Authors Note: Hello All, this is my first bit of Firefly fanfic. I've been writing Buffy and Angel fic for a while now, but with characters this colorful, I knew I would come to Firefly next. I love writing River near as much as I love writing crazy ass Drusilla, and well the rest of the characters sort of flow out. Pardon the lack of Chinese phrasing, I'm doing my best to throw it in here and there. This is going up here first to determine if I'm gonna keep at it. My Buffy fic fans would likely shoot me for starting yet another damn story without finishing it. Find a problem? Hate it? Love it? Let me know, just don't flame the hell out of me, or I might have to introduce you to my gun, I call him Jayne.

Time Frame: Post Objects in Space, Inara still hasn't left, River has become a member of the family (well as much as a crazy girl can be), Kaylee gets no doctor lovin', Jayne and Vera have a loving relationship (but will his cunning hat come between them??), Book is a curious character, Mal is a mean old man, Zoe and Wash are all romantical. ::sigh::

The legal stuff: Oh yeah, it all belongs to this guy, he has ears, and he lives in California and his name is Joss. He invented this world, I just like to play in it, in a completely non-financially beneficial sort of way.

Summary: Inara centric. Inara's past (my interpretation) comes back to her. Eventual Mal-Inara pairing, and hopefully I can get that crazy Kaylee and Simon thing to work out too. Warning, there may be scenes with plastic dinosaurs, these scenes may involve River, a bible and wine. No plastic dinosaurs were injured while writing this story. Sorry if there are spelling errors or whatever but I don't have a beta and I'm lazy!

Rating: R-ish, may end up NC-17 (this version if made will be available at fireflyfans dot net in the Blue Sun Room)

China Doll

Prologue:

"I don't expect you to understand, I don't even expect your blessing, I just wanted you to know."

"Mei mei, you have worked too hard to just walk out on the Guild now. You are on track to be the youngest house mistress in our history."

"I'm leaving."

"But Inara, things out of the core are a far cry from civilization, the civil rules you are accustomed to do not apply out there. I expected this sort of thing from a wild girl like Nandi, but you?"

"I can't stay here any longer. Please do not ask me to explain. I will be shipping out tomorrow. I've made contacts and have reserved a shuttle."

"Fine, but when you get sick of being called whore and have been in too many bar brawls on too many smaller moons, do not even think to return to here. You will not be welcome." Ling threw her arms in the air, but then crossed them over her chest and softened her voice, "I still don't understand why."

"It's simple, I don't want to be alone any more."

"What you are going to take a husband? Raise children on some piece of go se moon, far from Alliance protection?"

"I'm not marrying, I am just sick of being alone here, I need to see the universe, and I need to do it now. Sei-sei for all you have done, I will never forget it." With that Inara picked up the last of her belongings. Her dresses and supplies had been crated and shipped to her shuttle the day before, today she had to return to the Guild house for her small personal objects. It wasn't easy leaving, but then life rarely was.

The house matron was her aunt Ling. Ling had arranged for Inara to go to the companion academy, and her training on languages and the arts began when she was barely 6 years old. Having been a 'spinster' Ling truely knew no different life, and expected Inara to follow in her footsteps. Ling had taken her in after her mother died, Inara was too young to remember when this happened or the circumstances, but she did know that her father had disappeared. Ling had once described him as a 'no good browncoat.' Colonel Serra had died in the war, his medals had been sent to Inara, and while she had not known him, she still clung to them. This didn't mean she didn't support unification, she truely had believed it would be for the best, but being held up behind the Guild walls, it was difficult to see real life, to see what unification would really do. Her father's medals were for valor in the few Independance air strikes that had successfully been carried out. He had been on the ground in Serenity Valley, his only ground mission of the whole war. That was the day he died. The note that came with the medals explained these things, it told her these things in a less educated dialect than she knew. The medals had been made from melted bullets, they were made before the war ended, and the ribbons that they were strung on looked to have been cloth from some lost kimono. They weren't fancy, not like the medals the men she frequented parties with wore, they were simple, uncomplicated. She thought that her father may have been such a man, simple uncomplicated. She supposed she could blame her need to explore the universe on him.

Not four days ago Inara had ventured outside of the Guild's walls, claiming she was to see a client. Her client was a Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of a Firefly class ship, most appropriately named 'Serenity'. He had a shuttle for rent, a shuttle Inara wanted. She fell in love with that ship just walking up to her. She had an elegant unspoken beauty, and her walls must of had a thousand stories to tell. Captain Reynolds was just as she expected, a bit of a loose cannon, but easily swayed. He had been an Independant, and based on his coat selection, still saw himself as one. Her contract guaranteed she would stay for one year as long as he kept her on schedual and didn't involve her in his business. A companion had no reason to be involved in smuggling or whatever legal or illegal business a man of this sort could be invested in. Also, under no circumstances would she be servicing any passenger or crew member of this ship, if only because her immunizations covered only so much.

She was ready for an adventure. She needed something to make this life worth living, for as satisfying as a comfortable life could be, it didn't feed her spirit. But mostly, she needed to be free, even if it was only to be for a short while.