Angelle is mine, all else is Joss'. -----------------------------------------

Contentment....the act of being happy with where you are at and who you are with. Being satisfied even when everything is not perfect, but as close as one can come without it being a surreal dream....contentment in the way your life is going and....pain...

"Ow." I called as I rolled over on to my sore arm, Mal stirring beside me, arm thrown over my stomach and head nestled in my neck. "Huh? wha?" He mumbled and then opened his eyes as what I had said registered. "You okay?"

"Think so. Rolled over on to my arm." Checking to make sure I hadn't just bled over the bed as well as both of us, I am happy to report that I hadn't, though the bandage was pretty soaked from the poking and the stitching of last night's adventure.

"Ain't a really smart course of action there, Ange." He smiled sleepily, both of us curling up together in my bed since by the time he had finished, I was in the process of passing out. Said I was good at patching myself up, not so good with the loss of blood and pain beyond imagining that comes from no numbing. Sadly, I think I needed another bottle of whiskey for my kit.

"Kind of figured that when my arm felt like it was on fire." I smiled rolling so that I was laying flat on my back next to him, his head against my neck.

"Need to have Simon look at it though. Ain't gonna have my wife losing an arm from infection. Got to be right and proper for your daddy to walk you down that aisle and hot and dirty for the wedding night after."

I laughed, but hit him playfully. "My daddy's been shot, Mal. Think we best handle that situation first."

"Already in the air, Bao Bei. Can't you feel the engines?" Truthfully, I couldn't, but then again I had fallen asleep during take off. Still my stomach didn't feel like it normally did and a sigh of relief escaped my lips.

"Guess I'm getting my space legs and don't need that bucket." I commented and Mal stretched a bit beside me as I noticed I still had on my clothes from last night.

"Good thing because your aunt Lou Lou needed it last night. Never seen anything that vile come from a beautiful woman, well, take that back...once about a week ago." I could hear him laugh and if what he had said before hadn't thrown me for a loop, I probably would have hit him.

"Lou came? She's on board?"

"Yup. Told her she could stay in the room next to yours, but I think she's been keeping Jayne's bunk warm for him."

"She never ever leaves Persephone. Never."

"Said family was more important. Plus something about your daddy's face when you tell him you're gettin' hitched to me."

“You told her?” I huffed, not in displeasure, but knowing I would hear about how she was right about Mal.

“Jayne did. Or at least I think he did. All I know was about four hours back there came a pounding on your door and when I answered it, she told me she was comin' with. Handed me about five hundred and then pointed those long fingernails at me spouting something about hurting you and what she and your daddy would do to me. Was quite interestin' havin' a woman who is shorter than you threaten your manhood on your own boat. A little humblin', in fact.”

“I'll talk to her. She's just protecting me.”

“And an hour later, she came and told me just that. Even said she was sorry, I think.” He threw his arm around me kissing my unhurt shoulder. “And to think I had an unusual family.”

I laughed and turned to kiss his forehead. “Don't kid yourself. You do....” I paused as he smiled before continuing. ”And remember after you say I do, my family becomes yours.”

“That ain't funny.” He retorted as I slowly got up, my body protesting as I caught myself on the end of the bed. It took a minute before my head cleared enough of the sleep and pain that I could put one foot in front of the other. Mal stood a look of worry on his face, but I shook my head.

“I'm fine, really.”

“Want me to help you to the infirmary?” He smiled, pulling himself off the bed. I shook my head.

“What's the doc going to do that ain't been done already?” Stripping the bandage off that Mal had taped on last night before I passed into la la land, the gash looked less menacing now in the mirror. In fact, I'd had worse ones than that from working on Betsy Lou, nailing one of her innards by accident.

I felt warm arms around me and he breathed against my hair. “That request to go see Simon was not optional, Bao bei.”

“You ordering me, Captain Reynolds?” Glaring at him in a very non threatening manner or as my daddy likes to say 'Stix's Sarcastic Stare', I shook my head.

“Ain't my captain just yet, Mal.”

“Nope, but this is my boat and you're fixin' to be my wife.” Grinning, he looked me up and down before circling his arms around my waist and tossing me over his shoulder, still being careful of my wounded one. “Still wanting to argue with me, Ange?”

“Put me down.” I ordered, but instead, he slid the door over and walked out, toward where the lights of the infirmary could greet us.

“Ain't gonna happen. As I said before, not having my wife fighting infection on our wedding night when she should be fightin' with me.”

“You don't put me down there will be all manner of fightin' goin' on.” I wasn't really mad. It had been a long damn time since anyone had thrown me over their shoulder and the last hadn't been to take care of me either. Still it was a bit undignified and Zoe laughed when we walked...or Mal walked into the infirmary.

“Well, if it ain't my sister and her future sex slave.” She smiled big as I flipped her off from behind Mal's back.

“Simon, Angelle's got a gash on her shoulder needs lookin' at. Sewed it up last night, but she bein' stubborn as a mule and all...well, take a look at it anyway. She'll be good, right, Ange?”

I grumbled something as he sat me down on the bed in the middle of the white and metal room, my sister on the one by the wall. She looked better, be it a bit hung over from the alcohol consumption we had done, but her leg was dressed and I could smell the medicine scent on the bandage.

Simon walked toward me and peeled the makeshift bandage Mal had done last night, a might good job since it was nothing more than what I had in my kit, which was a lot of old stuff from the war. His fingers touched the swelling gently as I winced, his fingers coming back with semi dried blood on them. “It doesn't look to be infected, though I don't like how red it is. What did you all use to clean the wound?”

I looked to Mal and then back at Simon. “Swamp Rubbin' Alcohol.”

Simon gave me an odd look and Mal shook his head. “Whiskey, Simon.”

“No wonder it's red. There's a reason that barbaric ritual was done away with. I mean in a pinch it's okay to use, but...” He shook his head gazing into my eyes. “If you are planning on marrying the captain, you're going to have to learn to trust me, Miss Marcs.”

He put his hand on my leg before heading over to get some stuff from his cabinet. Dropping a few pieces of Walking root in a cup, he filled it with hot water before handing it back to me. “Like I trust you.”

“Thought you didn't want me marrying Mal.” I whispered as the person I spoke of went walked over to check on Zoe, though both leaning to hear what the good doctor would say. Simon dipped the clean rag he had in some rubbing alcohol and placed it on my wound. It took everything in me not to cry out.

“I might have misspoke a bit. It's just River and I...” Simon began all the while placing the cold, stinging rag on my arm. I grimaced almost spilling the cup of hot tea on my lap.

“Don't...have to explain...yourself. I understand...perfec...Ow!” I barked. “Damn it, and you wonder why I didn't come to you earlier.”

“Mean to tell me that the little bit of alcohol in the rag is worse than me diggin' a three inch needle into your arm.” Mal came up beside me and put his hand in mine.

“I was still pretty drunk and a bit high on the moment.” I exclaimed, squeezing as Simon placed the rag on again. Taking a healthy drink of the root tea, its hot burning my mouth a bit, I watched as he examined the stitching once all the dried blood was removed.

“Not bad. You said you did this, Captain?”

“Sure did. War teaches you a lot, like sometimes medical assistance isn't around when you need it. More than once, we tore thread from uniforms to stitch up men, ain't that right, Zo?” He turned and Zoe nodded.

“It's a lost art, and these could rival even the best surgeon back on Osiris.”

“I do believe our shiny doctor just gave you a complement,” Zoe laughed and Mal almost reddened...almost.

“Must be the alcohol he's breathing in.” Mal smiled, and squeezed my hand as Simon blushed a bit before reapplying a better bandage on my arm.

“I'm gonna need to change it daily for at least until it stops weepin'.” He smiled as I nodded, getting up and finishing the last of the tea. “And, Angelle, welcome to Serenity.”