Yeah, been a while since I posted the other parts to this, so you might have to do some digging....or just click on my user name to find them.

Firefly et al are Joss's, although Robert is my own creation. Enjoy.

PS - I'm sorry if this doesn't live up to my previous installments. Been busy, and had other things in my head for a while. I apologize if the quality isn't good. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Her eyes slowly opened when she heard the sound. At first it was distant, faint, then it started to grow louder, and louder. Kaylee wiped the sleep from her eyes and looked around. When she realized where she was, she knew exactly what it was she was hearing. She jolted herself to her feet and ran to the intercom.

"Simon! Simon!" She screamed into the mic, "It's Robert!" Then she ran back to her brothers side, grabbing his shoulders , shaking him, trying to wake him up. She knew from the high pitched squeal coming from the monitor that he'd passed on. It didn't stop her, she kept calling his name. Trying in vain to bring him back.

Simon finally burst through the hatch and saw the flat line on the monitor. He rushed to the drawer with the adrenaline shots. He broke open the package, turned, barely lined up his mark, and plunged the needle through the skin suit and into Robert's heart. He quickly loosed the contents of the needle and watched.

Nothing. Not even a twitch. He was too far gone.

"Simon, do something!" Kaylee was pleading, freash tears pouring from her eyes, "You have to save him."

Remembering the chilling statement River made earlier, he knew there was nothing he could do. He couldn't use the shock paddles because of the skin suit. He started to do CPR, hoping beyond hope it would work. By now, Inara, Jayne and River had come to the side of Kaylee. Simon kept up with the CPR, and Kaylee turned and held onto Inara, she didn't want to see this. Inara did her best to fight back her own tears, not for Robert, but for Kaylee.

Simon was beginning to break out in a light sweat, and was beginning to think he was nearly coming close to breaking ribs, rather than trying to save a life. River walked over to Simon and lightly touched his hands, "It's ok to let go. He's not going far."

For the first time in his life, Simon felt bitter defeat. Not only did he fail in saving a life, he couldn't even come close to preserving it for just a moment longer. He hung his head, not so much in shame, but because he felt hed failed Kaylee. He'd tried, but there was nothing he could do because of the damn skin suit.

"Kaylee," Simon walked over to Kaylee, who was still being held by Inara, "Kaylee, I'm sorry."

Kaylee just pressed her face harder into Inara's shoulder. She wasn't trying to hold back the tears anymore, and just let them flow. The look on Jayne's face said it all, it said, 'We didn't know him, so we can't mourn him, but we feel your loss.' River moved in closer to Robert, like a cat stalking a mouse. She ran a finger from his left wrist, over the forearm, up the bicep to the shoulder, and then poked her index finger into the spot his heart would be.

When Simon heard what sounded like a small amount of air being released from an aeresol can, he turned and saw what River was doing. Before he could say anything, he saw the heart monitor had stopped flat lining, and was measuring heart beats.

10 bpm, 20bpm, 60bpm, 140bpm. It finally leveled out at 180bpm, Simon could only gaze on in awe, "River....what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. I just felt life granted once more," She smiled and cocked her head to one side, "Like giving birth...without the pain."

Robert's breathing was still ragged, strained, but was starting to get better. Simon moved in to check Robert's pupils. When he opened the left eye, he could help but let out a little startled yelp. The eye was covered in blood, and as the lid was opened, blood began running down the side of his face.

Simon began muttering chinese curse words under his breath. He'd never seen anything like this, ever, anywhere. Kaylee was still weeping into Inara's shoulder, and Inara began to lead her off, out of the the infirmiry. River just sat on a stool, watching Robert intently.

Jayne raised an eyebrow at the sight of the blood seeping from Roberts eye, "Neat trick, do it again."

"Jayne, leave," was Mal's curt response, giving Jayne a withering stare. Jayne turned and left without a word. "Doc, I want you to do as much as you can to find out EXACTLY whats going on. If he's diseased or what ever it is, I want to know, and I want to know soon." ****************************************************************************

It had been a day since Robert had somehow resusictated himself, yet he still hadn't opened his eyes. Kaylee made her way down to the infirmiry, she slowed down when she heard the voices of Mal and Simon. They were talking in hushed tones. She neared the door, which was open, and listened closely.

"As near as I can conclude, this man is not a man anymore," Simon began saying, "I mean, his heart rate has been about 180bpm for the last 24 hours, and his heart hasn't exploded. His reflex rate, my God, his nerve conduction is like nothing I've ever seen. He's been through massive trauma, near as I can tell from the scarring I can feel through the suit, he's been shot multiple times, stabbed, and if my assumption is correct, the skin on his chest was once cut off, or peeled away."

"So you're saying this is some kind of living dead man. This...thing we let on board should for all intents and purposes be dead." Mal was at a loss for words. He'd been at a loss for words since Zoe had told him what she'd told him.

"This THING is my brother cap'n." Kaylee had caught them off guard, and she was still visibly distraught, "How could you say something like that."

"He said it because he's right." They all jumped, turned around and saw that Robert was sitting upright in the bed. His eyes still showed staining from the blood that they had held in. "I should be, and am dead." What was the most shocking was that he was so candid about it, like nothing was wrong. Kaylee ran up and hugged her brother. He returned the embrace, closing his eyes, letting a small amount of tears escape, running down his cheeks. ******************************************************************************

"Zoe, it was a war, he didn't do it because he wanted to. He did it because he had to." Zoe turned in the co-pilots chair when she heard River's voice, "You would have done it too."

"We're not doing this River..." Zoe began tersely.

"He's a good person. And if you were to ask, I'm sure you'll find the answer you so want to hear." River walked off the bridge without even glancing behind herself. Zoe just stared a hole in the back of River's head.

"A good person...just like Kenneth was..." Zoe said to herself, and she began to weep once more. ******************************************************************************

Robert had removed the skin suit to let Simon examine him. Simon was horrified at the damage that had been done to this man, yet he was still living, breathing. He'd been right in his assumption that the skin on Robert's chest had been peeled away. Actually torn was a better word for it, as the scar was quite jagged.

Simon looked into each of Robert's eyes with a flasj light as part of a routine examination, if you could call it that. Robert's heart rate had dropped to 160bpm, but had stayed there for at least two hours. Blood samples showed that Robert was in perfect health, no toxins, no diseases, nothing, the man was clean.

Kaylee was in the room with Robert and Simon, looking at Robert through her fingers, as she held up her hands to block the sight. So many questions raged in her heart and mind, she didn't know where to begin.

"For lack of a better term, I can say that you're pretty much in perfect health, " was all Simon could manage to say. He'd go back over every bit of exam data he'd gotten, and try to figure out what it was that kept this man alive.

Robert zipped up his suit again, "Could have told you that, " he said with a smile, "Where'd you happen to put my armor plating?" He was so calm about everything, and both Kaylee and Simon found that to be most unsettling, "Never mind, you put it in the storage locker outside the room."

"How'd you know that?" Kaylee said, Robert had been out, and near death when his armor was removed.

"I just did." Robert smiled, his eyes were still stained red, giving him a very creepy look.

"Listen, since you're ok and everything, I'm going to go see what the rest of the crew is doing. I suppose you and Kaylee have a lot of catching up to do." Simon glanced back and forth between the two of them. As he left the room, he gave Kaylee a hug, then proceeded down the corridor.

"It's good to see you again Butterfly." Tears were rolling down Robert's cheeks.

Kaylee walked up to Robert and embraced him fully, hugging him tightly while he sat on the table. "We all were told you was dead. Why didn't you try to contact us? Why?"

Kaylee pulled away, and started pounding clenched fists into Roberts chest, trying to keep from a total melt down.

"I couldn't. I just...I couldn't. But now, I'll you why, I'll let you all know, you deserve and answer."