Bringin' home the proverbial bacon

[Hoban Washburn]

"Sure hope this is enough," Wash grunted as he loaded the fourth bag of provisions onto the back of the Mule. He and Zoe had spent most of the day in the markets and the shops of Persephone, getting much needed food and provisions. Wash had picked himself up a few new Hawaiian shirts he saw on sale and Zoe had gotten herself a new knife and some polish. Everything else had been rice and vegetables, some meat products and a lot of fuel for the ship.

"Kinda wish we could have found some strawberries for Kaylee," he mused, hopping onto the driver's seat, propping his elbow up on the metal bar on the back of the seat. "Know she would have liked them a lot."

[Zoe Washburn]

*She placed the last box on the mule, before brushing her sleeves off with her hand. She glanced to him, nodding slightly* Too bad...but she knows they aren't in season. She won't be to discouraged. We did get honeydew after all *She smiled, walking around the mule to climb in the passenger seat*

[Hoban Washburn]

Wash nodded. "You may be right about that, baby," he said, leaning over and kissing her cheek. He put the Mule into the correct gear and exclaimed, "To Serenity!" before gently accelerating.

When they were passing the restaurant area around the Docks, Wash saw something that caught his eye. A flash of red and gold, caused him to slow down. He saw Inara walking out of an alley, looking very depressed.

He stopped the Mule and yelled, "Inara!" He saw her turn around and knew something was wrong, just by the look on her face. He put the parking break on and jumped down to the ground, running over to her. "What's wrong?"

[Zoe Washburn]

*Zoe had shifted, leaning back against the passenger seat, actually getting a chance to simply lay back and enjoy herself. She figured Wash would simply just drive back to the ship without any stops, so when he slowed, she opened her eyes, glancing to him with a questioning look. But his attention was elsewhere, so her eyes followed and she immediatly frowned.

Once he stopped, she hopped off along with him, her pace not as fast, as she kept glancing over her shoulder at the mule, then back to Inara. She frowned, her arms moving to cross in front of her chest* 'Nara...*She whispered quietly. She felt she really didn't need to ask what was wrong...sometimes one look simply said everything*

[Inara Serra]

In the alleyway, Inara stood up, wiping the last of the tears from her face. She had stayed outside the restaurant for far too long and needed to get back to the ship, preferably before people were sent out to come and find her.

She walked away from the restaurant, brushing the dust off of her dress, hoping she wouldn't run into any of the crew.

"Inara!" she heard yelled behind her. She turned involuntarily and saw Wash and Zoe on the Mule. Hopefully they wouldn't see anything wrong.

That hope was quickly dashed when Wash actually stopped the Mule and ran right over to her, concern marked on his face. "What's wrong?"

She was tempted to lie, but she figured if she looked this depressed just by her face, then both of them would see right through it.

"Quite a few things, actually," she said, brushing away a strand of her hair.

[Zoe Washburn]

*Zoe stepped closer to the girl, reaching out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder* You want a ride back to the ship? We don't have to talk about it if you don't want too...or we can. Over tea...*She gave her a soft smile, before shooting a look to Wash.

Her eyes shown worry, as she rarely ever saw the Companion cry, and never in public.*

[Inara Serra]

Inara smiled at Zoe. "That would be very nice. Thank you."

[Hoban Washburn]

Wash nodded his wife's sentiments, though he knew he probably wouldn't be invited to any talks the two women had. All he could do was offer support in his own way.

"Let's get you back to the ship," he said, leading both Zoe and Inara to the Mule.

[Zoe Washburn]

*Zoe smiled to Wash, walking with the two back towards the mule*