Mal swore under his breath.

Why? Why does this always happen to him? Everything can be going dandy for a while and then smack! We are right back in the throws of Hell again.

Badger looked up at him with that dumb derby hat on.

“Well, Mal. Don’t we have a predicament? I have a job that needs to be done and you have a ship to run. You know. I’m liking this little back-and-forth spat we having going on but now I’m getting tired of it. You take the job or you don’t but remember who pays you.”

“We discussed this before and before we have come to some amicable mid-way between me not running slaves for you and you not asking me to.” Mal had spoken as tightly as possible without tipping off Jayne and Zoe that this deal could either go two ways. The good way or the dead way. Mal preferred the first.

“I know we had and me tends to change my mind a little.”

Mal could feel himself heating up in the patronizing tone Badger was wiping all over him. The crew was down to their last morsel of food and less than a one fuel cell to even get the engines started. He knew better. Mal would have to put aside his morals, well, what morals he did have left, and take the job.

As if Zoe suddenly became the reader in his dysfunctional family, she whispered just low enough for Mal to hear and Jayne to look dumb.

“ We don’t have to deal. There are other jobs”

Mal just gave her the “we already had this conversation look” and turned back to Badger.

It seemed that he was enjoying Mal’s defeat a little too much, which ticked Mal even more.

“Fine. We ship-out at 15:00. Have your cargo and my money on my boat by then.” Mal swiftly turned on his heel and left the make-shift tent. He didn’t wait for Jayne and Zoe to catch up. He had too much to think about without having to deal with Jayne’s snide remarks.

*****

Simon stood there arms crossed like an angry father.

These two had a knack for getting in trouble and although he adored both of them, this type of trouble he was willing to do without.

Kaylee and River snickered on the common room couch. Their tee hee hee’s caught Simon in the throat. He loved them so much but only one truly knew, the other he hoped would know when he could remove the permanently placed foot out of his mouth. But for now, Simon was content with just being fake mad at them.

“What were you thinking?? Do realize how dangerous it is to play with things like this? You could of gotten hurt but there is nothing I could of done about it”

Their laughter was now drowning out Simon’s lecture. Over his shoulder you could clearly see into the infirmary and you could also see that everything within the room had been bolted onto the ceiling.

Book stepped into the room and without a thought, looked at the upside-down infirmary, looked at Simon, looked at the two cohorts on the couch, and turned his attention back to his Bible. As soon as he stepped over the threshold into the cargo area, you could hear his laughter throughout Serenity.

*****

This was any ordinary day on the ship. After fixing everything right side up in the infirmary, Kaylee left Simon and River to go to her safe haven. Ahhh, the engine room. Kaylee’s little sister.

She tweaked some things and tightened a couple bolts but then decided fresh air would do a girl some good.

Stepping out on the ramp she unfolded her chair and began to watch people walking by. Developing stories in her head of what exciting adventures they all had lined up. She closed her eyes and faced the sun. Nothing better than being warmed but the one and only thing she missed land-side.

“Kaylee!!”

Kaylee’s yelped only seemed to startle her more. Captain, not looking happy, strode up the ramp.

“We’re leavin’ at 3. Get ‘er up and runnin’ or your staying”

Kaylee, looking a little hurt, folded up her chair and began walking inside. She was use to him talking to Jayne like that but with her it was out of the normal.

Zoe and Jayne met Kaylee as she entered the cargo bay. Zoe could tell Mal just yelled at Kaylee just by the look on the young mechanics face. The past couple weeks had been hard on everyone. Zoe had watched Kaylee bang a pipe in submission with a wrench because a wire she had attempted to fix, shorted out and about electrocuted the entire crew. She also witnessed Simon yell at River for the first time…ever. Inara stayed in her shuttle and Jayne was slowly cleaning away his guns.

Zoe put her hand on Kaylee’s shoulder and walked ahead. She didn’t have to look at the young mechanic to know it helped.

*****

Wash had started the engines warming up when the ramp was lowered for the cargo. Mules of all the sort drove up the ramp and twenty heavy muscled men unloaded crates not much unlike the one River Tam used to board Serenity.

Mal stood sullen and arms crossed looking down at the “packages”. He knew what was inside. He just didn’t know that it also brought a whole new load of trouble with it.

****

“Three more days. 22 hours. 48 minuets. 23….24 seconds.”

“I hate when you do that. It’s really creepy.”

Wash and River were sitting on the bridge. The counting game River had created had abruptly come to a stop. That is when she started spouting out time sequences. First in military time, now she had moved onto roman numerals.

“She will be gone in three more days. 22 hours. 48 minuets. 57 seconds. Nothing will be the same and he will hurt”

“I’m not sure if I should wonder if you are talking about someone I know or if it’s more of your encrypted stuff. No wonder the Alliance want you. They are the only people that can understand you.”

Wash began fiddling with some dials when what sounded like sirens began bouncing off the ships hauls.

“What in the donkey is that??” Wash yelled, covering his ears. He looked over at River who was doing the same thing. They only thing he could understand is her mouthing the word “donkey” with a not-so-subtle eye-roll.

Within seconds, Zoe and Mal had leapt onto the bridge, both holding their ears.

“What in Budda’s name is that??” Mal shouted over the blaring siren.

Wash shrugged his shoulders in an “I have no idea” position.

“It’s not me!!” He yelled back to Mal.

Mal turned on his heel and stopped short of running face first into Kaylee and Simon standing looking pained with their hands over their ears. He shimmed past them leaving everyone looking perplexed as to what in the world the sound was coming from.

****

Mal stood over the crate, looking down at it.

Never in is life had he had this type of luck. He could pinpoint as to when things when down hill. Serenity Valley, Hera. He shook the memories from his mind and became very aware that he wasn’t alone.

When he turned around, his whole crew looked at him. Everyone knew how he felt about this cargo and they were just as curious as he was.

Simon stepped up and tried to turn the alarm off. With every effort, it was still blaring at them.

“There is no way to turn it off without opening it. Opening it will awake the contents inside”, Simon more or less yelled to Mal.

“Why is going off in the first place”, Jayne yelled from behind. Mal looked between the two.

“The only reason and alarm like this would go off is if the vitals dropped to the point of death”, Simon said matter-of-factly.

A beat passed between all of them.

“FINE!!” Mal screamed back. More out of frustration than for Simon to hear him. This would be just perfect. Best chances were that they wouldn’t be killed or paid by the receiver but then there was Badger to deal with.

Simon turned and jogged towards the infirmary, all the while mouthing the words, “my bag” to the Serenity audience.

He returned within a minute and regained his spot next to Mal who was still looking at the crate.

Slowly Mal turned the lock and the pressurized environment within released, letting out a hiss.

At the same moment the whole crew took a step forward to see exactly what was inside. Unlike when River was transported in one of these, this girl was wrapped like a baby in a mesh cloth. Her long dark hair draped over her shoulders and covered what was bare of her.

Simon began pushing buttons and turning levers. At the last punch of a code the crate silenced. There was a collective sign of gratefulness from the crew. No one had realized that the noise had given them all headaches.

The girl stirred a little and with that crew took their gained step back. Mal watched somewhat amused but at the same time annoyed.

Simon started checking her pulse and such.

“You should all get back to work”, Mal spatted.

Without a word, the crew turned and left. Everyone could feel Mal’s anxiousness in the air.

After everyone left, he turned back to Simon. “Well?”

“Well, I’m not sure. We should probably get her to the infirmary. She will be awake soon and there’s no telling what could of happened to her to put her in this mess.”

“Should we mover the crate or just her?” Mal had a ton and a half of hopefulness in his voice. He was hoping for the later. Otherwise, he would have ask for Jayne’s help and he wanted to keep the mercenary as far away from this girl.

“Just her would be fine. She looks to be about 110 so she shouldn’t be a problem lifting her.”

Mal reached in for her while Simon picked up his bag.

Just another day in the life of Malcolm Reynolds.

****

Five hours had passed since they opened the lid. Simon had the girl stabilized but she still hadn’t woken up. His best bet was that when she was put into cryo, she had some sort of infection or cold. Cryo had a tendency to turn the notch up on the most uninfectuous diseases. What probably had set off the alarm was her fever breaking which triggered the losing of life to the chamber.

Simon kind of laughed to himself. If only his colleagues could see him now. Before it was heart transplants and sewing limbs back on. Now it was laser burns, bullet holes, and figuring out why alarms went off on illegal goods transferred across interplanet borders.

He was awoken out of his thoughts by a slight tapping on the door.

“How’s she doing?”

It was Kaylee. Her voice was filled with so much concern that if Simon didn’t know better, he would of thought she was related somehow to his patient.

“She’s doing better. I think she will wake up very soon. I just hope when she does, she doesn’t go all crazy like.”

Simon smiled at Kaylee…it was his favorite thing to do.

“You are starting to sound like the captain”, Kaylee said in a teasing way.

“Well, as much as it may surprise me, I’m starting to understand the man…in a fugitive kind of way.”

The girl on the table began to stir more than before. Simon looked at Kaylee with a worried look on his face, more for her concern than for help, but he didn’t mind when she offered to get the captain.

Simon worked fast to make sure she was as comfortable as possible. He appreciated what a shock this would be for her waking up in place she had no idea of.

The girl’s eyes snapped open but she didn’t say anything. She just tensed up and the heart monitor reacted to her anxiety. Her eyes darted around the room, registering that she didn’t know where she was but she knew is was sort of a hospital. She rested her vision upon Simon and instantly her face and body relaxed. Something in his eyes caused her to remember her past.

“Simon?” Her voice was raspy with dryness.

“Well, I didn’t know you had introduced yourselves.” Mal offered as he stepped over the threshold.

“Um, we haven’t.” Simon said looking concered.

“Hmmm. That’s interesting”

TBC