this takes place just before 'our ms. reynolds'. review!

"I rightfully stole that! Now give it up!" Jayne demanded as River danced around the kitchen holding a shiny piece of metal.

"You stole it. Your basis of ownership is not significant enough to provoke me to return it," the girl said absently, gazing at her prize through large wide eyes.

"Gorram it! Doctor, if your sister don't give me my watch back, I am going to have to resort to my own methods," Jayne threatened, glaring at the smaller man. Simon looked confused as he took what River had been holding.

"A watch? You stole a watch? you have no recognizable schedule. Why would you need to know the time?" Simon asked, as River quickly plucked it from her brother's fingers.

"Its not for telling time; its one of them non-digital antique kind. And it happens that watch you're holdin' is gold, pure and all," Jayne said with a satisfied smirk.

"Not, its not. It fake. It is simply a metal alloy with a kind of gold veneer. It seems to contain pieces of pyrite and small bits of clay. You can tell by the weight. And the clock is 5.872 seconds slow. This is useless," River announced, placing the old fashioned device on the table. Jayne quickly snatched it back.

"No, it ain't. its as real as the entire verse. The man I nicked from, he was telling everyone it was made of- Look! As long as someone thinks it real, it is," Jayne said, slamming his fist on the table. A small crunch was heard by all the occupants. River let out a small giggle and Simon struggle to hide the smile that graced his features. Jayne growled."It ain't funny."

Kaylee entered the kitchen, grabbed a plastic wrapped nutrient pack and hopped up onto the counter to eat it. Grease covered her jumpsuit and smudged her pretty face, as she pushed her hair behind her ear.

"What happened to you? The engine spit up on ya?" Jayne asked.

"Well actually, the fuel module was-"

"Not interested," Jayne replied.

"Shouldn't have Zoe and Mal been back by now? I thought it was to be an easy job," Kaylee asked.

"they're only...one ...three...two? no- five minutes late," Jayne said squinting at "his" new watch.

"They are 4.90213 minutes late," River said. "Slow watch."

"I wouldn't worry. They're probably fine," Simon said to Kaylee, giving her a smile which was reciprocated. Jayne rolled his eyes.

"You're probably right. Its probably going as smooth as butte,." the optimistic mechanic caroled.

Firefly***Firefly***Firefly***Firefly***Firefly***Firefly***Firefly***Firefly***Firefly***

"Why can't these things ever go smooth?" Mal said as the room began to fill with armed men.

"Don't know, sir. Seems we always find trouble."

"Tsao gao! We better get going," Mal said, grabbing the sleek silver case they had come for from the safe they had just broken.

"Alright, sir," Zoe said, firing warning shots towards the incoming men,warning shots that were directed at their legs. With quick motions Mal tossed a chair at the men, distracting them a little before he and Zoe turned tail into the dusty glaring sunlight. Dodging through the throngs of people, they found themselves in the busy market place. The pair tried to make it through without drawing to much gorram attention to themselves. Mal and Zoe turned down an alley and waited in the shade for the men to pass before taking off again. They were both breathing laboriously.

"Zoe, you got it?"

"Of course, sir," she said motioning to the case.

"Thank Gorram! Now all we got to do is-" Mal said before he ran directly into something. It was a woman. Mal's chin collided with her forehead with a loud smack. Mal fell over, tripping Zoe up.

"Ye soo! Watch where you're going, you Wang bao dahn!" the woman shouted hastily before grabbing her own silver case and running out of the alley. Zoe rolled her eyes at Mal as he lay on the ground.

"She called me a Wang bao dahn," Mal said indignantly dusting off his brown coat and picking up their case.

"You did run her over, sir," Zoe said staring at her friend with an expression of amusement. Mal glared at her.

"Thief! Robber!"

Instinctively Mal and Zoe quickly took off. They ran back into the open street, hoping to lose their pursuers in the crowd. Within minutes they made it to the port where Serenity was stationed. Climbing up the ramp, Mal happily realized that they had lost their pursuers and he was back on his beloved boat. Thank gorram.

"What took y'all so long?" Jayne asked, tossing a shiny bracelet sort of a thing into the masses of people. A few passersby yelped as the object sailed through the air, making Jayne smile.

"We got chased. No problems though; We got the goods," Mal said lifting up the silver case.

"Hey, you!" someone called from the street. Zoe, Mal and Jayne turned to see a woman standing, arms crossed, on the ramp. She glared pointedly at Mal, almost attempting to murder him with her eyes.

"Who me?" Mal innocently asked.

"Yeah, you. You took my bag."

"No. I think you're confusing me with someone else. I don't take people's bags," he replied. The woman stepped forward onto Serenity. Her hair was in a ponytail and she had a nasty bump forming on her temple.

"Alleyway. About five minutes back. You nearly tackled me in your haste escape. You took my gorram bag, idiot!"

"Hey!" Mal barked at the woman. He strode towards her. He was much taller than her and was able to look down on her; she remained firm, staring up at him with blazing eyes. Boy, did she want her bag back.

"This is my ship and I won't stand to have you insult me on it. We'll talk like polite people or we don't talk at all. Got that?"

"Yeah, well I need my bag," she hissed, moving closer to him. " I don't care whose gorram ship it is. I just want my bag back. Can I have it?"

"We don't have any bag," Mal said.

"THE CASE! THE SILVER BREIFCASE! I WANT IT! ITS MINE!"

"Whoa, now, lets calm down for a minute," Mal said with a slight smirk at the edge of his lips.

"You ran into me. I dropped my case; you dropped yours. I picked up yours and you picked up mine," she said in slow words as if talking to a child.

"She's right sir. This isn't case. Its not as heavy," Zoe said, coming to stand next her captain.

"Where is our bag, then?" Mal asked, folding his arms over chest.

"I tossed it back, someplace. I knew it wasn't mine and your friends were chasing me."

"You tossed our loot?" Jayne shouted angrily suddenly paying attention to the conversation. Mal and his second-in-command remained calm, but inside he was furious. Admittedly the whole mission was easy and maybe not a payday but, still. You don't just toss someone's stolen goods.

"Why'd you toss it?" Mal bitterly asked.

"The men who were chasing you guys decided to go after me. Do you always piss off people who own guns?" she asked, fingering a small hole in her jacket sleeve. No doubt the woman had just barely escaped a bullet wound.

"Not always but, it tends to make the job a little more thrilling," Mal retorted. "Now, why wou-"

"So, you are thieves," she stated, wanting to gain the upper hand of the conversation. She instantly became more calm and collected. Meanwhile, Mal shifted nervously. She could easily report him. Then his boat would be searched and they'd get arrested for harboring fugitives, theft, and tax evasion.

"Well, yeah...But, hey, you took something too," Mal said, suddenly realizing he had a bargaining chip. Making eye contact with Jayne, the large man put his worn boot on top of the shiny case with a clatter. The woman's eyes narrowed as she stared at her briefcase.

"I ain't a thief."

"Oh. Well that makes sense. So those men who were chasing after you were just doing it for a good time. I know you won't report us, so we're going to do this my way."

"Look, I just want my-"

"Yeah, well I want MY case but, that don't seem to be in the cards right now."

"Dway boo chee? What are you saying?"

"Give me my case and I'll give you yours. You're the one whose making this really complicated. dong le ma?" Mal negotiated.

"Fine, I'll give you your case. Just give me my-"

"Give us our case and we'll give you yours. Zoe, does this seem kind of familiar to you?"

"Yes it does, sir," Zoe said, moving her hand slightly closer to her gun. The other woman just rolled her dark eyes.

"Fine. I think I left it in a junk box. I am Dinah, in case you was wondering," she tersely said, as if knowing her name was some honor she was bestowing on them. Mal played along.

"This is Zoe; the man holding onto your stuff is Jayne and I am Mal Reynolds." she gave a little nod of her head before tramping off the ship.

"Zoe?" Mal asked, as they followed Dinah.

"Captain?"

"Whats a junk box?"

"I think she means trash unit."

"I thought so."

FIREFLY**FIREFLY**FIREFLY**FIREFLY**FIREFLY**FIREFLY**FIREFLY**FIREFLY**FIREFLY**FIREFLY**FIREFLY**FIREFLY**FIREFLY**FIREFLY**FIREFLY**

"Well, that wasn't so hard was it?" Mal asked as Dinah put the briefcase in his hand. Dinah gave a sarcastic smile before quickly returning to her former angry glaring face. She leaned against the trash unit she had just dug through. Oh what pleasure.

"I guess we'll just return to that ship of yours and get my- Get down!" Dinah yelled. They all jumped to the ground behind the trash unit. Gunshots ricocheted off the wall and the metal container.

"Just give us the case and no one will get hurt," a man said, his low voice assuring the trio that they wouldn't get out of this unscathed.

"Why don't I believe them?" Zoe said, taking out her guns out of the holster on her hip.

"Well, they don't exactly have honest faces," Mal bantered.

"Yeah, kind of ugly."

"Hey, can we chat later? Are these your pursuers or mine?" Dinah asked, rummaging frantically through her satchel. "Damn the one time I actually need it, I-"

"Look, all we want is that case, Dinah," the leader said, stepping closer to the trash unit. Risking a peek, Dinah looked over the top. He held two different guns, one sleeker and nicer than the other one. It was an alliance pistol. There were maybe 4 men behind him, similarly armed.

"Seems like they're after you," Mal said, looking at Dinah, amking sure she realized this was her fault. "Zoe, ready?"

"Yes, sir." in a split second Zoe stood up and began firing shots at the men. The men duck and hid from her precise aim. Mal fired at the leader's hands. The man yelped in pain and he tossed one of the guns. It dropped near Dinah and she quickly picked it up. She followed Mal and Zoe as they retreated, narrowly missing another bullet but, returning the favor with great accuracy.

"We gonna get out of this?" Dinah asked as they tried to lose the men. It was evening and Dinah should have left this gorram moon by now. The ship she had planned to leave with had already gone, if the empty lot meant anything. Shu ma nyaow. Still she kept running with the two thieves, her body enjoying the exercise. Every now and then the briefcase would accidentally hit a passerby. Accidentally. They came to a stop at the mouth of an alley. Zoe leaned against the dusty wall and reloaded her rifle. It snapped shut with a click. Dinah looked at her.

"Expecting someone?" Dinah asked.

"We'll be fine. We've been much tougher scrapes and with less weapons, too," Mal answered. Dinah was about to point she wasn't talking to him but, she bit her tongue.

"All set, captain but, they'll be comin' after us. Best we get a move on," Zoe said as they stood on the corner of the market street. They were exposed and vulnerable; not exactly a choice hiding spot. The shoppers were mostly gone and the nightlife had just begun to creep out. Nearby the beat up firefly was parked. It was a transport ship; maybe they could give Dinah a ride. The burly man named Jayne was talking with another guy wearing a ridiculous colorful shirt.

Walking up the ramp, Jayne peered at Dinah, his dirty boot still on her silver case. Her knuckles tightened when she saw this.

"Is that our goods, she got there?"

"Shi. Now, Jayne, give the nice lady hers," the captain said. Jayne kicked the case towards her and the contents rattled in the case. Dinah shuddered. Anger boiled in her stomach. Nothing had better be damaged or she'd give that man hell. She gave Zoe their own case.

"Well, that went-" the colorful shirt began to say.

"Hey, Dinah, is it?" turning around, Dinah did not recognize the man standing there. He was more nicely dressed than the ordinary people on this moon but, he still seemed kind of coarse. He didn't look threatening. He didn't seem to have a weapon as far as she could see but, appearances could be deceiving. She slowly turned around, assesing her opponet.

"I don't know you."

"Yeah, well, that don't matter much. You see, I need that back," he said motioning to the silver case in Zoe's hands. Dinah rolled. The people on this moon were really stupid.

"You want this one, hu choo-shang tza-jiao duh tzang-huo," Dinah spat, waving the true case around.

"I see you two have business that I frankly don't care about so if you could just-" Mal began. The man pulled at a laser gun. Mal and his crew slowly put there hands up. Well, not Jayne. Dinah sighed, defeated.

"Mal," colorful shirt guy whispered to the captain. "What's going on and whose the girl?"

"We just had a little mix up with the job. That's all."

"Now just hand it over and that'll be all- Hey! What are you doing?" the man barked as Dinah dug through her satchel.

"You want the key or not, you dumb Hwoon dahn! Or would rather break it open?"

"Fine, take it out. But, don't do anything funny," the gunman said. Dinah gave a nod and continued to search.

"We're seriously ain't with her. If you two could get off my ship, we'd happily be out of your way," Mal said with a smile.

"Oh be quiet, Reynolds. She was probably gonna have you transport it somewhere. You've got a rep, you know."

"No, we wasn't. We were just gonna-" Mal began.

"Shut up! She makes good on her part and you'll be alright. Can't say the same for her though," the man muttered. Dinah snorted at that.

"Oh! Here it is! I got it!"

"Finally!" the man said, stepping closer. Wrong move. With great speed, the woman flung a rock straight at the man's head. He staggered backwards before tripping over his feet and falling to the ground. That's when the gun shots rang out. Again.

"Ye soo! Why'd you have to bring work home with you?" Wash shouted, startled by the sounds. He ran up the stairs.

"Get this thing off the gorram ground, Wash!"

"On my way!"

"And you," Mal said at Dinah as she hid behind the wall of the firefly to escape the incoming fire.

"I believe this is your stop," Mal said firmly, standing feet apart and hands on his hips, unconcerned by the gunfire. Dinah rolled her eyes at his posturing. Jayne and Zoe had begun shooting at Dinah's pursuers.

"I'll pay anything, if you get me off this gorram rock!" Dinah pleaded, clutching her case.

"Anything? How about 10 platinum?" Mal asked, knowing no one would pay that much for a ride.

"Deal," Dinah quickly replied.

"Wait. What? Zoe, close up the hatch!" Mal said, surprise written clear across his face. That made Dinah smile.

"Right sir!" the doors quickly shut as one man struggled to hold onto the slowly rising ramp. Mal quickly shot at his hands.

"Sir, are we takin' on passengers?" Zoe asked, assessing the woman who was now aboard the ship.

"Yes, we are. Kaylee! Come down here and take our passenger to her cabin!" Mal shouted. "Now, how are you going to pay us?"

"With money," Dinah muttered, reaching into her satchel again and withdrawing money this time instead of a rock. Counting out 10 platinum, she handed it to the captain. Normally she wouldn't spend this much on a ride but, she was in a tight situation.

"Now that's better than a rock one gorram day," Jayne said, admiring the money in his captain's hand.

"Could you get me to Artemis?"

"The moon circling Hephaestus? Sure, in two weeks," Mal said calmly.

"Two weeks?" Dinah disbelievingly said. She could have get there faster in a short range shuttle. With the appropriate modifications. "Any decent ship could-"

"Is there a problem with that?" Mal dangerously asked, his dark eyes glowering at Dinah daring her to insult his boat. He must have been one of those ship lovers. Just then the low rumble of an engine gave away to the sensation of flying. They were already in the air and no way was Dinah going back to that moon. Hephaestus was far and Dinah honestly could wait two weeks, if the firefly didn't break down before they got there.

"No problem."

"Good. Kaylee!" Mal yelled. a small woman appeared, coming down from the upper level. She wore a worn green jumpsuit with engine grease covering her front.

"We taking on passengers, Cap'n?" she asked, a brilliant smile lighting up her face.

"Just, this one for now. Take her to one of the spare cabins. And what happened to you?" Mal asked, staring at the grease stains covering the girl who was apparently the mechanic.

"Ah, this stuff. Me and serenity got into a little spat. No worries though. She runnin' smooth now," the cheerful mechanic said. She extended her hand and Dinah took it."I'm Kaylee and I take of this here ship's engine."

"I'm Dinah. And I am just a passenger." 'That's all I am now,' Dinah thought as she fingered the alliance pistol in her satchel.