"This is the last time I take the mule out for supplies alone on a planet prone to FLASH FLOODS!" Wash shouted into the comm system, partially to vent frustration and partially to be heard above the pouring rain. Mal's reply crackled out before Wash could hear it. "Gorram." He cursed, feeling horribly not-in-control of the situation. Given the choice between the marginal safety of a shelter by the river, or the otherwise unprotected high ground of a nearby hill, Wash had opted for the high ground, thinking that shelter could wash away. Well, apparently, so could the high ground.
Nobody else could pilot Serenity through this storm for a rescue operation, even if he could raise them on the radio. He might have to abandon the mule and the supplies if it got much worse. As if on cue, the rain increased to a fever pitch, totally obscuring his vision. Great, just great. He was going to drown on some godforsaken border moon, without having accomplished any of his life-long goals. He could no longer see the control panel, and had to fumble blindly for the comm system when it crackled to life. "Wash…..hear me?" More static. And that definitely wasn't Mal's voice.
"…Inara?" He shouted into the receiver, incredulous. Why would the ship's newest passenger be hailing him? He hadn't paid much attention to the Companion, she'd kept pretty much to herself. "What's going on?"
"…" Gorram, he'd lost the connection. "…taking shuttle…get you…" Another burst of static and the system went dead. Inara, coming to get him? He hadn't though Inara would care a fig whether or not the pilot drowned. Well, it might make her late for her next appointment, but they hadn't really ever…spoken.
------
Wash remembered when she came on board. Kaylee had been quite excited, the rest of the crew was incredulous. Jayne wondered if it meant they'd be getting special favors. Zoë seemed to think that her arrival was a bad idea, but kept her opinions to herself, as usual. Wash was alone in voicing his opinion to the Captain.
"Mal, what's a woman of class like that want with folk like us? We can't offer much." Wash said, slightly suspicious.
"Maybe you ain't got much to offer." Said Jayne, preening. Wash and Zoë rolled their eyes in unison, then looked away. Hopefully, no one had seen that. Mal had, and he grinned before he offered his reasoning. "Don't know why she chose us, but it'll be a powerful help having a Companion on board. Lot more ports are open to a transport what's got important folk on it."
He gestured up at the entrance to the shuttle. "Ain't gonna look a gift horse in the mouth"
"Ain't her mouth I'm interested in…" Jayne began. Mal and Zoë gave him warning looks.
"She ain't gonna be servicin' the crew." Mal said, eyes on Jayne. "Not that the likes of us could afford her price anyway."
"Are you sure we can't trade him in for a puppy?" Wash asked as he passed the captain on his way back to the bridge.
"Puppies can't shoot guns, Wash." Mal said, but only after appearing to consider the offer for a moment. "Besides, who'd give up a puppy for Jayne?"
"I heard that!" Came the mercenary's indignant shout from below the stairs where he'd gone to sulk and lift weights. Mal and Wash shared a look and headed off to their respective jobs.
Incense, the smell of frankincense and patchouli preceded the Companion onto the bridge. Grateful for not being startled into fits of girlish screaming, as was usually the case with Zoë's unannounced and stealthy visits to the bridge, Wash was able to greet her with an only slightly nervous smile.
"What can I do ya for, Miss? Madam, umn…" Wash attempted to make a good impression, and failed miserably, those scant months on Ariel not being nearly enough training to properly address a Companion.
"You can call me Inara, Mister Washbourne." She said with a gracious smile, extending her hand.
In what he fervently hoped was the appropriate response, Wash took her hand and kissed it lightly. "Mister's too fanciful, you can just call me Wash." His face flushed scarlet as he frantically backpedaled. "If it's not against the protocol or whatnot." He figured he should probably shut up before he managed to insert his foot further into his mouth.
Inara smiled at him, being surprisingly tolerant of his blundering. "These are the coordinates for my next appointment. I was told to ask you to plot a course for a suitable rendezvous."
Thank God, something he could handle. Flight coordinates, no problem. Outrunning Reavers or slipping into port under watchful Alliance eyes, sure thing. But try and talk to a woman, and Wash went all bibbledy. He could almost hear Zoë laughing at him, although the first mate was nowhere around.
He assumed Inara wouldn't much care to be flying out and about in the muck of this spit of a planet. Hell, he weren't too keen on the planet, and he'd been raised squabblin' in the dirt with the sons of his uncles buyers. Mind you, his childhood memories didn't involve cockroaches, he reflected as he squashed another one as it crawled up his thigh and tossed it into the current below. "Take much longer and you won't have to bother!" He called into the comm., eyeing the rising water warily and scanning the horizon for any signs of rescue.
As if on cue, the shuttle cut through the clouds, bathing Wash in a glorious white light. He grinned. She'd brought the spare shuttle, there was a chance of saving the mule after all.
Inara skillfully landed the shuttle, managing to find the only other piece of non-treacherous ground aside from the one where Wash had parked the mule. "Good evening, Wash." Chirped the comm. as Inara, composed as ever, completed the landing sequence.
"Gotta make this quick, Miss Inara." Wash advised. "Don't fancy floodin' the shuttle, or the both of us sinking into this muck-" He cut off abruptly as the shuttle door opened.
"Already way ahead of you!" Inara called over the pounding rain. Well, gorram. He's beginning to take a shining to this new passenger. He whispered a prayer of thanks to whoever up there was looking out for him and started the mule's engine.