Dinner For Fourteen

[Arabella Hart]

Bella walked back into teh kitchen. Along the way, she had stopped and picked up her box with seasonings in it to cook. Setting them on the counter, she waited for River to help her get everything out, cause she wanted to make sure about where everything was first.

The table looked small and she hoped that it could extend for more people. If not, she could always wait to eat. Being here made Bella calm. The kitchen always felt like home to her, no matter where the kitchen was.

[zoe]

Stepping into the Kitchen Inara smiled at the sight of Bella.

"Anything I could help you with Bella?" Inara asked, though her head was full of worry for Malcolm, she didn't show it on the outside and only River might be able to feel it from her.

[Arabella Hart]

Bella lokoed up and nodded. "Yeah, me and River were about to start supper if you want to help." Bella moved away form the counter so to pull her hair back into a long braid and not let any hair fall into any food. Her long hair would fall into her face otherwise.

"I'm going to make a stir-fry with some vegetables and chicken on rice." Bella always refered to it as stir-fry, though it had more of a liquid then regualr stir-fry. Moving back behind the counter, she nodded towards the doorway. "I figured itwould help keep River's mind off everything to help me."

[river]

River looked at Inara and then quietly set a comforting hand on Inara's arm. She was trying to comfort Inara without saying what was wrong. River wanted Mal back just as much as Inara did but they wanted him for different reasons. River wanted him because he was captain and he was the driving force that kept Serenity in the air. Inara loved Mal as the person he was even if he was a little hard headed okay extremely hard headed.

"I do apologize about earlier Bella. I wasn't intending for you to find me like that" said River

She suddenly thought about her brother. River looked at Bella and Inara.

"You can't tell Simon" said River desperately mostly to Bella. "Please you can't tell him"

[zoe]

Feeling River's hand on her arm, Inara turned her gaze to her and smiled, letting River know that she'd be ok.

"Mei Mei, you know I won't tell Simon, each of us has our secrets, so long as you know it was just a small episode and it's passed now, I don't see any reason to tell Simon when he returns." Inara told the girl, wrapping an arm around her and pressing a kiss to her forhead.

"Now then, what can we help you with Bella?"

[Arabella Hart]

Bella shook her head at River. "Don't be sorry. It' completely fine." She smiled because it was. She wanted to get to know everyone and how to help them and what quirks they had so not to trigger them. After all, she wants to be on here long term, so she needs to get to know them all.

Wiping her hands on her skirt, she scrunched her forehead in thought. "Well, we will need the chicke thawed and cut into strips, plus all the vegetables cut up. Carrots, mushrooms-of no one is allergic-and some peppers if you guys know nobody minds them." Bella would prepare the sauce herself. As long as they wanted to, everyoe else could do all the other parts as well.

[river]

River started to move about the kitchen grabbing stuff. River sighed for a minute and then felt the need to tell Inara why she had the episode at all.

"Inara they've come back, the people from the academy I saw and felt them while I was planetside" said River

River had the chicken out and set it out to thaw. She was shaking again after mentioning the Academy but noone would know it unless they touched her. River was a reader and was trained in military combat. She was a weapon she wasn't allowed to show weakness she could feel it though. At the moment she knew something was terribly wrong with her again. She hadn't had an episode since before Miranda and she definitely hadn't seen the fruity oaty bar commercial since the incident on Beaumonde.

[zoe]

Nodding to Bella's words Inara moved into the kitchen and took out the large cutting board and couple of the knives, setting them down on the counter.

Hearing River's words she looked up to the girl and arched an eyebrow in surprise.

"Could you tell how well trained they are? Did they escape like you or did the Alliance actually finish their training?" This would be important information, to date, they hadn't met anyone the Alliance had finished.

[Arabella Hart]

Bella grabbed her sesame oil, soy sauce and minced ginger. She made a note to get more soy sauce next time they were planetside, but she didn’t much and it was still about half full. They had some spring onions, which she was thankful for. Grabbing a knife, she took a paper towel and washed then dried an area of the counter so they could have the cutting board for the meat. Cutting off the part she needed, the white tips, she pushed the green stems aside to go with Haven’s vegetable stir-fry.

Listening, Bella had heard of the academy elsewhere before, but didn’t know where. Slowly chopping up the white parts she looked between Inara and River. “Um, what is this academy?”

[river]

"Not like me not as well trained I was the star pupil" said River

River looked at Bella and then looked away. The academy was not something that she was willing to speak of.

"It is nothing" said River "It's nothing. I do not want to be around them and I don't wish to speak of it"

River had a knife her hand Mal would be pissed to see this but she didn't care. River kept her distance from Bella while she had the knife. River thought about the school again and what they had done to her and others like her.

[Arabella Hart]

Bella grabbed a pan and turned the heat onto low. She needed to roast the cashews. The recipe she wanted to do that was simliar but cooked slower would take about sux or seven hours. This may cook quicker, but if you put it in the oven on warm, it won't dry up.

Nodding, she udnerstood. THere were somethings people didn't want to talk about. "It's ok. I understand where you are coming from."

[river]

River felt distressed again. She examined the knife in her hand it was the same one she had stabbed Jayne with so many years ago. River blocked the thought of stabbing him again out of her head. She didn't have a clue why she wanted to stab him again, but she did.

"Thank you" said River to Bella

River set down the knife and moved onto something else. She didn't want to risk being with the knife. This wasn't a good thing she was getting worse again. She was going down hill and that was just seeing people from the Academy.

"They're coming back" mumbled River "They won't stop, two by two hands of blue"

She was hoping that Inara wasn't listening to her at the moment.

[Arabella Hart]

Bella understood because she knew that sometimes the past is something not to bring up. But she did want to know more about Serenuty. "So how long has everyone been on this ship?" If she wanted to find a long time job she needed to know more about the people on the ship.

[river]

"Zoe and Mal have been here from the very begining. Wash joined a month later, Bester was almost a year before Kaylee, who's been here since then. Inara was here for eight months when Simon and I got on board. Jayne was here for a year before that" said River "Inara got off and came back on. Shepherd Book was here for six months and then he left to the planet Haven, he's not with us anymore though. He died and so did Wash. Wash was killed by reavers and Shepherd Book was killed by the Alliance."

River held back the tears she wanted to cry for Shepherd Book and Wash. She remained standing where she was looking at the knife that she'd stabbed Jayne with. Her mind was starting a down ward spiral. Her own reality matrix was breaking down again.

[zoe]

Inara could feel the chaos that was River's mind at the moment and she wasn't quite sure how to help River deal with it.

"I know that that was a lot for you to take in Bella, but River is perfectly right on the timeline, Most of us have been here for more than 20 years now, Kaylee and Simons children of course only since they were born. Vincent has come and gone as he pleases really, we never know when he'll pop back up. Once Mal agrees you're part of the crew, you'll not find a more loyal man." she explained to Bella.

"River, would you like to sit down for a few moments?" Inara asked the girl.