Hey kids, due to popular demand, another segment! So please, whoever had the gunmen on order, hold your horses. (PLEASE!) All will be revealed in time. (might take a while since writer's block is setting in). Reviews make my pathetic existance worthwhile! Enjoy. -------------------------------------------------- Mal woke up back in his own bunk, Tracey sitting backwards on a chair studying him intently. "You still here?" "Can't go anywhere 'till you learn your lesson." "Guess that means I ain't dead." Mal closed his eyes. "And what's this great lesson I'm supposed to be learning now?" Tracey shook his head. "You're a stubborn man, Captain Reynolds. Been bitter for far too long. They're not too keen on giving you another free pass if you're just going to waste it." "ANOTHER free pass?" he asked increduolously. "When have I ever gotten anything but the heel of their boot shoving my face deeper into the mud?" "Captain. How many times have you come out of botched jobs unscathed? How many times have you and yours been just one step in front of the law? How do you thing this piece of go se stays in the air with all you put her through? Do you think that it was all just your dumb luck?" Mal laid back and considered this for awhile. Sure, he and his crew had had some close calls but come out on the shiny end...more so then they had a right to sometimes. But that wasn't due to anything other than his master plans and luck. Was it? "I don't believe that anyone but me has anything to do with what happens to us." He said finally. Tracey sighed heavily. "That's your problem Mal. You've spent so much time being Captain-y, bitter and lonely- and making sure that everyone knows it- that you've missed that was given to you completely. Stop focusing on what you've lost and take a look around at what you do have." "And what's that exactly?" "Love." Tracey answered simply. "Love!" Mal laughed. "Now there's something I don't know much about. Don't put food on the table or fuel in the engine, so it ain't really good for much now, is it?" "Jin tzahng mei yong-duh!" Tracey threw up his hands in exasperation. "Gorramit Mal, do I have to spell everything out for you?" Abruptly, Mal found himself back in the infirmary. "What in the ruttin' hell-" he spun around in confusion. "Tracey, you ought to warn a man 'fore you do that." His companion looked decidedly unapologetic. "Pay attention." Mal turned back around and saw Kaylee sitting by his side in her teddy bear pajamas, clutching a battered bear in one hand and his own in the other. She was talking quietly, head bent close to his as if sharing a secret. "You can't go anywhere Captain," she was saying. " 'Nara will miss you something fierce, and just when you two were finally gettin' friendly! Serenity would miss you too. Boat can't run without her heart now, can she?" Simon strolled in, causing her to bolt upright and hastily mop her eyes. "Heya Simon!" she said with what Mal pegged as false cheer. "Hi Kaylee." Looking concerned, he pulled up a stool and sat beside her. "What're you doing?" "Just having a chat with the cap'n," she explained. "Figure if he hears a familiar voice, he may be able to find his way home." She lowered her head and began to cry in earnest. Mal instantly moved to comfort her but the doctor beat him to it, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to his chest. "Shhhh bao bei. He'll make it back. He's too stubborn to die, and Inara will kill him if he does." Kaylee managed a waterly giggle and lifted her face to his. "You'd be sad if it were me, right?" "Of course I would!" Simon tried to pull away, and Kaylee instantly looked offended. "Why won't you kiss me?" Mal could tell she was gearing up, and he almost felt a little sorry for the doctor. "Kaylee, the Captain is right there!" Simon hissed. Mal blinked. Simon could see him? Then he saw where he was pointing, and sighed. Kaylee wasn't amused. "You, the doctor, say he is in a coma. That means he can't see us. Or hear us. Hell, he'll never even know Simon!" "Yes, yes he will!" Mal interjected, waving a finger under her nose. "Kaywinnet Lee Fry I am warning you if you start sexin' that doc over...my dead body...I'll-" "You'll what?" Tracey laughed. "Let 'em go." "He doesn't approve of shipboard romances Kaylee! He'll throw me out the airlock if he finds out!" The argument continued while the spectral observers stood by. "He. Is. In. A. Coma." Kaylee moved to stand. "And who cares what the Captain thinks Simon Tam? If you really loved me you would stand up for me, for us! And if he shoves you out the airlock- which I highly doubt because you're the finest pig-headed doctor we've ever known- I'll make sure Serenity and I teach him a lesson he will never forget." Standing, she turned and placed the teddy bear under Mal's rough hand, giving Simon a glare as if daring him to object. Placing a quick kiss on the patient's forehead, she turned and stormed out of the infirmary. Simon waited until she was gone before giving a loud groan and banging his head on the bed. "Tah mah de!" He cursed, and Mal blinked again, surprised that the sissy-pants doctor knew any swears at all. "Captain, why do you have to be so gorram bitter? Why can't you just allow that some people may love each other and let them be happy? Tyen shuh duh has made you so but I wish that you would get over it!" "Throw a tantrum why don't you," Mal muttered uncomfortably, avoiding Tracey's stare. The world shifted and they were back in his bunk. "What did I tell you about that?" "You can see now that your actions affect them." "Can see that their relationship can cause nothing but trouble on my gorram boat." "Love isn't trouble Malcom, it's a gift." "When it starts clouding your judgement and dividing loyalties, then it's a problem." Mal snapped. "Ain't got no time or place for that, 'specially with those two." Tracey groaned and slid down against the wall. "This is going to be a long trip after all."

--------------------------------------------------- Jin tzahng mei yong-duh- frequently useless Tah mah de- mother...yeah. Tyen shuh duh- God knows what