Disclaimer: Firefly and these characters belong to Joss Whedon.

WARNING - SPOILERS FOR 'BUSHWACKED' AND 'SHINDIG'

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TRAUMA MEDICINE: Chapter Eight.

Impressive what 'nothing' can do to a man.

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Ridiculous as it may sound, Simon Tam is bored. Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored. He knows a wanted fugitive like himself ought to be grateful for the luxury of boredom. Surely it's better than the excitement of getting caught in black-out zones, being this close to seeing Dobson take his sister or being punched by Mal? Well, no actually. Simon sighs and rinses out his mug. It's not like he isn't used to prolonged periods of inactivity. A trauma surgeon's life is as much about waiting to be needed as it is about frantic life-and-death, blood-and-guts urgency. But at least back in the hospital on Osiris he was always in the thick of the action, running the show. The one making the decisions, his every word unquestioningly obeyed. There he was important. Respected. On Serenity his job is to sit on the sidelines and clear up after the main event. He's a no-one with nothing to do most of the time and the nothing is threatening to swallow him whole.

River drifts out of the kitchen and he follows her on autopilot, vaguely heading towards the infirmary, wondering what the others do to cope with the endless tedium of the days between jobs. Out on the catwalk he finds one answer to his question. There's some kind of riotous game going on down in the cargo bay. He watches Mal tumble to his knees after an unsuccessful tackle on Jayne, leaving the mercenary free to throw the ball he's holding to Wash. Kaylee smiles up at Simon just as she catches the pilot's pass. Mal rushes to block her but loses his balance again and goes crashing to the floor. The mechanic takes aim and shoots the ball through a hoop hanging from the ceiling by a chain. A goal, Simon assumes. They're all breathing hard and perspiring and if Simon notices the sweat stains on Mal's shirt first it's only beca