Disclaimer: I don’t own Firefly, I just like playing in Joss’ sandbox now and then.

Author's Note: This is my first Firefly fic, so be kind.

Synopsis: After seeing Simon pulling an all-nighter in the infirmary, Mal does a little reflecting on what kind of brother the doctor is.

What Makes a Brother:

Malcolm Reynolds stopped mid stride as he heard a noise coming from somewhere up ahead. He had been on his way to his bunk, thinking he was the only crew member still awake. Ducking through the dinning hall, he tried to think of who might be up at this god awful hour. Jayne could be snooping around, though he thought he had cured the mercenary of his late night pillaging long ago. Zoe and Wash had skipped off to their quarters a few hours before and weren’t likely to be coming out any time soon. Since getting married, they seemed to have formed a fondness for turning in early. Preacher and Kaylee weren’t known for late night carousing, either. That pretty much left Inara, and she had left that afternoon on a ‘job.’

His curiosity getting the better of him, the captain was a little surprised to find that Simon Tam was his late night confederate. The doctor was standing in the middle of his infirmary, arms crossed over his chest. His black hair was a tousled mess, and his usually pressed and starched clothes were rumpled.

Mal crouched down in the shadows of the hallway as he watched the doctor push his sleeves up before scrubbing a hand across his face in obvious frustration. Simon looked like an ad for the walking dead. Dark circles around his eyes stood out sharply against his paler-than-normal skin.

The captain’s eyes followed Simon as he walked over to one of the computer screens and scrolled through some of the text. The doctor stood there reading for a long moment before turning the screen off abruptly. Mal was a little startled to see him spin around unexpectedly and slam his fist into the back of the medical bed standing in the middle of the room.

Always knew the boy had a temper, M