Life on this boat. A Firefly story. #fanfic

travelling

After travelling for about a week, Lou had some time to think. She realised that life on Serenity was both enjoyable and safe. Lou felt like she was part of something. Even Mal's jokes about them being honest criminals didn't make her feel that they were doing anything wrong. She had managed to get out of Mal that the cargo they were carrying was simply sheepskins, cured and ready to use. She had argued with Mal about selling them to Badger. Having grown up on Valhalla with snowy winters she knew selling them on colder climate parts of the verse would fetch more profit, but Mal was adamant that Badger was the best trader. She suspected that Duggar had told Mal that Badger would have info, but he was silent on the subject.
She sidelined Simon one afternoon before dinner. He reluctantly sat down with her.
"I know you don't trust me, " Lou said.
"It's not so much trust as I don't know you," he replied.
"I need you to put that aside for a minute and listen to me," she told him.
"I'm listening, " Simon said.
"You know I love River as if she was my own daughter. I would like it if you would let me love you as well," Lou said.
"Love?" Simon asked.
Lou laughed quietly.
"I am talking maternal or sisterly love here... the other kind I am leaving to Kaylee," she smiled.
Simon blushed and tried to stop her.
"Look. I don't want to tell you what to do about that. I am sure you will figure it out and nothing could make me happier. But it's up to you," Lou said and sighed at her own ability to put her foot in her mouth.
"I'm sorry... I'm just messing this up Simon!"
"What are you trying to say?" Simon said giving her his trademark crooked smile.
"Right... Just tell me I'm interfering or to butt out... But you and River are essentially homeless. You can't go back to your parents in Capitol and if you contacted them, Serenity would be swarming with alliance police within a day or two. Am I right?" Lou asked. Simon nodded.
"What I'm trying to say is that there is a hunting lodge on my family farm. It's up to good living standards. If you would consider it, I would very much like it if you would consider living there. I realise that I could ask if I could have River living with me if you want to stay on Serenity, but I don't want to split you up. You love each other too much. All I want is to keep River safe. I have bees... River would love them. I bet she would figure out their communication methods and calculate their migration patterns. I can't offer her much in ways of academic challenges, but I can give her love and a family and a place to call home. And if you want, that family, and that home could be yours too," Lou said.
Simon smiled as she spoke.
"I appreciate it Lou, but I think Serenity has become our home and family," he said.
Lou nodded.
"I understand," she said.
"River loves you too, Lou. I know she does. Loosing our parents has been hard, so finding you and seeing how you give yourself so unconditionally... well, River needs that attention. She feels other people's emotions and sense their thoughts. She feels your love, Lou," Simon leant towards her and took her hand.
Lou nodded, feeling tears well up at his words.
"And, Lou?" Simon smiled.
"Yeah," she said.
"You are the best mother River could have asked for right now," Simon
"Thank you," Lou smiled and gave him a hug.
Shortly after Simon left, River appeared.
"Simon says you have bees on your farm," she said.
"I do," Lou smiled.
"Bees were nearly extinct on earth by 2100," River stated.
"They were," Lou said.
"But you saved them," River stated.
"My family did," Lou said.
"And now you want to save me and Simon?" River asked.
"You don't need saving. I just want to give you a home," Lou said honestly.
"Why?" River asked.
"Because I want to take care of you. I am so fond of you and I want you to have a home," Lou said.
"But I have a home. I belong with Serenity," River laughed. "She speaks to me. We are safe here. Simon and I. We have a home."
Lou nodded and gave the girl a hug.
"If that should ever change. I plan to go back to Odinshelm on Valhalla. There will always be a place for you there," Lou told the young girl.

Once Lou's neck was healed, she decided to start working out. She still had so much anger inside for those ruttin miscreants that had taken her daughters so for an hour every day after breakfast she went down to the cargo hold to make the most of the weights and the punching bag that hung there. Again and again she threw punches and kicks with all her might into what she imagined to be Duggar's face while trying to remember to move the way Danny had taught her. Thinking about Danny brought back the grief and made her punch even harder. He had set up a punching bag and a target in the barn that he used to get his frustration out. Once the girls were old enough to throw a punch he had taught them the rudimentaries of fighting too. He had been worried for their safety and explained how important it was to defend yourself in the big bad 'verse.
Lou was punching away one day when she heard Jayne come in. He sat down on the pressbench looking at her for a minute.
"I hope that's not my face you're trying to destroy there" he said.
"Why should it be?" Lou asked.
He shrugged and stood up to get closer to her.
"You'll get more power into your punches if you focus your abs," he said standing close behind her, pressing a flat palm onto her middle and holding her throwing hand with his other hand, guiding her through a slow punch at the sack. Lou smiled at the strangely familliar teaching technique.
She went with it, allowing him to steer her movements for a few pounches before he let go and let her punch without him.
"Trouble is, this gorram sack doesn't move around and doesn't fight back, so all I'm doing is punching at dead weight. It's okay for the muscles, but I don't really get the fight out of it," Lou said.
"You wanna fight?" Jayne grinned.
"Yeah!" Lou replied.
"Damn, woman. You just have to say so. There's never enough fighting on this tub!" He said looking feral. "Let's go."
Lou nodded and gave a smile before taking up a basic boxing stance. Jayne gave a "come on!" wave with his fingers and bounced on his toes into an open space of the cargo hold floor. Within minutes they were deeply involved in a full on dirty fistfight. Lou tried to not let her kicks and punches hit too hard to start with, but realised quickly that Jayne hardly noticed her hits and that he wasn't holding back. Changing her strategy, she gave her attacks the full range of her rage.
"That's more like it," Jayne grinned bouncing back from a kick in the gut before grabbing her leg and landing her on the floor.
Up on the walkways River was keenly following the fight sqealing when one of them got in an especially well placed punch. Simon came in, initially looking for River but stopped to look at the commotion below.
"Great... now I'll have concussions and broken bones to treat," he muttered and left through the common room for the infirmary to retrieve his first aid kit. Zoe and Mal looked up from some plans as he rushed past wondering what the hurry was.
"Jayne and Lou are knocking ten bells out of eachother on the cargo floor," Simon said as he rushed back out.
"What the ruttin hell is wrong with those two?" Mal muttered and stood up to follow Simon.
Zoe shook her head before going back up towards the bridge.
"Wash. You might wanna come down here. Lou and Jayne are fighting," she called up.
"Fighting?" Wash asked.
"Yeah," Zoe said.
"Either of those two could knock me out with a single punch, so I don't know what you think I can do honey," Wash said smiling at his wife.
Hearing them, Kaylee came bouncing out from the engine room.
"We might have to separate them," Zoe said ever level headed and led them down to the walkway
Kaylee followed close behind and arrived just as Inara turned up to see what was going on.
"Wanna break them up, sir?" Zoe asked.
"Not entirely sure there is any need to yet," Mal replied.
With s well calculated kick, Lou managed to buckle Jayne's knees and had him landing on the floor with a crash. Swift as lightning she jumped on him and sitting on his chest, locking his arms with her knees and pinning his wrists with her hands she looked him straight in the face grinning with sweat dripping from her hair.
"I could get used to this view," Jayne said.
"Yeah... that's the trouble ain't it?" Lou started laughing.
Out of breath she stepped off him and lay down on the cargo floor in a fit of laughter making tears roll down her face. To her surprise she heard Jayne laughing just as hard next to her. After a while, he rolled to his side, got up on one elbow looking at her, grinning.
"Now, THAT was fun," he grinned before shuffling to his feet.
He was giving Lou a hand up as Simon came down with his medkit.
"Are you two done trying to kill eachother?" He said looking at the two of them setting Lou off laughing again.
"Probably not," she said, wiping her tears.
"Any injuries?" Simon asked.
"None I can't handle," Jayne said and left for the shower.
"I'm OK. Bruises and a couple of scrapes. But thanks for checking," Lou said feeling around for aches and pains.
"You beat him," River hollered from up on the gangway.
Lou gave her a double thumbs up and left the cargo area to get a drink and a shower.