Jayne couldn't have been any prouder of that pool table if it was a blue-prize-winning hog. Mal, on the other hand, didn't get the point. "It's a piece of go se, serving no purpose other than to take up space in my cargo bay! Why in the name of creation didya have to haul it back here?"

"Aww, c'mon Mal," Jayne protested. "It was practically theft anyway at the price Chan was askin', and it don't take up much room. I'll fix her up all pretty. Besides, it'll give us something to do other'n play hoopball."

Mal sighed. Some days, it just wasn't worth the trouble. "OK, just keep it over in the corner somewhere, outta the way." And with that, he climbed up the catwalk stairs, muttering about a waste of good coin.

Jayne was good on his word and re-covered the table, and stripped and re-varnished the wood. Mal had to admit, it played like a dream. The crew quickly learned never to let money exchange hands if River was playing, because none of them could compete with her mathematical genius at guessing the best shot to make. Simon, naturally, was horrified at the thought of his kid sister hustling pool - except perhaps when she hustled Jayne, because he fell for it every time.

Mal had actually taken to playing by himself, late at night. Gave him time to think.

One night, Inara couldn't sleep and saw him below, lining up a shot. "You're pretty good at that. Where did you pick it up?"

Mal stood, leaning on the pool cue. "My first sarge taught me. I had a knack for it, I guess, though nothing compared to our resident teen genius." He looked a bit abashed. "I...uhh...used to hustle pool myself a bit for extra coin when we were on leave. Did pretty well until I came up against a large barn door by name of Sanchez who didn't take kindly to being cheated out of his money by a punk kid."

Inara laughed. "The righteous Malcolm Reynolds hustling pool? I thought I'd heard it all!"

"Very funny. How about you and me have a friendly game?"

"Mal, I...I don't know how to play."

He smirked. "Well now, that should make it all manner of interestin'. And teach you not to sass your elders. C'mon, I'll show ya how. Why with your looks, Miss Serra, you could surely hustle pool better than I could with my ugly mug."

Inara snorted derisively and grabbed the other cue while Mal racked the balls. "Tell ya what, darlin', I'll even let ya break."

Mal had to admit her technique was not half bad - if it was a cow attempting to play. She accidentally rammed the cue right into the felt in an attempt to hit the balls. Mal winced. "No, no, you're holdin' the cue all wrong. Here, lemme show ya."

He came around behind Inara and pressed up into her, helping her guide the cue properly. "See, less force. Just let her slide through your fingers, like so."

Inara couldn't help but be distracted by his warmth, pressed firmly into her back and his lips right next to her ear. In an attempt to remain lighthearted, she asked, "So what did your sarge tell you about handling the pool cue?"

She could feel Mal suddenly flush and swallow hard. "Well...uhhh...he said to...to..."

She twisted herself around so that she was facing him. "To what, Mal?"

He was rooted in place, pressing her firmly into that gorram table. He should back away. Yep. Any second now, he was gonna take three giant steps back. One...two...two and a quarter...two and and a half... But his feet wouldn't move.

Inara, for her part, was also rooted in place. She could feel even more warmth radiating off his body and it was making her dizzy - creating her own heat in places where it shouldn't be. The beginning of his arousal pressed into her, and she vaguely wondered if the table could hold both of their weight.

Mal licked his lips, also suddenly aware of his growing erection. Nope, still not able to move away, but afraid to grind into her, lest she assume...what? That he wanted to lay her out on Jayne's prized find and demonstrate with his body what Ol' Sarge had told him about how to treat that gorram cue.

Ruttin' hell - in for a penny, in for a pound. He pressed even further into her, not bothering to disguise that he wanted her, brought his lips next to her ear and whispered, "He told me to hold it like you would a woman before you make love to her for the first time. Except, you know, not quite so pretty with the wording."

"Like you're doing right now?" she whispered back.

"I reckon so."

"Does that mean you intend to...?"

"I reckon so. With your permission, of course."

"Permission granted."

They found that the table indeed could hold both of them quite handily. Partly in haste and partly because the cargo bay was chilly, they didn't undress fully. Mal pushed up Inara's choli to reveal her breasts, nipples hardening in the cold. As he leaned down to warm them up with lips and fingers, she srtarted to work on unbuttoning his shirt.

His tongue working on her caused her to squirm against him, which rucked her skirt up to her thighs, revealing her panties. Fingers caressed up her thigh as she worked on the buttons of his pants, pushing both them and his underwear down far enough to free him.

Suddenly, he stopped and pulled back, leaving her blinking up at him from the harsh overhead lights. "Mal?"

"We do this, I don't want you to be servicing me. Promise me. Be with me because you want to, not because you feel obligated or sorry for me."

"I promise."

He kissed her as he removed her underwear. "Cross yer heart?"

She sighed and pulled him inside her. "Hope to die."

If Mal was not so busy with other matters having to do with feeling Inara surround him, he would have to admit that Ol' Sarge didn't know jack about making love to a woman for the first time. Because this felt as perfect as he was both hoping and afraid it would be. And then some. If Mal had still believed in his God, he would have been praying to hold out as long as possible, but he knew that was hopeless.

Any thoughts Inara had of servicing Mal had gone out the airlock. There was no art, no grace in a frantic coupling, half-dressed, on a pool table in the middle of a freezing cold cargo bay on a Firefly. Certainly, she had never had any classes in doing so at the Academy, so she had no experience upon which to draw other than him filling her felt right.

When she hit her breaking point, triggering his, he practically howled his release into her mouth, lest they wake up the rest of the crew.

When they finally caught their breath, they realized the hilarity of them having defiled Jayne's treasure and started to laugh.

"Jayne'll have a fit if he finds out," Inara giggled.

"Well then, best we keep the details to ourselves. Or we'll never hear the end of it."

The following evening, River had once again cajoled Jayne into shooting some pool with her. And once again, she beat him handily, leaving him with all of her chores for the next week.

"Aww, hell! Girl's got a spooky talent," Jayne groused.

Mal gave River a quick hug. "Best not do that too often, little one, since this means we've got to have both his and your share of the cookin' chores. Last time Jayne cooked, I was laid up in bed for three days with stomach cramps."

Meanwhile, Jayne was bent over, eyeing the table closely. "Gorram felt got all bunched up! No wonder she whupped me."

Mal took a sip of his tea as he glanced over at Inara. "You don't say?"