As promised, the immediate follow-up to "Dreams." http://www.fireflyfans.net/bluesun.aspx?bid=3317

Rated R for mature content.

The usual disclaimers apply. No archiving, please.

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"Dealing"

3/26/2003--by HawkMoth

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Malcolm Reynolds was thinking unaccustomed thoughts.

His body was trying to tell him that thinking was highly overrated, 'specially under these circumstances, so he should just relax and enjoy the moment. Breathe deep, while all those hot little jolts of pleasure firing along every nerve fused into one very nice, all-over warm tingle. No thinking required.

Remembering was kinda nice, though....

He had felt the bed shift beneath him, and came awake with a start looking around wildly before he recalled where he was and why. "What? What's wrong?"

At some point in the night one of them must have roused enough to pull the covers up, for Inara was slipping down under them by his side. "Shh, Mal, it's all right," she assured him. "I just had to get up for a minute. Go back to sleep."

Which was a good idea, except eventually he was going to have to get up and leave, to at least try and start the day with some appearance of normality. "Wha-what time is it?" he asked through a huge yawn.

"It's early yet," she said, gently stroking his arm. "Just past five."

Early enough, but not so much that someone might be stirring--Wash checking the helm settings, Kaylee in the mood for some tinkering. Not that either one of them would show much surprise to find him roaming about, but even so--

He threw the covers back. "Maybe I oughta think about--"

"Mal." Her voice was full of patient amusement. He hadn't turned the lamp all the way down earlier so there was just enough light to see the tiny smile on her face. "It's all right. I opened the comm lines and listened for a minute. No one's up as far as I could tell. Don't go yet."

She was asking calmly enough, but in her eyes there was a desperate pleading--she wasn't ready to be alone, not after all