"Ooh!" Kaylee squealed. "He got down on his knee an' everythin'?"

Inara nodded, obviously pleased.

"You told him yes, didn'tcha?"

Inara hesitated. "I didn't exactly say no."

"You didn't exactly say no when he gave you the ring, either," Kate pointed out, crushing protein crackers for meatloaf. "Eventually you're going to have to answer him. He's not going to wait forever."

"Isn't he?" River asked. "The captain may be impatient at times but he's certainly been waiting for you a long time."

"River's got a point," Kaylee frowned, "but it'd sure be shiny to have another weddin' onboard. An' it ain't really fair to keep stringin' him along like you have been."

"I'm not... stringing him along," Inara said defensively. "I just don't want to rush things."

"Life's short," Kate said, a little sadly. "You find a man who loves you as much as Mal does, you marry him before someone else does."

"Like you're gonna do with Wash?" Kaylee teased.

"Like I did with Michael," Kate frowned. "Like you did with Simon."

Kaylee glanced at River. "What about you, mei-mei? Are you gonna wed that big ol' beefy merc of ours?"

River wrinkled her nose. "Marriage isn't a state of mind, it's simply a legal arrangement. Jayne and I are together in the ways that count."

"Just a legal arrangement?" Kate said. "Where'd you get an idea like that?"

River shrugged. "My parents were married, but they weren't in love. I don't even think they liked each other most of the time."

"Musta liked each other some," Kaylee giggled. "They got two kids."

River made a face. "Despite compelling evidence to the contrary, I like to think my parents reproduced asexually."

~*~

"And?" Simon asked.

Mal looked pained. "And what?"

"What did she say?" Wash hissed. "Out with it."

"Aw, she prolly said no," Jayne snickered. "Fancy lady like her might like to slum it a little, but she ain't gonna take yer name an' have yer babies."

Mal shot Jayne a glare. "An' what in Hades do you think River's doin' with you?"

J