Disclaimer: Not mine, just writing for fun. A/N: Here's another little scene from the series, set after the end of "Safe". Big Thanks to Leiasky for checking it over and input. Hope you all like this and I am now working on another one of these missing scenes, I'll give you a hint- moo!: Please read and review, tell me what you liked and if you have any suggestions for scenes you'd like to see, leave them here!:) Other Missing Scenes: Dancing (OMR), Proof of Alien Life (The Message), Plans (Ariel).

________________________________________________________________________ He pulled out my chair. This thought bounced around Kaylee's brain as the crew ate their dinner. The smile that stretched across her face radiated a dreamy quality that made her eyes look drowsy and sated. She gently picked at the food in front of her, stealing glances at Simon, who was on her left, and then down the table at Inara. The companion kept her indulgent smile hidden by her hands as she covered her mouth, pretending to cough. Mal had noticed the smile on Inara’s face before she covered it, giving her a perplexed look before dismissing it as some womanly thing, which he wanted nothing to do with. After wolfing down all of his meal, while the rest of the crew weren’t even half way through theirs, Jayne left the table and unceremoniously dumped his plate in the sink. As he began to stalk off, Mal looked up at the behemoth of a man, “You not washin‘ tonight?” Jayne scowled at Mal, “Not mine ta do, Kaylee’s on KP.” Mal squinted at Jayne and was about to admonish him when Kaylee chimed in,” S’okay Cap’n, he’s right, I traded with him earlier today.” Jayne pointed at Kaylee, his face sneering at Mal, “See, told ya,” and left the galley. Mal scowled at Jayne’s selfish nature, his upper lip curling as he turned to Kaylee, “Shouldn’t have to cook and clean up, lil’ Kaylee.” Kaylee smiled back at his concern, “I don’t mind.” Simon lifted his head up from where he had been staring at his plate, “I’ll help with the dishes.” He then promptly returned to staring at his food, glad that the lighting was dim. It covered the blush that had risen up along his collar and heated his skin at such an outburst that was so contrary to his comport. Kaylee gave the rest of the table a delighted grin before looking to Simon, who was pushing around his food with his chopsticks, “Thank you, Simon.” He lifted his head to see Kaylee’s dazzling grin and he was thankful that he was sitting. “Your welcome.” He then returned to his meal as a few snickers passed across the table. Zoe and Wash finished their meals in record time. Wash took the long way around the table , slapping Simon on his shoulder as he passed by to deposit his dish in the sink. River was next to leave, smiling widely at her brother before skipping down the hallway leading to the passenger dorms. Inara picked at her food, gazing down at Mal, who was too far away for her to kick under the table. She decided to use the direct approach. "Mal, I need a word with you ,please." Mal looked up form his meal, which he had been taking particularly long with and gave Inara a consternated face, "I can hear ya just fine from here." Inara's eyes squinted with sternness as she bit out the words, "In private." Mal dropped his chopsticks on his plate, scowling as he left the table. Inara floated by and let her hand glide over Kaylee's shoulders as she passed, eliciting a smile from the younger woman. When the captain and the companion exited the galley, Simon lifted his head from the engaged stare he had on his plate. He knew what the crew had been doing, it didn't take a top three percent brain to figure it out, and it made his blush deepen when he and Kaylee were finally alone. They both scooted their chairs out at the same time, accidentally bumping one another. Simon apologized immediately and thought it seemed funny how five little words, uttered without any thought, could land him in such an anxious state. Kaylee gave him a lingering look as she reached for some of the serving dishes, balancing a few on her arm. Simon picked up his own plate and reached for Kaylee's, their hands brushing against each other's as Kaylee had reached for it at the same time. Simon's voice hitched in his throat as he tried to swallow his breath and apologize, for the second time in a matter of seconds, all at once, "I...ahh-" Kaylee just smiled serenely at his anxiousness, "S'all right, Simon. I can mange ta carry my own plate." Simon released the hold he had on the dish and picked up his glass instead. She had three times the amount of plates as Simon, shaming him a bit. He had never had to do dishes one day in his life before he became a fugitive, or clear a table for that matter. As he watched her hips sway a little while he followed her to the sink, he thought that dishes didn't seem like such an awful chore, truth be told. Kaylee quickly wrapped up what was left over from the meal, they couldn't afford to be wasteful with their food. Simon rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, pushing them up above his elbows and began to fill the sink with hot water. "It's real nice of ya ta help Simon." Her words garnered his attention away from the sudsy water he had just plunged a dish into. He opened his mouth but couldn't think of anything to say, so he didn't turn his head and just kept staring at the water. Kaylee packed the food away and sidled over to Simon, sliding up next to him as he pulled the first dish out of the water, a few bits of food still stuck to the plate. She looked over at his work with a sweet smile and then handed him a towel, "How 'bout I wash and you dry?" Simon looked down at the dismal performance he had made of his work and sunk the plate back in the water, taking the towel from Kaylee with a sheepish grin. "I can do that." She scooted him over to the side, away from the sink with her hip, pushed up her own sleeves and plunged her arms in the sudsy water, beginning to scrub with practiced hands. "Ain't much for house work, are ya?" Kaylee teased with a good natured giggle as she handed over the first clean dish to Simon. He took it and flashed her another shy grin, the one that made her heart flip about in her chest like it was composed entirely of butterflies. "I...ah.. it's that obvious?" "Well it certainly ain't shockin'. Sides, I'm sure yer good at all kinds of other stuff." Simon sucked in his breath at the complement, completely missing the glint of lust in Kaylee's eye as he dried the dish and set it to the side on the counter. Rolling her eyes at his missed opportunity to get a clue, she continued scrubbing and handed over a second dish. "I'm excellent at getting my sister and I kidnapped and almost burned at the stake. There's a lot of skill involved, years of training, in fact." Kaylee let go of her dish that she was washing under the water and turned her face to gaze at Simon with a sad smile at his attempt to make light of such a frightening situation. "I'm just glad we gotchya both back, and that the Sheperd's all right." Simon's eyes softened at her heart felt declaration, the sincerity soothing his apprehensive nerves, "I...thank you." He returned to focusing on the dish in his hand, drying it with such fervor it was sparkling like it once had when it was brand new. He stole a glance over at Kaylee when she had returned to washing. Her hair was beginning to curl at the ends and her skin glistened with the steam that rose from the sink. She pulled one hand out of the water, wiping it on the side of her hip and then sweeping it across her forehead, before plunging it back in. A small trickle of water that had escaped Kaylee's hand ran down the side of her cheek, over her jaw, sliding along her neck to the top of her chest before trailing beneath the neckline of her shirt. Simon visibly gulped as he lost his hold on the dish in his hand, so entranced by that little bead of water. It fell to the floor, cracking the plate in half as little shards of ceramic splintered off at the edges of the break. Kaylee had begun to take her hands out of the water to go for the broken dish but he quickly knelt down and retrieved the two pieces, holding them up to admire his handiwork. "Looks like I'm a failure at drying as well." Kaylee giggled at his self deprecating pronouncement and took the pieces out of his hand, “Can always glue it.” Her beam knocked a little of the breath out of him, so he leaned against the counter to steady himself as she set the two pieces aside and continued with the washing. “I had no idea dishes required such expertise.” “Not so much expertise as practice,” Kaylee advised as she handed him another dish. She lowered her lashes as she peeked over at him, her hands still scrubbing away at the dishes, "Work also goes faster when there are four hands doin’ it, 'stead of two." "Well, if I am to earn my keep around here, I best become more familiar with this line of work. If I become better acquainted with the intricacies of dish washing, maybe Mal will stop assigning me trash duty," Simon pondered aloud as he set his dry dish down to pluck another one from Kaylee's hand. Her pinky brushed along the side of his palm, sending a little shiver down his spine at the contact. Kaylee laughed at the comment, "At least he don't give ya septic vac, he saves that one for when he's real mad at ya. Jayne gets it alot." They both burst out into laughter at the thought of Jayne having to do that particularly dirty job. Kaylee's laughter soothed Simon, relaxing him even more than he thought he had ever felt on Serenity, at that exact moment. The moment turned his thoughts to how he had hurt Kaylee’s feelings earlier that day when he had taken out his anger and frustration on her. It had been building up inside, raging around and bouncing against his chest, tearing down his nerves until he lashed out. Unfortunately, Kaylee had said something completely innocent and he had snapped back with his biting derision. Now he felt even more shame than he did when he had tried to recover from the outburst with insisting that he was being ironic. Simon set down the dish he was drying and turned himself to face Kaylee. She noticed his dereliction in duty and stopped washing, but kept her hands submerged. Simon stared down at his feet, not wanting to face Kaylee, his eyes showing every bit of regret that he felt, “Kaylee...I...I just want to apologize to you for my words from this morning. I should have never said those things. It was rude and disrespectful of me, and I...I am sorry.” “S’all right Simon. I know ya didn’t really mean those things. Ya was just blowing off some steam. Ya got lotsa pans on the fire. It’s understandable.” Simon looked up now, the solemnity in his eyes taking Kaylee aback, “No Kaylee, it was wrong of me. Please...accept my apology.” Her heart melted at that moment. The hankering to bed Simon for the past couple of months began to fuss and twitch in her stomach, but it was something more now. She felt a little overwhelmed at the stirrings, biting the bottom of her lip before replying, “Okay Simon. I do.” Simon let out a breath that had been pent up in the back of his throat and nodded his thanks to her. She started washing the dishes again, handing Simon another plate, “If you’re real sorry, ya can always help me with the washin’ up tomorrow. Got KP again.” “I...ahh...of course.” Kaylee smiled at his words and began to scrub a little slower. _____________________________________________________________________