He’d had enough. She might be smaller, sweeter looking, but she was an interloper. Coming in here, taking all the affection that was supposed to be his, making people go all gooey-eyed when that was meant to be his job. It wasn't even as if she was all that much prettier.

Well, now was the time to put an end to it.

He looked out from his hiding place, and his heart froze at the sight of a pair of green eyes, staring at him, taunting him, daring him to try something.

Okay. Now it was time to be nonchalant. He strolled out, not even looking at her, head high, nose in the air.

He could almost hear her laughing at him.

That was it. He’d had enough. Letting loose a growl he pounced, only she wasn't there anymore. With a whisk and a flick she was down the corridor, and it was too much. Barking furiously he followed her, up the steps to the bridge.

“What the hell …” Mal looked down at the floor, lifting his feet out of the way as two small animals chased each other round and round, making more noise than a pack of Reavers smelling fresh blood.

Maoli leaped onto the pilot’s console then onto the lockers, spitting and hissing her annoyance. Fiddler bounced around the floor, trying to jump high enough and nowhere near making it.

“Get out of here!” Mal yelled, jumping up and waving his hands at the pair of them.

This only seemed to incense them further, and now Maoli was swiping at the air with one razor-clawed paw.

“Gorramit, I said get out of here!” He reached up to grab the cat, but felt the full fury of a pissed-off feline stab into his wrist just before she ran along the top of the lockers, leaping gracefully to the deck and taking off again at full speed, Fiddler in hot pursuit.

“Frey!”

She came around the corner of the corridor. “You shouted?”

“That damn cat stuck me with her claws!”

She hurried up the steps to look at the four small wounds on the back of his hand, oozing blood like tiny drops of liquid rubies. “I think you’ll live.”

“Yeah, but