Title: Mischief

Rating: PG. For mischief and a little cursin'. Shh, don't repeat that in front of Mei-Mei.

Characters: the whole crew, plus the Pirate Children and Alistair Caramia (the latter are mine, the rest are Joss's)

Pairings: Canon pairings. I generally lean towards M/I, but this one is not as shippery as Shadow or any of the others. This is more about the kids.

Summary: Yet another Pirate Children story. Set thirteen years post-BDM, AU. A look into daily life for the children aboard Serenity. How do four children pass the time in the Black?

Author's Note: I had two new PC stories started and was debating which to devote the most attention to. Since Miss Reynolds was feeling especially neglected, I've decided upon this one. I must say it is refreshing to write the Mei-Mei again. I'd missed her. It's low on the plot, more of a slice of life kind of thing. Many people have wondered about daily life aboard Serenity with the "Pirate Children", and this is it.

Lost? Read Brother, Shadow, Pirate Children, and Hell Raising. This slots in between Shadow and Pirate Children. Also here are the new characters for those unfamiliar with the 'verse: Killian Cobb "Kacey" Washburn, 13 Leila Lee "Lolly" Tam, 12 Abram Derrial "Bubba" Reynolds, 10.5 Serra Alleyne "Mei-Mei" Reynolds, 5.5 Alistair Caramia, their tutor, 25

Part 1

Though Zoe is now used to Mal as “daddy”, there are still certain moments that give her pause, that make her shake her head and wonder how the hell this happened. Now is one of those. Serenity’s crew is parked on Persephone and wandering the marketplace in Eavesdown. The three older children are with their tutor, heading off to pick up books for their next level of study. She can hear her son’s voice through the crowd, joking with Leila Lee Tam and Abram Derrial Reynolds. Wash and Kaylee are off settling Serenity’s affairs, refueling and picking up spare parts. That’s their routine. This time they’ve brought Jayne to do heavy lifting. The doc and his sister are buying supplies for the infirmary, particularly band-aids for a particularly rambunctious five-year-old. Said five-year-old, Serra Alleyne Reynolds, is a part of the scene that has so stumped Zoe. Mal holds her high in his arms, effortlessly and naturally. She’s a pretty little girl, all black curls and big brown eyes like her mama. She is pointing to something in the booth in front of them, a question wrinkling her small brow, shaking her head so the tiny gold hoops in her ears catch the sun. Mal laughs and picks up the object, something feathery and unrecognizable from where Zoe stands. He tickles her nose with it, and Zoe can hear her squeals over the din of the market. Zoe is struck by the picture they make: dark haired daughter, light haired father, comfortable and laughing. Her somewhat namesake is not what she expected when Mal told her he was going to be a daddy again, this time to a little girl. Zoe thought any daughter of Inara’s would be soft and gentle, the consummate little girl. Serra, however, heavily favors her father in personality, no matter what an external replica she is of her mother. Mal and Serra make each other laugh and frustrate the hell out of each other, depending on when you catch them. Sometimes they do both at the same time. And she’s only five. That Mal loves his children desperately, fiercely, isn’t what surprises Zoe. They and their mama are the only things in the ‘verse more important to him than Serenity and her crew. But Mal has always had the ability to love fiercely, even when he didn’t think he could. No, what surprises Zoe is the ease he has with them, the way having Serra in his arms is as natural as holding his old pistol, the way he can somehow handle conversations with a son that often reminds them all of Simon without flying off the handle. Usually. The way he’s grown enough to be able to make up after a fight with his wife. The way he’s grown enough to actually have a wife. Serra sticks her tongue out at her father then, attempting to touch her nose, before resting her head briefly, affectionately, on Mal’s shoulder. Her head jumps up suddenly, face bright. Zoe sees Inara approaching the pair, the cause of the little girl’s dazzling grin, which Mal echoes softly. Zoe hadn’t expected Mal and Inara to ever get it together enough to kiss each other, let alone get married and have two kids. She liked Inara; that wasn’t the problem. It was just that telling a man what he wanted to hear was Inara’s profession, so it was hard to tell whether her feelings for Mal were completely sincere, hard to trust that she wouldn’t run back to her Training House the moment things got tough. When Wash rushed in to tell her about Inara’s pregnancy and Mal’s impromptu proposal, she was utterly speechless, then dropped a few choice words that Killian, on her hip at the time, repeated for a month. The mere fact that they are still together and as happy as married folk can be continues to surprise Zoe. Serra is twisting in Mal’s arms, whispering secrets in Inara’s ear that make the mother smile, laugh, catch the daughter’s ear to whisper in return. Zoe lets the trio play for a few minutes before approaching them. Little Serra beams at her as she approaches. “Hi, Aunt Zo’!” “Hello, Mei-Mei. Whatcha doing?” “Playin’,” Serra answers, grinning impishly like the little gypsy girl she is. “Appears so. Not shoppin’ for books with the older kids?” “Nope.” Inara corrects gently, “No, what?” “No, ma’am,” Serra sings, “I’m too little. Bubba’s getting my stuff. Oh no! Daddy, I forgot to tell him something!” Sighing, Mal grabs the comm at his belt. “Teach?” Mal speaks into the small box. “My son happen to be with you?” “Wait,” Ally’s voice crackles back, full of sarcasm, “You mean, I’m supposed to be watching the kids?” Mal rolls his eyes. “I ain’t payin’ you to be a smart ass.” “You are not paying me at all, Captain. I work for room and board.” “Aiya, are all you Core-born ladies such a pain in the pi gu?” “Why don’t you ask your wife?” There’s a grin on Mal’s face, affection for the smart little teacher. “Put my son on, Ally.” “Abe, speak to your father before he fires me.” There’s a clatter as the radio is passed off. “Daddy, you can’t fire Ally just ‘cause she’s smarter than you.” Zoe and Inara laugh at this, while Mal looks put upon.

***

“Five plus five?” “Ten.” “Seven plus three?” “Ten.” “Six plus seven?” “Um… I don’t have fingers for that.” “Mei-Mei… Concentrate.” “Thirteen?” “Good girl.” Ally turns her attention briefly to the older three, who are bent over pre-algebra workbooks. They all started out on different levels, but sometime over the past five years they settled at the same place, the product of Lolly and Abe both skipping ahead to where children Kacey’s age tended to be. So she teaches the three of them as a mini-class, then has one-on-one time with Mei-Mei while they study. “Any trouble over there?” “I’m fine,” Abe shrugs. “Getting there,” Lolly returns. “I’d be good if there weren’t so many gor…” Kacey catches himself. “Gosh-darn letters. I thought this was math.” Ally smiles reassuringly. Almost-thirteen-year-old Kacey gets very frustrated at times, and a little embarrassed, too, she thinks. He is not dumb, by any stretch of the imagination, and he’s a hard worker with fierce dedication, but he is not as naturally gifted as his “cousins”. They’ve talked about it, and Ally is sure to point out what he is good at, and what he can do much easier than Lolly or Abe, to keep up his spirits. Mei-Mei giggles. “Kacey almost said a bad word.” “You just keep your attention on those flashcards, hermanita.” “¿Puedo ir al baño?” the youngest one asks, setting the flashcards on the table. “Claro, Mei-Mei.” Serra pushes away from the table and skips off to the restroom. Ally uses the time to check her schedule and make sure they’re moving along at the proper clip. They are, as usual. “So, what seems to be the problem, Kacey?” she asks, sitting down in the chair next to the oldest of her charges. He runs a frustrated hand over his short, tight curls and sighs. “Nothin’… nothing too particular, Ally. Just still wrapping my mind around the whole ‘x’ idea. Give me a few minutes and maybe I’ll have some questions.” Ally nods and pats his arm before moving on to Lolly. “And you, Miss Tam? Any questions?” “Is this right?” Lolly asks, tapping her answer with the eraser of her pencil. “Hmm, check your second step.” Lolly’s brow crinkles, and she plays with a lock of hair, which is turning darker now that she’s entering puberty, away from the towhead she was as a younger child. “Oh! Missed a negative. Thanks, Al.” “You’re welcome, kiddo,” Ally smiles, tugging playfully on Lolly’s ponytail. “No problems,” Abe says, before Ally can even ask. Her ten-year-old near-genius turns his workbook toward her, showing her that he’s done. “Showoff,” Kacey grumbles, Ally takes the work and begins to check it, Abe sliding his data-reader from the middle of the table and resuming his place in Prince Caspian. Serra bounces back into the room, her daddy in tow, dragged along by her firm hold on his hand. “Good morning, Captain,” Ally greets him. “Hey, Dad,” Abe says, Lolly and Kacey also greeting Mal. “I want you to see my worksheet,” Serra says, pulling him to the table and fumbling in her work for the sheet on “M”s she completed before math. “It’s an M. I’m practicing. Ally says your name starts with an M.” “That it does,” Mal grins, crouching down to inspect her work. “What else starts with M?” Serra thinks for a moment. “Oh! Mama.” “Yep. And?” “Mei-Mei!” “Good work. They’re nice Ms.” He kisses her head and stands up, addressing the whole table. “We’ll be landin’ on St. Albans in three days. Any of y’all ready for the snow?” “Snow?!” “Yep.” “Excellent. A rematch of the Great Snowball Fight of ’26. Dress warmly, Abe,” Kacey grins wickedly. “I’ve never seen snow,” Mei-Mei says. Mal thinks on that for a second. “I guess that’s right. Well, you’re in for a treat, Mei-Mei.” “I’ll teach you how to make a snowball, Mei-Mei,” Abe offers. “It’s not too hard.” “Okay! I wanna…” “Want to.” “…Want to be on your team, Bubba.” “Naw, Mei-Mei…” “No, Mei-Mei.” “…No, Mei-Mei, you’re too little,” Kacey objects, “You might get hurt.” “Daddy…” “Kacey’s got…” He holds a hand up to stave off Alistair’s correction. “…a point, baby-mine. You’re a mite small to be in on the big kids’ war. But I’ll have one with ya ‘soon as I get back from the job, ‘kay?” Serra pouts, a skill she has long since perfected. “Okay, Daddy. Mama too?” Mal chuckles, standing up. “You’re gonna have to talk to her on that yourself. Study hard, you four.”

***

“I’m bored.” “You’re always bored,” Lolly sighs, scrolling through her latest download of Mechanics’ Weekly on her reader, belly down on a few pillows on Kacey and Abe’s floor. “Not true,” Kacey argues. “Kinda true,” Abe counters from the lower bunk, his own reader out and scrolling through the final chapters of Prince Caspian. “At least you always claim you’re bored.” “Defend me, Mei-Mei,” Kacey calls down from the top bunk, tossing a ball against the ceiling. “Hmm?” Serra asks, looking up from beside Lolly, where she’s coloring contentedly, lost in her own world, sock-clad feet kicking the air idly. “You’re too little to be of any help,” Kacey huffs, and Serra shrugs and returns to her coloring. “We could, you know, do something,” Abe offers, setting aside his book. “Like what?” Lolly asks. “Cut off the power to the cockpit screens. Watch Uncle Wash run around trying to fix it,” Abe throws out, sitting up and hanging his legs over the side. “That could work. Of course, Aunt River will have to be willing not to rat on us,” Kacey admits, leaning down over the side of the bunk to look at Abe. “She won’t,” Abe assures them. “She never does. Remember when we locked Dad and Jayne in Shuttle 2 for a whole day? She never told that we were going to do it, or even that we did it. She’s on our side.” “You two still gotta convince me to be in on it if you’re gonna do it successfully,” Lolly reminds them. “So? Are you in?” Kacey asks, blue eyes imploring. Lolly sits up, cross-legged, brushing her hair behind her ears. “I won’t do it for long; too much could go wrong.” Serra giggles. “That rhymes.” “Thanks, Mei-Mei,” Abe sighs. “Anyway, I can do it, but I’ll need to be in the engine room for the whole time, without my mom.” “Well, it’s easy enough to get there. Our parents still don’t understand all the ducts,” Kacey says. “But we’ll need a distraction, keep Mom occupied.” They all think on that for a moment, then turn their eyes to the youngest among them, still innocently working on her picture. She looks up, feeling their eyes on her. A wide grin breaks out on her face. “A distraction? I can do that.”

TBC