"How long till we set down on Lilac?" Zoë asked her husband sleepily as she entered the cockpit.

"Three hours give or take." Wash answered before turning in the pilot's seat and kissing the worried lines of her forehead. "Mal still not up yet? I know that the doc gave him some pretty good stuff, but three days, isn't that a little extreme?"

"I already talked to Simon, he said that the Captain will be up within the hour."

"Then what's bothering you? I can tell that somethin' not too pleasant is on your mind." Wash said with a teasing grin trying to get Zoë to smile. His grin soon faded when her face didn't change form. "Come on baby, don't make me beg."

"Did I ever tell you that you can be a very annoying husband?" Zoë said with the corners of her mouth raised slightly.

"Not today, but then again the day is still pretty new." Wash's grin was back and Zoë finally gave a full smile. "So you going to tell me now?"

"Tell you what?" Zoë said plopping down on his lap, needing to feel his arms wrapped around her. "Tell you that you're annoying, 'cause I thought I just did." At that Wash made a half-hearted attempt to push her off his lap.

Thinking of a better idea, Wash leaned in to kiss her. "Tell me what's the matter." He whispered against her lips before pulling back suddenly, earning himself a good smack in the shoulder from Zoë.

"I'm just worried about Inara is all. I don't like how the Guild wasn't there when we landed. I don't like how she seems all weak and vulnerable."

"But she is weak and vulnerable." Wash cut in silencing his wife's out of character rant.

"You were the one who asked remember? Now do you want me to continue?" He nodded silently, knowing better then to speak when she gave him the look.

"She has never been vulnerable ever, and even if she was, she is much to prideful to let Mal see that she is. She loves him, loved him enough to leave the ship so that she wouldn't have to deal with it. And he loves her just as much but is afraid to show that he does. Woe de ma, I'm starting to sound like Kaylee playin' matchmaker." Zoë let out a long sigh; she had never been overly open with her emotions, so why was she being this way now? She knew why, because the situation just screamed wrong to her.

"Matchmaker Zoë. Got a nice ring to it don't you think? Just make sure you don't let either of them here you say, they love each other. I may not be able to protect you should they attack." Wash was trying rather unsuccessfully to get his mind to stop thinking depressing thoughts and focus more on the woman in his lap.

"It just doesn't sit well with me is all, we've never heard of any trouble with the locals back at that Training House, but yet Inara is beaten savagely by them. Somethin' ain't right. It hurts me is all."

Wash pulled Zoë up farther onto his lap enfolding her in his arms. "You're not the only one hurtin' baby. Poor Kaylee's hurtin' and we didn't even let her go near Inara to see how bad she was. Mal's in a state, even drugged the man didn't want to give up his hold on her. I should know, seein' as I was the one placed in charge of helping Jayne get him down into his bunk." Wash too let out a sigh before putting on a big smile.

"Enough with the depressing, wife of mine. Let's go get some coffee."

Mal let out a small groan as his eyes opened slowly. His eyelids and limbs felt heavy, as he looked around to see where he was. The answer came quick enough, he was in his bunk. How the gway did I get down here? He asked himself, before recognizing the feelings his body was going though. He had been drugged, the gorram doc had drugged him. Where was Inara? Was she safe? How long had he been out?

The unanswered questions ran through Mal's mind as he struggled to pull on some clean clothes, before climbing up the ladder and into the freedom of his ship. Concern and murderous thoughts mixed into one as he heard soft taking coming from the galley. He walked in to see Zoë and Wash drinking coffee, while Book and Kaylee, seemed to be finishing up their breakfast. The murderous thoughts left when he saw that the doctor wasn't sitting around the table.

Kaylee wasn't lookin' the normal picture of uncontained happiness, leadin' Mal to believe that she knew about Inara. The fact that she was here sitting at the table and not cryin' her eyes out in her bunk, meant she probably hadn't seen what the Companion looked like.

Mal moved over to the stove getting himself a cup of coffee, noticing that all conversation had stopped the moment he entered the room. Well that was all well and good he didn't really want talkin' just wanted the answers to a few simple questions. Sitting down at the head of the table Mal looked to Zoë knowing that she was the one who would not be afraid to tell him what he wanted to know.

"Kaylee, I want you to take the Shepard down to the engine room, see if you can't teach him somethin' useful." Book nodded solemnly before steering Kaylee out of the room. Kaylee was either to tired or too depressed to care that she was being left out of the conversation.

"How is she?" Mal asked Zoë softly, once the pair was out of earshot. There was no need to explain who 'she' was.

"Still sleeping, sir. Doc was able to set her ribs just fine, and the bruises are starting to fade." Her voice was as soft as his had been.

"If they are startin' to fade already then that means I was out a bit longer than I had wagered. You wanta clear up that information for me?" Mal knew that he wasn't going to like her answer.

"Three days, sir. The doc said that you needed to rest, so he had you drugged." At her lie Wash looked up from the cup of coffee that he had been previously studying. Mal didn't seem to notice Wash's renewed interest in the conversation. Instead he stared down at his own cup before taking a long swig.

Mal knew that Zoë was lookin' his way, even though his eyes never left the table. He knew that she was wondering if he was all right, if he could do the job, if he could continue his work at gatherin' intelligence for the Independents. Mal took a deep breath before returning his gaze to his first mate.

"Three days huh?"

"Yes, sir. Three days."

"How long till we hit Lilac, Wash?" Mal couldn't help but grin to see Zoë's look of surprise, that one question was all it took to reassure her that he was in the here and now.

"Little under two hours Mal." Wash said with a smile of his own, before turning and heading back to the bridge.

"We moved her into one of he passenger rooms, sir. Go and see her, I'll make sure that everyone is ready for the job."

"Good, River's to stay on the ship of course, but keep the doc on board too. Lilac, could have a few Alliance men, and we don't want the good doctor spotted."

Zoë could tell by the way that Mal referred to Simon as the 'good doctor' that he was not too pleased about being drugged. Zoë would be forever grateful that her husband didn't spill the beans on who ordered the druggin'. She had faced the Captain's wrath before and didn't want to face it again.

"Zoë, you still with me here?"

"Yes, sir." All praise be to the female ability to multitask. "You want me to make sure that Kaylee has the little pistol you bought for her on Persephone, hidden of course, and that Jayne brings along Vera."

"Just checkin' you seemed to be staring off into space there for a while." Mal flashed her a fake grin. That was enough for Zoë to put an end to the charade.

"I've got your order's, now why don't you go and check on Inara before you burn a hole in that coffee cup from staring at it so hard." This comment was rewarded with a real smile.

"Maybe I will." Mal said draining the last of his coffee, and heading out of the galley and down the passageway to the passenger dorms.

"It's getting easier to make him do what I want him too, this should make me happy right?" Zoë mumbled to herself before going to make sure that everyone was prepared.