<em>Mal?  This was Mal standing next to her?</em>No...that would just be too much coincidence.  Mal was off on a ship somewhere, not due back for another...she calculated quickly...3 months.  Her mind had been so preoccupied with thoughts of Mal that she handed over her cloak without thinking, showing off the two pieces of soft suedelike material laced up the sides that she called a dress.