Chapter 9

“Hey there, beautiful.”

Zoë started slightly at the rasping voice as she stood in the doorway of the infirmary, gazing at her battered husband and fighting her emotions.

“Thought you were sleeping, Husband,” she said tenderly, stepping into the room and up to his bed.

“Been awake for awhile,” Wash admitted, turning his head carefully toward his wife. “Have to say, you’re much nicer to look at then these walls.”

Zoë smiled despite herself, glancing away. Her eyes landed on the dinosaur next to Wash’s arm. She picked it up, turning it over in her hands as she raised her eyebrows questioningly at her husband.

“He missed me,” Wash answered, shrugging slightly.

“Of course,” Zoë replied, shaking her head as she replaced the plastic toy. Then she sobered, running her eyes up and down Wash and taking in the horrible injuries.

“How you feeling, bao bei?” she asked softly, gently brushing her fingers through his hair.

Wash didn’t answer right away, struggling with what to say. His desire to protect Zoë from the knowledge of how much he really hurt warred with the fact that they weren’t in the habit of keeping things from each other. His non-answer, however, was answer enough in itself, and Zoë’s heart broke to know that her sweet, gentle, funny husband was in so much pain.

“Want me to get Simon?” she asked.

“Not yet,” Wash said quietly. “Just want you for awhile.”

“Okay,” Zoë agreed.

“Wouldn’t mind a drink of water, though,” he said, his voice still raspy and rough.

Zoë dug in various cupboards and drawers until she found a plastic cup which she then filled with cool water at the sink before bringing it over to Wash. Gently, she raised his head and held the cup to his lips, letting him drink a few slow sips.

“Thanks,” he told her after a few moments, his voice already sounding better.

Just then, Serenity lurched harshly under their feet, causing the remainder of the water to slosh out across Wash’s chest as Zoë grabbed the edge of the bed to stay upright.

“What the…” Wash muttered loudly. “Who’s flying Serenity?”

“Mal,” Zoë grimaced, grabbing the bed as the ship bucked and shuddered yet again.

“What! No! The man thinks piloting is akin to riding a horse! You gotta let me up there!” he said urgently, struggling to get his elbows underneath him. Zoë pushed him gently, but firmly back down.

“You ain’t goin’ anywhere, Hoban Washburne. Doc’s, and my, orders. Mal knows enough not to crash her, or drive her into a planet. Hafta leave it at that for now.”

Wash reluctantly had to agree with her, even that small struggle to sit up having sapped his strength and kindled new fires of agony. “Holy saints preserve us all…” he muttered, sagging back into the bed.

“Don’t recall you bein’ Catholic,” Zoë said, raising an eyebrow as she adjusted the pillow beneath his head.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“The captain loves this ship, maybe more’n you do, so I think we’re safe,” she told him, just as the ship jerked again, fighting Mal as he tried to take her out of atmosphere. “I hope…” she amended. Wash groaned.

“Brought you somethin’,” she said, changing the subject.

“Rex and Sera?” he asked hopefully. “Steggy’s getting lonely.”

“Toys are still on the bridge, baby. But thought you might like these,” she said, forestalling his feigned pouting by producing a threadbare pair of flannel pajama bottoms. He was usually more of a shorts and tank-top kinda guy when it came to bed-wear, but he had one set of flannels he dug out when it was especially cold, or he needed that extra comfort, and as far as she could tell, Zoë was the only one who knew of their existence. They were covered in faded gray space ships, the round kind from Earth-That-Was lore, complete with little green aliens. Personally, Zoë thought they were an eyesore, but then she thought that about much of her husband’s attire, and Wash loved them, so that was all that mattered.

Carefully, she pulled back the sheet, exposing the still filthy flight suit that he wore from the waist down, and his worn shoes. She was once again struck by the rather sorry state of Wash’s wardrobe. She knew they were poor, but surely he didn’t need to keep wearing the same ten items he’d come on board in all those years ago? It puzzled her, how he was willing to spend coin on something frivolous for her, like her hair clip, but never for himself, unless it was the occasional toy to add to his collection, and even that were very rare and far between. Even when he really needed something, he shrugged it off or gave her a vague “I’ll get it later…” Of course he was careful with money, they all were, and she was aware he was saving and why, but it still confused her, the things he was willing to dish out coin for. It was something she meant to ask him about, but it could wait until he had recovered from the traumas of this night.

“Let’s get you into something more comfortable,” she said gently, starting in on his shoes.

It wasn’t very fun, for either of them, but twenty minutes later Wash was finally free of the dirty, stained clothes he’d worn since he was kidnapped. He lay there panting, a slight sheen of sweat across his face and upper body, but he really did feel better, in a relative sort of way. If he was gonna be miserable, hurt, and in pain, he wanted to do it in comfy pj’s verses smelly old work clothes.

“Thanks, honey,” he mumbled tiredly as she lightly pulled a blanket up over his bandaged hands and raw chest. “Glad you’re here,” he added, knowing that she would understand. “Wish we could talk more but…” his voice got fainter with each word and he had trouble keeping his eyes open.

“Rest now, plenty of time for talking later,” Zoë told him, knowing that sometimes you didn’t need a lot of conversation as long as you knew the person you loved was nearby.

“’K,” Was replied. “Gonna sleep now, s’okay with you. Watch Steggy, please… Likes to cause trouble…”

Zoë smiled sadly as his eyes drifted closed. Quietly, she pulled a chair over and sat down, resting one hand gently on his shoulder, mindful of the abused skin. With the other, she picked up the blue, plastic dinosaur and set him carefully in her lap. “You heard the man, no trouble,” she said solemnly. “Not on my watch,” she added as she settled in for a long day.