“Ain't nothing wrong with Serenity our pretty Kaylee can't fix,” Mal says, all confident-like, which, really, if you know Mal even a little (which is about as much knowing Mal Jayne'd dare to claim 'specially nowadays) isn't much of a reassurance.

“Better hope fixing it won't require any of those parts you didn't buy at our last stop, sir.” Zoe's calm-like, but then, Jayne ain't ever seen Zoe not-calm-like, 'less you count that one time on that one planet they ain't talking about ever again, leastaways not to each other, where anyone can hear.

“Man can't buy what he can't pay for, and that's the honest truth.”

“Coulda stolen it.” Jayne likes it when things are simple. Many things are, too, really—just need to look at the thing just right. Mal ain't like that though; he looks at things from too many sides, seems like. Not so bad, sometimes, when they're in a pinch and Mal figures something out real quick—oftentimes it ain't something that does the trick entirely, but it gets them moving, gives Jayne something to do, and that's worth something, he reckons. Ain't no fun in sitting 'round, doing nothing, waiting for someone else to do something. That ain't how Jayne likes things.

“Not so as we'd be able to ever shop there for parts again, we couldn't.”

There ain't that many places, still, where people welcome them. Jayne ain't been expecting no statues (one was too gorram many and nothing to laugh about) but it seemed to him, they did some pretty shiny stuff. People don't seem to know 'bout that though, not so much as they know 'bout the war and how a man wearing a brown coat's always gonna be trouble.

---

Serenity's got a soul now, and a body, and a heart, all person-like, and she's telling Kaylee there's something she ain't happy 'bout.

“I did ask the cap'n, you know.”

The captain's a nice person, really—not bright and sparkly and colourful like Inara and Serenity and River, when she's happy (which is nice 'n' often, nowadays) but he's got a good heart and a kind soul and his body ain't half bad either. A good person, the captain is.

“Just always tight when it's money.”

Ain't never been easy to find small jobs, nice and safe-like, and it ain't been getting any easier finding them After than it was Before. Kaylee can't right say whether it was better Before or better After, and she reckons what she thinks ain't matter none, seeing as how there ain't nothing she or any soul can do to change it.

”Want to move,” River/Serenity says. ”Got to keep moving.”

Flight becomes a habit at some point, Kaylee reckons, like breathing. Need it to keep you alive. Need it to keep you feelin' alive.

“I know,” she says, all soft-like, like a sing-song lullaby, “I know,” stroking Serenity's hull, all warm and skin-like. “How 'bout I take a look-see, eh?”

”Better go talk to the captain first,” River/Serenity says, “He's in t-r-o-u-b-l-e.”

“Ain't no more than he deserves,” Kaylee mutters.

---

Zoe reckons there's no two ways about this; Captain's screwed up (as usual is added only in her mind; aint for nothing he's got her to watch his back, after all) and Serenity might be in a spot of trouble—not serious trouble, mayhaps, seeing as how they ain't gone and managed to get themselves stuck in the middle of nowhere (this time) but unless Kaylee's got a miracle or two up her sleeves or Mal's got a part he ain't got on account of it being too expensive, they ain't going to be able to fix this problem by themselves, and it doesn't seem to be that kind of problem that fixes itself if you just wait for it, all patient-like.

“Should we ask River to put out a distress-call, sir?”

Bit too early for that, most likely—going to take Kaylee and lots of talking about engine-parts before Captain'll give in, but she reckons it's always worth a try getting an early start.

“Let's not go 'round botherin' people 'less we have to, shall we?” What he means, most likely, is that there might be one or two packages stored aboard that ain't going to do so well with being found by someone with not-so-fluid ideas regardings laws and such. “Ain't heard a thing from Kaylee, yet.”

“Yes, sir.” Not her place to call him a bare-faced liar with Jayne standing right there, talking 'bout stealing ship-parts like it's the simplest thing in the universe.

Not Captain't place to go and ignore it when Kaylee tells him what she needs to keep the ship flying, either—so definitely her place to go and make sure he listens next time, maybe all nice and easy-like, or maybe not. Captain could use a kick where it hurts, maybe.

Wouldn't do to hurt him too badly there, though. Girl's gotta have some priorities, and Captain ain't too stupid, so long as it's all nice and logical.

“Hello, Cap'n, Zoe, Jayne.” Bright-eyed and breathless; not a bad look, all in all, though now hardly ain't the place for it.

“The Captain believes that the technical difficulties we are experiencing will only be temporary.”

Getting two pairs of hands to try and keep Captain on dry land seemed like it should've been plenty, but it don't seem to be working that way.

“Temporary.” Ain't nothing meek or sweet 'bout Kaylee when it's about Serenity. Ain't nobody knows the ship like she does, 'cept maybe River, and River's only flying it. Knows how to fly, sure, shiny, might know a wee bit 'bout how it works, but Kaylee's what keeping Serenity in the sky. “Well, that'd be shiny.”

---

Can't say as how there's any gratefulness in people anymore for trying to be all cheerful-like. Could be he's relying on luck too much (luck ain't never something he's put his trust in, really, but a man can look at the odds and make up his own mind)—could be he's too used to Kaylee always nagging at him for parts, and their girl never letting them down so far.

Ain't the same, flying with River. Ain't the same as it was Before. Ain't no gorram use in dwelling on the past too much, or at all, really.

Present's present and it doesn't look all pretty and shiny-like so much. For sure, Zoe's going to tell him some 'bout not getting those parts when they could've (should've) 'stead of saving a bit of money in case times get tight-like again. Kaylee ain't got no mouth nor temper on her to give a man grief, 'less he truly asks for it, and Mal don't think he's done that. Not a sure thing, though.

“So, we stuck here?” Jayne's a man a man can rely on to ask the question as needs asking, nice 'n' easy.

“Might find something to fix it for a short while, just to get us someplace.” Kaylee looks uncertain-like, but least she ain't selling a flat 'yes'. Means there's hope yet.

“Someplace sounds like a mighty fine place to get at, right now. Why don't you go see what you and Serenity can work up together, eh?”

“Yes, Cap'n.” Man's been through war, he ain't got much of a poet's soul left in him, but when she walks, it's like sunlight and rainbows. Zoe's strong and sure-like, familiar and yet not, but Mal reckons between him and Kaylee, they ain't got much in common. Makes it all that much more of a mistake, most like.

Still, ain't gonna get anywhere if you ain't gonna try and get somewhere—can't expect to win big if you go 'bout your life so as never to take a chance anymore than you can expect to go 'bout your life taking chances and not die some day, perhaps a mite sooner than you would've if you'd never taken a chance 't all.