"You certainly seem to have a knack for falling into step wherever you land. From the trauma centers on Osiris to the cargo hold of Serenity and now... It's so hard to believe that we're really on Earth-that-was." She lowered her shawl a little in his presence; just his being there had a calming effect on her. "How are the facilities here? Up to your usual standards, I hope?" She was being circumspect about the real reason they needed to talk, because barging into something that serious was certainly not her way.
She was also buying time to study him. Her head had been fuzzy when she'd first woken up, and then there'd been the big explanation about Mount Weather. All she knew for certain about him was that he seemed not to have any knowledge of losing Wash or Book, or of their journey to Miranda and back. And he moved like he had around the time she'd left Serenity - the stiffness in his leg, the slight lack of confidence that he only really seemed to shake after helping to fight off the Alliance and the Reavers. He was the man she remembered, but not the one she'd just left behind. It was disconcerting.
Simon had always fascinated her a little. He showed such tremendous strength and never seemed to realize it. His arrogance was entirely tailored to what he could do, not to who he was, which Inara found amusing. She had immense respect for people who were good at their trades, but even moreso for those who were simply... good.