Chapter 12
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Alexis goes through the night still being stable but showing no sign of waking up. Mal and Inara have been sitting with her the whole time, neither talking just looking at her. Finally at about 8 am she slowly starts to stir. Inara and Mal notice that and both quickly stand up.
"Alexis, its Dad can you hear me?" Mal asks his daughter.
"Daddy?" Alexis says slowly opening her eyes.
"Yeah Daddy" Mal says to his daughter over joyed that his daughter is awake.
"Inara?" Alexis asks quietly, she can't explain why but she wants Inara there with her.
"I'm right her baby girl." Inara tells her, and then turns to Mal "I'll go get Simon."
"No don't go." Alexis begs her.
"Ok, I'm not going anywhere." Inara tells Alexis, and she sees that Simon along with River, Martha and Kaylee must have been coming to see how Alexis is doing because they are at the door, when they see that Alexis is starting to wake up they rush in. Kaylee goes and stands next to Inara while River stands with Mal and Martha stands at the end of Alexis's bed.
"Alexis, its Simon." Simon says standing next to Alexis as Inara and Kaylee move down a little though Alexis doesn't let go of Inara's hand.
"Simon, my belly feels wired." Alexis tells Simon.
"You're not completely out of the sedation we had you under." Simon tells lifting the top of the bed so she's sitting up a bit more.
"Gram." She says with a smile on her face.
"Hey Honey." Martha tells her granddaughter.
"Kay, Rivi you're here." Alexis says with a smile or as much as a smile as she can produce while still slightly sedated.
"Of course we're here Lexis." Kaylee tells her.
"What happened?" Alexis asks Simon.
"Your appendix bust." Simon explains while he checks her vitals and everything else.
"But there was no warning signs." Alexis says to Simon "I would have told you if I was having pain."
"We think you were in the five precent that has no warning signs." Simon explains.
"Oh, " She says then asks then after a few minutes of silence asks "How long do I have to stay in here when can I go back to my room?" she asks as she doesn't want to have to stay in this room for any longer than she has to as it is kind of boring and the bed isn't really comfortable.
"You have to stay in here for at least another few hours and as to when you can go back to your room, I don't know if you can for a few days you won't be able to get down the hatch." Simon tells Alexis. "And if there is an emergency it's hard to get you up it"
"She can stay in my shuttle with me." Inara says "That's if you're ok with it." Inara tells Alexis.
"I don't want to be in your way." Alexis tells Inara.
"You won't be." Inara tells her. "It's the best place to be its close to the infirmary, easy to get in and out of and there will be someone with you." Inara explains
"Then I'm fine with it." Alexis tells Inara not wanting to admit that she doesn't want to be alone for a little while.
"Then in about four hours I'll get one of the boys to carry you to Inara's." Simon tells Alexis.
"How long have I been out?" Alexis asks Simon.
"Your appendix burst yesterday afternoon, the operation took a couple of hours and you've been out for a while it's 8am." Simon tells her.
"You ok Dad?" Alexis asks worried as she realises that he has been quite.
"You scared me Pumpkin." Mal says gently bending down to give her a hug.
"I didn't mean to Dad, I would have gone to Simon or Lanie if I knew something was wrong." Alexis tells her father.
"You couldn't have known I didn't know." River tells Alexis.
Alexis looks around and notices that both Inara and her father look like they haven't sleep all night "Dad, Inara you two are to go and have something to eat and have a couple of hours of sleep." She tells them realising that they must have stayed with her all of the time.
"I'm fine." Inara says.
"I'm staying." Mal tells his daughter.
"Dad, Inara I'm awake now, Gram, Kay, Rivi and Simon will be with me right?" She says looking hopefully at the four.
"Right." They say together.
"I'll be fine, go get some sleep, have some food." Alexis tells her Dad and Inara.
"Alexis I'm not sure." Mal says hesitantly not wanting to leave his daughter.
"Dad you need sleep, you need food, you two Inara." Alexis tells them "Simon will come and get you if something changes right" Alexis says to Simon.
"Right." Simon tells them.
"Come get me if the smallest thing changes." Mal tells Simon realising he's not going to win against his daughter.
"Me to." Inara says.
Mal bends down gives his daughter a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and whispers something in her ear before walking out of the infirmary waiting in the common area for Inara.
"You scared me Baby Girl, I'm so glad you ok, and I love you." Inara tell Alexis.
"Love you to Inara, now get out of here." Alexis tells her as for the past two and a bit weeks apart from the times she was talking to her Dad and Grams she has spent most her time with Inara, if not Inara then it was Kaylee, River and sometimes Simon. She has also spent some time talking and getting to know everyone else, so she can only assume that they worried a bit as well.
Inara smiles and walks out to the common area where Mal is waiting.
"Nara.." Mal begins to say but is cut off by Kate coming down the stairs.
"Hey how's Alexis?" Kate asks surprised to see both Rick and Inara outside Alexis's room.
"She's awake, kicked us both out ordered us to get some food and sleep." Mal tells Kate pulling her into a hug.
"Which I'm going to go do, excuse me." Inara tells Mal and Kate as she walks to her shuttle.
"That's great." Kate tells Mal.
"Yeah it really is." Mal says with a smile on his face. "I'm going to go get a couple of hours of rack time, Mother, Simon, River and Kaylee are in there at the moment but I'm sure she will want to see you." Mal tells Kate as he gives her a kiss then heads upstairs. When he reaches the kitchen he notices that everyone who isn't downstairs is there.
"Captain." Zoe says surprised.
"Alexis woke up, ordered me and Inara to go get some sleep and food." Mal explains.
"She ordered you?" Wash asks amused.
"You try saying no to her it impossible." Mal tells his pilot. "Night All." Mal tells them.
"It's morning Sir." Zoe says as he leaves.
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Once her Dad and Inara leave Alexis addresses Simon "Simon tell me the truth how bad?"
"Alexis.." Simon says sighing not sure what to say.
"Don't Alexis me Simon, tell me." She tells him.
Simon walks over from where he is, which is behind her cheeking her vitals so he is standing with River next to her and he starts to explain knowing that he's not going to get away with not "It was bad, a huge part of the reason your still alive is that the infirmary is so close and there were two doctors and a nurse right near you. At one point your heart went erratic and I had to do a dangerous procedure to stabilise it, that's why you have to stay in her for a few more hours." Simon explains.
"Poor Dad." Alexis says realising how hard it must have been for him "How bad was he Gram?" Alexis asks.
"He didn't want to leave you, the boys had to force him out of the infirmary on Simons say so." Martha tells her granddaughter.
"Who got Monkey Bunky? And my pillow?" Alexis asks noticing the two items.
"Inara, she thought you would want them when you woke up." Kate tells her walking in.
"Hey Kate." Alexis says with a smile.
"Hey Alexis, I thought I would come see you." Kate says standing at the end of the bed with Martha "How you feeling?"
"A little tied, a little bit of soreness." Alexis tells Kate.
"How bad is the pain on a scale of 1 to 10?" Simon asks worried walking back over.
"About a 3, it's not too bad." Alexis tells Simon.
"I'm going to give you some medication, your most likely going to fall asleep again." Simon tells Alexis.
"But I just woke up." Alexis objects.
"Alexis I have to insist that you let me give you this medication you have to get as much rest as possible, so even when you're in Inara's shuttle you have to be on bed rest for another 3 days, after that you will be able to slowly move around again then 2 days after that you should be alright to go back to your room." Simon explains to Alexis.
"Inara's shuttle?" Kate asks confused.
"I won't be able to get down the hatch to my room and Simon may have trouble getting me out in an emergency so Inara offered to let me stay with her in her shuttle." Alexis explains.
"Oh."
"Fine, I'll take the medication on the condition that you let Dad and Inara sleep, no one wake them up." Alexis tells Simon.
"Done, they have been awake all night they need sleep." Simon tells Alexis.
"We'll let you sleep then." Kaylee says referring to her and River.
"Bye guys." Alexis tells them as they both give her a hug and then leave the infirmary.
"I'll go to I have a Shepard to bet in checkers." Martha says giving her granddaughter a hug before leaving.
"I'll go to Alexis, let you get your sleep." Kate tells Alexis giving her hand a squeeze as she goes.
"Bye Kate." Alexis says to her. "Looks like you're putting me to sleep Simon." Alexis tells him.
"I've been told I have that effect on people." Simon tells her.
"Told by Dad or Jayne?" Alexis asks smiling a little.
"Both." Simon answers as he gives her the injection.
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After a few of hours Alexis wakes up again, feeling a lot less groggy than she did last time though she does have a little bit of pain. When she does she notices a figure standing at her door.
"Zoe, I'm awake you can come in." Alexis says.
"Oh, Sorry I didn't wake you up did I?" Zoe asks walking in.
"No I woke up by myself." Alexis tells her.
"Are you ok, do you need me to get Simon?" Zoe asks worried.
"I'm Shinny Zoe." Alexis tells her.
"You really have been spending a lot of time with Kaylee." Zoe tells her talking a seat next to her.
"You know when I was little Dad told me about you." Alexis says to Zoe as it was something she remembered a couple of days ago but hadn't had the chance to talk to Zoe about.
"Really?" Zoe says surprised. "I didn't think he talked about his life here." Zoe says interested.
"He didn't and I don't think he really meant to, I was 3 or 4 and he was writing, which means he really wasn't paying too much attention to what he was saying I was saying how my friend has such a big family and how I only have him and Grams."
Zoe wonders why she didn't mention her mother then realises that neither Alexis or Mal have mentioned anything about Alexis's mother, she makes a note to ask Martha about it feeling she is the safest option of persons to asks
"And he must have been so caught up because he said, that's not true you have Aunt Zoe, and .., then he cut himself off I think he realised what he was saying. Then me being the interested 3 year old I was got curious and asked who Aunt Zoe was and why I had never meet her, his answer makes a lot more sense now than it did back then." Alexis tells her.
"What did he say?" Zoe asks interested.
"That Aunt Zoe works far away on a ship that is soo far away that calls don't go that far." A voice from the door says.
"Dad"
"Captain."
"I didn't think you remember that." Mal says to his daughter.
"I never bought it up again, but I remembered." Alexis tells her father as he walks over and gives her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Aunt Zoe?" Zoe asks Mal.
"Aunt Zoe" Mal tells Zoe simply.
"I've got to go make sure my husband is doing the physiotherapy the doc told him do to." Zoe says standing up, before she goes she bends down and whispers "You can call me Aunt Zoe if you want" to Alexis.
"How's he doing?" Mal asks.
"He's getting better." Zoe tells Mal before leaving.
"How you doing?" Mal asks his daughter.
"Good." Alexis tells her father.
"Alexis.." Mal says sighing knowing that his daughter may not tell the truth out of worry for him.
"Ok fine, I'm doing as good as I can." Alexis tells her father. "Can you pass me Simon's encyclopaedia?' Alexis asks her father.
"What you want that for?" Mal asks as walks over to the side where Inara left it and gets it.
"Something to read." Alexis tells her father.
"You're meant to be resting" Mal reminds his daughter.
"Reading is resting." Alexis tells him.
"Only you Pumpkin." Mal says handing her Simon's encyclopaedia. "You going to be alight by yourself for a little while? I want to go talk to Inara" Mal asks his daughter.
"I'll be fine but Dad she's most likely still asleep." Alexis tells her father.
Mal gets a look on his face that worries Alexis, one that clearly says that isn't going to stop him.
"Be right back." Mal tells his daughter.
"DAD DON'T WAKE HER UP." Alexis yells after her father.
"Don't wake who up?" Shepard Book and Martha ask walking in.
"Inara." Alexis answers.
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Mal enters Inara's shuttle and sees that Inara is still indeed asleep, deciding to be nice he doesn't wake her up he just sits down on her couch and watches her sleep.
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"Don't hear no yelling." Kaylee says as she, River and Simon arrived in the infirmary not to long after Martha and Shepard Book and Alexis filled them in about what is going on.
"Maybe she killed him." Simon jokingly suggest.
"He's letting her sleep, just watching her." River informs the others.
"That's kind of sweet." Kaylee says smiling.
"It's also kind of creepy, trust me I have woken to my Dad just sitting there watching me sleep." Alexis tells her.
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About half hour after Mal arrived in her shuttle Inara slowly begins to stir, she gets the shock of her life when she sees Mal sitting there watching her.
"Wou Duh Tian Ah, What the hell Mal, what are you doing here?" Inara asks quickly siting up.
"Good Morning Sunshine, Alexis told me I couldn't wake you up she said nothing about watching you sleep." Mal tells Inara.
"Is she ok?" Inara asks temporally forgetting that he was watching her sleep.
"Yeah she's doing good." Mal tells Inara.
"Good." Inara says "THEN GET OUT." Inara says standing up.
"But I wanted to talk." Mal objects.
"What about?" Inara asks holding off on her kicking him out until he explains.
"I wanted to say thank you for sitting with Alexis last night letting her stay here" Mal tells her.
"No need to thank me Mal." Inara says giving him a smile forgetting that minute ago she was angry at him "Go tell Alexis I'll be there In a few minutes."
"Ok." Mal says before leaving and making his way to the infirmary, he walks back in and sees Kaylee, Alexis and River talking and laughing.
"She didn't kill him." Kaylee whispers to the other two and all three laugh.
"I heard that little Kaylee." Mal says not looking amused "She said she'll be here in a few minute to see you." Mal tells his daughter.
A few minutes later just like Mal said Inara walks in.
"Hey Inara." Alexis, River and Kaylee say.
"Hi girls." She says giving each of them a hug.
"Thank you Inara, Kate told me you got Monkey Bunkey and my pillow for me." Alexis tells Inara.
"You're welcome, is there anything else you want for your room?" Inara asks.
"No I'm good, Kay got me a pair of PJ's." Alexis tells Inara.
"Can I go to Inara's shuttle now Simon?" Alexis asks.
"In a few minutes there is just a few things I want to remind you about, and Inara there's a couple of things you're going to have to do and be on the lookout for, Do you mind if I explain to Inara first?" Simon asks Alexis..
"Not at all."
Simon walks out into the common area, Inara and Mal right behind him. "Ok she is still in pain she may not admit it but you should give her one tablet every 4 hours for the next 36 hours, give her more if she asks but know more than 3 in a four hour period, come and get me if she asks for that many, she also has to have 2 of the antibiotic tablets every 2 hours. I'll come and cheek on her two or three times a day. If she is in severe pain or gets a temperature, or she begins to look pale or come and get me or Dr Parish right away, four the next two days the only time she can leave bed is to go to the bathroom which you're going to have to help her get two and from" Simon explains.
"You sure you're ok with having her in your shuttle Nara?" Mal asks.
"Of course Mal." Inara tells him making a mental note of what Simon has told her.
"Ok Alexis." Simon says walking in to talk to Alexis "You have to take antibiotic tablets every two hours, one pain tablet ever four hours but more if your pain is more but tell Inara if the pain gets too bad, also tell her if you start to feel sick, or get the chills or anything like that tell Inara right away, I'll come and check on you a couple of times a day, and remember bed rest." Simon tells her.
"Yes Sir." Alexis tells him.
"As sad as it is the only Sir on this ship is your Dad." Inara tells Alexis
"Hey, just standing here." Mal objects.
"So when can I go?" Alexis asks.
"Someone need to be carried someplace?" Jayne asks walking in.
"That would be me." Alexis tells Jayne.
"It seems like all I'm doing these days is carrying you." Jayne jokes.
"Yeah it's something I have to work on." Alexis tells Jayne "It's always more fun when I'm awake." She teasingly adds.
"You're lucky you just had a operation Little Alexis otherwise you would be paying for that comment." Jayne tells her.
"I know." Alexis says with an innocent smile.
"So where am I taking you?" Jayne asks.
"Inara's shuttle." Mal tells him.
Jayne carries Alexis to Inara's shuttle followed by Inara, Mal, Kaylee, River, Simon and Martha.
"Where am I putting her?" Jayne asks.
"Bed," Inara says the same time Alexis says "Couch."
"Ok y'all can't do that its confusing." Jayne says.
"Put her on the bed Jayne." Inara tells her.
"I won't put you out Inara." Alexis tells her.
"You're not, the couch is very comfortable." Inara tells her.
Jayne puts Alexis down in the middle of Inara's bed before saying "Remember you still owe me a game."
"I know when I'm better we'll play." Alexis tells him then he leaves.
"Remember any pain or anything else that doesn't feel right come and get me." Simon tells Alexis helping her so she is sitting up in bed.
"I will, thanks Simon." Alexis tells him, he nods and leaves, Martha smiles and her granddaughter before leaving as well, Kaylee and River climb into the bed and sit either side of her, Mal sits down on the couch showing no sign of him leaving anytime soon.
"You planning to tell me you're not leaving." Inara asks sitting down on the other end of the couch.
"Thought it was obvious." Mal responds.
"Maybe to you." Inara tells him.
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Alexis Is on her second day of bed rest, during that time Kaylee and River have barely left the three girls have been spending time together doing all different things, everyone else has been in to see how see is doing at least once. Mal is practically living in the same spot on Inara's couch and to the surprise of all they haven't gotten in a fight yet.
That morning Mal walks into Inara's shuttle to not just see Alexis's laying in Inara's bed but Kaylee and River as well, he looks around for Inara and sees her sitting on the cortext.
"Am I wrong or is there only meant to be one girl in your bed?" Mal asks Inara.
"They all fell asleep talking last night, I decided to let them sleep." Inara tells Mal.
"How about you go grab breakfast, I'll wait here," Mal says to Inara.
"How about I go grab breakfast for all of us and bring it back here." Inara suggests.
"That would work to." Mal tells her.
Inara smiles and heads of the kitchen where everyone else is sitting eating breakfast she grabs a tray and puts enough food for all 5 of them.
"That's a lot of food for you and Alexis." Wash notes.
"It's not just for me and Lexis, Kaylee, River and Mal are there two." Inara explains.
"It's early did they stay in you shuttle last night?" Simon asks curious, Kate becomes more interested at that curious to know just where her boyfriend was.
"Kaylee and River did, Mal just got there." Inara explains before grabbing the tray and heading back to her shuttle.
When she arrives back at her shuttle Inara puts the food down on the table.
"Now how do we wake them up?" Mal asks Inara.
"No need were up." Alexis's sleepy voice comes from the bed and Mal and Inara turn to see all three girls slightly awake.
Mal and Inara pick up the tray off food, walk over put it in the middle, as they sit of the end. The five continue to eat there breakfast together pleasantly talking until River picks up some of the food and throws it at Mal.
"River." Kaylee and Alexis say together trying not to laugh, Inara on the other hand has no such restraint and laughs.
"You needed a little colour." River tells Mal innocently.
"You think it's funny do you." Mal asks Inara.
"Quite ." Inara tells him and next thing she knows she gets food thrown at her, before anyone can say anything a full on food fight brakes out between the five, at one point Mal falls of the bed.
"Ouch." Mal says from the floor.
"You really should watch you self Mal." Inara says through laughter.
"You think that's funny do you." Mal says as he reaches up and pulls Inara down with him, as he does she lands on top of him.
"Um I better go get cleaned up." Mal says quickly once he realises how Inara landed.
"Good idea." Inara says getting off him.
"Be back soon." Mal says leaving the shuttle, he walks through the common area upstairs and through the dining room.
"Sir what happened?" Zoe asks seeing him covered in food.
"Your sister." He says looking at Simon "Thought it would be funny to start a food fight." Mal explains and Simon looks worried for a few second before Mal says "Turns out she's was right, I will remember the image of Inara with egg in her hair." He says walking to his bunk.
"Mal and Inara food fight, wish I could have seen that." Wash says.
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Over the next few days Alexis continues to get better. She begins to move around a bit more, slowly at first before she begins to be able to move normally. At the start of the second week in their trip between Herra and Persephone she is back in her own room but still does spend a lot of time in Inara's shuttle with Kaylee and River, Inara enjoys having the company of the three. On the Monday of the second week 5 days before they are due to arrive back on Persephone Mal comes in to talk to Inara he starts speaking before he enters not aware that Alexis, Kaylee and River are there though he shouldn't be surprised.
"Inara we'll be on Persephone for 2 days if you want to get any whoring done." Mal tells her as he walks in.
"DAD." Alexis says shocked.
"Alexis, Kaylee, River didn't realise y'all were in here." Mal says surprised.
"Well if you would ask before entering for once you would know." Inara tells Mal angrily.
"What's the point of askin you would say no." Mal tells Inara.
"Which would be my right." Inara tells him.
Kaylee, River and Alexis continue to watch the bickering back and forth almost like a tennis match.
"Where's the popcorn when we need it." Kaylee says to Alexis and River though she says it quite loudly that both Inara and Mal hear and look at her with unamused expressions on their face.
"Kaylee, River didn't we say we would meet Simon for a game in the common area." Alexis says getting up quickly realising that they don't want to be in this shuttle any longer with how angry they are.
"Right." They both say realising what Alexis is doing, the three of them quickly get up (in Alexis's case as quick as she can) and leave Inara's shuttle. They head to the common area where they see Jim, Shepard Book and Martha playing cards.
"I thought you three were spending time with Inara?" Martha asks seeing them.
"We were." Alexis answers.
"What happened?" Jim asks curious.
"Captain came, there fighting." Kaylee explains.
"Ahh." Martha and Shepard Book say both understanding.
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The day before they are due to arrive back on Persephone Alexis goes to see Inara.
"Hey." Alexis says walking in.
"Hey Lexis."
"So when we break atom your gone right?" Alexis asks curious.
"Yeah, but don't worry I'll be back before we leave for Ariel, I only have a couple of clients." Inara tells her. "I'm sure you Kaylee and River will find many ways to get into trouble until I get back." Inara tells her.
"But you won't be here for me to sit with when Dad is gone." Alexis tells her walking over and sitting next to her.
"No I won't, but your Grandmother is so Kaylee, River, Simon and everyone else." Inara tells her.
"I don't want Grams to know how much I worry about Dad." Alexis tells her.
Inara is quite for a few minutes "How about when both me and you Dad are gone, You Kaylee and River sit with the Shepard, then you won't feel so alone and Martha doesn't discover how worried you are." Inara suggests.
"Ok." Alexis says and sits with Inara for a little while.
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30 minutes before they are due to break atmo on Persephone Inara goes and finds Shepard Book as she thinks that Alexis might not go and find him no matter how worried he gets.
"Ah Inara what can I do for you." Shepard asks when he sees her standing at his door.
"Alexis gets worried when her Dad is away on Jobs, she usually sits with me but I'm not going to be here this time, she doesn't want her grandmother to know how worried she is so I was wondering could you check up on her for me when both Mal and I are gone?" Inara asks.
"Of course."
Inara says goodbye to the Shepard before heading back to her shuttle, along the way she runs into Kaylee, Alexis and River she pulls all three girls into a hug and says "Try and behave."
"You know us Inara, we always stay out of trouble." Alexis tells her.
"Do the words prank war or food fight, remind you of anything." Inara asks.
"That was the boys fault to." Kaylee objects. "And River was the one who started the food fight."
"Which is why I am telling all three of you too be good." Inara tells them.
"Inara we'll be braking atmo in 5 minutes." Wash says over the intercom.
"I got to go." Inara says giving Alexis one more hug "Love you, remember what I said." Inara tells her.
"I will, love you two, bye Inara." Alexis tells her.
"Love you girls, be Good." Inara says to all three before she enters her shuttle.
Kaylee, River and Alexis look at each other, smile and say "Yes Mom."
Inara stops for a second not sure if she heard correctly but looking back at their smiles she's sure she did and she doesn't know how that makes her feel.
"Let's go to the engine room, we can talk without interruptions." Kaylee says and the three head to the engine room.
"We will be landing in 2 minutes." Wash says over the intercom.
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