Chapter 8

“If you want him to heal correctly, his hands must be completely non-functional for at least three weeks. After that, I can start him on a gradual physical therapy routine to get him back to full mobility and use. He will recover fully, but it’ll still be at least two months before he’s piloting again, maybe more. It depends on how quickly he heals and how hard he’s willing to work once he does.”

Mal sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration at the young doctor’s words. He felt bad for his pilot, awful in fact at the thought of what one of his own had suffered, but that didn’t negate the fact that he had a ship to run and jobs to do, none of which could wait two months while his pilot healed.

“What about the rest?” he asked, almost afraid to hear it as he watched Zoë gently stroke her husband’s hair. “He’s got more burns and bruises and cuts than skin! Makes a man think he’s not doin’ so well....”

Wash lay on the bed, his upper body bare, the skin raw and blistered where it wasn’t black and blue. Simon might have been working on him for hours, but Mal still thought he looked downright awful, especially now that his hands were wrapped tightly in white bandages and each was incased in a hard, plastic splint.

“He suffered a mild concussion, but while I’m still monitoring him, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about now. And, just to be safe, I ran my tests again. There is no trace of any poison that I can find. As for the rest, I’m still keeping a close eye on the burns. The last thing Wash needs right now is an infection, but everything else was rather superficial, despite what it looks like. He’s going to be very sore and tender for a week or so, but he’ll heal,” Simon answered, the weariness heavy in his voice.

“Thank you, Doc,” Zoë answered quietly, content just to listen and let Mal ask the questions. Her emotions were still churning more than she liked from Wash’s gift, and she had no desire to show just how much. As long as Mal was as