Inara was annoyed. Not that she showed it, the emotions wiped from her expression to leave vacant pleasantries in their place. She’d thought they were really moving forward, really getting places. Now all she wanted to do was run away again. “Good afternoon, Captain,” she said coldly, not looking at him. Why was it that the only man who could really make her feel something only ever made her feel irritation? “Inara,” he acknowledged, not moving his eyes from the spread of pistols on the dining table. “Up early this morning, aren’t you?” Stupid idiot! “Yes, well, I had to get up and cancel all my appointments since you decided on impulse to change course,” she snapped, accidentally breaking through the pleasantries. Her clients preferred her to give them a certain amount of notice if her plans had to deviate, but Malcolm Reynaulds apparently didn’t like to give that notice to her at any appropriate hour. When she was fast asleep to be precise. He was looking at her now. Icy blue eyes drilled into hers. “Hey, I’m sorry if the rich and hygienic like to stick to a carved in steel schedule, but we don’t. You knew that when you signed on, if it doesn’t suit, well…” “Leave? Oh, well now I have no idea why I stayed again in the first place!” she shouted, all emotions out there for the word to see. Panic coursed through her like wildfire. She was losing control. She didn’t lose control. She walked out the door, all her residual self control going into stopping her breaking into a run. Her shuttle, which had at first seemed like a steel walled prison keeping her from him, now was a sanctuary, its curtained, softened walls barring everyone else out. She collapsed on her bed and burst into tears. “He means to be nice. He just can’t get the words out. All jumbled up.” Inara jumped up as if stung. Curled catlike in the corner, River was wrapped in blankets and jackets, so much so that she seemed to blend into the material swathed background. “River, what are you…” “Got a cold. All blocked up and wrapped up and cold. Came to the warm place.” She really did look quite funny, her red nose and white face protruding from a nest that was most likely Simon’s doing. Inara wiped her eyes quickly. “Sweetie,” she began, about to find some reason that River couldn’t be there, before realising that there wasn’t one. She went over and crouched down beside her, tucking the blankets in tighter. “You just keep warm, ok? You should drink lots of fluids too.” Raising a curtain of velvet she took a titanium flask out of a cavity. It was a secret store she had, one of many. Everyone had their little weakness, and this was hers. She found a glass and poured some out, handing it down to River. A tiny white hand snaked out of the pile of material and claimed the glass. “Drink up, honey, it’ll make you feel better,” she said, smiling genuinely at the young girl’s lit up expression. It felt strange, something she did rarely, creeping across her face, up into her eyes. “Inara?” someone called, a timid hand tapping her shuttle door. She crossed the floor, still holding the flask. “Yes? Kaylee, what’s wrong?” The mechanic rushed into the shuttle, tears sparkling on her rosy cheeks. She threw herself onto the bed, and Inara was reminded unpleasantly of her own display of dismay only moments ago. She stroked Kaylee’s shoulder, sitting down beside her. “What’s he gone and done now?” Kaylee looked up at her, smiling through her tears. “How do you always know?” “Because it’s usually to do with men. Unfortunately they appear to be the thing that causes us the most grief in our lives.” “Yeah, I know. Maybe we should just give them up forever, strike out on our own.” Kaylee didn’t seem too impressed with her own idea though. “But then again, I don’t know. They’re just so ruttin’ infuriatin’!” “Believe me, I know.” She looked around and finally located another glass. “Here, this will make you feel better.” Kaylee’s gasp at the gift was enough to set Inara off smiling again. It really was turning out to be a very odd day. Spotting River, Kaylee bounced over, curling up beside the young girl. “You were right. You’re brother is a boob.” River grinned around her glass. “I’m always right.” There was a sharp rap on the door. Who now? Inara crossed the floor to the door. “Zoë? What…” She shook her head. “Come in, come in.” The Amazonian woman stepped in carefully. “Inara, I, oh.” She started when she saw the girls in the corner. “Maybe I should come back…” “No, no, stay,” Inara said, confusion reigning. It seemed everyone had smelled what she had given to River and come running. And by Zoë’s body language, blank as it seemed, it looked like everyone needed to feel better. And Inara had been the one who’d been upset first. She felt slightly cheated of her misery. Strange. Zoë sat rather formally on the edge of the couch, back ramrod straight, face vacant. “Here,” Inara handed her a glass and poured out the liquid. “You’ll feel better in moments, trust me.” Right, that was everyone else. Now, she was getting a glass of her own. “So, who wants to go first?”

************************************************************************

Mal was feeling guilty. He’d thought that after what they’d been through, after everything they’d got out in the open, something would change. But it hadn’t. They’d just reverted to snappy exchanges, irritated silences, schedule twisting. All he wanted was to run away again. So he was rather surprised when his feet walked him to the shuttle door and his fist knocked on the metal three times. “Mal?” She looked rather confused, face flushed. “Uh, come in.” Of course she was confused. He’d knocked. He never knocked. He followed her soft footsteps into the small space. “Oh.” His eyes went wide. Kaylee and River were lying out on the bed, both wearing some of Inara’s clothes that were so ill fitting that he had a hard time not laughing. Zoë was sprawled along the couch, resplendent in a golden robe, throwing bits of processed protein at the girls on the bed, laughing out loud like she hadn’t a care in the world. Mal hadn’t seen her that happy since… “Mal, what is it?” Inara startled him, smiling widely as she shifted Kaylee’s feet and sat down on the bed. “I, uh, well, I just, how, what, are you all…” Inara smiled, holding up the titanium flask. “Patented feel good formula. Works every time.” He opened the screw lid and looked cautiously inside. He smiled genuinely. “This is what got this lot of mope arounds all uppity and cheerful?” “Might want to try it sometime.” He laughed. “Orange juice?” “Yeah,” she said, a slight dare in her voice. “High in vitamin C.”