Kaylee isn't speaking to him. He's not worried--that never lasts very long. The rest of the day, at most, and she'll be smiling again and not crying at all. He just can't figure out why they all blame him. It's not like he told Inara she had to leave the ship, and it's not like they won't all be better off without her.

She was everything they were fighting against, and none of them seemed to realize. None but Inara, who knew exactly what he saw when he looked at her. Beauty, certainly, he won't lie and say he doesn't think about it--he does, more than is sane, most like, but that's not all he sees. He sees the war in her every move, hiding behind her eyes, because she is everything the other side had been fighting for. She supported Unification. His friends, to her, are necessary casualties and it's not easy to forget that from day to day.

It's all of those contradictions that stick in his throat, has him fighting with her instead of anything else. If they're fighting they're safe, as far from love as one can get. Or so he likes to tell himself, but he knows he's getting closer all the time.

Her leaving is for the best. For everyone, but mostly for the two of them. Mistakes are easy to make.

"Light," River says, and he looks up. She's balancing on the guardrail beside him, out of nowhere, looking down at him like she's been there all the time. "Heaven sent."

He frowns, barely able to meet her eyes. He sees the war when he looks at Inara, and he has a feeling River sees it when she looks at him. Sometimes, it's like she can see through to the bone, and it would give him chills if he let it. He doesn't. "What are you goin' on about?" he snaps.

River watches him slyly, lifting one foot up and balancing carelessly on the other. "Inara," she explains. "In Arabic."

His heart clenches and he shuts his eyes for a moment, before he steps forward and places his hands at her hips, so he can lift her gently down onto sturdier ground. She blinks at him innocently and he crosses his arms. "No gymnastics