Kaylee wiped sweat from her brow with a grease-smudged hand as she came to her feet beside Serenity’s power plant. A good, relaxed, no-pressure tuneup always put her in a good mood. Her cheer was increased further as she felt Simon’s hands slip around her waist from behind, and she grinned. “Hey,” she greeted.

“Hey,” Simon murmured in her ear, kissing her cheek. “What’re you working on?”

Kaylee slipped from his embrace, half-turning toward him as she gestured to the engine. “Well, currently... Remember that time the compression coil blew, an’ we were stranded in the middle of noplace?” Simon nodded. *Of course he remembers,* she thought. *How could anyone forget that li’l adventure?* “Well, anyway, it blew outta the catalyzer, so I rerouted the pressure flow through this...” and with that, she pointed to a particular component that was new. “See how the double-steel weave hose runs right back into the exhaust feed? I got the okay from the captain to buy a fancy compression relief valve. Next time the coil decides to blow, which, hopefully, will be never, the excess pressure’ll shoot right out the exhaust, ‘steada...” She trailed off, looking to Simon. “You don’t follow a word I’m sayin’, do ya?”

Simon grinned sheepishly. “No,” he admitted. “But since you’re saying it, I’m still interested in hearing it.”

Kaylee leaned forward to kiss Simon, then rested her head on his shoulder for a moment as they embraced. “You’re a very sweet man,” she told him. “When you’re not bein’ awkward, that is.” Simon laughed as she pulled away, kneeling down to ensure the hose running from the relief valve was snug, but not overtightened. Standing again, she turned back to Simon. “Well, I s’pose I...” She trailed off as Inara hurried into the room.

“Gabriel’s practicing his combat routine,” the Companion announced. “I thought you might want to see this.”

They all rushed eagerly from the room, hoping for some excitement.

************************************************

Gabriel stood at the edge of a junkyard near their