“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 yet 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 I meet that renter for the shuttle tomorrow,” he said over his shoulder as she passed him at a brisk walk. “Can't invite tenants 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 ambiance, cooler even than the grave, of the question at hand.

Where was Mal's browncoat?

Kaylee lay on her bed, giggling into her pillow. She did fix the gorram heat after all; now he noticed his coat was missing there wasn’t no point in being cold nomore. He had a point about passengers, too; a renter meant someone new living on Serenity, and she didn't want them thinking she wasn't up to snuff.

Kaylee was giggling because... oh, if she only will have the guts to actually do it!... she was now in possession of some naughty pictures. Not only naughty because she was wearing Mal's missing coat without permission, but because she was wearing little else but some really fun socks she'd just knit and couldn't be parted from right yet. The photo alternated between two images and a block of text, not being one of those fancy video jobs. The text read:

“I've been waiting for you to warm up for weeks, but now I figger ya wanna be cold. You'll have to come see me—I mean more of me-- if'n you want yer coat back. And then you can have us both” followed by a cute hand-drawn heart with a smiley-face in it that she couldn't help herself from doodling. But what the hell, why not.

She could tell it was easy for him, like everyone else aboard, to forget that little Kaylee was not an innocent child, in spite of how she'd come to be on his ship. Once she'd dropped this photo in his bunk she didn't think he'd forget again...ever...

What with spiffing up the shuttle to its shiniest the next day was really busy, but fun since she didn't get to work in the shuttle often. Walking down the hall to her bunk after checking a connection with the ship's control room, she was strolling along in reverie. Once Mal was done with the renter, maybe they'd stay for dinner, which would be awful nice. Ah, but after... she'd drop her bomb, so to speak, when everyone was in bed, and then go wait and see if he came to her.

But...would he like it? Well, sure he'd like it, he was a guy, but would he like that it was from her? She wondered if maybe she shouldn't do it; he was nice to her, sure, but that was maybe just because he was so wonderful and kind anyways. He was just so out of her league...but then her natural earthy confidence came back to her. It wasn't like she was begging him to be Sweeties, just have a little roll. Though Sweeties sure wouldn't be troublesome, with someone like him. She knew he didn't get much either, and guys didn't have nuthin fun with batteries... did they? Hm...

Maybe... she should just do it right now, before she chickened out again. She took the photo out of the pocket of her coveralls, where it had been all day. Hatch to his bunk was right there. No one around. She could just stroll by and...

“Kaylee!” Mal's call from the dining room whipped her around. “C'mere, want you to meet our new renter.” She slipped the photo back into her pocket and continued quickly on into the dining hall. “You're last one hasn't met our new renter. Inara, this is Kaylee. Best mechanic in the sky, and none sweeter to be found, either. Kaylee, Inara Serra.”

The woman who smiled warmly and put out her hand couldn't be human. She had to be a goddess; no one could be so beautiful and be real. She was like one of them fancy statues rich people kept. But there was a calm kindness about her. Everything else Mal said as introduction fell into her ears as loudly humming nonsense. This was the kind of woman someone as brave and noble and handsome as Mal should have. What could she have been thinking? She followed them to the table, and when she saw the look in his eyes when he pulled out the lady's chair, Kaylee excused herself with “engine work”. As she walked through the doorway, she crumpled the picture in her pocket.

She had something didn't rightly belong to her, and had to return it, anyways.