With the rest of the patients easily settled and stable in the cargo bay under Zoe and Wash’s watchful eyes, Simon and Jes were free to focus on River. As Mal and Jayne were prepping their suits, Simon was questioning the plan to remove the small explosive bullet currently lodged somewhere inside River’s abdomen.

“So you do all the work and I just hold her hand, is that it?”

Jes tossed him a look that he’d thought only River had perfected. “No, Osirus. You work the scope. I work on getting the charge out of her. Trust me, you don’t want me doing both at the same time.”

“Why? What might happen.” In his most sardonic voice.

Jes leaned down to tug on her left boot. “Spinning head. Pea-soup vomit. Deep gravelly voice cursing a blue streak. Not pretty.”

Jayne couldn’t hold back the derisive snort. Jes craned her neck to look up at him.

“You ever puke in zero G? It’ll teach ya not to repeat the experience. Personally, I like bodily fluid to be at grav-norm. Much less messy.”

It was Mal’s turn to laugh. Besides, he was starting to think she liked him. Or at least didn’t dislike him as much as the rest of the crew, save for River and possibly Kaylee.

At that point, Jes straightened up, pulled on her gloves and grabbed her helmet, sealing it on over her head.

“Right, then. Let’s do this thing.”

Once she and Simon were inside the infirmary, Mal radio’d for Kaylee to cut the gravity. All he and Jayne could do now was stare in through the window at the pale, prone figure of River strapped onto the examining table, with Simon and Jes standing over her. Mal hoped Jes was half as good a sawbones as she made herself out to be. Barring that, he hoped to hell that damned jujube lodged somewhere in River’s innards was a dud.

Jes, meanwhile, had her right hand hovering somewhere over River’s right ribcage.

“Come out, come out, where ever you are…”

“Does that help? Talking to bullets?” Simon asked sarcastically.

“Wouldn’t you talk nicely to an explosive device? And it’s just one bullet.