Jayne and Mal were sitting in the cockpit the next evening after most of the crew had retired from the planning.
"He's gonna see us going planet-side." Jayne said for about the hundredth time.
Mal sighed. "Only if he's lookin'." He leaned back more comfortably in the pilot's seat. "Besides, we'll be quick about it. With River up here and you guys ready to back me up it'll be fast and simple, no complications."
"If everything goes to plan. Which, as I've mentioned before, is never what happens. When he kills you can I have your ship?" Mal sat upright at that.
"No! And nobody's fixin' to get themselves killed!"
"What about your guns?"
Mal stood up and made for the exit. "No! If I get killed -which I won't!- but if I get killed, you bury me in the gorram ship." Mal was gone before he could hear Jayne's response. As he made his way down the corridor he stopped at his bunk entryway. He sighed and then continued past it, towards the shuttles.
He hesitated outside her door. Maybe I should knock this time. He quickly dismissed the idea, being that it'd give her the feeling that he wasn't his usual self. Hitting the release he entered. Before he made it past her curtain, Inara spoke up.
"Hold." He stopped in his tracks. Then, remembering this was actually his shuttle, he continued on. She was throwing over the last bits of a large loose dress. She had obviously been in the midst of prayer or something that she usually did all naked-like.
"Obviously you fail to understand what 'Hold' means. What can I help you with at this late hour, Mal?" As of late, they had both slowed down the harsh attitude towards each other.
"Um, I was hoping I could get your feedback on this fool-hearty venture we've decided to undertake." He moved and sat on her fouton.
She smiled and joined him, a little ways away. "You know how I feel, Mal. I think you've done enough of the being a hero, and that's just what this is, foolish. But I also understand that that's exactly what your sense of honor is from time to time: foolish."
He put on a blank look, "I'm not rightly sure that that's a compliment, but I'll take it. Listen, when we're on Ezra, if anything goes wrong, anything, I need you to promise me you'll grab whoever you can and take this shuttle out of here." The real reason, his worry for Inara and his crew, that he came here finally registering with the Companion.
Her smile faded, "Where are we supposed to go, this is a short range shuttle? And if you are that sure that something could happen why are we doing this?"
"I'm not going to lie, the payoff is huge on this one, enough to finish up the repairs the Alliance helped us with so we won't be limping no more, pay the crew, and get in some much needed new supplies.
"As for where you'll go, Zoe and I sent a message to the Alliance about a huge smuggling operation going down on Ezra the day after we leave. They'll probably get there early. If something goes wrong, you hightail it to that Alliance ship. At the least, you'll be safe." He got up to make his leave, hoping she'd stop him.
As she got up to stop him she called his name and they bumped very close together as he turned around. The amount of tension at that moment would have fueled the ship for a year. She reached up and kissed him, deeply. He was surprised, but wouldn't let her go. Finally, after what seemed like both forever and too short a while, they broke.
"You'll be ok, Mal."
"Of...of course. It..it's what I do." They locked gazes for a long time, both wanting it to continue.
Then the proximity alarm went off.