Mal sprawled on his bunk, his head spinning, his back aching. He was exhausted from the continuous battle with Inara. Exhausted and confused. It had started out as their normal playful banter and had somehow turned viscous. He couldn’t know why, but he was sure the blame lay with him. His heart beat gingerly beneath battered armor – name-calling and insults. That afternoon she’d come aboard, he’d seen some unspoken pain, and somehow he’d struck her there. As much as it pained him, he was too stubborn to apologize.

He was surprised when the door to his bunk tipped open and soft boot-steps thumped down his ladder, bringing the peach scent of Kaylee. Mal tensed, knowing she and Jayne had hooked up a few nights ago, worried she might be making the rounds in her grieving process. However, he knew for a fact that the past two nights Kaylee had slept alone in her bunk with no nightmares and no one forcing her there. She’d even hung those gorram lights up outside her door and started sorting through her and Simon’s old things. She and Jayne were still playful and only slightly more flirtatious in the day, but not nearly as handsy as she and Simon had been. Peeking one eye open, he saw her squat on the other side of the room, and just settle in a position to watch. Was that how she started Jayne? She seemed to be doing so much better today. Maybe it was just a rough night. Recovering ain’t the same as recovered, and she’d only just started.

“Somethin’ you want, Kaylee?” he asked, his voice scratchy with fatigue. Ai ya, did that sound too much like a solicitation?! He sat up on the bed, and scooted against the wall, bending one knee to use as an arm rest – a perfectly respectable social position.

Not at all surprised to see him awake, she met his eyes and shook her head. Her hands were wrapped around her folded knees, her chin resting on her knee caps. But it was more the position of someone who didn’t want to intrude.

“You didn’t knock,” he chastised lightly.

“You never knock on Inara’s door.”

“I – that’s dif