DISCLAIMER: Joss is boss.

NOTE: I've decided I wasn't meant to write anything of a linear and descriptive nature. This was my first attempt at any sort of long narrative that wasn't in script form. But, what the hell, I'm gonna share it anyway. This will be a multi chapter fic. I've taken some, shall we say, artistic liberty with dates and timelines. And I live in a 'verse where Wash never met up with a harpoon. Set post-BDM. (Oh, and leave feedback, lovely people! Tell me it sucks, tell me it's great, whatever.)

CHAPTER 3

The temperature had steadily risen on Serenity . Once they had undocked from the Revenge , Mal had barked at Wash to hard burn them out of sensor range from the Alliance cruiser, and to set a course for Shadow. Mal had gone to his bunk after that. Seven hours later, he still hadn’t come out. Zoë and Wash kept an eye on his door from the bridge. Kaylee came by, thought to bring the captain some food, but Zoë advised her against it.

Zoë had to admit to herself, she was surprised at Mal’s reaction to this. Based on what Sloane had said to Mal, Zoë assumed that she was Mal’s childhood sweetheart. He left her to go to war, and then Sloane found out she was pregnant. Things like this happened; a lot of the men she and Mal fought with in the war went through this, wives and girlfriends coming up pregnant after they had left. Which left Zoë thinking: was he more upset about the child existing, or did he doubt whether he had really sired the child? Either way, Mal had about two hours before they reached Shadow to decide what course of action he would take.

Inara was restless. She had tried meditating, but found no peace. Her thoughts strayed too often to Mal. After several minutes of aimlessly wandering the ship, she found herself outside of Mal’s bunk.

“I wouldn’t,” Zoë called to her, coming down the stairs from the bridge. She stopped just on the other side of Mal’s door. “He ain’t come out of that room since we left the Revenge .” Zoë stepped