To say that Mal was startled by what he saw in the infirmary was an understatement of epic proportions.

River was the centerpiece, curled up comfortably on the exam table and concentrating hard on sketching something. Jayne was sitting with his back against the wall, a clear view of the door and windows, and his guns spread out at his feet, bickering with Simon about something or other. Kaylee lay on the spare bed, snoring, with her head in Simon's lap; he stroked her hair without looking at her as he snapped without rancor at Jayne. Zoe and Wash were propping each other up near Jayne. Wash kept shifting to avoid the cabinet handle digging into his back, while Zoe smiled and added her two bits to the argument. Book and Inara had dragged two chairs from the common room into the infirmary, making it more than a little crowded, but no one seemed to mind, and their intense literary discussion certainly wasn't suffering from lack of space.

"Well, now, seems someone called a party break while I wasn't looking." He drawled, stepping forward and over Wash's legs. Kaylee woke with a start and sat up. "How lucky for you all that I'm feelin' mighty magnanimous and won't dock your pay for it."

"That would imply that you pay us, Captain Daddy." River said, not looking up from her drawing.

"Why, so it would. Because I do. And not to sit around chatting either. Like I said, though, today I won't be upset at you. In fact I might even join you. If there were anywhere to sit." He eyed the available surfaces, none of which were large enough to sit on, and made his way carefully over to Kaylee's side. "Scoot over."

Kaylee obligingly scooted, and ended up sitting half on top of Simon, who didn't seem to mind a bit. He glanced at Mal over her head for a second, not defensive or asking permission for once but simply gaging his reaction. Mal stared back, reserving judgment; Simon nodded ever-so-slightly and went back to his argument with Jayne, obviously enjoying it. Jayne was too, for all he was growling like a bear with a sore tooth.

River grinned, obviously delighted, and continued sketching quickly. "Like a puzzle, the pieces all fit."

"What're you drawin'?" Mal asked, not entirely sure that he actually wanted to know. River flipped a page in answer and ignored him otherwise. Kaylee began to snore again, this time hugging Simon like an oversized teddy bear.

"Captain, Inara informs me that you've read 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'." Book intoned. Somehow the man always managed to sound like he was preaching, even when he was talking about shooting people. "Is that why you call River an albatross?"

"Part of." He said shortly. The preacher also always managed to hit nerves without trying. "There's plenty of reasons, or none. It doesn't matter." Everyone frowned at him except Kaylee, who was asleep, and River, who hopped off the table and slid the open sketchbook into his hand. He glanced quickly down at the page as he was preparing to stand and leave.

The image on the page nearly knocked him flat. He sat down again very quickly- fell back onto the bed, more like- and stared. The image was of him, standing atop a hill, wearing the exact uniform he'd worn in the trenches, down to the mud, blood, and occasional bullet holes. He couldn't have told where he'd gotten them all without looking, but as he studied the drawing he could remember every shot. A lion lounged beside him, at ease but alert. The sketch was lifelike in every way except that he'd only seen a lion from encyclopedia pictures on the cortex, and strongly suspected that he wouldn't be staring around like the king of the hill and master of all he surveyed if he had ever stood next to one. "Analogy." River said. "Thunder is to lightning as serenity is to peace. Family is pride." She reached over, without meeting Mal's stare, and half-turned the page. "Turn over a new leaf."

Mal shifted his grip on the book and completed the action, and raised his eyebrows at what was on the next page. Jayne, wrestling with a bear, and not being ripped into lots of tiny pieces. He looked closer- Jayne had his most annoying smirk on, and the bear looked somehow like it was enjoying the contest too. The work was full of hard edges and bright colors. "You certainly have some imagination, girl." She didn't reply, but motioned that he should turn the page again. He did, and a downright comical image met his eyes- Wash, gallivanting around the ocean with a dolphin. They had identical grins and were flying through the water together. The scene was sunwashed and vivid.

He glanced up at River. This time she met his eyes, but didn't look happy. "Have to see them all." She said, sounding... resigned. He looked back down at the book, turned the page, and nearly gasped. The Shepard was standing in a green valley with a creature that was shaped like an overlarge wolf or shepherd dog, but had a sheep's white fleece. There was a somehow disturbing contrast between the deep shadows at the edge of the picture and the spotlight in the middle. "Chiaroscuro. Wolf pretending... becomes what it pretends. Still a wolf, still a sheep." She muttered, and shut her eyes like the picture hurt to look at.

Mal turned the page quickly, and smiled softly at the next picture in the gallery. Kaylee was holding a kitten, sitting in a workshop, and obviously chattering away to the creature, who was more interested in the bowl of cream on the tabletop than her conversation. The shop was lit by soft moonlight, creating blurred edges and a cozy feel. He turned the page again and Zoe's fierce, even stare met his eyes, along with that of the hawk sitting on her wrist with its wings spread wide, feeling the breeze. He was about to turn the page again when River reached out and held the edge of the book, preventing his action. "You may not want to see with eyes unclouded." She warned.

"I should see." Mal said. She nodded slowly and withdrew her hand. He flipped the page, and gulped at what he saw. Inara was caressing a panther in an obviously sensual way. He shut the book quickly, but River shook her head and clasped her hands behind her back when he tried to give it back. "Have to see them all." She repeated. He frowned but nodded, accepting, and opened the book again-past the picture of Inara. He had enough to keep him up nights without that image in his head.

Simon looked over his shoulder off to one side of the page, but the main focus was what looked like a Doberman Pinscher dog standing sturdy guard over a broken doll lying in the snow. The dog was elegant, intense, and yet somehow desperate, not full grown but not nearly a puppy either. The only thing Mal had truly and completely regretted shooting in the war was an enemy patrol dog that had looked very similar. The dog hadn't had a choice in going to war, and unlike men wasn't capable of understanding the fighting. Both of the dogs, the one in the picture and the one in his memory, had Simon's blue eyes. Mal looked up again, meeting Simon's eyes this time instead of River's. They stared silently at each other for a full second (Mal wondering when he'd stopped being able to read the doctor) before he swept his gaze around the room, finally noticing that he'd become the center of unbroken attention from Book, Inara, and Zoe- Wash had also fallen asleep and Jayne was glancing up occasionally as he cleaned his guns.

"Something the matter, sir?" Zoe asked, straightening up slightly and looking so like the picture River had drawn of her that Mal nearly laughed.

"Seems we have more talent on board than we thought." Mal replied, flapping the sketchbook to illustrate (pardon the pun, he thought reflexively) his point. "Some mighty fine drawings in here. Disturbin', but fine."

"I suggested that she should draw some animals." Simon said quietly, tightening his arm around Kaylee. "I must admit I wasn't expecting... what she drew. I can't even describe it."

River glided- it was the only word that fit the motion, despite her detours to avoid Jayne's guns- over to Simon and sat on the half of his lap not occupied by Kaylee. "Poor Simon," she said with mock sympathy, "he's mind-blind."She patted him on the head- near as damnit to patting a dog!

Mal couldn't help the smile and chuckle River's quip brought. Simon looked vaguely offended and sheepish, a combination only he (who had years of practice) could accomplish. Book and Zoe looked like they were trying and failing to understand what River had said and why it was funny, but Inara was gazing at Mal with a knowing look. He coughed uncomfortably and turned away from her gaze, standing up and stretching as much as he could in the limited room available. "Well, people, I think the break's gone on long enough. We all have things to be doing, so let's get to doing them." He handed River's sketchbook back.

"It's been a revelation, Captain Daddy." She said solemnly, and stole one of Jayne's just cleaned- and unloaded- guns. She shrieked and ran away, laughing, as he lunged after her, roaring about private property and how she was going to kill someone, probably herself. Mal followed behind him, with Inara and Book next, dragging the chairs they'd taken, and then finally Zoe and Wash; the latter was looking remarkably chipper for someone who had fallen asleep with a cabinet handle digging into his back.

"Isn't Kaylee coming?" Book asked, looking at the infirmary door with faint suspicion.

"No, I figure we should let her sleep." Mal replied, raising his voice slightly so Simon couldn't possibly miss what he was saying. "And when I say sleep, I mean alone." He was answered by a snort and a soft clatter. Simon appeared in the doorway, holding Jayne's guns rolled up in their canvas holder. "I wonder if he'd kill me if I put these into the airlock and then cycled it?" The doctor wondered, but set them down on the table before following the path River and Jayne had taken.

Wash and Zoe vanished in the general direction of the front of the ship- more likely to their bunk than the cockpit. Book and Inara were sitting again, discussing the finer points of literary scholarship. Mal sighed and wandered towards the bridge.

A lion. Who'd have thought?