VIOLENT HEART

(6/6) Chapter Six: Infrared

By DesertDragon

1.

It happened slowly, the waking. No one even noticed at first. It felt to Jayne as if he'd been climbing out of a black and purple void. The ceiling of the infirmary came into focus eventually. He was alone.

Had he been in his mind right away, he would've cursed the fact it was Simon and River who discovered him as being part of the conscious world again.

The doctor didn't say anything. River might have. Jayne wasn't in the mood to give a good gorramn just yet. Simon went about his business of checking his stats. It seemed to take him awhile. He seemed to be taking his time notifying the others.

He tried to move and groaned. His leg seemed to have a hole in it.

Interesting.

He couldn't remember it getting that way. But he started to remember other things. Ruttin' hilarious how clear his mind seemed all of a sudden.

He promptly turned to a waiting bedpan and threw up.

River smiled.

2.

"The big one's awake."

River wafted through the kitchen and disappeared again before anyone had a chance to react. All those within earshot stopped their current activities and headed down to the infirmary. Inara stopped when she realized that Mal wasn't following.

She waited patiently. "Are you coming?" she asked softly.

He stood in the deserted dining area his mind elsewhere. He seemed to be warring with himself over something. She watched him knowingly. Over the past week, Mal had confided in her a bit regarding his ideas toward Jayne and the Scrap Belt. But whether he'd actually confront Jayne with any of it seemed to be a moot point.

"Mal?"

He snapped out of it. "Yeah." He met her gaze for a minute before smiling dully. "This will be interesting."

When they reached the infirmary, Jayne was on his way to sitting up. As he eyed Mal steadily, Inara looked around and realized that everyone was here, with the exception of Wash. And Kaylee. She sighed, and felt Mal push past her.

"Hey. How's the knee?" Wa