Chapter 2

"Tea time? And you didn't think to share?"

Propping an arm on the door to the galley, Mal raised an eyebrow at Inara and tried to ignore how damn good it felt to have her there. On his ship, looking down her nose in that snotty way she had. He'd never thought a woman being snotty was attractive before, but damned if it didn't work for her.

"As a matter of fact, I did. You just missed Zoe." Smiling, she reached behind her and pulled down another cup, pouring into it and handing it over without him having to ask. The gesture surprised him, and made him a little suspicious, truth be told-he and Inara didn't exactly have a history of sharing niceities-but he was chilled to the bone from having spent the last who knows how long outside Serenity's hull, and the cup was warm when he wrapped his hands around it.

Whatever she wanted, he'd deal with it when he could feel his fingers.

"Thanks," he grunted, tipping it up to his lips and trying not to flinch at the bitterness of it. He'd never liked tea. Give him a good cup of coffee or a shot of whiskey any day of the week. But when Inara leaned against the countertop, giving him a soft smile over the top of her cup that he hadn't seen aimed in his direction in a helluva long time, he found himself swallowing it down.

"How are repairs going?"

"She's still flyin'." Only just. They'd taken a not inconsiderable amount of damage thumbing their nose at both the reavers and the Alliance. Since neither one of them was fixin' to help pay for the damage to Serenity, he, Zoe and Kaylee were putting her back together one piece at a time.

They were going to need some income soon. Kaylee needed parts. They were running low on fuel, and the crew had already scraped up everything they had to give. Hard to take a job when you didn't have a ship though.

And wasn't that a lovely thing to ponder, he thought bitterly, setting the tea down with a thump. Especially standing in front of Inara, all decked out in her silks and gold frippery.

"I got to get back to work," he said gruffly. "Thanks for the tea."

He walked out of the galley without looking back, nearly running over Kaylee.

"Ta me da, Kaylee, watch where you're headed. Like to end up knocked out and bleedin' on the floor."

"Shi shi Captain." Kaylee beamed at his with that sunny smile of hers. "Nice to have 'Nara back, innit? 'Specially now that we're not all gettin' blowed up and runnin' fer our lives."

"We're still runnin' for our lives. Pretty sure that ain't gonna change any time soon."

"Still nice to have her back."

Mal felt that sick shifting in his gut that had become all too familiar since Inara had set foot on his ship more'n a year ago. More so since she'd stepped back off it again.

"Don't get too used to it, little bit," he muttered. "Like as not she's going to leave again minute we get back near a civilized planet."

"She don't hafta." Kaylee hesitated, suddenly shy. "You could rent her shuttle back to her. She could go back to takin' clients 'stead of teachin', and things could go back to the way they used to be. Bet she'd stay if you asked."

The thought of Inara going back to work, taking clients…bringing them on his ship…going back and forth to parties and houses that would sooner shoot him and his crew than let them inside…did absolutely nothing to fix the foul mood he'd been fighting with all day.

"Case you missed it, we're floatin' half dead in space. Ain't got enough money, ain't got enough food, and ain't got no job on the horizon lessen we get Serenity fixed up and flyin' again. So maybe you ought to get back down to the engine room and get to workin' on that 'stead of standin' jawin' round here."

The hurt look on her face made him sigh. It was never any fun snapping at his mechanic. She just gave you those wounded puppy dog eyes until you bent over backwards to apologize. "We ain't got nothin' to offer, Kaylee," he said gently. "She'd be a damn fool not to run for it first chance she got."

"You're wrong Captain. Serenity ain't nothin'." With that parting shot Kaylee turned and flounced off to the engine room, leaving him feeling like the biggest heel in the 'verse.

A/N: Hi guys! Thanks for reading! It's been a good long time since I've written fic, and these two have been stuck in my craw since the end of Serenity. I've always wondered how that gap between Serenity and Leaves on the Wind would have played out. Offering up one potential possibility!