Kaylee set a course back to Persephone to complete the transaction with Badger and fill Serenity with fuel. Sure the delivery was in vein as the town was more than likely completely destroyed by Reavers, but they fulfilled their end of the bargain, and one way or the other, Badger was going to fill his.
Later that day, Inara, Zoe, Kaylee and Jayne shared a meal in the Galley. They were all silent and void of expression throughout, all of them in tormented thought of their injured captain. Kaylee in particular was in a constant state of tears. Inara reached her arm around Kaylee bringing her closer to her offering comfort to her friend, "The captain is going to pull through this Kaylee."
Kaylee nodded, but continued to sob regardless. She cleaned her place at the table and prepared some food for Simon. As she crossed through the common room on the way to the infirmary, she noticed River still in the same place on the couch. Seeing the blanket covering her rise and fall, she breathed a sigh of relief.
In the infirmary, Simon sat asleep by Mal's side. Kaylee entered quietly, but Simon being at the very peak of doctor mode woke up at the slightest sound.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." She said.
"Its alright, I should've been awake." Looking at the tray of food she was holding, Simon inquired with a smile, "Is that for me?"
"Its not much but I figured you could use a bite ta eat." She replied.
"Thanks bao-bei." Simon said with a smile.
Simon began to eat as Zoe and Inara joined them quietly in the infirmary, immediately asking questions.
"How is he doing Simon?" Inara asked.
Swallowing a few bites of a protein bar, Simon replied, "He's still unconscious, but he seems to have stabilized."
"Why're ya'll talkin' 'bout me like I ain't here." Mal said quietly from the table.
"Cap'n!!" Kaylee said loudly as his family rushed to his side.
His voice was strained, but he continued to speak, "Hey what's with all the fussin' and yellin', you'd think someone almost died'er somethin'."
"Oh captain I thought we might'a lost you." Kaylee continued hysterically.
"What're ya talkin' about? Everythin's fine Kaylee girl, I'm gonna be alright."
As the crew shared a cumulative sigh of relief, River had woke and quietly made her way to the door of the infirmary. Mal looked up and saw her, giving her a small smile, "Hey there little albatross."
Kaylee turned to her friend and smiled, "Did'ya hear River? The cap'ns gonna be alright."
River's skin was pale and tears began to run down her cheeks, "No he's not."
As the words crossed her lips, Mal's head fell limp onto the table and his heart monitor signaled that his heart had stopped.
"Mal!" Inara yelled.
"Everybody back!" Simon ordered.
Zoe, Inara and Kaylee stepped back to give the doctor his space. River stared on wide-eyed and shaking in fear for Mal. For her, it was like the scene in her dream had all-but come true as her captain lay dying on the table.
Simon pulled the defibrillator off the wall and prepared to shock Mal.
"Clear!" He yelled.
He pushed the paddles to Mal's chest and his body jolted from the shock. The monitor flashed, but continued to let out the steady tone, of a silent heart. He repeated for the following two minutes and switched to conventional CPR.
"1-1000, 2-1000, 3-1000…" He counted to himself. For a fraction of a second, he had begun to lose hope, stepping away from Mal ever so slowly. Simon's mind raced to collect his thoughts and form a solution. Mal was completely unresponsive and his heart hadn't been beating for at least 3 minutes, too much longer and he could suffer brain damage.
River walked toward Mal slowly and broke down further with each step she took. As Simon reached for a shot of Adrenaline, River collapsed onto the side of the table. Tears saturated her face as she cried.
"Daddy! Please don't die daddy I love you!! I'm sorry I couldn't help, I'm so sorry please don't leave me, please!!"
Zoe, Inara, and Kaylee near simultaneously brought their hands to their mouths and gasped at River's words as she continued sobbing frantically.
"Please, please, please don't go Mal, please. I need you, I can't get through this without you, please!!!"
Simon reached to pull her away and before he could even get his hands on her, she turned to Simon and went from destroyed daughter to un-caged animal, "Don't touch me!"
She turned her head back to Mal, still overcome by tears and laid her head on his. As she did days ago for Simon, her mind opened and she was in Mal's head.
"We need you to come back to us Mal. We never got to say goodbye. I never got to tell you I loved you as you loved me. You can't go I won't be able to get better without you. Please…WAKE UP GODDAMNIT!!!"
A gasp for air erupted from Mal's lips with no apparent interference from anyone and his heart monitor began to ring again. The crew collectively gasped for air at the sound of Mal's heart coming back to life.
"Mei-mei, I need you to move." Simon asked calmly, but River did not respond. As he reached for her, her body fell to the floor limp, which put Simon into an immediate panic, "River!"
Simon reached and quickly checked her vitals to find she was unconscious again.
"Zoe get River out of here." Simon ordered.
With Inara's help, Zoe promptly picked River up off the floor and brought her back into the common room and back onto the couch as Simon began to check the captain over.
He came out of the infirmary a few moments later and gave his report, "He's stable again. I don't know how and the only explanation I can think of sounds crazy."
"We do crazy here, try us doctor." Zoe replied as calmly as possible.
"When Kaylee was shot days ago, River…talked to me from the cargo hold."
"Like she yelled to ya?" Jayne asked.
"No. She somehow found a way to get into my mind. She told me I needed to be ready, that Kaylee would need me and that she was scared. I think she just did something similar to the captain. She might've given his brain some kind of kick-start. I-I don't know…"
"You really think she could be capable of doing something like that?" Inara asked.
"The human mind has been under observation for centuries and we haven't learned a fraction of what it is capable of. River's brain is probably more powerful than most of the supercomputers the verse has known. Now with the control and strength she has developed over it…who knows what she is going to be capable of." Simon replied.
As the crew took in the young doctor's words, Simon continued, "Regardless, after what just happened I'm going to have to stay with Mal till he wakes up again. I think it would be a good thing for everyone to try and get on with their day. There's nothing more any of us can do except wait for his condition to change."