River was plucked from sleep knowing Lan was bout to start groaning harshly in pain. When it began she was half way to the medical room. Lan was running a fever and River wasn't sure if she should go near her or not.
"Cai!" She roared as River soaked a cloth in cold water and pressed it to Lan's forehead. As she did so, she shushed the girl, and began to sing a soft Chinese folk song she didn't know she ever knew.
"I'll take it from here, River." Simon said as he entered, rolling up his sleeves. Kaylee followed him and took River outside.
"But I can help," River insisted.
"I know River, but she's dangerous."
"She only tortured one of them. She killed the rest, she wont-"
"Enough, River." Kaylee said, stopping to face her lover's sister. "We can't know things like that; those are her secrets you're telling me. Now let your brother see her well, you hear?"
"Right." River submitted, turning to leave. Kaylee was right, even if it felt unfair to be taken away.
Simon injected more pain killers into the IV drip the girl was on and waited for the delirium to calm. She had a fever, and he'd given her all of the sedative he could be sure she could handle, and it didn't look good. Zoey appeared at the door.
"Came to see how she was doing."
"Not well, I'm afraid."
"Fever?" Zoey asked, coming closer. Simon nodded, knowing Zoey had enough practical knowledge about battle wounds. He didn't need to explain anything to her.
"How long has it been since we got her on board?" Simon asked.
"Sixteen hours. Have you slept?"
"Not yet."
"You go. I'll get her changed out of those clothes and see if there's anything I can put together from her belongings."
"And her scars?" Simon asked. He didn't like it but it needed done; the girl was a mystery and anything they could find out without stressing River's... talents, was important. But it meant violating the girl's privacy by stripping her naked.
"I'll be professional." Zoey assured him.
"I trust you will." He sighed, fighting a yawn.
As the door closed Zoey began punching the code in to mirror the windows to the infirmary. She moved to the girl and checked first the wound the doctor had operated on. It was as clean as a gun shot could be, stitched into an uneven line. The bandage was saturated with disinfectant and blood. Zoey first replaced the bandage, and as she rolled her sleeves up for the rest of Lan's garments, Lan's eyes opened.
She lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the harsh light.
"Relax Lan, you've been shot."
"Soo-chow." she grumbled before beginning to cough.
"How do you feel?"
"Feverish." she replied, her eyes rolling and her jaw quivering as though she was cold. "My brother."
"Taken."
"Seen-teeyow!" she spat.
"Why would the Alliance... Lan? Lan! Simon!"
Lan began convulsing, and the fresh bandage quickly turned Red. Zoey tried to hold the girl's shoulders against the bed as the seizure continued. Simon leaped inside, pulling on a shirt and going straight to a drawer. He pulled out an injection and put it in the IV.
"What happened?" he demanded.
"She woke up. Asked of her brother. Seized." Zoey reported. They waited for her body to become still. Simon looked to the new bandage.
"I have to re-"
"I can do it." Zoey insisted. "Sleep, Simon. I'll call if something like that happens again."
As Simon disappeared, Zoey started to unzip the marred leather waistcoat and cream cotton tank top underneath. She heard River's approach.
"You know you shouldn't sneak up on someone with a gun." Zoey cautioned as she gently peeled away the bloodied garments.
"You knew I was here." River said simply. Zoey smirked.
"I did. I also know you can't be pitching a fit in here if you see something with that third eye of yours you can't handle."
"What can she have done thats so bad?"
"Do you know the things I've done."
River stared at her. An understanding was made.
"Alright," Zoey decided, "But if you get scared I want you to walk out and go to your room. Calm down on your own, you hear?"
River nodded and approached to help.
Zoey sent River to fetch the Captain from the cockpit.
"Captain!" she said urgently, "You should see this."
"What is it?" He asked, unstrapping his belt and leaving the pilot's chair. River took the seat without being asked as she replied,
"It's Lan. Zoey's with her now, waiting for you."
No more needed said. Mal left to find out what was the matter.
Jayne and Zoey stood with their arms folded, facing the bed Lan lay on, her body covered only by a white sheet, tilted on her side, her back and one leg only exposed to them. Mal slowed as he saw what they were staring at; a scar running in a straight line from her shoulder to her heel in a perfect vertical line.
"That ain't good." he sighed.
"No it ain't." Jayne agreed.
"What do we do with her?" Zoey asked.
"Strap her to that bed, everyone in the cafeteria, now."
Jayne and Zoey flanked Mal at the head of the table as Inara, River, Simon and Kaylee all sat around the table.
"If what happened in Urie's camp didn't," Mal began, "We would have transported two very dangerous people."
"Who are they?" Kaylee asked, looking nervously at her shipmates.
"We cant say for certain about her brother but Lan is or was a member of The Gesval."
"What's the gesval?" Simon asked, taken aback from the reaction Kaylee and Inara gave. Fear was clear.
"A nasty bunch of thieves that took the term Pirate to a new level." Mal explained. "And she's one of them."
"Maybe she got out." Kaylee ventured. "Made a new life for herself."
"Maybe, but it ain't likely."
"Is she still -" Simon began,
"Heavily sedated. When she's healthy we'll put her in a cell until we can be sure we're safe. That's it."
With that Mal, Zoey and Jayne left.
