Chapter 2

It seemed like forever since the crew had been off this rock. Mal had spent the majority of his time in the doc's room, though the two didn't say a whole lot. Simon still was in a good amount of pain, and he wasn't up for much conversation. Most times, Mal would take a seat near the bed, and just stay there until the Simon drifted to sleep. The bandages were still in place. They had to be changed, and the wounds needed cleaned. Even though the "doctor" in town didn't have a license, he was still better at taking care of this kind of thing than anyone one on Serenity. Mal couldn't justify taking Simon back on board when there wasn't anyone who knew what they were really doing, and so the crew waited.

Mal watched as Simon laid in the bed. With much of his face covered, it was hard to see just how bad the scars were going to be. The image of Simon with blood pouring from bone deep wounds was still embedded in Mal's mind. There was no doubt that the doc’s face was going to bear the marks of that day for the rest of his life. Back on the Core, this kind of thing wouldn’t be too much of a problem to fix. With surgeons and well stocked hospitals, they could handle it. With Simon’s status as a fugitive, the Core wasn’t an option. Things were different out on the Border. Out here, the only places to get this kind of surgery were through folk it was best not to know. The price tag on something like that would be more than the entire crew could come up with. He wished there was something more he could do for Simon, but there really wasn’t anything. He just hoped that when the bandages came off, Simon would be able to pull through.

Simon grimaced as he woke up. “What time is it?” he asked softly.

“Round two in the afternoon,” Mal replied. “You hungry?”

“A little.”

Mal nodded. “I’ll get you something. Don’t get too used to eatin’ real food. We won’t have folk with gardens and a mind to share for much longer.”

“Soon it will be back to....what was it you said?.....protein in every col