End Game by Proxii Bleu
II
Carousel, despite it's being a border world, was a beautiful planet located in the heart of the territores. From space it was a large blue orb covered with vast oceans, lush green forests, and possessing a temperate climate year-round. Those very conditions made it absolutely ideal for farming, and other forms of agriculture. It was the ancestral home of the Lee Frye family, and had been their home for over thirty generations of the large clan.
Wash sat behind the controls in the cockpit, carefully entering the atmosphere in order to ensure that they had as smooth a landing as possible. Next to him Zoe stood watching as her husband bought them through the heavy layer of gases that enveloped Carousel, and made his approach to their designated landing pad. At four months, Zoe was already huge, her frame adopting an odd waddle as a result of the added weight, but to Wash she was still beautiful despite her growing size.
Personally, that was one sentiment Zoe didn't exaclty agree with.
As if sensing her throughts, Wash broke the silence between them. He had performed so many landings, the he could do them with his eyes closed, well he had, but Mal had hit the ceiling the last time he had pulled a stunt like that. At any rate that wasn't the most important thing on his mind at the moment.
"You're brooding again."
"No I'm not."
"Yeah you are. Whenever you wrinkle your forehead like that, and set your jaw in that particular line, it means that you're brooding."
"I'm not brooding, just thinking."
"No honey, thinking causes you to smile." Zoe looked down at Wash, and then at the far wall. When Wash had set his mind on something, it wasn't easy to change his train of thought. That alone was the reason why she had married him. When the pilot had finally decided that he was in love with the first officer of Serenity, dire threats from Mal hadn't been enough to sway him from courting Zoe. Flowers, poems, and crawling through the conduits to get into her room at night had somehow been enough to wriggle through the chinks of her armor into her heart. However, little did Wash know he really didn't have to do much wriggling. She'd liked him from the moment she'd met him, even though at the time she hadn't really shown it.
"Well I really am just thinking."
"About what?"
"Our baby."
"Oh. You want to name it yet?"
"No."
"Why not? We can't call it 'it' forever, although..."
"No."
"You didn't even hear me out."
"We're not calling our child It."
"Well how about-"
"No planets, nebulas, inanimate objects, dinosaurs-"
"HEY!"
"Okay, fine it depends on the dinosaur, but really we have to decide what to call our baby when it's born."
"Well what is it?"
"Huh?" Zoe looked at Wash as if he had grown a second head. Turning away from the console, Wash headed out into the hallway with his wife in tow.
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know? I thought women knew what it was instantly."
"Yes honey, as soon as I became pregnant I immediately knew what the sex of our child was. All it required was for me to perform a chant under the light of the moon, and sacrifice a small lamb."
"You're being sarcastic."
"I hadn't noticed." Wash stepped down into their quarters where the already packed bags were waiting. Zoe had put the finishing touches on their luggage last night, but Wash almost always found something else that he wanted to take along. This time it was his dinosaurs. Noticing the look on Zoe's face, he explained.
"Someone might steal them." Zoe didn't say anything. "Anyway, we should decide what we should call it if it's a boy or a girl."
"Sounds reasonable."
"So, you think it's a good idea?"
"What's a good idea?" Mal who had been walking by caught the end of the conversation, and peered into the open door of the room. Zoe was waving her hand in front of her neck as a sign for Wash to drop it, but he didn't catch the message.
"We're trying to figure out a name for our baby." Zoe just put her face in her hands. Mal arched his eyebrows, and thought for a minute.
"How about humped?" Wash glared at the captain.
"Ha ha, but just so you know we've taken your name off the list." Mal smiled.
"Well hey, just when I thought this day couldn't get better." Wash gave Mal a one-fingered salute that caused Zoe to snicker. Wash on the defensive was always a little funny somehow.
"At any rate, most of the crew is off the ship except for River, Simon, and Inara. So if you see them tell them to get movin'."
"Where are you going?" asked Zoe as Mal turned to leave.
"I'm going to lock up Serenity, and do some double checking. Don't worry I'm going to come to Kaylee's little get-together, I just want to check on some things first." Mal and Zoe exchanged looks. There was something about Mal's explanation that didn't sit well with her, but neither pressed the issue mainly because of the fact that they were both itching to get off of Serenity.
"Fine, but if we don't see you in thirty minutes sir, we're coming back here with a blowtorch."
"Welcome to it." said Mal before striding off. Wash looked at Zoe for an explanation as he picked up their luggage, and headed out into the hall.
"Why wouldn't Mal come to Lil' Kaylee's family dinner? I always thought she was his favorite around here?"
"It's nothing about Kaylee, Mal just doesn't like crowds sometimes. Has something to do with when he was a kid, but he's never told me."
"I thought Mal told you everything?"
"There are some things the man keeps to himself Wash, and if you ask me those things are best left that way."
***
"River? Simon? Inara?" Mal walked through Serenity making sure that everything was turned off, and shut down properly before locking each section with it's specific security code. Hairball would be spending the week in the kitchen with his litterbox, and a vast supply of chow that would probably cause him to be fatter than he already was. However, from what Mal had seen his weight didn't stop the large cat from keeping the rat population under control. Only last night, Book had been presented with the rear-end of a large white and brown rodent that had gotten too close to the black puss.
Gross, but oddly satisfying.
Rounding a corner, Mal walked right into Simon who was already on his way to the cargo bay. The doctor was loaded down with bags, and had one more slung around his neck. Mal took in the sight before venturing a question. If he didn't, he wasn't sure he would be able to keep a straight face.
"Um doc are you expecting a disaster I'm not aware of?" Simon shifted his awkward load. If anything the bags were as heavy as they were cumbersome.
"I'm just taking precautions. I don't know what sort of medical facilities Carousel has, and given River's condition I don't want to take any chances."
"Well from what Kaylee tells me her Aunt Marylin is a Healer." Simon smiled thinly. The crew knew what his opinion was of backwater Healers. He listed them under the same heading as fortunetellers, soothsayers, and gypsies. The only reason why Simon didn't call them quacks was due to the fact that just about everyone on Serenity, with the exception of Inara, Book, Mal, and himself had someone in their family who was a natural doctor. As a result he always stated rather neutrally that he preferred to put his faith in the more refined sciences.
"That's...nice, but still I wouldn't want to be a burden on Kaylee's family since we're guests. I'll take care of my own." That was the first time Simon had ever ended a sentence with that particular phrase, and unlike his sister who occassionally used the crew's 'dialect' from him it sounded totally unnatural. Mal smiled, and stepped around the doctor.
"Well you do what you think's best Simon, just make sure you don't rub these people too hard."
"I'll try my best."
"That's all I ask. Oh, one other thing."
"Yeah?"
"Stick to the fancy talk." Mal left Simon in the hallway, moving out of the way of River who was carrying a small duffel bag filled with whatever she thought was neccessary for her to take along. She took one look at her overloaded brother, laughed, and continued on her way.
"BRAT!" Yelled Simon as he trudged after her. Mal just watched them go before continuing with what he was doing. As he headed towards the cockpit he could smell the light perfume of incense which meant that for the time being Inara was still in her shuttle. Usually when they went planetside she was the first one to leave, but lately she had been staying closer and closer to Serenity. None of the crew knew exactly why, Inara's goal was, as she had stated in the past, to work towards retirement. Lately, the Companion was keeping rather close to home. It had started after her last client over a month ago, when she had come back to Serenity looking cautiously over her shoulder. Her long legs taking strides that in her opinion was supposed to be unbecoming to a woman unless warranted.
As far as Mal could figure it must have been neccessary since not only had she literally crawled up the loading ramp, but when the crew got a good look at her the fine clothes she wore were barely on her, and soaked thouroughly with sweat. The man she had been entertaining had to catch up with Serenity almost a day later to fortunately return her purse, credit chip (which he had been kind enough not to steal or use), and her shoes since she had run all the way back to the salvage ship barefoot.
When she had arrived that afternoon she had just collapsed on Mal. No insults, no protests, just holding on for dear life with her eyes wide, and a string of incoherent words tumbling out of her mouth. The captain had to take just one look at her to see that she was scared out of her mind, it took all he had just to hold on to her as she half-carried half-dragged him to her shuttle where she bolted into her bedroom, and took refuge in the corner. The only reason he could find for her sudden flight through the ship was seeing Jayne's shadow when he came from where he had been standing outside next to the mule, but Inara hadn't been willing to take any chances.
Simon hadn't found anything physically wrong with her other than the fact that she was in shock from a bad scare, the source of which she was neither able or willing to share. River on the other hand had taken one look at her, and sad flatly:
"She saw him in the town square from the bars of her window, his face burned into her memory like a brand."
"Who? Her client?" Mal who didn't approve of Inara's profession, but really had no personal axe to grind with the woman had been interested to find out who had scared the hell out of her. River had just stared at Inara who was huddled against the wall.
"No not her client, the man who causes her to weep at night." At this Inara had looked up, and River had turned her gaze to Mal. "I understand things very well Mal, I understand that there are some things that people like to keep to themselves. Secrets that they wrap around themselves like blankets to keep their minds warm. The man she saw from the square is not for me to tell. It is Inara's secret to keep her mind warm, but I can tell you she is safer here that anywhere in the universe."
"Why's that? Who is this man?" Mal had not been willing to let it go. He had seen a lot of things in his life, and when a person had that look in their eyes it meant that whatever it was that had been at their back was the sum of all things that could strike fear into a man's heart. Mal usually tried to stay ready for such things, usually in the form of a gun, but River shook her head.
"I can only say that she ran before he could make those bars real." With that she had shuffled off down the hall, her slight frame leaving behind more questions than answers. It had taken almost three days for Inara to calm down, and in that time she had nightmares that woke the entire crew due to the pitch of her screams. An incredible feat since River was usually the one who disturbed the quiet.
Mal pushed these thoughts aside as he entered the open door of the Companion's shuttle, and looked around. Inara was nowhere to be seen, which meant that she was probably in her bedroom, and not in the small area that she used as a sitting area. Walking softly, Mal crept over her door, and peeked around the corner. Inara was sitting in front of her mirror, no makeup covering her face, only tears as she stared morosely at her reflection.
White smoke from her incense sticks curled up into the air as she sat there, her shoulders shaking slightly with each sob. All around her on the floor were pictures scattered across the rug, many of them sported burns from where she had systematically taken one of the nearby incense sticks, and burned out the face of whoever else was in the photo. Mal cocked an eyebrow, and stepped back into a table. Inara heard the noise, and immediately straightened herself up in order to see who was in her shuttle.
By the time she arrived at the door to her room, Mal was already picking up what was left of her vase off the floor, and trying without much success to fit the pieces back together. Inara just smiled sadly at the captain as he looked down as what was left of the blue porcelain in his hands.
"I guess I'll be replacing this."
"You'd never afford it." she said as she plucked it from his hands. "Why are you here? I've paid my rent for the next month - " Mal held up his hand.
"I didn't come here for that, I just wanted to see if you were coming to Kaylee's family dinner. Or are you gonna spend all of shore leave cooped up here in the shuttle?" Inara looked at the shattered piece of glass, and dumped it into a wicker trashbin. Mal frowned, he always thought that was just for decoration.
"I'm sure that Kaylee will understand."
"Understand? Are we talking about the same Kay Winnit Lee Frye? She'll be crushed. You know she thinks highly of you."
"She thinks highly of everyone." said Inara from the confines or her room. Mal trailed after her, only to be greeted by the sight of the Companion in the nude. Mal's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, as he temporarily forgot what he was talking about.
"Ah..." Inara smiled, but for once it didn't reach her dark eyes. If Reynold's didn't know any better it looked like she was haunted, as if there was something inside of her keeping her held in bondage, but hell would probably freeze over before she said something. Finding the means to turn around, he studied the wall as she changed her clothes. On the floor he noticed was one of the pictures she had scattered about. Stooping, he quickly picked it up, and put it in his pocket. He would look at it later, but he had other matters to attend.
"As I was saying Kaylee will be real upset, and besides," what Mal was about to do was very dirty. "Last month you came running back here as if the Devil was on your heels. I would think that a woman surrounded by a bunch of people who look out for their own would be safer, than sitting all by herself on a shuttle. Wouldn't you think?" Inara stopped pulling the ties on the shirt she was wearing, her face paling as she turned to look at Mal. That face was still present in her mind, and it wasn't likely to go away anytime soon. Swallowing thickly, she walked over to where the Captain stood, her eyes finding his as she tried to think.
There were many things that the crew, namely Mal, didn't know about her. Things like where she was from, who was her family, and why she preferred to work out in the territories instead of the Alliance core worlds. Many of those topics were harmless, while others could expose the one secret that she held closer to her than anything else. The one that Simon's sister was already aware of, but had enough presence of mind to keep to herself because she knew what it could do to Inara should it get out. If Mal only knew that River wasn't the only one who had painted a target on his ship. Forcing a smile, she looked around the ship that served as both her office, and home.
"I guess you have a point," she said thickly. "Give me a moment to pack some things." Mal walked over to the door of the shuttle, and waited as Inara grabbed one of her many overnight bags. Each was pre-packed, and filled with clothes for every situation and occassion. Since she was probably going to be wandering around on a farm, she chose the one that had some of her more sturdy garments, and joined Mal at the airlock.
"Are we ready Captain?"
"Ready as wel'll ever be." Mal waited as she locked her shuttle, her arm twining in his as they headed for the cargo bay. As they walked he couldn't help but notice that Inara's step was off just slightly. Not enough to be noticed by the casual observer, but by someone who had seen her enough tomes to know how she moved exactly. It took him a few minutes to figure out why, and when he did his determination to find out what was affecting the Companion resurfaced.
Just under Inara's dress, carefully concealed was a small .38 handgun.
II
Carousel, despite it's being a border world, was a beautiful planet located in the heart of the territores. From space it was a large blue orb covered with vast oceans, lush green forests, and possessing a temperate climate year-round. Those very conditions made it absolutely ideal for farming, and other forms of agriculture. It was the ancestral home of the Lee Frye family, and had been their home for over thirty generations of the large clan.
Wash sat behind the controls in the cockpit, carefully entering the atmosphere in order to ensure that they had as smooth a landing as possible. Next to him Zoe stood watching as her husband bought them through the heavy layer of gases that enveloped Carousel, and made his approach to their designated landing pad. At four months, Zoe was already huge, her frame adopting an odd waddle as a result of the added weight, but to Wash she was still beautiful despite her growing size.
Personally, that was one sentiment Zoe didn't exaclty agree with.
As if sensing her throughts, Wash broke the silence between them. He had performed so many landings, the he could do them with his eyes closed, well he had, but Mal had hit the ceiling the last time he had pulled a stunt like that. At any rate that wasn't the most important thing on his mind at the moment.
"You're brooding again."
"No I'm not."
"Yeah you are. Whenever you wrinkle your forehead like that, and set your jaw in that particular line, it means that you're brooding."
"I'm not brooding, just thinking."
"No honey, thinking causes you to smile." Zoe looked down at Wash, and then at the far wall. When Wash had set his mind on something, it wasn't easy to change his train of thought. That alone was the reason why she had married him. When the pilot had finally decided that he was in love with the first officer of Serenity, dire threats from Mal hadn't been enough to sway him from courting Zoe. Flowers, poems, and crawling through the conduits to get into her room at night had somehow been enough to wriggle through the chinks of her armor into her heart. However, little did Wash know he really didn't have to do much wriggling. She'd liked him from the moment she'd met him, even though at the time she hadn't really shown it.
"Well I really am just thinking."
"About what?"
"Our baby."
"Oh. You want to name it yet?"
"No."
"Why not? We can't call it 'it' forever, although..."
"No."
"You didn't even hear me out."
"We're not calling our child It."
"Well how about-"
"No planets, nebulas, inanimate objects, dinosaurs-"
"HEY!"
"Okay, fine it depends on the dinosaur, but really we have to decide what to call our baby when it's born."
"Well what is it?"
"Huh?" Zoe looked at Wash as if he had grown a second head. Turning away from the console, Wash headed out into the hallway with his wife in tow.
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know? I thought women knew what it was instantly."
"Yes honey, as soon as I became pregnant I immediately knew what the sex of our child was. All it required was for me to perform a chant under the light of the moon, and sacrifice a small lamb."
"You're being sarcastic."
"I hadn't noticed." Wash stepped down into their quarters where the already packed bags were waiting. Zoe had put the finishing touches on their luggage last night, but Wash almost always found something else that he wanted to take along. This time it was his dinosaurs. Noticing the look on Zoe's face, he explained.
"Someone might steal them." Zoe didn't say anything. "Anyway, we should decide what we should call it if it's a boy or a girl."
"Sounds reasonable."
"So, you think it's a good idea?"
"What's a good idea?" Mal who had been walking by caught the end of the conversation, and peered into the open door of the room. Zoe was waving her hand in front of her neck as a sign for Wash to drop it, but he didn't catch the message.
"We're trying to figure out a name for our baby." Zoe just put her face in her hands. Mal arched his eyebrows, and thought for a minute.
"How about humped?" Wash glared at the captain.
"Ha ha, but just so you know we've taken your name off the list." Mal smiled.
"Well hey, just when I thought this day couldn't get better." Wash gave Mal a one-fingered salute that caused Zoe to snicker. Wash on the defensive was always a little funny somehow.
"At any rate, most of the crew is off the ship except for River, Simon, and Inara. So if you see them tell them to get movin'."
"Where are you going?" asked Zoe as Mal turned to leave.
"I'm going to lock up Serenity, and do some double checking. Don't worry I'm going to come to Kaylee's little get-together, I just want to check on some things first." Mal and Zoe exchanged looks. There was something about Mal's explanation that didn't sit well with her, but neither pressed the issue mainly because of the fact that they were both itching to get off of Serenity.
"Fine, but if we don't see you in thirty minutes sir, we're coming back here with a blowtorch."
"Welcome to it." said Mal before striding off. Wash looked at Zoe for an explanation as he picked up their luggage, and headed out into the hall.
"Why wouldn't Mal come to Lil' Kaylee's family dinner? I always thought she was his favorite around here?"
"It's nothing about Kaylee, Mal just doesn't like crowds sometimes. Has something to do with when he was a kid, but he's never told me."
"I thought Mal told you everything?"
"There are some things the man keeps to himself Wash, and if you ask me those things are best left that way."
***
"River? Simon? Inara?" Mal walked through Serenity making sure that everything was turned off, and shut down properly before locking each section with it's specific security code. Hairball would be spending the week in the kitchen with his litterbox, and a vast supply of chow that would probably cause him to be fatter than he already was. However, from what Mal had seen his weight didn't stop the large cat from keeping the rat population under control. Only last night, Book had been presented with the rear-end of a large white and brown rodent that had gotten too close to the black puss.
Gross, but oddly satisfying.
Rounding a corner, Mal walked right into Simon who was already on his way to the cargo bay. The doctor was loaded down with bags, and had one more slung around his neck. Mal took in the sight before venturing a question. If he didn't, he wasn't sure he would be able to keep a straight face.
"Um doc are you expecting a disaster I'm not aware of?" Simon shifted his awkward load. If anything the bags were as heavy as they were cumbersome.
"I'm just taking precautions. I don't know what sort of medical facilities Carousel has, and given River's condition I don't want to take any chances."
"Well from what Kaylee tells me her Aunt Marylin is a Healer." Simon smiled thinly. The crew knew what his opinion was of backwater Healers. He listed them under the same heading as fortunetellers, soothsayers, and gypsies. The only reason why Simon didn't call them quacks was due to the fact that just about everyone on Serenity, with the exception of Inara, Book, Mal, and himself had someone in their family who was a natural doctor. As a result he always stated rather neutrally that he preferred to put his faith in the more refined sciences.
"That's...nice, but still I wouldn't want to be a burden on Kaylee's family since we're guests. I'll take care of my own." That was the first time Simon had ever ended a sentence with that particular phrase, and unlike his sister who occassionally used the crew's 'dialect' from him it sounded totally unnatural. Mal smiled, and stepped around the doctor.
"Well you do what you think's best Simon, just make sure you don't rub these people too hard."
"I'll try my best."
"That's all I ask. Oh, one other thing."
"Yeah?"
"Stick to the fancy talk." Mal left Simon in the hallway, moving out of the way of River who was carrying a small duffel bag filled with whatever she thought was neccessary for her to take along. She took one look at her overloaded brother, laughed, and continued on her way.
"BRAT!" Yelled Simon as he trudged after her. Mal just watched them go before continuing with what he was doing. As he headed towards the cockpit he could smell the light perfume of incense which meant that for the time being Inara was still in her shuttle. Usually when they went planetside she was the first one to leave, but lately she had been staying closer and closer to Serenity. None of the crew knew exactly why, Inara's goal was, as she had stated in the past, to work towards retirement. Lately, the Companion was keeping rather close to home. It had started after her last client over a month ago, when she had come back to Serenity looking cautiously over her shoulder. Her long legs taking strides that in her opinion was supposed to be unbecoming to a woman unless warranted.
As far as Mal could figure it must have been neccessary since not only had she literally crawled up the loading ramp, but when the crew got a good look at her the fine clothes she wore were barely on her, and soaked thouroughly with sweat. The man she had been entertaining had to catch up with Serenity almost a day later to fortunately return her purse, credit chip (which he had been kind enough not to steal or use), and her shoes since she had run all the way back to the salvage ship barefoot.
When she had arrived that afternoon she had just collapsed on Mal. No insults, no protests, just holding on for dear life with her eyes wide, and a string of incoherent words tumbling out of her mouth. The captain had to take just one look at her to see that she was scared out of her mind, it took all he had just to hold on to her as she half-carried half-dragged him to her shuttle where she bolted into her bedroom, and took refuge in the corner. The only reason he could find for her sudden flight through the ship was seeing Jayne's shadow when he came from where he had been standing outside next to the mule, but Inara hadn't been willing to take any chances.
Simon hadn't found anything physically wrong with her other than the fact that she was in shock from a bad scare, the source of which she was neither able or willing to share. River on the other hand had taken one look at her, and sad flatly:
"She saw him in the town square from the bars of her window, his face burned into her memory like a brand."
"Who? Her client?" Mal who didn't approve of Inara's profession, but really had no personal axe to grind with the woman had been interested to find out who had scared the hell out of her. River had just stared at Inara who was huddled against the wall.
"No not her client, the man who causes her to weep at night." At this Inara had looked up, and River had turned her gaze to Mal. "I understand things very well Mal, I understand that there are some things that people like to keep to themselves. Secrets that they wrap around themselves like blankets to keep their minds warm. The man she saw from the square is not for me to tell. It is Inara's secret to keep her mind warm, but I can tell you she is safer here that anywhere in the universe."
"Why's that? Who is this man?" Mal had not been willing to let it go. He had seen a lot of things in his life, and when a person had that look in their eyes it meant that whatever it was that had been at their back was the sum of all things that could strike fear into a man's heart. Mal usually tried to stay ready for such things, usually in the form of a gun, but River shook her head.
"I can only say that she ran before he could make those bars real." With that she had shuffled off down the hall, her slight frame leaving behind more questions than answers. It had taken almost three days for Inara to calm down, and in that time she had nightmares that woke the entire crew due to the pitch of her screams. An incredible feat since River was usually the one who disturbed the quiet.
Mal pushed these thoughts aside as he entered the open door of the Companion's shuttle, and looked around. Inara was nowhere to be seen, which meant that she was probably in her bedroom, and not in the small area that she used as a sitting area. Walking softly, Mal crept over her door, and peeked around the corner. Inara was sitting in front of her mirror, no makeup covering her face, only tears as she stared morosely at her reflection.
White smoke from her incense sticks curled up into the air as she sat there, her shoulders shaking slightly with each sob. All around her on the floor were pictures scattered across the rug, many of them sported burns from where she had systematically taken one of the nearby incense sticks, and burned out the face of whoever else was in the photo. Mal cocked an eyebrow, and stepped back into a table. Inara heard the noise, and immediately straightened herself up in order to see who was in her shuttle.
By the time she arrived at the door to her room, Mal was already picking up what was left of her vase off the floor, and trying without much success to fit the pieces back together. Inara just smiled sadly at the captain as he looked down as what was left of the blue porcelain in his hands.
"I guess I'll be replacing this."
"You'd never afford it." she said as she plucked it from his hands. "Why are you here? I've paid my rent for the next month - " Mal held up his hand.
"I didn't come here for that, I just wanted to see if you were coming to Kaylee's family dinner. Or are you gonna spend all of shore leave cooped up here in the shuttle?" Inara looked at the shattered piece of glass, and dumped it into a wicker trashbin. Mal frowned, he always thought that was just for decoration.
"I'm sure that Kaylee will understand."
"Understand? Are we talking about the same Kay Winnit Lee Frye? She'll be crushed. You know she thinks highly of you."
"She thinks highly of everyone." said Inara from the confines or her room. Mal trailed after her, only to be greeted by the sight of the Companion in the nude. Mal's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, as he temporarily forgot what he was talking about.
"Ah..." Inara smiled, but for once it didn't reach her dark eyes. If Reynold's didn't know any better it looked like she was haunted, as if there was something inside of her keeping her held in bondage, but hell would probably freeze over before she said something. Finding the means to turn around, he studied the wall as she changed her clothes. On the floor he noticed was one of the pictures she had scattered about. Stooping, he quickly picked it up, and put it in his pocket. He would look at it later, but he had other matters to attend.
"As I was saying Kaylee will be real upset, and besides," what Mal was about to do was very dirty. "Last month you came running back here as if the Devil was on your heels. I would think that a woman surrounded by a bunch of people who look out for their own would be safer, than sitting all by herself on a shuttle. Wouldn't you think?" Inara stopped pulling the ties on the shirt she was wearing, her face paling as she turned to look at Mal. That face was still present in her mind, and it wasn't likely to go away anytime soon. Swallowing thickly, she walked over to where the Captain stood, her eyes finding his as she tried to think.
There were many things that the crew, namely Mal, didn't know about her. Things like where she was from, who was her family, and why she preferred to work out in the territories instead of the Alliance core worlds. Many of those topics were harmless, while others could expose the one secret that she held closer to her than anything else. The one that Simon's sister was already aware of, but had enough presence of mind to keep to herself because she knew what it could do to Inara should it get out. If Mal only knew that River wasn't the only one who had painted a target on his ship. Forcing a smile, she looked around the ship that served as both her office, and home.
"I guess you have a point," she said thickly. "Give me a moment to pack some things." Mal walked over to the door of the shuttle, and waited as Inara grabbed one of her many overnight bags. Each was pre-packed, and filled with clothes for every situation and occassion. Since she was probably going to be wandering around on a farm, she chose the one that had some of her more sturdy garments, and joined Mal at the airlock.
"Are we ready Captain?"
"Ready as wel'll ever be." Mal waited as she locked her shuttle, her arm twining in his as they headed for the cargo bay. As they walked he couldn't help but notice that Inara's step was off just slightly. Not enough to be noticed by the casual observer, but by someone who had seen her enough tomes to know how she moved exactly. It took him a few minutes to figure out why, and when he did his determination to find out what was affecting the Companion resurfaced.
Just under Inara's dress, carefully concealed was a small .38 handgun.