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"This is what I mean when I say shipboard romances tend to cause problems," Mal said, staring into his morning coffee.
"It isn't something you can plan for," Zoe reminded him. "And you can't keep people from being human."
"I knew this sorta thing would happen," Mal told her.
"No, you didn't," Zoe snapped. "None of us did. Not even River. Don't lie."
Mal supposed that he ought to be happy for the little things. For example: the engine room had never looked cleaner. Apparently with her repair finished and no place to channel her extra time and energy, Kaylee had taken to wiping down and scrubbing every square inch she could reach with a brush or cloth. He was pretty sure that the last time Serenity's engine room had been in that condition was the day she'd been cleared from the drydock. Kaylee herself was eerily quiet, looking like one wrong word would snap some sort of tension cable inside her, and Mal knew himself well enough to assume he'd be the one to say the wrong word, so he didn't say anything at all.
Inara, on the other hand, was a mess. She hardly left her shuttle, and when she did, she was red-eyed and sniffling. Mal kept a wide berth. He didn't bother her when she was in her shuttle, either. It seemed like that would be passing over rude to become cruel.
They were both handling it. Kaylee wasn't letting it affect her work, and Inara…well, she'd cry it out, surely. Mal was sure things would be uncomfortable for a little while, but then everything would shake out and he didn't think there was any falling out that could possibly happen between Kaylee and Inara that would result in lasting hostility. Surely they'd be civil eventually at the dinner table and they'd understand why Mal had been so disapproving of the relationship.
Mal crossed paths with Simon once as the doctor emerged from Inara's shuttle.
"How's she holdin' up?"
"I've been in there now and then to check in on her. She's drinking water, at least."
"Still cryin'?"
"Yes."
"Less than at the beginning, though? She ain't…wailing anymore, right?" Mal wondered. Simon's mouth thinned and Mal had a feeling that the frustration wasn't directed at Inara.
"Yes, Captain," Simon said snippily. "Inara is stabilizing emotionally and shouldn't be disrupting the crew dynamic for much longer."
Simon turned on his heel and took the long route on the catwalks back to the medbay.
After a week, Inara and Kaylee suddenly switched. Inara was haughty and smooth-faced, asking Mal clipped yet civil questions about their planned docking schedule so she could book clients. When he didn't answer fast enough for her taste, Zoe took over answering all schedule related questions. Kaylee, on the other hand, was letting loose all of the tears she hadn't cried for a whole week, which meant that the flood was practically never ending.
She took refuge in the warm orange hallway of the passenger dorm, and Mal caught a few glimpses of her wrapped in ratty comforters and cradling mugs of tea a handful of times, but he could never really get that close to her.
"We'll handle this," River said solemnly when he tried, holding up her hand with all the gravitas of a cop trying to keep him from crossing the crime scene tape.
"I've known Kaylee for a long time before you did, mei mei."
"Well, you didn't say anything when she first needed it," River told him. "But I did."
"And your brother has it handled too? Mr. Foot-in-Mouth?"
"He's bad at talking," River acknowledged. "But he can handle crying."
"That right?"
"It's all I did for the first three weeks I was here," she reminded him bluntly. "Anyway, Book's doing the talking."
"Yeah, he's good at that, ain't he."
"Very good. Go away now."
Mal walked into the galley one random morning on the way to Newhall and found Inara and Kaylee curled around each other on the couch, Inara combing a hand through Kaylee's hair and murmuring to her. Simon was standing at the stove and Mal locked eyes with him, gestured at the girls, and gave him a look that he hoped conveyed a sense of what the hell is going on. Simon just shrugged and finished making his tea.
Mal decided he wasn't going to waste any time thinking on the wherefores.
After all, as long as the ship and her crew was running smooth, it really wasn't any of his business.