Simon stormed about his infirmary, pushing in drawers and various hospital-y things with equal abandon, happy at the rather loud BANG that came with each slamming door. Kaylee stood off to the side, mesmerized. This was only the second time that she had seen the good Doctor actually angry. Given that, he made up for it by being exceptionally vehement today.

“But wait,” she said to him over the dirge of metal and plastics. “Why would anyone do this at all?”

“Simple,” stated Simon as he slammed another drawer in with unmatched vigor. “In the name of peace, prosperity, and sadism.”

“But, this don’ make no sense a’ all. If there’s millions on it, and only a tenth a percent get Reaver-fied…”

“No, you don’t get it!” He slammed another draw in, not caring to the rattling of his precious instruments. “On Miranda, it was one part Pax per billion regular air. Now, its over sixty ruttin’ percent of the stuff in the gorram stik. So the result would be something like half turned Reavers.”

Kaylees normally cheery face paled considerably. “Wo de mah…Simon, I didn’ know…”

“Now you know how I feel…AH!” He pulled his right hand back, clutching it to him. On the counter, the scalpel lay there, grinning at him in the dimly lit room. He hadn’t washed his hands. It’s always the little things that come back to bite you in the ass, he thought as he looked at the scarlet ribbon of life that seeped up from the wound. It wasn’t grave, nor very deep. But he didn’t like the idea of those little Pax crystals swilling about in his bloodstream. He looked at Kaylee, ashamed of his earlier tirade at her. “Kaylee, I’m sorry, I-“

She cut him off with a kiss. “Shhhh…s’alrigh’.”

He held out his cut hand. “I should really clean this out…”

She smiled slyly at him. “It can wait.”

His defenses sagged under her smile. Oh, well. It really could wait…

Inside him, the deadly cancer of traveling crystals traveled in his blood. Unbeknownst to either, this would tear their lives apart, these little details of lif