Sorry everyone, I’ve had exams etc. Loads of work, but here’s chapter two… Disclaimer: No, they’re still Joss’ babies… rating: This part is pg-13, some minor language :) Reviews are always appreciated. Hope you guys like it! For full info, see part one: http://www.fireflyfans.net/bluesun.aspx?bid=6265

CHAPTER TWO

Serenity - kitchen

He didn’t like doing the dishes. He didn’t mind the water or cleaning the plates itself. He hated the fact that she was standing next to him, towel in those perfectly manicured hands, staring out in front of her without saying a word. It made him uncomfortable. He couldn’t even just stare at her for a while, cause then she’d expect him to talk, and that wasn’t high on his list right now. They'd had a little fight back during dinner, and, even though he used to love these little arguments with her, they usually didn’t bring their discussions into a public place for everyone to hear. And she’d won, undermining his role as the captain. It wasn’t safe out there for her. She might get herself hurt, or worse… die. And he didn’t like people he loved dying.

“Mal…”

“Hmm…” And he looked at her, straight into her deep brown eyes.

“You’re so quiet. You starting to scare me,” she commented with a smile on her face.

“I’m not.”

“You’re mad because I’m going into town tomorrow.”

“Inara,” he sighed. “What if Atherton is there? What if he got his men with ‘em? We both know Kaylee can’t do a damn thing and Zoë, as much as I trust her, can’t take them all on.”

“So this is about trust? You don’t trust me?”

“No, this is about me fearing for your safety.”

“Mal…”

“I don’t want to lose you again, Inara!”

He’d said he wouldn’t let her go without a fight. Losing her once was enough and the weeks after that had been just dark and depressing.

Inara was taken aback by his confession and she tried to recollect her thoughts. “I… Uhm…” But she never got further than that. Suddenly the ship started shaking badly, causing Inara to drop the cup she was holding as she reached out for something to hold onto. She found Mal. He had one arm wrapped around her and with the other one he was holding onto the cupboard above him. The shaking didn’t last long, but it was alarming enough, certainly with the lights still flickering.

”Gose…You okay?” Mal asked as soon as the rocking subsided. She nodded and smiled at him, but he could see in her eyes that she’d been frightened. He smiled back, trying to reassure her, then let her go and went to look for Kaylee. He located her in the engine room, as expected, already busy with some tools.

”Kaylee, what was that?”

“Don’t know, cap’n. I’m looking into it right now.”

”Please do, don’t want us to fall out of the sky now do we?”

She was about to reply, but seeing the mess the shocks had caused in the engine, she couldn’t help but curse…

**--**--**

“What’s wrong, Kaylee?” Mal came up behind her to get a look at the engine.

”I’ve rerouted the G-Line a while ago to get the gravboot working again, but it’s not working anymore,” she pointed at the offending piece of metal. “There’s a fit, and I can’t fix it. I can try and rewire the G-line, but that’s going to kill this part over here, and then I’ve disabled the trace compression block, leaves us stranded in the black...”

”Kaylee, I told you before… I’m a simple, old captain. I need the dummy talk,” Mal interrupted her, rubbing his temples.

“We need to land. Can’t fix her up in the air. And I need a new part.”

“Alright…” Mal said after a pause, contemplating whether or not he should tell her to get it working again without having to stop. Badger didn't like to wait, and the job he had for them was more than welcome!

“I’ll see how soon we can get her down,” he said as he started to make his way towards the cockpit. He didn’t even look surprised anymore that when he entered, River was sitting behind the steering wheel.

”Shadow… be there in 6 hours,” she stated without looking at him.

“No, we’re not going there,” he declared, a determined look on his face.

“But captain… We need the part. Serenity won’t hold out much longer. We need to land as soon as possible!” Kaylee, who had followed him to the front of the ship spoke her part.

“Next planet is over a day away,” River said, and this time she turned to look at him. Mal shivered involuntarily. It was like the young girl was looking straight through him.

“We need to stop, Mal!”

“What’s wrong?” Inara walked up to Kaylee, sensing the tension in the room. She’d heard the raised voices in the cockpit, and wanted to see what was going on for herself.

“We need to land as soon as possible. I need to fix Serenity, but Mal won’t stop.” Kaylee explained, pouting.

Inara looked over at Mal. He looked scared, she thought. It wasn’t like him.

”Why not?” Inara now addressed Mal, standing right in front of him.

“Fine! River, get her down,” Mal huffed, rushing out of the room.

*-*-*

Serenity – Cargo bay

She found him in the cargo hold, sitting on a crate, head in his hands. Taking a deep breath, she went to sit down next to him. He didn’t even look up.

“Mal?” Inara asked in a tentative voice.

“What?!” His voice was harsh again, but she didn’t allow herself be intimidated by that.

”What was that in there? Why wouldn’t you land?”

“Shadow isn’t a place to dwell.”

“Serenity needs a reparation. Kaylee can’t do it in the air, Shadow is the closest planet…”

”It’s a rat hole.”

“Well, it isn’t a coreplanet. But from what I’ve heard, it isn’t that bad. There are a lot of farmers there.”

“Ranchers,” Mal corrected her.

“What?”

“They’re ranchers, not farmers.”

“It’s not a nest of thieves as you made it sound.” Inara reasoned.

“No.”

“Then what’s so bad about the place that we can’t land there?”

Mal let out a sigh. Inara wasn’t planning on letting this one go…

“I grew up there,” he admitted, avoiding her eyes. He didn’t need to look at her to know she was surprised. Hell, he was surprised himself he had talked! He was the captain after all. If he didn’t want to land on that lifeless piece of crap, that was his decision!

”When I left, I didn’t plan on going back there,” he continued, and this time he looked at her, pain and sadness etched on his face.

“Sometimes when you close a door, you slam it too hard, and it stays open.” With that piece of wisdom and a small smile, she left him behind.