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[ RATING – R – maybe bordering on NC-17 ?

Warning – SLASH – Mal and Simon.

Thanks again to wedjateye for beta-ing.

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Author's note: The last chapter ended with Mal finally giving up trying to keep Simon at arm's length. If you want to know the gory details of what happened between them you should go to http://firefly.populli.org/archive/9/chapter20a.shtml before reading the following chapter.

If, on the other hand, you prefer to leave it to your imagination, start reading below.

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TRAUMA MEDICINE: Chapter 21

It's not a problem ... 'cause it's not.

Mal awakes to find the sheet covering him is stuck to his belly. He peels it back, wincing as it rips out a few hairs. Beside him Simon stirs. His eyelashes flutter briefly, before he rolls over onto his side and resumes snoring softly, his lips in a satisfied curve even in sleep.

Boy ain't lily-white an' pasty all over this mornin', Mal thinks guiltily as he traces a finger down a long scratch on his back. Torn an' bruised an' still smilin', gorramit! A flashback to the night before is painfully vivid in Mal's mind. Wo de ma! He still can't quite believe it – even with the evidence before him. He smiles ruefully to himself, surprised by a dull ache in his jaw. Putting a hand to the side of his mouth, he discovers a cut on his lip and a chuckle bubbles up in his throat. No – the Doc never was weak. Knew it the moment he laid eyes on him. Pushed him hard that day an' ever since – testin' the instinct that told him someday that spoilt rich boy would be a man he could trust his ship an' his crew to, if'n he had to. Never thought he'd wind up trustin' his own self to him.

Simon yawns, rubs his eyes and blinks. “Mal? Oh .” He blushes and the smile left over from his dreams widens.

Mal hooks a wayward lock of dark hair behind Simon's ear and as he does so is overwhelmed with tenderness for this irritatin', determined and – yes – beautiful young man.