Title: Caffeine
Series: Our Mrs. Cobb
Author: Sevangel
Disclaimer: Not mine
Rating: PG-13
-
"That's Zoe and Wash's bunk." Kaylee tells Willow as they walk down the hall. "And that's the cap'n's. Jayne's is right there."
"And I'm going to guess this one's yours." Willow says, pointing to Kaylee's sign.
"Yep." Kaylee agrees. "I was gonna make Jayne, Zoe, and the cap'n one but they said no. River, you okay?"
Willow turns to look at River and finds the genius staring at Jayne's bunk door, her body practically vibrating. She reaches out to touch River's shoulder and then jumps back with a squeal when the genius spins around quickly, almost knocking her and Kaylee over.
"Shiny." River says with a huge grin. "But I believe something might be wrong with me." She holds her hand up to show Kaylee and Willow. "Look, it's vibrating."
"I think it's the coffee." Willow says rather loudly. "The caffeine makes your…it does something but I can't remember what exactly."
Kaylee giggles at the two overly exuberant girls. "I think ya both had too much coffee."
"Possibly." Willow agrees, nodding her head. "Is that the tour?"
"Yep." Kaylee replies. "Showed ya the bay, engine room, shuttles, bunks, storage areas, oh, I forgot the septic tank."
Willow wrinkles her nose. "No thanks."
"Yeah, ain't fond of it myself." Kaylee agrees. "We can go hang out in the bay, if'n you want."
"Sounds nice." Willow says as she starts to follow Kaylee and River down the hall. "Know what I'm in the mood for? An iced mocha."
"What's a mocha?" Kaylee asks curiously.
Willow comes to a dead stop. "You've never had a mocha?" Willow gasps.
"No." Kaylee answers.
"Have you River?" Willow turns to look towards the genius.
"No." River answers. "Mother would never let me drink them."
"That has got to change." Willow says determinedly.
"What are they?" Kaylee asks.
"Pretty much just frozen coffee and hot chocolate." Willow answers.
"We ain't got any chocolate." Kaylee says sadly.
"Do you have a blender?" Willow asks.
"Nara does." Kaylee replies, the companion having once made her some kinda frozen fruity drink.
"You just get the blender and make sure there's some coffee and ice, I've got the chocolate." Willow says.
"And make some milk." River adds.
Kaylee nods and then walks quickly towards the mess.
"Do you really have chocolate?" River asks Willow once Kaylee is gone.
"Yes." Willow replies as they walk back to their room. "What's up with making milk?"
"Powdered milk." River answers. "So that it doesn't go bad. You just add water."
"Oh." Willow replies, having drunk something like it before, although it was gross. "Does it actually taste like milk?"
"Yes." River says. "Remarkably well like milk."
Willow turns into the room she's sharing with River and grabs her bag. Digging into the front pocket, she pulls out an individual wrapped piece of chocolate. "See."
River raises an eyebrow. "That is hardly going to be enough for more than one person."
Willow smiles slyly at River before closing her eyes and mumbling a few words. The small piece of chocolate turns into 6 large bars. "Now it is."
River looks at the chocolate and then at Willow. "That defies so many different laws of physics."
"Yep." Willow agrees. "And don't try to figure it out cause you won't be able to. Just accept that it happens and move on."
River's eyebrows furrow for a few moments before she sighs deeply. "It does not make sense."
"I know." Willow agrees. "But trust me, trying to figure out how it works is just a waste of time. It's easier to just accept it and move on."
River looks ready to protest but sighs deeply. She grabs one of the bars from Willow and examines it from every angle. "It does not have a name."
"Yeah, figured it'd be best to have the wrapper plain." Willow replies as they walk down the hallway. "Cause I doubt the chocolate I know is the same kind you know. But it is a good brand."
River studies the bar for a few moments before peeling back the foil and snapping off a piece. Popping it into her mouth, she sighs happily. "I like chocolate."
"Better than sex." Willow says as they walk into the mess.
The room goes silent.
"What's better than sex?" Jayne questions.
"Chocolate." River answers, licking the melted chocolate off her fingers.
"Chocolate?" Jayne says. "You got chocolate?"
"Yes." River smiles, breaking off another piece. She walks over to Jayne and before he can say anything, she presses it against his lips.
Jayne can taste the chocolate on his lips and opens his mouth slightly.
River pushes the piece of chocolate into his mouth, almost purring when his teeth nip her fingers.
Jayne tastes the chocolate as it starts to melt and can't help his tongue from dragging across River's fingers. He sees her eyes flutter close and almost sucks on her fingers to see how she'll react, when he hears someone cough.
"Is the chocolate good, Jayne?" Inara questions with a smile.
"Um, yeah." Jayne grunts. He spies the bar in River's hand and feigns for it.
River dodges Jayne's grab with a squeal and runs over to the counter where Willow and Kaylee are standing. "You may have some when we're done."
"River, you make the milk and I'll melt the chocolate." Willow orders.
"What are they doin'?" Mal questions Inara.
"I honestly don't know." Inara answers. "Kaylee just asked if she could use my blender and when I came back with it, she was dishing ice out."
"What are you three up to?" Mal asks as he walks over to the counter.
Willow looks up from the pan of chocolate she's melting to see Mal standing in front of her with a confused look. "Did you say something?"
"Yeah." Mal replies. "What're you doin'?"
"Melting chocolate." Willow answers.
"I can see that." Mal replies. "What I don't see is the why."
"Oh, it's done." Willow squeals happily. "River, is the milk done?"
"Yes." River replies as she hands the pan of milk to Willow.
Willow slowly adds the milk to the melted chocolate, stirring the two together until they're a creamy chocolate mixture. "All right, where's the coffee?"
Kaylee hands the pot of coffee to Willow. "It ain't all that hot."
"That's actually a good thing." Willow replies as she pours the hot chocolate and the coffee into the blender. "Ice please."
Kaylee hands the bucket of ice to Willow with an excited smile. "Now what?"
"Now we blend." Willow answers as she fills the remaining space in the blender with ice. She puts the lid on it and then presses the on button.
"Sir, what's going on?" Zoe questions.
"I don't know." Mal replies.
"They're making iced mochas." Inara says.
Mal turns to look at the companion. "I thought you didn't know."
"I figured it out once they combined the two." Inara replies.
"What the hell is a mocha?" Jayne asks.
"It's an coffee drink." Simon replies as he walks into the mess. "Hot chocolate combined with coffee. Why?"
"Cause they're making some." Mal replies. "Only with ice."
Simon glances worriedly at the three women standing by the counter.
Willow turns the blender off and then pours the frozen drink into the three large glasses Kaylee had set out. She hands the empty blender to River who quickly washes it and sets it next to the pans they used to dry. "Do you have any straws?"
Kaylee nods happily and starts digging through a drawer until she finds some brightly colored straws. "Every time I get a drink, I always save the straws." Kaylee explains as she hands three of them to Willow. "I think they're pretty."
"I want pink." River says as she grabs the glass with the pink straw in it.
"I get purple." Kaylee says.
"And I guess I get green." Willow picks up the remaining glass and takes a tentative sip out of it. "Mmmm..very good."
Kaylee takes sip, her eyes growing wide. "That is good."
A happy moan escapes River's mouth as she taste the frozen treat.
Jayne grabs the glass out of River's hand and takes a drink. "You wasted good coffee on this luh-suh?"
River snags the glass back. "It's good." River argues as she takes another drink.
"Let's go hang out in the bay." Kaylee suggests to River and Willow.
"Just a second." Willow says. She grabs one of the remaining chocolate bars and hands it to Zoe.
Zoe looks down at the chocolate and then up at the redhead.
"There's nothing that can't be made better with chocolate." Willow says. "You should see if Wash agrees."
"Thank you." Zoe says quietly.
"You're welcome." Willow replies. She then turns to look at Kaylee. "I'm ready now."
River grabs the last two chocolate bars and breaks one in half. She hands Mal one half and Book the other. She then opens the last bar and takes a bite out of it before handing it to Jayne. Then with a bright smile at the merc, she sips at her drink as she follows Kaylee and Willow out of the mess.
"Nara, you want a piece?" Mal questions, holding up the chocolate.
"Sure." Inara replies as she takes the piece off chocolate Mal hands her. Inara places the candy into her mouth, her eyes widening with surprise as it melts in her mouth. "It's real chocolate."
"That's impossible." Simon says as he takes the piece Book hands him. "She had 6 bars; nobody has that much chocolate." He takes a bite out the chocolate and his mouth drops open in shock. "It is real."
"I don't get it." Jayne says as he looks at the bar in his hand.
"The chocolate that we normally get is artificial." Inara says. "Real chocolate is very expensive; the amount you would pay for one bar would probably fuel this ship 5 or 6 times. For her to have 6 full size bars and to just give them all away makes her either extremely rich or generous."
"Or maybe she just didn't realize how valuable they really are." Simon adds. "But it still doesn't explain how she was able to afford to buy them."
"Maybe she didn't." Mal says.
"What, she just made them appear out of mid-air?" Simon replies.
"No, maybe she stole them." Mal says as he studies the bar. "But if'n she did, it still don't make no sense on why she would just give it away."
Jayne takes a bite out of the bar and grunts with surprise. "Alright, I think I can tell the difference but don't see why someone would pay that much for it."
"It's about show." Simon answers. "There really isn't much besides the creaminess of real chocolate that can't be duplicated with artificial ingredients. It's a way for someone to show how much money they have; to host a party and use real chocolate instead of fake is a visual way of saying they're willing to spend enormous amounts of money on something that really isn't needed."
"Simon is right." Inara agrees. "I've attended many parties such as these."
"My parents always used real chocolate when they threw a party." Simon adds. "It's one of the first thing they would buy."
"Do you think she's from a rich family like yours?" Mal asks.
"I don't really think so." Simon answers. "Her behavior is too informal and her habit of babbling when she gets nervous isn't something you find too often with debutants."
"Your sister don't act all proper like." Jayne points out.
"River's a…special case." Simon replies. "She was spoiled rotten when she was little, a textbook example of 'daddy's little girl'. Nobody ever punished her or stopped her from behaving however she wanted. So yes, she does behave different than most other girls of her same position."
"River was close with your father?" Mal asks, slightly surprised.
"When he had the time, yes." Simon answers. "Up until she was about 13 or so. Then she started to disagree with his political believes and my father didn't handle that well. He started looking for boarding schools soon after and stumbled upon the academy."
"Is that why she chose Jayne?" Inara asks. "A deep down desire for love and approval from a father figure?"
"What?" Jayne yelps as he sits up straight. "Father figure? I ain't that old."
"I don't know why she chose Jayne but I highly doubt it's because she sees him as a father figure." Simon replies. "First off, if that was her desire, she would have chosen Book as he is the closest to our father's age."
"I've seen pictures; your father ain't that old." Mal protests. "No offense preacher."
"How could one be offended by that?" Book replies sarcastically.
"My father is 56 years old." Simon says.
"How?" Mal questions, his mouth dropped open.
"You'd be amazed at what plastic surgery can do to a person's physical appearance." Simon replies. "My father is a business man; physical appearances are very important to him. River picked Jayne for some reason and it has nothing to do with his age."
"Maybe as a way to get back at your father." Inara suggests. "If your father is as concerned with physical appearances as you suggest, then he would be appalled with his little girl being married to a man like Jayne."
"Hey!" Jayne protests.
"That thought did cross my mind." Simon agrees. "But River is too smart to bind herself to someone purely to rub it in my father's face. As much as I'd like to pretend she didn't realize what she was doing, she married Jayne because she wanted to and frankly, I'm not positive I want to know the reason."
"I'm not sure if I do either." Mal agrees.
"Well, I do." Jayne puts in. "Cause as of now, it don't make a lick of sense."
-
"Hey." Wash says quietly as he tosses a dinosaur from hand to hand.
"Hey." Zoe replies as she moves to lean against the console a foot or so away from her husband.
"So, are you coming up here to accuse me of having an affair with Kaylee or River?" Wash questions angrily. "Or maybe I'm trying to become a client of Inara's."
Zoe glares at him.
"No." Wash says upon seeing her glare. "You don't get to be mad here; I do. We said vows, gorramit, and they don't mean a gorram thing if you don't trust me."
"I do trust you." Zoe replies evenly.
"It surely don't look that way." Wash says.
"I don't like idea of you two being alone for three hours." Zoe replies.
"As I pointed out, we weren't alone, River was there the entire time." Wash says. "And secondly, I've never given you any reason to think I would cheat on you."
"I know that." Zoe agrees. "But first that whole Saffron thing combined with finding you alone with another mysterious woman, well, it just sets me on edge, is all."
Wash stares at Zoe for a second before his eyes widened and a grin cross his face. "You're jealous."
Zoe glares at him and starts to walk away.
Wash snags Zoe's arm and pulls her onto his lap. "You are jealous, aren't you?"
"No." Zoe replies evenly.
Wash cups Zoe's face and kisses her cheerfully on the nose. "You were jealous." Wash repeats with a grin. "Of another woman wanting to be with me. It's so shiny."
Zoe glares at him again. "It's not shiny." Zoe says.
"Yes it is." Wash argues with a grin. "You've never been jealous; I'm always the one that gets all jealous and it's great."
Zoe leans against Wash's chest with a sigh. "I'm not jealous." Zoe defends. "I just don't the thought of you alone with another woman."
"Wifey, that's jealous." Wash explains. "I'm a manly man who makes his wife jealous."
Zoe rolls her eyes and pulls Wash's mouth down to hers. "We okay?" Zoe questions after they break the kiss.
"Yeah." Wash replies, reaching up to kiss her forehead. "You still don't trust her, do you?"
"No." Zoe answers. "I really don't think she's going to try to hurt us but her forgetting how she got here is too convenient."
"Okay, I can see that." Wash agrees. "But we all have secrets. If she really meant to hurt us, she had ample opportunity when she was alone with me and River. Hell, her and River were alone for 6 hours while the rest of us were asleep."
"I know." Zoe replies. "Which is why I said I don't think she's going to try to hurt us but look at Simon and River; neither one of them have done anything to us but look at all the danger they've brought."
"You're right." Wash reluctantly agrees. "She very well could bring more danger than Simon and River did but until that happens, will you at least attempt to like her?"
"You really taken a shine to this girl." Zoe comments. "And no, I'm not saying in a sexual way."
"She kinda reminds me of a weird combination of Kaylee, Inara, River, and you." Wash answers.
"How?" Zoe asks.
"She has Kaylee's cheerfulness and that nurturing thing that Inara has." Wash answers.
"Nurturing?" Zoe questions.
"Didn't you see the way she looks after River?" Wash replies. "And you didn't get to see them when we were talking. She played with River's hair and pretty much just kept an eye on her the entire time, a lot like the way Simon does but without being as overbearing as he is. She treats River the way Inara treats Kaylee."
"Really?" Zoe says.
"Yep." Wash replies. "She's also kinda crazy like River and pretty damn smart from what I've seen. But then the way she stared you down; I've never seen anybody do that besides Mal."
"I know." Zoe agrees. "She did flinch but didn't look away."
"So she's like a weird combination of all the women in my life." Wash finishes explaining. "It's comforting."
"I'll try to get along with her." Zoe says a few seconds later.
"Thank you, wifey." Wash replies, kissing her lightly on the lips.
Zoe reaches into her pocket and pulls out the chocolate bar Willow gave her. Breaking off a piece, she pops it into her mouth before handing Wash some.
"Where'd you get chocolate?" Wash asks as gobbles down the candy.
"Willow." Zoe answers. "She said there's not a problem that can't be solved with chocolate."
"She's right." Wash agrees as he takes another piece. "And it's damn good chocolate."
"Yeah." Zoe agrees as she finishes the last of the bar. "So, are you done thinking?"
"Yep." Wash answers. "Where's the rest of the crew?"
"River, Kaylee, and Willow are drinking iced coffee drinks in the bay and as far as I know, the rest of the crew are in the mess." Zoe answers as she stands up.
"Am I allowed to talk to Willow or will it make you all jealous?" Wash asks as they're walking down the hall.
"You're bout to walk on thin ice." Zoe warns.
Wash laughs and wraps an arm around her waist. "You know me." Wash says in a fake macho voice. "I love the danger."
Zoe smiles and leans her head on his shoulder.
-
"So, you and Simon?" Willow says to Kaylee as she slurps down the last of her mocha.
"What?" Kaylee squeals. "Me and Simon ain't nothin', not that I ain't tried. He's so frustratin'."
"Simon's a boob." River comments as she pulls the straw out of her glass and guzzles down the last of her drink.
"He ain't a boob." Kaylee defends. "Not most of the time. He's just so gorram proper."
"I can see that." Willow comments as she puts her empty glass down. "I'm guessing you haven't made with the smoochies yet."
"We haven't made with nothin' besides the flirtin' and the hand holdin'." Kaylee replies sadly.
"Maybe you should make the first move." Willow suggests.
"He'd probably have a heart attack." Kaylee replies. "Simon ain't like any of the other guys I've been with, he treats me so nice."
"But that dosn't mean anything if he won't give you the smoochies." Willow says. "A girl needs her smoochies."
"Yep." River agrees.
"I want smoochies." Kaylee replies with longing. "But I'm gonna wait till he makes the first move."
"Kaylee." Willow says in a mock-serious whisper. "I think River will ending having sex with Jayne before Simon ever makes a move."
All three girls burst into giggles.
"You're probably right." Kaylee agrees. "River ain't seemin' at all shy bout goin' after what she wants."
"Sometimes a girls has to make what is the first move." Willow says, wrinkling her nose in confusion. "Or something like that."
"What about you?" River questions Willow with a slightly evil grin.
"What about me?" Willow asks back.
"I saw you." River singsongs. "Checking out the captain's behind."
Willow blushes.
"What?" Kaylee squeals. "I thought you was into girls."
"I am." Willow defends, growing redder. "I checked out your legs too, River."
"You glanced." River replies. "And it was in an appreciative way, the same way Kaylee looks at other boats. She thinks they're pretty but would never want to be with them. But you liked the captain's behind."
Willow squeals and buries her face in her hands. She peaks through her fingers and glares at River. "You're evil."
"Sometimes what a girl makes has to be the first move." River repeats with a smirk.
"I thought we were talking about Kaylee and Simon." Willow says trying changing the subject.
"We were." River agrees, tilting her head to examine Kaylee. "You should make the first move. It would make you happy and while at the same time keep you from spending so much money on batteries."
"RIVER!" Kaylee squeals, turning as red as Willow. "You are evil."
"Whose evil?" Mal questions as the remaining crew walk into the bay.
The three highly caffeine-buzzed girls turn around to smile cheerfully at the crew.
"River." Willow and Kaylee reply together and then look at each other and start giggling.
"I was afraid this would happen." Simon observes quietly.
"What?" Mal questions. "What happened?"
"They've consumed more sugar and caffeine that the normal person can handle." Simon answers.
"Huh?" Jayne mutters.
"They're buzzed." Simon clarifies.
Mal groans. "Why didn't you stop them?"
"Do you honestly think I could have?" Simon replies.
"Buzzed?" River repeats as she pops to her feet with a happy giggle. "I do not think I am buzzed."
"I think they're overreacting." Willow whispers loudly. "They look like a bunch of worrywarts."
River holds her hand out and pulls Willow to her feet. Then both girls reach down to pull Kaylee to her feet.
"So, what can we do around here?" Willow questions, looking around the bay.
"Not much." Kaylee replies.
"There has to be something we can do." Willow says.
"Have you ever wondered what would happen if you were to cross feed the thrust adapter with the fuel line?" River questions Kaylee.
"Yeah." Kaylee replies. "I always hoped it might give us an extra boost but it'd probably just blow the ship up."
"So we probably shouldn't try." River says sadly.
"NO!" Mal yells. "No playin' with the engine."
"Oh, we can try makin' some more wine." Kaylee says excitedly.
"Then we could taste test it just to make sure we got it right." Willow adds.
"Sounds like a foolproof plan." River comments.
"Wait one gorram second." Mal orders. "I don't think you three need to be drinkin' wine."
"Why not?" Willow asks.
"Cause I said so." Mal replies.
"Who made you the boss of we?" Willow says, wrinkling her nose again. "I think I mean us."
"I'm the gorram captain of this boat." Mal yells. "I say somethin', you do it, dong ma?"
Willow stares back at Mal's 'captain' look, trying to keep her gaze serious. But after a second, she starts giggling, which gets River and Kaylee giggling, making Willow giggle even harder.
"I don't think they're taking you very seriously." Wash comments to Mal with a smile.
"What're we supposed to do if'n we can't play with the engine or make wine?" Kaylee asks Mal between giggles.
"I feel like running." Willow says, bouncing in place. "Oh, we can play hide-and-seek."
"If we were to turn off the lights and get flashlights, it would make it much more difficult." River comments. "And we know Kaylee has batteries."
"RIVER!" Kaylee squeals again.
River just smiles at her friend.
"What the gorram hell are ya yellin' bout?" Mal asks Kaylee.
"River's evil." Kaylee says, glaring at the genius. "Right, Willow?"
"Yep." Willow agrees.
"Why is she evil?" Simon questions, slightly worried.
Kaylee and Willow both blush.
"Just somethin' she said." Kaylee squeaks out.
"Which was?" Mal questions.
"Batteries and behinds." River singsongs, smiling at the two blushing girls.
Willow and Kaylee both give high pitched squeals and then chase after River. "When we catch you, well I don't know what we'll do but it's going to be bad." Willow threatens.
"You have to catch me first." River yells over her shoulder as she runs around the bay. She runs straight at a large crate, jumps on top of it, and then dives towards the ground, flipping over to land on her feet.
"STOP!" Mal yells at the three girls running around his bay. "One of you is gonna break somethin' and I ain't fixin' it."
"We have to catch her." Kaylee pants.
"Never going to happen." River calls back, her breath not even taxed.
"She can run." Jayne comments as River leads Willow and Kaylee all around bay.
River runs up one set of stairs, across the walks, and back down the other set, her bare feet barely making a sound. She can hear Willow and Kaylee's labored breathing from behind her and focuses on controlling her own, just the way she was trained. Deciding that both girls are becoming overly taxed, she decides to end the chase. She runs towards Jayne's back and literally climbs up his back to sit on his shoulders.
"Game over." River says. "I win."
"We never gave up." Willow pants, bending over to place her hands on her knees, panting heavily.
"Yeah." Kaylee agrees as she pants just as hard as Willow.
"Gorramit, get off." Jayne yells, his hands holding onto River's thighs to keep her from falling off.
"Why?" River questions, leaning forward until her face is right in front of his. "Your face is different upside down."
"Moony, get down." Jayne orders.
"Why?" River asks again.
"Cause I ruttin' said so." Jayne replies.
"I'm quite comfortable." River says as she adjusts her legs over his shoulders and then rests her chin on his head.
"Mei-mei, get down." Simon says.
"I'd rather not." River replies, tracing her fingers of Jayne's face.
"Alright, little witch…" Mal starts.
"What?" Willow squeals. "I'm not a witch."
"I wasn't talkin' bout you." Mal says. "I was talkin' to River."
"Oh." Willow says, relieved.
"As I was sayin', little witch, Jayne ain't a tree." Mal finishes. "It's time to get down now."
"Must I?" River asks.
"Yep." Mal replies.
"Maybe Jayne can give you a…hand." Willow suggests.
"It would be nice." River replies. "But I fear I will have to make due with my own hands, for now."
"RIVER!" Simon scolds.
River smiles at Simon and leans forward to grab Jayne's waist. She places her face in Jayne's stomach and then flips over to land on her feet. She then smiles up Jayne before skipping over to Willow and Kaylee. "Let's go play."
They lock arms and walk cheerfully out of the bay, passing a mostly confused crew.
"No more coffee." Mal says a few moments after the three girls are gone. "Cause they don't look like they're comin' down anytime soon."
"Is that normal?" Wash questions.
"Not really." Simon replies.
Wash looks thoughtful for a moment before posing another questions. "And we're sure they didn't add a little something extra to their coffee drinks?"
-
"Where are they?" Mal questions Simon.
"They were sitting on the couch outside the infirmary talking about things I'd rather not think about." Simon answers with a grimace. "But that was about half an hour ago so they could be anywhere by now."
"Shouldn't this buzz be wearin' off by now?" Jayne questions. "It's been what, 5 hours?"
"Almost 6 actually." Simon replies. "And yes, it should have worn off. But I think they may have snuck some of Kaylee's wine."
"Why would you think that?" Mal questions.
"They were in River's room about 2 hours ago." Simon answers. "And as I walked into the room, River shoved something under her pillow. I'm pretty sure it was one of the bottles Kaylee stores wine in."
"I told them no wine." Mal says.
"And they seem to listen to you so well." Inara comments.
"We try." Kaylee says from the doorway.
"Kaylee, you okay?" Simon questions.
"Yeah." Kaylee answers. "But River and Willow fell asleep."
"They drunk, little Kaylee?" Mal asks. "Cause I rememberin' sayin' no wine."
"We had a sip." Kaylee defends. "You and Nara drank most of it."
"So why'd they pass out?" Mal asks.
"Don't think they did." Kaylee answers. "I think they was just tired."
"Not sleeping all night and then ingesting as much caffeine as they did, well, it makes sense that they would fall asleep once the caffeine wore off." Simon comments.
"They in their room?" Mal asks.
"Nope." Kaylee answers. "They're outside the infirmary."
Mal stands up and motions for Jayne to follow him. They walk quietly down the hall and stop a few feet away from the couch. River is lying on one end, curled up in a ball while Willow is on the other end with her legs stretched out.
"You grab River and I'll get Willow." Mal tells Jayne.
Jayne reaches down and picks up River. She lets out a little moan and buries her face in his chest. Jayne tightens his hold around her body as he starts towards her room.
Mal picks Willow up and adjusts her against his chest.
"Don't warn the tadpoles." Willow mutters. "They'll grow up and take over the world."
"Tadpoles, sir?" Zoe questions.
"Guess she's afraid of em." Mal replies.
"Seems like weird thing to be afraid of." Wash comments.
"Which is probably why she's afraid of em." Mal says. He glances down at the redhead held against his chest and wonders who the hell she is. After Saffron, he shoulda just thrown her off the boat but he can't. Until she does somethin' to hurt his crew, he'll let her stay.
Mal walks into River's room right as Jayne is covering the genius with her blanket. A little startled by the act, he starts to wonder if'n this marriage ain't startin' to have it's effect on the large merc. He lays Willow on her bed and covers her up.
Mal follows Jayne out of the room and shuts the door behind him.
Jayne casts a glance at the door before lookin' at Mal. "Least they're quiet."
-