A/N: I'm baack! I'm sure you've been waiting anxiously! (:o)

Here is my next multi-chapter story (19 all together). It focuses mainly on Mal/Inara and Simon/Kaylee (my two favorite ships) and involves Inara heading back to Sihnon. Set approximately 6 months following the BDM.

I crave feedback, people, like a drug ... seriously, I've been in withdrawal since I finished posting the last series ... don't leave me hanging!

And thanks again to Leiasky, who continues to find the time to beta and give me plot bunnies! You rock, my dear.

***

Best Intentions, ch. 1

***

“Sir, are you sure you wanna take this job?”

Mal turned an incredulous look to his first mate and then turned back to stare out the ship’s canopy and into the black. “Are you kiddin’ me, Zo?” he asked rhetorically, noting that River had not moved her eyes from the controls since they had begun talking. “This job is serious money an’ we need the coin.”

With an inaudible sigh, Zoe answered, “I ain’t gonna disagree there, sir, but it’s also gonna take us pretty close to the Core.” She had hoped that over the past months, since Miranda, since he and Inara had gotten together that he would start acting more cautiously, not recklessly. With a hand to her brow, Zoe realized what a foolish notion that had been.

Rolling his eyes, Mal swiveled around fully in his chair and looked at his first mate. Zoe was a changed woman and that was no secret. Since Wash’s death, since Miranda, since the Reavers, there wasn’t much about Zoe that was the same. Except the look she was favoring him with now; that how-can-you-be-so-stupid-and-how-can-I-be-dumb-enough-to-follow-you look that Mal had seen plenty of times during the war and over the past seven years that they’d flown together.

But with a tight grin, he realized, she was still here, stupid or not. “C’mon, Zoe, the Core? The Alliance couldn’t find their way out of a paper bag with both hands and a flashlight right now. You know that. You think I’m gonna run ‘cause o’ them?” With another smirk, he rose and headed off the bridge, Zoe on his heels as he headed for the galley.

“I’m not necessarily sayin’ run, sir, but this is also a new contact. And trustin’ folk ain’t been our strong suit as of late,” she told him, descending the couple of stairs into the galley and watching with her arms over her chest as he went to fix himself a cup of coffee. Jayne was sitting at the table, at least three of his bigger guns disassembled in front of him. He looked up at their intrusion, but continued to clean each piece in silence.

“Look, Zoe, we keep not trustin’ folk, an’ we’re gonna be adrift,” Mal told her firmly, rounding around the wall from the kitchen and taking a seat at the opposite end of the table from Jayne. “We need coin.”

“Damn right we do,” Jayne grunted, his ears perking up at the thought of money again jingling in his pocket – and the pleasures it could buy. “What’s the job?”

“Zhe ge ji hua zhen ke pa,” Zoe interjected before Mal could answer and with a huff, she stalked past them both and headed down for Jayne’s weight bench, hoping to work out some of her tension.

Both men watched her go and it was Jayne who finally broke the silence. “So, that bad, huh?”

Mal could only give him a look, which the mercenary returned with a wicked grin as he asked, “But, will it make us rich?”

***

“River?”

River did not turn at the sound of her name. She knew the speaker, had known she would find her way back to the bridge; although she had expected her sooner.

Zoe took a deep breath and entered the room, sitting in the co-pilot’s station. She gave River a sidelong glance, watching as the girl continued to pilot the ship with an ease that Wash had possessed; but only after years of training. Now, after only six months, River seemed more at home in the pilot’s seat than just about anyone Zoe had ever seen; it was uncanny.

“Not mine, never mine,” River said quietly, interrupting her reverie. Turning her face to the older woman, River’s curtain of dark hair fell across it as she added, “Just borrowing.”

Smiling slightly at her, Zoe held her gaze for another moment and then leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. “What do you think ‘bout this job the captain’s gonna take?”

River cocked her head to the side, thinking on the question, listening for the answer. She didn’t have the answer herself, it wasn’t in her, but she had listened as the captain had agreed to the job, heard the details, felt his trepidation and thrill at the prospect of so much money and the danger that would accompany it. She had also felt Zoe’s very real hesitation that something this good, was more than likely too good; and River knew that was the reassurance she was looking for now.

“The data is unavailable,” she said evenly, knowing that the answers Zoe wanted, she did not have. “I don’t know.”

“You can’t tell if’n it’s gonna be bad?” Zoe asked, leaning forward a bit more, her eyes imploring River to tell her what she wanted to hear.

Frowning at her slightly, River said quietly, “Sorry, Zoe, but I can’t tell you that. We don’t know yet if it’ll be bad. It could be good.”

With a heavy sigh, Zoe lowered her gaze from River’s and nodded once. “Well, then, I guess there’s no reason to say no,” she admitted quietly and without another word, rose and headed out of the room.

“I didn’t say that,” River whispered, once she’d gone, speaking to no one but the stars.

***

Mal stood outside of Inara’s shuttle door and actually knocked. Why, he wasn’t sure; the shuttle had become as much his home as hers in the past few months as they had tried to move past their pride and histories and make a go of a relationship. So far, so good, but why he was knocking … well, that was just a gorram mystery.

“Mal?” Inara’s startled voice pulled him from his reverie and he smiled wide at her as she stepped aside to let him enter.

As he moved into the room, he looked back and found her standing dumbfounded in the open doorway. Looking from him to the door and back again, she gestured with her hand over her shoulder and asked, “I’m sorry, did you just knock?”

Nodding once, Mal plopped himself down on her couch and put his feet up on the table. “See, maybe I ain’t as dense as you say?”

Smiling at him, but trying to hide it, Inara turned to shut the door, and then pulled the drape back over the entrance before joining him on the sofa. “So, tell me,” she asked, leaning against the soft back and turning her knees towards him. “What warrants such a proper gesture from Malcolm Reynolds?”

With an even wider grin, Mal said proudly, “We gotta a job.”

“Really?” Inara asked, her voice rising in pitch as she spoke the word, her concern evident. “A job, huh?” Rising, she moved to the other side of the room and started to make the bed, smoothing the sheets fastidiously in an effort not to look at him. “That’s great, Mal.”

Frowning at her, Mal watched her fidget for a moment more and then leaned forward, commenting, “It don’t look great.”

Pausing, Inara turned to look at him and smiled weakly. Sitting heavily on the edge of the bed, she said softly, “I was just really hoping you’d stop doing so much illegal smuggling.”

His scowl deepening, he rose and said angrily, “Well, that’s like askin’ you to stop with the-“ He broke off suddenly as he realized the next words that would come out of his mouth were mean and untrue. Inara had stopped being a companion the moment they had started their relationship, and falling back into their old pattern of banter and bite just wasn’t right.

Her head had snapped up the minute he’d started down this path and she rose now with anger in her gaze. Poking him firmly in the chest, she said, “Go ahead, Mal. Finish it.”

Shaking his head slightly, Mal placed his hands on her shoulders and said quietly, “’Nara, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t of even implied somethin’ like that. I just got bristled is all.” His eyes implored her to forgive him, and Inara almost passed out from the shock that he had actually apologized.

Holding his gaze for a moment more, she finally dropped her eyes and said quietly, “Well, a knock and an apology all in one day. Pinch me, I must be dreaming.”

Figuring he deserved that, Mal leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek, before taking her hand and guiding her back to the couch. “I am sorry, ‘Nara. It’s just that this is a high-paying job, a lot o’ coin an’ that’s somethin’ I can’t be passin’ up right now.”

She nodded, but didn’t speak. She knew it was unfair to ask Mal to give up his way of life. It had never been a problem for Inara before, and asking him to change now was hypocritical. “I know,” she finally said quietly.

Smiling again, Mal hoped his next comment would bring a smile to her face as well. “But, I got a surprise.”

Bringing her eyes back to his, Inara tried not to let her fear show; Mal’s surprises normally had a very spectacular way of backfiring. Clearing her throat, she asked evenly, “What kind of surprise?”

Even though she tried to hide it, Mal picked up on it. “Well, now, don’t say it like that,” he said with a sigh, rising and pacing away from her. With no real menace in his voice he turned back and said, “Jeez, Inara, first you insult my business an’ now you’re thinkin’ I can’t even give ya a decent present. Hurts a man’s pride.”

Smiling at him and recognizing his attempt at levity, Inara rose and placed her hands on his crossed arms. Pressing a light kiss to his mouth, she said quietly, “I’m sorry, you’re right. What is this present you’re so excited about?”

“Well,” he said slyly, walking over to her bed and flopping down on it. “This job, which will bring us quite a bit o’ coin, is also a bit closer to the Core than we been in a while.”

Regarding him with a cool gaze, Inara crossed her arms over her chest and said, “Uh huh. And?”

“And,” Mal said, matching her tone. “It just so happens, that we’re gonna be awfully close to one of the central planets in particular. An’ I thought maybe we could all use a little down time.”

Inara tried to quell the rise of bile in her gut. She had a sinking feeling she knew exactly where Mal wanted to take some shore leave and she was not going to like it. “Where, Mal?”

Rising, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. Placing his mouth against her ear, he asked quietly, “When’s the last time you were home, darlin’?”

Tensing instantly, Inara asked hurriedly, “Sihnon? You want us to go to Sihnon?”

Feeling her body stiffen, Mal pulled back, concerned at the fear that now clouded her gaze. “Well, yeah,” he answered sheepishly, searching her face for answers. Beside the fear that now plagued her eyes, her lips had formed into a harsh line, while her forehead was furrowed with worry. Placing a light hand to her cheek, Mal told her, “I thought you’d be happy, goin’ home. Seein’ your folks.”

Inara swallowed down her immediate answer; why he would think she would ever want to step foot on that planet again … She never spoke of it, never mentioned her parents, never talked about her childhood or her past. It was one of the things she and Mal had in common, a deep-seated desire to get as much distance from their memories as possible.

Pulling out of his embrace, Inara felt her knees buckle a bit and she quickly made it over to the couch. Sitting, she said quietly, “No, Mal. I don’t want to go back there. Thank you though, for thinking of me.”

His concern and his curiosity growing, Mal sat beside her and asked, “Why’re you so scared o’ them?”

Looking to him sharply, Inara bit out, “Who? I’m not scared of anyone.”

“The minute I mentioned your folks you started shakin’,” he said quietly, taking her hands in his. Damn if he wasn’t right. “What’s got you so spooked?”

Trying to laugh away his concern, Inara knew it was a futile gesture. While she had been well-schooled in hiding her own emotions, the past few months with Mal had almost completely nullified all of her training. And she found herself more and more vulnerable to him as he pushed her further and further to open herself. “That’s ridiculous, Mal,” she said, trying to adopt a light tone. Rising she went back to straightening the bed sheets. “There’s nothing wrong with Sihnon, I just don’t …” She trailed off, grasping for excuses. “Well, we can’t set down there. Serenity is too well known and there’s Simon and River.”

Frowning at her, Mal watched her scramble for a reason not to go. Rising he took her again by the shoulders and said evenly, “’Nara, the Alliance could care less ‘bout us, they’ve made that perfectly clear in the last six months. An’ Simon and River’s warrants were lifted, they ain’t wanted anymore.”

“It could be a trap,” she said lamely, still hoping to find a good enough reason to keep them from Sihnon. “It could be meant to lure us in, you-"

Placing a finger to her lips, Mal silenced her excuses. Holding her gaze for a moment, Mal decided he did not like the fear in her eyes. He had only seen it a handful of times before, but it did not fit on her perfect features. Cradling her face in his hands, he said quietly, “I tell you what; you tell me why you’re so scared to go back there an’ we won’t go.”

Inara inhaled sharply at his demand. She couldn’t do that; she still had not confided in Mal the real reason she had fled Sihnon, the real incident behind her sudden need to rent a shuttle on a tin can of a transport. And she knew, she still couldn’t tell him, not yet, not now. Closing her eyes, Inara found her well of strength, buried deep within, and pulled out of it the last tendrils of her self-control. When she again opened her eyes to meet his gaze, none of her fear or worry was evident anymore. Both had been replaced with a placid look.

“You know what, Mal? Maybe you’re right,” she said, taking a step closer to him. She felt his breathing speed up as she approached, and she knew that in just a few seconds she would have him forgetting this conversation entirely. “I was concerned for the rest of us, but if there’s no reason to stay away, then maybe we should go to Sihnon.” Reaching up, she rested a hand to his face and said, “It’s a very nice gesture, thank you,” and then she leaned forward on her tip toes and pressed a gentle, slow and passionate kiss to his lips.

When he grabbed her tighter to him and deepened the kiss, Inara knew any thoughts of her previous hesitation had been erased from his mind.

***

Simon was in the infirmary and lost in thought. He had tried very hard to concentrate when he’d started work that day; he had intended to stay focused on his task, but very quickly it had become apparent to him that he couldn’t.

Thoughts of Osiris consumed him now, ever since word had traveled to him that the warrants had been lifted, that he and River were now free to go back home. With a heavy sigh, Simon stopped pushing the charts around on the counter and sat on the stool. He swiveled away from the door, and took out one of his journals, his list of pros and cons sitting open before him. With a sigh, he read through each of them again, his pros list much longer than the other. But what a con …

Kaylee; Simon knew that if he chose to go back to Osiris or anywhere in the Core that Kaylee would not follow. He hoped that she might if he asked, but he also knew it would kill her to leave Serenity, to settle on a planet, and be grounded, especially if he resumed a position in high society. The wife or girlfriend of a famed trauma surgeon like himself was not supposed to work; not that Simon gave any consideration to what was and was not expected – he knew how much Kaylee enjoyed her job, enjoyed using her talents and if she wanted to continue doing that once they had settled, then so be it.

Wait. Shaking his head, Simon cleared the thought away. What was he thinking? He hadn’t even discussed this with Kaylee yet, nor had he really thought it through himself. She had asked him a few weeks ago, when word had first reached them, if he wanted to go back. Simon had avoided the question and Kaylee had not asked again. Although Simon feared her reticence was borne out of fear for what his answer would be rather than her lack of curiosity.

“Hey you.”

Simon turned at the sound of the greeting and met Kaylee’s beaming face. Flipping his journal shut quickly, Simon shoved it into a drawer and turned back to face her, just as Kaylee approached him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing a kiss to his mouth.

“Hey,” he said quietly, running his hands up her back and smiling at her. Sitting in his lap, Kaylee asked him, “So, ya almost done here?”

Casting another look around the unkempt room, Simon sighed and said, “No, but at this point, I really don’t care.”

Smiling wide at him, Kaylee lifted her eyebrows mischievously before kissing him again, pushing her tongue into his mouth and causing him to moan with want. “That’s what I was hoping you’d say,” she murmured back, pulling her lips from his.

As she continued to trail hot kisses down his neck, Simon finally managed to get out, “Kaylee?”

“Yeah, sweetie,” she murmured against his skin, causing a slight tremor to race through him.

“Let’s get out of here.”

Pulling back, Kaylee giggled and then grabbed his head, practically dragging him to his bunk. Soon, all thoughts of his future were consumed only with images and feelings of Kaylee.

***

Inara heard Mal leave the shuttle, the door clanging shut behind him. Counting to ten, she finally rolled out of bed, pulling on a robe and with shaky hands, reached for one of the more plain trunks she kept under the bed. Taking a deep breath and fighting the urge to vomit, Inara lifted the lid and closed her eyes, saying a silent prayer.

Then, she pulled back the flap of silk she had covered the contents with and started to sift through the mementos of her past. There weren’t many. Inara was not an overly sentimental person. She loved having nice things, had been raised with them and was accustomed to the comforts that wealth could bring. But she did not cherish much; she cherished Mal and Kaylee and the crew; cherished her home on Serenity; but keepsakes – only the ones she’d stored in this box, so long ago.

With another deep breath, Inara reached in and pulled out a capture, smiling as she flipped the image on and watched her mother and father smile widely at her. The photo was at least ten years old and Inara remembered with fondness that at the time it was taken, her parents had been happy, loving even. Shaking the memory away, Inara placed the capture on the bed beside her and reached in again, pulling out a small and worn stuffed doll. It wasn’t as fancy as it should have been, but she’d had it since she was born. One of the eyes was missing, and the hair was falling out, the clothes torn, but it was dear to her. She remembered clutching it to her as she slept, finding comfort in her little ren zi after a bad dream. Her nannies had rarely come when she cried and her mother and father had been too far away to hear her. So Inara, at the young age of three had had to learn to cope with her own monsters and she had, by holding on to the small stuffed toy she ran her fingers over now.

Blinking back a few unexpected tears as more memories than she cared to remember came floating back, she placed the doll next to the capture and reached in for a small silk dress. She placed it in her lap and smoothed the fabric, noting the detailing on the collar, the frog clasps in black and that contrasted so well with the midnight blue of the rest of the outfit. Green and red dragons were patterned throughout and Inara traced one with her finger. More tears fell as more memories came and Inara, feeling ridiculously foolish for being so affected, threw the items back into the trunk and slammed it closed.

Curling onto her side, she took a deep breath, and let a few of her tears fall. She could do this; she had to, otherwise, she would have to tell Mal all the secrets from her past, all the secrets she had been running from for a very long time and she couldn’t do that. Inara knew it was an irrational concern; chances were if Mal knew the truth, all of it, he would only love her more, only want to protect her more, but it didn’t change the fact that admitting to all of it out loud would only bring everything back to the surface and cause Inara to hate herself all over again.

Wiping at her cheeks, she sighed again and sat up. Brushing back her hair, she moved towards the shower, determined to wash these thoughts away.

***

Kaylee rested her head against Simon’s damp chest and sighed contentedly as she snuggled in close. She felt Simon’s strong arm wrap around her shoulders and smiled a bit as he pressed a kiss into her hair. After a moment, Kaylee rested her chin on his chest looking into his blue eyes as they stared down at her.

After several minutes of staring, it became apparent to Simon that Kaylee was not going to speak first. “Can I help you?” he asked her teasingly, his hand tickling her ribs and eliciting a giggle from her.

Smiling at him, Kaylee crawled up his side until their heads were sharing the same pillow. “I was jus’ wonderin’,” she told him coyly, her lips curling into a wider grin. “What were you thinkin’ ‘bout when I found ya?”

Stifling his initial impulse to grimace, Simon asked casually, “Why do you think I was thinking about something?”

Giving him a look, Kaylee said, “When are you not thinkin’ ‘bout somethin’?” Running her hand along his forehead, Kaylee tried to smooth out the wrinkles that had appeared there. “There’s always somethin’ goin’ on up there.” As Simon took her hand and kissed it softly, Kaylee lay down beside him again and asked, “So, what was it this time?”

Sighing lightly, Simon focused his eyes on the ceiling as he said quietly, “It was nothing, Kaylee. Just thinking about supplies, you know, the usual.”

Propping her head up on her elbow, Kaylee looked at him critically and said, “Yeah, right.”

Smiling at her reaction, Simon turned to her again and said, “Really, Kaylee, it was nothing.” Pausing he thought fast and then added, “Actually, I don’t know if you realize it, but …” Rolling onto his side, Simon wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her tight to him. Kaylee smiled wickedly at the motion, feeling his need for her hardening against her thigh. Kissing her on the mouth and then starting to trail kisses down her neck and to her chest, he murmured against her skin, “But next month is our six month anniversary.”

Kaylee squealed a bit at the prospect, her body already lighting with desire for him, and her heart swelling at the knowledge that he had actually remembered. As his mouth traveled lower, encircling one nipple and nipping gently, Kaylee’s whole body shivered with delight. Running her hands up his back, Kaylee curled them into his silky hair as she asked breathlessly, “So, what’re we gonna do?”

Looking back up to her, Simon allowed one hand to ghost down over her stomach and a bit lower, causing Kaylee to bite her lip in anticipation of his next touch. “I’m sure we’ll think of something,” he murmured as he again pressed his lips to hers, this time deepening the kiss and thrusting his tongue into her mouth, thereby silencing any additional questions she might have had about his earlier preoccupation.

And thereby avoiding any of his own reservations about the questions swirling through his mind and what their answers might mean.

***

One week later

***

Mal had gathered them all in the galley to discuss their impending visit to Sihnon. To Inara’s knowledge, he had not let any of the rest of them know of his plan for some down time, and as Inara’s gaze roamed the table, taking in Simon and Kaylee’s moony-eyed glances, Zoe’s impenetrable stare, Jayne’s blankness and River’s mysticism, Inara knew that the news would be met with mixed reactions.

Settling back in her chair, she looked up at his entrance, grinning like a school girl at just the sight of him. Ai ya, if Malcolm Reynolds could not drive her wild, in both the good and bad way. But Inara knew, it didn’t matter; she had started to fall in love with Mal the minute she’d met him and now, she was deeply immersed in it. It scared her, to be sure, but it also thrilled her, in ways she could have never imagined.

Squeezing her shoulder lightly as she stood beside her, Mal’s eyes met hers for a moment and then he called the meeting to order. “All right now, that’s ‘nough,” he said, frowning harshly as Kaylee blushed and pulled her hands from where they had been suspiciously in Simon’s lap. As the doc blushed and also averted his gaze, Mal tried to push the thought of what exactly lil’ Kaylee had been doing from his mind.

“Now, as ya’ll know we just finished the McNamara job an’ it went off without a hitch,” he said firmly, his gaze resting on Zoe. The woman did not back down from the stare, instead returning it with one of her own. “An’ currently, we’re headin’ a bit further in towards the Core, on account of we got some visitin’ to do.”

Kaylee’s eyes widened at this knowledge and she threw a concerned look to Simon, who thankfully didn’t see it, his attention still focused on Mal. Kaylee’s heart started to beat wildly as she considered that maybe Simon had changed his mind, that he and River were going to go home and leave her behind.

She jumped slightly at a light touch from her other side and looked to see River leaning towards her, a small grin on her features. “Not leaving, won’t go without you,” she whispered.

Smiling weakly to her, Kaylee turned back and asked in a soft voice, “Who we visitin’, cap’n?”

Glancing to Inara, Mal nodded once and the former Companion sat forward a bit. In a steady voice, one she had been practicing, she said, “My parents. We’ll be going to Sihnon.”

Kaylee’s hand flew to her mouth at this knowledge, her eyes even wider than just moments before. She’d never been to Sihnon before and from what Inara had told her and the pictures she’d seen the planet was just beautiful. And Kaylee was excited at the prospect of finally getting to meet Inara’s folks; her friend didn’t talk about them very much.

“Oh, ‘Nara, that’s shiny,” Kaylee breathed, reaching for Simon’s hand and squeezing it excitedly. “Ain’t it shiny?”

“Yes, mei mei,” Inara answered softly, sitting back in her seat.

“Now we’ll be setting down there in about a week, an’ ‘Nara an’ me’ll be heading to visit with her folks.” Mal looked to Kaylee’s wide grin and hopeful gaze and knew what she was hoping for. Having already discussed the idea of an invite with his girlfriend, Mal relented. “An’ lil’ Kaylee you an’ the doc’s welcome to come along.”

Inhaling sharply, Kaylee breathed, “Really?” As Inara nodded once, Kaylee turned her happy look to Simon. Leaning towards him, she said quietly, “Ooh, Simon just think. Our anniversary celebrated on Sihnon, in a real bed.”

She pressed a kiss to his cheek before pulling away and Simon could only smile at her enthusiasm. Truthfully, he didn’t relish the idea of being thrown back into that world, but how could he deny Kaylee the chance to experience it? And maybe if she got a taste of it, asking her to go back with him to Osiris wouldn’t be so hard.

“Thank you for the invitation,” Simon said graciously, looking to Mal and Inara both. “We’d love to come.”

“I don’t gotta go, do I?” Jayne raised his hand from the other end of the table, his face full of disgust at the prospect. He did not like rich folk, unless of course, he was one.

“No, Jayne,” Mal told him, trying to keep the laugh from his voice. “You don’t. But we will be setting down for about a week and a half, so you’re free to come and go as you please, just don’t get into trouble, dong ma?” Waving his hand at his captain, Jayne got up and headed for the galley to refill his cup.

As the room quieted, Simon found his eyes drawn down the table to his sister, who was staring at him, through him, actually and it was disconcerting. “Mei mei?” he asked quietly, rising from his seat at Kaylee’s side and kneeling beside her. “Are you all right?”

“Have to be truthful, Simon,” River warned him, her voice dropping to a whisper so only her brother could hear her. “Have to be honest, open. No lying.”

Kissing her lightly on the cheek, Simon ignored her words as they made no sense to him and asked, “Will you be okay? If Kaylee and I go with Mal and Inara?” He didn’t want to leave her, but he also didn’t really like the idea of taking her with them. She had been doing better since Miranda, but the more he thought about it, the more he reveled in the notion of a few days alone and away with Kaylee.

Annoyed that he wouldn’t heed her words, River said frankly, “Not a baby, Simon. Can clothe and feed myself.” With a huff, she stood abruptly and headed for the bridge. Simon watched her go and sighed once, before returning to his seat.

Mal watched her go as well, and then said lamely, “Well, meeting adjourned.”

Everyone dispersed then and Mal watched as Kaylee approached Inara, the young girl practically bouncing off the walls at the prospect of visiting her folks, of seeing Sihnon. Quickly lamenting that she would have nothing to wear, Inara rose with one of her patient smiles and took the girl by the hand, leading her towards the shuttle and making some comment about having plenty to share.

Mal watched them go still concerned with Inara’s distance over the past week. She had tried to act normal around him, tried to kiss him and make love to him as she had before, but Mal sensed something different now, something reserved, detached and he didn’t like it. He thought that she might give in and tell him what had her so scared, but with a fierce stubbornness he had experienced one too many times before, she had held firm and not told him what he wanted to know.

With a heavy sigh, Mal could only hope that everything that would make a lot more sense once he met Mister and Mrs. Serra.

***

Translations: Zhe ge ji hua zhen ke pa - There's nothing about this plan that isn't horrific.

***