A/N: Here's the follow up! You find out who the mystery woman is...and she may not be who you expected. Hope you like it and thanks to Leiasky for beta-ing! Link to Runaway: Teaser

Disclaimer: Not mine, just writing for fun. ~~

“Simon!?“ Simon stared back at the young woman in front of him, confused and shocked at the sight of her. He hadn’t seen Charlotte in years, not since his descent into lunacy, as his father had so aptly put it. The family had distanced themselves from him as he furthered his efforts to save his sister from the Academy and his cousin had dutifully followed suit. It was shocking to see her so far away from the Core, she had been one of the belles of the Osiran social scene. He could never have imagined her leaving the folds and comfort of that society to be wed on Persephone, a second rate planet that held nothing of the frivolities of life that she had so enjoyed when he had known her. Recovering first from the shock of seeing her and secondly in such a state of distress, Simon answered back with only her name, “Charlotte?!” "Oh Simon!" She flew into Simon’s arms, slamming her body against his so fiercely that the crown atop her head shook as the baubles of jade and pearls smacked into one another, jingling and slapping Simon in the face as she buried her head against his shoulder. Her tears returned full force as she clung desperately to him, her chest heaving as the sobs racked her body. Simon’s arms were captured underneath her own willowy ones, squeezing him so tightly he could only pat the middle of her back with his one hand, the other lying limply while he struggled to keep the grip on his gun, which took great effort. Mal was standing back, watching the spectacle with concern before clearing his throat to garner the couple's attention, “Hate to break up this little reunion but umm... Running. Capture. Shooting. I think it’s best we move on now, doc.” Charlotte released her hold on her cousin and took in the disheveled, demanding man before her. He rankled her senses, and she scrunched up her nose in disdain at his odious manner, commanding Simon about like he was above him. “Who are you?!” Her voice held all the haughtiness of a princess and she looked at Simon in complete befuddlement, “Who is he?!” “Charlotte, I -” His words were cut off by the stomping of heavy boots, loud even against the plush carpeting. His eyes carried the weight of the situation to Charlotte as a pounding knock echoed against the room’s door. Both men vigorously shook their heads no as she went up to unlock the door, opening it only slightly to peer through a crack. Before her were two men, dressed in The Grand Markham’s security uniform. “Excuse us, Miss, but we need to search your room. There seem to be some ruffians about and- “ He was summarily cut off by Charlotte’s response, scathing and regal all at the same time, “How dare you ask to come into my bridal chamber! This is my wedding day and you will most certainly not be traipsing through here, searching for some hooligans that you have misplaced. Good Day!” Slamming the door on them without another thought, Charlotte picked up a small bag and grabbed Simon’s hand dragging him behind her as she made her way across the room to a curtain. She pulled back the fabric to reveal a set of French doors that lead out into a lush garden. “We need to hurry, the daijin is on her way back, and once they’ve noticed I’m gone, a warning will be posted. We need to get to the street, quickly. Follow me.” Mal followed Simon and his cousin out the doors, keeping his pistol ready for any trouble. She lead them down a path which she would have followed along to the wedding march in just a few short minutes if Simon had not barged into her room. She ducked as they hit a low hedge, the sounds of tinkling glass and murmuring conversation from the other side reaching their ears as wedding guests mingled and drank before the ceremony. Simon desperately wanted to raise his head and see if his parents were there, he even subconsciously began to raise his head higher, but Charlotte broke the spell by tugging on his arm forcefully. She knew what he was going to look for and she shook her head as she pulled him along in her crouched position, whispering back, “They’re not here. None of the Tams are but my father.” Simon’s brow furrowed at the implications this shed on Charlotte’s impending marriage, but he put those thoughts out of his mind and focused on the situation at hand. She lead them down another path to a gate that was hidden beneath a vast wealth of shrubbery, but it was locked. Mal pushed her aside and kicked at the metal grating, doing nothing but giving him a great pain in his shin as the metal reverberated with the effort. He then lifted his pistol and shot the lock, the gate door swinging violently out to the street on the other side. He ran out and Simon and Charlotte followed, greeted by passer bys who were shocked at the suddenness of the flying gate. They pushed their way through the crowd as Mal took the lead, finally getting his bearings as they sped along the crowded street. A great commotion arose behind them as they dodged through the throng of people, weaving their way back to the Eavesdown Docks and Serenity.

~~

They made it to the comfort of the seedier side of the city, though Charlotte's dress did bring some unwanted attention and more than a few lingering stares. She jingled as they passed through the people walking down the dirty, dusty unpaved streets, clutching her small valise in one hand and lifting the hem of her dress with the other, her delicate crimson shoes being ruined by the hard travel they were going through. She looked positively demoralized and a bit absurd, her veil fluttering behind her as Simon pulled her along by her elbow. Mal kept throwing glances back at Charlotte, who was considerably slowing down the getaway process but he felt small bit of gratitude since she had helped them escape the hotel before they would have been assuredly detained and possibly arrested. The melodic tinkling of her headdress was driving Mal crazy. He spun around and pointed to it as he commanded, “Take that ridiculous thing off, it looks we stole us a bride!” Charlotte stopped in her tracks, her disbelief at his harsh words stirring her temper. She pointed to the crown atop her head as her words flashed out at him like lightening, charging the air with hostile energy, “This is certainly not ridiculous, my wedding crown is a family heirloom! It’s practically priceless and I would thank you-” She was cut off by Mal staring down at the young woman, spitting out his words with venomous exigency, “Take that ridiculous thing off, right now! And I would stop talking so loud ’bout how much it’s worth round these parts, ’fore someone decides to take it off for you.” Simon stepped in at that moment, turning Charlotte to face him by the grip he had on her elbow, “Please, Charlotte. It is drawing undue attention, and we need to be a little less conspicuous.” Her lashes lowered at Simon’s gracious plea, “I can’t. The daijin put it on and I have no idea how to get it off without ripping my hair out.” Simon looked at the hairpiece and saw where the fastenings attached to her piled up hair. He turned her gently and untangled some of her hair that had been wrapped around the headdress, plucking it off her head, with only a few long strands falling out of her intricate hairstyle. Simon used the wedding veil as a sack to carry the crown in as Mal motioned for her to take off her jewelry as well. “All of it. Now.“ She pulled off all the necklaces, depositing them as well in the makeshift sack and slipping the jade and gold bangles off her wrists, scowling at Mal the whole time. She still had on the stunning wedding gown, which Mal promptly covered with his own brown coat. She looked like a soaked kitten, her eyeliner spread out on the sides of her face from her wiping away tears, the coat drowning her in it’s enormity against her small frame. Mal appraised her appearance and nodded, “Better.” Charlotte sniffed as another wave of tears prickled at the corners of her eyes, but she did not shed them. She turned up her chin, nose in the air and let Simon pull her along as they rounded another corner. Charlotte had never seen such a sight as the Eavesdown Docks. The place was littered with what she considered the dregs of society. Grimy and tattered people walking in filth and dust, and the smell was atrocious, attacking her senses, her nose wrinkling with distaste. She looked at her cousin, clothed in a dark shirt that she now saw had been splattered with some kind of white substance and pair of plain grey pants. Simon had always been fastidiously dressed, impeccable in his appearance. She noticed the slight stubble on his chin and frowned at how he had let himself go. After a few short turns, they were stalking towards Serenity.

~~

Kaylee was pacing the cargo bay deck, her boots echoing off the hull. Simon and Mal had been missing for a half hour since Jayne and Zoe had made their way back to the boat. She hated when Simon went on jobs, which had become more frequent as of late. When she saw the Captain shuffling through the crowds her heart leapt. Then she saw Simon, right behind him, hand in hand with some dark haired woman wearing Mal’s coat. A stirring of jealousy slammed against her chest as she watched him help her up the ramp, but she pushed it into the back of her mind as she flung herself into Simon’s arms. He embraced her with gentleness, knowing she had been worried about him in his absence from the ship. “I was so scared y’all got pinched,” she whispered in his ear as she clung to him, finding comfort in his arms. “We’re fine bao bei,” he whispered back, kissing her temple. "Yeah, I 'm fine too, ya know," Mal called out from the ramp controls, leaning on them as he watched couple hold on to each other fiercely. “Simon?” Kaylee and Simon both turned their heads to Charlotte as she stood to their side, a look of utter confusion plastered across her face. Kaylee disentangled her arms from Simon’s embrace to face the woman in front of her. She looked oddly familiar to Kaylee but with all that smeared makeup on she couldn’t really see her face too well. Simon took a step back and reached his arm out to introduce Charlotte, “Kaylee, this is my cousin, Charlotte Tam. Charlotte, this is Kaylee Frye.” “Oh!” Kaylee’s hand flew to her mouth, looking over at the other young woman, kicking herself for not recognizing the resemblance she shared with Simon and River, “Well, it certainly is nice ta meet ya.” Kaylee reached out her hand to Charlotte who was weary to take it. Charlotte gave Kaylee a once over, taking in the grease under her finger nails, the juvenile buns on the top of her head, her plebian speech. She was pretty enough, in that fresh faced, farm girl, country bumpkin sort of way. Charlotte noticed she was a little thick in the middle, but remembered that Simon always liked those sort of girls. She must be amazing in bed, Charlotte thought to herself, seeing no other charms at present that would even remotely attract someone of Simon's stature to such a girl. She shuddered at the thought of her cousin even deigning to clutch onto this girl, let alone be involved with her, but took Kaylee’s hand with the appropriate graciousness that would be expected of her. She shook it once firmly then released it, a small smile plastered on her face. Kaylee turned a confused look to Simon, "How'd ya all meet up?" Simon's sheepish look spoke volumes to Kaylee as he began to explain, "Well, When Mal and I were trying to-" Mal interrupted with an irritated urgency, not wanting to relive the chase and knowing that time was of the essence, “If we're through with the niceties, I’d like River to get us up in the air ‘fore we invite anymore trouble on my boat. There'll be plenty of time for explanation once we're out in the black.” Charlotte looked at Mal, shocked by his words, “River...is the pilot?” "Yep," Kaylee chimed in as she pulled Simon up the ramp. Charlotte followed her cousin, shaking her head and thinking, What has my family become? as she wiped the hand she had just shaken on Mal’s coat, leaving a small grease track along the side pocket. Mal punched the button to lift up the ramp, "Best get up to the engine room, Kaylee. Don't want nothin' else to go wrong today." Kaylee let go of Simon's hand, squeezing it before heading back up to the engine room. He smiled after her and Charlotte noticed the expression of love that lingered in his eyes. "Get her settled," Mal pointed at Charlotte, his tone bristling her nerves as he headed up the stairs, "We'll talk later." Simon turned to face Charlotte, who had a slight scowl on her face as she watched Mal exit up the stairs. He took her hand gently to lead her out of the cargo bay. Charlotte looked back at the closing ramp, barely a sliver of the afternoon sun shining in as the cold metal ramp pulled up, then around the at hull of the cargo bay, so industrial and foreign to anything she had ever known. It made her feel small and helpless, sending a shiver down her spine as she held her fearful tears at bay. ~~

TBC... Hope you liked it and please comment!