A/N – This is a scene from a crossover I'm working on over on Stargate Atlantis. This one shot seemed perfect as a missing scene near the end of "Serenity."
Kaylee opened her eyes to the harsh light and cold metal walls of Serenity's sterile infirmary. She looked around slowly, noting that she was laying on one of the counters, Zoe was laying on her stomach on another, and Simon was on the bed, his torso bare except for the white bandage swathing his middle. A twinge in her neck brought the horrible memory back of the desperate and almost futile fight against the Reavers. She brought an unsteady hand up to her neck where the three puncture wounds were itching nearly unbearably.
After the Alliance soldiers had let them go, the crew had staggered and stumbled slowly back to the sorry remains of the ship, Inara, River, and Jayne supporting the others. Darkness blurring her vision, Kaylee couldn't help but groan at the state of the engines and drive pods. Upon landing, one of the pods had sheared away completely, leaving the other to cope with an overheating core. Blackened and fused metal told a sad story about the state of the engine itself. Before she could even think about seeing for herself, Jayne's strong arm tightened around her waist as she stumbled and fell. Darkness had closed in about her then, leaving only the sensation of being picked up and gently carried.
She did remember coming to as Inara had cleaned the wounds on her neck, but the pain had been so bad, unconsciousness had mercifully claimed her again. A sound in the corridor drew her attention.
"Hey, Cap'n!" Her voice was hoarse so she cleared her throat, wincing as the punctured muscles protested. "I would say you're a sight for sore eyes, but it looks like you're the one with the sore eye." She grinned slightly as Mal's hand went unconsciously to his left eye – now swollen completely shut. The rest of his face was a patchwork of black and purple and red, he limped as he walked in, and the way he held his body spoke of other, internal pain.
"Very funny, Kaylee. Sounds like you're ready to get back to work."
She sat up carefully but quickly. "Really? Can I?"
"No." He limped over to the open counter and pulled out a chemical ice pack. After activating it and carefully placing it over the left side of his face he turned back to glare at her.
"Please, Capt'n, Serenity needs me," she whined, giving him the puppy dogs eyes she knew he couldn't resist.
"And she don't need me, or Zoe, or…Wash?"
Kaylee instantly regretted her childishness. The emotional pain on his face and the harshness of his voice was almost more than she could bear. She certainly couldn't face the yawning grief yet, engendered by the loss of their pilot. That just brought back the memory of other recent losses.
Mal turned away, ostensibly to see how Zoe was. Kaylee lay slowly back down, trying to blink back the tears that ran down the sides of her cheeks to soak into the bandages around her neck. He left shortly afterwards, shoulders slumped, limp more pronounced.
Inara stopped by next after a short enough time that Kaylee suspected she'd run into Mal in the corridor. Her training in the Companion House included medical training, and she kept up a quiet trickle of inane chatter as she changed Kaylee's bandages. She checked on Simon and Zoe next, then came back to stand by the counter.
"How does your neck feel? Much pain?" Her quiet voice flowed like honey, soothing any lingering pain or grief momentarily.
Kaylee shook her head quickly. "It just itches a lot."
"That's probably a side effect of whatever disgusting Reaver poison was on those darts." She smiled calmly. "I cleaned it out as much as possible. A blood test showed there was none remaining in your body."
"Thank you." Kaylee turned her head to look at Simon's pale face. "How…how is he?"
Inara turned to look also. "We were able to get the bullet out with his help. I don't know how he put up with the pain. Right now he's just resting." She patted Kaylee's arm. "Don't worry, Kaylee. They'll both be fine."
She nodded, and Inara was distracted as River came floating into the room like a wisp of down on the wind. She went directly to Simon's side and stood statue still, looking down at his face.
After about a minute she looked up at the other two. "The mind is slow in returning. It is imminent though." Then she walked calmly out.
Kaylee and Inara shared wry smiles. After living with River and Simon for a while now, they were used to her behavior and odd way of communicating. A groan from Zoe and a murmur from Simon turned their attention to other things.