“Kaylee!” Mal sauntered into the mess, late as usual to the meal that everyone else had already begun. His arms were wrapped around each other in their red sleeves for warmth but not so tightly that he looked, you know, cold. He glowered in a big-brotherly way at the girl. “You figure out why we're goin' on three days of chilly on my ship?”

Jayne sniggered a manly snigger down into his plate of protein chow. “ 'Cause that's what come after two days of chilly...” he sassed, loudly enough for the Captain to hear him but softly enough Mal could pretend to miss it. He grinned an evil little boy's grin as the spoon in his fist shoveled another mass of gruel into his face. The whole situation had a mighty entertainment to it.

His young mechanic had looked up with a start, an innocently guilty look on her smudged face, spoon halfway to her mouth. “ Oh! Cap'n... I...” she glanced quickly around at the rest of the crew for reassurance. “I haven't found a thing wrong with Serenity. She's sayin' nothin to me but that she's fit as a fiddle.” She continued to look to Mal for his judgment.

“The life support's fit, is it?” Mal asked, as he sat, hunched over, and pulled some food to him. She nodded a quick wide-eyed affirmation. He continued, “I mean... and just how do you all sit here in your shirt sleeves calmly eating?”

His second in command Zoe answered carefully, “Well, Captain, I'm not finding it especially uncomfortable myself, so I can't say I exactly know what you mean.” She looked at him levelly, and pleasantly.

Her full lips barely twitched as everyone else made “no, I'm fine, it's only a tiny bit cool to me” noises while her husband Wash piped cheerfully up with “Well, Honey, I am doing my best to keep you warm,” and pulled her close to him. She mockingly shoved him back to his place, and the smirk widened into a true smile.

Jayne pointed his spoon at Mal, still grinning just enough to not get himself into trouble. “Ya know, if yer gonna be a pussy about the cold, why doncha just put on that fancy coat yer so dang proud of? The rest of us is comfy n'all,” and went back to work shoveling.

Zoe's gaze subtly passed to Mal; he took his arms down just casually enough that she couldn't miss it. “Weeell, now...” he said, with a charming, lighthearted smile, “it's not all that freezifying. Some chow'll warm me up a piece, I reckon. I'd hate to spoil everyone's refreshing meal. But Kaylee....” he said, looking directly but kindly at his pretty mechanic, “I would like reassurance that the life support system is all happy and good. At your convenience of course.”

Kaylee put down her spoon, and hopped up from the table. “I'm pretty well done anyways, Cap'n. I'll go now.”

“It'd be a kindness to have it done before we reach Persephone,” he said over his shoulder as she passed him at a brisk walk. “Can't invite passengers onto a ship cold as the grave,” he called to her as she hustled down the corridor.

Jayne watched her go under lidded eyes, with secretive appreciation. Zoe watched her with more thoughtfulness; it wasn't like her to not know what was wrong with Serenity. And the ship was of a certainty cold, though not terribly so. It was amusing her and Wash greatly, and no doubt Jayne was playing a similar game to pretend comfort, to Mal's consternation. Kaylee would find the problem soon, and it would be worth it to have another good story to tell later.

But there was a greater mystery than this afoot, one that troubled her more deeply than a bit of physical discomfort ever could. Her serene face gave away no trace of her analysis, cooler than the ship's ambience, cooler even than the grave, of the question at hand.

Where was Mal's browncoat?

Mal finished his meal with all due decorum and retired to his bunk, to search again for the gorram coat, that gorram sure couldn't just walk off. He didn't truck with having many possessions, so he didn't really expect to find anything new as he climbed down the ladder; he just had to do something. Suddenly he paused, looking down at the small rectangle of paper on the floor. “Huh,” he wisely opined. “That's new....”

He finished his descent and picked up the paper, turning it over to discover it was a photograph.

He stared at it quite some time.

He stared until he noticed his tongue was dry from his mouth hanging open, and maybe he should swallow. Or something. He did, and having done his duty to practicalities moved to his bed and sat down, with a bit of difficulty. He stared at the photo some more.

It alternated between two images, and a block of text, not being one of those fancy video jobs. Renci de Shang di. The text read:

“I've been waiting for you to warm up for weeks, but now I figger ya wanna be cold. I'll fix back the ship's heat soon, but you'll have to come see me—I mean more of me-- if'n you want yer coat back. There will be a fee. And then you can have us both” followed by a cute hand-drawn heart with a smiley-face in it.

The pictures... wo de ma ... the pictures were both of sweet little Kaylee. In the first, she looked back winningly over her shoulder, wearing his coat. In the second, full length, she was clearly wearing nothing else save some garish “fun” socks he remembered seeing her knitting. It was easy to forget that Kaylee was not an innocent child, in spite of how she'd come to be on his ship. He didn't think he'd forget again...ever...

He stayed in his bunk 'til late, pondering and “pondering”, until it occurred to him that of a certain all were abed. With a small smile and a decisive nod he went to the ladder.

As he climbed he muttered “gorram coat gets me into more trouble...” but knew of a certain it had never steered him wrong.

*****

Renci de Shang di – Merciful God. wo de ma -- Mother of god, Mamma mia!