A few weeks and a number of close calls later, Serenity and crew were still making their way through the blackness of space. The warrants for their arrest had been released to the feds and bounty hunters alike. Large rewards were offered for River and Simon Tam, and slighter smaller rewards for Captain Malcolm Reynolds, Zoe Washburn, Kaywinnet Lee Frye and Jayne Cobb. One had briefly been issued for Hoban Washburn as well, much to Zoe’s dismay. Obviously, the Alliance had not been wise to the fact that Wash was deceased. Someone must have corrected them however, and the warrant was removed from the cortex several days later.

Despite the headhunters on their trail, they had managed to scrape together two jobs in as many weeks. One was a standard smuggling job, the other a passenger transport: the Sissacks asked Mal to fly their son Hank home from Willowsrun for a visit. Mal had a sneaking suspicion that Cara had contacted the family first to ask for their help, but he made no complaints. The job put money in their pockets and a home cooked meal in their stomachs.

But now, money and bellies were growing tighter. When money could be scrounged together for fuel and supplies, the pit stops to collect both were made to be as quickly as possible. Mal and Cara were the only ones allowed to leave the ship, because Cara was the only one without a price on her head and because Mal simply didn’t care. If he got nicked, that was one thing, but he wouldn’t allow Kaylee or Zoe or River to get nicked as well. Serenity needed to keep flying, and he needed his girls to keep her in the air.

The close quarters and nervous tension was bringing about a fierce case of cabin fever. Mal and Jayne fought almost constantly, Simon and Kaylee were at each other’s throats. Even the normally calm and stoic Zoe was on edge. Apologies were always made afterwards (with the exception of all scuffles involving Jayne), but everyone was still walking around with jumbo-sized chips on their shoulders.

So, when the morning of Mal’s thirty-second birthday dawned, he was thankful to wake peacefully to a beautiful smile. “Wake up,” River said. “You’re older.”

Mal groaned, rolling over and burying his face in River’s bosom. “Ugh. Don’t remind me.”

River chuckled and ran her fingers through the hair at the back of Mal’s neck. “You’ve been alive for thirty-two years. That’s eleven thousand, six hundred and eighty-eight days. 280,512 hours. 16,830,720 minutes. 1,009,842,200 seconds.” River rattled off the math, barely needing time to calculate.

“Why don’t we just stick with thirty-two?” Mal replied, grinning impishly up at the girl. “Make me sound a mite less old.”

“You’re not old,” River said, stroking her finger along Mal’s stubbled cheek. “Just older.”

“Well, that’s much better then,” Mal drawled, crawling his way up River’s body, placing a trail of kisses from the valley between her breasts, over her collarbone and neck, and under her jaw.

River writhed with pleasure at the sensation, continuing her thoughts as Mal kissed his way up to her mouth. “You’ll always be older than me. Can’t change that.”

“’Less I died,” Mal said, his voice muffled against River’s skin.

“What?”

Mal finally reached her mouth and placed a soft, long kiss to her quivering lips. “If’n I died, I’d stay the same age forever. Soon enough, you’d get older than me.”

River pinched Mal’s bottom for even thinking it, making him yelp. “Can’t have that. We’ll just have to die together.” She stroked her hand across his muscular stomach, a silent apology for pinching him.

He eased his mouth over hers once more, lingering. “Deal.”

-------------------------------------------------

“I don’t wanna talk ‘bout this right now, Simon,” Kaylee said, angrily frosting the cake she had made for Mal’s birthday. Thanks to Gabby Sissack, she had been able to score some actual sugar, flour and eggs, meaning that this cake wouldn’t taste so much like packed protein. It was the only gift she could afford to give Mal right now, and she intended to make it as nice as possible. With Simon working her last nerve, she found this more difficult than she had anticipated.

Simon crossed the galley, imploring her to look at him rather than the pastry. “Kaylee, I know we’re all a little stressed out lately. I can understand that you might need to take out your frustration on someone, but why does it have to be me?”

“’Cause I asked ya a simple question, an’ ya can’t give me a straight answer,” she replied, then went back to her work as if he weren’t even there.

“It’s not the right time. There are certain...issues to take into consideration.” Simon leaned against the counter opposite her, staring at her turned back.

“Issues?” Kaylee said, wheeling on him and wielding the frosting-covered spatula as if it were a deadly weapon. “The only issue’s that ya don’t wanna commit t’me.” She turned back to the cake. “An’ last I checked, that’d be your issue, not mine.”

“Kaylee, you know that’s not true.” Kaylee gave a long-suffering sigh as Simon wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. “I’m very committed to you.” He illustrated his point by placing an affectionate kiss on her cheek.

Kaylee softened slightly at his touch, sliding one of her hands across his arm. “Simon, we known each other near on three years now. Been together for two of ‘em. An’ it’s been great.”

Simon nodded against her cheek. “Yes, it has.”

“We make t’other laugh, we care ‘bout each other’s problems,” Kaylee smirked, grinding her hips ever-so-slightly against his. “The sex is amazin’.”

“No arguments so far,” Simon said, grinning.

Kaylee turned in his embrace to face him. “So why ain’t we livin’ together?”

Simon grimaced and pulled away, running a hand through his hair nervously. “We are living together, in a manner of speaking. We’re on the same ship,” he offered with a rueful smile.

Kaylee’s own smile faded instantly. “You know that ain’t what I meant.” She scooped another blob of frosting onto her spatula and spread it along the side of the cake, talking to it rather than Simon. “Two years, an’ we’re still sneakin’ back to our own bunks ev’ry mornin’ like we’re criminals.”

“Kaylee,” Simon said, letting out an exasperated sigh. “We are criminals.”

“Don’t get tart with me, city boy,” Kaylee grumbled. “An’ don’t change the subject. I ain’t sayin’ we gotta get married or nothin’, just takin’ up the same space. We share a room ev’ry night, Simon. Why can’t our junk share the same room rest o’ the day?”

“It wouldn’t be proper for us to-”

“Proper?!” Kaylee squeaked with rage. Simon shushed her gently, looking around. One of the major disadvantages of living in a big metal box was the tendency for conversations to echo. Kaylee took a deep breath and lowered her voice before she continued. “Proper’s all fine an’ good on Osiris, but out here in the black, proper’s what ya make it. Ya really think anyone’s gonna give a hoot if we start cohabitatin’?”

Simon thought for a moment. “The captain might.”

Kaylee made a rather rude noise. “Capt’n wouldn’t give a rat’s patootie. He’s all wrapped up in River right now, who, interestin’ side note, has moved half her stuff into Mal’s cabin by now. An’ ya don’t see him balkin’ like a scared pony.”

Simon scowled at this, obviously news to him. While he had been given a sort of blessing in regards to his sister’s choice of beau, he had retained certain reservations about the relationship. Mal was twelve years older than River, he was a thief and a smuggler, and more often than not he seemed to put her in as much danger as he protected her from. But for some reason unknown to Simon, his sister was as positively devoted to Mal as the rest of the crew seemed to be. After years of River’s life being nothing but torture and pain, Simon couldn’t bear to tear her away from someone who truly seemed to make her happy, even if the idea of the man being with her made his skin crawl. He glared at Kaylee slightly. “Can we leave her out of this, please?”

“Believe me, pal, I’d love to,” Kaylee spat back. “Yer the one who can’t seem t’let her alone. Ev’ry time we talk ‘bout this, she’s yer excuse. River needs watchin’ over, River needs protectin’. Last I checked, Simon, River’s doin’ fine. She’s growin’ up an’ she’s doin’ a dandy job of it. Time to move on an’ let her.”

“She’s my sister, Kaylee. River will always be a part of my life,” Simon replied, missing the point completely.

Kaylee finished frosting the cake in silence, then lifted it up into the pantry where Mal wouldn’t see it. “Ain’t sayin’ she shouldn’t be. I love River, an’ I love that ya care so much for her.” She picked up the bowl of leftover frosting and her spatula, staring Simon down. “I’m jus’ sayin’ maybe ya shouldn’t be ‘fraid t’have a life o’ yer own as well.” With that, she turned toward the engine room to drown her anger in machinery and chocolate.

Simon watched her go wearily, sliding his hands into his pockets. He almost called her to stop, but he only sighed at sat down at the table. They’d had this argument over and over the last few weeks, and Simon was starting to get deja vu. Kaylee would suggest moving into the same quarters, and Simon would slide away like a roach startled by the light.

Withdrawing a small box from one of his pockets, he turned it over thoughtfully in his hands. The truth of the matter was that he did want to move in with Kaylee. He loved her. She was caring and cheery, hardworking, deceptively intelligent. She made Simon laugh and she comforted him when he was down. She was also quite beautiful, maybe not in a conventional way, but definitely beautiful. When she was covered in Band-Aids and engine grease, she glowed like a sun, and Simon basked in it.

He opened the box slowly, looking at the ring inside. Kaylee was not one for opulence, it tended to get in the way of her work. Added to the fact that Simon couldn’t afford opulence right now, he had opted for a simple gold band, engraved with tiny roses. It was pretty, in an understated way, just like her. He knew that it didn’t really matter, anyway. Kaylee would love the ring no matter what it looked like, since it came from him. For all her touchiness of late, she still adored Simon.

Simon wanted so badly to live up to that adoration. He wanted to do right by Kaylee, wanted to do the gentlemanly thing. That meant betrothal before they could consider living together. But with things being the way that had been the last couple of months, he just couldn’t find the right time to pop the question. He wanted to ask in a memorable and romantic way, and he was wont for opportunities. He just wanted to be sure, more than anything, that it would be special enough that Kaylee would be moved to say yes.

Simon closed the box and stuck it back in his pocket. Kaylee was a little right and a little wrong. He did fear a life on his own. He was downright terrified of it. But his sister wasn’t the one he wanted to cling to forever.

----------------------------------

Zoe stood on the lower deck of the bridge, gazing up and out at the stars. She knew a good deal about astronomy for all her years of space travel. She knew that the bright spots she saw were not the stars themselves, but the light they projected from billions or trillions of miles away. Traveling through the vastness of space, some of it at such a great distance that by the time it reached Zoe’s eyes, the stars themselves had died years before.

Zoe wondered sometimes if she weren’t a bit like those stars. Like she had died two years back, when Wash did, but her body was still walking around, projecting the image. Perhaps because of her need to survive or to protect, perhaps out of sheer stubbornness.

However, despite her best efforts to ignore the things or people around her, she found them creeping back into her. In those two years, Kaylee’s ineffable smile had returned, as had Simon’s amusing awkwardness. Even Jayne had started to playfully flirt with her again, after leaving her a respectable time to mourn. And of course, Mal had stood by her patiently, knowing that the only help she wanted was the time to help herself.

For so long, it had been all Zoe could do to drag herself out of bed in the morning, throw on clothes and meet the day. Now she was beginning to greet the days with her original spirit, albeit the spirit buried beneath layers of solemnity. The past few months notwithstanding, the moods on the ship had been lighter. The smiles and laughter had returned. And Zoe’s grief had been banished to a place where only she could find it and dig it out when she needed it.

“Zoe,” River said, popping her head into the bridge. “Dinner.”

Zoe nodded at the girl, and River retreated back towards the galley with a smile. Though it may not have mattered to the first mate, she was not the only one to feel Zoe’s pain. River had unconsciously suffered through it as well. Feeling it begin to lift away to reveal the strong warrior woman underneath was like feeling a rose bloom inside River, and she was not only relieved to have the burden lifted, she was happy that her friend had begun to cope.

River took her seat at Mal’s right as the rest of the crew sat down to dinner. The fowl mood that had held Serenity hostage had been exiled for the night in honor of Mal’s birthday. Jokes and cheerful stories were passed around instead. Dinner was eaten, drinks were served. Kaylee made a horribly unbelievable excuse to rise from the table to retrieve Mal’s cake. When the dessert was placed before the captain, its scavenged taper candles burning brightly, Mal grinned like a schoolboy.

“We sure we wanna do this?” Mal said, smirking. “We ain’t had the best luck with these things.”

Cara quirked an eyebrow at the obviously inside joke. “Pardon?”

“A few years ago, on my birthday, the engine broke,” Simon explained.

“Broke?” Mal chuckled. “The engine ruttin’ exploded! Roughed our Zoe here up sumthin’ fierce.” He slapped a hand onto the woman’s shoulder, and she shook her head humorously at the memory.

Kaylee leaned over the table, counting off the bad luck on her fingers. “Then we had no air, an’ Capt’n got shot, am I missin’ anythin’?”

Cara whistled softly, impressed. “Should I take a coupla steps back or sumthin’?”

Zoe smiled across the table. “Naw, I wager you oughtta be okay. Jus’ don’t mind me whilst I duck an’ cover.”

“I don’t think it’s a streak!” Mal said, holding up his hands against the laughter that echoed through the small room.

Jayne pointed at the cake with one finger, looking at Kaylee. “I think ya might be a few candles short, Kaylee. Mal’s prob’ly older than seven.” River giggled as Mal held a finger to his lips to silence him.

“Had t’use what I could find, Jayne,” Kaylee grinned back. “Jus’ don’t be too surprised when ya got nothin’ to enhance the mood when you an’ Cara head back to t’shuttle.” She squealed with laugher as Cara chucked a roll at her.

“Don’t waste the food!” Simon shouted. “We don’t know when we’ll be able to afford to eat again!” He had meant it as a joke, but the room quickly became uncomfortable at the comment. Laughter faded slowly into awkward glances.

“Simon,” Kaylee hissed at him reproachfully.

River looked around the faces, feeling the anxiousness begin to return and tempers beginning to grow hot. “Blow out your candles, Mal,” she said quickly, attempting to change the subject.

Zoe saw what she was trying to do, and put on a cheerful voice of her own. “Gotta make a wish first, sir.”

Jayne crossed his arms over his chest. Simon’s remark had his hackles up, there was no going back now. “Maybe you oughtta wish for some work.”

Zoe closed her eyes to control her temper. “Not now, Jayne,” she cautioned.

“Doc’s right. We need a gorram job, Zoe.” Jayne had no qualms about starting a fight, regardless of the occasion. Although the rest of crew felt uncomfortable, most of them were sorry to say that they agreed with Jayne’s opinion. “We ain’t gonna be able t’drift ‘round like this forever.”

Simon opened and closed his mouth like a startled fish. He hadn’t meant to start anything. “I...I wasn’t implying-”

“Save it, doc,” Jayne butt in. “What’s said been said, an’ I ain’t afeared to be the one sayin’ it.”

Kaylee looked from one face to the next, upset that her present for Mal was being ruined. “Maybe we could talk ‘bout this another time?”

Mal took a deep breath, speaking through his grit teeth. “No.” He stood, the flaming cake forgotten. “Now’s as good as ever.”

River watched him rise, and reached her hand out to rest gently on Mal’s arm. This did not escape Simon’s notice, and he scowled slightly. “Mal...”

“Naw, River, Jayne’s got sumthin’ t’say, and I wanna hear it.”

Jayne ignored the pleading glances from River and Kaylee and rose to his own feet, facing Mal with clenched fists. “Ain’t no secret things’re in the crapper. We had two jobs in the last three months. Now, math ain’t my strong suit, but I can figure that don’t feed a crew o’ seven people an’ fuel a ship t’boot. Hell, if Cara hadn’ta called up the Sissacks-”

Cara looked up from where she had been staring at the table, shifting her wings nervously. “Hey, why don’t we jus’ leave me right outta this?”

“I know things been a mite slim for us lately,” Mal said, doing his best to be diplomatic. “But in case it escaped yer noticin’, things are a bit hot out there fer us right now.”

Jayne smirked humorlessly. “Well, who’s fault could that be? Face it, things ain’t been right ‘round here since Miranda.” The minute the word left his mouth, the rest of the crew bristled. Since the broadwave had been sent out, the M-word had been rather taboo. The very thought of it brought back memories that each member of the crew, save Cara, would rather let alone. “Ev’ryone’s thinkin’ it, I’m jus’ sayin’ it.”

“You didn’t have too much t’say ‘gainst what we done before now,” Zoe said, her voice low.

“Yeah, well I didn’t figure doin’ the right thing was gonna put us in the poorhouse. I thought we was gonna be heroes after, not a bunch of gorram bums.” Jayne snorted. “If I’da known that, I woulda saved the effort.”

“Well, I’m bettin’ ya don’t know a lotta things ahead o’ time, Jayne,” Mal sneered. “That takes foresight.”

Jayne twisted his face into a mix of laughter and anger. “Ya don’t need me fer that. Got yer little jien hwo t’handle foresight. Hell, ya been spendin’ so much time twixt her thighs, no wonder ya can’t give a crap ‘bout us starvin t’death!”

Mal started his fist forward so quickly that Zoe barely had time to grab his arm. Simon was on his feet fast enough to send his chair clattering to the far end of the room. River jerked her head up at Jayne, looking as though he’d just punched her. Cara slid an arm around her shoulders and stared daggers at Jayne. “Watch your damn tongue, Jayne!”

“Stay outta this, Cara! ‘T’s crew business.” Jayne snapped back. Now Cara looked as though she’d been struck.

“Keep your disgusting mouth off of her!” Simon started around the table towards Jayne, and Kaylee followed him with her eyes.

Jayne sneered viciously. “I will, if Mal will.”

A fist blurred up to sock Jayne square in the throat and throwing him back against the wall. All eyes flashed to River, but she remained seated at the table, quietly staring at the fight. Jayne clutched his neck and stared at his attacker: Cara. She may have been half a head smaller than Jayne, but the way she squared her shoulders and flared her wings out now made her look huge. She shook her hand out and turned away from the others towards her shuttle, disappearing into the corridor.

Jayne watched her go, wondering why he felt the tinges of guilt in his stomach. He stormed from the galley. “I ain’t hungry no more.” He practically flew up the stairs and then down into his bunk.

Zoe raised her hand to the bridge of her nose. Her damn migraines were starting to kick in again.

Kaylee looked sadly at her little cake. In the scuffle, it had been knocked on its side, crushed and smeared with icing, candles extinguished. Her hard work, the rare ingredients she had begged and bartered for, all ruined. A tear began to run down her cheek as she rose to her feet to clean up the mess.

Simon stared after Jayne with malice. “He’s a troglodyte. He’s a mannerless, reeking caveman.” Mal looked from him to River, who sat silently at the table. She hadn’t moved since the whole fight had began. Mal walked up behind her and rested his palms on her shoulders. Expressionless, she slid one of her own hands to grip his left. Simon, his anger raised and not yet released, watched this exchange with loathing. “God, could you keep your hands off of her for a second, please?!”

River, Mal and Kaylee all glanced up, startled by his outburst. Mal gripped his hands a little tighter over River’s shoulders, and she did the same to his hand. “For someone who don’t take a likin’ to Jayne, yer startin’ t’sound a bit like ‘im, doc.”

“I’m just tired of watching you paw all over my sister!”

Kaylee jumped to Mal’s defense. “What they do’s their business, Simon,” she said quietly, trying to calm everyone down.

Simon shot an angry glance at her. “Do they have to do it in front of me all the time?!”

Kaylee’s face turned from soothing to angry in an instant. She gathered her spoiled cake into her hands in silence. Obviously, River was still Simon’s top priority, and frankly, Kaylee was sick of it. She dumped the cake into the waste bin and followed Jayne’s path to the crew’s quarters.

“Kaylee...” Simon called after her, his tone softening, but she was gone down her hatch before she heard him. He shoved his hands into his pockets and dejectedly turned towards his own room.

Zoe finished rubbing her head and looked at Mal and River sympathetically. “Happy birthday, sir,” she said, not knowing anything else to say. And with that, she was gone toward her bunk as well.

River watched her go, her head swimming with the crew’s tornado of emotions. Mal sighed and leaned over to wrap his arms around her shoulders. “I’m sorry, bao bai.”

This brought a sad chuckle out of River as she leaned her cheek against one of his arms. “Why are you sorry?”

“Jayne was bein’ downright nasty, an’ so was yer brother for that matter.” Mal knew River well enough to know that she had felt everyone else’s anger as well, but he decided not to mention it. Because she knew he did, too.

River smiled forlornly. “I’m sorry they ruined your birthday.” She could feel him agree with her view, but she knew he was also feeling better simply standing there and holding her. Suddenly, an idea struck River. She took Mal’s hands in her own and stood, smiling up at him with purpose. “Come with me.”

Mal looked at her skeptically. “Why?”

“Don’t ask questions. Just follow me.” River held one of his large hands in hers as she led him up the stairs, through the corridor and to the bridge. Mal followed her quietly, wondering what her intentions were. She steered him onto the bridge, standing him in the middle of the deck.

River released her grip on him to close and lock the bridge door. She turned toward him, leaning against the wall and drawing her fingers across her collarbone suggestively. Mal smiled, having a good idea of where this was going. “What are ya doin’, darlin’?”

“I’m making it better,” River said, sliding one of the straps of her dress off her shoulder. She traced her fingers down her arm, then lifted it to lower the opposite strap. “And I’m giving you your birthday present.”

Mal crossed to her in two steps. He stopped her motions, and River looked up at him curiously. “If it’s my present, I wanna unwrap it,” Mal whispered darkly against her neck as he lowered his lips to her skin. River relaxed her arms at her sides and sighed as Mal slid the strap the rest of the way from her shoulder and down her arm.

Gripping her dress at the hips, he slid the fabric off her tight body completely, and looked down. Grinning, he saw that she wore nothing beneath it. He knelt down reverently before her, trailing kisses from her neck, across her breast and down her stomach. He would have continued, but River slipped her hands under his shoulders firmly, showing surprising strength. She urged him back to his feet, and he looked at her bright, sinful eyes. “It’s your present, Mal,” she said, guiding him towards the lockers until his back was pressed against it.

Kissing him softly, she began to unbutton his shirt, feeling his warm, firm skin underneath. She ran her hands across it, smoothing them down to unbutton his fly. Mal tried to wrap his arms around her, but she stopped her ministrations long enough to press them back down at his sides. Flashing him a lusty grin, she leaned in to flick her tongue across the skin of his chest, causing Mal to gasp with want. She darted her tongue out again, lowering herself to her knees as she finished opening his pants.

“River...” Mal started to say, but he was cut off as her hand slid into his pants and across his throbbing manhood. Mal leaned his head back against the cold steel and closed his eyes, hissing in appreciation. River smiled and worked his hardness free. She cupped a warm hand around it, squeezing gently.

Mal’s mind began to whirl. River took pleasure in his euphoric state, stealing herself to slide her palm along his length. Mal thrust into her grip, flattening his hands against the lockers in response to her silent command. River leaned in, touching only to tip of her tongue to the head of his penis. Mal bit his tongue to keep from groaning aloud.

River teased him for a long time, sliding her tongue up and down the shaft, then around the head. Then, when Mal was panting with desperation, she suddenly swallowed him whole. Feeling himself inside her hot, wet mouth, Mal could no longer keep silent. “River!” he whispered, sliding his fingers to the back of her neck. River pressed against his touch as she withdrew from his loin, then took him into her lips again.

Mal wasn’t sure he had the strength to open his eyes. But open them he did, and he was rewarded with the sight of river kneeling before him, nude, her head bobbing against his groin, her opposite hand working furiously between her own legs. He reached out his hand to slide his fingers across her cheek, feeling himself slide in and out of her mouth. Then River moaned against him, and he slammed his head back into the lockers as her throat reverberated the sound against his skin.

He couldn’t take anymore divine torture. He withdrew himself from River’s mouth and swept her to her feet, whirling her around to press her against the lockers. He attacked her mouth with his own, tasting himself on her breath. He gripped River’s thighs, and she jumped up to wrap her long legs around his waist. Never leaving River’s kiss, Mal maneuvered himself inside her and thrust as deeply as he could.

River cried out against his lips as she came instantly. She grabbed fistfuls of hair at the back of his head and buried her face in his shoulder, nipping lightly at the skin she found there. Mal crushed her tight against the cold steel lockers, pumping himself into her over and over, feeling her juices start to flow around his engorged member. He slid his hands under River’s tight buttocks and kneaded against her flesh with his fingers at every thrust.

River was alive with sensation: the hard metal at her back, Mal’s sweating skin against her lips, his body surging deeper and deeper into her. She moved her mouth to lip at his earlobe, pressing her cheek against Mal’s. She whispered to him, caught up in the moment. “Fuck me, Malcolm.”

Mal let loose an aroused growl as he drove himself ever harder into her, and she gasped against his. She was so close, so close. There! She reached the peak of her ecstasy, feeling her body explode into a million little pieces. She buried herself in Mal’s shoulder, hoping his body would muffle her screams of passion well enough. Mal felt her center grip around his length, and with a guttural sound, he released himself into her, feeling his warmth flooding her folds.

River collapsed against Mal’s chest, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding fast. Mal slid one hand up to hold her steady as he carried her to the pilot’s seat and sat, her limp body still curled against him. There they sat, breathing hard as the spots cleared from their fields of vision. Mal stroked a hand through River’s hair, along her neck and down her back. She pressed a small kiss to the spot she had bitten before, tasting his perspiration.

Feeling her breathing beginning to slow, he shook her slightly. “I don’t reckon fallin’ asleep like this would be the best plan, darlin’.”

River sighed and lifted her head to face him, kissing him in the center of his brow. “I know. I’m just savoring the moment.”

Mal grinned at her mischievously. “I love my present.”

River laughed and took his cheeks in her hands, kissing him deeply. Despite their exhaustion, passion was still about them. Heat passed between their bare chests, making their hearts thunder with their actions and the prospect of more to come.

Just as they began pressing against each other, Serenity voiced an objection. The ship pitched suddenly to the starboard side, then began to shake violently. Mal gripped River’s body tightly to keep her from falling to the floor.

As quickly as the shaking had begun, it was gone. River and Mal looked at each other as a red light began flashing on the console. “That wasn’t...we didn’t....” he stuttered, wondering if he and River’s tryst had caused the malfunction.

River screwed up her face at him, and turned about to get a good like at the ship’s monitoring system. Pressing a few buttons rapid-fire with her fingers, she gave a grim sigh. “We’d better get dressed.”