Follow-up to "The Syntax of Things" and 3rd-person POV missing scene from "The Happy Return", although knowledge of either previous story is not necessary.

For ff_friday's 133rd challenge, 100-1000 words about a wish .

Wiles

Inara holds the level, nudging Simon’s shoulder and indicating where the frame of the built-in couch needs to be jammed up a bit. In tedious work, the greatest satisfaction can be found through precision, in a perfectly flush cross-brace, in a coat of paint so even it’s impossible to tell these bulkheads were ever stained with grime and smoke and blood. Inara is already stitching the cushion in her mind, completing the picture of the common room as it existed before a flood of Reavers had ripped through it.

Simon looks up at her and smiles the shwai smile that felled Kaylee.

“I don’t think anyone’s going to roll off it at this angle, Inara. We can’t afford to rebuild it again –”

“Just a little – we could wedge a…”

“Or we could just bolt it in at last and see if anyone can tell the difference.”

“Doctor Tam, I’d never expected you to give up your exacting sensibilities. How very unprofessional.” The playful chide rolls off her tongue so smoothly it could have been a flirt, if it hadn’t passed between these two individuals.

“No, what I’d call unprofessional is a Companion haulin’ wrenches an’ the like when she should be conductin’ her business in the society where she belongs.” The captain’s voice is hoarse but tinged with the flare of his usual wryness. He leans against the portal to the common room, staring at the pair crouched over the handiwork they are so proud of. “I thought I told you to find a place planet-side; you shouldn’t be swimmin’ in our mess.”

“I’m not paying rent,” Inara replies matter-of-factly.

Even Simon looks up in confusion.

“I’m not paying rent,” Inara continues, “And I wish to remain with my possessions in Shuttle One. Therefore, I will be aiding in the reconstruction of Serenity , to earn my keep.”