A/N: There is one more part after this and then an epilogue. Many continued thanks go to Leiasky, who is constantly spotting my plot holes, giving me character insight and in general, making my stuff sound better than it should.

Also, much thanks to those who have faithfully read and responded. You know who you are ... it means a lot and makes the 'verse all kinds of shiny!

***

“Simon, wake up. I can’t carry both o’ ya outta here.”

Simon blinked awake to find Mal’s concerned face looking down at him. The last few moments a haze, Simon turned his head to see the red-gloved man’s body lying in a pool of his own blood, his eyes glazed open in a classic look of surprise.

Following his gaze, Mal offered Simon a hand as he said, “It was a boring conversation anyway.”

Simon rubbed at his throat as he gripped the other man’s outstretched hand and let him help him to his feet. Once he’d regained his balance, he looked concernedly to his sister’s still unconscious form. “We need to get her out of here, now,” he said, his voice raspy as it came through his bruised throat.

“Right with ya, doc,” Mal told him. Stepping around Simon, Mal placed one arm under River’s shoulders and the other under her knees, pulling her limp form up and off the bed. She rolled into his chest, arms hanging slackly at her sides and Simon tried to quell the fear that gripped his heart. She didn’t look good and the longer she stayed non-responsive the more he feared the worse.

Grabbing his fallen gun, Simon headed to the open door and scanned the hall, Mal following behind him. Relieved that the hall was still empty, Simon began jogging back the way he’d come. They were almost to the stairwell’s door when two blue-handed agents stepped into their path.

Simon skidded to a halt, Mal bumping into him as he stopped abruptly. The two men glared down the others and they seemed locked in a battle of wills for a full five minutes. Quickly tiring of this charade, Mal was about to break the silence, when the blue-handed agent to the right said, “You can’t leave here with her.”

Instantly his muscles tightened and Simon shot Mal a quick look before stating, “You’re wrong. My sister is not staying with you.”

The agents gave each other a look and Simon could have sworn shared a shrug, before striking at him. The first man to speak, the one to his right, jammed the heel of his palm into Simon’s face, trying desperately to break his nose. Luckily, Simon’s already sore muscles were ready for the hit and he managed to avoid serious damage as he ducked and swerved to his left throwing the agent off guard.

Mal took the few moments of distraction to lay River’s still unconscious floor against the wall, hoping she’d be out of the line of fire. With fury in his eyes, Mal gripped his gun and was met with a sharp kick to his kidneys as he turned. The agent, he couldn’t tell them apart, drove another kick to the small of his back, forcing Mal to fall to his knees.

Simon wasn’t doing much better. He too had tried to bring up his gun to bear on his attacker and had quickly been disarmed, the gun scattering away and falling near River’s location. Cursing silently, Simon turned to grapple with the larger man, locking both his hands around the man’s wrists and pulling down sharply. Caught off balance, the agent tipped forward, giving Simon the perfect opportunity to land a sharp blow to the back of his skull, causing him to see stars.

Diving for the gun, Simon glanced Mal from the corner of his eye trying to again regain his balance and losing the fight. His fingers just inches from the weapon, Simon felt two vice-like hands wrap firmly around his calves and drag him away, causing intense pain to shoot through his still healing limbs. Flipping Simon onto his back, his eyes widened in unexplained terror as he saw the agent pull a slim, rod-shaped device from his inner jacket pocket; Simon had seen one of those before and if his memory could be trusted, it did not bode well for any of them.

Fearing that this was truly the end, Simon craned his neck to see if Mal had any chance of coming to the rescue. Noting he was in a similar situation, he turned back to his attacker …

… And blinked suddenly as blood splattered along his face and neck. Jerking at the unexpected event, Simon watched, even more dumbfounded, as the agent slumped forward slightly, his eyes glazing open, and fell to the ground, dead.

Propping himself on one arm, Simon noted that Mal’s agent was in a similar position. Glancing in his sister’s direction, he saw her, standing on shaky legs, the gun Jayne had loaned him resting at her side. Her eyes held the look of a feral animal and it pained Simon and heartened him all at once. He had feared the worse for her health when he’d found her, but the fact that she had found a way out of her own mind and into reality was a good sign. Of course, Simon’s stomach turned as he realized she had awoken simply to kill.

Her eyes were distant and hollow as Simon approached her, and he wasn’t completely certain she could see him. Reaching down to her hand that still clenched the cold, metal weapon, Simon wrapped his own hand around it and wrested it from her grasp. As he pulled it away, he placed his other hand against her cheek. The touch brought River’s eyes to his face and he saw so much there, in her eyes, they were almost as expressive as Kaylee’s and just as capable of rendering him completely heartbroken.

“Simon?” Her voice was broken, raspy, barely there. As she said his name, just that one word, her eyes filled with tears.

“Mei mei, you’re safe now. I’m here,” he told her, wrapping her in a tight embrace as Mal came to join them.

“Simon,” she managed once more through swollen lips before collapsing against him, again unconscious.

Looking to Mal, the older man took River’s still form without question, knowing the doc did not have the strength to carry his sis out of here. Without another word, they headed for the stairwell and what both men hoped would be a smooth get away.

***

When they met Jayne on the landing to the eighth floor all thoughts of an easy escape were deemed idiotic. Jayne had taken a pulse blast to the gut if the glazed look in his eyes was any indication, and he looked about ready to throw in the towel.

Simon helped Mal set River down, checking her pulse and staying close as the captain conferred with his mercenary. “Whatda we got, Jayne?”

“Bunch of snot-nosed kids with too much brains,” the other man grunted, choosing his shots carefully as his ammo was getting low. Shooting up as another young face peered over the railing at him, Jayne glanced over his shoulder and took in River’s beleaguered form. “She alright?”

Mal grimaced and answered tightly, “Don’t know. We need to get her the hell outta here.”

“You don’t gotta tell me twice,” Jayne answered, matching his tone. “You got any ideas?”

The truth was, Mal didn’t. He had been wracking his brain for the past thirty minutes, even as that blue-handed hun dan had kicked the tar out of him, but nothing was coming. They needed to go out the way they’d come in, that was painfully obvious. Rethinking his options, an idea dawned on him.

Looking to Jayne, he asked, “Did we happen to walk through a grenade detonation down a couple of floors?”

With his eyes trained upward, Mal could not tell if the larger man actually rolled them or not. “You know, Mal, you just got no ‘magination,” he complained instead. “I don’t know how you manage to keep ‘Nara satisfied.”

Biting back a scathing retort and a swift knock to the head, Mal said, “Yeah, all right Dreamfinder, you got any more?”

Jayne turned a disbelieving stare on him that Mal wished he could capture for posterity. “Yeah.”

“You got a pulse grenade?” Mal waited for him to connect the dots and after about a minute, he did.

Chuckling slightly he pulled the requested weapon from his belt and dropped it into Mal’s hand. “I knew you’d come ‘round.”

Mal grinned at him and activated the small orb before tossing it up above to infiltrate their merry band of marauders. “Yeah, I always was a bit slow.”

***

The next few hours were all a blur to Simon. The three men with River’s unconscious form made it back aboard the shuttle, Inara heading off the moment they were clear to rendezvous with Zoe and Serenity. Mal left Simon to tend to River, heading to the cockpit to relieve Inara of her piloting duties and to be close to his girl. Jayne, grumbling about a few bumps and bruises, fell to the couch and promptly fell asleep.

Simon stayed with his sister, holding her hand and stroking the back of it gently as he watched her continue to sleep. A quick scan once they’d made it back to the shuttle and his supplies convinced him that she was in no immediate danger, her body had simply shut down to protect itself. Gazing at her bruised face, Simon felt the cold tears fall down his cheeks and he wished he could stop them. He wished he could have stopped this – all of it, but he didn’t have that kind of power. It was a hard lesson for a doctor to learn and an even harder lesson for a doctor to accept. But it was the truth and Simon knew all he could do now was wait and help her heal.

He barely felt the ship dock with Serenity and barely acknowledged the others as they filed from the room. Inara stopped next to him for a moment, placing a gentle hand against his shoulder. “Stay here for as long as you want. We can move her to the infirmary when you’re ready,” she told him, her eyes full of unspent tears.

Simon nodded vaguely and heard the shuttle’s door groan open. His eyes remained locked on his sister’s face throughout it all.

He had no idea how long she’d been standing there, probably from the second she could, but Simon didn’t know it until he heard the light clearing of her throat. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Kaylee’s tear-stained face gazing back at him. Pulling a hand away from his sister, he reached for her and she willingly came to him, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him to her, his head resting against her chest.

“Oh, Simon,” she breathed, resting her cheek against the top of his head, her own tears falling into his dark hair. He tightened his arm around her waist, still keeping a hold of River’s hand, and held on tight. Kaylee held him fiercely, full of such relief that they both had made it back safely and full of such sadness that they’d had to “make it back” at all.

***

This time, River did not awaken for a full week. Every day, Simon got a little more nervous that maybe she wouldn’t, but every night when he allowed himself a few hours of sleep, she would visit him, in his dreams, and tell him not to worry. She was healing, resting and she would be back.

Simon watched over her now, having just finished making notes in her chart. Rubbing a hand over his face to clear the sleep-induced fog over his eyes, Simon sighed and again resumed his usual seat by her side. For the past seven days if he hadn’t been in his bunk, he’d been here, sitting with River, sometimes talking to her, oftentimes just quiet, thinking, wishing, remembering. Kaylee would come and keep him company, sitting just as quietly, her hand against his back, rubbing his shoulders to ease his tension. Sometimes they would talk, and occasionally, she’d even managed to make him laugh and those moments brought joy to both their hearts.

On the morning of the ninth day, Mal came down to check in on them both. “Hey doc,” he said quietly, holding two cups of steaming coffee in his hands.

Simon turned to greet him and Mal had to admit the boy looked haggard. “I’m thinkin’ you could use this,” he said, extending one of the full cups to him.

Simon took it gratefully and said, “You’re right. Everything okay?”

Mal nodded and took a seat on a stool by the door. “Right and shiny,” he answered, taking a sip. Simon turned back to his sister and Mal regarded the two of them for a moment. He had no idea when River, and by default Simon, had become so important to him, but they had and he could never convey to anyone, except maybe Inara, what joy it brought him to see both Tams back on his boat, safe and sound.

Clearing his throat, he got Simon’s attention again, and said, “Somethin’ came for you this mornin’.”

Furrowing his brow, Simon asked, “Like a package?” Mal nodded and said, “I had Kaylee set in your bunk. It looks fancy.”

More puzzled now, Simon answered absentmindedly, “Thank you.” Glancing back to his sister, he wondered what could possibly have come for him here. They had decided to stay planet side until they were sure River was out of the woods and so far the blue-hands and the Alliance had not bothered them. But no one else knew where they were, how could …

With a startling suddenness, Simon knew who had sent the package, and he wasn’t sure how to react. Mal saw the younger man tense and questioned, “You okay?”

Simon nodded once and said, “I think I just figured out who my secret admirer is.” Turning back to the captain, he asked, “Would you mind staying with River for a while? I need to test my theory.”

“Not at all, doc,” Mal told him, rising and taking the man’s place at River’s side. “You take all the time you need. Me and my albatross’ll be just fine.”

Simon smiled his thanks and hurried from the room, dread coiling in his belly at what he’d find there.

***

With great apprehension, Simon entered his bunk and stopped short at the ornate box on his bed. Taking a deep breath, he approached it cautiously as though fearing it might bite. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he pulled the box into his lap and realized he’d been right. The package had come from home, although now that he saw it, he realized it had not come from his father, but his mother. Only she would know to send he and River the wood-carved box he now held in his hand.

Both of the Tam children had coveted it since they were small. It was an heirloom, something having been handed down for generations and there had been many a scathing fight when they’d been young over who would get it. Through it all, their mother had simply smiled and said it would all work out.

Swallowing a wave of apprehension, Simon took another deep breath and opened the box. With a shaky hand, he pulled out to two folded pieces of paper that sat atop a silk handkerchief, one of his father’s; Simon would know it anywhere.

Unfolding the first piece of paper it held only a few sentences in his father’s scrawling penmanship: Simon and River, I realize we did not part well, and I’m sorry for that. I wanted you to know that your mother lost her fight with the cancer. I found this once she’d gone and I’m certain she was getting ready to send it to you both. I hope that we will meet again someday. Love, your father.

Blinking against tears Simon did not want to give into, he placed the note from his father aside and with an even less steady hand, opened the one from his mother. As he read the words, his emotions got the better of him, and although he didn’t want to feel such sadness, he couldn’t help it.

Kaylee found him like that a few minutes later, just as he was rereading his mother’s letter for the third time. She walked into their bunk the huge grin on her face at his presence immediately melting once she registered the sadness in his features. Going to him, she kneeled in front of him and cupped his cheek in her hand, his tears wetting her palm. “Sweetie, what is it?” Her concern, her love, her compassion were written all over her beautiful features and Simon’s heart ached with love for her.

Taking her hands in his own, he didn’t have the words. Pulling her to him, he laid down on their bunk. Kaylee followed his movement, wrapping her arms around him as he buried his face into her hair and cried some more. Kaylee kept her arms around him and whispered into his hair, “I love you, Simon,” over and over again until he had no more tears to shed and blissfully fell into a dreamless sleep.

***

It was Mal who was with River when she finally awoke. He had taken over for the doc again as the kid had looked worse than even Mal felt. The past four months had been hell on them all, but it seemed that Simon and River had been treated to a special kind of torture that would take a long time to recover from.

River opened her eyes and turned her head slightly to see Mal’s head nodding into his chest. It was late on board and she knew that he had been with her most of the night, making certain she wasn’t alone. Smiling slightly as the captain’s head jerked back, he blinked his eyes and finally brought them to settle on her.

It took a full minute for him to register that they were looking back. Reaching out to take her hand, Mal whispered, “Well, hey there, lil’ albatross. What’s the word?”

She smiled back at him, so grateful for his presence, so grateful to be back home. “Obstinate,” she answered, barely missing a beat.

Mal’s grin grew even wider as he said, “Yup, same old River.”

She nodded at him and said, “You should get some sleep.”

Shaking his head, Mal reached up to wipe a stray tear that had fallen from the corner of her eye. “Naw, doc would kill me if’n I left you by your lonesome.”

River smirked knowingly at him, and in her mind started counting – three, two …

“River?”

Both of them turned to the door and saw Simon’s sleep-disheveled form standing there, his hand on the edge of the entryway to steady himself. His look was equal parts relief and disbelief. River gave him the barest of nods and it was all the confirmation he needed.

Rushing forward, Simon pulled her into a tight embrace, lifting her off the bed as he hugged her fiercely. River brought her arms around his neck feeling his pain and his anxiety recede slightly at just her touch. He had been waiting anxiously for her to come back to him and his happiness at her return was almost palpable.

“Mei mei, you scared me,” he murmured into her hair, rocking her gently.

“I know, Simon,” she told him, crying silent tears as she buried her head further into the crook of his neck. “I had to do it though. I had to end it.”

“I know, River,” he answered her, his emotions threatening to overwhelm him and making it impossible for him to continue.

Mal eased out of the room quietly, leaving the two siblings to their reunion. Feeling the lightest he had in months, he headed for Inara’s shuttle, dying to tell her the good news.

***

Simon held Kaylee in his arms, his body tired, but satisfied from their lovemaking. With River now out of the woods and Simon’s body finally on the mend they had been able to give into their passions and it had felt so good to hold her again, to love her again, to touch every part of her and be touched in return. And now, he was basking in the light of her brilliant smile that shone with love.

She was looking at him, her big green eyes heavy with sleep, but she refused to drift off. He had seen her struggle to stay awake and he had to chuckle slightly at her effort. Kissing her on the forehead, he stroked his fingers down her bare arm and whispered, “Sleep, bao bei. We’ll have tomorrow.”

Moaning softly, Kaylee rubbed her cheek against his chest and murmured, “Don’t wanna sleep.”

Simon smiled at her and decided not to fight the issue. She would soon be unable to avoid her tiredness and he waited for her breathing to become even. Therefore he was very surprised when, after a few moments, she murmured, “When’re you goin’ to see your mama?”

Simon frowned slightly, uncertain where the question had come from. He had of course told Kaylee the news of his mother’s death, and told his sister who had taken it much better than he’d expected. While River was getting better the captain had insisted they stay on Osiris for at least another month so they could all continue to get the rest they needed. Remarkably, the blue hands had left them be and while it made them all a little wary, as the third week rolled by, they had managed to relax a bit.

He had considered whether it would be safe for he and River to visit their mother’s grave. He knew exactly where she’d be, in the most opulent cemetery in Capitol City with all the other Tams and Donaldsons in their family plot. Simon had yet to ask his sister if she wanted to go, but he suspected she would and he suspected he should take her.

“I don’t know,” he answered her, placing another kiss in her hair. “We haven’t talked about it.”

Propping herself up on one elbow, Kaylee met his distant look with a concerned gaze. “You are gonna go, ain’t ya?”

Smiling slightly, Simon reached up a hand and cupped her cheek. “Yes, we are.” Leaning forward he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips and reveled in the feel of her as she sighed into his touch. When they had parted again, Simon felt his heart would beat out of his chest with love for her and he had to remind himself to breathe.

Settling back down and snuggling closer, Kaylee was just about to drift off, when Simon said, “I want you to come.”

More than a little surprised, Kaylee did not look to him as she asked, “Why? It’s a family thing.”

“Kaylee.” The tone in his voice made her look up at him and her breath caught in her throat at the love she saw reflected in his face, his eyes. No matter what, Simon always knew how to make her heart skip a beat. “You are family, mine and River’s. I want you there.”

Kaylee had started to cry, and Simon brushed away the tears with his thumbs. Resting a gentle hand against his chest, she whispered, “You got no idea how much it means to hear you say that, but sweetie, River’ll need you and you shouldn’t be worryin’ ‘bout me or anyone else while you’re there.” Pausing again, she swallowed back more tears as she finished. “You should just be taking the time you need with your ma.”

Simon could read the sincerity in her expression and knew that she felt she was making the right choice for all of them. He couldn’t fault her for that. The truth was, Simon feared how his sister would react and maybe going with her alone would help her say goodbye so they could both move forward.

“You are amazing,” he whispered, his voice husky with emotion.

Smiling brightly at him she again captured his lips in a kiss and Simon forgot about anything else as her arms, her scent, her love, again enveloped him.

***

Mal and Inara watched Simon and River depart the ship, their forms fading as they walked through the port and headed for a transport to take them to the graveyard. Mal had warned them to be careful and given them all kinds of advice, but in the end River had simply smiled at him with that knowing grin and told him they’d be fine. So he had just stepped aside and watched them go.

Placing a light hand on his shoulder, Inara drew his attention away from the bustling scene outside and to her. As he turned to look at her, Mal could read the compassion in her features, knowing she was concerned at his silence. Smiling mildly at her, he shrugged slightly and said, “I’m fine, bao bei.”

Crossing her arms over her chest and cocking an eyebrow, Mal had to chuckle at the posture. He had seen it too often in the time he’d know the woman to misinterpret it for anything other than her “You-are-a-big-fat-liar” look. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he relented. “Fine, just stop shouting at me.”

She smiled herself at his words and reached her hands up to cover his. Sobering, he cleared his throat and said, “She asked me to go with ‘em.”

“Why didn’t you,” her soft voice questioned.

“It ain’t my place,” he answered truthfully, wishing that he could get the image of River’s heartbroken face from his mind. He had seen her in pain plenty of times since she’d been on board, but the distress in her eyes as he’d gently told her no had ripped at his heart.

Reaching up a hand to caress his cheek, Mal raised his eyes to look at Inara. “You know you’ve been more like a father to that girl than her own, and you know that she looks to you for love and approval,” she told him, her voice gentle but firm. Mal’s eyes widened slightly, but Inara held her ground. “Don’t even try and tell me otherwise.”

Mal sighed heavily and thought on her words. She was right, and that was what had Mal feeling so guilty. Maybe he should have gone, been there for her so that she wouldn’t have to suffer so much pain. But that was the problem – Mal wanted to go to spare her the heartache and although his heart wanted to believe that was possible, his head knew it wasn’t. She would have to make it through her grief just like anyone else and he knew that the only person who had any right to be by her side through all of that was Simon.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Mal drew Inara back into the cargo bay, hitting the ramp release as they passed. “Come on, darlin’,” he told her. “Let’s see if we can’t rustle up some work.”