A Two Step Dance
Inara swears she can emotionally and physically feel each and every thud, vibration, and susurus glitch of the ship's movement. And it's only been a few days since her commission to serve aboard the Serenity. She wonders how River Tam deals with these types of stimuli on a daily basis. Inara suspects she will learn this and much more given enough time and patience.
In her capacity of Ship's Companion it is something she expects she will become accustomed to.
There is a scattering of the personality types across the spectrum. Inara uses her relative down time to take a personal walking tour of the ship's passageways and multi-tiered decks and her head spins from the non-linear thinking that must have guided the ship's initial designers and engineers.
Inara hums snatches of a song she remembers from her child hood, a tuneless melody that is both soothing and in tune with the vibrations of the ship. The heels of her boots made pinging noises on the metal decking. The noise reminds her of the counterpoint of the metronome in time with the banging of the piano keys.
It's fitting, Inara thinks, oblivious to any others drifting past her on the way or coming back from errands or assignments.
While she's waiting for the lift that will take her up to the next level Inara realizes that the tone and whine of the ship's movement had undergone a subtle shift, another brief instant when she realizes that the ship is no longer cruising along as it should. It's bobbing and weaving like a prize boxer on the ropes in the middle of a losing match against a bigger and heavier opponent.
At that instant Kaylee appears staggering around a bend in the corridor, at the very second Inara realizes that Kaylee isn't drunk but badly injured. Blood seeps through the rips in her dress and she holds the fabric closed over the wound with one hand, keeping her balance with the free hand. Inara doesn't think twice, her concern, medical training, and instinct all kick into high gear. She rushes forward; catching Kaylee in her arms before she completely topples forward.
"What the hell happened!" shouts Inara.
Kaylee's eyes roll back in her head until the whites show and she manages to look up at the other woman with a small degree of clarity. "Oh, thank heavens, it's you. You are a very difficult to woman to find."
"Sorry. I've been on an unescorted tour of the ship and I must have lost track of time. Just tell me what happened."
"I've been shot." Kaylee wriggled out of Inara's arms and sidled her way over to lean up propped up against the wall. "It's not as bad as it looks."
"You're making jokes."
"To make a long story short," Kaylee looks up from where her hands keep twisting and unfolding the fabric of her dress into knots.
"Let's just say that Jayne's got an itchy trigger finger and leave it at that."
Inara did not reply right away because she was going through the supply cabinets in looking for the emergency aid kit. In the back of her mind Inara kept a running medical dialogue going, 'She is still lucid, and her eyes still track my movements so Kaylee is aware of her surroundings and she's made it this far under her own power, so it's not as critical as I thought. Curse these eldritch demons, where the hell is that med kit?" Inara thinks as she throws open cabinets, unaware of the minor injury as a finger of her right index finger snags on a piece of metal and tears, but breaths a sigh of relief as her hands close on the emergency aid kit.
Inara opens and makes her way back to where Kaylee is waiting, removing the packet of gauze and iodine. "This is going to sting a little bit."
"Can't be any worse than it already is." Kaylee takes her hands away from the balled up wad of fabric sticking to the skin of her left thigh, rolling it up and out of thew way. Inara looks her in the eye and unscrews the tube of ointment, spreading it gently onto the wound where the burn trace from a energy weapon fired at close range has left a puckering scar, along with a hole where the blood continues to seep.
"That will need more than just a patch up," Inara says, looking into Kaylee's eyes. "It will leave a scar."
"It's just a flesh wound, nothing like a good stay in the medlab to fix a gal right up."
"Now that's just crazy talk," Inara insists, cleaning the wound and the area around it, then applying the iodine and the gauze. "Still with us?"
"Just barely."
"Can you walk?"
Kaylee, in response staggers to her feet and waves a hand in the direction of the medical bay. "Looks like I can."
"Good." Inara offers the other woman a reassuring smile and conspiratorial wink. "Just wait until I get my hands on that man. You won't be the only one who will need that bout in the medlab."
"Inara, don't get mad at Jayne. It wasn't his fault. I just surprised him." Kaylee says as she struggles to get her balance. "It was hard launch and the Serenity is staggering around like a drunk on during a two for one night."
"I can feel it. Is that what set him off?"
"Among other things," Kaylee replies and then shrugs. "He got a little punchy that's all."
"It's hard not to."
"Dealing with the launch, or getting mad at Jayne?" Kaylee asks.
"Either or both," Inara replies.
"Do you think you could let me know when you figure it out?"
"I haven't decided yet. But I promise you one thing, when I do decide you will be the first to know."
"Good, let's get the hell out of here. Kaylee this time returns the wink and a half smile.