"Look Badger, you said you had a job for us, so stop pussyfooting around and lets have it. I'm a busy….heh, heh-CHOO…excuse me," Mal wiped his nose on his sleeve, "busy man."
"A'right Mal, you're obviously not willin' to participate in the social niceties of polite society. The job is this, simple smuggling run, really. I'm going to give you this case." He pulled out a tattered upholstered carpet bag. "You go to Beaumond, to the Eight Plates tavern just outside 'a New Dunsmuir and ask for Rocky. Rocky's going to load some crates onto your ship, you're going to give Rocky the case, and then you're going to bring me the crates without lettin' the Alliance get their mits on them."
"What's in these crates we'll be carrying?" Mal sniffed and rubbed at his nose with the palm of his hand. "Anything dangerous?"
"Only dangerous if the Alliance finds it, and the reason this job pays so well," Badger leaned forward, "Is because it requires your discretion and…ignorance."
"How…HAH-shooo…much?"
"10,000 credits."
"Done," Jayne cut in, standing up and putting out his hand, "Pleasure doing business with you, Badger."
Mal put an arm out, stopping Jayne in his tracks. "What my…er, associate here means to say, is, we accept your offer. When do we need to be on Beaumonde?"
"Rocky will be expecting you before the week is out." Badger picked up the case and handed it to Mal. "I'll expect you here inside another week after that, but take your time and stay in the blackout zones, I've got a lot riding on those crates."
Mal handed the case to Zoe, and Badger tipped his filthy bowler hat as Mal, Zoe, and Jayne strode from the room out into the bright Persephone afternoon.
"Heh-Ishooo," Mal sneezed, covering his nose with his shirtsleeve.
"You alright there, sir?" Zoe asked.
"Fine, Zoe, just fine. Gonna be finer come two weeks from now. This is the biggest job we've had in quite a while now. All goes well, we'll be able to fix up Serenity and maybe, just maybe even take a couple of days holiday."
"Gorram time for a holiday," mumbled Jayne.
"Well don't get too…hah…hah…ah…hah..HACHOOO!…excited yet, we've got two weeks of things to go wrong between now and then, and I don't need you getting' all worked up and sloppy."
"Bless you, Captain." Zoe smirked.
Back on Serenity, Zoe stowed Badger's case safely in one of the hidden compartments in the cargo hold, and headed up to the cockpit. As she and Mal ducked through the doorway, Wash pushed a button on the comm., and Inara came onscreen.
"Hello Wash," the companion greeted him.
"Hey Inara. We're good to go here, what's your ETA?"
"Should be docking within the hour, Wash."
The comm blinked out. Wash turned around, "Hello pretty lady, hello Zoe." Zoe gave Wash a loving punch on the arm and sat down beside him. "How'd it go with Badger?"
"Job pays good, shouldn't be too hard. Go ahead and set a course in for Beaumonde," Mal rubbed his temples. "I'll be in my bunk. If anyone needs me, that is. Otherwise, let's get off this rock as soon as Inara gets back."
Mal made a conscious effort to stand upright and walk quickly as he left the cockpit and headed down to his quarters. His head was throbbing and his eyes and sinuses ached with pressure. He couldn't wait to curl up in his bunk with the lights out.
"Hiya Captain!" Kaylee's voice cut through his thoughts like a knife.
" 'Afternoon, Kaylee, best be seeing to the engine, we're in the sky in less than an hour." Mal kept walking. Usually he'd have some kind words for Kaylee, but today he just needed some peace and quite.
"Okay, Captain!" Kaylee called after him, intensifying the feeling that his head might explode at any second. He finally reached his quarters, pulled open the hatch and climbed down into the small room. He turned off the light and collapsed on the bed, not even bothering to take his boots off, and fell into a restless sleep immediately.
"heh…heh…HEH-Shooo!" A violent sneeze pulled Mal out of a disturbing dream involving Jayne and an assortment of angry vegetables. He wiped his nose on his sleeve and ran his hands through his hair. It was damp, and he realized he was soaked with sweat. His damp skin was cold, and he couldn't help shivering even though he felt hot and weak. He pulled off his shirt and boots and checked the time. It had been several hours since he fell asleep, and the crew was probably wondering where he was, but he couldn't have them see him like this. He crawled back under the covers, shaking with chills.
"heh-shhh, hah-shhh, hesh-heh!" the sneezes came faster now, his ears popping with each one. He reached into his bedside chest of drawers and found a handkerchief, burying his nose in it. He lay that way for what seemed like hours. The chills were unrelenting, and they kept him from sleep, so he just lay there, sneezing and shaking, growing weaker and more miserable. He knew he should just go down to the infirmary and let the doctor sort him out, but that was like admitting that gorram snooty know-it-all was right when he lectured Mal about taking better care of himself.
Just as he was about to finally drift off to sleep, someone banged on the door to his quarters. "Captain? Captain?" he heard Kaylee's voice, muffled by the metal door.
"Captain, you coming out of there anytime soon? I made dinner, we're all ready to sit down and eat."
He cleared his throat heavily, "Thad's all dight, Kaylee. I'b dot hungry," he yelled hoarsely.
"You sure Captain? We ain't seen you in near on a day now. You okay in there?"
"I'b fide, Kaylee, dow get on do dinner."
He heard her footsteps recede along the walkway above, and he sank back into his pillows and closed his eyes, only to awaken a few minutes late to more knocking.
"Gorramit! I said I'b dot hungry, Kaylee."
"It's not Kaylee, it's Simon, Captain. Kaylee was worried about you, she sent me to check on you."
"Well thad's bighty dice of her, but I'b fide," Mal insisted.
"Captain, with all due respect, you sound terrible. Just let me come in and examine you, I'm sure I could fix you up in no time."
"I'b dot sick, just sick of people bodering me. Dow go away!" There were quiet voices talking outside his door for awhile after, but they faded away eventually, and he fell back into feverish dreams.
The next thing he knew, someone was opening the hatch to his quarters. He grabbed his pistol off the nightstand and turned on the light to see Inara standing there, dressed in a simple red shift with a saffron cloak wrapped around her.
"Nice to see you too, Captain." She smiled.
Mal put the gun back down and lay back on the pillows. "What are you doing here? Hah-HAH-Choo!"
"I came down to see you Captain. The crew is worried about you, and they asked me to come down and look in on you." She sat down on the edge of his bunk and pulled the blankets up and tucked them in around him.
"Well, you looked. I'b fide, though."
"You can keep saying that if you want, but it's not getting any more convincing." She laid a hand on his forehead. "You're burning up, Mal. You need to see the doctor."
Her hand felt impossibly soft and cool on his brow. He closed his eyes and shivered. "do doctor, but you cad sday if you want." He opened his mouth to stay something else, but he was overtaken by a fit of coughing.
"Absolutely not," Inara stood up. "I'll be happy to stay and care for you, Mal, but only if you agree to let Simon look in on you. You have to take care of yourself, Mal. The crew needs you to do this job, and if you won't let the doctor help you, you'll be in no shape to do anything when we get to Beaumonde."
"Fide, but I'b not leaving my bunk. He cad cobe down here."
"Good, I knew you'd see reason." She turned towards the hatch and called up, "Come on down, Simon."
Simon had apparently been waiting just outside the hatch, because he was down the ladder and had his medical bag open before Mal even knew what had happened. After a few minutes of poking, prodding, and consulting his monitors, Simon had a diagnosis.
"Well, Captain, it looks like you've come down with a bad cold. It's just as well you came down here and wouldn't see anyone, as you've likely prevented the rest of the crew from catching it. On the other hand, if you'd come to see me as soon as you felt ill, I could have given you something that would have cleared it up in no time. At this point, you've waited too long, and all I can do is give you something to help bring down the fever and ease the congestion. You're just going to have to wait it out." Simon prepared a syringe full of clear liquid and gave Mal a shot in the upper arm. "You should be on the mend by tomorrow. In the mean time, I must say that you know you brought this upon yourself. I told you—"
Mal cut him off, "Son, I don't dow what you take be for, but if you're going to say I dold you so, you best dink dwice. I may be sick, but I can still kick your ass back to Alliance derritory."
"Understood, Captain. Feel better. I'll look in on you again in the morning." Simon climbed back up the ladder and out into the hallway, looking flustered.
Mal coughed heavily into his handkerchief, and looked at Inara. "I guess you'll be going doo dow."
"Of course not. I'm a lady of my word after all. I said I'd stay if you saw the doctor, and you saw the doctor." She smiled and stroked his hair, laying a cool cloth on his forehead. "You try and get some rest now, Mal. There's lot's of petty thievery out there for you, and it won't wait forever."
Mal tried to think of a witty retort, but the drugs the doctor had given him were starting to kick in, so he just reached out, took Inara's hand, and whispered "Thank you," as he drifted off.