"Well lookee at that."
Jayne, Shepard, Simon and Mal all glanced up from their cards and followed Wash's gaze to the dome ports. What looked like a wall of metal plate was gliding by, shutting out the stars. The big ship was shifting base - right on schedule.
And just in time too. Mal threw in his miserable excuse for a hand and got to his feet. "Get to the bridge, Wash. And somebody tell Kaylee its time to go back to work."
"I'll do it." Simon said quickly. He'd been itching to check on his sister for the last couple of hours.
...
The female half of Serenity's crew was all together in Inara's shuttle, picking over her pretties and talking about the kind of things women do.
"Not that I'm against dressing up from time to time," Zoe was saying as she fingered the amber silk of a fur trimmed robe, "but Wash seems to like me fine in leathers." grinned. "Plays to his 'warrior woman' fantasies."
Margot laughed, trying a plumed aigrette against her gray hair. "You got yourself a good man there, Zoe, I hope you value him as he deserves."
"Oh I do, I do. Was lucky to find him."
Kaylee carefully replaced a ruby necklace in its nest of velvet. "Funny thing, when I first came aboard I didn't think you liked him much."
"I didn't." Zoe answered surprisingly. "He stirred me up inside in a real disturbing way."
River looked up from admiring the rings adorning every finger. "I thought love was supposed to feel good?"
Zoe shook her head ruefully. "Not when you've got your life all ordered, and the man isn't at all what you thought you needed and wanted."
Inara turned abruptly away, hiding her face, and started pulling out the drawers of a teak chest in a random kind of way. Margot noticed but Kaylee and River were more interested in what Zoe was saying.
"Falling in love can be downright upsetting. And complicated too, you remember how the Captain acted."
Kaylee laughed. "I surely do! Thought he was jealous at first."
"Captain loves Zoe, but not romantically." said River, eyes still on her rings.
"Yeah, I figured that out in the end." Kaylee looked curiously at her shipmate. "Always thought it was kind of funny though. You and the Captain having been through so much together, and him being a man and you a woman, and neither of you sly, I'd have thought there'd be something between you."
"There is." said Zoe. "Quite a lot; trust, comradeship, a kind of love." she shrugged. "But not sex. I admit I had a stray thought or two back at the beginning but things just didn't develop that way."
"It happens like that sometimes." Margot agreed.
"Guess it does." Kaylee said, in a tone of discovery. "Look at me; Jayne's not at all bad - 'specially when he's new bathed - and Captain's downright beautiful but having either of them would be like sexing one of my brothers."
"Jayne's not handsome." said River, she was putting the rings back in their boxes now, head bent, thick brown hair falling around her face.
"Not like the Captain or your brother." Kaylee said judiciously. "But he's got a rugged sort of good looks, and a great body if muscles turn you on."
"Mean." said River, head bending even lower, face invisible behind her fall of hair.
"Yeah, but he's got his soft spots." Kaylee answered. "He's been right sweet to me a time or two when I really appreciated it - even if he does normally make life a burden."
"No real harm in Jayne." Zoe agreed, smiling almost indulgently. "You got to watch him, but he has his uses and can be downright entertaining at times."
Inara laughed suddenly, turning back to join the group. "Are we actually talking nice about Jayne Cobb?"
Zoe and Kaylee joined in the laughter. River didn't, and Margot noticed that too. There was a knock on the hatch.
"Come in." Inara called and Simon appeared around a tapestry.
"The ship's leaving." he said, eyes going straight to River. "Captain wants Kaylee in the engine room."
The mechanic got up, smoothing the folds of her pink and gold sari, an expectant eye on him. "Be right there."
Simon didn't even spare her a glance, his attention all on his sister. Hurt then anger came into Kaylee's face. When it became clear he wasn't going to pay her any notice she turned abruptly and disappeared behind the dressing screen.
River gave her brother a downright unfriendly look. "You're just too stupid to live!" she pushed her way past him and out of the shuttle. After a startled moment he hurried after.
The three older women exchanged looks, pretending not to hear the muffled sniffling floating over the screen. There are all kinds of clueless, but Simon Tam was in a class by himself.
Simon caught up with his sister on the landing, catching her by the arm and stopping her mid-flounce. "River, River, what's wrong?"
She turned on him in a fury. "What's wrong is my only brother is stupid-blind! Didn't see how pretty Kaylee looked. Didn't even notice my new dress though looking straight at me!"
"New dress?" Simon repeated blankly, looked down. Sure enough his sister was wearing a lovely brown and gold lace he'd never seen on her before. "Inara gave you that?"
"Kaylee's is even prettier, not that she'll ever wear it for you after ignoring her like that!"
Simon shot a guilty look upward just in time to see Kaylee emerge from the shuttle in her usual overalls and t-shirt and head up the steps to the engine room, not glancing down once. "Uh...I've done it again?"
"M-hm!" River pulled free and continued down the stair, disappearing into the passenger lounge. Simon stayed where he was looking after Kaylee, guilt written all over his face.
Margot and Zoe came out next. The first officer glanced down, shook her head and went through the same hatch as Kaylee. But Margot descended the steps to give him a resigned if sympathetic smile.
"Simon, your people skills are distinctly wanting."
"I'm aware of that." he answered miserably. "Mother and Dad -" he stopped a moment, surprised to realize he was saying those names without bitterness for the first time in nearly three years. "Mother and Dad used to worry over our socialization. Neither River nor I ever had any friends. Other kids...other kids were boring."
"You mean it was easier to play with each other than make an effort to connect with outsiders."
"Guess I do." his shoulders drooped.
Suddenly all the lights came on and the grill of the landing vibrated beneath them. Margot took his arm. "We'd better sit down, bound to take some maneuvering to get clear of this cloud.
Simon let her lead him to the passenger lounge couch. There was no sign of River, probably shut in her room being mad at him. He heard himself say: "Can you believe I've never been with a woman? Never even gone out on a date?"
"Actually - yes." Margot answered dryly.
"You heard River before, she's good at so many things she couldn't decide on a profession. But me, I always wanted to be a doctor. My parents did everything to help and encourage me but it was my dream not theirs. I just whizzed through Medacad and internship, all I wanted to do was study and work. Girls - I barely even noticed them -"
"Until now." said Margot
He turned an agonized face to her. "Now, just when I've got nothing to offer but trouble, I finally meet a girl I can't get out of my head!"
"Given that she's on this boat I kind of doubt Kaylee's afraid of trouble."
Simon shook his head. "Not like ours. We got people after us, people willing to kill. I can't - I won't - drag her into that."
Margot tilted her head sideways. "Haven't you already just by being on Serenity?"
"We're not staying." Simon said firmly. "I'm keeping my eyes open, sooner or later I'll find a place where we can settle, someplace far enough out to be free of Alliance control but advanced enough to have the medications River needs. And that's another good reason for not starting anything with Kaylee."
"Mmmm...have you discussed any of this with her?"
Simon stared at Margot like she'd lost her mind. "No!"
"Maybe you should." she suggested mildly.
...
Dinner that night was a bit of a celebration - for all it was just the usual protein and cellulose spiced up with a few condiments. Mal read over the manifest with considerable satisfaction.
"Well this has been a profitable little adventure. Saved you some money too, Margot, won't have to refuel on Moab now."
Shepard Book put down his spoon. "What about all the others who don't get away? Those people got to be stopped, Mal."
Some of the Captain's pleasure in their gettaway oozed out of him. "Yeah, well I can't say I like piracy either, Shepard, but I don't see how we can stop 'em."
"We could wave the Armstrong." Book said quietly.
Mal's eyes all but popped out of his head. "You serious? No. No, absolutely not."
Zoe cleared her throat. "Sir -"
He stared at her disbelieving. "You 'bout to say you're for turning our own people in to the Alliance?"
"They're not your people, Captain, not any more." Margot put in.
"Don't know about you, sir, but I don't like them shaming our name and cause." Zoe said, snapping her mouth shut on it.
"No." he said again, but not as loud.
"Mal, they're slavers. You hate slavers." Inara reminded him gently.
"Could be a reward." Jayne mused, warming to the idea.
"Might be." Margot agreed, a little absently, attention still on Mal's twisted, indecisive face.
"Mal?" Shepard Book prodded softly.
The Captain surged to his feet throwing down his napkin. "Go ahead and wave 'em if you want - but we won't be sticking round to watch." he stomped out.
Margot looked at Book. "Want me to talk to them, Derrial?
"No." he answered quietly. "Best I do it." He left too by another door.
Jayne looked after him interestedly. "Yeah, the Shepard's got some kind of in with the purple bellies." to Zoe and Kaylee: "Remember the Magellen?"
"Shut up, Jayne." said Kaylee staring at her plate to avoid meeting Simon's eye.
"Watch your mouth, lil' girl -"
"We agreed we wouldn't press the Shepard about that." said Zoe.
"Who's pressing? I'm just remembering is all."
"Well stop remembering and eat your supper." she answered sharply.
Everybody dug in, but any trace of celebration was long gone.