Disclaimer:Not mine, no pay.

Thanks: To Jacqui, Josh the Paramedic for help with medical stuff and to Rion, my own personal BDH. You guys are the greatest.

Rating: PG-17, graphic gore

Remarks: Can Simon save Jayne’s life?

Set after “Objects in Space”. Inara has departed from Serenity and things on board ship are getting more difficult. Click on my name to read the backstory. They’re all backstory.

Feedback: It only takes a minute and is genuinely appreciated. What did you like? What doesn’t work? You can post below or email to Lumenea@aol.com

Leaps of Faith

Chapter Eleven

Wash, Mal and Simon struggle to shift Jayne’s bloody, unconscious bulk onto the table in the medlab. Simon takes a quick look at Zoë’s arm and tells her, “I’ll take care of you once I can get him stabilized.”

On the bench along the wall, River sits with her knees drawn up to her chest, arms around them. “Bullets come home to roost,” she murmurs, mournfully.

Shepherd Book has his arm around a terrified Kaylee who alternately cranes her face to look and turns way in distress.

Mal speaks up, “Had to put the tourniquet on it, doc, or he’d a bled out. Took us about eight minutes to get him back here and he’s been out the whole time, shocky, too.

“At the very least, his femoral artery’s been injured. I’ll know more once I can get the bleeding stopped and get a scan of the hip and upper thigh.” Simon presses the hypo spray against Jayne’s neck and quickly injects a mix of pain-meds and coagulants to slow the hemorrhaging.

“Captain, if you’ll open that second drawer, you’ll find the synth-blood supply. Please pass me four units of O-positive and two of saline.”

Simon skillfully inserts the IV-needle, hangs the synthetic blood and saline, opens the connection that allows the life-giving fluids to flow into Jayne’s body. With amazing speed he places monitors on the unconscious man, checks his heart rate and blood pressure.

“I’m gonna need another pair of hands. Normally, that would be you, Zoë,” he nods towards where Wash holds her, “but…” He looks around the room. “Kaylee, you’re good with your hands. Can you help me?”

Kaylee’s mouth drops open and she’s clearly horrified. “I don’t know nothing about doctorin’, Simon. Just please help him.” A whole unspoken conversation passes between them in that moment.

Mal speaks up, “Doc’s right, Kaylee, you’ve got the best hands. Man’s workin’s ain’t so different from ship’s. You don’t want Jayne to die, I know, and we ain’t got a lot of time.”

The little mechanic looks from the Captain to the doc and back, gulps. “What do I do?”

“Wash your hands really well with that disinfectant by the sink.” Simon tells Mal, “Top right drawer – I need forceps, desolvable sutures. Put on gloves before you open them. You’ll need them, too, Kaylee.”

“Okay” Kaylee scrubs, gloves up and takes her place beside Simon. For the first time she sees the horrific crater of torn and shredded tissue at the top of Jayne’s left thigh and almost retches.

“Merciful Buddha!” she gasps.

“Now, I want you to gradually loosen the belt - go slow and stop as soon as the blood starts to flow again.”

With gauze, Simon gently blots away clotted blood and clears the injury until he can see the gaping hole in Jayne’s artery. With immense precision and skill he sutures the fragile ends of the blood vessel. “Now, loosen the belt even more.” While there is renewed bleeding from smaller vessels, the great artery holds and pulses in rhythm with Jayne’s heartbeat. Simon gives a sigh of satisfaction and glances up at Kaylee. “Good work.”

++++

For the next several hours, Kaylee helps the doctor complete repairs on Jayne’s leg, watching in amazement as he sutures shredded ligaments and muscle, packs the wound with gelfoam and bandages it. As he works, he tells Mal what to do for Zoë and they get her arm cleaned, packed and bandaged and Mal’s graze cleaned and covered with weave.

The Captain looks down at Jayne, still and pale. “Will he pull through, doc?”

Kaylee holds her breath awaiting Simon’s answer, almost biting through her lower lip, she’s so scared.

Simon strips off his gloves and bloody white surgical gown, runs his hand through his hair and studies the readouts of the sensors that monitor the sleeping merc’s condition.

“I’ll be more certain once he’s stable. He lost a hell of a lot of blood and the tissue trauma is major. Captain, without your quick action in the field, he’d be dead.”

Kaylee starts to sob, finally breaking down. Mal puts his arm around her shaking shoulders, gives her a reassuring squeeze. “Come on, mei-mei, you know ol’ Jayne’s too damn mean to die on us. He’d rather stick around and make our lives miserable. Besides, if he dies…” Mal makes his voice real loud, “ …I’ll GET TO KEEP HIS SHARE!!!”

“Th’ ruttin’ hell you will.”

The responding voice is slurred and barely audible, but makes everyone smile.

Mal goes over to where Zoë and Wash sit on the bench along the wall. Looking his First Mate in the eye he tells her, “Thanks. You got us back, all of us.”

“Yes, Sir, that’s how it’s supposed to work,” she tells him.

Wash stands up and remarks to Mal. “If we don’t have to fly off anywhere right this moment, I wanna get Zoe down and resting.” Wash wraps an arm around his wife’s waist and helps her back to their bunk.

(To be continued...)