Far away, something tugged at Inara and she lifted her head, or went through the relative motions - her body was still lying prone on the sofa, breathing shallow gasps of cold air.
Wake up. She had to wake up.
She saw flashes. She was swimming through cold water, rising towards a murky, distant sun; she was in the store, speaking with Xanadu; she was in her apartment, stumbling towards the couch; she was still in her apartment, only she was looking down on her own body, and someone crouching over her-
A shiver passed through her limbs, and she frowned, mumbling something intelligible, fisted her hands around the quilt and drew it closer around her. The cold was the first thing she felt, and the near warmth of another body, and the scent of something familiar, like engine grease and dust and the vast desert of the black.
Serenity.
Mal.
Gasping, she opened her eyes, and tried to sit up, only to discover that her limbs were not yet obeying her. At the same time, her forehead knocked into Mal's and she fell back against the pillows, the gasp turned into a coughing fit.