It was about the last thing Mal expected to see in her eyes.

Exept perhaps for a look which would tell him that she was about to defile him in ways that would guarantee him permanent residence in Book's Special Hell. All things considered, he woulda preferred that look to the one she was now giving him - one of unconditional trust.

The last time anybody had looked at him with that much unwavering belief, the poor kid had been rewarded for that trust by getting his head blown off.

And now, here she was, giving him that same look. Telling him he'd been all heroic for what happened at Miranda.

Mal wondered if he would be a complete bastard for simply agreeing, in the hopes that they could just move on to the defiling part. Pretty girls always want to kiss the heroes, right?

It would be so easy to have that. To have her all laid out for him. All he'd have to to was pretend to be something he knew he wasn't. Be the latest in a long line of men who'd lied to her.

Easy peasy.

Problem was, Mal was not a man known for doing anything the easy way.