Disclaimer: Not mine, no pay.

Thanks: To Jacqui, for friendship, great beta and encouragement, to Josh the Paramedic for medical info and to Rion, my own personal BDH. You guys are the greatest.

Rating: NC-15 this section, for adult references and a bit of angst.

Remarks: I continue to explore the challenges faced by Jayne and Kaylee as they struggle to define their relationship. Set following my most recent story “The Birthday Gift”, after “Objects in Space”. Inara has departed from Serenity and things on board ship are getting more difficult.

Feedback: Folks, this is like food and drink for writers. Your comments and suggestions mean a lot and help keep us going. Please post below or e-mail Lumenea@aol.com. Makes lots more sense if you read the whole series – just click on my name and the whole bunch are there, waiting for you.

Leaps of Faith

Chapter Four

Mal calls everyone together around the table. “Listen up, people. We’ve finally got a job lined up. Been a pretty lean spell for us, and I won’t lie an’ tell you I’m feelin’ all easy about this one, but for now, it’s the best bet we got.”

Zoë and Wash exchange knowing glances; Jayne sits up a little straighter, tilts his head skeptically. If the Cap’n’s admitting right off the job is shaky, well, that means seriously shaky.

“So what’s the deal, Mal?” Jayne prompts, twiddlin’ his thumbs in a restless way.

Mall rubs his hands together, then leans forward, plants his palms on the table, and nods.

“Got a contact with a hot load of weaponry that’s been parted from its’ prior owner, namely, the Alliance. And we got a buyer who’s willin’ to pay a good bit over the askin’ price. Should be easy-breezy, turn us a nice little profit. All we gotta do is pick up the cargo an’ get it to the buyer.”

“Sir?” Zoë speaks up first. “Aren’t we asking for trouble hauling Alliance arms?”

“Oh yeah, all we need is to get nailed with Alliance gear on board!” Wash blurts out. “When you say ‘easy-br