Inara's reaction was so slight that Mal questioned himself as to if he'd truly seen anything at all. Fingertips traced over her frowning lips and soon his hand lifted away from her face as Mal rose back to stand. His palm then wiped down along the side of his own face and over his chin, at a loss. Sure, Mal could roughly patch up a battle wound to tide a soldier over until medical help arrived -- but this was well beyond his skill. He couldn't think of anything he could do beside reach for the blanket that was so neatly folded and set across the top of the sofa.
He fanned out the quilted fabric and draped it over her. Mal even reached over to tuck the blanket it around her sides in hopes that it would keep what body heat she was generating near her chilled figure. From there... Mal had nothing else he could do but watch and wait.
He spent much of the next handful of hours sitting in the armchair beside the couch where she lay. He got up only to sweep her apartment again for any clue to her condition, only to come up empty handed. He'd go to the window to monitor the weather, only to see the snow drifts rising higher and higher. Outside help was completely not an option.
He eventually would end up at her side again. It was an unusual tender scene with the Captain at its center. Rough hands swept back some of her dark hair, drawing it away from her face. He'd let Inara go, be it right or wrong, in the past. He'd left her shuttle on planets for clients, he'd dropped her off at the training temple for an undisclosed amount of time. But there'd always been contact, or the possibility of contact. He shouldn't have let her go out on her own here. He was the Captain and working ship or not, he was responsible for his crew. He had to see that each got paid and that they were safe as well. He'd failed and it stung something terrible. For as far as Mal knew, Inara was dying. Right here.
She was dying.
The words echoed in his thoughts as his head lowered to touch forehead-to-forehead with hers. His eyes closed and a sigh escaped the browncoat. Mal's affection for Inara was perhaps a secret to only the two people currently in the room; as the rest of the crew had formed their own assumptions long ago. But Mal and Inara didn't discuss the topic, but found ways to fight over just about every other topic there was.
He would have given anything for an argument right now. A smile, a glance, anything. His nose brushed lightly upon hers and his warm lips touched upon her chilled ones.