Angelle is mine, all else belongs to Joss. ------------------------------------------

Cantankerous....save for a pretty cool word to say....can-tan-ker-ous....its meaning sucked. Basically, anyone who could be grumpy, crabby, or just not really nice could be called this. Imagine the old man on the front porch with the sawed off shotgun ready to take on anyone that steps on his lawn...or the woman behind you honking her horn because truthfully, doing the speed limit is not her idea of quick enough....or my aunt Lou on a transport ship for the first time in how long nursing a rather nasty bellyache.

"Oh...why did your daddy have to go and get himself shot?" The beautiful woman groaned, though not as pretty as usual with her rather pale clammy skin. I handed her some tea, and hard tack I had, her expression bordering on a look that could kill.

"You got to put something in your stomach, Lou, or the next time you visit the bucket, it's gonna be all bile." I placed a cool cloth on her head.

"I was fine last night and even part of this morning. What the hell happened?" She sipped the hot liquid and gave me a dirty look. It might have been another swamp remedy, but it was the same one I used on me for my space legs and damn it, it worked.

"Like you said, Lou, ain't use to space, yet." She lay on the common room couch, me beside her as Jayne walked toward us, bending to kiss her head.

"You feelin' any better?" He asked almost tenderly and I turned away to hide a smile of contentment when my aunt actually looked up at him in a look I had seen myself give Mal. Was it my imagination or was my aunt fallin' for the big merc?

"A little. Angelle here is trying to get me on that road. Hopefully, within a little while, I'll be back to my old self." She grinned weakly as he bent to kiss her, not once minding the bad breath I'm sure she had. It was almost cute. "Well, if worse comes to worse, I'll just have to be doin' all the work." And like that, the tender moment was gone as Lou smacked him gently in the leg.

"Jayne Cobb, you horny no good...." She laughed, though stopped quickly, holding her head. "Ow!"

"Be careful. Body's still weak." I leaned over placing a hand on her leg. Jayne leaned in and rubbed her neck for a moment looking at me.

"Doc told me you heard our talk about you. Didn't want you to think I don't like you, just...well..."

"You got a problem with my niece marryin' your captain, Jayne Cobb?" Lou Lou was up in a flash, dumping her tea on me as well as the rag and the blanket. Thankfully, the bucket was beside her and empty. She stuck a long finger in his face and sure as I was now wet and a little taken aback at how fast my Aunt could move not feelin' good, the Madam was fixin' to start a fight.

"Ain't like that, Lou." Jayne, for being a big man, knew when to back down or at least acted like he was.

"Well, then enlighten me as to exactly what it is like." She huffed at him. "Maybe I don't think your captain is deservin' of my niece or this ship for that matter."

"Now hold on just a gorram minute. I was tryin' to explain myself." Jayne looked at me and finally, being the right nice and proper girl I was, shrugged my shoulders and walked off leaving him to deal with....Nah, I couldn't do that, even to Jayne. Standing, I took a step and placed a hand on Lou's arm.

"Let the ape man speak." I smiled and both gave me a look that could kill. Damn, no one seems to be in a joking mood as of late.

"He ain't an ape." It was now my turn with the finger of Lou and I shook my head thinking to myself what exactly I had gotten myself into with introducing the pair of them. One day soon, this moment hopefully would be one I could laugh at and not one that reminded me how incredibly strong my aunt was for being so short.

"What I was gonna say is...well, I don't mind you and Mal together. Kind of misspoke last night and wanted you to know that."

"Was that...." I looked at Jayne, a bit perplexed. "Was that an apology?" Not that I didn't think he had it in him, it was just...well, it ain't every day I had someone admit openly they were wrong and I had two in less than a few hours. Of course, one who knows the family I come from will also note apologies don't come from hard headed Marcs. In fact, I was one of the only.

"Maybe, if it gets me back in your aunt's bed." He grinned at Lou, who slowly dropped her finger and smiled back, all as she slumped back down to the couch.

"I think I got up to fast." She held her head as I slid her legs back so she was laying down again. Looking at my lap that was now soaked with tea, I smiled.

"You think?"

"I'm sorry, Angelle." She placed her hand on mine and as Jayne leaned over to kiss her cheek, I put his hand to hers.

"I'm gonna go get you another cup. How 'bout Jayne stays here in case you need anything else?" It wasn't that I was volunteering the big merc, but the way it looked he wasn't going much of anywhere without knowing if Lou Lou was okay. Might as well make a good use out of him. Funny, as I walked away, I cast a glance back at the odd pair and couldn't help, but notice the top of Jayne's yellow ducky boxers. Wonder what Lou thought of them.

At first, I headed for the infirmary, figuring I'd give the rest of my supply of Willow weed to Simon in case we had other passengers suffering from space sickness. Can't believe I just said we. Serenity was now my home, a place where one day I might even raise a family. Okay, that thought was a bit scary. Oh, not the whole Mal and I having kids...the thought of who would be their relatives. Think that I'm messed up....*wink*

Simon, though, had company and from the looks of it, dark room as it was, disturbing him might give me more than an eyeful and as much as I liked our little engineer, I really didn't want to see her naked so I headed back to my room. I found River at my door, staring at the metal almost looking like she was trying to will it open.

"Hey, River, what you need?"

"Was wonderin'." She stared at me with an expression that seemed to penetrate my soul, yet was rather blank as well.

"Wonderin' is pretty dangerous ifn you don't know where you're goin'. Can get you in a might lot of trouble." I slid open the door walking in as she followed.

"What's love?" Dropping down on my bed, she lifted the covers to her nose and took a deep breath. "Smells like blood and ice cream."

"Ice crea...? Oh, my perfume...it's vanilla." I grinned, grabbing the brown bottle and giving her a squirt. At first, she tried to wipe it off, but then sniffing it, her smiled widened. "So, why do you want to know about love?"

"You love the captain and he loves you, but I thought he loved Inara and well, she loves him, too." Strange, I thought I would have this conversation with someone else first, but here goes.

"River, love is a very fickled demon, and it can raise its head at anytime. Believe me, I had no intentions of getting on this ship to end up heading to get married to your captain, but things happen. Inara and Mal...maybe they were meant to be once, but that doesn't mean it always has to happen that way."

"Simon says there is someone for everyone."

"And he's right, but you have to decide for yourself who you want it to be." I felt almost philosophical at that moment and wasn't really trying to be. How does one field that question? Even I knew that Inara and Mal were dancing around each other, could see it as clear as the nose on my face, but for some reason, I was the one heading down the aisle and she, well, she was headed back into her shuttle to do what she did best.

"What are the two prettiest girls on this ship goin' on about?" I heard Mal in the doorway as River almost giggled. Standing, she danced around him leaning to kiss his cheek.

"Demons." She replied and off with a skip, River went leaving Mal to shake his head.

"Ain't sure about that girl sometimes." He walked over to pull me into a hug and kissed me. "So, what's my future wife been up to?"

"Trying to keep my aunt from heaving out her insides, Jayne was having his insides ripped out by my aunt, explaining to River the fact of why I ended up with you instead of 'Nara, and..." I pulled away from his embrace a minute and showed him my soaked pants. "...tryin' to change out of tea soaked jeans."

"Busy day," he smiled, kissing my forehead and sitting on the couch. "Proceed with the changin'. Always liked a show before dinner."

I moved to slap him, but digressed, the earlier conversations draining me as well as my arm was starting to throb. Sliding the wet pants from my body, I examined my thighs to see if the hot water had done any damage. Except for being a bit red, I am happy to report there was no blisters. "So what did you tell River? About me and 'Nara?" I had been around Mal enough to know when a question he wanted to ask was a bit uncomfortable for him and reaching for another pair of jeans, I shrugged my shoulders.

"Nothing really. Just that somehow I won, though ain't quite sure how it happened either, but it did and I'm grateful for it." Snapping the hard button, I ran my fingers through my hair before coming over and sitting next to him.

"Most woman would want their competition off the boat." Was it me or was this another one of those conversations where I was again going to have to take the high road?! Yup, thought so.

"She competition?" I asked him, catching his blue eyes as he shook his head. "Then I have nothing to worry about, do I? And when the day comes when she finally admits that you two had something, well, then we will cross the bridge or burn it."

"Never had anything, Ange. We were too stubborn to do anything about it."

"You saying I ain't stubborn?" I laughed trying to lighten the mood and to get off this rather uncomfortable topic.

"Not at all. In fact, I thought your daddy was bad until I met his daughter."

"Hey, I let you kiss me that first time. Could of fed you to Ole Scar and had a right nice ship to call my own." I shook my head, staring out at the bulkheads and then back at him.

"Strange," he said with a straight face. "I don't remember any lettin' involved, but I do seemed to remember after it, I had to help you drive Betsy Lou home." I could see him trying not to smile.

"I was drunk."

"Hmm...." He leaned so his mouth was inches from mine. "Way I see it, I was the one drinkin' you in, not the other way around."

"Really?" I licked my lips as I felt his hot breath on my mouth. "Well, then, Captain Reynolds, drink from me again."