Author's Note:

Okay, so this is going to be a short chapter, sorry. And then after this one we'll be seeing Patience at Whitefall, which I'm very excited for.

A huge thanks to everyone who reviewed! ThePrincess04, espergirl04, Jas-TheMaddTexan, PseudonymA1, BlueEyedBrigadier, Hope-W, Stormkpr, HiddenCries77, Twitchy Louie, and teshara. You guys rock! And especially thanks to everyone who offered suggestions, they were all hysterical (you can see them on the review page). They were HiddenCries77, BlueEyedBrigadier, and PseudonymA1. They were all awesome suggestions and I used at least one from each of them. Keep up the suggestions everyone!

Anyway I have homework to do, (this is my first week of college and I'd hate to fall behind so soon). I'll try to write soon!

Chapter #3:

A second later Inara heard the Captain's voice coming from inside the room.

"Wash you are needed- What the hell?" he stopped talking abruptly and there were several moments where he said nothing. "Zoe?" he said suddenly.

"I'd appreciate it if you turned around sir," her voice came calmly. Peeking down into the room Inara could see Mal turn around. She couldn't see his face but his voice sounded like there was a lot of suppressed rage.

"Wash you are needed up on the bridge and not in Zoe's pants. Go now! While I'd love to sort this all out right now we have some imminent danger that needs to be seen to first to ensure that there is a later for us to discuss this in," Mal was babbling and the fact that he sounded very cute doing so flitted in and out of Inara's head before she could block it. A minute later Mal led a partially dressed Zoe and Wash out of the room and back to the bridge.

--

After the danger had been averted and Serenity had been set down Mal, Zoe, and Wash sat around the table in the kitchen. Zoe looked as cool and calm as ever. Wash was nervous and kept twitching. Mal kept fingering his gun. Inara busied herself making tea while trying to convince herself that she was not being nosy. Two other men were in the room.

One was a young man with long hair, the mechanic. He didn't stay saying that he needed to get some parts to fix the engine. Outrunning their enemies had cost them, which was not improving Mal's mood.

The other was a very large man, built with solid muscle. He hadn't said anything to Inara but she could feel him watching her. The man, obviously a mercenary, was sitting on a chair a little way out of the center of the room cleaning a knife. The smirk on his face made it clear that he found the whole situation amusing, especially the twitchiness of the pilot.

"So Wash," Mal began with loads of fake cheeriness in his voice, "you're not gay?" Zoe covered a smirk with her hand while Wash, clearly flabbergasted, stuttered to come up with an answer.

"Why would you think something like that?" he asked finally, "I love Zoe!" Mal sighed and rolled his eyes.

"How about we not play pretend as it tends to make me cranky? If you need that sort of thing then why not you see our brand new whore and not the first mate who has plenty of other jobs?"

"Now see here Captain Reynolds," Inara burst out, "there are two things wrong with that. One I specifically demanded that you not refer to me as a whore-"

"It must have slipped my mind," Mal told her innocently.

"And second I will not, under any circumstances, be servicing you or anyone employed by you! We already went over this!"

"You're not?" the large man asked sounding crestfallen.

"Jayne out!" Zoe said and the man meandered off taking all of his weapons with him.

"Then maybe I should fire Wash," Mal directed his peeved glare at said pilot.

"You can't do that Mal!" Wash cried.

"Captain," Mal snapped, "it's Captain to you."

"You can't do that Captain," Wash said sarcastically.

"Sir," Zoe spoke up standing between the two men, "may I have a word with you in private?" For a second the Captain glared as if he was going to say no but then he stormed out of the kitchen, followed by Zoe.

"You ought to know better Zoe," Mal berated her, "shipboard romances make everything go haywire. And that's before things fall apart between the two love birds. If you two break up then how am I supposed to keep the peace on my boat?"

"It's known of your business sir," Zoe told him, her voice calm but her eyes burning, "and if you fire Wash then I'm leaving too." And with that she turned on her heel and marched back to the kitchen. "We're going for a walk," she told Wash who followed her quickly to avoid Mal who had strode back into the kitchen after her.

"Well you handled that well," Inara said sarcastically after they had left her and Mal alone in the kitchen.

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked.

"Just let them be," she exclaimed throwing her hands in the air, "it's not a particularly difficult concept to master. Just let two adults do as they will without you butting into their affairs!"

"Like a whore would know anything about all this!"

"I know more about relationships then you ever will," Inara yelled back, "and for the very last time I am not a whore and you shall not call me one!" With that, entirely pissed at the Captain's attitude towards Wash and Zoe's relationship, not to mention his attitude about her, the companion stalked back to her shuttle, the tea abandoned on the kitchen table.

"Jayne?" Mal said after she'd left.

"Yeah Mal?" Jayne said from outside the doorway where he'd been eavesdropping from.

"Why is everyone mad at me all of the sudden?" Jayne came in and grabbed a protein bar.

"Could be cause you're a jackass?" Jayne suggested through a full mouth as he took a bite out of the bar.