“So you didn’t manage to kill me, doc,” Jayne said softly.

“Seems not.” Simon pulled the dressing carefully away from the wound. “But it wasn’t for lack of trying.”

“Seem to recall something about your sister pointing my gun at you. Just ‘fore I blacked out.”

“Really.” He pressed the skin around the incision, and his patient drew a sharp breath.

“Guess I was dreamin’, then,” Jayne ground out.

“No.”

“She threaten you?”

“She said she’d shoot me if I didn’t save your life.”

“Well, how about that.” Jayne grinned, then grimaced as Simon’s fingers hit a particularly tender spot. “One hell of an incentive.”

“It shouldn’t have happened in the first place. I …” He stopped.

“You trying to apologise?”

“No. But I shouldn‘t have …” Simon closed his eyes briefly, the image of his sister lying next to this great hulk of a man playing again in his mind.

“Won’t hurt her, doc,” Jayne said quietly. “Ain’t ever gonna do that.”

Simon looked at the mercenary. Maybe he was imagining it, but there seemed to be something different about him. Something more … caring. But still … “You may feel like that now, Jayne, but what about next week? Next year? In five years? My sister isn’t a toy to be played with then tossed aside. You’ve always seen women as disposable objects, to be used and then discarded. If that’s what you intend with River -”

“Don’t know my intentions, doc. All I’m saying is I won’t hurt her. She loved Jethro, and she’s still grieving after him. I know that. There’ll be good days and bad - I’m just gonna see ‘em through with her.”

“And if it takes forever?”

Jayne lay back. “Well, doc, can’t think right now of a better way to spend my life.”

Simon stared at him. “Do you love her?”

“I don’t use words like that.”

“If you did.”

“Doc -”

“Humour me.”

“Doc, River’s special. She’s so many things wrapped up in that little body, it’d take a long while to figure ‘em all out.”

“That wasn’t what I asked.”

Jayne turned his piercing blue eye