Bane had always loved swimming. As soon as she had found out about the hot springs on St Albans, she told Simon and he had prescribed it immediately for his two patients. She persuaded Simon that it would be best if she would fly all the women there, and make sure they got plenty of exercise in the water. When he questioned why they all could not go together, she used the excuse that it would be easier for Inara and Sheydra to relax and heal without men horse-playing around. It was then Bane discovered Kaylee and River had never been taught to swim, presumably never being on a planet with that much spare water, or never having the time. When Mal and the other men found out they were mortified, but Simon had made his medical decision and River was now piloting them to the location a short way from the settlement. “Sure would like to take a look at all those women bathing,” muttered Jayne. He had been lifting out his frustrations using weights in the gym. Karl was doing chin-ups. “Guess we’ll just have to imagine it,” he replied, breathing heavily. Simon passed by the gym and Jayne called out to him. “Doc! Explain to me again why we ain’t enjoyin’ a nice hot swim right now.” “Well, I don’t rightly know. Bane found out about the hot springs and then insisted that it had to be just the women, after I said it would be good for Inara and Sheydra’s injuries.” “Bane? It was Bane’s idea?” said Karl, halting his chin-ups. Karl and Jayne looked at each other, remembering a conversation they had once when the three of them were playing poker. Jayne grinned widely and Karl did the same. “What is it?” asked Simon. “It was something she mentioned when we was playin’ poker once. We were talkin’ ‘bout things we’d most missed about not bein’ planet side. Jayne and me gave boring answers like going to a bar, or something. Hers was swimming naked underwater,” Karl explained. “Hell yeh.” Jayne was putting his imagination to work. “That explains why I felt steam-rollered,” said Simon, now with a small smile on his face. Bane and Zoe carried Sheydra to the water and lowered her in. With her leg broken in several places she was still fairly immobile. Kaylee and River had already jumped in, but were holding on to the decking that lined the pool. Inara got in the deliciously hot water on her own, it felt amazing. There was definitely a slight smell of sulfur but it was not overpowering, and the part that her and Sheydra were in was shallower than the rest. As soon as Sheydra was comfortable Bane stripped off the vest and shorts she had been wearing and dived in, naked. She stayed underwater long enough for Zoe to start worrying and then surfaced between Kaylee and River surprising them. “Ahhh – been wanting to do this for years. Now, who wants to learn to swim first?” “Does it really feel better, swimmin’ naked and all?” said Kaylee eagerly. “Try it,” challenged Bane, blowing bubbles in the water. Kaylee, always game, took off her t-shirt and wriggled out of her underwear. She held back on to the side and kicked her legs. “Oooh, it does feel good.” Zoe declined to strip after seeing River throw her clothes on the side. She was busy floating on her back at the deeper end of the pool. On the other side Inara kept looking into the trees nervously. “How exactly did you persuade Jayne not to stow away on the shuttle?” she called over to Bane. “Got the doc to prescribe it for your best interests,” she giggled. “And ours.” Inara still kept expecting Jayne to jump out at them, but she helped Sheydra lie down in the water in the shallows. Inara lay on her stomach letting the water cover her from the neck down. “I think you’ve picked yourself up a fan in Jayne,” she said quietly to her friend. Sheydra had not spoken much and there were still dark circles under her eyes. “You said he was holding my hand, but he hasn’t come near me since I woke up.” “May be he’s shy,” answered Inara. Or may be he does not want an audience, she thought. “You know him,” Sheydra said. “Have you ever known him to be shy?” Sheydra watched as Inara’s expression became conflicted and then calm again, before she spoke the truth. “I’ve only ever known him behave like a lout, until I saw him hold your hand and fall asleep next to you. It was quite moving.” Sheydra could tell that she disliked the man, but could not prevent her voice from sounding impressed. “What about you and Mal?” Inara was glad of the hot water and hoped that Sheydra could not see her coloring. Inara was still enjoying the memory and did not want to impart everything to her friend. She did not recall how long Mal had kissed her, but it had been gentle and loving, and totally not what she had expected. She looked at Sheydra and her friend understood. Bane gave River and Kaylee a swimming lesson. She had them hold on to the decking and kick their legs furiously. “I feel silly,” muttered Kaylee, but she was enjoying herself. Bane looked over at Inara and Sheydra. “You two all right?” “Shiny,” said Sheydra with a wide smile. “It feels wonderful. What a great idea.” Bane turned back to her pupils and River wanted to be first to go out into the pool. Bane put her hands under her belly to hold her up while she kicked. River found she loved swimming. She took a breath and stuck her head under the water, knowing that Bane would not let her go. She lifted her head out and stuck it under again. She had found something else that blocked out the voices and it felt wonderful. She could feel Bane’s touch getting lighter and she was still floating. She came up for air, her hair plastered around her face. “My bottom’s getting cold,” she said grinning. “My turn,” interrupted Kaylee excitedly. Bane got River to hold on to her arm while she glided her back to the side. She did not mind teaching them to swim, as she had always felt it was important for people to know how, but she really wanted to go out into the pool on her own. Maybe she would stay for a bit after the others had enough. They had only come in the shuttle because Sheydra could not walk and a mule would only have jolted her painfully. She pulled Kaylee out into the middle of the pool and held her in the same way as River, but she kept kicking the water in her face in her enthusiasm. “Now that we know this place is here, you can teach us over Christmas. I’m sure the Cap’n won’t mind,” spluttered Kaylee, water running into her mouth as she talked. After about an hour Zoe was starting to prune and she wanted to head back. The swim had been really tranquil. She got out of the pool and got dressed in the shuttle before coming back for Sheydra and Inara, who were also ready to go. Bane climbed out and put on the vest and shorts again so she could help Zoe lift out Sheydra. Kaylee got out as well, having already decided to try and come out with Simon on their own. She had it all planned out in her head, there should be plenty of opportunities between now and when the Captain wanted to return to business as usual. River wanted to stay in the water, but she also put her swimming clothes back on. She ducked her head under the water again, reveling in the silence. Kaylee put both their sets of clothes and boots under the shelter and got in the shuttle with the others. Bane and River grinned at each other as they watched the shuttle take off. Bane dived under the water and touched the rocky bottom of the pool finding that it was much hotter down there. River made sure she stayed near the edge. Bane surfaced eventually and took a deep breath of air, treading water for a while before calling to River. “Why don’t you try swimming out to me, River?” River looked at the distance. It was not much but far enough, she trusted Bane though. “Keep air in your lungs, lie flat on the water and kick yourself over to me. Put your arms out in front and use them to push yourself along like this,” she demonstrated. River had a go and did well for a few strokes until she realized she was sinking. Bane swam over to her and lightly rested her hand under her stomach, enough to keep her afloat. By the time Karl and Jayne arrived, having walked from the ship, River could swim from one side of the pool to the other without aid. Bane reckoned it must be a genius thing, as she recalled it had taken her a lot longer to learn. After making a comment about how disappointed he was to not find her skinny dipping, Jayne stripped down to his shorts in matter of seconds. He jumped in with a loud ‘yahoo,’ sending a huge wave of water over Bane and River. Bane checked that River was okay, before giving Jayne a piece of her mind. Jayne did not care much for what she thought and was already swimming back and forth across the pool. She looked over at Karl who was in the shallows, his upper torso exposed, shivering. “It’s a lot warmer over here, Karl,” she said. “Can’t swim,” he replied. Bane rolled her eyes. “Lao-tyen boo. I’ve never met so many non-swimmers at once.” She made sure River was swimming near the side and swam over to Karl. “Come on, take my hand. I’ll make sure you won’t drown – no matter how much Jayne splashes.” All that was visible of Jayne was his feet, he was doing handstands. Karl was nervous, specially with the fact that he was a lot bigger than Bane and could not see how she could prevent him from drowning. He was glad to be in the hot water though, even if he could not now touch the bottom of the pool. As Karl was behaving nervously, totally unlike Kaylee and River, she wondered if he had a bad experience before. “Have you ever tried learnin’ to swim?” “Never had the chance as a kid, but when I was about twenty I once fell into a lake from a shuttle an’ I nearly drowned,” he explained anxiously. “Had to be resuscitated when they got round to pulling me out.” She trod water as she lifted his legs in front of him, supporting his head as he lay back on the water. “I’ll take it slow. I won’t let you go, I promise. Just try and relax.” Karl was taking short tense breaths. He could feel Bane’s hands holding him and made himself to calm down. Bane kept him well away from Jayne who was likely to think it fun to duck him underwater. She could feel the tension in Karl’s body, he may have thought he was relaxing, but his body was not complying with that order. “Karl. Look at me,” his eyes swiveled over to her. “Unclench your toes – no, keep looking at me – that’s it. Now let your feet sink, relax at the knees…There. How do you feel?” Bane could feel the muscles in her thighs aching from treading water for a prolonged period. Jayne was really quiet, which worried her but she could not look around. “This feels great. Way better than the last time I was immersed in water,” he said. Bane’s wet hair was stuck to her head which emphasized the contours of her face. Karl was beginning to enjoy himself, but for the wrong reasons. Apart from that time in the Broken Leg, he had never been this close to her before. Now he recalled those memories of Bane’s arms around his neck and feeling her lips on his ears in a whole new light. He found he could not break her look, worried that he might sink if he looked away. Bane could hear some vigorous kicking which could be River or Jayne, either way she was concerned. “I’ve got to just check on River,” she said to Karl. “I won’t let you go, I just need to turn around a second.” “Ok,” said Karl, the nervousness returning. Bane whipped her head around to where she had left River but she was not there, Jayne was pulling her out into the middle of the pool. She had her arms out in front of her and Jayne had a hold of them. “You alright, River?” she shouted. “Shiny,” she shouted back with a big grin on her face. Well, if River trusted Jayne then she supposed she had to. “Bane...” said Karl with a voice mixed with water. She turned back to see him sinking and lifted him up before his face went completely under. “Ye Soo! Sorry, Karl,” she said. Bane realized that she was getting a bit tired herself with all the treading water she was doing. She now held Karl upright so they were the same height, just head and neck, above water. She bobbed up and down as she kept them both that way. “Okay, ready to try one last thing before I take you to the side?” “Yes ma’am.” Karl smirked at her and she realized she was in full ‘teacher mode.’ “Sorry,” she grinned back, “Been doing this all afternoon. Guess I’m on a roll.” “I’m game, if you are,” he replied happily. Karl was trying hard to concentrate on the fact that he was receiving swimming lessons, as Bane’s proximity and touch was sending up some interesting sensations. Bane, still in swimming teacher mode, wanted to try and get Karl to go fully underwater without being afraid. “Put your arms down and hold me around the waist,” she said gravely. Karl smirked again, pursing his lips to wiggle his moustache. “Last time I did that you went and kissed some ugly hun dan.” Bane laughed and shot back. “Well, Jayne’s busy at the moment. Now, seriously. We’re gonna try going under water.” She felt a large hand rest firmly above each hip, she was still constantly kicking to keep them both afloat. “Now in a second we’ll both take a breath and go under together, dong ma?” Karl nodded, more than a little apprehensive again. “The pool is only another two foot taller than you. When you touch the bottom I want you to push up. ‘K?” Karl nodded again. Bane held Karl’s upper arms. He mirrored her when she took a deep breath and trusted her when they sank beneath the water. The first moment was blind panic, Karl thinking of all the practical jokes that could come back and bite him in the ass at this moment, and he could not blame her. She moved closer and her hands tightened on his arms and he knew she was not going to desert him. They sank lower and his feet touched the bottom. The rocks were a bit sharp in places but he really was standing on the bottom of the pool. Bane’s feet touched the bottom shortly after. She bent her knees and as she started to rise, Karl pushed himself upwards. They surfaced quickly and Karl took a lungful of air. Bane struggled to take her own air and stay above water, as Karl had instinctively pushed her downwards as he surfaced. She coughed out the water she had swallowed but said nothing in reproach before she moved away, still keeping hold of his hands, and taking them both to the shallows of the pool. ~ * ~ Bane helped Brenda cook up a massive feast for Christmas dinner, nearly a week after the rescue and they had been working in the kitchen since about five in the morning. Mal had volunteered her to help after Brenda had discovered she was a Pye. Bane did not mind at all, as Brenda was a jovial woman full of high Christmas spirit and they had a lot of fun. Bane was now mixing the batter for Exmoor Pye, having raided the stores from Serenity for the ingredients. “So when did you last see this lot?” she asked. “Must have been before Karl signed on – at least November last year.” Brenda inspected her assistant’s mix, sampled some of the brandy that was being poured in it, and went back to stir her frying potatoes. Christmas on St Albans was usually a bear meat roast and whatever else they could scavenge, the stores on Serenity went a long way to supplementing all the extra dishes they now had. “It was near two years ago when they brought my son home to bury,” she said sadly. Bane realized she may have picked the wrong topic to discuss. When Bane did not answer Brenda looked over to her. “It’s all right dear. I don’t mind talking about it now.” “How did he die?” “Mal and Zoe had to shoot him.” Bane thought she had misheard, but she could not form the right words to reply. Brenda continued. “He fell in with a bad crowd after the war. Was trafficking organs, poor boy. He had himself mailed to Mal, but then couldn’t trust him to look after him. He tried to shoot them and they had to shoot back.” Although Brenda explained it simply enough – and seemed happy with it – Bane was sure it was not as straight forward as that. Nothing ever was. “How’d you come to think of them so well if they shot your son?” Brenda smiled kindly and her eyes watered at the memory. “On account of my son’s letters during the war. He spoke of Mal and Zoe and what they went through together, and what they did for him. People like that don’t go shooting on a whim. Specially as they were already bringin’ him home at the time.” Bane poured her mixture into a tray and took it over to the other side of the small kitchen, ready to put in the oven. “Was he your only child?” “Yes,” she paused. May be if we’d had more he wouldn’t have got himself in so much trouble.” Brenda shook off the maudlin thoughts and turned to her new assistant. “What about you? How did you come to get taken on Serenity?” Bane grinned, glad of the change of subject. “Well, that’s an interestin’ story. I was previously on my brother’s ship...” and Bane went on to explain the story of how she came to be on Serenity, it being a genetic trait that she was a good storyteller. Dinner was served about three hours later to a ravenous crew. Bane reckoned the leftovers would keep the Smiths going on their own for at least a few weeks. Both Sheydra and Inara were there as well, Sheydra having been carried there by Jayne, who was also extremely pleased he had managed to arrange it so that she sat next to him. Little did he know that Kaylee and River had intentionally planned it that way. Sheydra had been flattered by the attention from Jayne and could not quite see how Inara could have painted him in such a bad light. He had the hard edge of most spacers she had come to know, but he was also warm and entertaining. While waiting for the food to be served, they had all imbibed rather a lot of the brandy that Bane had brought over from Serenity to make the cake. That, and Michael Smith’s moonshine, which was strong enough to make a person go blind. Mal, not one for saying grace or allowing anyone else to, got up and made a speech. Inara sat on his left, Zoe on his right and all was well with the ‘verse. He wobbled briefly and then raised his glass. “To the Smith family. May you have many more Christmases like this.” The first toast was drunk and glasses were quickly refilled. “To Brenda and Bane for this wonderful food we are about to demolish.” The two women grinned at each other, it had been hard work and they both had tired expressions, but very rosy cheeks. Although in Bane’s case, that was mostly from the brandy. The glasses were refilled again. Mal paused this time, formulating his words and giving a quick look to Inara. He spoke slowly, emphasizing, “To all the crew, old and new, Serenity will always harbor you.” “Serenity,” they all toasted in unison and drained their glasses once again. After Kaylee had taken her swift gulp, she was the first one to speak. “I dint know you was a poet, Cap’n,” she said, impressed. Inara was impressed as well. Mal shrugged, a little embarrassed. “Just came to me. Seem’d ‘propriate. Now, how about we tuck into food?” No one needed a second reminder. After making all the food Bane was not as hungry as the others, having tasted a lot of it before it was brought out. She nudged Karl sitting next to her and nodded her head towards Jayne. Karl nearly choked on his mouthful of bear meat, Jayne had put no food on his plate yet, but was making sure Sheydra had all the food she wanted first. Karl was amazed at his gentlemanly behavior and he whispered to Bane. “Keep expectin’ him to do something normal – like make some inappropriate comment.” Bane swallowed her mouthful quickly. “Saw him like this afore on Persephone when he met my Aunt. Butter wouldn’t melt, I think the expression is. He can be a perfect gentleman, just chooses not to be most of the time.” “She doesn’t seem to be evadin’ his attentions,” added Karl. Jayne, who was sitting opposite them, had picked up on the fact that they were talking about him. He gave them a menacing glare and Karl and Bane both looked down at their plates at the same time. After everyone had eaten their fill and could barely move, there were more toasts, given by the others. “To River,” shouted Bane, swaying rather precariously. “For knowing,” she slurred and sat down abruptly, knowing it had sounded much better in her head. Everyone toasted anyway and then refilled. Kaylee stood up next. “To Simon. For patching up ‘Nara and Sheydra.” Simon smiled widely as everyone cheered. “To Mal,” said Inara who, along with Sheydra, had drunk the least. “For coming to our rescue.” Mal grinned stupidly, more than a little drunk like the others. Karl stood up and braced himself on Simon’s shoulder. “To Bane. Our new swimming teacher,” he drained his glass and then went to sit down, missing the bench and slipping to the floor. No one could help him, they were all laughing to much. ~ * ~ With Christmas now over Mal realized it was time to get back to reality and earn some platinum to keep them afloat for the coming year. He had been reluctant for one main reason; Inara. There had been no further moments like the one in the Med Bay and no opportunities to be alone. He could go to the guest room she now occupied, but there were too many people around to stick their noses in. It was Inara who found him in the end, in her old shuttle. He was re-stocking the rescue rope which he had asked Jayne to do several times but he had so far failed to, being otherwise occupied in mooning over Sheydra. “Trying to re-capture some memories?” she asked from the door before stepping in. Mal jerked out of his concentration, all kinds of disconcerted to see Inara dressed in clothing borrowed from the other women. Bane’s pants, one of Zoe’s shirts and a pair of Kaylee’s sandals, he noticed. She looked uncomfortable in them but even more attractive, especially with her hair loose around her shoulders. One of the shirt sleeves was rolled up so he could clearly see the brace that Simon had put on her arm. Sheydra had a much larger cast, from thigh to ankle. “Nice outfit,” was all he said in reply. Inara looked down at herself, assuming Mal was being sarcastic. She had never dressed as a spacer before, it felt extremely peculiar to be without all her fine clothes and other things. Mal placed the coiled rope on the floor and moved closer to her. She did not move but she had to say something. “Sheydra wants to go to her parents on Delaware. Can you take us there?” Mal, who had been about to rest his hands on her upper arms, stopped himself just in time. “What about you?” was the question he found himself asking, but did not want to hear the answer to. Inara stepped closer to him and put a hand on his cheek. He cupped it with the palm of his hand, looking into her eyes but she still did not answer him. He could not keep from leaning in for a kiss. Inara closed her eyes and reveled in the sensations that ran through her body when he did that. She had spent the last six months dreaming herself to sleep with this fantasy. But that was all it could be and as Mal’s arms came around her, she pulled herself up and apart from him. The hurt in his eyes was almost more than she could bear. “I can’t stay, Mal,” she said quietly. Mal’s anger and frustration boiled up and over – they had danced this one before. “Why the hell not?” “Because I can’t be your space doxy,” argued Inara fiercely. “Then be my wife,” Mal retorted, before he had even thought about what he had said. They were both shocked to silence; Mal because he could not believe he had proposed, and Inara because she could not believe he had proposed. There was silence for a full minute before Mal walked away and sat down on a crate, running a hand through his hair. He glanced up, grimacing slightly. “Keep your mouth open like that and you’re liable to catch flies.” Inara was all kinds of disconcerted, as Mal had been moments ago. “Did you mean what you said?” she asked quietly. “Guess I did.” Inara could think of a number of ways to respond to that statement, but they really were getting too old for this. Instead she sighed and it was all the confirmation Mal needed. But he also could not keep himself hanging like this, twisting and turning on the whim of the wind. “If you won’t fly with me, why do we keep doing this, Inara?” Inara choked on the bitterness she heard in his voice. She walked over to him and put her hand on his head. Mal hugged her close and his cheek rubbed on the buttons of her shirt. They could so easily just lose themselves, forget about the ‘verse outside, his crew and her occupation. “I can’t live here and you can’t give up Serenity.” “So things return to the same as before. You go back to Sihnon and servicing other men–“ Inara knelt in front of him, her eyes shiny with emotion. “I haven’t taken a client since I was last here on Serenity. Wu de tyen ah, Mal, don’t you see? If I stay here I have to earn my living taking other men to my bed and I can’t do it in front of you, knowing my feelings about you. That’s why I keep leaving. On Sihnon they just let me teach.” Mal stared at her stupidly at first and then the clouds of doubt blew away. Inara was right, the life of a spacer meant earning a living and he knew that he could not support them both, a crew of seven and Serenity. “I’ll take you back to Sihnon after we drop off your friend. But we may have to take the long route out of here as I ain’t plannin’ on bumping into no Reavers.” Inara realized his words meant that things were at an end again. But why? Why couldn’t the two of them make the best of bad circumstances? She took a breath – she had to say this now or she would never do it again. She touched his cheek as she spoke. “I know Sihnon’s a bit out of your way, but you could visit me whenever you were in the vicinity.” Mal looked at Inara, if she had been dressed normally her words would have bounced off him like anything he thought she might use with a client. But she was not dressed in order to mess with any man’s brain, she was dressed just to mess with his. He remembered when she had said almost the same words the last time and he had raged that he was not some client that need servicing. He wanted all of her or nothing. Well, it seemed neither of them would ever get that, however, Sihnon was still at least over a week away given the routes they would have to take before then. “I could visit you, but what happens between now and then?” said Mal. Inara could not help feeling he was making this as difficult as possible. But then this was his home and he did not have the luxury of having the place to himself, so she could understand. Instead of getting serious again she wanted to be happy or joyful. Had not Mal just agreed to compromise? She smiled and stood up, taking his hand again. “Think we can make it to my room without being seen?” she said deliberately. Mal stood up, a face full of hope, desire and all sorts of other emotions. But instead of talking he took action, kissing her more forcefully than he had ever done. Once again Inara had a split second to realize that he was so unpredictable before allowing her own barriers to fall away. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Author’s Note: Edited in September 2007 (Always looking to improve!).