I confess, I messed up dropping "I'm sorry" like you're still around

Kaylee sat on the crates, watching as Mal seemed to hover around the shuttle where Inara used to be. He did it about every other week or so. She pretty much was out of range to Mal anyway. Whenever he did that, he was oblivious to everything else. And when he did notice, he’d just yell for them to get back to work.

“Is he brooding again?”

Kaylee looked over at Zoe and nodded. “Yeah...it’s like he blames himself for Inara leaving. Which it probably is, but I never say it out loud around him.”

“Hey, what are you two doing down there?”

Both women looked up at Mal leaning over the railing. Zoe, keeping a straight face, answered, “Just talkin’, sir.”

“Yeah...well...stop talkin’ and get back to work!”

“Yes, sir,” said Zoe as Kaylee got down from the crates and Mal disappeared towards the cockpit.

And you're just the girl all the boys want to dance with And I'm just the boy who's had too many chances

Inara looked out over the water of the training house as the sun started to set. A few of the girls walked by, whispering and giggling to each other. Inara sighed. The whispers and giggles seemed to increase since Inara first arrived. Probably spreading rumors and telling stories about her reputation. Little fantasies of the rich men she had been with and story book tales of her with rogue, passionate men. She only laughed. She remembered doing the same thing when she was training to be a companion.

It did make her wonder though. Could it have worked out with him? Would they ever have something? Anything.

Inara let out another sigh. “Who am I kidding?”

I don't blame you for being you But you can't blame me for hating it

Mal sat in his room, watching Kaylee’s capture again. Why he punished himself like this, he wasn’t sure. It pained him to watch her pack, but it hurt him even more to watch her move and listen to her talk. Especially when she said, “The captain doesn’t know what he wants.”

He feared she was right. It took him so long to even think about making a move that she was gone before he could say anything.

Mal kind of wished he could take back everything he said to insult her. But then again, he’d be saying the same things if she had stayed. That dance those two were always locked in with the same words being tossed around. ‘Whore’, ‘Petty theif’, and several curses in Chinese.

Was it too strange to miss all of that?

I'm just off a lost cause a long shot, don't even take this bet

“Do you think they could have worked out?”

Wash looked up at Zoe, puzzled. “What?”

“The Captain and Inara,” repeated Zoe, “Do you think it could have worked?”

Wash shrugged as he looked straight forward into the black sky. “I don’t know, honey. I wouldn’t bet on it. Inara was going to leave sooner or later. If the Captain wanted to do anything about it, he should have. I wouldn’t have bet on them to make it anyway.”

“Would you have bet on us, baby?”

He looked up at Zoe. “Don’t make me answer that. You know it makes my head hurt if I do.”

You can make all the moves, you can aim all the spotlights Get all the sighs and the moans just right

The lesson of the day seemed a blur to Inara after the girls left. It had become like that a lot lately. She hated teaching them this dance. The art of Compainonship, as time honored as it was, was often lacking in any passion. If you could get all the moves right, a lot of clients, and a good reputation, you were considered a success.

But actual passion between a companion and...anyone? It was like an unspoken taboo.

Inara often wondered if that’s the reason she stayed away from Mal, but she shook it off. It was too late to wonder ‘What if...’ about her and Malcolm Reynolds. It was too late the moment she left Serenity...

So say, what are you waiting for?