Her lips were softer than a summer breeze on Shadow. She moaned and leaned into him, completely unadulterated. He pulled her closer and nipped at her lips. Mal could taste honey on her lips from tea or protein. Her breasts were pressed into his chest causing him to feel overdressed. He pulled her down into his lap, sitting on the weight bench. She didn’t fight, but pulled him closer and running her fingers through his hair. Mal moaned, sounding more like a growl. He’d waited long and was hard enough to explode right then and there. She was eager and warm in his arms, he knew that here was a perfectly allowable place, it was his damn ship. Her hands tangled in his hair greedily and her tongue worked its way into his mouth. Mal growled and pulled out of her embrace, opening his eyes to remove –

“Tamade hundan! Jing-tsai xiongcan sha shou! Run-tse duh fwe-tzoo!” Mal screamed as he awoke. “Ai ya! What fei hua!” He had been opening his eyes to undo coveralls, Kaylee’s coveralls. The hair he had caressed in his dream had been chestnut soft waves, not chocolate curls. He shook his head and immediately ran cold water from the sink above his personal commode over his head. He leaned over the sink, assuring that any thoughts that were there moments ago had numbed out of it with freezing water. Parts of his body hurt that shouldn’t, and his thoughts were beyond despicable.

Slowly, Mal set forth towards the general shower. It was still early, few were sure to be awake at this time, and he needed the privacy. There weren’t many times that he couldn’t take care of his needs in the privacy of his own bunk, but this night brought up new issues, and he couldn’t rub one out thinking of the woman that he was supposed to be protecting. He’d promised her father that he would stop men like himself from taking advantage of the girl, but he had known full well even then that she was a full-blown woman.

The shower door was open, unoccupied, and Mal exhaled, relieved. He needed more cold water than the tiny sink in his bunk could offer. He felt warm all over. That feeling of warmth was not the kind that made one happy to be alive. Mal near growled at himself over the dream, one of those unsettling things that he could do without. As he stepped into the shower stall he near screamed at the water hitting his skin like daggers of ice. He hadn’t needed to this since he was fifteen and thinking about he neighbor girl in ways that made him blush in private. *

Kaylee had never been the shy type; she wasn’t a harpy or anything like that, just friendly. Still, she felt a twinge around the captain since he saw her naked. The thought of the incident made her queasy, which wasn’t her way at all; she should be laughing about it. She studied her mashed protein with intensity as to not look up at the captain across the table. Simon could do a lot of things, but cooking wasn’t one of them, then again, there were a lot of things that she’d recently noticed he’s been lacking in. Kaylee sloshed around her breakfast again, giving it one last chance, and got up from the table, setting it in front of Jayne.

“She all right, bao-bai?” Jayne looked at River, slurping down the near tasteless mush.

“Maybe,” River shrugged looking at her mush. “Better than those who are eating this, go se. It will find its way out to the black soon enough.” River smiled at Jayne, who was used to her speak, and Simon’s cooking.

“Never hurt me none,” Jayne placed a kiss on River’s forehead softly and continued slurping his protein down.

“You trying to say the doc is trying to scrounge up business, River?” Mal’s face managed a signature sloppy half-grin. “Cuz we got a job, good one from the sounds of it. Just a grab and transport, all legal like.” The legality clearly denoted for Inara’s benefit only, but she seemed not to notice Mal had been speaking.

“No, Cap’n Daddy, Simon just needs more kick,” River suggested with a whimsical smile.

“Wash got us on our way, then, Mal?” Jayne asked, looking up from his careful slurp.

“Yeah, should be there soon enough. Whitefall, this time wont’ be dealing with the witch though,” Mal clarified. “Thought we could use a rest from me getting riddled with holes and all.”

“Never gets old, sir,” Zoe deadpans, no expression.

“Fanti and Mingo understand that a dead me means no trade,” Mal frowns at Zoe.

“Nah, Fanti and Mingo know that you’re just a little less than jovial when you see them all bandaged is all,” Zoe offered simply. “You know, Patience, though, sir. She won’t be happy someone is doing business on her moon without her. That’s probably why we go the job in the first place.”

“They wouldn’t put me in danger for the laughs,” Mal feigns insult.

“Whatever you say, sir,” Zoe stood from the table, leaving most of her breakfast behind.

*

“Why do you think the Captain let us take up this job? For the laughs?” Jayne rolled his eyes and snorted at Kaylee. “We need the money. It’s a do or die typa situation.”

“It’s not safe,” Kaylee pouted softly and glared at Jayne vehemently. “The captain wouldn’t just put himself in danger so that we could all have some giggles. We have fuel, and Serenity’s doing fine. Only thing I worry about is that gorram coil, and it’ll last a coupla more months no problem.”

“Fresh food costs, Kaylee-girl. We all want to eat,” Jayne shrugged. “Mal won’t listen to anything we got to say ‘bout it. Pleases me a little just to be crossing Patience, anyhow.”

Kaylee just stared at Jayne for a moment. “He’s getting himself shot for a bag of coin that won’t feed us more’n a month.”

“Who’s that, Kaylee? I don’t have any such plans as to being a target for any hudan down there,” Mal stated walking in behind his mechanic. “It’s a simple little job, and Fanti and Mingo have no reasons to be placing this crew in any danger.”

“Heard that about a simple plan some time before,” Jayne grinned, shaking his head. “I’ll be back with some grenades.”

Kaylee looked up at Mal expectedly. “You know we’ll be fine without this, Cap’n. Serenity is all tip top, and everything. We’re doing fine out here right now.”

“That doesn’t seem to last long out here, ‘specially lately,” Mal frowned deeply, as if in thought. “Just be sure Serenity is ready for a hasty departure if needed. I have a powerful need for getting paid, and if we all explode or get caught up by Patience it’s not something that’ll be happening.”

*

“He’ll be all right,” River soothed into Kaylee’s ear as she pranced about the cargo bay. “It will be a simple grab and transport, just as he said. Jayne just makes it out more dangerous, more our fault when he gets all beat up, shot, and the like. Doesn’t like this all being his choice and it is. We all made this choice.”

Kaylee didn’t respond to River as she waited for the mule to return with the crew on it, in various stages of repair. She just hoped they all made it back all right. She didn’t even notice that River said that one male would be all right, not that the three would be all right.

*

“Did you think you could be more specific next time on the not involvin’ Patience?!” Jayne yelled, throwing a grenade at the three horsemen following the mule. “I mean, is it such a hard concept?!”

“Wash, honey, we’re coming to you, got some color following us,” Zoe gritted her teeth as she spoke into her comm. “Don’t think it’s Patience we’re being followed by, Jayne, her people haven’t got this kinda skill. Shootin’ and ridin’ ain’t that easy, and they’re all pretending it is.”

“Always glad to hear from you, bao-bai. Wish you’d call when you didn’t need money or have laundry,” Wash’s voice was tight despite his knowledge that Zoe was still all right. “I’m on my way, baby.”