I set the firefly-CD on "repeat", froze Mals dear face in the TV set and started to write - so this is, what I ended up with. Teachtaire was so kind to lector it - thanks! So here comes my first fanfic ever (though I have written shortstories). Comments are welcome. Hope, you all enjoy!

Pain

By Esther Schmidt

Setting: sometime between “War Stories” and “Heart of Gold”

"Cap? Do you have a few minutes?"

Kaylee entered the kitchen, where Malcolm was meditating over some papers, obviously comparing income and spending of the last weeks. Judging by the way he was bent over the table, the result of his calculations caused him some reasonable amount of pain.

"What's the problem?" he asked absent-minded without raising his head.

"It's the compression coil, sir."

“Gah!” He let out a muffled scream as if someone had stuck a living fish under his shirt. Instantly upright sitting, he stared at his board mechanic.

"Never", he growled, "never ever do I wanna hear this gorram word again!" This thing had cost him some of the most horrifying hours on board of Serenity ever, being almost suffocated, shot, bled to death and - worst of all - being all alone. He didn't like to be reminded of that particular episode of his life.

"But how should I call it then, Captain?"

"Call it piece of gou shi or call it Betty-Lou, I don't care. Just don’t call it … what you call it."

"But that doesn't change the fact, that we need a new one."

"Again?" Malcolm stretched the word until it appropriately matched his lack of understanding. "It was exchanged, wasn't it? I mean, I took quite a hit, to get a replacement."

"No Captain. It wasn't the co …."

"Kaylee!"

"… smos", she ended the word, springing to the first thing, that came to her mind, "it was the catalyser, that was exchanged. Remember?"

Malcolm muttered some of the more unpleasant but colourful expressions that the Chinese language offered so abundantly.

"So now, you have to exchange this other thing."

"Well", Kaylee shrug her shoulders. "Th