Ursa Major, Ursa Minor
folder
1 through F › Firefly
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
34
Views:
8,851
Reviews:
21
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
1
Category:
1 through F › Firefly
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
34
Views:
8,851
Reviews:
21
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
I do not own Firefly, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Epilogue
The bank was completely empty just before closing—as it always was. But tonight, there were two folk that must have been desperate for some cashy money. They walked inside the bank bickering about loans and how much they needed the newest addition to a house they were building—drawing the bank teller’s attention away from the second couple entering the establishment.
“…Besides, we can always get cheap labor out of your brother,” the man said—tugging on his goatee in a gesture that was meant to look absent but signaled the tall woman over his wife’s shoulder that now was the time. She winked at him and silently yanked the power cables out of the camera at the high corner of the room. The teller was too amused by the arguing married couple to notice her.
“My brother has never worked on that sort of thing in his life,” the smaller woman argued.
They stopped side-by-side in front of the teller and smiled lightly at each other.
The large man set his piercing blue eyes on the teller and looked almost apologetic. At first, the kid thought he was behaving that way to excuse his marital spat, but the heavy click of metal set his mind right.
“Aw shit,” he swore.
“Ain’t no problem,” Jayne shrugged.
“Yer safe time-locked?” Mal asked.
The kid raised his hands and shook his head negatively. “Naw. Manager’s code opens it.”
“Where’s the manager?” Zoë asked.
“Dinner.”
River scooted beneath Jayne’s upraised arm and peered owlishly at the teenager. “Liar.”
Jayne glanced down at her. “Oh!” he jerked his head up at the kid again. “Yer the manager?!”
“Thirty-four, twenty-nine, eighty-six, zhang fu.”
Mal smirked and holstered his gun. “Easy peasy,” he chuckled.
The kid—manager—looked flabbergasted. “How?”
“Yer better off not askin’,” said Mal. Zoë grinned and set to opening the safe. The Alliance payroll stared up at her from five metal storage containers and she felt herself let out a low whistle. Eager, Mal slid up behind her and grinned.
“At last, we can retire from this life of crime,” he joked.
Sure that River was keeping an eye on the teller-cum-manager, Jayne glanced over at the pile of cash and easily worked out how much money was sitting there. Math always was his best subject.
“Actually, Mal, I think yer right.”
The captain barked out a laugh and wagged a finger at his mercenary. “Now you owe me for sayin’ my name on this job!”
“Ah, go se!” Jayne stomped one foot and returned his attention to the manager. “Kid, they pickin’ that up tomorrow?”
“Uh, yeah?”
“That a question or an answer? Yee soo, I swear you Core folk…”
“It’s an answer…”
Jayne glared at him—and had River not known better she would have sworn the teenager shrank three feet. “I know it’s a gorram answer! I was makin’ a point.”
“Sorry, I—”
“Shut up.”
The kid’s teeth clacked together as he shut his wide open trap.
Meanwhile, Zoë and Mal bundled up the payroll in the gunny sacks they’d been hiding under their long brown coats. They counted quietly to themselves and shared a triumphant smile when they came up with the same number.
“Hey, Bonnie an’ Clyde, we’re done here,” Mal announced.
River grinned up at Jayne and pulled on the hairs of his chin. “You would be Bonnie,” she joked.
As the quartet left, the bank manager heard Jayne grumble out:
“Just fer that, I ain’t lettin’ you go on top tonight.”
Silence.
“What the hell just happened?!” the manager asked the empty room—his hands still held skyward.
*
Kaylee squealed incoherently as she closed the loading ramp behind the crew members carrying four gunny sacks of loot.
“Little Mrs. Cobb, you head on up and get us back out to the black.”
River tossed her bag into Jayne’s arms, gave Mal a mock salute, and skipped up to the bridge.
Simon grinned at her antics and looped an arm around Kaylee’s waist. “I take it things worked out this time?” he asked Mal.
“Shiny,” the captain grinned.
Inara came down the same stairs that River disappeared up and grinned warmly at the other five people gathered in the cargo bay. “Looks like everything went smoothly for once,” she said sweetly. “And I see we aren’t running out of here like our tails are on fire¬—no Alliance following us?”
“Slow day,” Zoë excused. “There was only one guy in the whole place.”
“It is a Sunday,” said Inara. She fingered one bundle of bills and hummed appreciatively.
“Looks like enough to retire on.”
Jayne snickered. “Been hearin’ that a lot today,” he split the cashy money into seven even (and still quite large) piles and dusted his hands on the seat of his khaki pants. Without a word to anyone else, he loped up the stairs and closed the door to the cockpit.
Simon grimaced at the sound of his sister’s pleased squeal just before the door closed.
“Sometimes I wish they weren’t so… Vocal… About their marriage.”
Kaylee nudged him in the ribs. “C’mon bao bei, it ain’t bad at all. Sounds like they’re havin’ fun.”
She ended the sentence with a meaningful look at the doctor. “Marital fun. Simon, you ever thought about getting married?”
Mal, Inara and Zoë beat a hasty retreat to escape the latest coming epidemic of Tam Foot-in-Mouth disease under the flimsy excuse that Inara had a pot of water boiling in the galley.
“I’ve thought about it… Not really seriously, though.”
“So you don’t wanna get married? Ta me?”
Simon’s eye widened in panic. “No!”
“No?!”
“No, I meant ‘no’ as in, that’s not true. I do want to get married to you.”
Kaylee softened against his side and smiled wide enough to dimple. “You askin’ me ta marry you, Simon Tam?”
Simon blinked twice and chewed on his lower lip. “I, uh, suppose I am.”
Kaylee curled a tantalizing finger around the collar of his shirt. “Guess we should celebrate, then…”
Even after all this time with Kaylee, Simon still managed to blush.
*
Mal banged on the door to the bridge and stood in his Captain Stance® while he waited. The door clanked open to reveal his mercenary sans shirt with an extra pair of thin little hands curved around his bare chest.
“Oh, for the love of God, you two got a bunk—use it!”
Jayne barely offered up a sheepish look as he hooked his arms around River’s knees and carried her six feet to the closed hatch. Not a “sorry captain” between the two of them.
“You two get less obedient every day.”
They ignored the comment and slid down into their shared cabin—the walls were covered in their shared arsenal and the bed maintained an almost permanent rumple look from all the work it got.
Jayne twisted River around on his lap so that she face him again and buried his nose in her hair. “Hate it when the fun gets interrupted,” he growled.
River smothered a laugh against the skin of his shoulder—fingernail tracing the lines of the tattoo there. “Jayne?”
He kissed the sensitive spot behind her ear and gently hugged her tighter. “Yeah, ai ren?”
“Hmm… There is new light on Serenity tonight.”
He paused and pulled back to look her in the eye. River pressed an image to the forefront of her mind and bit her lip nervously.
Jayne’s eyes lit up suddenly—the childlike brightness he’d always held within shone through with crystal clarity. “Baby!? We’re havin’ a baby?!”
River nodded—lip still trapped between her teeth.
Jayne gleefully pulled her up against his half-nude body and hugged her tightly. “I’m gonna be a poppa!”
River finally let herself relax—Jayne’s exuberating attitude infectious and welcoming.
“So you are happy?”
“Happy?!” Jayne laughed into her hair. He clamped one of her hands over his heart. “Feel that, darlin’? I’m so gorram happy my heart’s ‘bout ta bust outta my chest!”
River let herself laugh with him.
*
Across the ship a captain and a former companion shared a pot of tea and some heavy philosophical conversation. A former soldier prepped the ovens for dinner and listened in on their talk with a grin turning the corners of her lips. Down in the engine room a doctor and a mechanic were wrapped up with one another—whispering words of love and promises.
And down in the bunk nearest the cockpit a mercenary and a trained assassin laughed together in sheer joy. Big bear and little bear were having a baby.
Serenity was still flying and all was right in the ‘verse.
THE END.
Author's Note: Thank you all for your support while I wrote this. I appreciate all of your reviews and comments and promise to not leave this story line abandoned. There will be more of this stuff from me in the future, I promise. Happy Holidays, everyone!
“…Besides, we can always get cheap labor out of your brother,” the man said—tugging on his goatee in a gesture that was meant to look absent but signaled the tall woman over his wife’s shoulder that now was the time. She winked at him and silently yanked the power cables out of the camera at the high corner of the room. The teller was too amused by the arguing married couple to notice her.
“My brother has never worked on that sort of thing in his life,” the smaller woman argued.
They stopped side-by-side in front of the teller and smiled lightly at each other.
The large man set his piercing blue eyes on the teller and looked almost apologetic. At first, the kid thought he was behaving that way to excuse his marital spat, but the heavy click of metal set his mind right.
“Aw shit,” he swore.
“Ain’t no problem,” Jayne shrugged.
“Yer safe time-locked?” Mal asked.
The kid raised his hands and shook his head negatively. “Naw. Manager’s code opens it.”
“Where’s the manager?” Zoë asked.
“Dinner.”
River scooted beneath Jayne’s upraised arm and peered owlishly at the teenager. “Liar.”
Jayne glanced down at her. “Oh!” he jerked his head up at the kid again. “Yer the manager?!”
“Thirty-four, twenty-nine, eighty-six, zhang fu.”
Mal smirked and holstered his gun. “Easy peasy,” he chuckled.
The kid—manager—looked flabbergasted. “How?”
“Yer better off not askin’,” said Mal. Zoë grinned and set to opening the safe. The Alliance payroll stared up at her from five metal storage containers and she felt herself let out a low whistle. Eager, Mal slid up behind her and grinned.
“At last, we can retire from this life of crime,” he joked.
Sure that River was keeping an eye on the teller-cum-manager, Jayne glanced over at the pile of cash and easily worked out how much money was sitting there. Math always was his best subject.
“Actually, Mal, I think yer right.”
The captain barked out a laugh and wagged a finger at his mercenary. “Now you owe me for sayin’ my name on this job!”
“Ah, go se!” Jayne stomped one foot and returned his attention to the manager. “Kid, they pickin’ that up tomorrow?”
“Uh, yeah?”
“That a question or an answer? Yee soo, I swear you Core folk…”
“It’s an answer…”
Jayne glared at him—and had River not known better she would have sworn the teenager shrank three feet. “I know it’s a gorram answer! I was makin’ a point.”
“Sorry, I—”
“Shut up.”
The kid’s teeth clacked together as he shut his wide open trap.
Meanwhile, Zoë and Mal bundled up the payroll in the gunny sacks they’d been hiding under their long brown coats. They counted quietly to themselves and shared a triumphant smile when they came up with the same number.
“Hey, Bonnie an’ Clyde, we’re done here,” Mal announced.
River grinned up at Jayne and pulled on the hairs of his chin. “You would be Bonnie,” she joked.
As the quartet left, the bank manager heard Jayne grumble out:
“Just fer that, I ain’t lettin’ you go on top tonight.”
Silence.
“What the hell just happened?!” the manager asked the empty room—his hands still held skyward.
*
Kaylee squealed incoherently as she closed the loading ramp behind the crew members carrying four gunny sacks of loot.
“Little Mrs. Cobb, you head on up and get us back out to the black.”
River tossed her bag into Jayne’s arms, gave Mal a mock salute, and skipped up to the bridge.
Simon grinned at her antics and looped an arm around Kaylee’s waist. “I take it things worked out this time?” he asked Mal.
“Shiny,” the captain grinned.
Inara came down the same stairs that River disappeared up and grinned warmly at the other five people gathered in the cargo bay. “Looks like everything went smoothly for once,” she said sweetly. “And I see we aren’t running out of here like our tails are on fire¬—no Alliance following us?”
“Slow day,” Zoë excused. “There was only one guy in the whole place.”
“It is a Sunday,” said Inara. She fingered one bundle of bills and hummed appreciatively.
“Looks like enough to retire on.”
Jayne snickered. “Been hearin’ that a lot today,” he split the cashy money into seven even (and still quite large) piles and dusted his hands on the seat of his khaki pants. Without a word to anyone else, he loped up the stairs and closed the door to the cockpit.
Simon grimaced at the sound of his sister’s pleased squeal just before the door closed.
“Sometimes I wish they weren’t so… Vocal… About their marriage.”
Kaylee nudged him in the ribs. “C’mon bao bei, it ain’t bad at all. Sounds like they’re havin’ fun.”
She ended the sentence with a meaningful look at the doctor. “Marital fun. Simon, you ever thought about getting married?”
Mal, Inara and Zoë beat a hasty retreat to escape the latest coming epidemic of Tam Foot-in-Mouth disease under the flimsy excuse that Inara had a pot of water boiling in the galley.
“I’ve thought about it… Not really seriously, though.”
“So you don’t wanna get married? Ta me?”
Simon’s eye widened in panic. “No!”
“No?!”
“No, I meant ‘no’ as in, that’s not true. I do want to get married to you.”
Kaylee softened against his side and smiled wide enough to dimple. “You askin’ me ta marry you, Simon Tam?”
Simon blinked twice and chewed on his lower lip. “I, uh, suppose I am.”
Kaylee curled a tantalizing finger around the collar of his shirt. “Guess we should celebrate, then…”
Even after all this time with Kaylee, Simon still managed to blush.
*
Mal banged on the door to the bridge and stood in his Captain Stance® while he waited. The door clanked open to reveal his mercenary sans shirt with an extra pair of thin little hands curved around his bare chest.
“Oh, for the love of God, you two got a bunk—use it!”
Jayne barely offered up a sheepish look as he hooked his arms around River’s knees and carried her six feet to the closed hatch. Not a “sorry captain” between the two of them.
“You two get less obedient every day.”
They ignored the comment and slid down into their shared cabin—the walls were covered in their shared arsenal and the bed maintained an almost permanent rumple look from all the work it got.
Jayne twisted River around on his lap so that she face him again and buried his nose in her hair. “Hate it when the fun gets interrupted,” he growled.
River smothered a laugh against the skin of his shoulder—fingernail tracing the lines of the tattoo there. “Jayne?”
He kissed the sensitive spot behind her ear and gently hugged her tighter. “Yeah, ai ren?”
“Hmm… There is new light on Serenity tonight.”
He paused and pulled back to look her in the eye. River pressed an image to the forefront of her mind and bit her lip nervously.
Jayne’s eyes lit up suddenly—the childlike brightness he’d always held within shone through with crystal clarity. “Baby!? We’re havin’ a baby?!”
River nodded—lip still trapped between her teeth.
Jayne gleefully pulled her up against his half-nude body and hugged her tightly. “I’m gonna be a poppa!”
River finally let herself relax—Jayne’s exuberating attitude infectious and welcoming.
“So you are happy?”
“Happy?!” Jayne laughed into her hair. He clamped one of her hands over his heart. “Feel that, darlin’? I’m so gorram happy my heart’s ‘bout ta bust outta my chest!”
River let herself laugh with him.
*
Across the ship a captain and a former companion shared a pot of tea and some heavy philosophical conversation. A former soldier prepped the ovens for dinner and listened in on their talk with a grin turning the corners of her lips. Down in the engine room a doctor and a mechanic were wrapped up with one another—whispering words of love and promises.
And down in the bunk nearest the cockpit a mercenary and a trained assassin laughed together in sheer joy. Big bear and little bear were having a baby.
Serenity was still flying and all was right in the ‘verse.
THE END.
Author's Note: Thank you all for your support while I wrote this. I appreciate all of your reviews and comments and promise to not leave this story line abandoned. There will be more of this stuff from me in the future, I promise. Happy Holidays, everyone!