You could cut the tension with a knife on board. Zoë and Wash were on the outs which made everything bumpy. Mal was getting sick of it. He wanted to throw them both off his ship and just find a new pilot and first mate. Just be done with it. "Kaylee, do you know what in the gorram hell is going on here between Wash and Zoë, cause I'm in the dark." Kaylee was in here hammock in the engine room this was the only place she could be alone away from the star crossed lovers. "Nope. Ask Wash or Zoë."

Mal got on the comm "Zo, Wash I need you down in the cargo bay, now!"

Kaylee jumped out of her hammock. "Captain, what are you doing?"

"Taking your advice and asking them."

Zoë was already in the cargo bay when Mal gave the orders. Wash was coming down the steps. "Did you ask him how high?"

"Shah muh?"

"Did you ask him how high before you jump?" Zoë didn't say anything, but she was reaching for her gun when Mal walked in.

"Zoë, there will no shooting of pilots today." Mal walked over to the two of them and stood in the middle. "There has been a lot of tension on my boat for a while and to tell you the truth I'm getting tired of it. If you two don't work out your differences like adults I'm going to tether you together until you can get along."

"Sir."

"Zoë, I'm serious. Work it out." With that said Mal walked out. Wash went back to the bridge.

Zoë just stood there for a moment and headed to the bridge. "So, the Captain tells you to talk to me and you do. But when I try to talk to you, you have nothing to say." Wash turned around in his chair to look at her. Zoë stood at the door with her arms crossed. It had been weeks since Zoë kissed Wash and she hadn't talked to him since. Wash tried, but she always found a way out of talking to him.

"Zoë I'm all kinds of confused here. I thought we where going somewhere or was I crazy for thinking that?" Zoë just looked at the pilot as he spoke. She never meant to hurt him, but she did. She knew the only way to push back her feelings was to just ignore him completely.

"Gao yang jong duh goo yang, Zo it takes two people to have a conversation."

Forget get it, she went in and kissed him. They started kissing of the bridge, which let to the hall, which led to his bunk's door. "Wait." Zoë said as she pushed away. Wash made some strange noise out of frustration. "Does it still smell down there?"

Wash smiled as he threw her against the wall of the hallway and kissed her. "Not so much." They went down to his bunk.

She didn't feel the least bit guilty about what she just done with the pilot. It felt right. For the first time in a long while it felt right.

His plan had worked it had taken longer than it expected but his plan worked to woo the beautiful first mate. And woo her he did, a couple of times.

They laid there in silence neither of them wanted to ruin what had just happen by talking. Wash enjoyed the view of her body as he rubbed his hands around her curves. He stopped when he came to a scar on her back. He traced it with his figures. It felt smooth. He wondered what had happen. He wanted to ask, but he was afraid to go there. She had never talked about the war to him, he just figured it was a mute point.

Zoë could feel him touching her scar on her back. She wanted to tell him, but the scares where reminders of the past that she wanted to forget. She wanted to look forward to the future and being happy. She was happy with Wash, she felt safe with him. She could be just Zoë.

She turned to face him when something stuck her. "Ouch." She found a plastic dinosaur in between the sheets. "Ok what is the deal with the dinosaurs?"

Wash grabbed the toy from her and looked at it affectionately. It's a Pterosaur."

Zoë had a puzzled look on her face. "A Ptero-what?"

"A Pterosaur, back on the earth that was it was the first vertebrates to fly. At first scientist thought that they were too weak to fly, that they just glided through the air, but later on they found out that they where excellent flyers, and weren't no evolutionary fluke. They lived about 140 million years." Wash flew the thing around in the air. Zoë laughed.

"How you know all this stuff, Pilot?"

"If I told you I would have to kill you."

They talked and laughed all night until they fell asleep in each other's arm.

The next morning Zoë got up early and tired to get out of bed with out waking Wash. "Whereya going?" He mumbled. "We'll be landing soon gotta get the cargo ready." Wash grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back. "Cargo can wait." He began kissing her.

"No, it can't. Captain…" Wash let out a big sigh and let go of her. She finished getting dress and left. As she was coming out of Wash's bunk, she bumped into Mal. He was a bit taken back. "So, you and the pilot getting along then?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good."

"Good."

Once again one of Mal's brilliant plans had gone south and Mal and Zoë found themselves out number and out gunned.

"Jing-tsai, plan Sir."

"Thank you, Zoë."

"I particularly like the part where the guns are pointing at our heads."

"Mine two."

A rather large man and his four cronies held Mal and Zoë up. They had got caught stealing from them.

"Hoo-tsuh you too, or I'll shoot ya." The large man spit on the ground next to Zoë's boot. She made a face of disgust.

"Ya'll thought ya'll was pretty smart sneakin' in and stealing our stuff and trying to sell it back to us."

"I thought so." Mal said smartly. As he held his hands up.

"Shut it you." The large one said. "What should we do with 'em?" The large one talked it over with his cronies.

"I think we can take them." Mal whispered to Zoë.

"There's five of them and two of us."

"So."

"So, we're out number."

"When has that stopped us before? And besides we're much smarter than they are."

"I disagree Sir, they are the ones you have the guns pointed at our heads and they figure out your well laid out plan."

"Awe Zoë, this was all apart of my plan." Mal whipped out his guns and started shooting. Zoë followed suit. There was a slue of bullets and swears, before it was all over and the large man and his cronies laid dead on the ground.

"See, all part of the plan."

After there ordeal Mal and Zoë went for drinks. Mal drank and Zoë kept look out, she wanted her mind clear in case the large ones had people who wanted revenge. "Zo, have a drink. Ain't nobody coming after us." He took another gulp of his drink. He looked at the woman sitting across from him. He really looked at her for the first time. Then he got all serious. "Why you stay, Zo?" She gave him a puzzled look. "I mean, the war was over and you stayed with me. You even chose me over Danny. I mean I love you company and all. But why you stay with me?" Zoë took Mal's drink away from him.

"You're drunk, Sir."

"Ain't drunk. Takes more than a couple of shots of whiskey to get me drunk."

"You're drunk, if you have to ask me that question." She motioned for the waitress to come over to their table. She asked her for some water to sober Mal up. The waitress brought them two glasses and Zoë handed one to Mal. "Didn't answer my question." He looked dead in her eyes. To this day Mal sore that he saw her soul. "You remember the first time that our unit got pinned up?"

"Yeah."

"We were out number and out gunned. It seem hopeless. The men were about to give up, walk away. You remember what you said to us, to me… You talked about during a war on earth that was between a young nation fighting to be free from a government that wanted to control them. Much like the Alliance trying to control the boarder planets. You quoted a man. You remember what you said?"

Mal sat up a spoke barely above a whisper. " 'There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave… Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!' Patrick Henry. You remember that?"

"Yes, It change me, it change the men. You made us believe that we could win this war that what we were fighting for something much bigger than ourselves."

"We lost the war." She took his hand. "Did we? Mal, that day we took on 1300 Alliance soldiers, us a platoon of 275, sent them running for the hills. You made us believe. You made me believe."

"You're getting all smushie on me."

"I guess I am Sir."