His immediate reaction was one of suspicion, was she playin' at him with that stuff about 'did something happen'? But Inara wasn't that type. And she'd been cold and still far too long for Mal to dismiss the idea that upon waking up she just couldn't remember.
"Snow's a good ten feet deep in spots, ain't no one heard or seen hide nor hair of you in days." By 'no one' he really meant himself. The worry about Inara's well being was completely Reynolds-driven. "Got up here expecting the worst you'd need was supplies and instead I find you laid out. Trying to get out to the hospital would end with us both freezing to death, so I've been waiting it out. Whichever let up first, the snow or whatever it was keepin' you still."