Chapter 1
The first thing Zoe does on leave is take a real gorram shower and drink as much fresh gorram water as humanly possible. Well, that's what she does when they're somewhere with actual water and not the filtered and refiltered and treated and retreated go se that only looks like water, but smells like chemicals and tastes like the artificial fruit flavor they add to try to make it palatable. All her years in the military and all her years wandering have only reinforced this habit.
Wash knows this and will occasionally make up a reason they need to put down in such a place.
Once in a while he finds a place where there's no settlement, but there's nature. "There's a, um, fribble in the langella," he tells Mal. "I can fix it, but it'll take about a day..." Wash steals a glance at Zoe, at her crossed arms and cocked eyebrow and says "Maybe two."
And Mal says "Really. And you think puttin' down on this tiny rock where there ain't nothin' but trees and lakes is where you need to be to take care of this 'fribble'?"
"And waterfalls," says Wash with a dreamy look in his eyes and then he stammers. "Yeah! Yeah, I mean, it's not like I need a part or anything for it. Just gotta take the langella out and give it a good polish. Get the woogle right out of it."
"I thought it was a fribble."
"Fribble. Woogle." Wash turns his back to Mal and goes through unnecessary dial-checking and switch-flicking and button-poking. "Landing now. Very busy. Complicated. No more talk."
Mal rolls his eyes and says to Zoe. "Just make sure you're off the ship before he goes wooglin' his langella at you."
"Aye, Cap'n," she says with a grim mouth but laughter in her eyes. She swats Wash on the back of the head and goes to gather her things.
Twenty minutes later, they're on a rock that almost ain't big enough to hold Serenity and Zoe's under the waterfall, showering and drinking real, fresh, clean, natural water. Wash is a few feet away, staring in open adoration, and Zoe forgets all about the water.
