"What's taking them so long?" Kaylee grumbled. She sat down on Inara's bed, resting her head on her hands.
Inara smiled at her as she sat down on the bed as well. She reached over and ran her fingers through Kaylee's hair, tugging gently at the handful of tiny braids that she had already worked into it. "It hasn't been that long, Kaylee. I'm sure Mal, Zoe, and Jayne will be back soon enough."
Kaylee tilted her head, a thoughtful look on her face. She nodded. "You're probably right. I mean, they're just picking up fuel. It's not like they're doing anything dangerous or-"
The comms crackled, and Kaylee jumped as the sound of Wash's voice suddenly broke in. "Kaylee, you might want to get to the engine room." He paused. "Quickly would probably be good."
Inara closed her eyes, her brow furrowing.
Kaylee sighed, already standing up. "What did they do this time?"
"No idea," Wash said, the tension in his voice apparent even without them being able to see his face. "All I know is Mal just radioed in with a very ominous amount of gunfire in the background and said to get ready to take off."
Inara stood up as well.
Kaylee met Inara's gaze and rolled her eyes. "I'm on my way, Wash."
For a few seconds, there wasn't a reply. Then the comms crackled again.
"Wode tìan! Where the hell did they get an elephant?"
Kaylee stared blankly at Inara for a few seconds. Inara stared back at her. Then, with a tired sigh, she leaned in and gave Kaylee a quick kiss on the lips. "You better get to the engine room," Inara said. "It sounds like we're going to need you in there."
"Surprise, surprise," Kaylee said. Still, she couldn't help but smile.