"Kaylee?" Inara peered into the engine room. She hadn't seen the little mechanic since breakfast, and the girl hadn't been looking entirely well then. She had seemed tired, although she had done a good job of hiding it and smiling. She'd been kissing Simon and teasing Jayne, patting Zoe's belly to feel the baby kick. But Inara was concerned all the same.

"Hey, 'Nara!" Kaylee chirped, straightening up behind the engine. Her hands went immediately to her back and she bit her lip to keep from groaning.

"What's wrong?" Inara asked, stepping fully into the room.

"Nothin'." Kaylee insisted. "Just a little achy from bein' in this same position for so long, plus I'm pretty tired." She grinned and winked. "Simon was feelin' particularly attentive last night."

"Well, I'll need to hear details later." Inara laughed. "Right now, I think you should rest for a little while." She took hold of Kaylee's arm and tried to steer her over to the hammock, but the girl resisted.

"Can't, I gotta rewire the grav boot again, 'cause a certain fei fei de piyan won't replace it." Kaylee pouted.

"I'll talk to him." Inara promised.

"Really?" Kaylee said suspiciously. It wasn't like the entire crew didn't already have a pretty good idea of what Inara and Mal had been getting up to lately, but they all found it amusing that the captain and the companion still thought they were being secretive.

"You really should lie down, Kaylee." Inara insisted.

"I will in a bit, promise." Kaylee said unconvincingly.

"Well, all right." Inara knew Kaylee wouldn't be so easily pulled away from her work. The ship was Kaylee's baby, and she took excellent care of it. Still, Inara wouldn't let her friend get away with neglecting her own needs. With a plan already forming in her mind, Inara gave Kaylee a smile and left the engine room, heading for her shuttle. ________________________

Emerging from her shuttle about fifteen minutes later, Inara went in search of Simon, finding him in the infirmary.

"Inara. Something I can help you with?" He asked, setting aside the chart he was looking at.

"As a matter of fact, there is." Inara replied. "There's a certain mechanic who I believe could use some medical attention."

Simon's eyes widened. "Kaylee? Is she okay?"

Inara couldn't help but smile at his reaction. It was obvious that he cared for Kaylee deeply. "Fang xin, Simon. She's fine. She's just very tired, and she won't leave the engine room to get some rest. If you're not too busy, I thought that perhaps you could coax her away from her work for a little while, help her relax. You two could use my shuttle."

"I have been concerned about how hard she's been working." Simon agreed. "I'll go get her, although getting her out of the engine room may take considerable effort on my part."

"I'm sure you'll think of something." Inara said, laughing lightly.

Sure enough, minutes later, Inara was in the galley when Simon once again demonstrated his top three percent ingenuity. From the direction of the engine room, there was a clattering sound, then a shriek and a squeal. Footsteps on the metal floor followed a moment later, and then the doctor appeared in the doorway, with a giggling mechanic slung over his shoulder.

"Thank you, Inara." Simon said to the Companion as he passed by her, jumping a little when Kaylee reached down and playfully groped his backside.

"Yeah, thanks, 'Nara!" Kaylee called. "Wait, what?" ________________________

Once in the shuttle, Simon set Kaylee on her feet and silenced her questions with a soft kiss. "You've been working too hard, xin gan. This was Inara's idea, but I happen to agree with her. You need to relax."

"So, you're forcing me to relax?" Kaylee couldn't help but giggle at how odd that sounded. "Well, since I clearly ain't got a say in this." She sighed dramatically and held up her arms in surrender.

Simon chuckled and walked her back towards the bed, next to which Inara had placed several clean, neatly folded towels and an assortment of massage oils and lotions, along with a basin and pitcher full of water.

"Take off your clothes and lie face down on the bed." He whispered in Kaylee's ear. She shivered a little as she did so. Taking a moment to appreciate the sight of her soft, smooth skin, Simon lay a towel over the lower half of her body and knelt on the bed beside her, examining several of the bottles next to the bed before selecting a massage lotion with a light lavender and ylang-ylang scent. He poured a generous amount of the lotion into his hands and rubbed them together to warm it, then carefully lay his hands on Kaylee's shoulders, lightly kneading the muscles under her skin.

"Ooh, that's good." Kaylee sighed. She practically purred as he starting rubbing more firmly, applying more pressure when he felt knots in the muscles.

Kaylee writhed, feeling a familiar warmth settle low in her belly, extending right down to her center. She could never feel or look at or even think about Simon's hands without getting wet for him, her sense memories of the pleasure his hands could give her were too numerous and too strong.

"Ohhh..." Kaylee moaned rapturously, squirming under Simon's touch. Ta ma de, he was not going to be able to concentrate on the massage much longer if she kept moving like that and making those sounds. As it was, his cock was straining against the tight confines of his pants, his arousal becoming more painful every time Kaylee moaned or sighed his name.

"Feeling more relaxed yet?" He asked, leaning down to whisper in her ear.

"Nope." Kaylee said, turning over to face him. "Now I'm all manner of wound up."

"Well, let me finish, baobei." Simon told her, kissing the tip of her nose. He placed his hands on her shoulders and rubbed firmly, slowly working his way to her collarbone, then down, applying less pressure when he reached her chest, barely ghosting his fingers over her sensitive breasts and swollen nipples.

Simon loved Kaylee's body, they way her skin felt against his, the way she responded to every little touch. Her breasts fit perfectly into his hands, and it drove him crazy to see her reaction when he lavished attention on them, stroking and pinching just hard enough to make her cry out and arch into his touch.

"That's good." Kaylee sighed. "God, Simon, that's so good." She reached down and pulled away the sheet that covered the lower half of her body, then started to unbutton his shirt. "C'mere, Dr. Tam. I've got something else needs a good rubbin'."

Simon groaned softly as she pushed his shirt off his shoulders and pulled him against her, pressing their bare chests together. "Well, I suppose that would help you relax..."

Kaylee giggled and started undoing his pants. After having his hands on her for the past ten minutes, she was so wet it hurt. She pushed him back onto the bed and stripped off his pants and boxers. Moaning at the very sight of him, she wrapped one hand around his hard length, leaning down to run her tongue around the tip, moaning at the taste of the precome that was already slicking his skin.

"Kaylee..." Simon groaned. He sat up, grabbed her around her waist and flipped her onto her back, slowly lowering himself onto her, kissing her slowly, deeply, until she was writhing against him, whimpering into his mouth. He slid one hand between her thighs, practically crying out when he felt how ready she was. He brought his wet fingers up to her parted lips and slid them into her mouth just as he slid his hard cock into her willing body.

Kaylee moaned around his fingers and clenched around the exquisite intrusion, rolling her hips up against Simon's. She wrapped her legs around him as he started moving, raked her nails down his back. Her inner muscles tightened and relaxed rhythmically around his thick, hot length, hightening the sensations for both of them.

Neither of them could speak as their pace increased and their breathing deepened. Every stroke was punctuated with soft moans and incoherent whispers. They kissed lazily, clinging to each other as their need began to take over and they started moving faster. Simon reached down between their bodies and urged Kaylee on as his thrusts became hard and erratic.

"Simon..." Kaylee moaned, arching up against him as she started to shake with release. "Oh, God, Simon!" She didn't bother trying to hold back the scream that tore from her as she came. Her orgasm lingered, until she finally melted against the mattress, completely relaxed. She raised one hand and tangled her fingers in Simon's hair as he grunted softly against her breast and let go, spurting hotly into her oversensitized body, drawing another sweet moan out of her.

The only sound in the shuttle for a few minutes was their heavy, satisfied breathing and soft moans as the lingering sensations coursed through their bodies. Simon lay half on top of Kaylee, still inside her, gently stroking her soft, damp skin.

"Do you feel more relaxed now?" He asked when he finally caught his breath. Kaylee's only reply was a soft snore, and Simon chuckled, more than a little proud. "That's a yes." He shifted onto his side and drew her close, feeling pleasantly unwound himself.