A/N: All right everyone, keep those comments coming and no one gets hurt!

Thanks again to Leiasky - for everything!

***

A NEW LIFE, ch. 13: Lost in the Woods

***

Jayne stood in the doorway to the bridge, watching as River pulled the ship up and off planet. Pointing her towards the black with a deftness he would have never guessed her capable of, he waited until they were again sailing among the stars before approaching her.

As he moved to her, she spun in her chair, attempting to move past him and out of the room. Standing in her path, he told her, “You can’t run from me, darlin’.” Waiting for her to say something, he gazed down at her, the top of her head the only thing he could see as she stared intently at the floor. “It’s gonna be okay,” he finally said, trying to reassure her.

It had apparently been the wrong thing to say. “No it won’t,” she told him harshly, raising large, wet eyes in his direction. He saw her sadness there, mixed with rage and the combination on her delicate face made his heart leap into his throat. “You don’t know that. He’s in pain and I can’t help.”

“The doc’s a big boy, River,” Jayne reminded her, trying to reason with her. “He’ll work through some of this on his own and then, when he’s stuck, he’ll come to you for help. That’s how you’ve always done it before.”

“He doesn’t remember,” she said quietly, her eyes again downcast. “What if I’ve just pulled him from one life to live another? What if he belonged back there, with those people,” she murmured her voice trailing off before she added, “With her?”

Jayne knew now what the real problem was; River was jealous. “Look, your brother may be pompous an’ arrogant an’ too smart for his own good,” Jayne began, getting a look of incredulity from River, as she wondered where he was going with this line of thought. “But he loves you, somethin’ fierce, and he loves lil’ Kaylee too.” River’s eyes were again threatening to overrun with tears, as he told her, “And if he walked away from that, he’d be a damn fool.”

“Hold me, Jayne,” River sobbed, as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Bringing his arms around her small frame, Jayne held her tightly, wishing he had more to offer her than the embrace. Wishing he could stop her tears all together.

***

Alicia didn’t remember much of the ride back to Osiris. She was in such a state of shock and disgust it was hard for her to remind herself to breathe in and out, let alone take in her surroundings. She was consumed with anger and betrayal at the thought of Simon choosing those people over her.

Of course she could not deny that something had been done to him, to his memories. The scans confirmed his suspicions that someone had wanted him to forget, forget that ship and the people on it, forget his sister and her troubled past. But Alicia still could not understand it. There was no reason for Simon to have to be anyone but himself. He was a good man with a bright future – and now, because of some ridiculous determination to find something he’d lost, he was gone from her, forever.

She didn’t like being this type of girl, the kind who demanded attention and could not understand others’ motivations. But she also couldn’t help it; she loved him, that was the truth and his absence from her was painful. But her anger over his loss from her life also masked a deep-seeded fear. If Simon could not remember a sister, than why couldn’t she either? She had been his friend for years, had been to his home on many occasions, both past and present. What was preventing her from remembering that haunted girl she’d just left? What had truly happened to Simon when he’d been gone for all those months? What life had he led and why couldn’t she know?

Once she had made it back to Osiris she considered her options. She could go find Keller and commiserate with him over the loss of their friend, but her conversation with him just two days ago made her reconsider that option. He had known something, known about Simon’s double life and that distrust would not be so easily buried. So she decided instead to go to the people she had known for most of her adult life, people she trusted and people who she knew loved Simon. Regardless of their assumed role in what had happened to their son, she had to believe that they still wanted what was best for him.

Standing on the doorstep to the Tams’ home, she almost lost her nerve. But thinking of Simon, standing in the middle of that dingy scrap heap, surrounded by criminals fortified her just enough to press the announcer. When the butler answered, he recognized her immediately and ushered her inside to where both the Tams were sitting in the parlor.

The room was already full of tension that Alicia could feel. She looked between both Regan and Gabriel as she crossed the few steps between them, going to Regan and returning the embrace of greeting she offered.

“Alicia, dear,” Regan said, as she pulled away and gestured for Alicia to sit. Despite the palpable tension in the room, none of it showed in Regan’s voice or her demeanor. “How wonderful to see you. I hope you’re well.”

“Yes, Mrs. Tam, I’m fine,” she lied, trying to mask her unease with a smile. Apparently it was as transparent as it felt.

“I don’t think so, child,” Gabriel answered. “Brandy?” Meeting his gaze, she saw a coolness there she had never witnessed before and she silently cursed herself for ever thinking she could turn to them.

Alicia nodded reluctantly, thinking the drink might calm her nerves. Sitting here now, in this room facing Simon’s parents, Alicia wasn’t so sure of her decision. There was no reason to believe they had or had not been involved, no reason to believe they wouldn’t want to do something to keep Simon safe. But she also had no reason to believe they were even close to objective observers of this wildly ridiculous situation.

Once she had accepted the drink and taken a sip, Gabriel seated himself opposite her and regarded her with the cold gaze from before. “Now, why don’t you tell us what’s wrong?”

“Gabriel,” Regan hissed, swatting a hand in his direction. She had taken a seat next to Alicia and now rested a light hand on the girl’s back. “Be nice. She’s obviously had quite a fright.” Regarding her for a moment more, Regan felt her own fear well in her chest. They had not seen Simon for days, not since his sister had come looking for him in the middle of the night. Regan feared, based on the pale expression and bloodshot eyes that Alicia now greeted them with, the inevitable had come to pass.

Stifling a sob Alicia had not been prepared for, she turned fearful eyes to Mrs. Tam and said quietly, “Simon’s gone.”

Inhaling sharply at her admission, Regan was unable to form a thought fast enough to beat her husband to his round of questioning. “Where? When?” He asked hurriedly, leaning forward and glaring at the young doctor with an angry intensity.

Swallowing past her growing fear, Alicia continued shakily, “A couple of days ago, this girl, she came to my apartment. Simon was there. She said she was his sister, River.” Alicia paused to study their reactions. She watched Regan’s eyes grow wide and then instantly narrow, a coldness settling over her face that chilled Alicia. Gabriel simply continued to stare at her, his mouth pressing firmly into a thin line. “He remembered her and then left with her.”

“A few days ago?” Gabriel raged, rising and pacing away from his wife and Simon’s obviously idiotic girlfriend. She should have come to them immediately, then maybe he’d have a chance of getting Simon back before irreparable damage had been done to his already modified brain. “You should have come before now,” he ground out, his tone causing her to shiver noticeably.

Raising once again angry eyes to his face, Alicia decided she would not be intimidated, not by this man, who she was growing more and more convinced knew a whole lot more than he was letting on. Rising, she stood, although her body still shook from the energy of her pent-up emotions and bit out, “And you should have told me Simon had a sister.”

Both Tams’ jaws dropped to the ground as she said the words. With wide eyes, Regan turned a questioning gaze to her husband, trying to determine what they could possibly do to salvage this situation. It was all going to end badly, she knew that know and she wished she knew how to stop it.

When neither of them said another word to her, Alicia turned on her heel and stalked from the room. Gabriel hastened to catch her, and met her in the grand foyer, whirling her around with a tight grip on her arm. “Where is he now,” he asked her, his tone menacing.

Wresting her arm from his grasp, Alicia didn’t know what to say or what to think. She didn’t want Simon to come back to this, she knew that now. His reservations about his parents had just been confirmed for her in the past five minutes. They were obviously manipulative, vindictive people who would throw money at any problem. Simon had been right: he deserved better.

Shrugging slightly, she said, “I don’t know. He left a few days ago, that’s all I can tell you.”

And with that she stormed from the room. Gabriel watched her go, his chest heaving with rage. By the time Regan joined him, he had managed to calm down somewhat but he was still unbelievably angry, angry that they had failed, all of them, to get the life back they wanted.

Before Regan could question him, Gabriel pulled his personal comm from his pocket and thumbed it on. “Put a tail on Alicia Sampson and get me docking and departure logs from port control for the past five days.”

Glaring to his wife, Gabriel stalked from the room, growling, “This isn’t over.”

***

They had been on their way to Beaumonde for about two weeks, roughly halfway, when River began to notice a true change in her brother. He had been tired and distant as the days had dragged on and his memories had remained elusive. At first, he had humored her the stories and tales she told; followed her dutifully as she walked him through every inch of the ship; even managed to stomach a few sit-downs with the whole crew, the other four adults on board sitting uncomfortably at a loss for something to say to the poor little lost boy they had taken on.

And it was this, this stress of not remembering that finally wore him down. River came to his bunk to see if she could convince him to eat something – he’d been refusing food for a few days now, when she was greeted with a sullen, despondent young man.

Entering his room, she sat quickly on the edge of his bed, and asked, “Simon, are you all right?”

He looked up at her and his eyes caused her breath to catch in her throat. There were deep, dark circles underneath them, his blue eyes now dulled from the tension of these past few weeks. He grimaced at her and said, “Sure, I’m fine.”

Reaching out to run a light hand through his hair, he jerked away at her touch and she bit her lip to keep her tears in. Returning the hand to her lap, she asked, “Tell me what’s wrong.”

He looked to her and then rose slowly, his body protesting the movement. He was so incredibly tired – beyond tired actually, weary. His muscles and bones were heavy with tension and anxiety and he couldn’t sleep as his mind could no longer calm down enough to allow him even an hour of peace. He felt as if he had left one nightmare for another.

Turning on her suddenly with a fierceness she had never expected, he flipped the food-laden tray from her hands and screamed, “I can’t remember!”

The sound brought both Jayne and Mal running and she held up a hand to stop them in the doorway. She knew they’d both just as soon knock the stuffing out her brother than hear him talk like that to her again, but she knew nothing would be solved by violence.

River watched as her brother fumed and tried to keep her own cool. His anger at his inability to remember caused her own blood to boil. Being this close to him as he raged was influencing more of her reactions than she'd like to admit. But she needed to stay calm, especially if she was to have any hope of helping him.

"Do you remember me," she asked, knowing the answer, but wanting him to say the words.

Turning a glare on her, he bit out, "Of course, you know that."

She nodded once and said soundly, "Then you'll remember everything else."

"You don't know that!" His voice was raised to the point of breaking, and Jayne took a step into the room, ready to take the boy down if he decided to get violent. River turned a scathing look to him that told him everything he needed to know - stay back.

"You don't either," she reminded Simon, her voice growing hard with conviction.

"River, I’ve been on board for over two weeks and still nothing," he bit out, trying to contain his anger, but finding it difficult. He wanted her to understand, needed her to understand how incredibly frustrating this was for him. Everyone looked at him expecting him to be the Simon they remembered. But he couldn’t. It was a maddening feeling. One that he knew was slowly driving him insane with frustrated anger. "I don't remember this ship or any of these people," he said motioning to the door where Mal and Jayne still stood resolutely. "And I sure as hell don't remember Kaylee!" How was he supposed to behave when he saw her and remembered nothing? She was supposed to be the love of his life. But, as with all of the other strangers on board, he knew he wouldn't remember her. He didn't know if he ever would. What was he supposed to do with his life then? The life he thought he knew was a lie, and the life he had lived, he couldn't even remember. He was lost and he was scared and he was quickly growing beyond angry.

River watched him with a knowing gaze and he hated it. Hated that she could dress him down with just a look and hated that he knew her so well, even though he had just remembered her. "You will," she told him, her voice leaving no room for argument.

Sighing heavily, the fight left him and he slumped forward, falling to the edge of the bed. "What if I don't," he asked, his voice barely a rasp. “You saw those scans. The damage they did … it could be irreversible.” His voice died on his lips as he considered, not for the first time, the very real fact that he may never recover all he had lost. Unable to form any other thought, he simply repeated, “What if I don’t?”

Reaching out a gentle hand, she touched him lightly on the shoulder, forcing him to face her. When his eyes met hers he saw her determination there and her faith - faith in him, faith in them, faith in the 'verse. Simon wondered how a girl who had been so broken so badly could have such conviction in anything. "You will," she said it again, her tone still solid and resolute, leaving Simon with no other choice but to nod.

As he continued to brood, River knew there were no other reassurances she could give to comfort him, not now. In silence, she collected the food he’d spread all over the floor and walls, cleaning it up as best she could. Backing out of the room, Mal and Jayne moved to accommodate her. Before she closed his door, she looked back to her brother, fresh tears in her eyes, but when she spoke it was with a steady voice. “If you need me, you know where to find me,” she said simply and then slid his screen shut.

Turning to leave, Mal and Jayne were both blocking her path. Not raising her eyes to look at either of them, she said quietly, “Excuse me.”

“River,” Jayne began, reaching out a hand to her.

Stepping around him and out of his embrace, she made her way up the stairs to the galley to dump the now worthless food. Both men stared after her, only turning to regard each other with dumbfounded looks once she was out of sight.

“Well, ain’t this fun,” Mal murmured, as he ran a hand over the back of his neck, wishing he could do something more than stand around and be useless.

With a murderous look on his face, Jayne glared at the now closed door to the doc’s room, and muttered, “Yeah, fun.”

With a gruff sigh, he stalked off to his weight bench, leaving Mal to wonder if they hadn’t just made a pretty terrible situation go from bad to worse.

***

Gabriel eyed the two agents that stood on his doorstep, wondering why he should even let them in. They had utterly failed him and his son. But some things could not be helped and he still needed them.

Ushering them inside, he asked, “Were you able to get the logs?”

Nodding, one of the agents extended a blue-gloved hand to him with a thin memory stick in it. “These logs include all the ships that left Osiris within in the past five days.” Holding up another stick he said, “And this once includes all the security feeds.”

Gabriel took the small device, amazed at how light the weight of so much information could be. “Thank you,” he said tightly, and turned to leave.

“Mister Tam.”

Turning at the sound of the cold voice, he regarded both agents coolly and answered, “Yes?”

“We will be going with you,” one of the agents told him. “To retrieve your son.”

“Why,” Gabriel asked, his suspicion and anger both on the rise. “There is nothing you can do to convince him to come back.”

Exchanging a look, the same agent told him, “That is the point. If he will not return with you, he will not be allowed to return.”

Inhaling sharply at this threat, Gabriel thought about throwing both of the creeps from his house, but he knew with certainty that would be beyond foolish. His deal with the Alliance to get Simon back had included giving them carte blanche privileges when it came to his son, mind, body and spirit. And as much as Gabriel didn’t like the arrangement, he was a man of his word. He would honor their agreement.

Turning to again retreat to his study, he gestured to both men. “Well, come on then. The longer this takes, the harder he becomes to track.”

***

“Miss Kaylee! Miss Kaylee!”

Kaylee turned at the sound of her name to see Ellie and Tristan running at full tilt in her direction. Placing Daniel down gently in his crib, she knelt to encompass the two children in a big hug as they reached her.

“What is it, little ones,” she asked, looking from one flushed face to the other as both toddlers tried to catch their breath.

“There’s a message for ya,” Tristan said, getting his voice back first and getting a harsh look from Ellie at beating her to it.

“It’s from ‘Rentiy,” Ellie added, not willing to be outdone by the boy.

Kaylee’s smile faded in an instant as the children’s words reached her. Rising slowly, an inexplicable fear gripping her heart, she could think of nothing to say.

At her shocked expression and pale face, Ellie got worried. Tugging on her hand, she said, “Miss Kaylee, what’s wrong?” When Kaylee could not answer her, the little girl hissed to Tristan, “Go get Miss Millie.”

The sound of the older woman’s name snapped Kaylee from her dazed stare and she tried to smile down at both of the angelic faces gazing up to her. “No, no, now don’t go worryin’ Miss Millie, I’ll be fine. You go run along now and get some good playin’ in for supper.”

With wide grins back on their faces, she heard their footsteps recede along the wooden planking of the porch that wrapped around the house. Sinking slowly into the rocking chair next to her baby’s bassinet, she stared off into the yard, not seeing, not hearing for a long while, wondering why the crew’d be trying to reach out to her now and wondering if she’d have the strength to hear the message.

***

Inara was not surprised to find Simon in the infirmary. Despite anything and everything that was happening, this was still his domain. Entering the room and standing just inside the threshold, she watched him stare off into space for a few more moments before clearing her throat to get his attention.

Casting a sad glance to her, he sighed heavily and then went back to staring at nothing. In an exasperated tone, he said, "No, I haven't remembered anything yet. Thanks for checking."

Smiling slightly at his patented annoyance, Inara moved further into the room and leaned on the counter opposite him. "That wasn't what I was going to say," she told him, keeping her patience.

Turning a disbelieving look to her, he grimaced slightly and said, "Oh really?"

"Really," she confirmed, studying him closely. He was so sad, it hurt her to see him in such a depressed state. While Simon had always been serious, sometimes painfully so, he had never been this miserable before, and she wished, for both his sake and Kaylee's, that she could relieve some of the despair reflected in his gaze. "I was actually coming to see if you wanted to talk."

He snorted derisively and stood up from the exam chair he was leaning against, wandering away from her. Finally, turning back to face her, a frustrated anger was reflected in his eyes as he said, "Talk about what? I have no memory."

Smiling tightly at him, she returned his annoyed gaze and started to rattle off the list of possible conversation topics. "Well, let's see, you just discovered your parents, the two people in the 'verse who are supposed to love and care for you no matter what have erased your memory. You've found a sister you didn't know existed and who is a little, challenging," she paused at the word and got the rueful smile she had hoped for. "And now you're hurtling through space with said sister on a ship with four complete strangers, going to see a fifth member of the crew who you had a relationship with." She stopped again and met his gaze with a smile. "I think we have plenty to talk about."

Unable to not smile at her assessment, he chuckled lightly, a genuine laugh, and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. "I guess you're right."

She waited for him to continue knowing he would. She could see his need to confide in someone, to at least get out his frustrations at being expected to behave a certain way and having no idea what that behavior would or should look like. Finally, he sank against the wall and said wistfully, "I miss the hospital."

When Inara did not interrupt him, he continued, "Things were simple there, black and white. I knew who to be there. Out here,” he said, waving his hand in the air, trying to encompass all the unknowns with that one gesture, “I have no idea.”

He stopped again and Inara knew he was struggling to reconcile his parents’ betrayal with his desire to have his life back – or rather, what he thought was his life, back. “Everyone keeps looking to me to be myself, but that’s not really what they want. They want me to be someone I can’t remember and the expectation is killing me,” he finished bitterly, again casting his gaze to the floor and stifling a few tears that managed to work their way into the corner of his blue eyes.

“When I joined this crew, I was looking for an escape,” she told him, remembering her deep desire, all those years ago to get away from all the expectations and history that followed on her heels. She had come out to the black desperately seeking a freedom and independence she could not find on Sihnon and the advent of it had almost stifled her.

“I thought I wanted to live a life with no expectations, no scrutiny.” She moved to stand in front of him, placing a finger under his chin and lifting his face to meet hers. Smiling at him, she said, “I thought it would be freeing, but it wasn’t. It was harder than I had ever imagined.”

Simon swallowed thickly, his voice distorted by emotion as he asked, “So how did you handle it?”

Inara smiled at him and said, “I figured out that living out here, far away from the black and white, is easier when you let people help you.” He rolled his eyes at her then convinced he knew where she was going with this little pep talk and not in the mood.

“Inara, the fact of the matter is, I don’t know anything about you or any of the people on this ship. And I surely don’t remember this Kaylee person that everyone keeps telling me was the love of my life. How can I let people help when I don’t even know who to trust?” His desire for an answer far outweighed his concern at so plainly voicing his fears.

“You think I trusted this bunch of misfits when I first came on board,” she asked incredulously. “You have met Jayne, right?”

He chuckled at her and she continued. “No, it took time, I wasn’t sure if I should rely on any of them or if I even wanted to. Of course, Kaylee would have none of that.” Inara smiled at the memory, remembering how that girl, full of energy and light had come bounding into her shuttle one day, flopped down on her bed and demanded to know every detail of her life. And much to Inara’s surprise, she had confided in her. “Slowly, I started to get to know them and they became more than just crew.” Looking back to Simon with a deep love in her eyes, she said, “They became family.” When he had no response, she said quietly, “And I have you to thank for that.”

Completely startled, he raised his eyes to her and repeated, “Me?”

She nodded and said, “Yes. Before you came on board with River, we were all doing fine, but until you showed us, all of us, what true love and devotion is, I don’t think we had a clue. We didn’t know how important our family, this family was, until you and your sister demonstrated it for us, everyday.” Moving closer to him, she firmly held his gaze and said, “You gave us hope, Simon, you did. Whether you can remember or not is of little consequence, because the rest of us can.”

She backed away from him, watching as he tried to process her words. Heading back the way she’d come, she said, “I’m not telling you to be someone you’re not, Simon. I know how taxing that can be. All I’m saying is, don’t be afraid to look for answers in the gray. Sometimes, they make much more sense than anything in black and white.”

And with that the cultured woman strode from the room, leaving an even more befuddled Simon in her wake. She hoped her words would have a positive effect and sooner, rather than later. They were due on Beaumonde in just a little over a week and her heart beat painfully to think of Kaylee’s reaction if Simon not only didn’t remember her, but didn’t even try.

***

Later that night as Inara lay wrapped in Mal’s tight embrace, she thought on her conversation with Simon. The boy was so troubled, so conflicted, she could barely stand to look at him, his tortured gaze causing her own heart to swell with pity. But it was Simon and he was a friend, and more importantly, her best friend’s lover and she couldn’t continue to keep that secret. It wasn’t fair.

“Mal,” she said softly, knowing he was still awake, his own thoughts too burdensome to let him sleep.

“What, darlin’,” he asked, matching her tone and dropping a light kiss into her hair.

Smiling at the gesture and at him, she raised herself up on one elbow to look down into his handsome face. In the dim light of the shuttle she could just make out his blue eyes and they caused a flutter to go right through her heart. She really did love him.

“I think we should tell Kaylee,” she said, doing her best to still the tremor in her voice.

His expression not changing, he tried to feign ignorance. “Tell ‘er what?”

Frowning at him, Inara pressed the issue. “She has a right to know, about Simon. And I think it’s only fair for us to tell her before we show up on the Everetts’ doorstep.” Inara could tell Mal had already given this idea some thought and that he’d already made a decision.

“I don’t think so, darlin’,” he told her firmly, attempting to roll over and go to sleep.

“Oh no, you don’t,” she warned, pinning his arm, forcing him to stay facing her. “What gives you the right to just make that decision? For Kaylee or for Simon?”

“Look, way I see it, the doc can’t remember Kaylee, so what’s the point gettin’ her hopes up if he’s just gonna crush him ‘gain,” Mal asked, his voice rising in volume. He was determined to win this argument, although he knew his track record against Inara was not in his favor.

“And the way I see it, springing such a shock on Kaylee will not make that reality any easier.” Inara’s eyes burned with a controlled passion that normally set Mal’s heart to thumping. Currently, it was only serving to further convince him that he was about to lose.

“Inara, do you remember what Kaylee was like after he’d gone,” Mal asked, hoping he could still reason with her.

Rolling her eyes at the idiocy of the question, she countered, “What kind of thing is that to ask? Of course, I can. I’m the one that sat with her most nights, when she’d let me, listening to her cry.”

“Exactly, an’ I don’t want you to go through that again.” The admission startled even Mal. He had been telling himself for the past few days that keeping Kaylee in the dark was for her own good, but maybe that wasn’t the real reason after all. Maybe he was more selfish than that; maybe he just didn’t want to have to watch Inara suffer as she had those first two months listening to her friend’s pain and being unable to stop it. She had tried to soldier through it, tried to smile at him and tell him she was fine, but he had known it was eating her up inside and God help him, Mal did not want her to go through that again.

Inara smiled at him, recognizing his genuine concern and being touched by it. But it didn’t change the fact that keeping this secret wasn’t right. Reaching out, she caressed his cheek with her hand and placed the lightest of kisses to his mouth. “Sweetie, I love that you want to protect me from that, but this isn’t about me or you.” He didn’t interrupt her, so she continued. “This is about what’s right for Kaylee. And she needs to know.”

Mal sighed heavily, and placing a hand around the back of Inara’s head, he drew her in closer and placed another, more passionate kiss to her mouth. Inara moaned softly against him, and Mal deepened the touch, wanting to erase every doubt and fear they both had over what the coming weeks and months would bring; if only he could.

Sighing, as she again settled against him, Mal felt a few of her tears fall against his chest. Running a hand across her shoulders, he whispered into her hair, “We’ll tell her tomorrow. Together.” With that, he pressed a kiss to her temple and tried to fall asleep. But it took both of them a long while to finally drift off.

***

River and Jayne were in the mess talking quietly when Simon happened upon them. As he turned the corner into the room and discovered them, his heart leapt into his throat and an unexplainable unease constricted his chest. His sister was setting close to the big man, running her fingers lightly up and down his arm. It was an intimate gesture and one Simon was not at all sure he was comfortable with.

Clearing his throat, River and Jayne both looked up at his entrance, Jayne going back to his food with a passion. “Hi Simon,” his sister greeted him brightly. Standing, she placed a light kiss on his cheek and asked, “How are you feeling?”

Shrugging as he made himself some tea, he answered, “Still clueless. You?”

Smiling at his sarcasm, she again pecked him lightly on the cheek and said, “I’m heading to the bridge. Come visit if you feel like it.” With that, she turned and walked off towards the bow of the ship, passing Jayne on the way and running a light hand up his arm and over his shoulder. The other man’s eyes followed her as she went and Simon noticed, again with some discomfort, the way his gaze seemed to linger a bit too long on his sister’s backside.

Waiting until River was well out of earshot, Simon took his tea to the table and sat a few seats away from where Jayne was continuing to eat. When the other man said nothing, Simon crossed his arms over his chest and asked, “Are you involved with my sister?”

Pausing mid-bite, Jayne swallowed hard, not all sure this was a conversation he ever wanted to have. Taking a swig of his drink before answering, he took a deep breath and met the doctor’s cool eyes. “Maybe. Why?”

Simon cocked an eyebrow at him, thinking of a million reasons why he should be and was concerned. Truthfully, he told the older man, “Because something tells met that were my memory fully intact, I would not be happy about your interest in my baby sister.”

Jayne grinned wickedly, confirming all of Simon’s suspicions in an instant and causing a tight fear to coil in his gut. Downing the rest of his drink, Jayne rose in silence and placed his dishes in the sink, pausing on his way out of the room to regard the younger man. With another devilish smile, he said, “Well, then, I guess it’s good for all o’ us, you don’t ‘member.”

And with that he left the room, a spring in his step that Simon was sure was not natural. Sighing heavily, Simon lost interest in his now lukewarm tea and downed it into the sink. Rubbing his eyes, he wondered if he really did want to remember this life. Of course, if he could maybe he’d have an excuse to deck the bigger ape and that might make him feel a little better. With another audible sigh, he retreated again to his infirmary, figuring it was the only place on board he could truly fit in.

***

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