Mal sighed as he stocked the kitchen with a crate full of Fruity Oaty Bars. Wash had gotten the crew hooked, and since then, they went through them like candy. As breakfast substitutes went, he hated these because they weren’t very nutritious and they weren’t very cheap either. But he considered it a decent investment, because any other cereal bar tended to get eaten only reluctantly or left to mold and fester until he had to throw half the stock away anyway. Fruity Oaty Bars were valued and cherished as a breakfast treat, and everyone kept a strict count on the stock so they all got their fair share. It helped tremendously with port-to-port rationing. One couldn’t sneak a Fruity Oaty Bar in the middle of the night without facing a general interrogation and reprimand in the morning. Mal kept a secret box stashed in his bunk for specifically that reason. He looked over to the lounge area where Kaylee was resting on Inara’s lap, both curled up on a too-small couch. Beaumonde had become Mal’s preferred re-supply world after Inara had relocated there. She came to visit whenever they were in port. Since Kaylee still wouldn’t sleep in her bunk, he was sure the two women had been sitting on that couch most of the night. Although she clearly hadn’t slept, Inara was a picture of beauty and peace, with her hair pulled up in glittering pins and her purple dress fitting elegantly over her body. She stroked Kaylee’s face tenderly, like a mother soothing her young daughter. “Want one?” Mal asked Inara, holding out his personal box of Oaty Bars to her. She smiled and shook her head. Mal went quickly to his bunk, tipped open the door, and tossed the box inside before anyone else saw. There was something so peaceful about having Inara on the boat that made him want to stay dirtside all the longer. But he had a job waiting and no time to dawdle. He returned to the dining room, took a few minutes to soak in the vision of Kaylee sleeping in Inara’s arms, then reluctantly went to wake his mechanic. “Kaylee,” he called, adopting his business tone. “Got your parts. Time to work.” Kaylee stirred, and then sat up quickly, looking embarrassed that she’d fallen asleep at all. Mal tossed her an Oaty Bar, which earned him a brief smile, but he took what he could get these days. Her face had been clean for too long, and he was hoping by the end of the day, he’d see those adorable smudges of engine grease gracing her cheeks. Kaylee stretched, hugged Inara, then stood, shuffled tiredly across the room, and hugged Mal. Through the whole dance, she didn’t speak, but her face twitched like she was saying good-bye and confused about leaving at the same time. He wondered if people who knew him before the war saw him like this now. “You need a hand?” Mal asked her as she squeezed him tight. She looked up at him thoughtfully, like she had never considered the possibility of help. “Yeah,” she said finally. “Yeah, help would be nice.” “I’ll send Jayne.” Kaylee nodded as she wandered out, nibbling her Oaty Bar. “Jayne would be nice.” When Mal turned back to Inara, she was standing, but her strength and her calm vanished. She crossed the room quickly, forcing her way into Mal’s embrace, quiet tears in her eyes. Although confused and startled, Mal hugged Inara, letting her soak in comfort and she drenched his shirt with tears. Whereas Mal had been hugging on Kaylee since the day he hired her, he and Inara never touched. Never. Even after Book. Wash. Simon. River. The closest they ever came was a few feet and some hesitant, truthsome words. Anything more was a stolen, fleeting moment. So what the hell was this?! Mal closed his eyes and enveloped Inara, his hands rubbing across her shoulders and getting caught in her hair. She clung to him, shuddering occasionally, clearly holding back the true volume of her grief. A full two minutes later, Inara swallowed her last sob, backed off, and found a napkin to dab at her face with. Mal adjusted his shirt awkwardly and pretended he had other things to straighten in the kitchen while she regained her composure. “You alright?” he asked, as she donned her professional mask. He could still see exhaustion in her eyes. “Fine.” “Breaks the heart to see her like that,” Mal said empathetically, nodding toward the door Kaylee had left through. “No, I just –” Inara started, then stopped. “She looks so much better than the last time I was here.” Mal nodded, shifting every pan in the cabinet half a centimeter to the left, just so his hands would be moving. “Still won’t sleep in her own bunk.” “That’s understandable,” Inara granted, reaching around Mal for a kettle to boil water. “Simon died in that bed, right next to her.” “No, I gave her a different bunk and a different bed,” Mal clarified. “She won’t sleep alone.” “One of you always stays up with her?” “We take shifts. Sorry she kept you up all night. Zoë was supposed to come in…” “She did,” Inara assured. “I sent her back to sleep.” “It ain’t a permanent solution, I know,” Mal said quickly, before Inara could judge him. He found two cups for the tea, and scratched the back of his head nervously. Inara looked disappointed by the severely diminished selection of tea in the cupboards. Why did she always spin him about like this? “Have you tried just sleeping next to her?” “Oh, yeah,” Mal told her, a quirky grin surfacing. He wasn’t likely to forget the night Kaylee snuggled up next to him and he made the mistake of falling asleep too. “Nearly lost my hearing when she woke up screaming.” Inara inhaled sharply, understanding Kaylee’s nightmare. “She thought you were dead, too.” Mal nodded ruefully. “Yeah, that Doc picked a hell of a way to go.” Inara flinched at his insensitivity, but recovered quickly. Mal watched curiously, wondering again what had compelled her to cry on his shoulder before, but unwilling to push the matter. “You wanna freshen up here?” Mal asked, motioning to the crew quarters. Inara pressed her lips together and shifted her weight, self-consciously smoothing her hair with her fingers. “How long are you staying?” “Soon as Kaylee says go, we’re out,” Mal told her. “Maybe another half a day.” “Can I join you this run?” Inara asked, her eyes growing distant. “Best not. Don’t know when we’ll make it back here, and this job ain’t the safest.” Inara’s eyes flashed in surprise, but the professional mask covered it quickly. Mal watched her, perplexed. Her next line was ‘you’re probably right.’ Then they’d make small talk, he’d walk her to the door, and she’d go back to her world. That’s how it always worked. But not today. He knew her well enough now to see through the cracks in her Companion mask. Inara looked shell-shocked. Abandoned. Like she’d absorbed some part of the disease that had taken Kaylee’s cheerfulness. The tea pot whistled, and Inara poured the cups with methodic grace. “Kaylee’s shoulder is injured,” Inara stated matter-of-factly. Mal looked at her, more surprised by her tone than her words. Kaylee had been working out with Jayne fairly regularly, and it didn’t surprise him that the strain would wear on her. “It’s swollen and she can’t move it very well, but she won’t even acknowledge it hurts.” “I’ll keep an eye on her,” Mal promised, then the two fell silent again. He could kick himself – sitting here having tea with Inara when there was so much to finish before they left. Inara didn’t drink. She just stared into the liquid, looking lost. Mal didn’t like that. “Maybe you should come, too,” Mal offered. “Help keep an eye.” “Maybe,” Inara acknowledged quietly, taking her first sip. Jayne grunted his way through at that moment, heading straight for the cabinet and the fresh stash of Fruity Oaty Bars. After assisting Mal in the unceremonious dismissal of Jotham, Jayne had taken a night on the town. The man had a fair few scrapes and bruises, advertising either more than one fist fight, or a very rough-and-tumble sexual encounter. Mal abandoned Inara and his tea to chase Jayne onto the catwalk. “Jayne!” “Shower.” “I need you in the engine room helping Kaylee,” Mal stated, ignoring the comment. No sense wasting water on a shower until after the work was done. Jayne nodded and kept going. “And Jayne,” Mal called. This time, the burly merc stopped and turned around to face him. Mal stepped in closer, dropping his voice. “’Nara says Kaylee hurt her shoulder.” Jayne met his eye squarely, instinctively puffing his chest to deflect any blame. “Yeah, I know.” “Think you should be more careful how you work her,” Mal suggested, his tone giving warning. “She’s hurt in a few places,” Jayne informed, his glare advising Mal to mind his own business. “I know how to work her. We’re runnin’ low on cold packs, though.” That was it. That was Jayne’s idea of an explanation. “Tell Zoë to pick some up when she goes out.” “Already done,” Jayne answered and headed off. Mal watched him go, and smiled to himself, glad his crew knew how to take care of things. Maybe he could go back and enjoy that tea with Inara. When Mal returned to the galley, Inara’s head was down, resting on the table, using her folded arms as a pillow. Endeared to her, Mal took the tea cup from her hand, and carried her to the small couch so she could lie down. The peace had returned to her face, but not the strength. She had come across some new burden of weariness since their last visit. And if she wanted to escape it on Serenity, he’d gladly take her along. Weren’t no one on this ship not running from something. He stroked her hair gently, nearly lost in the softness of her face when Zoë crossed through. Startled, Mal stood quickly, trying not to look guilty. It wasn’t like he’d been caught groping or anything. He’d just been looking at her. That’s all. “Captain,” Zoë acknowledged, pausing to survey the scene. “Want me to take her home when I go out?” Mal looked back at Inara, then at Zoë. “No, she’s coming along this run.” Zoë looked doubtful, but nodded. “It’ll help havin’ another eye on Kaylee,” Mal continued, even though Zoë wasn’t asking for an explanation. Deciding he was uncomfortable, Mal left the room again, heading outside to finish what business there was at the landing port. No sense delaying their departure handling taxes and what not last minute. When he hit the air, he was blessed with the sound of Kaylee’s laughter from the starboard extender. He looked up to see her chasing Jayne across the hull of Serenity, a Fruity Oaty Bar raised high over his head, just out of her reach. “Hey, knock it off!” Mal hollered, though inwardly he was rejoicing at the carefree abandon he saw in Kaylee’s smile. “We got a timetable to keep!” “He ain’t sharing, Captain,” Kaylee retorted gleefully, jumping on Jayne’s shoulders as he spun around. “I don’t have to share,” Jayne hooted. “This one’s mine. You already ate yours.” Kaylee squealed as Jayne spun her off his back and caught her with one arm. Mal tensed, worried that one or both would fall off the side of the ship. Suddenly a bird swooped down and snatched the Oaty Bar right out of Jayne’s hand and the tussle froze. “Aw, now look what you did,” Jayne groused, setting Kaylee down on the hull, his face screwed in disappointment. Kaylee stared up at the sky, engulfed with mirthful bubbles of laughter. Mal couldn’t help laughing with her. “Will y’all get to work now?” he carped. Kaylee rolled onto her stomach, scooting to the edge of the ship, looking over at him warmly. She had a black, greasy fingerprint on her lips and more smudged across her chin. Mal stayed a moment, captured in her sunshiny smile. It felt like a new day was dawning for Serenity. “I’m flushing the port thruster. We’re just babysittin’ the machine,” she explained cheerfully. “Anything you can do to make it work faster,” Mal prodded. Kaylee smiled and shook her head. Mal stepped closer, reaching a hand up to her and she reached a hand down. Their fingers barely grazed across the distance, but Kaylee locked hold of him a moment longer when he started pulling away. “Happy Birthday, Captain,” she whispered. Mal squeezed her fingers again and nodded a thank you, touched that even after all she’d been through, she still remembered. He left quickly, not wanting her to see the mist in his eyes. As he went, he heard Jayne grumbling and Kaylee teasing him about the lost snack. Serenity’s heart was beating again.

*~* Rough Day