Disclaimer: Joss is GOD!

A/N: Two in one day, how fortunate for you. Now I have to go write the rest of the damn story so it could be awhile before the next post... Yes, I know. Stop crying. I know how broken you must be.

Enjoy.

######################################## Chapter 5

He was in the most peaceful place in his world. Blissfully unconscious and contentedly snoozing. Not too many moments like this when you live the life he did. But right now, he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Tien!”

Which was probably why he was pulled from it.

Blake jumped and blinked around the room and found Mare staring down at him. “What,” asked quickly.

“Get up!” she old him and took his arm trying to pull him from his comfy chair.

He didn’t budge. “What do you want?”

“Collin and his men are here,” she said, still trying with all her strength to get him up.

Blake sighed and patted her hand away. As she stumbled back, he pulled the lever on the side of the chair, retracting the foot rest and sitting him up.

He rubbed his sleepy face and picked up his gun belt. He took a moment as he strapped on the belt to put his game face on. Hardening his features into an impenetrable mask.

“Where’s Lamen?” he turned to Mare.

“He’s out with them,” she told him.

He nodded. “Let ‘em in.”

Mare nodded and headed over to the heavy wooden door. She shifted the large iron locks and the door creaked open.

Collin was an average looking man. It was good. It helped him blend in. With his short brown hair and dull brown eyes, top it all off with crappy fashion sense he was hardly ever noticed. For that reason, the Marshals had seen fit that he would be one of the first they would take from. They didn’t think anyone would miss him. And they were right. Blake had busted him out after a hit on the station a month ago. He’d been rallying people and helping him ever since.

Collin entered with six men following. One of which Blake recognized instantly.

“Great,” he muttered and then sighed. “What the hell are you thinking bringing him here?” he demanded glancing over at the giant who had to duck to enter the room.

Stocks shot him an annoyed glare that told him he wasn’t here on his own free will. Blake then also noticed when the big man moved into the dim light that he was covered in bruises.

Collin stepped up. “We found him limpin’ back from the skirts. He’s got some info.”

Blake moved forward and stared up at the big man as he spoke to Collin. “Is that so?”

Stocks glared back down at him, his gaze unflinching under his swollen eyes.

Collin eyes the two almost warily. “He does,” he said after a moment.

Blake’s jaw ticked and then he backed up, still staring the giant down. “Alright, what’s goin’ on, big man?”

When he didn’t speak, Mare pulled her own gun and pointed it at his chest. “You better start flappin’ that over sized jaw of yours or we’re gonna’ see what it takes to put the giant down.”

Stocks glared at her for a moment before shaking his head. “Man tracked me down today,” he began.

“Hate to break it to ya’, but you’re kinda’ hard to conceal,” Lamen said from Mare’s side.

Stocks glared at him and then turned back to Blake. “You wanna’ hear this or not?”

Blake raised an amused eye brow and shrugged. “Speak your piece,” he told him and shot a look to Lamen, telling him silently to be silent.

“Off-worlder,” he continued. “Dragged me to his ship. Asked a bunch of questions ‘bout you and the Marshals.”

“And you told him what?” Blake asked.

“The truth,” Stocks told him. “Everything I knew. And they’re comin’ for ya’.”

“They?” Blake repeated.

“One’s I roughed up last night,” Stocks shrugged. “Few others.”

“What do they want?”

“Don’t know what they want,” he told him. “’Sides you’a course.”

“Of course.”

“S’all I know.”

“Names?”

Stocks thought back. “One who tracked me down they called Jayne. He seemed to answer to this guy called Mal. Think he’s the Captain or somethin’.”

Blake took this all in and sighed. Shaking his head he approached the giant once again. “I’m disappointed in you Stocks,” he told him. “It appears your mouth is as big as the rest of you.”

########################################

“I guess this is it,” Mal said looking at the old falling apart building where they’d watched Stocks and six others enter.

“Don’t like it sir,” Zoe told him. “How do we know this ain’t a set up?”

“You say those guys swarm Stocks,” he reminded her. “He didn’t set that up.”

“Didn’t even know we was followin’ him,” Jayne agreed.

“Still shouldn’t go in with all those inside,” she said.

Mal nodded and turned back to the old house. “We’ll wait ‘til they leave to make a visit.”

“How hospitable do you reckon he is?” she asked.

“Inara said he killed Britx without blinkin’, also said he’s taken out thirteen others in the last two months,” he told her. “So I’m thinkin’ he ain’t the hostin’ type.”

########################################

“We’re done here,” Blake told them and nodded over to Stocks. “Get him out of here.”

Lamen nodded and began to usher the others out the door.

“Collin?” Blake called before he exited.

“What’s up?” he asked, moving over to the ex-Marshal.

“What the fuck was that?” he demanded.

Collin frowned. “I told you-”

“You come here in force!?!” Blake exclaimed. “Are you fuckin’ stupid or something? It’s the middle of the day and you’re running around in a pack! Coming here! In an large group. The hideout. Key word ‘hide’.”

Collin struggled. “We- we didn’t want to take any chances of letting Stocks get away.”

“Fuck Stocks!” Blake told him. “I knew about the off-worlders! Knew they’d come ‘round sometime or another. I told you that myself. Now you pull a stunt like this. What if you’d led the Marshals strait here? You ever think about that?”

Blake gave an angry sigh when the man didn’t know how to respond. “Get him back to the Skirts,” he told him and held up his fingers. “Two men. Got it?”

Collin nodded and backed over to the door. Mare gave him a sympathetic smile as she moved to shut the door behind him.

She holstered her gun and moved back to Blake. “You didn’t have to be so hard on him,” she said quietly.

“You want what happened to you to happen again? To you or someone else because he forgot the rules?” he asked harshly. “They find us here and come lookin’ for blood, then they’ll take it from us and use you again. You of all people should be the one who’s mad.”

Mare flinched at his words, a deep stab of fear shooting through her stomach. She closed her eyes before they could start to water and nodded.

Blake gazed at her for a long moment and then sighed, his face softening. “Mary... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to...”

Mare nodded again and turned and left the room, leaving him to his new guilt. He heaved another big sigh and fell back into his comfy chair. He wiped his hand down his face and stared at the door she went through. Fuck.

########################################

“Spill.”

Inara looked up from her tea and found Kaylee sitting in front of her, her face set in a steely resolve that almost made Inara nervous.

“What?” she asked.

“Spill,” the young mechanic repeated, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Spill... what?”

“Inara!” Kaylee whined. “Tell me ‘bout you and the Cap’m!”

Inara knew that was what she meant. She felt her cheeks heat up and she hid her smile in her cup. “Oh, that.”

“So what happened?” Kaylee asked excitedly. “Are you guys together now?”

“Kaylee, I... I don’t know. I think so, maybe. I hope so,” she tried to explain. “I can’t really explain what’s going on. It’s too new to tell. There are a lot of things to consider and we haven’t talked about it yet.”

“What’s to consider?” Kaylee asked. “You two love each other, you be together.”

“It’s not that easy, sweetheart,” Inara replied softly.

“Why not?” she exclaimed.

“Because I’m still a Companion,” Inara said more harshly then she’d ever intended.

Kaylee recoiled in her seat at the intensity of her friend’s voice. “But you guys can still-”

“Kaylee, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she told her more calmly.

“I’m sorry, ‘Nara,” Kaylee bit her lip feeling the prickle of tears.

Inara quickly saw Kaylee blink back her watery eyes and cursed herself. She was supposed to make sure she was okay, now she’d gone and made her cry. “No, Kaylee, I’m sorry,” she told her and stood up and wrapped her arms around the girl from behind her chair. “I’m worreed about what will happen. I’m sorry for snapping.”

“No, I shouldn’t be prying,” Kaylee said hugging Inara arms to her.

They stayed like that for a few moments until they hear footsteps coming from the bridge. A moment later, Wash walked into the room. “Whoa,” he stopped. “I feel like I just stepped into an estrogen ocean,” he waved his hand around like trying to clear smoke.

Inara rolled her eyes, but smiled as Kaylee giggled. “Simon and Book are down in the cargo bay using Jayne’s weights if you’re looking for something a bit more manly,” Kaylee told him.

“Yeah,” Wash sighed in mock wistfulness. “Why should I be cooped up in here with you beautiful girls when I could be hanging out with a couple a sweaty guys showing off our manly prowess by trying to lift heavy objects?”

The girls laughed at him and then turned back to each other. Arching a brow, Inara asked, “A sweaty Simon is trying to show off his prowess and you’re up here talking with me?”

Kaylee fought a blush and grin, but easily lost the battle and stood quickly from her seat. With a giggle the girls scurried from the room and raced to the cargo bay.

“Oh, sure,” Wash said when they left. “Don’t mind me. Just leave me here. All by my lonesome. I don’t care. Go watch sweaty boys.”

########################################

Blake looked over to the door when he heard the knock. He wasn’t expecting anyone and Lamen shouldn’t be back yet.

Mare came from her room to answer as always. She must still have been upset because she didn’t check who it was and just opened it. Mare was always careful. Ever since he’d met her. She never let anything get the jump on her. He supposed he had himself to blame for her mistake now.

Before he could shout to stop her the door was kicked in as soon as it was unlocked.

Forgetting his gun by his chair, Blake leaped up as they entered. Attacking the first figure to enter. He was a big guy, one he’d never seen before. Armed to the teeth, he had to be one of the off-worlders.

Blake landed his fist into his stomach and got a grunt of pain in response. He delivered to more shots to his chest before kicking him in the side of his knee, dropping the man to the floor.

Two others entered, a man wearing a brown coat and a black woman. They had their weapons drawn, but he didn’t give them the chance to use them.

As they raised their guns, he shot his hands out and grabbed the barrels. The woman got a shot off before he spun and tore them from their hands. When he landed from his spin, he was knelt down so he attacked their knees as he had the big guy, using the to guns as clubs. They fell to the floor together but the guy kicked his other leg out and it caught him in the chest, knocking him on his but as well and making him drop the guns.

As he saw the big guy about to rise, he propped himself on his hands and kicked him in the head, sending him back to the floor. By the time he was on his feet, so was the woman and she clocked him in the jaw with a powerful right hook. He staggered back and the other man stood and tried the same thing as the woman. He caught his arm and twisted it around, forcing him into the wall behind them and attack the woman.

She was good. Fast and strong. But he was better. Just as fast and much more stronger. He wasn’t sexist, but the truth is that man is far stronger than woman. She was skilled to. She could take a hit and give one right back.

When he was finished with her, he moved back to the big guy on the floor, still trying to get up and into the fight. The guy reached for one of the guns on his belt and Blake dropped his knees on to his shoulders, satisfied when he heard the pop of dislocation and his scream of pain.

It was then he realized that these three weren’t out for blood. They were trying to get him alive. He knew that because the man he’d thrown into the wall had found his discarded gun and had it pointed at his face.

“We just want to talk,” he panted.

“You bust in my door, armed to the teeth and all you want is to talk?” he asked the man.

“We didn’t know what kind of reception we’d get,” he retorted and glanced over to his friends. “Zoe?” he called.

“I’m all right, sir,” came the black woman’s replied as she used the wall to stand.

“Check Jayne,” he told her and she moved over to the man still groaning on the floor.

“He’ll live,” she reported. “Simon’ll have to see to him though.”

“I talk better when guns aren’t pointed at my face,” Blake told the man.

“So do I,” he said. “But if I do that then what’s to stop you from trying to beat us again?”

“Not much,” he replied and shot his hands out again, knocking the gun to the side and hitting him square in the face. As he tried to point the gun again, Blake grabbed the barrel again and twisted it in his hands, turning it around and taking the hilt for himself. “This won’t help much either,” he told him and put the gun to the man’s temple. “Now,” he said and looked over his shoulder quickly to make sure they weren’t rushing him. “What did you want to talk about?”

########################################

A/N: I'd like to say I'm sorry for my attempt at girl talk. This bombing failure is do to the fact that I have NO idea what girls say to each other when I'm not around. Hope the action was enjoyable and realistic or whatever. Love comments.

REVIEW!!!