TWO DAYS TO BOROS

Mal was avoiding his crew. He was well aware of it and he had his reasons. Serenity was a small boat, despite of all the nooks and hidden compartments, and it felt even smaller for a man trying to keep a straight face. It was years since he'd last been this space crazy; yeah it was quite possibly the most space crazy he'd ever been. But he couldn't lose it.

Not now.

Not here.

Hopefully never.

Book would look at him, discreetly but obvious enough, whenever they happened to meet somewhere. They would talk; about what awaited them on Boros, about how they soon would have to ration the food, never about personal stuff. The preacher knew better than to probe, at least with words, but Mal still felt uncomfortable around the man. He found it hard to lie to him, and in more ways than one. And so he tried cutting their conversations short and kept his distance as much as he could. Luckily the shepherd seemed to be busy looking after the increasingly impatient patient in the passenger dorm, and so far that plan had worked just fine.

Simon had seemingly been caught up in his own issues and stayed tense and distant as the days in the black crept by. But now that appeared to have changed somehow, as he was suddenly more relaxed. This very morning he'd even smiled and been particular chatty.

Kaylee… Something was up with Kaylee. She was jumpy and almost frightened, and she would nervously move about the ship and look at him with those puppy eyes of hers whenever she got the chance, as if begging him to save her. From what, he wasn't sure.

Wash was Wash and Wash stayed Wash, and what else would you expect? Space never seemed to get to that guy.

And Zoë… He feared Zoë more than anyone. No one knew him like she did. And she was on to him. At least she had been. She too seemed preoccupied by her own problems now, he'd realized that morning, though he doubted anyone but him could see it. He had no idea what those problems were exactly; perhaps he'd o