Christmas in Space.
It took Mal about thirty seconds after regaining consciousness to guage precisely how cold it was in Inara's shuttle - the snowflakes falling on his face tipped off his keen senses pretty quickly.
Snowflakes?
Takes a solid minute or two to dig out his winter clothes from under the bed and throw them on while still hiding under the covers, waking Inara up in the process.
When Mal opens the hatch toward the cargo bay and makes his way toward the kitchen, he discovers the same bonechilling temperature while he attempts to get his teeth chattering under control. When he arrives in the kitchen, Inara close behind, he finds Wash, Zoe, Naomi, Simon, and River -- Jayne rounds the corner from his bunk into the kitchen as he yanks his orange knit hat securely over his ears.
"Where in the good gorram is Kay --- "
"Good mornin' cap'n can't talk now venting frost buildup from the atmofeed ain't it pretty everything'll be straight in two jots don't worry on it --- " Kaylee nearly sprints from one end of the kitchen to the other, stopping just long enough to give Simon a kiss on the lips and Mal one on the cheek by way of hello before disappearing towards the engine room. Mal looks down at the heavy sweater he pulled on over two other shirts; the glitter Kaylee managed to deck herself out in for the morning has transferred to his clothing and Mal grunts.
"Anyone need coffee?" A majority of the crew fervently nods their heads yes, so Mal sets about making the rest of their coffee supply while Kaylee's working on the main heating vent system. It's only when River starts lurking by the mostly-threadbare stockings along the counter edge making cute eyes at Mal that he suggests they start poking through them. One, with no name, remains untouched -- people who should be here and aren't.
"Heat's back up!" Kaylee calls from the engine room, and it takes a minute or two, but eventually the crew feels the heat wafting through the ducts in the kitchen, elliciting more than a few relieved sighs and wider smiles for the morning. The mechanic is wiping engine grease off her hands when she walks back into the kitchen and sits next to Simon. River takes charge of doling out the first round of presents. Naomi probably made out better than the rest of the crew, being the youngest and (arguably) cutest. All of Inara's presents were wrapped in paper with little Buddha images everywhere -- Mal's in particular is a Firefly-class miniature statuette and a recorded feed of the latest horseraces on Shadow.
Pony and a plastic rocket.
All of the crew, in what is for better or for worse becoming a tradition on Serenity, receive their presents from Jayne by way of Ma Cobb. All sweaters present have an appropriate number of arms.
Good day.
Snowflakes?
Takes a solid minute or two to dig out his winter clothes from under the bed and throw them on while still hiding under the covers, waking Inara up in the process.
When Mal opens the hatch toward the cargo bay and makes his way toward the kitchen, he discovers the same bonechilling temperature while he attempts to get his teeth chattering under control. When he arrives in the kitchen, Inara close behind, he finds Wash, Zoe, Naomi, Simon, and River -- Jayne rounds the corner from his bunk into the kitchen as he yanks his orange knit hat securely over his ears.
"Where in the good gorram is Kay --- "
"Good mornin' cap'n can't talk now venting frost buildup from the atmofeed ain't it pretty everything'll be straight in two jots don't worry on it --- " Kaylee nearly sprints from one end of the kitchen to the other, stopping just long enough to give Simon a kiss on the lips and Mal one on the cheek by way of hello before disappearing towards the engine room. Mal looks down at the heavy sweater he pulled on over two other shirts; the glitter Kaylee managed to deck herself out in for the morning has transferred to his clothing and Mal grunts.
"Anyone need coffee?" A majority of the crew fervently nods their heads yes, so Mal sets about making the rest of their coffee supply while Kaylee's working on the main heating vent system. It's only when River starts lurking by the mostly-threadbare stockings along the counter edge making cute eyes at Mal that he suggests they start poking through them. One, with no name, remains untouched -- people who should be here and aren't.
"Heat's back up!" Kaylee calls from the engine room, and it takes a minute or two, but eventually the crew feels the heat wafting through the ducts in the kitchen, elliciting more than a few relieved sighs and wider smiles for the morning. The mechanic is wiping engine grease off her hands when she walks back into the kitchen and sits next to Simon. River takes charge of doling out the first round of presents. Naomi probably made out better than the rest of the crew, being the youngest and (arguably) cutest. All of Inara's presents were wrapped in paper with little Buddha images everywhere -- Mal's in particular is a Firefly-class miniature statuette and a recorded feed of the latest horseraces on Shadow.
Pony and a plastic rocket.
All of the crew, in what is for better or for worse becoming a tradition on Serenity, receive their presents from Jayne by way of Ma Cobb. All sweaters present have an appropriate number of arms.
Good day.