Disclaimer thingy: Firefly/Serenity are owned by other folks and not by me, though I appreciate being able to write some stuff purely for fun inspired by the Firefly 'Verse. All constructive comments and feedback from you shiny readers out there much appreciated!

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In the silence following Mal’s exit from the infirmary, Simon took a careful breath, then turned back to his patient. “Okay…” He glanced at Zoë, who had moved back to lean against the empty bed opposite, then down at Leon. He saw that the youth’s face was set. As he watched, Leon’s eyes moved from the doorway where Mal had just gone and lifted up to look at the young doctor. Leon’s mouth twitched; then he spoke. “Not going to give you any trouble.” He was holding himself rigidly still under the straps. “Just…trying to get out of there. Only chance I had.”

“Yes.” Simon gently secured the dressing on his head in place. “Just bad timing for us.” He looked down the youth’s body. “And speaking of timing… You said that you’d destroyed your securichip. By smashing it with a… powertool. Where was it?”

“My arm.” Leon’s eyes tracked sideways to his left upper arm. “It was in my arm.”

“I need to take a look at it.” Simon spoke carefully. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but those chips have an inbuilt mechanism when they’re damaged. They release toxins into the bloodstream which could be affecting you.”

“I know.” Leon shut his eyes. “They told me when they put it in.”

“I’ll have a look.” Simon glanced at the restraining straps across Leon’s wrists and chest, then across at Zoë. “I need to take these off. I don’t think he’s going anywhere.” He laid a hand on Leon’s shoulder. “Are you?”

Leon opened his eyes. “No.” Zoë straightened up and walked over to the bed, looking Leon up and down. “I’ll just stand right here, then.” Her voice was neutral.

“Okay.” Simon unfastened the restraints, then began to cut away the sleeve of Leon’s jacket. As the makeshift cloth ba