trans_9 | Backdated by a few in-game days.

Obviously Jamie doesn't know anything about the message, but he's at Serenity anyway. So about the same time that headache is developing, the young Highlander is standing outside of the ship, yelling up at it - like he tends to do when he comes for a visit. "Kaylee?"

There's a small package in his hand that he's been meaning to give her, somewhat messily wrapped in plaid paper and tied with a bow. The fact that he's got it clutched in one hand while he's calling up isn't helping matters much, but hopefully she won't mind too much.

"Hey, Kaylee, are ye here?"

The infirmary offers the normal quick-fix: a painkiller tablet, a glass of water, and that's that. Simple is better sometimes, anyone would agree.

Kaylee pops her head out of the door at the back of the cargo bay, and ducks back long enough to swallow the painkiller and put her cup down on the counter before moving for the hangar. "'M here, yep!" she grins, waving Jamie up the ramp and into the ship. "You know you don't gotta stand outside and yell? We don't mind you waltzin' in, Jamie, even Jayne don't mind it."

"Are ye sure about that?" Jamie call back, rather dryly. "I'd not want to start doing so and then have him decide he doesn't care for it after all." Besides, he enjoys the yelling, just a wee bit.

Once he's on the ship proper, he gives Kaylee a crooked grin and thrusts out the now somewhat crumpled looking present towards her. "Here. I got ye something."

A bit of the paper has come loose, giving out a glimpse of something silvery with a label attached to it. Either Jamie hasn't noticed, or isn't overly worried about the prospect of the present unwrapping itself before Kaylee can get to it.

"I'm positive," she promises. "But if you're more comfortable shoutin' your lungs out, well I s'pose that works just as well."

That grin of his almost cheers Kaylee's headache right away, and she looks quietly at the small package before taking it from him. "What is it?" There's a small glance back up to him to make sure it's alright (well, obviously it is, if the paper's already half-off anyhow), and then Kaylee carefully tears away at one of the corners.

Inside is a tin, with two labels on it. The one underneath is the original label from the XaXing merchant, judging by what's actually visible. The second label has been pasted on in such a way that it covers most of what was first put there, although it also looks as though it can be easily removed, if one so wishes. Unlike some of the other merchandise back on the planet, however, this appears to have been done by Jamie deliberately, as it's his handwriting that declares the contents to be 'Wild Strawberry Tea'.

"Just a wee bit of tea, but I thought ye might like it. I would have gotten ye more if I could, but the merchant would not budge on the price even when I said it was for someone else." Not even the threat of bringing in the Stuff Inspector helped, although Jamie thinks that was likely because the Doctor had taken off somewhere and therefore the merchant hadn't believed the Scot when he brought the subject up.

"It is strawberry tea, though. I made him make me a cup to try first."

If her love of the gift isn't clear from the way her eyes light up when she sees the (adorable) label, the grin she gives Jamie should be a pretty big clue. Leave it to him to find the perfect mix of everything on some crazy planet-world in the middle of the Who Knows Where We Are Star Cluster.

Kaylee opens the tin and sniffs it carefully. If it tastes anywhere near as delicious as it smells, she can quite probably die a happy mechanic. "This's more than enough, Jamie, 'specially if there's not even any warrant for it." And there isn't, not that Kaylee can think of. She's eager to try some, though, and the debate of what special occasion Jamie thought up for such a wonderful gift is put on hold as she motions toward the stairs.

"Come on, then, you put yourself through the trouble for it, you get a tea treat."

"Well, I thought that ye might like it, so it was no trouble." Actually, given that smile of hers, it was well worth spending the credits to get it. Besides, he had fully intended on picking up presents for his friends anyway, and her response was well worth it.

As is apparently the fact he's going to get to have some more of the tea as well, which he doesn't mind at all. It was quite good. The company is even better, and Jamie gives Kaylee one of his crooked smiles as he heads over towards the stairs.

"Och, that was nothing. Ye should have seen what the Doctor and I had to do to get this giant chocolate castle at the sweet shop."

"Trouble or no trouble, you still deserve a thank you, so hurry up or I might not make enough..."

It's a taunt, of course. There's no way she won't make enough for Jamie to get a good cup, and if the bags are made right they might even have enough for later just out of the first batch. No use in being wasteful, after all.

She laughs as they walk. "Giant chocolate castle? Sounds right up his alley, don't it?"

Oh, but outwardly it works, as Jamie hurries his steps so he can catch up with her faster. He doesn't really think she wouldn't make enough, of course, but it doesn't hurt to play along with the taunt in this case. Especially since it means he gets to walk along with her rather than trail behind. It's much better that way.

"Aye. His eyes lit right up when he got a look at it. Although...that might have been because it was green. I'm not sure. Remind me to bring ye some of that, too. It's not fruit, but..."

Jamie would be relieved to have more of it gone, really. He likes chocolate, but not that much, and there's still a good chunk of the castle left. "Look, you'd be doing me a favor if ye took some." He turns an almost pleading expression towards Kaylee. "Please."

It's a comforting routine, really. She knows he's fully aware that he'll get the tea no matter what, but sometimes it's nice to play around, and Jamie's one of the few people on the ship who actually will without asking why. Normalcy is nice, sometimes.

Of course, once they get up to the kitchen, she has to familiarize herself with the surroundings for a moment. It's still all so new to her, this beautiful ship, and everything has its different place. "Green chocolate? Only ever heard of that bein' on Central planets, in their candies."

Kaylee takes another moment to pull down the teapot and fill it up before sticking it on the small burner to heat up. She's already halfway to agreeing when she gets a look at Jamie's face and bursts into small giggles. "If the stuff's ailin' you that much, Jamie, I'd be glad to take some off your hands."

"I'll bring some by for ye tomorrow," Jamie says promptly. Part of him is glad to know that there's a way that at least some of the chocolate will be disposed of, but he finds himself slightly distracted by watching Kaylee.

It's not for the usual reason, although there's still a bit of admiration there. A taken woman she may be, but she's still a bonny one. This time, however, it's because of the way she's moving around the kitchen. It seems off, somehow, but he can't quite place his finger on it.

"So you've not actually seen any the times ye were there, then." It would make sense, really. There must be lots of things to see on those Central planets, and chocolate would likely be low down on the list. "Well, I can tell ye it's very green. Not bad tasting, either."

At least until you've eaten the better part of a rampart, but he's likely not going to bring that much over. Although, now that he thinks about it, it might not be a bad idea, just in case. "Hey, do Wash or Inara like chocolate? I could part with a wee bit extra for them. Jayne too, I suppose," he adds, magnanimously.

Not that he would expect the mercenary to like chocolate, but there's enough of it that Jamie can afford to be a little generous with his share.

The mechanic pulls down two mugs and laughs as she sets them down on the counter. "I'd like that, so long as you don't mind me maybe sharin'." They didn't get chocolate often at all, almost never, and sharing with the others seemed almost a natural thing, given how accepting of Kaylee they have been since her jumping aboard. She's lucky, to have landed herself on the shiny boat with the fantastic crew.

Jamie says something that takes her right out of that line of thought, though, and Kaylee turns to him, confused. "I've never been on any of the Central planets, Jamie. Not for lack of wishin', mind, I'd love to see one. But I've barely ever been up in a ship, let alone made it to anywhere even near Central." Where Jamie might have gotten the idea that she had, Kaylee can't place.

But right, chocolate. "I'd say we'll take the extra, if you want to give it up. 'M pretty sure we could take care of a good portion."

"But..." Jamie looks at her, confused enough by that statement to temporarily forget about the chocolate part of the conversation. Kaylee's mentioned the Central planets to him a few times, and he was under the impression that she had, in fact, been there. So where he had heard her mention them? He thinks for a moment, then snaps his fingers as he remembers.

"No, wait, ye mentioned that ye had been there. We were talking about it in the music room in the TARDIS, when we found the gramophone. Ye said you'd not been there often, though."

Maybe it slipped her mind, but she had certainly sounded impressed enough by those particular planets that he hadn't thought it would. It's a bit strange, and he gives her a somewhat worried look.

"Are ye sure ye don't remember?"

There's a small pause while she waits for him to continue, and when he doesn't right away she goes on opening the container of tea bags for easier access when the water finishes boiling. His snap draws her attention back, and she gives him a look as she sets the little box down on the counter.

"Think I'd remember somethin' like visitin' Central planets, Jamie." They've barely been around to Border planets, it seems like, but they probably would have gotten there eventually. She was only on Serenity a month before this whole ordeal with the Ohm went down. "Maybe you're thinkin' of somethin' Wash might'a said?"

With a shake of the head, Kaylee goes back to watching the teapot as it comes to a boil. "Can't remember somethin' that ain't happened."

"I've not discussed that with Wash," Jamie replies firmly. He likes Wash, but he doesn't know him that well, and they haven't had very many conversations. "No, I'm quite sure we talked about it. I'm not taken to imagining things like that, ye know."

The fact that she's so convinced that they haven't discussed it, however, sends a chill down his spine. For Kaylee to not remember something so big means that someone, or something, has been affecting her. And Jamie has a rather big suspicion as to what it might be.

"Kaylee? When ye were down on XaXing, what did ye wind up doing?"

He seems pretty sure about it. "Dream, then?" It's not much better, for an explanation, but it's better than him claiming to know something that never happened and that he wouldn't have been around for anyhow. Gorram stubborn-streaked Scots.

XaXing, though. Kaylee thinks on it, then shrugs. "Did some shoppin' for supplies, took the...for a spin..." But the what? There's a short pause, during which Kaylee's eyes grow increasingly wider. Whose ship are they using right now, anyway? If Jamie's allowing her to just walk in and use the stove for heating water, it's got to be a ship he's familiar with...she hopes.

"Jamie..." She trails off, taking in the kitchen around her with some mild form of confusion. Maybe it's the TARDIS, and they've just...rearranged the rooms. Again. "This ain't the TARDIS, is it?"

"Took what for a spin?" he prompts, hoping she'll elaborate. She hasn't said anything specifically about hearing the clock, but that doesn't mean much of anything...especially about three seconds later, when she's suddenly looking around the kitchen in confusion and asking if they're in the TARDIS.

"Oh, no." The words are barely audible, but the look on his face is much more noticeable, having neatly switched from worry into outright alarm. Jamie tries to hide it quickly, however, hoping that Kaylee's confused enough at the moment not to have noticed.

Instead, he goes to take her hand reassuringly - if she lets him - and says, very gently, "Kaylee. You're on Serenity. This is your home. It has been for quite some time."

The look Kaylee gives Jamie is a clear statement of the fact that she thinks he's lost his marbles. "Helped test some things, but most of it was spent shoppin'. Not much more to the trip than that..."

Jamie is going on about something else, though, without even letting her finish, so Kaylee awkwardly trails off as she listens to his rambling. Okay, it's not really rambling, but it doesn't make any sense whatsoever. She's pretty sure she would remember ever living on a ship before Stacy. Hell, it's what she's always dreamed of, to finally go up in one of the ones she fixed, but it hadn't happened yet.

She lets him take her hand, but the expression on her face never leaves the look of mild concern for poor Jamie's memory. "The di yu are you talkin' about?"

The last thing Jamie is worrying over right now is his memory. Even if that had been an issue at this particular moment, he'd be more concerned about Kaylee. The fact she doesn't remember living on Serenity is a very troubling sign.

Still holding her hand, he reaches over to turn the burner off, figuring tea may be off the menu for the moment. Besides, if his suspicions are correct, he's going to have a fair amount of work to do to convince her of what's happened - and he has a hunch turning off the burner's going to be the last thing on both their minds.

Once that's done, he turns his full attention back to her. "Kaylee, this is important," he says, a touch of urgency in his voice. "Tell me. When ye were shopping, did ye happen to go to a store with a strange clock in it?"

It's probably a good thing Jamie turned off the burner, because Kaylee's too busy looking at him as though he's gone completely insane to worry about a stove she's never even seen before. The poor guy's lost his mind officially, that's got to be it. He wouldn't be telling her she lives where she doesn't if he was still sane. Not that she can remember where she's normally been staying on Stacy, but that's beside the point.

She rolls her eyes at him, and shifts uncomfortably. "There were a lot of shops, Jamie..." But she thinks on it for a second, then shakes her head. "Think I'd remember a weird clock, though." It's hard not to remember strange things that happen on this ship and the planets they visit. "Why?"

If she hasn't seen the clock...for a moment, Jamie thinks it might be something else. But no, Lash never said anything about seeing the clock. So it's something else that does it. Hearing it, maybe.

"Did ye hear an odd chime, maybe?" he persists, even while he's trying to think how to tell her about the clock's effects. He rubs at the side of his head for a moment, then goes and jumps headlong into the explanation.

"There was something - they said it was a clock. The people affected by it are, well, losing time." He looks at her worriedly. "They're getting younger, and things that happened to them during that time happen again."

"Odd chime?" More thinking, and then she just sighs. "I can't remember much of that trip, Jamie. Don't remember hearin' a weird anythin', 'cept what people was talkin' on occasion, but a clock ain't exactly people." Who knows, maybe she had heard it and just chalked it up to being another crazy sound of the island.

She's just about to ask him why it matters so much when he continues. It's a bit hard to believe at first, but once she puts her mind to concentrating on it she can think of a couple people acting strangely. Maybe that's part of it? She doesn't think she's one of them, though. How could she ever?

"...and that means they're goin' through everythin' backwards?"

Jamie doesn't respond immediately - he's looking at Kaylee, trying to puzzle out what's going on. If she did hear something, she clearly doesn't remember it. But just as clearly, she doesn't remember things about Serenity either, so if it's not the clock...then what? Oh, if only the Doctor had come with him. He'd have a better idea of what was going on.

The Scot nods, then. "Aye. That would be about right. Except they remember what's happened here, on Stacy. At least, the people I've seen this happen to have. I suppose some might forget."

She doesn’t enjoy being watched like that, and certainly not when it’s one of her friends looking at her as though she’s an engine part that’s been so twisted up you can’t tell what it was supposed to do anymore. Awkwardly, Kaylee shifts feet and looks across the counter to the rather large dining table. No, she’s pretty sure she would remember that giant hunk of wood. Her eyebrows knit together as she takes a look around the room. “It’s a Firefly,” she says, more to herself than Jamie. “They discontinued these a long while back.”

It’s troubling, this idea of losing time. Kaylee looks back to Jamie and shakes her head. “What do we gotta do to stop it?”

"They're going to figure out a way to destroy the clock, but..." In the meantime, there's Kaylee, and he's still not sure what to do. "Right now they're saying ye should talk to medical if ye think you've been affected by it."

As Jamie will fail to do later.

For now, though, he's still uncertainly trying to feel his way through the situation. And part of that is trying to convince her that maybe it's a good idea if she does go talk to medical, clock or no clock.

"Kaylee. Do ye remember how old ye told me ye were, back when we first started to become friends?"

"Pretty sure I ain't affected by it," Kaylee grumbles. But if Jamie thinks she might be, well... He would know better than her if she couldn't remember things, and she really doesn't think Jamie would be one to pull a prank about something like this.

She shakes her head with an exasperated sigh. A conversation about age isn't exactly first-and-foremost on the list of remembered talks she's had with Jamie.

"Can't say I do, but I was 16 when I first popped, wasn't I? Gotta be around 17 by now..."

Any lingering doubts Jamie had about whether or not the clock was affecting Kaylee vanish at that, the words causing him to swallow reflexively. That worried look creeps back onto his face again, and this time it stays.

"Kaylee, that's..." he pauses for a moment. Is it better to not say, perhaps? Would she even believe him if he did? But, maybe if he does she'll see what's happening. He's mentioned to her before that he's around 20 now. And if she still remembers the ship, she should remember that. He hopes.

"You're my age, Kaylee, more or less. Or ye were, before this happened."

If it weren't for that look on Jamie's face she probably would have burst out laughing at the idea. He's so serious, though, and a small flicker of doubt crosses Kaylee's face.

"Your age," she repeats slowly, trying to get the idea of it to stick. "Jamie..."

It still doesn't make any sense, but Jamie wouldn't lie about something like this. The color fades from her cheeks. "Jamie that ain't possible--how is that possible?"

"I-I don't know," Jamie admits, wishing he had a better idea of how the clock did what it did. Maybe that would reassure her.

Without that, though, he has to do the best he can. Taking a step forward, he reaches out to try and take her hand and provide some small comfort.

"There's a lot of the crew working to fix it, Kaylee. Ye have to believe me on that."

There isn't much that could reassure her at this point, Kaylee thinks. There's got to be something else here. Jamie's got his facts wrong or...anything. Anything that isn't something that she doesn't know what to do with.

She takes more comfort in Jamie's hand around hers than her face lets on, though her fingers betray her when they grasp tightly on to Jamie's.

"I believe you." How can she not?

It's not at all because of that betrayal of Kaylee's fingers that Jamie shifts his other arm around her to draw her in for a hug. Well, okay, it's not completely because of that.

Regardless, he thinks she needs a hug right about now. It's the least he can do for bringing up the subject in the first place...and for what he's about to say next.

"Look, Kaylee...would ye do me a favor? Would ye go with me, to medical? Talk to someone there so they know?"

She is far from in the mood of protesting hugs. If anything, it gives her someone to cling to while she sorts through all of the crazy ideas in her head.

When Jamie proposes going to Medical, she simply nods against his shoulder. At least he’s offering to go with her, instead of just sending her off to it by her lonesome. That makes things a little bit better.

“Yeah. Yeah, let’s do that.” Just in case.

As worried as he is, and as important as he thinks it is to get her down to medical, he holds on to her for a bit longer.

It's something meant as much for him as for her. The thought of Kaylee getting younger and younger until she's simply no longer there scares him in a way he isn't sure he can put into words.

He can't protect her from this, and he hates it.

Eventually, he loosens his grip - although he doesn't let go entirely. "We'd best go then, but...Kaylee? If ye need me to stay with ye after for a bit, I will."

If anything, Kaylee is glad for the extra time to just cling to Jamie. She still isn’t sure if what’s going on is true or right or not, but the possibility frightens her in more ways than she can count. And if it’s true...

It’s a little bit hard to let go when Jamie pulls back, but she does it. When she speaks there’s a small tremble in her voice that she really doesn’t like. “Might take you up on that.”

Quickly, she pulls away to walk down the hall. She’s seen a few Fireflies come through her daddy’s shop, so it isn’t hard to know her way around them, just...confusing. Different.

Hopefully medical will help.

Wash trudged up the ramp into the cargo bay, hands in the pockets of his uniform pants, whistling. He was done with training and exercises for the day, so he was just a little out of uniform - his bomber jacket was unzipped and hung open as he walked through the ship.

He checked the usual places - engine room, kitchen, guest quarters - and heard noise coming from the infirmary, so he walked down there. "Hey, Kaylee," he said brightly.

Confused as all get-out, Kaylee was sitting in the infirmary and looking over some of the newer tools that she was almost positive hadn't been there before. They could have been something they picked up off-ship, maybe, but there was no real placing them.

She looked up from the drawer as Wash came in, and smiled. "Hey Wash. That uniform's startin' to grow on you, ya know it?"

"Despite my best efforts to stay to the crooked and windy, seems like the General is convincing me to stay buttoned up." He went straight for the drawer where Simon kept the muscle relaxers. He took one at the end of the day most days, to make sure he didn't wake up in knots the next day. "What are you doing in the infirmary? Not feeling sick, are you?"

After their conversation on the omnicomms, he was more than a little concerned about her.

Kaylee laughed and slid the drawer closed. "What happens when you get to be part of a system. You should try and convince 'em to make at least the undershirts in somethin' fun."

There was a small shrug at his question as Kaylee leaned back in her chair. "Bit of a headache, but I did spend a bit more time workin' on things in Engnineerin' than normal. Gotta make sure everything's runnin' right, the way people are in and out lately."

"Pretty sure as long as the collar is yellow Chacon couldn't give a hoot what the shirt actually says," Wash said. "But I guess I'll find out if she makes me run laps until I fall over."

He left the infirmary to go flop on the sofa just outside of it, feet propped up on the arm. "Make sure you give yourself a break now and again. Never know when the next shore leave will be - speaking of which, I got you a present but you can't have it until that wedding."

"So we leave the collar yellow and make the rest of it real snazzy. Gotta have some way to tell whose shirt is whose, right?"

The thought of lap running was enough to warrant a small laugh from Kaylee as she followed Wash out of the infirmary. Sitting didn't seem likely just now, though, so she just propped herself up against the wall. "I take plenty of breaks, not to fret," she promised. "More or less a deal Billy and I made. Gets him to take breaks, too..."

Her eyebrows went up at the mentioning of a gift and the wedding. "Still don't got a set idea for the weddin' yet, so you'll have to wait that much longer... What kinda gift?"

"What else do you give someone at a wedding?" Wash asked. "I tried to find a good lìqíjiǔ but that was a little much to ask for on a planet that's never heard of lychee at all. Good as Kang's ale is, you need a good wine at a wedding."

Wash is serious about this Kaylee getting married thing - he's going to make sure it gets done right if he has to plan the whole thing himself.

Right, the wedding. Kaylee smiled. "It's all goin' real quick, ain't it? Don't seem like it was all that long ago that Dean and me even met." It was nice, having one of those little fling-crushes work out for you.

"Didn't take you a lot of trouble to hunt a decent one down, did it?"

"The trouble was to get her to stop hating me on sight," Wash said. "You know that look she gets when she's deciding whether or not it's worth the time and bullets to shoot someone? Yeah, that used to be her default look for me."

Kaylee laughed at the image of Zoe bearing down on Wash, and did her best to recover before the laugh had a chance to lean toward sad. "The whole thing's just...it's so hard, sometimes. Dean's got so much doubt in him that I don't know how to show him he ain't got a thing to worry over. Worse than the Cap'n, almost." Stupid men and their silly reputations.

Backdated by a few in-game days.

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