Sorry for the long wait. RL has been a bit of a blizzard lately; I have been snowed under.

16. A Beautiful Woman Who Can Kill Me With Her Pinky

Wash hesitated in the corridor outside his and Zoe’s bunk. He drew a deep breath, released it, and pushed open the door.

“Zoe?” he said, stepping onto the ladder and peering down.

He could hear her moving around, but couldn’t see her, and she didn’t answer him. He’d have to chance the ladder. Which he wasn’t sure he could do, even if he had been sure it was a good idea. Jayne’s potent ‘medicine’ had put a little distance between him and the pain, but it had also made walking, let alone climbing down ladders, chancier. Half expecting to fall gracelessly into a heap, and half expecting to be dragged from the ladder and beaten to a pulp, Wash climbed down with exaggerated care.

Zoe was standing at the sink, wiping her face. As he stepped off the ladder, she turned to face him. Her expression was one he couldn’t judge, because it was one he’d never seen. Had she been anyone else, he’d have said she looked . . . lost. But that couldn’t be right. Zoe couldn’t look lost.

“Jayne told me what happened,” he said. “Although, I think I probably got a skewed version of events. One where Jayne saved everybody, with a little help from . . . River? Who I’m given to understand is flying the ship, now?”

“Was it the version where I buried you at the end?”

“Yeah,” he said hoarsely.

“And did it include finding out that you – at least, as far as we knew at first – had betrayed all of us to the Alliance?”

Wash nodded – barely, because each movement was a new, not-fun experience. “And then getting to Haven just in time to find me dead. Again,” he added softly.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and it hurt him worse to see that than the shrapnel throbbing in his back -- going to have to have Simon take care of that. Worse than the pain in his head. Worse, even, than when Zoe had hit him.

“I’m sorry,” he said. He gathered her int