Three months. Three months she’d been back on his boat. Three months since Miranda.

As Mal sat on the bridge of Serenity, waiting for River to come and take over the evening watch, his mind filled with thoughts of Inara, and her presence on the ship. Thoughts that he’d gone over and over again, until they were as worn and threadbare as the carpet in the common area. Why was she still here? Was she going to stay? What did it mean if she did?

He wanted her to stay. That much he could admit - to himself anyway. He wouldn't drive her away again - at least, he hoped he wouldn't. But here she was. She’d been back on board three months, and given no indication that she was going anywhere. But, then again, she’d given no indication that she was staying, either. She hadn’t gone back to her shuttle (he still thought of it as her shuttle - probably always would, despite what he’d said to her in the past). She was sleeping in the guest quarters, which actually worked out well - with Simon spending most nights in Kaylee’s bunk, Inara was around to keep an eye on River. Their albatross was improving by leaps and bounds - Mal figured once she was relieved of the poisonous secret of Miranda, she was finally able to begin to heal. But she still had nightmares - hell, they all did - and Inara was there to comfort her the nights River needed it.

She hadn’t gone back to the shuttle. Which meant she hadn’t gone back to work, as a Companion. Mal couldn’t say he was sorry about that, but it had to be a temporary thing. The only question was: when was she going back? And would she go back to the shuttle, to the training house, or somewhere else?

She had settled back in with the crew. She and Kaylee were thick as thieves again - Mal was sure he'd seen Inara giving Kaylee advice, of the Companion-y kind, on more than one occaision, and that was not a subject he felt like dwelling on. Hell, he'd even seen her sit with Jayne once or twice, appearing to give the big man comfort, of all things. She'd settled back in with ever