When Simon and Kaylee returned to the ship, Mal and River were still in the cargo bay holding each other. They were talking about how a storm cloud was made and Mal had a wooden flower in his hair. The sight obviously made Simon see red. River looked at him oddly as he walked by before explaining to Mal what a "tropopause" was.
Inara came back later that day, right before dinner. She didn't see Mal and River, since she borrowed her old shuttle to meet up with the rich guy that lived a few towns over. Simon pulled her aside while Kaylee was distracted by an engine problem.
"Our plan has to be put into effect tonight," he whispered.
"Why so soon?"
"It looks like they're getting closer and falling more in love everyday. He had a wooden flower in his hair when we walked in and he was listening to River talk about storm clouds."
"He has it bad."
"He has it bad."
"This might be harder than we thought."
"We still have to try. This is my mei mei!"
"Alright. Wait for my signal."
He nodded and they quickly separated before arousing any suspicion. Their plan was somewhat simple, and yet intricate at the same time…not to mention devastatingly devious. Inara would get Mal alone, using her seductive charm to get him into a compromising position. Meanwhile, Simon would get River to go to the room they were in at that exact time. She'd catch him with her. She'd tell River all about how he asked her to stay causing her to obvious run away hurt and in tears. Then Simon would be there to pick up the pieces of his mei mei and Inara would be there for Mal. A perfect plan.
They had left the cargo bay and split up for a short amount of time. He found himself missing her already and it had only been an hour. He went to see her. I'll just pop in and say hello real quick. Just a minute or two. He thought quietly. He dropped in on her while she was in her room drawing. Any busy tasks throughout the ship Zoe had under control and they didn't have to take off until after dinner, so she had a few minutes of down time. She heard him coming long before he arrived. Smiling, she set her sketch pad and pencil on the floor. Like clockwork, he knocked on the door just when she knew he would. He slid it open, sticking just his head in with a silly grin on his face.
"Can I come in?"
"Of course."
He quickly went over to her. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he picked her up around the waist. They kissed happily. They pulled apart, looking into one another's eyes.
"You can put me down now," she reminded him.
"But I like looking up at you."
"There's more than one way you can look up at me you know…"
He set her down on the bed gently and then sat next to her.
"So why are you paying me a visit?"
"I can't just drop in on my little albatross?"
"Sure you can. But I saw you an hour ago."
"An hour is too long, darlin'."
She smiled and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. He put his arms around her too. They just belonged there. He knew that they did. She felt the same way and was glad to hear that he felt the same. Yes, she was reading his thoughts again. He wasn't the only voice in her head. Simon's voice came thundering in filled with all kinds of unpleasant emotions. She drew in a sharp breath. Mal instantly felt her tense up.
"What's wrong?"
"Simon…he's not happy…" she muttered as she tried to sort through the shouting to find actual words. She put her face into Mal's shirt. Her head felt like it was splitting into two as she searched, sifted, through the screams. He knew that at times like these it was just better to be there without thinking or saying much of anything. Then she heard it and fear crept into her heart.
"Their plan…it's going to happen tonight…" she whispered.
"Simon and Inara's?"
"Yes."
"Well don't worry yourself little one. I'll know it's comin' and so will you. Remember I ain't going anywhere."
He was so sure. That made her feel better. If he could be so certain, so could she. He was her strength, her guiding light. She'd feel better if she knew what the plan was, but she couldn't always make out what was being thought and even then, some thoughts drowned out the others. They went their separate ways, busying themselves with chores and other things until everyone got together for dinner. Dinner went surprisingly smooth. River was expecting from Simon and Inara, but nothing happened.
River was pretty much the full time pilot now, so she was in the cockpit getting ready for take off. It was bumpy at first, but once they got through the atmosphere things went a little smoother. Mal entered the cockpit and quickly wrapped his arms around his favorite little albatross. He kissed her temple lightly.
"How am I supposed to navigate the black with you distracting me like you are?" she asked.
"There's this great thing called 'autopilot' darlin'."
He kissed her again only with more force on the neck and then on the corner of her mouth.
"I'm trying to fly the ship."
"And I'm tryin' to get you to come with me."
"I've spent almost the whole day with you!"
"I know and I wanna make it all day!"
He reached across her and switched it over to autopilot. He took her hand and helped her out of the chair even though she didn't need any help. They started kissing pretty passionately. Her hands were entangled in his hair and his were resting on her hips. Kaylee's thoughts suddenly appeared in River's head with force. She stopped kissing him, but left her lips against his.
"Kaylee needs some help."
"No…" Mal groaned.
"She dropped something under the engine and she can't reach it. I'm smaller than her. I think I can help."
"You're flexible enough."
She smiled and pulled him into one last kiss.
"I'll be in the common area in a few minutes."
"Then so will I."
She left to go help Kaylee. Mal went to the common area ranting about how the girl had to help everyone all the time. Inara came out of her room just as Mal walked down the steps. Simon was in his lab. Inara nodded her head towards Simon. That was the signal. It was time for their plan to be put into action.