The traditional obligatory offering to Boss Joss. Love his work, got bored, and decided to to run with it!

This is a story co-written with a very good friend of mine. Humor, smut, jealousy, with just a dash of angst thrown in later chapters to make things interesting. ;D Bask in the Mal/Inara-ness!

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It was well into the afternoon, and Inara Serra stood at the stove top of the kitchen, watching absentmindedly as steam slowly drifted up from the tea kettle she had set on the hot iron top. Serenity was silent, still. The crew had gone off ship, seeing as the great Captain Reynolds had finally discovered that shore leave was an effective way to keep morale up among the group. They were more than happy to stay off Serenity till well into the evening. Simon and Kaylee, especially.

Inara smirked at the thought. The young mechanic was trying her damndest to prove to Simon just how much she loved him, even enough so to convince him to let them splurge on a romantic getaway. Zoe and Jayne had accompanied River into town, glad of the chance to distract themselves a bit from the under the radar jobs that had been few and far between for them. Inara had stayed behind, with no steady work of her own to speak of out on the dead Rim of the 'verse, and for the most part, she was content to relax with some peace and quiet alone. And Mal...Well, God only knew wherever that man went, it was likely to be in his own mind.

Much had happened over the last few weeks. The encounter with Commander Kerrn Draedon had left its mark on everyone. A threat on one of their own was never taken lightly, especially if that one was Kaylee. She smiled weakly at her choice of words. Their own. It had taken her a long time to admit it, but she, now joining everyone else, considered herself a member of this crew. Of course, that came with a great diversity of pros and cons. Including having to heed to the Captain’s orders.

But the two had seemed to come to an understanding after the incident with Dre