Mal woke to that familiar - yet still extraordinarily uncomfortable - sensation of pain. He sat up, wincing, and leaned against the wall of his bunk. He wondered what exactly had woken him, since he knew he had given the crew the day off - mostly due to injuries and River's promise that they would not be found yet - and his watch had only ended an hour or so ago.

"Mal, you up?" Jayne's voice carried from the hallway.

"Yeah, Jayne," he sighed. "I'm up."

"Good," the gruff man responded. "Zoë was wonderin'."

Mal rolled his eyes. He doubted Zoë would have sent Jayne to ask. The woman knew how to use the comm system as well as the rest of them. If she really needed to speak to Mal, she would have--he looked at Inara curled up next to him on the small bed. It was possible Zoë hadn't wanted to disturb a quiet moment between the couple... Still, he decided he could go find out what she had needed.

Carefully removing himself from the bed so as not to wake the sleeping form, he pulled on his shirt and pants in silence before making the difficult climb to the hallway. He entered the bridge.

Zoë had a steaming mug of coffee in her hands as she frowned at the consul. She turned her head to him the moment he appeared in the doorway and looked somewhat surprised.

"Thought you went to get some sleep," she said softly.

"Jayne said you were lookin' for me," he answered, stifling a yawn. "What's more important? Sleep or Jayne shuttin' up?"

"This could've waited," she smiled. Mal shrugged and winced at the action.

"Just tell me what's goin' on," he sighed. Zoë pointed at a blinking light on the consul.

"That ship is eerily similar to Tripp's runner," she explained as Mal leaned in to examine it closer. "It's not too far from here. I know River said they wouldn't find us yet, but what if they missed one of the decoys she dropped and came here sooner than even she expected?"

"Where is the little reader?" Mal asked quietly.

"She left earlier with Kaylee," Zoë's voice was soft. "Sai