Well, this is the second attempt of posting this, the first time I got ready to hit the submit button, corrections, chinese translations done and all, and the computer decided to hate me.

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Mal’s feet hit the steps as they went up.

He saw the crews mixing nicely at the table, the Rising Sun’s wide awake as they were running on morning hours while Serenity’s winding down as it was night hours for them. A large group was playing tall card; Sterling, Wren, Virgil, Jayne and Roxy were all smoking cigars while working on their hands, the latter two also knocking back shots of mudders milk and exchanging various unsavory stories in a bout of ‘you show me yours, I’ll show you mine’ in regards to their battle wounds. Simon and Pike were still talking their medical jargon, swapping opinions and reminiscing about their training, Emma was off somewhere (being silent and creepy no doubt, she gave Mal an unpleasent feeling), and Kaylee and Jovie and were talking while River slipped towards the engine room and Fiyero followed.

Inara was coming from the engine room with Meilin who was fussing louder than the last time Mal had seen her.

He walked towards her, her wrought face as Meilin had been upset for half a day. “She’s still at it?” He rested his hand on the small of Inara’s back and watched his daughter’s red face as she rubbed against her dress and howled.

“I think we’re going to fix a bottle and lay down.” She explained as everyone in the room flinched at the child’s noise.

He kissed her forehead. “Go get ready in the bunk, I got the bottle.”

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River sat herself on Kaylee’s hammock, the manchild she had attracted peering in from the doorway.

She scowled at him.

“What did I do to receive such hostility?” Fiyero asked, perching himself on some sort of clunky metal housing. “I thought we were seven shades of shiny, you the witch, I the witch loving pseudo prince. You know you can’t just hate me on a whim. I’m a delicate soul,