Many thanks to cbsteve for his constructive criticism. Comments from other Browncoats are always appreciated as well.

The verse and all its inhabitants belong to Joss Whedon; I’m just borrowing them.

---

Simon knew he shouldn’t be out and about like this. A mere week after being shot in the leg by Jubal Early, here he was limping around Persephone, out in the open for any other bounty hunter to see, with the noontime sun beating down on him, buying medical supplies for Serenity while Jayne kept an eye out for any trouble. He hadn’t wanted to go, had said his leg wasn’t fully healed, which was true. But Mal had reminded him that he was the only one on the ship who knew precisely what medicines were needed on board, and that this could be the last chance that they had for a long while to pick up some very necessary items. Plus, he told the doctor, the exercise would be good for him, and Jayne would be there guarding him in case anything went wrong.

The mercenary hadn’t wanted to go, either. At least, that was what he had told Mal. He had complained to the captain that he “ain’t no gorram babysitter,” and that he had better things to do than look after a prissy little doctor. The truth was, though, that Jayne had developed a new level of respect for Simon recently. After the doc had taken a bullet while trying to save his sister from Early, he, Zoe and Mal had begun to look on him as not just their medic, but one of them, willing to put himself in danger just like the rest of them. That, plus the doc’s promise never to harm Jayne even after finding out the truth about Ariel, had made the gunhand think more highly of the young surgeon. He would never admit it publicly, but he was actually starting to like Dr. Simon Tam.

After Simon had acquired the last supplies he needed, the two of them headed over to the Gridiron, Mal’s favorite bar on the planet, to join their captain and first mate in wetting their whistles. There was a jolly atmosphere in the place, but the mood at their table was decidedly pessi