A/N: Happy reading!

Thanks to Leiasky - you know why!

Comments, please ... pretty please ... with cream and strawberries on top?

***

A NEW LIFE, ch. 9: Dress Rehearsal

***

Zoe had been on Osiris for a week when she saw him. There was no mistakin’ that boy’s face, it was the doc all right, in the flesh. Years of training prevented her from showing even a hint of recognition, but she watched him closely throughout her shift.

She had managed to get to Capitol City and with the credentials and ident Inara had provided she’d managed to get a job with the security team at the hospital. It hadn’t been hard to find Simon, apparently the boy really was as good as he’d always said, and just about everybody knew who he was. So she had tracked him to his office and then started watching his movements, just as they had planned.

By the time she checked in with Mal on the seventh day, she had his full schedule as well as the people he seemed to socialize with most. Glancing up to her taunt face on the screen, Mal nodded with satisfaction. “This is real good, Zo,” he told her. “Real good.”

“Thank you, sir,” she answered noncommittally, her face as unreadable as any.

But not to Mal, he’d known her way too long and in some pretty tight situations not to have a good read on his first mate. “What is it?”

“There’s something about this Keller kid I don’t like,” Zoe confided, glad that they had managed to get the security devices necessary to secure the channel. “He’s shady.”

Mal smirked at her assessment. “Zoe, pretty much everybody we do business with is shady.”

“That’s just it, sir,” Zoe continued, looking at him with those knowing eyes. “He shouldn’t be the type of person we would do business with. He should be more like Simon, strait-laced and proper. He ain’t.”

“I will remind you that the doc can be quite the criminal mastermind when he sets his sights on somethin’,” Mal retorted. But he had worked with Zoe a long time to start dismissing her intuition now. “Stay on him,” he told her, knowing that had been her intention anyway.

Nodding once, she said, “Yes, sir.” Moving to terminate the wave, Mal stopped her as he called her name. “Hey Zoe?”

Looking back to him, she interjected, “I know, be careful.”

Annoyed at being that easy to read, Mal said, “Yeah, ‘cause I ain’t comin’ down their to save your sorry ass if you get caught.”

It was Zoe’s turn to smirk. She thought about pointing out all the times she had risked her butt to save his sorry ass, but squelched the comment. Instead, she simply said, “Understood, sir,” and ended the transmission.

Mal sat back and sighed, again running through the information that Zoe had provided. She did have a pretty tight profile on the doc’s new life and from what Mal could tell, the kid should be bored out of his mind. He pretty much worked every hour of every day or spent his time with this Keller kid or another friend named Alicia. Mal read through Zoe’s very limited data about the latter, fighting the urge to curse violently at the thought that Simon might have a girlfriend in this new life. Why couldn’t lil’ Kaylee just get him back, no questions?

Of course, because this is my boat, he thought wearily and nothing is ever simple.

***

“You, my friend, need a night out.”

Not even bothering to turn in Keller’s direction, Simon answered him, “No, my friend, I don’t.”

As he headed to finish his rounds he heard Keller padding after him. “Yes, you do. Come on, who knows you better than me.”

Suppressing the urge to yell at his friend, Simon instead turned to face him and asked, “What, where, who, when?”

Smiling, Keller knew he had him. “Party, Andersons’ estate, you and me, end of the week.”

Simon thought it through for just a moment and then shook his head. “No,” he told him shortly turning to head back on his way.

Rushing to stand in front of him, Keller stopped him and said, “Come on, Simon, just you and me, hanging out. This is gonna be way more low-key than those usual shindigs your pop makes you go to.”

Simon highly doubted that were true, knowing that his friend’s tastes tended toward the lavish. “I can’t make it Friday. I’ve already got plans.”

Frowning Keller turned him to face him and said, “Don’t lie to me. You stink at it.”

Simon met his friend’s gaze for a moment more and then with a heavy sigh nodded his consent. Clapping him on the back, he turned to leave, calling to his friend. “I’ll wave you with the details in a couple of days.”

And with that, he was gone. Keller hurried back to his office to final one more report about his friend’s agitated state. He hoped that Alicia’s concerns from that morning were groundless, and he really hoped that a night out on the town was just what the doctor ordered. He didn’t want to have to report his best friend back to those blue-handed creeps. They were real killjoys.

***

By the time River and Jayne were ready to implement their part in the plan, Inara had been planet side for over two weeks and Zoe for over three. River had been growing more and more impatient waiting for her chance to find her brother, to help him. And now it looked as if it was time to take it.

River took the ship down through atmo, gliding the firefly to their docking berth on the outskirts of Capitol City. She was already dressed in the clothes she’d need to pull off her part and she liked the way they made her sit straighter in the chair. The way her hair, all curled and piled onto the top of her head in a pleasing style made he feel regal. Maybe this would be fun too.

Actually, she knew it would fun; she and Jayne would be posing as a young married couple, heading in from a border planet, looking to resettle on Osiris. Mal liked this part of the plan least, but River knew they could pull it off. Inara had supplied them with the clothes they’d need and a quick crash course in manners. She’d even convinced the giant ape-man to shave his perpetual five o’clock shadow. He had whined something fierce over the loss of that stubble, but once River had told him how handsome he looked without it, he had stopped complaining.

But secretly, River knew this wasn’t the part of the plan Mal hated most; the part he most despised was staying on board while all the rest of his crew went about doing the dirty work. He’d tried to convince Inara to let him come, but to no avail. Even Zoe had told him no, stating that his face was too recognizable and not easily disguised. At least with her and River they could cut their hair, dye it different colors and hide their appearance with make-up. Not so for the captain.

So instead he was forced to stay on the ship, waiting by the comm for all of them to check in. And it had put him in a foul mood.

River felt his darkened mind as he entered the bridge, Jayne closely on his heels as she set the ship on the ground. Mal sat across from her in the co-pilot’s seat, taking in both of their well-appointed forms; they did indeed look the part. “So you two ready to be mister and missus?”

Smiling up at Jayne devilishly, Mal tried to ignore the look the man returned to the girl as he answered, “Yep, all set.”

“I’m going to go check on some things. See you in a bit,” River told them both, giving Jayne’s hand a light squeeze before she headed down to the cargo bay. Watching her go, Jayne was greeted with a scowling Mal as he turned back into the cockpit. “What?”

“Don’t you go gettin’ no ideas, dong ma,” Mal asked, his voice harsh. Secretly he knew if the girl wanted to start something with Jayne there’d be no power in the ‘verse to stop her, but he still had to threaten didn’t he?

“Mal, I ain’t like that, she ain’t like that,” Jayne tried to explain. Realizing there were no words that could set the other man’s mind at ease, Jayne shrugged at him as he stalked away and said, “Calm down, would ya?”

Sighing and turning back to the controls, Mal could not imagine what the doc would say if he were here now. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing that the kid had lost his memory, at least for now.

***

Kaylee was not sure this was natural. She knew, deep down, it was probably the most normal thing in the ‘verse, but at the moment, it felt decidedly uncomfortable and she really wanted it to stop. Screaming out again as another wave of pain hit her, she grasped for Marie’s hand and held it firmly. Looking to her friend with tears in her eyes, she panted, “It hurts, Rie.”

“I know, girl,” the older woman said, wiping at her brow with a cloth. “Just keep breathing, in and out,” she instructed, throwing a concerned glance to her sister, the midwife, who was expertly stationed at the other end of the bed.

“Okay, Kaylee girl, I want you to push next time one of them ‘tractions comes ‘round,” Millie instructed, glancing around the side of the drape she placed over the girl’s legs. “Can you do that?”

Nodding, Kaylee slumped against the bed, taking what little rest she could as this baby, her and Simon’s baby tried to make its way into the world. Delirious with pain, Kaylee’s mind drifted to her lost love for a moment and she whimpered, both from the coming contraction she felt and the absence of him. As she again moved into a sitting position with Marie’s help, she looked up to her and said, “I want Simon.”

The pain in the girl’s voice was almost too much to bear, and Marie almost broke down and told her what she had vowed not to – that she might soon get her wish. But she couldn’t. It would be beyond torment to get the girl’s hopes up like that, especially if nothing came of Mal’s mission to bring back the young doctor that Kaylee had surrendered her heart to.

“I know, darlin’,” she whispered, bracing the young girl’s back as her tiny hand again increased pressure on her hand, the contraction beginning to build.

“All right, Kaylee,” Millie said as the contraction took full hold. “Push!”

***

Kaylee awoke a few short hours later, her body still incredibly tired from the birth. But when she looked over to see Marie cradling her newborn son, she could not help but smile through her sudden tears of joy.

“Well, hello there, mama,” Marie whispered, noticing as Kaylee’s green eyes filled with tears.

Reaching out her arms, Kaylee grabbed for her son. “Let me hold ‘im,” she whispered back. She had been able to cradle him for just a minute after he’d been born, but she had promptly fallen asleep. Now, she just wanted to gaze down into his tiny, perfect face.

Marie brought him over, and laid him gently in her arms, making sure to watch his head. Kaylee’s heart leapt at the sight of him. He was perfect, ten fingers, ten toes and absolutely perfect. More tears falling, she pushed the blanket off his head and saw the shock of black hair there, so much like his daddy. His eyes, which had barely opened for more than a second, showed a hint of blue, and Kaylee hoped that they would be just like his daddy’s too.

Looking up to the woman, Kaylee murmured, “Ain’t he beautiful, Rie?”

Smiling through her own tears, Marie sat on the edge of the girl’s bed and rested a gentle hand on her shoulder. “He is, darlin’. He truly is.”

The three of them sat in silence like that for awhile, Kaylee unable to tear her eyes away from her son. He was sleeping, she’d been told they did a lot of that the first few days and all she could do was stare. With a newfound pang of longing, she again wished that Simon were there. He should be, he should be sitting beside her now, staring at their child with the same wonder and amazement as Kaylee. But no, he wasn’t, he couldn’t, and so she would have to hold onto this child tight, love him with all the strength she possessed and raise him into the kind of son Simon would have wanted.

“You thought of a name yet,” Marie asked, breaking Kaylee’s reverie.

Nodding, she swallowed past the lump in her throat and gazed back up at the woman. “Yup.” Looking back down to her son, her heart swelled again with joy mixed with sorrow and she whispered to him, “Daniel Simon Tam.”

***

Marie and Millie watched as Kaylee slumbered, her newborn son cradled tight to her chest. The child was only a day or so old, but already his mother refused to let him go, insisting on keeping him as close as possible. Sighing slightly at the sight, Millie closed the door and walked with her sister down to the kitchen. Fixing a pot of tea, the two women sat at the table.

It was Marie who spoke first. “How’s she been?”

Millie looked to her older sister’s face and smiled sadly. “Sad, like you said. Cryin’ a lot. She always did whatever I asked, took to the children right away, helpin’ ‘em with homework, playin’, when she felt like it, but,” she paused as the tea kettle sounded. Fixing two steaming mugs, once she had resumed her seat, Millie found her eyes locked on the dark liquid. “That poor girl.”

Nodding her agreement, Marie raised her cup to her lips and took a sip. Indeed, after what Marie had just learned from Mal and his crew, her heart broke even more for the young woman upstairs. She had obviously loved Simon with every fiber of her being and now, she would love that baby the same way.

“Didya find out any more,” Millie asked, studying her sister’s faraway gaze over the rim of her mug. “When Mal and them came?”

Marie lowered her mug and said slowly, “Yes. A lot more. Simon was a good man and he loved Kaylee very much. He was taken from the ship during a job gone wrong.” Stopping abruptly, Marie thought of the boy’s sister and her fervent insistence that her brother was alive. Marie had promised Mal she would not tell Kaylee and she wouldn’t – she knew the kind of heartache it would cause the girl to think she might get him back and then lose him again – but she had to tell someone.

“Actually, Millie, there’s a chance, and a fairly good one, that Simon’s alive.” Her sister’s eyes widened noticeably at this admission and Marie nodded once to confirm the shock.

“But how?”

“It’s a lot to explain, but we can’t tell Kaylee nothin’. I promised Mal.” Marie’s gaze had turned hard with her desire to keep Kaylee safe from the damage such information could do.

Nodding once, Millie affirmed, “Of course. When will they know?”

Marie thought about it and wondered when she might hear from Serenity again. She had listened a little as they’d plotted and it had all sounded highly dangerous to her, but she had faith in her Mal and Zoe to do what needed to be done. Glancing back up to her sister’s concerned face, she answered honestly, “I don’t know, Mill, but I hope it’s soon.”

***

River was nervous. She hadn’t expected to be, but she was. As she and Jayne made their way towards the party they would attend, she was getting more and more anxious. She had once fit into this world of privilege and class, but could she do it again? Especially now when the girl she was didn’t even closely resemble any of the women who would be flitting around this fancy soiree tonight.

Jayne noticed her hands clenching and unclenching the fabric of her shawl and he reached over placing his large hand over hers. Leaning down so his chin brushed her cheek, he whispered, “We’re gonna be fine, darlin’. Just breathe.”

River did as he instructed, taking in a deep breath through her nose and exhaling it slowly through her mouth, her eyes closed. When she reopened them, she immediately felt better. Turning a thankful gaze to him, she kissed him lightly on the cheek and asked, “Are you ready to be a husband?”

Grunting an incoherent response, he helped her from the shuttle and up the grand staircase of the mansion, waiting in the foyer for the steward to announce them. River delicately laced her arm through his and Jayne liked the feel of her small form at his side, she seemed to fit there.

“Renee and James Clarke.” Smiling to him with a grin that melted his heart, she whispered, “Here we go,” as they descended to the ballroom’s floor.

***

Inara saw River and Jayne, or Renee and James enter the party and smiled slightly at the amount of work she’d managed to pull off in a very short amount of time. They both looked every inch the part of a young, wealthy couple and Inara had to admit, she’d had some reservations. But even in just these first few minutes, they were conducting themselves admirably.

Turning back to her own date, Inara extricated herself from his side, making her apologies. Heading around the edge of the room, she moved to intercept her two crewmates when another face caught her eye. Standing at the opposite edge of the room, looking completely disinterested as an animated young man tried to get his attention was Simon. Go seh. He was not supposed to be here.

Inara had selected this event for Jayne and River to get their feet wet for the precise purpose that it was just the type of party Simon would not attend. Well, the best laid plans …

Quickening her pace inconspicuously, Inara made it to River and Jayne just as they finished greeting another young couple. Turning to the new visitor, Inara could not believe the look of pure delight that played across River’s features – she was really enjoying this.

“Renee, James,” Inara greeted them both, giving River a kiss to both cheeks, while simply inclining her head in Jayne’s direction. “It’s so wonderful to see you both again,” she continued, working through the lines they had designed.

“And you,” River/Renee answered, her voice just the right mixture of politeness and propriety. “What a wonderful party.”

“Yes,” Inara agreed, trying to think of the best way to alert her friends to Simon’s unexpected presence. “It is. And it’s always so nice to see so many familiar faces.” She darted her eyes for a split second in Simon’s direction and then smiling brightly again, said her goodbyes. “I hope to see you both again while you’re on Osiris. We must have tea.”

“Of course, dear,” River answered her, her voice belying none of her worry that her brother was in the room.

Turning to Jayne as soon as Inara had gone, River pulled him around the corner of a particularly large and very ornate column. “What’s he doin’ here,” the larger man asked, whispering fiercely.

River could only shake her head as she risked another peak around their hiding place. “I don’t know, but I hope he doesn’t spot us.” He couldn’t, not yet, he wasn’t ready, and if he saw them now it could end their entire plan before it even started.

***

Pushing himself away from the wall, Simon downed the remaining contents of his drink and sat the empty glass on the table at his side. Turning to his friend, he said, “I think I’m going to go.”

Damn it. Simon could not leave, not yet. His friend had been completely non-responsive all evening and Keller could not risk being kept in the dark any longer. Thinking fast, he shrugged and said, “All right. You know every since you started dating Alicia, you’re just no fun.”

Of course, he took the bait. “Keller, it is not Alicia’s fault that I’m a party pooper,” Simon told him. Good old Simon, always chivalrous. “Besides, it’s not her fault I’m leaving early.”

“What, no hot date,” Keller asked, trying to remain as casual as possible.

Turning a frown on him, Simon said, “We are not dating, per se. We’re friends.”

“Uh huh,” Keller said, his tone one of complete disbelief. “Right, a friend you kiss. Is that something you’re going to be doing with all your friends, ‘cause if so, I need to pucker up.” Watching his friend’s expression darken, Keller decided to keep prodding. “What, she isn’t pretty enough for you?”

Simon thought of Alicia’s angelic face and could not even pretend her looks had anything to do with his lack of interest. “No, she’s beautiful,” he confided, sighing at his inability to feel anything stronger for her than friendship.

“Then what’s the problem?” Keller was actually curious now.

“Look, Keller, Alicia and I have been friends for a long time,” Simon began, gazing out at the couples that waltzed around the dance floor as he spoke. “And she’s pretty much perfect. She’s beautiful, smart, funny, charming …” He trailed off, uncertain how to explain his concerns to his crass friend.

“So,” Keller prompted, still not seeing where the obstacle lay.

“So, we’re friends, Kell, that’s it.” Simon turned finally to face his friend and Keller saw the conflict haunting his eyes. “I care for Alicia, I do, and I know she cares for me. But I don’t love her, and she doesn’t love me.” Turning back to watch the couples dance by, he finished wistfully, “And I’m not willing to settle for a relationship built on like.”

Keller had never known his friend to be a romantic. Taking another sip of his drink, he tried to hide his smirk behind the rim of his glass. “Ah, you’re looking for the love of your life.”

Simon picked up on his tone, but would not be deterred by it. “Laugh all you want, but, yeah, I am.”

“So, what if you don’t find it,” Keller asked, again gazing to his friend out of the corner of his eye. He had never seen Simon look more lost or far away than he did at that moment.

“I have to believe I will,” he answered him simply. After a few more moments of silence, he told his friend, “And now, I really am going.”

Deciding there was no use in trying to get more out of him now, Keller raised his glass in salute and said, “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Giving him a slight smile, Simon turned and headed for the door. He was about to move in that direction, excusing himself through the dancing couples when the sight of someone he knew caught his eyes. Someone he knew, but shouldn’t. River.

***

River felt Simon’s eyes lock on her and in that moment, she froze. Standing so close to Jayne he felt her tense and he looked down into her face, not liking the panic he saw there. “What is it,” he questioned.

“He knows I’m here,” she whispered, her eyes still locked on a point he could not see.

“Then we gotta go,” Jayne told her, trying to edge her towards the door.

Placing a gentle hand on his arm, she said, “No, wait. It’ll be all right.” Turning a slight smile to him, she told him cryptically, “Mom’s coming.”

***

Inara watched as Simon made a beeline across the room, heading directly for Jayne and River’s hiding spot. They had all discussed the negative effects seeing River too soon could have on Simon’s recovery and she knew that now, in this setting, would not be the time to have a reunion.

Heading over to him, with barely a second thought, Inara brushed right past him, knocking into him deliberately. As he turned to face her, she blushed and apologized rapidly, “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“No, of course not, it was my fault,” Simon stammered, anxious to be on his way, but still keeping his manners. “Are you all right?”

Risking a look into his face, Inara glanced up at him and waited for recognition; nothing. “Yes, I’m fine, I …” She trailed off, watching over his shoulder as River and Jayne headed for the door. Just another minute and they’d be gone. “I’m sorry, but you’re not Doctor Tam are you?”

She watched Simon’s face redden, an expression she remembered with fondness as he said sheepishly, “Yes, I am. I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“Oh no, doctor,” Inara said, feigning her embarrassment as she continued her ruse. “We’ve never met. I know you by reputation only.”

Smiling his thanks to her, he took her hand and kissed the top of it lightly, executing a slight bow in the process. “Thank you, Miss …” He waited for her to supply name.

“Serra,” she said quickly, again waiting for recognition; again nothing.

“Miss Serra, thank you. Have a wonderful evening.” With that he moved off, heading over to where River and Jayne had been only moments before.

Inara watched him go, an even heavier hand clenched around her heart. He had not even faltered, shown not even a second of acknowledgement. Sighing, Inara thought about what this would mean, for all of them, but especially for Kaylee. Blinking away sudden tears, she headed back for her date, burying the urge to run out of the party, back to Serenity and into Mal’s arms. They needed to see this through and she needed to play her part.

***

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