A/N: This is a scene I found partially written and languishing on my hard-drive, so figured I may as well spruce it up and post it as the 'deleted scene' that it is. It's a conversation that Simon has with Mal when he heads off to find the captain at the back end of Chapter 4 (and mentions in Chapter 5 that he had). He agreed with Jayne and River that he would ask Mal if the three of them can stay aboard Serenity and finds the captain alone on the bridge...
Welcome to the Brave New World
"Come right on in, doc."
Simon hadn't realised that his presence had been felt as he hovered awkwardly in the doorway to the bridge, until suddenly the captain invited him in.
"Might be I use your services later," Mal continued, fingers poking around a tear in his sleeve and the wound beneath it. "This may be no more than a scratch but might come to need a clean-up at least."
"Of course," said Simon, nodding his head as he sat down in the co-pilot's chair. "If I can be of use, I am more than willing."
The captain smiled at that, though his eyes were mostly on the view outside of the window yet.
"Seems to be a trait amongst you folks," he said thoughtfully. "Gotta say, Cobb and your sister come in mighty handy on Whitefall."
"That's good." Simon cleared his throat. "I-I'm glad they were able to help you."
He really didn't know where to start in asking the captain this favour. Of course, he understood why Jayne thought he was the better candidate for the task, being more softly spoken and that bit more diplomatic than his sister's man would ever know how to be. That said, Simon had little in the way of experience of dealing with characters like Captain Reynolds. Fortunately, it seemed he was not destined to ask Mal about a future aboard Serenity, since the captain had the idea all on his own.
"Might be your folks could find a place here," he said then, turning his chair around to better face Simon head on. "This job went pretty smooth, that last part notwithstanding, but there are times it sure wouldn't hurt for us to have a medical mind aboard. Plus, a merc is all kinds of useful, and a Reader? Well, ain't ever had one of those around before to know how handy she'd become, but that's by the by," he said, waving away any concerns on that front. "Y'all could pay your way in service to the cause, if that's what you wanted?"
Simon couldn't really believe it was this easy, that they were all just going to be invited to stay, no harm, no foul, no questions asked. He was waiting for the catch, the cruel twist, which he had come to expect after the way things had been going lately, and yet it didn't come.
"You do understand what you're offering us?" he checked, biting the hand that fed him, perhaps, but he had to be sure, not willing to bring false hope to his sister. "It's more than work, it's... sanctuary, and you might be putting everyone else aboard in danger."
"You folks are running from the Alliance." Mal shrugged easily. "That ain't no trouble to me."
A smile tugged at the edge of Simon's lips. "I had noticed the brown colour of your coat."
Mal wore a full-on smirk as he turned back to the console and the view of where they were headed through the dark depths of the 'verse. "My lot in life, doc, is to keep flyin'. If that's what you and yours wanna do, this might just be a place you could call home."
"I wouldn't expect someone like yourself to trust strangers so easily," Simon considered, wishing it unsaid the next moment, and yet Mal didn't seem at all likely to retract his offer, not now.
"You're trusting me and mine just the same," he noted, "and we're all on the same side, right?"
Simon smiled and nodded his head. "Very true," he agreed, getting up from the co-pilot's chair and holding out a hand to Mal as if to shake on the deal of them staying. "Thank you, Captain."
Mal eyed his hand with something akin to vague amusement, but then rose to his feet and took hold anyway, shaking firmly. "Not a problem, doc," he told him easily. "Welcome to Serenity."