Chapter Six
"What do you mean, we can't open it?"
Kaylee and Zoe exchanged nervous glances. "The casing is unbreakable, sir. Can't bust it open," Kaylee said.
"It said in the information we stole that the only way the capsule can be opened is if it's put back in the machine it was sealed in. A specific unnamed combination of chemicals melts the casing," Zoe explained further.
"Gorrammit. And this machine, it's in that building we was just in?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, that settles that," Jayne said, leaning back in his chair. "He's a dead man."
"We're going back."
Everyone looked at Mal in disbelief, and there was a pregnant pause before Zoe had the nerve to speak.
"We're doing what, sir?"
"We're going back. Simon won't be out of danger until we find out what's on that chip and do something about it. So, that's what I plan to do."
"They've probably doubled security, sir."
Mal shook his head. "No, they won't. They'll find that disc missing and assume we got what we came for. They won't expect us to hit the same place twice in a week."
"Bullshit," Jayne snapped. "I ain't goin' back there. You wanna fuck the doc, fine, just don't get us killed over it."
"What did you say?" Mal asked, his voice taking on a dangerous tone. Jayne stood up, stepping over to Mal.
"You'da never done this for me. Not for Kaylee, not even Zoe. Admit it. The only reason you're doin' all this is cause you wanna get on the doc's good side so he'll let you bend him over a table and fuck that pretty a-"
Mal didn't even realize he'd punched Jayne until he heard the man hit the floor. Breathing hard, fists clenched in fury, he looked up at the other members of the crew, who looked afraid to even move.
"Anyone else wanna argue about this plan?" he asked, and nobody said a word, not even Jayne. "Good. Zoe, turn this ship around."
Without waiting for an affirmative answer, Mal turned and walked out.
What scared him most was that he hadn't punched Jayne because the man called him sly; it was because he'd talked that way about Simon.
Mal went back to the infirmary, surprised to see that Simon was sitting up, inspecting a half-empty bottle of medication he'd picked up from the bedside table. He looked groggy, dazed, but better than before.
"You gave me 30 cc's of-"
"Simon. No doctor talk until you're recovered," Mal said, taking the bottle from Simon's hands and setting it back on the table beside the bed. "How are you feeling?"
Simon thought about that one for a moment, obviously still woozy from being drugged up. "Pretty good, considering…"
"Considering that bullet hole in your chest."
"Precisely."
"Maybe you should try eatin' somethin'," Mal offered, and Simon winced and shook his head. Mal picked up a glass of water from the bedside table and pushed it at him. "Alright then, drink some water. You doctors are always sayin' how important fluids are and all."
Simon almost laughed, but even that seemed to cause too much pain to bear. He took the glass, taking a few sips.
"I'm sorry I…didn't listen to you. I should have," he said, his voice still drowsy, and Mal smirked.
"You should have. But that's all gone and done now. Think you learned your lesson anyway."
"That's the truth," Simon muttered sleepily. "How's River?"
"Better than you," Mal pointed out.
"She made soup, too," a voice came from the doorway, and River stepped into the room, carrying a bowl of hot soup. Simon positively grinned at the sight.
"River…I told you I wasn't hungry," he said affectionately, and she set the bowl down.
"You need to eat. You haven't eaten for two days, you'll heal slower if you're malnourished," she said quietly, setting the bowl down on the table and lifting a spoonful of soup to Simon's lips. Simon sipped at it dutifully.
"She's got a point," Mal said, crossing his arms. It felt strange, saying that about a girl who'd seemed off her rocker less than a month ago.
"You two shouldn't gang up on me when I'm drugged," Simon said weakly, but with a smile. At that moment, there was a slight shift- it was obvious that Zoe was putting the ship in a sharp turn.
"What's going on?" Simon asked, his voice barely there. He was nearly unconscious again.
"We're going back to Osiris," Mal explained. "Unfinished business. Don't you worry about it, just rest."
"But…I…"
"Don't make me sedate you, Simon."
The threat really wasn't even needed. Simon was already looking like he was falling back asleep. "You never call me Simon…" he said, his voice quiet and slurred. Mal looked down at the floor, avoiding River's eyes.
"Today's a little different. Go to sleep," Mal said, and then he looked at the soup River had brought. "Put that in a stasis, kiddo. It'll need to be warm for when he wakes up again."
Mal started to walk toward the door, but River's voice halted him.
"Why don't you tell him?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Tell him what?"
"That you care so much."
Mal paused, and then he continued walking. "It's not necessary. Just store the gorramn soup."
Jayne is wrong. I don't harbor no sly thoughts for Simon. He's the ship's doctor, it's important that he stays alive so he can patch us up, that's all it is.
Of course, no matter how many times Mal told himself that, something nagged at the back of his mind about it. Maybe how comfortable Simon's hand in his had felt; maybe the fury that had flashed through him when Jayne insulted the doctor. It was hard saying what exactly it was, but whatever it was, it was unsettling.
He hated being uncertain.
He rolled over in his bed, groaning and squeezing his eyes shut tighter. With all these stray thoughts, sleep refused to come. Jayne's insults repeated in his mind, and River's insightful comments as well.
He kept wondering, why Simon? Why stick the chip in a citizen? It actually made a morbid kind of sense, though, and the situation was eerily similar to River's. The chip had been implanted back when Simon was a surgeon, a pillar of society. The Alliance never would have expected a genius trauma surgeon with a bright future to make a run for it and become a fugitive. They expected him to stay put, making his loads of money the rest of his life.
Just like they never expected that River would escape. Once again, they'd had a plan that seemed all good and well, and the anomaly that was the Tam siblings screwed it up for them.
The ship suddenly lurched, almost sending him off the bed. In moments he was on his feet and headed for the ladder, taking it up as fast as his tired feet would carry him.
"What's going on?" he demanded as he burst onto the bridge. Zoe glanced at him.
"Warning shot. There's an Alliance ship on our tail."
Mal looked at the screens, considering. "We can't hide Simon. If we let them board, they'll find him. Make a break for it."
"Yes, sir."
Zoe started speeding up, and Mal left the bridge, going back to the engine room to find that Kaylee was already there.
"You know she always tells me when somethin's wrong," Kaylee explained in answer to Mal's questioning look. "I felt that shift and I knew she'd need a boost."
"That's my girl," Mal said with a smirk, patting Kaylee on the shoulder. "We're gonna need a big push here. Alliance on our tail."
"You got it, Captain."
The ship suddenly jerked and spun halfway around, and alarms and warning lights started going off all over the engine room. Mal cursed and raced back up to the bridge. "What the gorramn hell just happened!"
"They decided the warning shot wasn't good enough, sir," Zoe said, fighting to get the ship moving in the right direction again. "We have heavy damage to one of our engines and to the buffer panels."
"Where's the closest planet?"
Zoe glanced at a nearby screen with a map up. "Not too far. We could make it."
"Do a death spin and head for the planet. If we can't make it there try for one of the moons."
"What about the Alliance ship?"
Mal looked back toward the engine room, and then he whistled to get Kaylee's attention. "We need a cloak, kid. Can you manage?"
Kaylee nodded, breathless, every inch of exposed skin covered in engine oil. Mal turned back to Zoe. "In about ten seconds, the Alliance will see nothing but debris."
They barely managed to make it to the moon of the planet, let alone the planet itself. Fortunately, Kaylee's trick worked, and the Alliance thought Serenity had taken a hard tumble to the planet's surface.
"This'll take at least a couple days to fix, Captain," Kaylee said, inspecting the engine that had been hit. "And we'll need replacements for this here-"
"Get whatever you need. We can't stay here long," Mal said. "Just get her fixed as fast as you can."
Kaylee put her hands on her hips, looking around, seeming to be listing everything that needed to be done in her mind. "Sure thing, Captain. I'll have her in the air sooner'n you can say shiny."
"Well, look who's out and about," Zoe said from where she stood nearby. Mal followed her gaze to the doors of the ship, and saw that Simon had ventured out into the sun, wearing only pants and the bandages on his chest. He looked dazed, but more aware than he'd been since the shooting.
"Ain't it a mite early for you to be up on your feet, Doc?" Mal asked, and Simon nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah, it is."
"Then…why are you…"
"Doctors are the worst patients, Captain," Simon pointed out with a weak smile. "Where are we?"
"Crash landed on the way back to Osiris," Mal explained, and Simon looked confused.
"Osiris? We're going back to Osiris?"
"What, you don't remember me tellin' you about it?"
"Sir, the effects of pain blocking drugs on the nervous sys-"
"You were doped up, right," Mal said, nodding. "We didn't finish the job on Osiris. We have to go back."
Simon frowned. "What do you mean, didn't finish the job?"
Mal looked around, and then he took Simon by the arm, gently leading him just inside the ship. "That capsule has to be opened in their machines. Their machines are back in that office."
"You don't have to do that," Simon said, shaking his head. "It's too dangerous to go back there. The Alliance thinks I'm dead anyway, and-"
"I don't recall opening this up for debate," Mal said firmly, setting his jaw. Simon hesitated, and then nodded.
"Right. So, uh…sure," he said, and then he turned and started to head back toward the infirmary. Mal watched him start to go, and he felt something pulling at his mind, something telling him to not let it end on that note.
"Simon," Mal said, and the doctor stopped and looked over his shoulder.
"Captain?"
"I'm…M'glad to see you're doing better."
Simon looked at Mal as if he'd just said Reavers were warm and fuzzy creatures, and then he nodded again.
"Thanks, Mal. Er…sir. Captain," he stuttered, and then he smiled sheepishly and left the hallway. Mal didn't even notice when Zoe stepped into the hallway and stared at him a few moments.
"Captain," she said, quirking an eyebrow. "Wipe that stupid grin off your face and come help us with the compression coil."