttles from Mal. It’s a mutually beneficial business arrangement.”
At the other side of the table, Mal managed to hide the slightest flinch at her wording. She always did have to make sure it was clear theirs was a strictly-business arrangement. “We’ve also got my first mate, our pilot, mechanic, and a shepherd who travels with us. They’ll all need places, too. You figure this’ll work? We can work for our stay... well, ‘cept Inara here. And we’ve got some goods that might do you, too.”
“Don’t expect the goods’ll be needed if your folk are willin’ to work,” Mrs. Cobb mused. “Always more work around here than there are hands to do it. The shepherd, doc, and mechanic are easy, ‘course. For the rest of you...”
“I was raised on a ranch, ma’am,” Mal assured her. “My first mate and I can both do pretty much any kind of labor you need, and our pilot’s a fair hand with any kind of machinery you got.”
Mrs. Cobb nodded slowly. “Alright, Captain Reynolds - I think we can deal. We’ll split you up ‘tween my daughters’ houses so’s you’re not so obvious - there’s plenty enough migrant laborers on this moon, won’t be any shock to see a few hirin’ on with us during the harvest season. Jayne’ll stay here, help me around the house while his pa is gone, and I’ll keep the little girl, too. Doc, shepherd and your mechanic can shuffle - I expect everybody’ll want a piece of their work, soon as they find out about them.”
“I really think I should stay with River...”
“Ain’t happening, Doc.” Mal clapped the younger man’s shoulder, giving him a solemn look. “Feds’ll be looking for you together. Apart, you’ve got a better chance if they happen to trace us to this moon. Anyway, you’ll only be a farm away - we’re all staying in contact.”
“The children are always back and forth, anyway - they can run messages,” Mrs. Cobb told them.
“Is that safe?” Simon’s brows pulled together. “I mean, what if someone catches them and questions them?”
“First, ain’t many on this moon’d be stupid enough to hurt one of mine,” Mrs. Cobb informed him. “We Cobbs have been on Angel since the colony first started - ain’t rich, but we got our means and ways, got our land, people respect us for that. My husband's been one of the best welders at the factory for near on fifty years, and half my girls’ husbands do the same work, now. Biggest factory on this whole settlement. Anyway, my folk ain’t weak, Doctor. They’ll hold what secrets I tell ‘em to hold. Ain’t that so, Jayne?”
“True enough,” the big mercenary agreed around a wedge of cornbread slathered in butter. “Cobbs’re made tough.”
“Well... alright. If that’s how it has to be...” Simon trailed off, then set a small box of various bottles and vials down on the table. “These are her medications... and here’s a list of when and how they’re to be administered. The balance is very delicate, and it’s important for it to be followed to the letter. I’ll go through it with you, if you like--”
Mrs. Cobb gave the paper a quick glance, then called off into the kitchen. “Joey, get in here.”
A tall, brown-haired, broad-shouldered girl in her late teens bustled out, brushing flour off her hands onto a worn apron around her waist. “Yes, Auntie?”
“You keep this, and read it off to me when I need it.” Mrs. Cobb handed the list to the younger woman, who tucked it immediately into the breast of her dress and barely cast the strangers a second look before returning to the kitchen. “My eyes ain’t so good as they used to be,” she explained to Mal and Simon.
“I really think I should--”
Mrs. Cobb waved her hand, interrupting Simon again. “Boy, I’ve raised and helped to raise more children in my time than you’ve had birthdays, by a good margin. You let mama do what she does best, and take care of yourself and my people what need doctorin’. Your sister’ll be safe here. Ain’t that right, girl?” she added, turning her attention to River for the first time since the conversation had started.
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am.”
“Don’t ma’am me, girl. First thing you gotta learn if you’re not to stand out when strangers are by, call me Mama. Anybody asks, you’re my fifth daughter’s youngest, got that? Her name’s Billie. Billie Cobb,” she repeated, eyeing River intently as the small girl nodded. “And yours is Reeve..” She smiled. “Like that, my ownself. Think I mighta used it if I’d had another girl.”
“Reeve Cobb,” River repeated, nodding again. “I’ll remember, Mama.”
“Good girl. You learn fast, you’ll get on just fine here long as you need to stay. Don’t let nobody sass you, make yourself useful, and don’t tell anybody outside the family you’re anything but here visiting kin. I’ll introduce you to those you can talk free to. Anybody else, keep your mouth shut, and try not to sound too citified, if you can help it.”
A little smile twitched at the corners of River’s lips. “I’ll try.”
Mrs. Cobb smiled. “Now, for the rest of you. Captain Reynolds, I think you might do best at my Henrie’s place - she’s got the most land to contend with, and has the most need of a strong pair of arms since her young’uns have all left home. Miss Serra, I think you’d best go with him.”
Inara opened her mouth to protest, but Mrs. Cobb kept right on talking right over her.
“Pilot and your first mate... Eddie’s been all about some fool hover-thing she’s trying to fix up to do her tillin’, and she’s got quite a bit of work to be done with it once that’s working. Sounds like just the thing for a man who’s used to flyin’, knowing her fixin’ jobs. Anyhow, them as stay with her had best be fair presentable, since she’s the closest to town. Does that fit?”
Mal grinned. “Zoe and Wash are pretty damned presentable. Wash has a record as squeaky-clean as any of us but our mechanic, and Zoe... Zoe’ll do well. I think she and Eddie might get on just fine. Sounds like we got ourselves a plan, Mrs. Cobb.”
The older woman shook her head. “We got it soon as you start doing your job - you’re gonna fit in here, you best get used to droppin’ that formal talk. And settle down, boy - you need some flesh on you. Lemme get y’all some pie. You can take some back to the rest once you’ve had a rest and your fill.”
Mal touched a hand to an imaginary cap. “Yes, ma’am.”
Title: "Shore Leave, Chapter 2"
Characters: All (crew)
Warnings and rating: post-Serenity AU, so spoilers... but not the big nasty things. At the moment, thoroughly PG - expect changes in later chapters.
Summary: The crew is under fire from the Alliance again, and in desperate need of a safe haven. Staying with the Cobb family solves one problem, but it might cause more than a few others...
Previous chapter: Chapter 1.
“Alright, people, this is it. Zoe, Wash, Shepherd, and Kaylee, you’re staying here with Serenity.” Mal pulled on his long brown coat and nodded to the remaining members of his crew. “Jayne, Simon, River, Inara - you’re with me.”
“Aww, but Captain…”
“No buts, little Kaylee. Need you here getting Serenity ready for a few weeks or more of down-time. She’s gotta be ready to go when we need her, but not rustin’ away while she’s waiting, and that’s your job. Ain’t nobody else can do it, dong ma?”
“Hao le, Cap’n.”
She looked so forlorn, like a kid denied a trip to the fair, that Mal squeezed her shoulder as he passed. “You’ll get to meet Jayne’s family soon enough. Right now, got a job to be doin’. You take care of our girl, make sure she’ll be okay while we’re gone.”
Kaylee nodded, a bit cheered by the reminder that she had something important to be doing. “She’ll be snug as a bug, I promise.”
“That’s my girl. Zoe, Wash, you call if we get trouble. Anybody comes within sight of our hidey-hole here, I want to know it. Ain’t leavin’ my ship where she might be stolen.”
“Thought Eddie said this valley wasn’t used much.”
“Ain’t,” Jayne put in. “No good foragin’ around here, an’ it’s too far from town to get the kids messin’ around.”
“Still, better safe than sorry,” Mal assured Zoe. “Just see if you can find any better ways to disguise her. No tellin’ how long we’ll be here just yet, though I’m hopin’ it won’t be longer’n a week or so.” He pulled on his gloves and smiled. “Right then, folks. Let’s get movin’. Jayne, it’s your world - you drive the mule. Anybody we run into, I’d like ‘em to see a familiar face.”
The ride from the valley they’d chosen to hide in to Jayne’s family’s place gave the crew an opportunity to get acquainted with the scenery, which was pretty much what Mal had expected - dry, dusty, windy, and generally the kind of world it’d take a lot of long, hard work to eke a good living out of. On the whole, he was surprised the family could spare a man like Jayne, with all the work that needed doing on a world like this. Then again, Jayne had said there were a lot of them, in which case it was likely they’d been glad of one less loud and constantly hungry mouth to feed. Given that Jayne had one hell of a mouth, it seemed a reasonable concern.
The house Jayne set the mule down in front of was faded but clearly well-cared for, with lace-edged curtains in the tiny front window (the only one in the house made of real glass, it seemed) and a rambling collection of vegetables and flowers gathered by the front door. A couple of kids ran around in the back, giving the mule and its riders curious looks, but Mal’s attention was immediately drawn to a short, round figure standing in the doorway, hands planted on her ample hips. That couldn’t be…
“Jayne Cobb! Boy, I almost didn’t believe your sister when she said you was coming home. Get over here!”
Mal’s view of the ‘verse shifted ever so slightly to the left. He’d had in his mind a woman something like Eddie but just… older, maybe a bit softer and less with the look of a woman accustomed to working outdoors. Instead, he got this doughy sphere of a woman who barely came up to Jayne’s collar bone when he dutifully bent to hug her and accept a smattering of kisses. Mal coughed to keep from laughing as his mercenary straightened, big red blotches of smeared rouge decorating his cheeks.
“And this must be your crew? You Captain Reynolds, then? Come ‘ere, lemme get a good look at y’all, don’t just slink in the yard like barn-cats.”
“Female bear is the more dangerous,” River commented softly, swinging herself down from the mule. “Defends the young, runs the family, keeps the clan together.”
Mal regarded the woman who had already turned back into the house, apparently unconcerned by the idea that that they might not follow. “You might be right about that.”
River smiled at him and floated off toward the house, pausing to solemnly examine the ragged geraniums growing in an old crate outside the door, and to pat a slightly disgruntled-looking tabby cat (by it’s rounded belly, obviously not one of the barn cats Mrs. Cobb had referred to) who perched on the doorstep. Mal glanced at Inara.
“Somehow, I didn’t figure Jayne as coming from a place like this.”
Inara smiled, and for a moment he was struck by the way the sunlight looked in her eyes. He never did see her often enough under a sunny sky. “Somewhere with a pie cooling in the window, you mean?”
“Pie?” Mal blinked. Sure enough, a pie sat, still steaming slightly, on the windowsill. The sight of the crust alone was enough to make his stomach twist and growl. Pie was one luxury he hadn’t seen since the days when he’d still been snagging apple slices out of Big Tom’s bowl while he set the crusts. “Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea, after all... might have to thank Jayne if we all get a few square meals out of the deal.”
“Just try to be polite.”
Mal rolled his eyes. “You think I’d be rude to a woman shelterin’ us like this?”
“If you forget yourself. Or if Jayne antagonizes you.” Inara smiled. “Or--”
“You just wait and see. I can be perfectly polite, I’ll have you know.”
“I’m sure.” But she smiled as she said it, and Mal shook his head, holding the door open for her with a flourish of over-played chivalry.
Directly inside the door was a cramped living room filled with rough doilies and vaguely bottom-heavy, awkward pottery, adjoining a kitchen just as cram-packed with various dishes, pans, and cooking detritus. Eggs - real eggs, Mal noted with a rush of nostalgia - nestled in a wire basket, and the smell of that pie he’d seen earlier was getting downright intoxicating. And in the middle of it all bustled Mrs. Cobb, shuffling old shirts, towels, and pans off the table so her guests could sit. Jayne had already claimed the seat closest to the window, and was rooting around in a basket covered with a napkin.
“He ain’t here, then?”
“Your daddy’s up at the factory for the fall season, you know that, Jayne. An’ the boys are with him, exceptin’ Mattie, of course.” Mrs. Cobb turned to Mal with a slightly apologetic air. “Menfolk ‘round these parts go up to the factory for work, mostly. It ain’t easy, but it’s the best way for money to get made, and my man’s one of the best welders they got. My youngest though... he ain’t healthsome like our Jayne. Caught some kinda sick when he wasn’t but a baby, near, and never got better since.”
“He still ain’t over the damp lung?” Jayne asked around a mouthful of cornbread.
“If it ain’t that it’ll be another thing, you know that.”
“Al’as with one gorram thing or another,” Jayne agreed.
“You watch that mouth, Jayne Cobb, or I’ll wash it with the dishes, and don’t think I won’t,” Mrs. Cobb snapped. The finger pointed at Jayne was knobbed and calloused from hard work, but his mouth snapped shut quicker than if it’d been a gun at his head. “I won’t have my boy swearin’ in front of company, an’ proper ladies besides.”
Inara and Mal shared a look, then returned their attentions to the strange sight of Jayne hanging his head over his plate, silent and uncomplaining.
“Now, Captain Reynolds. What exactly is it you’re here askin’ from us? My Eddie tells me you need someplace to lay low for a while, but she didn’t have a word to say on what you lot are hidin’ from. I’ll warn you, I don’t hold truck with no slavers or drug-runners - we got children in this family, and I won’t see them brought into nothin’ like that. So if that’s your trouble, you can finish your coffee, say your goodbyes, and I don’t want another word on the subject.”
“Mama!”
“Jayne, I ain’t sayin’ more on the subject. I know you gotta take work where it comes, but I don’t want to hear a word of it, if that’s what you’ve got yourself into.”
“I appreciate your sentiment, ma’am. My people and me are no slavers, nor involved in drugs. We’re cargo-runners... sometimes illegitimate. More often than not, to be honest. But it ain’t stealin’ nor salvage that got us in our current troubles.” Mal paused, and looked at River, who returned his gaze with calm assurance and a slow nod. He nodded back and launched into the most important part of their chat. “Alliance seems to think they’ve got a right to one of my crew, and we don’t agree. River here - that’s her brother over there, our Doctor - scientists at a school she went to messed around with her brain. Simon got her out, brought her aboard my ship, but it seems now the same folks are wanting her back. We figure so they can do more work on her, or make use of what they’ve done already.”
“Messed around? She looks alright to me, if a bit small.”
Mal frowned - he’d hoped this wouldn’t need to be explained too much. “Experimented on her,” he explained - they’d all agreed it was best to be as vague as possible about River’s powers, since she had promised to keep them quiet. Nobody needed to know they were taking in a mind-reading psychic who might, at the sight of the wrong commercial transmission, turn into a killing machine. The lack of a cortex screen in the house would at least make that last easier to avoid.
Mrs. Cobb glanced at Jayne for confirmation, and he looked a little sulky but nodded. “Alright, then. That’s the brother, and this here is... older sister?” She eyed Inara speculatively. “Can’t be old enough to be her mama.”
“I’m no relation to them, by blood,” Inara replied. “My name is Inara. I’m a companion.”
Mrs. Cobb’s eyebrows climbed toward her flyaway white hair. “One of them real ones, then? You don’t look like just any kind of painted lady, that’s for sure. Didn’t think my boy had found a ship with that kind of class.”
Inara smiled, resisting the urge to give Mal a smug look at this easy acceptance of her career. “I rent one of Serenity’s shuttles from Mal. It’s a mutually beneficial business arrangement.”
At the other side of the table, Mal managed to hide the slightest flinch at her wording. She always did have to make sure it was clear theirs was a strictly-business arrangement. “We’ve also got my first mate, our pilot, mechanic, and a shepherd who travels with us. They’ll all need places, too. You figure this’ll work? We can work for our stay... well, ‘cept Inara here. And we’ve got some goods that might do you, too.”
“Don’t expect the goods’ll be needed if your folk are willin’ to work,” Mrs. Cobb mused. “Always more work around here than there are hands to do it. The shepherd, doc, and mechanic are easy, ‘course. For the rest of you...”
“I was raised on a ranch, ma’am,” Mal assured her. “My first mate and I can both do pretty much any kind of labor you need, and our pilot’s a fair hand with any kind of machinery you got.”
Mrs. Cobb nodded slowly. “Alright, Captain Reynolds - I think we can deal. We’ll split you up ‘tween my daughters’ houses so’s you’re not so obvious - there’s plenty enough migrant laborers on this moon, won’t be any shock to see a few hirin’ on with us during the harvest season. Jayne’ll stay here, help me around the house while his pa is gone, and I’ll keep the little girl, too. Doc, shepherd and your mechanic can shuffle - I expect everybody’ll want a piece of their work, soon as they find out about them.”
“I really think I should stay with River...”
“Ain’t happening, Doc.” Mal clapped the younger man’s shoulder, giving him a solemn look. “Feds’ll be looking for you together. Apart, you’ve got a better chance if they happen to trace us to this moon. Anyway, you’ll only be a farm away - we’re all staying in contact.”
“The children are always back and forth, anyway - they can run messages,” Mrs. Cobb told them.
“Is that safe?” Simon’s brows pulled together. “I mean, what if someone catches them and questions them?”
“First, ain’t many on this moon’d be stupid enough to hurt one of mine,” Mrs. Cobb informed him. “We Cobbs have been on Angel since the colony first started - ain’t rich, but we got our means and ways, got our land, people respect us for that. My husband's been one of the best welders at the factory for near on fifty years, and half my girls’ husbands do the same work, now. Biggest factory on this whole settlement. Anyway, my folk ain’t weak, Doctor. They’ll hold what secrets I tell ‘em to hold. Ain’t that so, Jayne?”
“True enough,” the big mercenary agreed around a wedge of cornbread slathered in butter. “Cobbs’re made tough.”
“Well... alright. If that’s how it has to be...” Simon trailed off, then set a small box of various bottles and vials down on the table. “These are her medications... and here’s a list of when and how they’re to be administered. The balance is very delicate, and it’s important for it to be followed to the letter. I’ll go through it with you, if you like--”
Mrs. Cobb gave the paper a quick glance, then called off into the kitchen. “Joey, get in here.”
A tall, brown-haired, broad-shouldered girl in her late teens bustled out, brushing flour off her hands onto a worn apron around her waist. “Yes, Auntie?”
“You keep this, and read it off to me when I need it.” Mrs. Cobb handed the list to the younger woman, who tucked it immediately into the breast of her dress and barely cast the strangers a second look before returning to the kitchen. “My eyes ain’t so good as they used to be,” she explained to Mal and Simon.
“I really think I should--”
Mrs. Cobb waved her hand, interrupting Simon again. “Boy, I’ve raised and helped to raise more children in my time than you’ve had birthdays, by a good margin. You let mama do what she does best, and take care of yourself and my people what need doctorin’. Your sister’ll be safe here. Ain’t that right, girl?” she added, turning her attention to River for the first time since the conversation had started.
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am.”
“Don’t ma’am me, girl. First thing you gotta learn if you’re not to stand out when strangers are by, call me Mama. Anybody asks, you’re my fifth daughter’s youngest, got that? Her name’s Billie. Billie Cobb,” she repeated, eyeing River intently as the small girl nodded. “And yours is Reeve..” She smiled. “Like that, my ownself. Think I mighta used it if I’d had another girl.”
“Reeve Cobb,” River repeated, nodding again. “I’ll remember, Mama.”
“Good girl. You learn fast, you’ll get on just fine here long as you need to stay. Don’t let nobody sass you, make yourself useful, and don’t tell anybody outside the family you’re anything but here visiting kin. I’ll introduce you to those you can talk free to. Anybody else, keep your mouth shut, and try not to sound too citified, if you can help it.”
A little smile twitched at the corners of River’s lips. “I’ll try.”
Mrs. Cobb smiled. “Now, for the rest of you. Captain Reynolds, I think you might do best at my Henrie’s place - she’s got the most land to contend with, and has the most need of a strong pair of arms since her young’uns have all left home. Miss Serra, I think you’d best go with him.”
Inara opened her mouth to protest, but Mrs. Cobb kept right on talking right over her.
“Pilot and your first mate... Eddie’s been all about some fool hover-thing she’s trying to fix up to do her tillin’, and she’s got quite a bit of work to be done with it once that’s working. Sounds like just the thing for a man who’s used to flyin’, knowing her fixin’ jobs. Anyhow, them as stay with her had best be fair presentable, since she’s the closest to town. Does that fit?”
Mal grinned. “Zoe and Wash are pretty damned presentable. Wash has a record as squeaky-clean as any of us but our mechanic, and Zoe... Zoe’ll do well. I think she and Eddie might get on just fine. Sounds like we got ourselves a plan, Mrs. Cobb.”
The older woman shook her head. “We got it soon as you start doing your job - you’re gonna fit in here, you best get used to droppin’ that formal talk. And settle down, boy - you need some flesh on you. Lemme get y’all some pie. You can take some back to the rest once you’ve had a rest and your fill.”
Mal touched a hand to an imaginary cap. “Yes, ma’am.”
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Date: 2006-06-29 05:19 am (UTC)amazing, truly amazing. I can see her and River getting along really well. Thank you so much. I cannot wait for the next installment! Mmmmmm, pie.
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Date: 2006-06-29 11:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-29 05:27 am (UTC)can't wait to read more
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Date: 2006-06-29 11:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-29 05:41 am (UTC)“I’m sure.” But she smiled as she said it, and Mal shook his head, holding the door open for her with a flourish of over-played chivalry.
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Date: 2006-06-29 11:21 pm (UTC)Poor Mal - he can be a gentleman, he just so often choses not to. ;)
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Date: 2006-06-29 05:45 am (UTC)One quick question: is Jayne's father alive, or dead? At one point, Mama says that he's at the factory, and he's mentioned in her letter in "The Message," but then she mentions that her husband is dead later on...?
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Date: 2006-06-29 06:05 am (UTC)I'm so glad you're enjoying it! And oh yes... poor Simon will have no end of reasons for distress. I'm looking forward to introducing Mattie as a character, too. ;)
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Date: 2006-06-29 06:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-29 03:54 pm (UTC)So looking forward to the next part!
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Date: 2006-06-29 04:21 pm (UTC)But yes - I'll try to be good and remember to email the next chapter to both of you, if you're both still available, before I post. XD
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Date: 2006-07-02 07:29 pm (UTC)Now, I don't think this is because I am an obsessive Simon-lover (but feel free to write it off as that if you don't agree with my suggestion), but I was kind of surprised at how little Simon had to say in this chapter. I noticed this especially when Mal was explaining River and Simon's situation to Mama Cobb - it just didn't seem like Simon to stand there silent while everyone in the room discussed his and River's story. He feels too much repsonsibility to do that.
On the other hand, I think it makes a lot of sense for Mal to say something to him before they arrive at the Cobb ranch about how Simon is no good at talking to people outside the Core, and he'd likely just get them into more trouble if he opened his pretty mouth, so just keep quiet and let Mal do the talking, type of thing.
What are your feelings about that?
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Date: 2006-07-04 03:46 am (UTC)Mal would definitely have given him something of a "keep your mouth shut" speech before they got to the house... I'll have to bring in some of that later, in a conversation between him and Kaylee, so that the poor guy has time to have his say. I'm also thinking of letting him and Mal have one of their little 'discussions' about the situation in this next chapter, so hopefully that'll help.
Thanks so much for catching that for me! As much as I love the Firefly ensemble, they can be a little too much for me to handle, sometimes. I'm glad I have people keeping me 'honest'!
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Date: 2006-07-05 12:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-29 02:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-29 11:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-29 02:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-29 11:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-29 04:48 pm (UTC)Do NOT go against Mama Cobb. Really, you'll live longer. And Cobb Sr. has to be the most understanding, awesomest husband evar.
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Date: 2006-06-29 05:43 pm (UTC)She is! And yes, there is no standing against Mama Cobb - I expect we shall see that very clearly before the end of this story. And I'm very much looking forward to introducing Cobb Sr. (Papa Cobb? Kinda makes him sound like a Smurf... Jayne's Pa, anyhow).
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Date: 2006-06-29 06:04 pm (UTC)Hehe, oh, that is one scary and awesome woman. Maybe just Pa. Pa sounds good. Though all the boys call him Sir. And he knows his daughters, grand-daughters, etc. are the best little angels.♥ (Though he knows they got a lot of their ma in them, and he just steers clear.)
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Date: 2006-06-29 11:25 pm (UTC)Yeah, Pa'll probably do. Heh. It'll take a while to get to him, since he's up at the factory, but I do expect to have him involved before too many more chapters have passed.
And of course the girls are his angels! Should be interesting to see how he deals with Jayne and Mattie, though....
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Date: 2006-07-01 02:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-01 06:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-01 02:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-01 06:53 pm (UTC)And I'll see what I can do about the Sunday thing - this being a holiday weekend, I'm definitely doing the best I can to fit all my writing in at once!
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Date: 2006-07-04 02:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-04 03:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-12 03:24 pm (UTC)