AN: Just in case its not clear, Chps 8 through 10 (and into 11 and 12) are run consecutively.
AN2: As usual, many thanks to Snag who is the ultimate Beta!

--

"So, what's the plan?" River asked quietly. Faith's eyes opened, her body curled up on itself, unconsciously pulling in from the cool metal hull as she thought over River's question.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I hadn't thought about much more than getting to you, helping you, but…

"Something wicked this way comes," River finished in that quiet melodious voice she used sometimes. Faith hesitated, still factoring in River's unusual methods into her life. It certainly made it easier that she understood things better than Faith could have explained them even if the reasoning was something Faith didn't necessarily want to dwell on. River reading her mind was more than she ever wanted to think about. In the end she just nodded.

"I don't know what it is, something big, and…" The thought went unsaid and she wondered how much of it River understood anyway.

"You're not alone," River said firmly. Faith didn't answer and River seemed to let it go. The young girl relaxed, unconsciously mimicking Faiths pose and leaning her cheek against the hull.

Faith's mind drifted and before long she was almost asleep. River had already succumbed to the sandman's call but something held her from gentle slumber.

A memory.

Warm arms holding her as she slept.

She sighed, knowing that she wouldn't sleep where she was. She considered waking the other girl and moving her to her own room but discarded that idea. She got little enough proper sleep as it was without Faith wrenching her from what she did get.

She stood silently and stepped out from the nook that the block of crates provided and quietly climbed the metal stairs that led to the bridge, as she was coming to call it. She paused for a moment outside the door that led to Mal's bunk wondering if she had the courage to go in. In the end she didn't even have the courage to knock and, cursing herself, she wandered up into the bridge. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, staring at the stars - she would never get used to this whole space-thing - when she felt him come up behind her.

"Hey," he must have the lightest feet cos that was the first thing she'd heard of him. She turned to look at him and found herself caught as his gaze found hers. Shit, she'd always been a sucker for blue eyes, and his had an added element that seemed to draw her in - love. More than the love of a guy for his car that was for sure.

"You've been avoiding me." She said, it was more for her sake than his. She wasn't going to stand for any kind of shit and letting this go would be bad. Plus she had to remind herself that she was kind of angry at him which was a hard point to remember when she was face to face with him. She was still staring into his eyes so she couldn't miss the flash of surprise that came and went. She watched him lick his lips nervously as he thought for a moment and had to remind herself that that kind of staring led to bad thoughts and her forgetting she was mad at him and other important details… like her name.

"I had some things to sort out," he said vaguely. It was an evasion and both of them knew it. She wondered if 'things' included the lingering tension between himself and the woman who was currently absenting herself from the main crew area and she found herself unable to form the words. He licked his lips again and this time Faith couldn't stop herself staring.

He didn't seem inclined to say anything more but he took a few small steps nearer to her and she unconsciously moved closer to him as he did. She wondered if she should be angry at him still - it's not every wife who has to deal with her husband's 'almost-honey' - but right at that moment, as he took her into his arms, she didn't care.

She was beyond listening to anything that he might have said, good or bad, his eyes were dark with desire and she couldn't stop herself closing the gap between them and- She hesitated. She was cursing herself inwards but apparently all this acting like a damsel in distress was having more of an effect on her than she liked to think cos she was scared, damn scared.

He had such potential to hurt her, she knew that, and that scared her. He seemed to sense that. He held her carefully, hands gently on her arms, one thumb carefully circling soothingly on her bare skin, his eyes told her it was ok to be scared, and somehow that made it a little better.

Irrationally, some old eighties song that had been popular despite it awfulness came floating into her head at that moment, but hey, it sounded like good advice.

She leaned up, eyes fluttering closed and-

--

Mal stormed out of the mess with no clear idea in his head. Dimly he heard a sob and then footsteps as Inara ran from the mess to her own sanctum, guilt tore at him but he couldn't go back and tell her it was alright and not to cry. Because it wasn't alright and crying was the only thing either of them could do about it. Not that he was going to cry about it but he'd think about it and it was the thought that counted right? He was at his own bunk before he realised what he'd seen. He stepped to the middle of the corridor so he could see the bridge clearly and the person standing there.

Faith standing there, watching the stars. It wasn't the first time he'd found her in the same position. She seemed to find unparallel delight in something the rest of them hardly noticed anymore. Well, except for Wash. Maybe that was why the two got on so well. She'd watch the stars and he'd talk, usually something inane about his dinosaurs, but she seemed to find his chatter soothing. Something about reminding her of a friend. Though the look on her face when she'd said that had made him wonder.

Then he thought of something and his breath caught in his throat as he released how close he'd been to being caught, then he wondered if she'd seen anyway and that was the reason she wasn't turning to face him, she had to have heard him coming. He wasn't sure where she'd been before the bridge but reasoned that if she'd even glanced into the mess as she passed then she could have seen the scene clearly.

He paused, wondering at the best course of action, then stepped lightly into the bridge, coming within a few feet of her. He noticed the moment she realised he was there. She seemed to shake herself out a daze.

She turned slowly to regard him coolly and he found himself swallowing nervously while at the same time trying not to let her see how nervous he was. She didn't immediately speak, and when she did her voice sounded as if it was coming from some far off destination.

"You've been avoiding me." He was a little surprised. That she'd noticed first of all and also, he found he was surprised and happy that she'd noticed. How perverse was he?

And while she wasn't actually asking a question, and he didn't know why, but Mal immediately felt he had to explain himself, he hated the look in her eyes at that one statement. He wasn't exactly sure what to say though, before thinking that a half-truth was better than an outright lie.

"I had some things to sort out a few things," he said evasively. Ok, it wasn't the cleverest thing he could have said but-

Then he realised she wasn't paying attention to his words and-

Her eyes were staring hungrily at him, well his lips anyway. He licked them again nervously and watched as she followed the movement.

He took a few steps closer and she mimicked him without thinking. He took her carefully in his hands, she leaned into him and…

She froze.

He had a flashback to the moment he and Inara had kissed and how wrong it had felt. He wanted this kiss. Needed this kiss. Needed to know that this was the one that would feel right, that he hadn't made a mistake by keeping her on board, that he hadn't made a mistake by taking her to bed.

He waited, needing her to make the decision this time at least. His thumb moved in soothing circles as he waited what felt like an eternity for her decision.

He saw the moment she came to her decision, something in her eyes, and he had moment to think that he was coming to know her moods and the way her eyes were the only indicator to them sometimes when-

---

Even through the haze that clouded his mind he became aware of something on the edge of his awareness calling for his attention. He pulled back from the almost kiss, allowing himself a moment of pleasure taking in the dazed look in Faith's eyes before he suddenly realised what the sound was.

He stepped back.

"Gwai-gwai long duh dong?" he cursed as he shot a quick look over his shoulder. "Stay here!" he said sharply to Faith before he took off in the direction of the screaming. He didn't bother glancing back when he heard the other bunk doors open just hoped he'd get to the cargo bay before something - permanent - happened.