Set in Serenity the episode
Mal carefully lifted Kaylee's fallen hand, placing it back beside her. The now silent infirmary made him uneasy, especially when there were two still figures there with him. Carefully stoking Kaylee's head one last time, Mal allowed himself to take in the doctor's sister in detail for the first time. Since waking her from stasis Mal had been more concerned with trying to gauge the situation rather than considering the girl herself; now that he watched her he understood her brothers desire to free her. She looked so fragile. River was more than just gifted… she was a gift. Mal sighed. The girl looked so serene in her sleep but still… something on the edge of her features filled him with unease. Mal stared at her pale face; smiling slightly at her hand gripping the blanket with two fingers for security. He remembered her panic as she clambered out of her box; for a moment confirming Mal's suspicions that the doctor had in some way abused her… well, he'd been half right. Then it had taken her a few moments to fully recognise her brother as he approached, even to remember how to move if the jerks in her movements were anything to go by. Mal had seen panic like that before, but it just seemed wrong for it to be embodied in the child before him. He sighed, patting Kaylee's arm once more before exiting the infirmary, deep in thought.
