Hey Pretty

Prologue

Pain! God, it hurt! Simon gasped in agony as he touched his hands to his face. His hands were coated in blood when he drew them back, and he could feel himself slipping into oblivion. How had this happened? He had tried to do the right thing. Wasn’t he supposed to be the good guy? Vague voices were calling his name, but all he could see were his hands covered in blood.

“Simon!” One voice seemed to soar out above the rest. Gruff, and full of emotion. He knew that voice.

Simon’s head felt funny, like he was disconnected from everything else. He tried to push himself off of the wall, but fell back. Was he dying? He couldn’t tell. He couldn’t tell anything anymore. Dizzy. He was so dizzy! Suddenly, he let go.

Chapter 1: Things Go Wrong

River was sitting at her brother’s bedside for the fourth day in a row. His entire face had been wrapped in gauze, as were most of his chest and arms. She had tried to warn them, but they couldn’t hear her screaming for them to get down. Things went wrong on the job…things always went wrong on the job, but not when she was there. Mal blamed himself. He hadn’t been able to hear River’s shrieks until it was too late. The bomb went off throwing shrapnel into the air. It had only been sheer luck that he had been able to pull Zoe to safety. Simon hadn’t been so lucky.

It had all started about a month ago with a waive from an old friend. Carl Flynt had himself a nice little town on the Border, but things had been a bit turbulent of late. A group of thugs had been moving in on the good folks, and he had offered the crew a pretty penny to get rid of them. After The Heart of Gold, Mal had reasoned that bunch was up to it again. Things had gone fair smooth enough. Jayne had been giving them hell from the rooftops, and Mal and Zoe had been holding there interest, but then River appeared on the porch of one of the stores screaming. Simon rushed out of his own hiding spot to get her, but the explosion happened before he had time to react. The force of the explosion sent bits of glass and metal hurling threw the air, and knocked Simon against the wall.

Mal felt sick as he recalled seeing what was left of Simon’s pretty face. The town “doctor” had said it was a miracle that he’d kept his eyes. Somehow, between the “doctor” and River, they had managed to give him a blood transfusion, but aside from that, all they could do was stitch up his wounds and hope that he didn’t die of the fever. The boy had held up for four days so far--even if he hadn’t woken up.

They had no place playing hero. Mal shoulda known better, but instead he had let the promise of pay and his own ego get in the way. Now Simon was paying for it.

“He’s going to open his eyes soon,” River said softly.

Mal lifted his head from his hands. From what he could see, there was no change in Simon, and his hopes fell. The girl was just doing a little wishful thinking’. He forced a smile. “Sure he will, little one.”

“You blame yourself, but it was my fault. Simon is always trying to save me,” River murmured. She abandoned her spot for the first time since Simon had been hurt.

Mal stared at the empty seat for a moment, before sitting himself down. The doc’s hands were the only thing that was visible between the bandages and blankets. Acting on instinct, Mal reached out and touched Simon’s soft hands. A sad smile tinged Mal’s lips. The boy had hands like a woman. A groan escaped Simon’s lips, and his hand tightened around Mal’s. His eyes fluttered open, and stared right at the captain. Gorram, the girl had known! Mal gently touched Simon’s shoulder. “Welcome back to the land of the living, doctor.”

“Hurts…bad…River.” Simon’s voice was hoarse.

“River’s safe,” Mal assured him. He disentangled his fingers from Simon’s, and poured some water in a tin cup. “Here take a sip.”

Simon did as he was told. He sipped slowly from the cup that Mal held to his lips, and then pulled back. “How bad is it?”

“I ain’t gonna lie. There was a while when I thought you were a goner. A man in town had some medical training, and patched you up as best he could. With you being a fugitive, I thought that it was the best shot you had. River stayed with you the entire time,” Mal added.

“I understand. Was anyone else hurt?”

Mal shook his head.

An older man appeared in the door way carrying Simon’s bag. “The gal said you was “

Simon’s gaze was still on Mal. “It hurts,” he croaked.

The doc nodded. “I’ll get you something’ fer that. Cap’n, would you go and find his sister.”

“Okay,” he replied, but Simon caught his hand. “Simon, I’ll be right back.”

Simon let go, and seemed to submit himself to the older “doctor’s” care.

In the hall, Mal let out a heavy sigh. Gorram, this was his fault! He went to the task of tracking down River. The girl had a talent for disappearing. Sure gave Jubel Early a hell of a time. Before long, the entire crew, including Inara and Book were looking for River. Finally, Mal spotted a pair of bare feet hanging from a tree by the stream on the edge of town.

River’s eyes were red from tears, and her dress had been torn on the bark. “The risk was too great. Simon should have stayed away. The girl would have gotten out of the way.”

“You’re brother don’t always think rational when you’re involved, little one.” Mal grabbed hold of the branches to test his weight, before pulling himself up into the tree. “He woke up not long after you told me he would.”

“He wanted to see you.”

Mal bit back a curse. “He wants to see you, too.”

“Different. Not the same feelings involved. You both thought no one could see. I saw,” River told him.

“You’re imagining things,” Mal lied. “Why don’t you come on down, and go see him?”

River jumped down with unequaled grace. She didn’t say another word as she walked back to town.

Mal’s fist pounded into the bark. Kao! Why did the doc have such a way of getting under his skin? He’d known for a while that boy didn’t fancy Kaylee none. Hell, he’d even guessed the first time he saw him that Simon would be more likely to find company with a man, but why did he have to notice the way the doctor looked at him? It had been quite a few years since Mal had found a man that made him think those kind of things. Not since he’d found himself lustin’ after his bunk mate in basic. Back at the Heart of Gold, Nandie had seen that Mal was pining something fierce. Everyone thought it was the companion who’d caught his eye. Sure, he liked women just fine, but he liked men too. When it came down to it, Inara just wasn’t what he wanted He wanted Simon. Maybe that was why this hurt so much.

Gorram, they never shoulda been there. It was too much of a risk, but he didn’t see that when he had the chance. Simon was paying for his damn pride, and there was nothing he could do to make it better. Seeing Simon in pain was like a hot knife in his gut. Once again, Mal had been the source of anguish for someone he cared about, and there was no way that he could ever atone for it.