When they brought Simon into the recovery room after the surgery Kaylee and Book were waiting there. The orderlies were quiet as they transferred the young man from stretcher to bed. He was very pale, the contrast between his skin and dark hair only served to make him look paler. It was a little weird to think part of her was now swimming around in Simon. Book rested a hand on the doctor and was chanting away in a language Kaylee didn't know. It might have been Latin, which she was pretty sure Simon did know.
She sat in the chair next to the bed and closed her eyes. It had been such a long, scary day and her adrenaline was finally giving out. She listened to Books foreign words. She wondered if Simon could hear them. She wondered if Book's order made him do this in Latin or if he was doing it so no one but the one he was praying for knew what he was saying. Kaylee drifted off to sleep peacefully. Book looked down at Simon and Kaylee. Even he had to admit they sure were cute. Kaylee moved a little in her sleep. She was a hero; the little sprite of a girl had saved a life today.
They said Simon would likely be out for another day or so. As this wasn't an especially safe place for the doctor to be, even registered under a fake name, it was likely Captain Reynolds would be pulling a few strings to get Simon recovering back on Serenity. So there was no need for Kaylee to spend all night falling out of an uncomfortable chair. A nurse entered carrying a few pieces of equipment and followed by Wash. The pilot pulled a stool from the corner and plopped down.
"Hey preacher." Wash greeted. Then he turned back to the nurse. "Hook me up". Wash was donating blood too.
"Calm down Mr. Gordon." She said pulling out a short pin. "Last thing we check, hemoglobin level." She took Wash's hand and pricked the pilot's finger, pressing a little square of paper against the drop. The paper turned green and the nurse smiled. Then she swabbed his arm and unwrapped a needle. The pilot winched a little when the needle went in, but the feeling passed before it really registered. The Shepard smiled at the pilot and scooped up the petite mechanic.
"I'm going to take her back to Serenity." He told Wash, "Let her sleep in her own bed."
"Uh, be careful on the ladder." Book thought for a minute. "Well, she can sleep in Riv--Reeva's bed" he caught himself from using the other Tam sibling's name. River was being kept well hidden, even though keeping her that way had become Zoe's full time job. River wasn't exactly stable under normal circumstances, seeing her brother as he was, well, that's an outburst waiting to happen.
"See ya"
As Book carried Kaylee down the hall he encountered Mal. "She tuckered out?" the captain asked
"Well, she's had a bit of excitement today."
"Yeah, you could call it that." Mal was quiet for a moment, thinking for a moment before he spoke again more slowly this time. "We could have lost him today." The anger was burning in him. After he'd come around Jayne had explained to him what had happened. How they'd driven off the pirates and that they'd been hired by Clawfield. Then he'd asked for a bonus. Mal was furious, but this wasn't the time. They had to sort everything out first, get settled before they called on Byron. His fuming was interrupted by the Shepard's words.
"But we didn't. If we focus on what could have happened we won't appreciate what is happening as much. Don't dwell Mal- "
"Fred Jones- still other dangers around here preacher"
"Yes Freddie, of course. Why don't you just go see the passenger?" Mal just nodded as he continued down the hall.
Mal entered the hospital room and looked around. The fresh stitches in his head itched. Why didn't the ones Simon put in itch like this? Luckily, the only official looking person in the room was a little nurse talking to Wash. Wash had the tube in his arm again, just like when his captain had needed the precious red fluid. "I'm the universal donor" the pilot explained grinning.
"I see." Mal responded, sitting on the empty stool next to his crewman and rolling up his own sleeve. The captain offered his bare arm to the girl. She raised an eyebrow.
"Normally we have a screening process for donors but Mr. Smith's lost a lot and I think if I start demanding ID you guys won't be as generous." As she said the alias they'd given Simon she gestured to his unmoving form on the bed. "You got any diseases?"
"I'm clean"
"Good enough" The nurse pulled her little silver wand out again and touched it to the inside of Mal's elbow. No fever and normal blood pressure. The little nurse picked up Mal's hand. He looked at her and she stabbed his finger. The paper turned green. "Thank you". She used a swab to disinfect Mal's arm and quickly stuck the needle in.
To the captain's shock as the nurse finished his collection set up Jayne entered the already cramped room. The big man looked about, obviously for a stool and finding none plopped himself on the floor next to Mal as he rolled up his sleeve. "What are you doing here Jayne? Need I remind you that you don't much care for George?" Mal nodded his head in Simon's direction to remind Jayne of their passenger, the salesman, George Smith.
"I went to the infirmary; you know to check out the damage. There was an awful lot of that blue blood of his splashed around." The mercenary's voice was a low rumble but Mal heard him. The captain just nodded, accepting.
They sat there a few minutes in silence. It was not your typical mental image of three men who would be best described as pirates or general outlaws. Nurse McGregor looked at the stony faced men for another moment before unhooking the blond who'd started first. She was no idiot; she knew what these men were. She knew that was not George Smith, traveling salesman, laying in one of her beds. Misters Gordon, Jones, and Sanchez were no more real than the tooth fairy, Santa Claus, or the Easter bunny. The wounded guy wasn't a passenger. He was just another one of them, part of one of many crews doing whatever it took to survive. Lucky for them Nurse McGregor really didn't care about what was really going on with these people. Everyone out here had their own problems and she was no exception. If they wanted to lie about him being a part of their crew, that was fine; wouldn't change anything for her.