Anger, unending frustration, all the kinds of reactions-slash-emotions that came when your family was slipping through your fingers. Kaylee was the most reliable nowadays. Zoe and to a lesser extent Wash seemed to be getting comfortable with this new world around them. River & Simon were as good as gone at this point —Simon didn't bother to hide his desire to remain in the City. Jayne was still lost to the abyss and Inara.. he wasn't sure where things stood with her. She didn't seem to think leaving was possible, but just like with Simon, Mal wasn't in the mood for listening.
And now the Shepherd was looking for someplace to stay that wasn't Serenity. It hadn't been the first time, there'd been his decision to depart at Haven —but despite Mal's less-than-warm greeting, he wasn't thrilled at the notion of Book not returning to the ship.
His world was unraveling faster than Mal could catch the threads.
"You still have a cabin worth of preachin' onboard Serenity." Mal's attempt to recover most likely had no legs of its own. So he'd have to throw in something to sweeten the deal. "And an incurably cheerful mechanic." Kaylee'd lose her mind, hopefully in an eventually good way, if reintroduced to Book.