Things Best Forgotten

Mya awoke a few hours later to the sound of someone moving around the infirmary. Someone who was trying to be quiet, but really wasn't doing that good of a job. She opened her eyes to see the young doctor fussing about. She pushed herself up and swung her legs over the side of the table, taking a moment to stretch her muscles.

"Oh, you're awake," he said almost apologetically, "How are you feeling?"

"Hungry," she admitted, hoping she was still in time for lunch.

Simon nodded. "I'll show you to the galley," he offered.

She hopped down to the floor, swaying for a moment as she caught her balance. Waving off his concern, she followed him up the stairs to the dining room. They were the last ones to arrive, and she smiled shyly around the table at all the unfamiliar faces.

"Hi, I'm Kaylee," a pretty young brunette smiled and held out her hand as Mya eased herself down into the empty seat beside her. "I'm the mechanic on Serenity, if ya couldn't guess," She laughed, glancing down at her grubby, grease-stained cover-alls.

Mya chuckled slightly, instantly liking the girl's friendly demeanor. "Well, I'm Mya, I suppose," she replied, "Um, what's 'Serenity'?"

Kaylee grinned, waving her arm around. "You're on her! She's the ship!"

Mya smiled, nodding her understanding.

"You already met Mal," Kaylee continued, "He's the Cap'n. An' Simon's the doctor," She went on 'round the table, pointing out her introductions. "Then there's Wash, our pilot. A darn good one too. And next to him's his wife, Zoe, Cap'n's first mate. They faught together in the war, years back. Then you got River, Simon's sister, and Shepherd Book. Inara's down there at the end. She's a companion, an' she rents out one of the shuttles. Then next to you, you got Jayne. He's..." Kaylee finally broke off, at a loss for words. "He's...big. And good at lifting stuff?" She shrugged at the man helplessly. Everyone else seemed to find it funny, though.

"Um, nice to meet you all," Mya offered, somewhat self-conscious. She helped herself to a roll from the plate in front of her, and turned to Jayne to ask for the butter. When he passed it to her, she got a good look at him, and stared for a bit longer than was probably polite. "I'm sorry," she flushed slightly, "But you seem kind of...familiar, somehow. Did I...have we ever met before?"

Everyone at the table tensed slightly, praying that he wouldn't say something stupid. "I never laid eyes on ya afore last night," he admitted.

"That must be it, then," she said, trying not to sound too disappointed. "So I have you to thank for bringing me here? I guess I kinda owe you one,"

"I'll keep that in mind," he muttered, turning his attention to his plate.

Mal cleared his throat. "Uh, in light of the situation we seem to find ourselves in," he said, glancing around the table at his crew, "I think it might be best for Mya to stick on board a little whiles. You know, so Doc can keep an eye on her and such." He'd already discussed it with the others, and no-one had really seen much of a problem with the scenario. The shocked look on Mya's face, however, was priceless, as she froze in the middle of smearing butter on her roll. Before she could protest, he went on, "Give it a couple weeks, and if you're feelin' better, we can drop you off anywhere you'd like. 'Till then, you're more'n welcome here," The old saying went, 'Keep your freinds close, and your enemies closer', and he intended to do just that, at least until he could figure out just which one she was.

After lunch, Kaylee began clearing the table while everyone else dispersed to tend to their various duties, or whatever it was they did with their afternoons. "Let me help with that," Mya offered, carrying a stack of plates over to the sink.

"Oh, you don't have to," Kaylee smiled, finally handing over a cloth at the other girl's insisting. They chatted away as they tackled the dirty dishes -- well, Kaylee did most of the chatting -- and the young mechanic found herself really warming up to the new girl. Sure, Mal had told her how she'd been some top-notch gun-slingin' bounty hunter or such, but Kaylee had a hard time reconciling that image with the young woman standing next to her at the sink drying dishes, laughing at the story Kaylee was relating about working for her Daddy back home. Once they'd finished with the dishes and wiped down the table, she offered, "Why don't I give you the full tour of Serenity?"

"Sure," Mya smiled. She followed Kaylee through the passages, up and down stairs, listening wholeheartedly as the girl went on about various modifications and 'homey touches' the little brunette had made. She was especially proud to show off her bunk, which she'd decorated with bits and pieces gathered throughout their travels, and the pouffy pink dress the Cap'n had bought her a few months back. She also led the new girl down to the passenger's dorms, where Book was just finishing clearing out a room for her. Finally, to finish off the tour, Kaylee brought her up to the engine room.

"Here's my baby," she practically glowed, running her hand along the engine casing in a gentle caress. Mya thought it was amazing that such a young girl could know so much about machines and the like, and told her so. Kaylee laughed. "They just speak to me, is all," she said modestly, "Been doin' it as long as I can remember,"

Mya's smile faded somewhat at the other girl's choice of words.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry," Kaylee laid a hand on her shoulder apologetically, "I wasn't thinkin'..."

"No, that's alright," the blonde replied, squeezing the mechanic's hand reassuringly, "It's something I gotta get used to, is all. It'll just take a bit of time, I suppose." They made their way out of the engine room and down to the lounge.

"Hey, do you know how to play cards?" Kayle asked suddenly, pulling a deck out from between two of the couch cushions. Mya shrugged. "Well, come here an' I'll teach ya!"

The two of them chatted and giggled, having a blast as Kaylee outlined the rules of the game. Mya caught on quickly, though whether it was something she remembered or if she was just a fast learner, she wasn't sure. Either way, the two of them got so wrapped up in their game, they were startled to hear the Captain hollering down that supper was on the table.

===========================================================================================================================================================

Mya went to bed shortly after supper, complaining that her head was starting to hurt. Simon gave her a couple of pills to ease the pain, and she ended up sleeping right through till lunch the next day. She stumbled blearily up to the galley, smoothing out the wrinkles in her clothes as best she could. It had been Wash's turn to cook, so they were having re-heated ration packs. Mya was so hungry, though, she didn't even stop to taste it as she wolfed hers down. Wash had made extras -- knowing full well how much Jayne could eat in a sitting -- and sure enough, the mercenary reached for the last one at the same time she did. "Go ahead," she offered shyly.

He picked up the foil packet and ripped it open, dumping it onto her plate. "You need it more'n I do," he said gruffly, glancing down at her skinny form. She gave him a tiny smile of thanks, which he waved off uncomfortably.

After the meal, Mya offered to clean up. Kaylee stayed to help, for which she was grateful. She found the two of them were becoming fast friends, due in large part she supposed to the other girl's insatiable cheerfulness. Still, it was nice to have someone around who could keep her from feeling totally lost.

"Hey, why don't we see if we can get a game a' hoop-ball goin'?" Kaylee suggested, putting away the last of the plates. She'd taken it upon herself to teach the new girl all the finer points of life out in the black.

"That'll have to wait, I'm afraid," Mal said, stepping in from the foredeck hall and handing the mechanic a small envelope, "Kaylee, I need you to get on into town and fetch a few things. Mya, why don't you go with her? Use whatever Kaylee's got left over to maybe find a change of clothes, or aught else you might need. We're taking off 'fore nightfall, so don't go dilly-dallying,"

"Aye aye, Cap'n," Kaylee beamed at him, leaning up to kiss his cheek. For all he tried to hide it, he could be real sweet sometimes. She took Mya by the arm and headed for the stairs to the cargo bay.

"Oh, and take Jayne with you!" Mal called after them, "I don't want you girls gettin' lost or nothin',"

Kaylee giggled back over her shoulder, "Yes, Cap'n,"

Jayne was on the weight bench when the two girls found him. They waited for him to finish his set before asking him to walk them to town. He sat up and wiped his face with his towel, frowning. "I ain't much in the mood fer shopping," he grumbled.

"Pleeeeease?" Kaylee batted her eyelashes at him, knowing full well he could never resist her 'cutesy-face'.

"Fine," he mumbled, jokingly tossing his sweaty towel at her as she squealed and ducked. "But I ain't spendin' all gorram afternoon lookin' at engine parts. Last time, I near died a' boredom,"

===========================================================================================================================================================

As it turned out, Jayne ended up spending the better part of his afternoon watching the girls pick out clothes. He wasn't sure, but he figured the engine parts woulda been preferable. Mal must've been outta his mind to give Kaylee so much cash to blow. After all, they lived on a gorram ship, out in the black...what did it matter what you wore? Not like there was anyone around to see, anyhow, 'cept each other.

"Oooh, lookey here!" Kaylee gushed, picking yet another shirt off the rack. She held it up in front of her for Mya to see.

"Ain't you got enough already?" Jayne griped from where he was leaning on the wall between the racks of clothing. Who woulda thought that such a little town would have so many gorram clothes to sell?

"Well, we got three pairs a' pants and a skirt, so that means we need four tops," Kaylee reasoned.

"Hmm," Mya murmured, glancing at the shirt in Kaylee's hand, "I'm not really feeling the pink one. Doesn't feel...me, I guess. What about this one?" She pulled a bright blue blouse off the rack, admiring it's long, lacy sleeves and intricate beaded design.

"Kaylee let out a delighted gasp. "That looks like something 'Nara would wear!" she cooed. "Whadda you think, Jayne?" she asked, holding up the two choices.

He rolled his eyes, hoping that he could speed this along a bit. "That one." He pointed to the lower-cut blue shirt. "Now can we go?"

The girls made their purchases and Jayne practically herded them out the door and onto the street, headed back to Serenity. The whole way into town, Mya had hopefully searched the faces of everyone they passed, waiting for a spark of recognition. But after recieving not so much as a second glance from anyone, her heart sank. Heading back to the ship now, she lagged a bit behind her companions sullenly, and didn't even bother watching the people passing her by.

Which is maybe why she didn't see the small group of guys hanging around on the corner until it was too late. One of them reached out and grabbed her by the arm, nearly spinning her off her feet. "Well, ain't you a looker," he drawled, "Never seen yous 'round these parts afore,"

"Jayne!" she shrieked, trying desperately to pull her wrist out of the man's grasp. The man just laughed, shoving her into one of his friends, who wrapped his arms around her, pinning her own to her sides.

Hearing her panicked scream, Jayne spun around, shoving the bags he was carrying at Kaylee and barked for her to get back to the ship. She nodded mutely, her big doe-eyes wide as she took off down the street. He strode purposefully back towards the small group of hooligans, fists clenching at the sight of them harassing such a helpless little thing. "Hey!" he called out, slamming his fist into the face of the nearest punk when he turned around. The guy dropped like a lead weight.

Feeling the grip on her arms ease slightly, Mya took advantage of her captor's distraction. She let out another scream, this one of anger, and drove the heel of her boot back into the guy's knee. She heard a sickening crack, and he howled in pain, doubling over to clutch at his now useless leg. She spun around to face him, and without thinking, brought her knee up into his nose. He crumpled to the ground and lay still. One of the others, seeing what had happened to his friends, lunged at her -- only to have her sidestep quickly out of his path. As he threw himself off balance, she brought her knee up into his stomach, winding him. As he tried to straighten, she threw herself towards him, her elbow catching him in the throat. He stood for a few seconds, gasping for air, then he too fell to the ground. The last guy had the sense to run off.

She stood there, staring down at the men she'd just beaten senseless. Panting heavily, she started to shake.

"Come on," Jayne urged, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her down the street through the crowd of onlookers. A few minutes later, he slowed, finally pulling her around a corner. He peered back down the street to make sure they weren't being followed, but the coast was clear, as far as he could see. He turned back to Mya, who was still trembling like a leaf. She looked up at him, her blue eyes wide, her face gone even paler. "You ok?" he asked.

She shook her head. "How did I...? I didn't mean to... Do you think they're...?"

"Don't you waste your time worryin' on them," he told her fiercely, "Ain't no man got a right to lay a hand on you like that. You did good,"

She smiled weakly up at him. "Thank you, Jayne," she said softly, laying her hand on his arm.

"Fer what?" he asked, stepping back onto the street. He wanted to get back to the ship quick, just in case those fellas decided to regroup -- though he wasn't quite sure whether those two she'd taken out were gonna make it or not. Seemed like the girl's body remembered more of who she used to be than her head did. He'd have to remember to tell the Captain about this little incident when they got back.

"For coming back for me." she replied, a slight blush tinting her cheeks.

"Didn't look like you needed me to," he snorted. At least she'd finally stopped shaking, and he wasn't quite so worried she was gonna pass out.

"Still, thanks."