Chapter 3: Revenge of the Mule

"I'm not going with you, sir."

Zoë's soft voice surprised him enough that Mal lifted his head quickly and was quickly rewarded with a resounding bang against the undercarriage of the mule. There was an explosion of sparks before his eyes and slapped a hand over his forehead and nose.

"Liou coe shway duh biao-tze huh hoe-tze fuh ur-tze! " Mal cursed as he rolled from underneath the hot mule. Zoë watched him with a mixture of amusement and concern as he staggered to his feet, still holding his forehead and covering his eyes. " Ai ya! Zoë! What in God's name are you playin' at!"

"Sorry, sir, I didn't mean to startle you."

"You didn't startle me. I heard you a mile away."

Zoë arched an eyebrow at him. "And that smack is telling me differently. What were you thinking about? I called your name a few times."

"I wasn't thinkin' about a damned thing," Mal grunted as he threw the gloves he had been wearing to one side. Zoë's eyes went to his forehead and she bit her lip in amusement.

"Of course you weren't."

Mal turned the hover mule off and stared at the vehicle. Lord blessed Kaylee, he thought, the day she decided to fix 'er up. Then, Zoë's words reverberated through his head and he turned to see his first mate still standing to one side, her arms crossed over her chest.

"What? Zoë, I'd thought you would have enjoyed comin' on a potential job run," he said as he rubbed at his head.

"Normally I would love nothing better than to see you and Jayne pull serious faces and try to be all manner of intimidating," Zoë said dryly, "but I need some time alone. I want to go to the med center and then to buy some things with my savings."

Mal raked his eyes up and down Zoë critically. "You don't look sick. Simon could check you out real fast..."

"I don't want Simon to check me out," Zoë snapped. Her tone, irritable and tired, made Mal look at her eyes. "I have some things I need to be sure of."

They stood in silence fo