Her choice of language wasn't having the distracting effect she had been hoping for. Pirates of Earth That Was were something far from his mind, since the term 'pirate' had found a reinvented meaning in the Black. Their own crew had been referred to as pirates. Any even mildly unsavory character with a ship was a pirate.
No, the word that had caught his attention and managed to momentarily distract him from the fact she'd cooked dinner for another man -- was the fact that a bath was mentioned. Zoe appeared nervous and that coupled with another captain plus the 'benefit' of a bath with running hot water; Wash started leaning on the railing more than his wife for support. At the bottom of the stairs, he reached out to set his hand against a stack of empty cargo containers, using them now instead of the railing to keep himself upright.
"What are you trying to tell me, Zoe?" Petnames were laid aside for now. Wash was a pretty reasonable guy, with a temper that was difficult to get to. But keeping calm right now wasn't easy. Feelings of hurt intertwined with betrayal started to surge. Just who was this Captain and just what was this living situation that involved cooking dinner and hot baths?