6

Mal always enjoyed when he had the time to take lunch with his crew. Deep down he felt like the patriarch of some kind of blended family, strange as it sounded. He sipped today's thin soup and took quiet stock of the room.

Wash and Zoë sat stitched together in loverly closeness at one corner of the table. Next to them was Jayne, who shared equally romantic feelings for the gun on the table, Vera, whom he was cleaning tenderly in between bites of rye bread. Shepherd Book was puttering in the kitchen preparing a meal, his movements made slower by the Bible open in his hand. They were even joined by the strange siblings River and Simon - though both were still too anxious of Mal to make conversation.

Mal was surprised when Kaylee tromped through the portal door and threw herself into a chair, looking weather beaten.

"Cap'n, you knows I got more respect for you than anyone, but why ever do you feel it necessary to work the portside dock? You got me working double time, and we just serviced it last month."

Mal was taken aback.

"Well- Kaylee, I was under the impression you had been the one to make the suggestion in the first place. I even had to arrange for Saffron to room with- Inara." Maul's voice cut off, realizing he had been had. And by Inara, no less. He smacked his hand down hard on the wooden table, startling the room into silence.

He knew his former suspicions were valid — no amount of cavorting between these two could lead to something innocent. He could hardly fathom their reason for needing two hours — although plenty of potentials were flashing through his mind at present and clouding his judgement fiercely. The pause that filled the cantina was punctuated only by the scraping and clinking of cutlery on plates. His crew knew better than to rile him in an angered state.

"Kaylee," he began, barely able to keep the angry warble out of his throat, "Don't bother servicing the portside shuttle. It's simple a matter of a... misunderstanding. I'll attend to it."

He stood, kicking the bench out behind him, and left through the sliding door toward Inara's shuttle. As he traversed Serenity up and then back down the wrought metal staircases, Mal's tried to unscramble his (rather graphic) thoughts. His heart thrummed in his chest and his neck was hot. The wild thought to take his maroon shirt off in order to cool down crossed his mind, but he tamped it down in search of something logical.

He tried to push the image of the Companion and the conwoman out of his mind, but any attempts to do so just sent more swarming in his mind. He saw Saffron's blush pink lips against Inara's olive skin, soft pale hands running through dark curls — Mal grunted in frustration, passing through the doorway to the guest shuttle bay.

He found Inara there, waiting for Saffron at the end of the hallway. Even in his annoyance, Mal's breath caught in his chest seeing her, like always. She had been leaning against the wall, but stood up straight as she saw him. Her eyes lit up briefly, until she caught sight of Mal's expression and seemed to sense his mood. She opened her mouth to greet him, but Mal cut her off.

"Inara, of all my crew the last person I'd expect rabble from, it'd be you. Boy am I wrong sometimes."

"Your crew? Mal, as grateful as I am for this space on Serenity, you will do well to remember that I am not under your command."

"Well," Mal almost stammered, "Inhabitants, then. You'd do well not to split hairs in the presence of someone you tried to dupe."

"Dupe? Now you're really throwing accusations around. What could this possibly be about?" Inara was clearly offended, but the briefest flash of guilt passed over her dark features.

"Something about shuttle servicing ring a bell?" Mal imitated the voice she had put on to manipulate him. As he said it, Inara's cheeks tinged red. He could count on one hand the times he'd seen the woman before him blush, and it almost pushed him to distraction.

"Mal, it's not—"

"Now don't bother prevaricating Inara, you're putting my crew in danger — not to mention needlessly overworking Kaylee."

"I understand that, Mal. I just think you're being ridiculous."

"Ridiculous? It's ridiculous for me to give half of a goat's ass about my crew?"

"Don't stop on my account," Saffron's easy (staged) demeanor cut through the tense air as she sauntered into Inara's shuttle receiving bay. Mal felt his already hot face redden even further.

"Saffron, right on time." Inara gave a tight smile. Mal always envied the woman's ability to make an abrupt return to tranquility. Saffron crossed between them and entered Inara's shuttle, dragging her fingertips across the metal walls and sliding portal door as she went, playing a flirt.

She rounded the corner and the portal door hissed behind her. Mal felt like he was being forced to end this argument half-undone.

"I don't know what to tell you, Mal. You've still got to service my shuttle dock, and you gave Saffron free reign of the ship. If it bothers you I've invited her onto my shuttle, you'll have to live with it." Inara's voice rung with finality and a bit of what Mal sensed was false bravado.

She turned to enter through her portal door, leaving Mal standing awkwardly in the chromed hallway. He hesitated for only a moment before following, catching the portal door just before it closed fully. It bounced off his fingers and rebounded open. He stepped through and it closed behind him.

"Mal, I've alread—"

"Inara, I won't have you—"

They spoke at the same time, but were both cut off by the lazy, saccharine drawl of Saffron from the small command deck:

"Oh will you two give it a rest, already? We're behind schedule."

With an air of showmanship, she pressed a glowing button on Inara's touch display. A great creaking sound shook the shuttle, indicating its break from Serenity's main body. They had begun auto-orbit.

——