“Busy?” Mal inquired, stepping into Inara’s shuttle. He pulled his hands from his pockets, crossed them before him, and leaned against the wall.

Upon his entrance, Inara stood. “Um... No, not really. Please, come in.”

Mal didn’t move. “Because if ya ain’t busy, I’m wonderin’ why you always send Kaylee to fetch me when you wanna talk.”

Inara eyed him with a puzzled look. “I didn’t send Kaylee. I sent Gabriel. And that was almost an hour ago. Were *you* busy?”

Mal shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah, well, when he’s inactive, Gabriel has this tendency to... get ‘lost’.” He moved into the room and sat on the sofa across the short table from Inara. “You invited me in, so I take it this ain’t gonna be a friendly exchange.”

*I hope it will be*, Inara thought. She shrugged. “I just have a few questions regarding... changing circumstances. Tea?” She poured herself a cup.

Mal shook his head. “ ‘Changing circumstances’, huh? I take it yer touchy about the whorin’ block we got runnin’.”

*Whorin’ block...* Inara thought in disgust. “No,” she replied, setting the pot back on the table. “I can’t expect to find clientele in an emergency situation, such as it is. But, that being said, I’m beginning to wonder if I might have to... temporarily disengage my career-oriented movements and adopt a more... useful position.”

Mal rolled his eyes. “Always with the ‘talk dance’. Yer tryin’ to tell me you want to be useful, is that what this is about?”

“I’m stuck on this ship,” Inara explained. “We have a fuel shortage, a Reaver ship trailing us, we’re headed for a backwater that we may be stuck on for awhile, and I have absolutely nothing to do but pretend like I’m still an active Companion.”

Mal shrugged. “Ain’t exactly like Jayne, the doc, or Gabriel are putting themselves to use at the present, neither. I suspect Zoe an’ myself are...” He trailed off, acquiring a peculiar expression. “Wait... you tellin’ me yer fishin’ for a crew position?”

Inara sighed. “Mal, you already have more crew members than you know what to do w