TITLE: "THE NITTY GRITTY"

AUTHOR: Alison M. DOBELL

FANDOM: "FIREFLY"

PAIRING: Simon/Kaylee.

RATING: PG-13.

STATUS: Sequel to "KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE".

ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where.

FEEDBACK: Welcomed.

EMAIL: AlisonMDobell@aol.com

WEBSITE: None. All Firefly stories archived at Fireflyfans.net

SUMMARY: "Zoe gets more and more worried about Hope.

Patience shows Mal the cargo she wants hauling and Inara

is reunited with an old and dear friend."

The usual disclaimers apply. The characters and 'Firefly'

are the property and gift of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

No infringement of copyright is intended.

"THE NITTY GRITTY"

"Firefly" story

Written by Alison M. DOBELL

* * * * *

Jayne didn't like this. Anything to do with Patience always carried a gorram sting in the tail and his *shenjingbing hundan* of a Captain never seemed to see it until it was too late. Scowling, the mercenary looked at the men now loosely keeping watch on him, calculating how many he could take out before he risked being killed his own self. It was tempting but not yet. He could bide his time a mite longer. Maybe Mal would talk his way out of this fix they were in. If he didn't, Jayne would just have to do it the old fashioned way.

* * * * *

The Captain stared. Those mounds he had taken for sand dunes were no such thing. They were outcroppings of rock, boulders and the entrance to a mine cut deep into the ground. His eyes narrowed as he looked more closely at the stone exposed to the elements, the way it was coloured to match the surrounding sands, even had bits of the gorram stuff blasted onto the gorram rock to trick the eye. He laughed. Really. Patience had outdone herself this time.

"You camoflaged a mine?"

Instead of getting testy Patience grinned, pleased at his stunned reaction. "Fooled you, didn't it?"

He wanted to argue but truth was he was too gorram impressed. "Yeah. You did."