When the Doc left to get River the help she desperately needed, the whole ship felt their absence.
Kaylee was heard sobbing in the engine room and Wash didn’t find so many things to joke about. Zoë was tensed up from knowing that she was back to being the medic while Inara and Book looked permanently sad. Jayne was just silent.
Mal missed Simon and the little girl, but most important to him was keeping Serenity flying and he weren’t gonna do that with a crew in mourning.
Kaylee was the easiest to fix; sweet things to eat and a whole junkyard to scavenge from put sunshine back on her pretty face. Book got dropped off at Haven for some spiritual enlightenment and Inara? Well, Mal just had to be respectful of her business and not call her a whore. It was hard going, but he managed it… most of the time.
Now there was less of them, living quarters were re-designed so Zoë and Wash could have themselves more of an apartment to live in.
Mal was overwhelmed by the gratitude.
“About time, Sir,” Zoë had said bluntly, but she'd smiled all the same.
Then there was Jayne. Mal hadn’t been certain of how things had stood between the doc and the merc until the day Simon and River left. His suspicions were confirmed when Jayne took off and wasn’t to be found in any of the local whorehouses or bars. He came back crumpled-looking, haggard and full of silence which refused to go away.
It wasn’t a hardship for Mal to try and fix Jayne. He had eyes and had always appreciated the merc’s muscles and looks from afar. Now he was getting the chance to do it up close.
The first time he'd locked his fingers around the man’s neck and kissed the living daylights out of him, Jayne had pulled away startled. But then that bearded mouth had rubbed against his and what followed on came natural to them both.
***
The sadness hasn’t gone away completely-- even Mal feels it from time to time--but Serenity is functioning again and that makes him a happy man. Has to be said, having Jayne in his bunk helps with that happiness, although sometimes, when that rough voice is yelling out obscenities and informing everyone of exactly where their captain’s mouth is, Mal wishes for a little more quiet.
DONE