Life on this boat. A Firefly story. #fanfic

Valhalla

Once all was loaded, Lou gathered the crew.
"So do you guys weant your bunks on Serenity or do you want to be housed?" Lou asked.
They all looked a bit undesicive.
"Right... I'm housing you," Lou laughed.
She grabbed a set of keys off the rack inside and handed them to Mal.
"Your house is there", she said and pointed to a smallish wood cabin in a forest oposite her own garden.
"Oooh... it looks like a dolls house!" Kaylee smiled happily.
Mal wrapped an arm around Kaylee's shoulder and gave her a hug.
"It has four bedrooms, two double and two single," Lou smiled.
Mal looked around to count.
"This here is mine, I have two single guestrooms in addition to my room and the girl's rooms," she said thumbing her own tiny little cottage.
They looked around.
"Ok. I suggest Wash and Zoe with Mal as you have a double for them?" Lou suggested getting nods back.
"I like the Captain's little house," Kaylee smiled looking at Mal.
"This is home," River smiled looking at Lou's house.
"I guess that puts us in your house," Simon said receiving a big smile from Saphire and a frown from Kaylee.
"Inara, you okay in Mal's house?" Lou asked.
"Where do I go?" Jayne asked.
"It looks like you're either in the barn or you'll have to settle with me," Lou replied hiding a smirk.
There was silence for a while.
"So now you two are back on? Will you ever make up your minds?" Wash asked.
"Nope. Besides... He's on the couch," Lou smiled.
"Heyyy," Jayne mumbled.
"Barn. Or couch!" Lou grinned.
"Lou! Have you lost your mind?" Giles asked dragging Lou forcefully out of hearing range.
"I might have," Lou said.
"You can not have that man in your house. I forbid it! The man is a menace!" Giles continued.
"I trust him," Lou said.
"Enough to apparently be in some form of physical relationship with him?!?!" Giles asked.
"Apparently," Lou said dryly.
"What kind of an example are you setting for your children?" Giles continued.
"Since when did you become such a snob?" Lou asked.
"When you stopped being rational I guess," her brother replied.
"My house, my rules. My bed, none of your gorram business!" Lou said.
"But the girls..." Giles begun.
"The girls think it's about ruttin time!" Saphire said behind Lou.
Lou turned around with a surprised look.
"It has been pretty obvious since he rescued us," Saphire continued.
"Yeah!" Broke piped up with her hands on her hips.
"But.. he's a mercenary!" Giles hissed.
"And you're a farmer," Lou replied.
"What is it about you and these men with guns?" Giles asked and left swearing under his breath.
Lou turned and studied her girls for a moment. Both were trying to hold back giggling fits.
Lou hugged both.
"So...you don't mind?" She asked.
"He makes you smile real smiles and laugh out loud," Brooke said skipping around.
Holding the two girls hands Lou returned to the crew.
"Right... Let's get the stuff off Serenity and see if we can get everybody settled," Lou said trying to not feel responsible for her brother's narrow mind.
Mal led the way towards where the firefly was landed.
Kaylee grabbed the housekeys from Mal and ran accross Lou's garden to the little gate in the fence that connected to a path accross to the tiny house.
Her priority was exploring.
Saphire and Brooke exchanged a look, giving Lou the impression that they had something planned.
Brooke looked at Jayne with a clever look on her face and Lou felt all the blood leaving her face in dread of what she might say.
"You said on Serenity that you didn't care when I asked you!" Brooke said looking at Jayne.
"I don't," he said.
"Puuhlease!" Saffy rolled her eyes theatrically.
"Unless you admit that you like my mama, you're sleeping on the couch mister," Brooke said in her best adult impersonation with her hands on her hips.
Lou tried to hide a laugh. Her kids were priceless and Jayne was looking terrified.
"How about you two go see to your horses?" Lou said trying to stay serious.
The girls ran off, and Lou started walking towards Serenity to get her chest, her backpack and whatever else she needed off the boat. After a few seconds a very confused and quiet Jayne caught up with her.
"What the hell was that?" He muttered.
"I think we just got shipped by my kids," Lou smiled.
"I ain't stayin'," he mumbled.
"I know that. But you're coming back and that's all that matters," Lou said.
He slung an arm around her shoulders.
"But you are in any case sleeping on the couch!" Lou said with a half-smile.
"Why?" He asked.
"You heard my kids. You have to admit that you like me.... and that is never gonna happen," Lou laughed.

The gang got their gear and Lou was suddenly scratching her head wondering if there was a different way of solving the whole housing situation. Her small living room was bedecked with guns and weapons of all sizes. The girls had some toys in there and the walls were full of bookshelves and photos, other than that there was a couch, a coffee table and not much more. It was Lou's cozy, quiet haven. She had made a show of making the couch up amid a series of not so subtle hints about her big bed upstairs. He had insisted on carrying her stuff up for her, only for her to discover that his show of gallantry was more an excuse to get into her private room. With a flourish he had thrown himself on her bed with a grin and refused to get out untill she threatened to tickle him. Her sewingmachine was safely stowed away in her sewingroom where Simon was to sleep and River was placed in the bedroom Lou had built for that third child she had given up hope of ever having.
In her living room, all photos of her and Danny had suddenly been laid face down and the small room looked like a dungeon.
"Any chance of not ruining my carefully decorated living room?" She asked.
"I need my weapons," Jayne grinned.
When having the house built, Lou had insisted on a huge kitchen and dining area, and opted for a smaller living room, which she had to admit she had rarely used. The heart of her house was the kitchen.
"Would you have needed all of them if I had housed you upstairs?" Lou asked dryly.
"If I was housed upstairs, I'd be to busy to worry about defending myself," he replied standing practicality on Lou's toes.
"You know the rules...," Lou grinned enjoying the teasing.
"Lou!" He threatened.
Lou laughed out loud as she left to check on the rest of her guests.

In the middle of the night Lou woke up by the sound of her door opening. Semi dazed she expected that it was one of the girls not settling at home after such a long time away, so she didn't bother moving. For the longest time she lay there with the feeling of being stared at. A set of footfalls wandered over to the bed and stopped. Realising it wasn't her kids, she had to hide a smile, feeling a bit apprehensive about what he was planning to do. Suddenly she heard a "gorramit" muttered and the footsteps turned and walked out of the room.
Lou had to giggle to herself before she fell asleep again with a smile.