Life on this boat. A Firefly story. #fanfic

recovering

Lou woke up slowly in the white light of the infirmary. All around her she heard voices, before Simon's voice sounded above the din.
"Now be quiet. I am doing my best and Lou will be back in the kitchen in a few days. Just give her some peace," he told the room in general while operating a gadget in front of Lou's eyes.
"I just don't know why she was even with us. I told you she sholdn't be in that place, Mal," Jayne said, actually sounding quite concerned.
"It was her fight, Jayne," Mal replied and then she heard both of them walking away.
"What has happened to Jayne? He has never not wanted someone to fight before?" Kaylee asked.
"Oh, I have a few ideas," Inara answered with a smile in her voice.
"You don't think...? Nooooo...?" Kaylee giggled.
Simon smiled at Lou, aware that she was awake.
"Will you two take your gossipping somewhere else, please" He said facing towards them.
Lou heard him rummaging in his tools for a minute before turning towards her again.
"You gave us quite a scare there. How are you feeling?" Simon asked her tilting the sickbed up a bit.
"Woozy?" Lou said uncertainly. "What happened?"
"You were shot in the neck saving Mal from a bullet," Simon said.
Lou nodded, remembering running form the fight.
"Not sure if they are more worried about loosing their chef or loosing you, but you have them all running around," Simon smiled at her.
"How long have I been out for?" Lou asked.
"Not long. A couple of hours," Simon said and injected something into her arm. "Now, I'm giving you a sedative and something for the pain to let you rest for a while. Once you are awake again and feel steady enough, you can move into your own quarters and see if you can get some peace and quiet in there."
Lou nodded and felt drowsy as the medicine took hold.
"What about Jayne's hand?" She murmured.
"If he'll let me look at it, I will fix it as soon as you are asleep," Simon said.
A while later she woke up to the sound of a volley of Jayne's trademark swearing.
"If you sit still I will be able to actually sew this," Simon said impatiently. "If you had let me fix this right away, it would have been a lot easier."
"Well she needed fixin' up more than I did," Jayne muttered.
"That would be the first time you have shown any concern for anyone but yourself. If I didn't know you better, I would have thought you were growing a heart, Tinman," Simon teased.
"Shut up and do your embroidery, fancy pants," Jayne snapped.
Lou felt a smile crawl up her face at their bickering. Twisting her head slightly she caught Simon's eye.
"Hey there," he said showing his caring bedside manner.
Jayne's head spun around so he could see her.
"Hi you," Lou said weakly getting a smile back.
"Sit still so I can finish," Simon huffed, making Jayne turn back and sit still for a moment.
By the time Simon had fixed Jayne's hand, Lou had drifted off again.
The next time she woke, Shepherd Book was sat at her side, hands folded and eyes closed. She managed a "thank you" before drifting off again.
When she woke up again she found to her surprise Mal sat at her side rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Hello, captain," Lou said reaching a hand across to touch his arm.
Mal smiled at her.
"Hey there, Lou. How are you feeling," he asked.
"Not bad. That doctor has some good stuff in those syringes," Lou smiled.
"What in the verse am I supposed to do with you?" Mal asked.
"What do you mean?" Lou asked feeling confused.
"I take you onboard to cook for a week, but by the end of the week it turns out you're married to my brother, you've made the whole crew draw to you like flies. Even Zoe goes to sit in the common room with you. You hug everybody, including Jayne as if he was a big teddybear. River seems to calm down when you are in the room. And then as I think I have you figured out as a maternal soft bundle of cuddles, you go to meet Duggar and knock ten bells out of his whole misfit band like a natural mercenary before taking a bullet in the neck to save me and still having enough get-go to want to fight on," Mal said shaking his head.
"Maybe I'm just good?" Lou wondered with a cheeky smile.
"Or suicidal," Mal replied.
Lou smiled warmly at him.
"You are a good man you know," Lou smiled.
"So they keep saying," Mal said.
"You could have ignored me and set me off on Dorian to save your crew the trouble," Lou told him.
"I could," Mal agreed.
"So why am I still here?" Lou asked with her heart in her throat.
Mal looked at her with a faint smile.
"I am a bit of a soft soul for harebrained ventures," he said. "Besides, I need to find out what kind of woman tamed my brother."
Lou felt the tears pool in her eyes.
"Any chance of a hug?" She asked, voice cracking.
"Sure," Mal said and bent down to her for a quick hug.
"I'll let you rest now," he said before leaving the infirmary.