Disclaimers: Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own all characters. I make no profit, but feedback is a wonderful form of payment.

**

Repairs

Zoë had managed to gather enough strength to lead them from the shuttle with her weapon raised and her keen senses alert. She walked stealthily, anticipating an ambush, but River suddenly bolted ahead of them. Simon and Zoë yelled after her. "River!"

"Empty but us. Need to help him. Now!" River reported as she continued to run in her bare feet towards the bridge.

Wash put a supportive arm around his wife as Simon ran after River, carrying his medical bag with him. He found Mal, lying unconscious, on the floor of the bridge, and River perched in Wash's seat. He quickly went to work, taking Mal's vitals and checking for wounds.

"What happened? Is Mal going to be okay?" Wash asked as he and Zoë made it to the bridge.

"Belly wound. He's lost a lot of blood and is barely breathing," Simon answered truthfully, his mind flashing back to when he first boarded Serenity and Kaylee suffered a gunshot wound to her stomach. He had been an ass that day but quickly made the captain and crew understand that his sister's safety was all that mattered to him. Now, only mere months later, every single person on Serenity mattered to him. Even Jayne. "Wash, help me move him to the infirmary."

The two men carried Mal to the infirmary, and River slipped a slender hand into Zoë's to help her back down the steps. "He'll be okay now. Simon will make him all better."

Zoë was surprised at the strength radiating from the seemingly fragile girl beside her. They made their way slowly and cautiously down the steps and towards the infirmary.

**

Kaylee's face was beaming as the mechanic could see the glow coming from Serenity's engines. "She's okay. She's gonna be okay."

Inara smiled at her friend and docked the shuttle. "The others are already here."

Jayne unlatched the door. "Me first. I wanna make sure this ain't no gorram trap. Not that Zoë would lead us into a trap but jus' gotta check it out."

"It ain't no trap," Kaylee argued, but Book placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let the man take a look first," the preacher whispered.

When Jayne opened the door, he ended up staring face to face with River. "Gorramit! What the hell are ya doin' here?"

"She lives. He's going to pull through," River rambled quickly.

Kaylee's bright smile returned as she brushed by the stunned mercenary. "Where is everyone?" she asked, her smile fading since she had expected to see the others on the catwalk.

"Infirmary," River answered flatly. "He was hurt, but he will be better."

"Mal!" Inara exclaimed as she finally realized whom River was talking about. She pushed by Jayne and Kaylee, making a beeline for the infirmary. Kaylee was right behind the companion.

"Gorramit! Quit knockin' me outta the way," Jayne grumbled.

"Go on. Take your leave," Book offered, even though he desperately wanted to be off the shuttle.

"Jus' go ahead," Jayne muttered.

Book exited and followed the women. River skipped ahead of him while Jayne brought up the rear.

By the time Kaylee and Inara made it to the infirmary, Simon had just started to hook Wash and Mal up for the blood transfusion. The doctor had blood on his apron, and Inara knew that he had operated on Mal just moments ago. A tiny gasp escaped from Kaylee's mouth.

Zoë sat beside her husband but saw movement outside of the infirmary. She slowly got up and met the rest of the crew at the door just as River, Book, and Jayne came into sight and joined Kaylee and Inara. "Glad to see you made it back."

"Wha's goin' on?" Kaylee asked, transfixed by what was going on inside the tiny infirmary. She remembered watching Zoë be fixed up by Simon hours ago, and now, she was watching yet another member of her "family" be fixed up. She didn't understand why Wash was hooked up, but somehow, she felt this was all her fault.

"Captain's been shot. He lost a lot of blood, and Simon is rigging up a blood transfusion between the two." Zoë turned and pointed between Mal and Wash.

As if on cue, Wash gave the rest of the crew a friendly wave and called out cheerfully, "I'm feeling fine."

Simon glanced up from his work and saw the sea of concerned faces. He'd been concentrating on saving Mal's life that he hadn't even heard or noticed the others approach. His eyes scanned over each crewmember and finally settled on Kaylee before he shifted his attention back to his patients and his current task. "Please. Try to keep quiet, Wash."

"How did he get shot?" Inara asked, her voice wavering ever so slightly. She felt Kaylee's hand slide into hers, and the companion squeezed it as she waited for an answer. The ship was empty of strangers, and it was running, which meant it was fixed. How could Mal get shot on an empty ship? She feared that Mal may have become desperate, but that wasn't the Mal she knew. That wasn't her Mal, the one she…

Her thoughts were interrupted as River fragmentally explained, "Bad men. Picked up signal. Had the part. Wanted to steal the ship." River looked directly at Mal as she spoke. "Then bang."

"Oh my," Inara mumbled but was relieved that Mal didn't do what her mind was conjuring up as a worst case scenario.

"I best go check on 'er," Kaylee said, beginning to back away from the infirmary window.

"Not alone, you ain't," Jayne grumbled. "That's all we need is a booby-trapped engine room."

"Jayne!" Zoë snapped agitatedly.

"Do you think that they would tamper with replacement parts?" Book asked.

"Hell ya. Ne'er trust the enemy. Hell, ne'er trust anyone. That's my motto," Jayne growled, ignoring Zoë's glare.

"Stop it! You're scaring, Kaylee," Inara hissed.

"No. Not scared. Jayne's right. We need to be aware of a trap." She hated to think that Serenity would betray them twice in one day.

"I reckon you oughtta go with her," Zoë told Jayne. She didn't like the idea of what the mercenary suggested, but her years of battle told her that Jayne's notion was plausible.

"I'll go, too," Book offered and then quickly slipped into the infirmary to say a prayer for Mal and Wash.

Simon had successfully started the blood transfusion process. As he stripped off his gloves, he overheard the end of the recent conversation. "Wait a minute. A trap? Did I hear you mention a trap?" he asked, stepping out of the infirmary into the common area.

River piped up, "Crossed wires and we all go BOOM!"

Kaylee jumped and her face paled. She felt the weight of the world settling on her shoulders once again.

"Hush, gorramit. Ain't no kaboomin' goin' on 'round here less I'm causin' it." Jayne stared at River. "Crazy girl," he muttered.

Simon touched Kaylee's arm. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly since everyone was focused on River and Jayne.

"Yeah. I'll feel better after I check on my girl and know that she ain't no deathtrap for us." She turned her ashen face to look at Simon. "Is the Cap'n gonna be okay?"

"I believe so." Simon leaned in a little closer, whispering in her ear. "Just be careful, Kaylee. I don't want to add you to the list of my patients today."

A renewed confidence soared through Kaylee as she felt Simon's warm breath against her skin. She smiled and patted his arm. "Don't worry 'bout me, Doc," she murmured. She raised a hand and touched a pipe above her. "She's purrin' nicely. I don't think they sabotaged 'er, but I'll find out soon enough."

Simon raised an eyebrow at Kaylee and allowed himself to return her smile. Kaylee's words rang true. It would be stupid for anyone to damage a ship they meant to steal. He had to believe that, but danger sometimes came in threes. First Zoë. Then Mal. He couldn't help but ask himself, Who's next?

Kaylee's hand slipped from his arm to his hand. Her fingers slid between his for a moment, and then she was gone. All he could do was watch her and Jayne walk away from him towards whatever fate lay inside the engine room or on the way.

"Can I go in?" Inara softly asked Simon after Book exited and followed Kaylee and Jayne. She saw the way he longingly watched the others walk away, noting his gaze was on her friend. Some of Kaylee's actions, or lack thereof, on her shuttle earlier made sense now.

"Certainly," Simon remarked, clearing his mind and refocusing on his job. He caught the way Inara was studying him and quickly turned away from her.

Zoë watched the trio disappear until she felt River's tiny hand in hers. She looked down into the child's peaceful face and took that as a sign that everything was going to be okay. She gave the hallway one final look before she returned to her husband's side.

Inara stood by Mal's head, caressing his hair and looking over the stitched and bandaged stomach wound. She berated herself silently, wishing that she had been more insistent that he had come with them. His words haunted her: Everybody dies alone.

Simon cleaned the equipment he had used to extract the bullet. His face was serious, bracing himself for a bang or jolt that would tell them that there was definitely a trap planted onboard the firefly.

The lights flickered once, and everyone held their breath. Moments later, River walked by her brother, almost floating, and nudged him lightly before she sat down on the counter in a corner. "She's smart."

Simon looked at his sister quizzically but didn't ask what she meant. She seemed calm and unconcerned, which eased some of his fears.

**

Book was the first to return. He had a few dirt streaks on his face and looked a little disheveled. "There's much to clean up, but nothing seriously damaged," he informed.

"Anything amiss?" Zoë asked.

"Nothing major," Book answered.

"Why did the lights flicker?" Simon asked.

"Done knocked the preacher on his bee-hind," Jayne smirked, walking into the room, looking a might dirtier than before.

The preacher ignored Jayne and brushed off the concerned glance that Simon gave him. "Just a tiny jolt. I'm fine. Just touched the wrong wires together."

"And Kaylee?" Inara asked before Simon could. She had expected to see their mechanic walk in behind Jayne, but a glance down the hall showed it was empty of a bubbly mechanic.

"She's talkin' to that engine o' hers jus' like it were a real person. If'n I didn't know any better, I'd say she's as a crazy as her." He cocked his thumb in River's direction.

River stared at him. "I may be crazy, but Kaylee's not. She's saner than you'll ever be." She hopped down and left the room.

"Ain't ever said I was sane, Crazy," Jayne hollered, stalking out of the infirmary after the little albatross. "Hey! I'm talkin' ta ya."

"I think maybe he got shocked," Wash joked lightheartedly.

"A little electrical jolt wouldn't have hurt him any," Book agreed. "It's good for the soul."

The others chuckled, but Simon kept one eye on the door. River and Jayne together usually spelled some form of disaster, with Jayne ending up on his operating table.

**

Notes: I couldn't resist adding hints of River/Jayne and Mal/Inara to the mix. More Simon/Kaylee will be back in the final chapter. Thanks for reading.