Word Count: 2213

Pairing: Mal/Inara

Spoilers: None

Rating: PG

A/N: Originally written for Agent Rouka, I just discovered I never actually posted this here, so, here it is. Nothing overly serious, tried to be fluff, but nothing ever comes out quite that way with me ;o)

The Worst Medicine

by 2x2

“Mal?” said Inara, standing outside his bunk, staring down into the murky depths. A nasal groan answered her from the darkness and she frowned, stepping onto the rungs and descending the ladder.

“Oh,” Mal groaned again. “You don’t want to come down here.”

She peered through the barely lit room as she reached the bottom, blinking in minor distaste at the heavy oppressiveness of the air in the bunk, that distinct unmistakable aura of ‘sick’. She tsked in sympathy and made her way to his bedside where he stared up at her with red, glassy eyes. His hair stuck to his forehead, dampened by sweat and she put her hand against his heated skin, frowning compassionately as she brushed it aside, freer with her touch in this circumstance than she normally would have been.

“Still sick, hmmm,” she said softly, watching his eyes drift closed as she continued her caress. He swallowed and nodded, reaching up to place her palm against his cheek, savoring the coolness against his skin.

“What’re you doin’ down here?” he asked after a while, eyes still closed as she allowed him to move her hand around his face, unaware of the affectionate smile she wore as he did so.

“I wanted to check on you, see if you need anything. Something to eat or drink?” she asked, taking control of her hand to smooth his hair back again. He made a whimpering sound in his throat that could have been a protest, an acknowledgement, or merely a response to her touch, and she sat beside him, brushing the backs of her fingers over his cheek.

Mal opened his eyes and stared at her through the cotton-headed haze that hung over him. “Aren’t we bein’ awful friendly-like,” he said, his voice hoarse and rumbling and she sucked in a