She moved closer to him on the couch. He moved away. She moved closer. He moved away. Eventually he ran out of couch to move to. She sat right next to him, hip to hip. She placed her hand on his leg. He moved it off. She put it back. He moved it off. She put it back. "Woman! You're married!"
"Not if you don't want me to be," she replied.
"I'm sorry but WHAT?" he cried.
"You know what I'm sayin' I think," she said with a wink. He leapt up. "What's wrong sir?"
"What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG? Every gorramn woman on this ship has come onto me tonight including you!"
"You should be flattered," Zoe responded in her usual cool fashion.
"Creeped out is a better word for it," he snapped.
"You look tense…" Zoe got up and stood behind Mal. He was extremely jumpy. He leapt as her hands rested on his shoulders, almost as if she had stabbed him instead of touched him. She started massaging his shoulders. He let it go on for maybe all of two seconds before turning around to face her.
"Zoe,"
"Mal,"
"No. Just no. I ain't lettin' you anywhere near me. You ain't cheatin' on Wash with me or anyone else if I can help it. I can help this. Now go be with you HUSBAND!"
"I want to be right here. With you," she said, getting closer to him. She shut her eyes and moved in for a kiss. He jumped back, tripped over the table, and hit his head on the arm of the couch. That was twice he that hit his head. "Are you okay?" she exclaimed as she rushed to his side.
"Gorramn SHINY," he growled. She helped him up and then rubbed his head tenderly. He flipped out and lost his balance again. This time he caught himself on the wall, wrenching his shoulder.
"Are you hurt? Let me take a look-"
"No! Thank you. I'm just goin' to go in there…" he pointed to the medical room. He darted into the room and shut the door, locking it from the inside. Now he could get some rest. He fell asleep eventually. A gentle tapping woke him from his deep sleep. Hopefully it wouldn't be one of the girls. If it was, he didn't know how much more his body or his lips could take!