Inara was attracted to details. It was one of the reasons she excelled at being a Companion. The little things that most people passed on by, demanded her attention, burning bright against all other scenery. She also had the gift of an exceptional memory. She could recall the details of people and places, helping her navigate through the sticky entanglements of human relations. This had been a natural gift since birth, and her Companion training had only enhanced it. During this whole ordeal there had been so many details that had burned bright and demanded her attention. It was one of the reasons she had taken it upon herself to do some research about their passengers.

As she watched them gather outside of the infirmary, she couldn’t help but stare at the hard jaw line of the two Alliance men. There was a deep, hidden message within those jaws, and Inara knew that things were beginning to spin out of control, and yet with that chaos, information would flow. The whole deal had had details out of order from the beginning. The little, snide comments Asha had flung at Mal had been the kind from an acquaintance gone sour. Inara had got on quickly enough, but wrongly assumed that it had to do with the fact that Asha was Alliance and Mal was a browncoat. There had also been glances and moments were the air turned cold when they brushed up against each other. Inara knew, instinctively that there had been more to the picture than what Mal or Asha had let on. But now, those set jaw lines revealed that there were even deeper layers that spelled trouble for the whole crew of Serenity.

“She is stable for now,” Simon wrung his hands through one of infirmary rags, his voice revealing his exhaustion. “Her vitals look strong, and I expect her to wake up very soon.”

“What caused the machine ta go all haywire, doc?” Mal grumbled, his arms crossed, staring at Asha’s now peaceful face.

Simon sighed. “For reasons to complicated to explain, it was simply that her heart went into a slight defib situation. I’m actually not su