Doctor Bernard was puzzled. He had spent over forty years treating and diagnosing patients in hospitals as sophisticated as the ones on Ariel and rudimentary as ones on the rim. He had worked with every major piece of diagnostic equipment and could even, if necessary, whip up his own batches of vaccines for run-of-the-mill diseases. However, now he was puzzled.

The fact was, there was no reason he could find that this seemingly healthy 23 year old girl should be lying unconscious on the table before him. The young Doctor Tam, who obviously loved her more than his own life, was smarter than just about anyone Bernie had ever met. The fact that he had been unable to diagnose her did not bode well. And the fact that Bernie couldn’t either could almost be likened to a death sentence.

They had run blood tests and neural tests; they had checked every bone, every muscle, every synapse for clues. They had even run brain scans thinking that maybe something had just snapped – but there was quite literally nothing.

Sure, there was a slightly raised temperature and her heart was beating a little more quickly than normal, but her breathing was regular and she showed no outward signs of trauma. So why couldn’t she wake up?

The doctor was just getting ready to go over the test results again, when he heard the doors brush open. “I told you boy, you …”

“I’m sorry to interrupt you, doctor,” Inara told him, standing uncertainly in the doorway. “But I was hoping I could sit with Kaylee for a while.”

Blushing at his mistake, Doctor Bernard crossed the room to Inara and pulled her inside. “Of course, dear. I apologize for my outburst, I thought you might be the ardent Dr. Tam.”

Inara smiled at the description, as she took a seat next to Kaylee’s bed, taking a hold of her hand. “Yes, he is quite determined, especially when he sets his mind to something.” Inara gazed down at Kaylee’s peaceful face and thought of how determined the young mechanic could be as well. “He loves Kaylee very much,” she said