Title: Girl' night
Series: Slayers in Space
Author: Sevangel
Disclaimer: Not mine
Rating: PG-13
-
"They leave us any of them brownies?" Jayne questions as he walks into the mess, a bottle of whiskey in one hand and 3 cigars in the other.
"Yeah." Mal answers. "A few."
Jayne spots the plate of brownies sittin' on the table and snaps off the corner of one and pops it into his mouth. "Pretty damn good." Jayne comments.
"Yeah." Mal agrees. "Don't know how River made em; didn't know we had the ingredients for it."
"Probably don't." Jayne comments. "I'm guessin' what we're eatin' ain't brownies in the traditional sense. She probably just figured out a way to make em out of what we had."
"Still good though." Wash replies.
Mal grabs the dinner the girls had left for them and brings it to the table. "Well, looks like we're on our own for the night." Mal tells the other two men.
"Looks like." Jayne agrees. The three men of Serenity dig into their dinner, none of them really talking.
"Alright, I gotta say it." Wash says, breaking the silence. "It's too gorram quiet in here without them."
"Yeah." Mal agrees. Jayne just nods.
The women had left for the spare shuttle an hour ago, stating that the men were not allowed anywhere near it unless the boat was about to explode or if they were under attack.
They finish eating and dump their plates into the sink, saving the washing until later. Jayne opens the bottle and pours each of them a large glass. He tosses the cigars out and lights his before passing the matches to Wash. Mal grabs a deck of cards and starts shuffling them.
"These are good." Wash comments.
"Yeah." Mal agrees. "They the same ones ya got from the Shepard?"
"Yeah." Jayne replies. He takes the cards Mal deals out, returning two to get new ones.
"Jayne, I gotta ask ya somethin' that's been naggin' at me all day." Mal says.
"What?" Jayne grunts, sliding the cards back to Mal.
"When ya and River were, courtin' I guess I wanna say, did her and Faith ever…." Mal starts to ask.
"Arguing with each other while River was straddlin' my lap and we was 'smoochin'?" Jayne finishes for the captain. "Yeah, a couple times actual. Hell, they argued once while my hands was in places ain't meant for public viewin'. Freaks ya out a bit, don't it?"
"Just a bit." Mal replies. "They was threatenin' each other and everythin'."
"They talk to each other while you guys are groping?" Wash questions as he takes a sip of his whiskey.
"Not only do they talk, they threaten to hurt each other." Jayne replies. "Thinkin' back, it's a bit hilarious."
"Yeah." Mal agrees. "Still a bit weird though. Ya don't think they would do it if…"
"Me and River was doin' it?" Jayne finishes. "Probably."
"Just make sure ya're keepin' your bunk locked at night." Mal orders. "Whole idea don't seem right to me."
"Ya just don't want Faith seein' me in the raw." Jayne says with a smirk.
"And if the situation was reversed, wouldn't ya feel the same way?" Mal questions.
Jayne's smirk fades. "Make sure ya keep your bunk locked too." Jayne growls.
"Ain't got no reason to." Mal says.
"Yet." Wash says with a smile.
"How long ya gonna be able to hold out, Mal?" Jayne asks. "Cause if Faith and River are really alike, it ain't gonna be long."
"Can we just get back to the game and off my love life?" Mal says, dealing the cards.
"Just be happy ya finally got one now." Jayne replies.
-
"That was such a good movie." Kaylee says, wiping her eyes. "They was so happy."
"Yes, it was emotionally pleasing." River agrees with a few sniffles.
"Ya bunch of saps." Faith says, rolling her eyes. She turns her head and is rather shocked to see the ex-soldier rubbing her eyes. "Whoa, Zoe, don't tell me you're all sentimental too."
"Got some dust in my eyes." Zoe replies, still rubbing at her eyes. "I starting to think we should have cleaned this thing out before bringing the mattresses in here. We haven't really used this shuttle in months."
"Yeah." Faith agrees, giving the solider a weird look. "Now, we did the sappy movie thing, we got the brownies, now let's diss the men." She sits up from her lounging position and waits for the other 3 to do the same. All four of them are sitting on one of the mattresses, in a circle with the huge plate of brownies in the middle.
"How does this even work?" Zoe questions. "I've never done this 'female bonding' thing."
"Me either." Faith says. "Unless ya count in those slayer meetings we used to have. But those were mostly bout weapons and demons."
"We each discuss the things that annoy us the most about our partner." River says. "And the things we like the most about them."
"Simon always folded his clothes fore we went to sleep." Kaylee starts, looking down at the brownie in her hand. "Didn't matter if we was almost asleep, he would still get up to fold em."
"Kay, you don't have to talk about him." Faith says, seeing the look on the mechanics face.
"No, it's okay." Kaylee replies. "Makes me feel nice to talk bout him. It ain't like he's dead. Sides, I'm thinkin' you're right. He just needs time to deal with all this."
"Yeah." Faith agrees. "Zoe, you're up."
"A year ago, I would've said those damn dinosaurs." Zoe replies. "But I like em now. I guess the fact that he snores so gorram loud. I'm used to men snoring, spent years in the army sleeping on the ground next to em sawing logs but they never felt the need to bury their face in my neck."
"Huh, Wash didn't look like a snorer to me." Faith comments. "Now, Jayne does."
"He's not." River says. "He grunts in his sleep sometimes and smacks his lips but it doesn't bother me. The only thing that does is when he insists on throwing his leg over my stomach in the morning. Most of the time I don't think he realizes he's doing it but when you have to go to pee, the last thing you want is 30 plus pounds hitting your bladder. It doesn't bother me when he does it any other time, just in the morning."
"He does it a lot?" Kaylee asks.
"Yes." River answers. "He enjoys throwing his limbs over me. I enjoy when he does it. It's your turn, Faith."
"I ain't really been with Mal long enough to find annoying habits." Faith comments. "I don't know if he snores or not."
"Not." Zoe answers. She sees the look on Faith's face and decides to elaborate. "Me and Mal ain't never been nothing but friends and comrades. But we did serve together, so I know his sleeping habits. He mutters in his sleep sometimes."
"Huh." Faith mutters. "Does it bother Wash that you and Mal are so close?"
"Yes." River and Kaylee answers for Zoe.
"Wash has his moments." Zoe replies. "Sometimes he gets this idea where he thinks I do anything Mal tells me to without question."
Faith laughs. "Please, I don't know you that well but I know you well enough." Faith says. "You wouldn't follow blind orders anymore than I would."
"I know." Zoe agrees. "But you know men and their insecurities."
"Yeah." Faith replies. "The only thing I can think of is he's always trying to protect me, which isn't something I'm used to at all."
"Capn's that way." Kaylee says. "And I'm thinkin' he might get even more that way since ya guys are together now."
"Who said we are together?" Faith replies.
They just look at her.
"Guess the kissing gave it away." Faith mutters.
"Yep." Kaylee agrees.
"Kaylee, it's your turn again." River says.
"Simon's so sweet." Kaylee says, her eyes tearing up. "He was always makin' sure I was comfortable and treated me like a core girl. It was nice."
"A what girl?" Faith questions.
"Like a girl from a core planet." River answers. "Like me; someone from a rich family."
"Oh." Faith replies. "Jayne treat you like one?"
"No." River answers. "I'm very thankful for that."
"So you like him treating you all rough and tumble-y?" Faith questions with a smirk.
"Yep." River answers, smirking back. "Zoe, you're up."
"He makes me laugh." Zoe answers without hesitation. "He's always made me laugh, no matter how bad things are I know he'll make it better."
"Jayne makes me feel safe." River says, taking the focus off the uncomfortable looking soldier. "When I'm wrapped up in him, I always feel so safe. I know I can protect myself but it's so nice to let my guard down, just be a girl. Jayne let's me do that."
"Yeah." Faith agrees. "Mal makes me feel safe too; guess it's cause he's always trying to protect me."
"Thought ya said it annoyed ya?" Kaylee comments.
"Oh, it does." Faith replies. "But it's nice too."
"So, now what?" Zoe questions.
"Another movie?" Faith offers.
"Nothin' sappy." Kaylee says. "How bout somethin' funny?"
"Works for me." Faith replies. "How bout you two?"
"That's fine." Zoe says. She walks over to turn the light off before reaching for another brownie. "River, I gotta say, these are damn good."
"Thank you." River replies. She zooms through the cortex screen until she finds a bootleg copy of the latest comedy release. "Just don't ask what's in them." She presses play and then lies back down, her head resting on Faith's stomach. Kaylee curls up in a ball with her head resting on River's legs. Zoe throws a pillow down next to Kaylee and then plops down on her stomach next to the mechanic. The movie starts playing and within a few minutes all of them are absorbed in the movie.
-
"I ain't never done…what was we talkin' bout again?" Jayne questions from his lounging position. His legs are thrown up on the table and he's slouched down in his chair, his 9th glass of whiskey held in his hand.
"Hell, I don't know." Mal replies. He sets his glass down and stumbles out of his chair to the couch across the mess. Plopping down on it, he closes his eyes, trying to stop the world from spinning. "Wash, what was we talkin' bout?"
Wash's only response is a loud snore, the pilot's face resting on the table, a glass of whiskey still held in his hand.
"Damn, he snores out loud." Jayne grunts. He thinks bout standin' up and headin' to his bunk but decides he should wait till the turbulence they're hittin' is over. "Shouldn't someone be flyin'?"
"Huh?" Mal mutters.
"If the turbulence is this bad, shouldn't someone be flyin' us so's we don't crash?" Jayne questions as he closes his eyes, intending on resting them just for a moment.
"Yeah, I'll go check on it." Mal mutters as he flips over onto his stomach to get more comfortable.
"Tha's good." Jayne murmurs as he starts to drift off, the glass of whiskey still held in his hand.
-
"R, where you going?" Faith questions, waking up when she feels River moving.
"Find Jayne." River answers. "I sleep better with him."
"Softie." Faith mutters as she stands up to follow River.
"Why are you coming?" River questions.
"Wanna see how drunk they got." Faith answers.
"We probably need to check the bridge." Zoe says. She stands up and stretches before glancing down at Kaylee. "Should we wake her?"
"Yeah." Faith says. "Kay, we're leaving. You coming or staying?"
"Comin'." Kaylee mutters but makes no move to stand up.
"R, I'll grab Kay, you get the mattress." Faith says. "Zoe, we'll meet you in the mess after we drop Kay off in my room."
"Works for me." Zoe agrees. "It'll give me enough time to check on the bridge."
Faith picks up Kaylee and waits while River picks up the mattress before walking out of the shuttle. Zoe branches off towards the bridge while Faith leads River to her room. River drops the mattress onto the bed with a heave; though the mattress doesn't weigh much, its size makes it hard for her to get a decent grip onto. Faith sets the mechanic onto the mattress and grabs one of the blankets they left by the door to cover her up. Kaylee mumbles and rolls onto her stomach.
The slayers leave the room and head towards the mess just in time to see Zoe moving outside of it.
"We gonna crash?" Faith questions.
"Nope." Zoe answers with a smile. "We're fine."
"What time is it?" Faith asks.
"Bout 4am." Zoe replies. She steps into the mess and comes to a complete stop, causing Faith and River to bump into her back.
"What's wrong?" Faith questions and then starts laughing when she sees the men. Mal's on his stomach, sprawled out, one leg hanging over the couch, he's holding one boot while the other is still on his foot. Wash is snoring loudly, a puddle of drool on the table next to his mouth. Jayne is slouched down in his chair, his feet on the table, his drink hanging limply in his hand. "Ain't that the cutest thing? Anybody got a camera on this boat?"
River giggles before moving past Zoe and Faith and over to the counter across the mess. She rolls her eyes at the leftover dishes before opening one of the drawers and taking out the capture she saw Kaylee stick in there. She turns it on and sneaks around to capture the 3 passed out men. When she gets to Jayne, she reaches out and grabs the glass out of his hand. His hand shoots out and grabs her wrist in a death grip, his hand squeezing the bones as he starts to wake up.
"R?" Faith says.
"It's okay." River replies, setting the capture down. Jayne's grip loosens and she knows he's starting to realize it's her. "Jayne, it's me. Let go."
Jayne shakes the fog from his eyes and looks up to see River standing above him. "Waz goin' on, baby?" Jayne mumbles.
"You have to let go." River replies.
Jayne glances down to see his hand wrapped around River's wrist. He releases it immediately. "I'm sorry, baby." Jayne whispers.
"It's okay." River assures him. "I shouldn't have touched you. You're intoxicated; you didn't realize it was me at first."
"Still shouldn'ta done it." Jayne mutters.
River grabs his hands and helps his stand up. "Come on, let's go to bed."
Jayne wraps his arms around River's shoulders and lets her lead him out of the mess.
"Come on, husband." Zoe says, waking Wash up. He gives a snort before glancing up at her with hazy eyes. Zoe helps him stand up and move out of the mess, nodding at Faith on her way out.
Faith looks at Mal, a small smile on her lips. She walks over to the couch and prods his back, jumping back when he swings drunkenly at her, his boot falling harmlessly to the ground. "It's me." Faith says.
Mal turns over with a grunt. "What's goin on?" Mal mutters, looking up at Faith.
"It's time to go to bed, big guy." Faith grabs his hand, intending to pull him up when he gives it a jerk and she goes tumbling onto his chest. "Or not."
Mal turns over until Faith's back is against couch and nuzzles her neck with his face. His arm wraps around her stomach, one leg moving to rest between hers.
"I guess we can just stay here." Faith mutters. Faith moves her leg to lie over his hip and settles into his chest. She bends down to press a kiss against his lips before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.
-
Jayne wakes up slowly, feeling the familiar fog that comes from a night of too much drinkin'. He knows he's in his bunk though he don't know how he got there. He feels a familiar weight on his chest and smiles down at the sleeping River curled up on his chest. It still amazes him that the little bit of flesh on top of him is so gorram strong. He knows he was piss-ass drunk last night so if she musta practically carried him down here. He moves out from under her, chuckling lightly when she moans and buries her face in the warm spot he left. He takes a leak and brushes his teeth before moving back over to the bed. Sitting down next to her, he runs a hand through her tangled tresses gently.
"Mmmm, my Jayne." River whispers, slowly opening her eyes to look up at him. "Did you boys have fun?"
"Hell, baby, I don't right remember." Jayne answers. "I know we got drunk. Did you girls have fun?"
"Yes." River answers. "We talked about our men and their bad habits."
"What bad habits?" Jayne growls. "I ain't got none of those."
She giggles slightly and stretches like a cat, her arms above her head, moaning lightly at the action.
Jayne watches her stretch, growin' a bit hard at her moan. His gaze moves up her body and he catches glimpse of somethin' that makes him growl. He reaches up to gently grab her right arm and brings it towards him. There's a thick bruise around her wrist; one he knows coulda only came from his hand.
"I do this?" Jayne questions quietly.
River sighs and glances at her wrist and then back up at him. "Yes." River answers.
Jayne grinds his teeth, rage filling his body. Rage at himself.
"Jayne, it wasn't your fault." River assures him.
He gently runs his thumb across the bruise before standing up and getting dressed.
River sighs again and follows his actions, dressing just as quickly as he does. She can tell he wants to hurt someone, or more accurately he wants to hurt himself. He starts out of their bunk and River follows behind him, quickening her paces to keep up with him. She grabs his hand and holds tight, pulling him towards the mess instead of the bay where he was headed. They walk in to see the rest of the crew gathered, everyone looking rumpled from the nights activities. River directs Jayne to his seat before moving over to help Kaylee and Faith fix breakfast.
"Let me see it." Jayne growls, noticing the capture that Mal and Wash are watching.
Mal hands it to the merc with a sigh.
Jayne plays the capture, watching while it moves to record Wash passed out on the table and Mal passed out on the couch. It moves to him and he sees himself sprawled out in a chair, his feet up on the table with a drink hanging in his hand. River's hand grabs the glass and he grinds his teeth again when his hand shoots out to grab her wrist, his large hand squeezing the bird-like bones in a death grip. He throws the capture on the table with a growl.
"It wasn't your fault." River tells him again, moving over to set a cup of coffee in front of him.
"The hell it weren't." Jayne bellows.
"You were drunk." River says. "I shouldn't have grabbed the drink. I should have did what I did to Faith; woke you up from a distance."
"That don't matter none." Jayne argues. "Look at your gorram wrist and then tell me it weren't my fault."
River glances down at her wrist again.
"It wasn't really your fault." Faith says, moving over to examine the bruise around River's wrist. "That's a nice one. It'll be gone before nightfall."
"Jayne, we all know ya'd never hurt River." Mal says. "Not on purpose, anyways."
"Looks like we was all wrong then." Jayne growls.
"Couple nights before I died, we all got trashed." Faith says, making Jayne glance up at her. "Just stopped the end of the world; felt like the thing to do. I don't remember much; I passed out after a couple hours."
"Wait a second, ya passed out?" Mal questions. "How much did ya gorram drink?"
"Not that much, really." Faith replies. "Only a couple glasses."
"And ya passed out from that?" Mal asks. "Ya drank a hellova lot more than that when we got trashed."
"It was fire whiskey." Faith replies. "Some type of demon booze that Spike got. It's bout 10 times stronger than human whiskey. A couple shots of it would kill any normal human."
"What's this got to do with anythin'?" Jayne growls.
"I passed out on a chair in the lobby of the hotel." Faith answers. "Spike went to wake me up. He tapped my shoulder and I tossed him 20 feet across the room. It wasn't something I'd normally do; I would knock Spike around when we were training but never like that. If R had touched me before, I'd probably done the same thing to her. You were drunk; the part of you that's trained to attack is going to attack when you're touched in that condition. I know you know that; do you want to hurt River now?"
"Hell no." Jayne growls, shocked that she'd ask that.
"Then don't go beating yourself up about it." Faith says. "Life like we lead, you're gonna attack when drunk; it's probably the only way we stay alive."
"Still don't make it okay." Jayne replies.
River sets the protein down on the table and moves over to sit on Jayne's lap. His arms wrap around her and he presses a kiss to her forehead.
"No, I never said it did." Faith agrees. "Just don't make it into something bigger than it is. You're not a woman beater; I've met enough of em in my life to know. Neither you or Mal would beat on a woman to make yourself feel strong."
"No, we wouldn't." Mal agrees.
"Then don't feel guilty." River says, kissing Jayne's chin. "You either, captain."
"Huh." Mal mutters. "Whadda I got to feel guilty for?"
"You took a swing." River answers.
"I did what?" Mal yells.
"Took a swing at me when I tried to wake you up." Faith replies. "Shoulda learned from watching Jayne but I guess I didn't really think about it."
"I hit you?" Mal questions, grinding his teeth.
"No." Faith answers. "I jumped back before your fist connected."
Mal grinds his teeth, his furious expression matching the one Jayne's still wearing.
Faith looks between both men and then at her sister-slayer. "We should've just trashed that video thing and then said we did a bit a sparing and that's how you got the bruise." Faith tells River.
"Yeah." River agrees.
"What?" Mal growls. "Ya ain't gonna lie to cover up us beatin' on ya."
Kaylee giggles. "Like ya two would really beat on em, on purpose." Kaylee explains when both men glare at her.
"Would it make you feel better if we hit you?" River offers.
"Yes." Both men respond.
"Too bad." Faith replies. "I ain't gonna smack you around to make things even. I won't do that type of relationship."
"Me either." River agrees. "It was a reflex; Zoe has the same ones."
"That true, Zoe?" Mal questions. "Ya ever beat on Wash?"
"No." Zoe replies. "I've never hit him."
"Once." Wash replies.
"When?" Zoe question, turning to look at her husband.
"Kaylee's first night here." Wash answers. "Remember how trashed you all got on the wine she brought with her?"
"Yeah." Zoe answers, not really remembering much of the night. Wine was a lot stronger than it smelled.
"I didn't drink that much." Wash says. "Only enough to get a buzz. You, Mal, and Kaylee, on the other hand got trashed. I touched your shoulder to get you to wake up and you slammed me against the wall, with your elbow against my throat."
"Why didn't you say something?" Zoe asks quietly.
"Same reason River and Faith wish this whole thing never came out." Wash answers. "I know you wouldn't hurt me on purpose and I knew you would make a big deal out of doing it."
Zoe's expression turns to match the men's.
"It ain't like ya guys beat on em." Kaylee comments. "Ya was just defendin' yourself against a threat that you didn't recognize at first. Watch the capture again, Jayne, ya loosen your grip fore River even says anything."
"And Mal, you realized it was me once you turned over." Faith says. "Then you just pulled me down on top of you and went back to sleep."
"Wifey, you removed your elbow almost as soon as you pressed it against my throat." Wash tells his wife.
"Just had to get the drunken haze from your mind." River explains.
"Wash didn't attack me." Zoe points out.
"I'm not a soldier." Wash replies. "I don't have the instincts that all of you do."
"Me either." Kaylee replies. "Hell, ya all know that."
River kisses Jayne's chin again before moving into own chair and starting breakfast.
The crew eats in uncomfortable silence; the three protectors of Serenity still feeling guilty.
"Alright, we're gonna head down to the bay, do a bit of training until you three finish with your broodfest." Faith says.
"They can brood?" Wash questions. "And I can't?"
"Look at them." Faith says. "Mal's got the clothes, Zoe's got the expressions, and Jayne's got the build for it. You just look…."
"Like you're constipated." River finishes, making Kaylee giggle.
"Yep." Faith agrees with a smirk. "Come on, pilot man, you and Kay can join us."
"Eh, do I get to use a sword?" Wash asks excitedly.
"I already died once this year." Faith replies. "And it ain't at all like they advertise in the brochures. I really don't fancy having you cutting my head off."
"Hey." Wash protests.
"Wash, you are one of the best pilots in the verse." River says. "You can take great pride in that. But you and sharp objects are non-mixy things."
"R, you're starting to pick up my speech pattern." Faith comments as she stands up.
"Yep." River agrees. "Come on, Kaylee, we'll show you and Wash some Ti Chi."
"Ain't that like karate?" Kaylee asks, following the slayers out of the mess.
"Yeah, are you going to teach us to kill people with our bare hands?" Wash questions, following the women.
"No, Ti Chi is about control and stamina." Faith answers. "And flexibility. Be ready to use muscles you didn't know you had."
The three remaining crewmembers watch as they leave, look at each other, and then at the chaos of the mess.
"Zoe, you grab the dishes." Mal orders. "Jayne, help me clear the table and then wipe it down."
Zoe fills the sink with water and starts on the small stack of dishes next to it before moving onto the ones Mal and Jayne stack next to her arm. Jayne and Mal clear the table, returning order to the once messy room. Mal picks up the scattered cards while Jayne throws away the empty bottles and cigars.
Jayne sees the capture and picks up to watch it play again. He still grinds his teeth but does notice that his grip lessens almost as soon as it tightens. He walks over to throw it into a drawer along with the deck of cards Mal tosses him. Once the mess is in a cleaner state, they sit down silently.
"Think they're right?" Zoe questions after a few minutes of silence. "Think we're overreacting?"
"Maybe." Mal replies. "But I still feel the need to 'brood', as Faith likes to say, bout it some more."
"Me too." Jayne agrees.
After about 10 minutes of complete silence, Mal looks at his first mate and hired gun. "Guess we can talk bout the job." Mal says.
"Sounds like a plan." Zoe agrees.
-
After about an hour of brooding, talking, and planning, the three guns of Serenity decide to leave the mess and find the rest of the crew. They walk silently to the bay and watch the training session with amused eyes.
Faith and River are teaching Kaylee and Wash a rather easy move; squatting down on one leg, their ass only about a foot off the ground with their other leg held straight out in front of them. River and Faith are holding the position perfectly and trying to give instructions to the other two.
"Gotta find balance, pilot man." Faith says.
Wash's leg is wobbling wildly before it suddenly gives out and he goes tumbling to the ground. Kaylee holds it for a few more seconds before she too goes crashing to the ground.
"You did better this time." River says.
"Yep." Faith agrees with a smile. "You managed to stay up for over 20 seconds this time."
"It's a bit intimidating to do when you both have been doing if for like 10 minutes without even moving." Wash says.
"Yeah." Kaylee agrees. "Ya don't even look like it bothers ya."
"It does." Faith says.
"My thighs and ass are burning something fierce." River adds. "We're just able to work past it."
"Stamina." Faith says. "We got about the same amount as 10 men."
"Couldn't we say women?" River questions. "Think Jayne or Mal would appreciate that analogy more."
"True." Faith agrees. "You three done brooding?"
Kaylee and Wash turn around to see Mal, Zoe, and Jayne watching them.
"Help me, wifey." Wash begs. "They're torturing me."
River and Faith roll their eyes before standing up. Faith reaches down to pull Wash to his feet while River pulls Kaylee to hers.
"The human body is not meant to do that." Wash says. "I don't think I'm going to be able to walk."
"Take a hot shower." Faith advises.
"There's some crème for muscle discomfort in the infirmary." River adds. "It will help."
"So, you didn't answer." Wash says. "Is the broodfest over?"
"Yeah." Mal answers.
"Good." River and Faith reply.
"I'm going to go take that hot shower." Wash says. "You two are evil."
"Thanks." River and Faith reply.
"Don't do that." Wash adds. "It freaks me out."
"Okay." They respond.
"Hey." Wash says.
"Sorry." They reply.
"I'm leaving." Wash mutters. "I look forward to our next training session."
"Us too." Faith and River reply.
"That is so incredibly freaky." Wash says, limping out of the bay with his wife by his side.
"I'm gonna go take a shower too." Kaylee says. "Don't think I've ever felt a burn like this."
"Bye." River and Faith reply.
"Yep, incredibly freaky." Kaylee mutters, leaving the bay with a small limp but nothing like Wash's.
"I need a shower too." River says, looking up at Jayne. "And a rub down."
"I'll help ya with that, baby." Jayne replies, pulling her gently against his side.
"Bye R." Faith calls out.
"Bye Faith." River calls back.
"Ya gonna take a shower too?" Mal questions.
"In a bit." Faith replies. "Wouldn't say no to a rub down first though."
"Well, then, little slayer, I guess I'm just the man to do it." Mal says, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"Yeah." Faith agrees. "You are."
-