TITLE: "DEADLINE"

AUTHOR: Alison M. DOBELL

FANDOM: "FIREFLY"

PAIRING: No specific pairing.

RATING: PG-13.

STATUS: New. SEQUEL to "NOT SMOOTH"

ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where.

FEEDBACK: Welcomed.

EMAIL: AlisonMDobell@aol.com

WEBSITE: http://carlajane.50megs.com/Ali00.html

SUMMARY: "Frank Reynolds finds out what happened and the

crew of Serenity discover just how implaccable an enemy he

can be. River shares a revelation but will anyone make sense

of it in time?"

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.

"DEADLINE"

A "Firefly" story

Written by Alison M. DOBELL

* * * * *

Frank Reynolds was happy to get the wave from Wash and they arranged to meet each other halfway. He would have liked to have spoken to Mal but no doubt he was busy doing Captainy things. He smiled when he thought about the boy, his heart happy that they would soon be together again. It was the one thing in his life that caused him no pain. No sense in the boy knowing that though. Inara heard the news with relief, Kaylee smiled and River looked distracted.

The two ships met in geostationary orbit, Zoe bringing Inara's shuttle over to ferry her, Kaylee, River and Frank Reynolds over to Serenity. Frank's smile froze when he saw the set of Zoe's face. "What's wrong, *nu haizi*?"

"We had some trouble with the job, *shushu*."

His eyes narrowed. "What kind of trouble?"

Zoe carefully did not look at Inara, Kaylee or River. "Best we talk about this in the commons."

Inara did not like the tightly controlled expression on Zoe's face but could tell she would not be drawn into conversation about it until they got back. Kaylee looked troubled, her happy expression dimmed with worry. "Why can't you tell us now, Zoe?"

"I think it's best to do this when we're all together."

Thankfully River said nothing. She see