A/N: All right everyone - River finally gets close to what she wants and instantly regrets it.

Thanks to Leiasky for the terrific beta and all the great feedback.

And thanks to all of you for continuing to read and respond - you guys are so awesome!

***

A NEW DAY, ch. 22: Sweet Revenge

***

It was very early, but Rylee was awake. Remembering her dream from the night before with a shiver, she sat up in bed, noticing the very pale color of the sky outside her window. Knowing that no one else was up, she slid out of bed silently, and padded downstairs and out onto the porch that wrapped around the side of their new house, entering the door to her father’s clinic.

The set-up was very similar to Millie’s and Rylee knew that her father enjoyed having something to do, a dedicated place to help people. He had probably adjusted the best out of all them since they’d reached Aberdeen, and usually, the thought of him, smiling at her or laughing with her or holding her would have brought a similar smile to her face. But not today.

With a few tears and a lot of anger, she turned over her forearm, finding the angry red pinprick that he had inflicted on her the night before by sticking her with a needle. She hadn’t wanted him to, Rylee never wanted to see another needle again, never wanted to feel that sharp sting or that burning rush of drugs being injected into her.

But even though she had fought and cried, her father had done it anyway and Rylee needed to be sure that never happened again. Closing the door, Rylee moved towards his cabinets, knowing exactly which drawer held what she was looking for. Climbing up onto a stool, she pulled it open and shivered slightly at the sight, before setting to work.

***

Simon awoke the next morning not feeling any better. Kaylee was still sleeping beside him and not wanting to wake her, as she had had a hard night, he slid out of bed and headed for the twins’ and Rylee’s room, hoping to get the babies before they started crying for breakfast.

Pushing open the door, he saw that Rylee’s bed was empty and his heart immediately thudded in his chest. Glancing to the twins to make sure they were all right, Simon quickly hurried out of the room and crossed the hall to where he knew his son would be.

Opening the door, Daniel was also still asleep, and deciding that he could just as easily find Rylee himself, Simon left him be and headed downstairs. After scouring the entire house, he wandered outside, his anxiety at being unable to locate his daughter on the rise. Finally, circling the far corner of the house, he caught sight of movement within the clinic and hurried in that direction, reaching the door in seconds and flinging it open.

“Rylee!” His voice was sharper and harsher than he had intended, but at the sound, his daugther’s entire body froze. Turning her head in his direction, Simon again saw anger in her eyes, but also fear and the combination caused his breath to catch in his throat.

Locked in the stare for a few moments, Simon finally entered the room, and walked towards her, kneeling in front of where she sat on the stool, her hand poised over the big biohazard trash can he had in the clinic. In it, she held an empty syringe and as Simon glanced into the wastebasket he could see at least a dozen others, already disposed of.

Quietly, he asked her, “What are you doing, sweetheart?”

Turning away from him, Rylee dropped the needle she was holding into the can and reached for another one, taking it from his drawer. “Getting rid of your needles,” she told him evenly, her voice just as quiet.

Swallowing thickly, Simon did not reach out to her, but instead continued to watch her deliberate movements. “But I need those, Ry, to help people.”

“They don’t help, just hurt,” she said, her voice still controlled, measured, as she picked up and dropped each offending instrument into the garbage.

Finally, Simon reached out and closed a hand over hers as she again reached for another needle. This forced her to look at him and Simon felt more tears prick at the back of his eyes as he took in her determined face. “They can help, Rylee. They help me do my job, help me make people well.”

“They help make people hurt,” she reiterated vehemently. Quickly, she slid off the stool, heading for the door, but Simon would not let her go. Reaching for her, he tugged on her arm as she walked by, and pulled her to him.

“That’s not why I use them,” he told her. She refused to meet his gaze and so he continued. “I’m sorry that I had to give you a needle last night, but I was worried about you, I wanted to be sure you got some sleep.”

“They made me sleep too,” she told him sullenly, working hard to swallow back the tears she felt coming. “They said it wouldn’t hurt, but it did.” Raising her eyes finally to meet his face, Simon’s breath caught as he saw the tears that were welling there. “Just like you.”

“Rylee, do you really think I want to hurt you?” Simon’s voice cracked with emotion, but he had to know – he had to know if his daughter no longer trusted him.

Blinking rapidly as her father’s desperation radiated towards her, she murmured, “No.”

“No, that’s right, I don’t. I just want to help you.” Simon was desperate for her to understand. Taking her other hand in his, he searched her face imploringly as he said, “I want to make it better.”

“Then stop being afraid of me.” Her words were so soft, Simon could barely make them out, but once he did, once they registered, he felt a few of his tears break loose.

“What?” he breathed, swallowing hard and trying to control his emotions.

Looking to him with tears of her own, Rylee sighed heavily and said, “I know you and mama are scared of me.” She swallowed again, but she could not keep the sob out of her voice as she asked him, “Don’t you still love me?”

His own sob welling in his chest, Simon pulled her to him and hugged her tightly, rising with her in his arms and sitting down in a chair across the room. Burying his face in her hair, Simon told her, “Of course we still love you, sweetheart. We love you more than anything, that’s why we want to help.”

Looking up to him Rylee hiccupped and said, “I just wanna be normal, daddy.”

His eyes full of compassion, he whispered to her, “You can’t be normal, Ry, you’ll always be special.” The girl cried a bit more and Simon scrambled to think of something to reassure her. “And your mother and I and your brothers and sister, will always love you, no matter what. I promise.”

She nodded once and then fell back against his chest, snuggling herself in as close as she could. With a heavy sigh, she cried some more, feeling more at peace now than she had for months. Feeling her father’s love and concern for her replace the sadness and desperation he had felt earlier, she whispered to him, “Daddy?”

Kissing her, he whipered back, “Yes, sweetheart?”

“No more needles, ‘kay?”

Blinking back more tears, Simon let a slight smile cross his face as he again pressed a kiss into her hair and wrapped his arms around her tighter. “Okay.”

***

River was back on the cortex, looking for more clues, by the time Jayne returned with breakfast. Kissing her lightly as he handed her coffee, he sat behind her on the bed, glancing over her shoulder as more words, pictures and graphs flashed by.

They sat in silence for a long while, River’s fingers never stopping over the keyboard in front of her when, finally, with an audible gasp, she froze. Turning to face him with a wide grin on her features, River told him, “I found him.”

Squinting at the screen over her shoulder, Jayne asked, “Found who? We ain’t lookin’ for a him.”

Nodding once, River leaned to the side so he could get a good look at the screen. “We are now,” she said, pointing to the readout and the graphic of an aged man there. “Him.”

Still not getting it, Jayne leaned forward and skimmed his profile, trying to determine just why exactly they should want to contact this particular man. His eyes making their way past each sentence, he finally stopped and turned his head to regard his wife. By the catlike grin that was now plastered on her face, he knew his initial trepidation had been well-placed.

“Uh huh,” he said firmly, sitting back and giving her a hard gaze. “No way.”

Pouting at him, River turned fully to face him and said, “Jayne, he’s the one. The one who created the antidote. He can give it to us.”

“You really think it’s gonna be that easy?” Jayne gave her a skeptical look and said, “You don’t honestly think we can just go waltzin’ up to his no doubt, heavily guarded front door, fine as you please an’ ask for it, do ya?”

Averting her gaze, River mumbled, “No.”

“No,” Jayne repeated firmly. “No, we surely can’t. And we already got the Feds chasin’ us. Tryin’ to enter a high-class neighborhood ain’t exactly keepin’ a low profile.”

River knew his concerns were valid, but she refused to be deterred. Leaning towards him, she said, “Jayne, we did not come all this way to turn back now. We have to try.” As he pursed his lips at her further, she barreled ahead. “We could create another diversion.”

Rolling his eyes at her, he mumbled, “River, we can’t exactly pick a firefight with some security system.”

Rolling her eyes right back at him, she said impatiently, “No, we can’t. But we know someone who can get in, no questions asked.”

Raising his eyebrows to her questioningly, Jayne asked cautiously, “Who?”

With another smug smile set on her features, River crossed her arms over her chest and told him, “My mother.”

***

“And who is he again?” Regan was still not quite convinced she understood all her daughter was trying to tell her, so with a forced patience, River explained it again.

“His name is Dr. Leonard Yang and he was on the original medical staff at the Academy,” she told her, leaning forward to take her mother’s hands in hers. Meeting her gaze intently, River told her, “And he’s the one who developed the antidote to the virus they used to regulate my ability to have children.”

Regan nodded once, swallowing hard. This was all a little unbelievable for her to believe, but she knew that River was telling the truth. She and Jayne both were much too tense for this to be anything other than a dire circumstance. Regan allowed her eyes to flit between them for a moment, before rising to pace around their very small room.

Looking at the place with a bit of disgust, Regan said, “You know, the two of you should really come stay at the house.”

Sighing heavily, River rose and stood before her mother, arms crossed over her chest. “And I’ve already told you, we can’t. The Alliance has been tipped off to my presence here. Even though the warrants for both Simon and I have expired, there are still some fairly ambitious soldiers who relish the thought of taking me down.” Cocking her head to the side, she said, “Heading back home would be a great way for them to do just that.”

Reaching out, Regan cupped her daugther’s cheek in her hand and gave her a small smile. “You really think this doctor will help?”

Shrugging, River said, “I don’t know if he will, but he can, and that’s all that matters.”

Nodding once, Regan finally allowed her eyes to dart back to Jayne, and she asked him, “What do you think of all of this?”

The sour look on his face answered her question instantly, but with a shrug, he said, “River thinks it’s worth it an’ I trust her.”

Smiling her thanks to him, River again looked to her mother and asked, “So, will you do it?”

Shrugging lightly, she answered, “I suppose. What’s my excuse to see him again?”

Pulling a data card from the bed, River held it up to her and explained, “I downloaded his entire profile from the cortex. Since you still do some volunteer work with the hospital, I thought maybe you could contact him under those auspices, looking for a donation or something.”

Scrolling through the man’s bio, Regan nodded once and said, “I guess I can try.” Hugging her daughter tightly, she told her, “I’ll be in touch as soon as the meeting is set.” Reaching out a hand to Jayne, he stepped forward and took it and she squeezed it lightly. Looking between them both one more time, she said, “Stay safe,” before leaving the room.

Sighing heavily once she’d gone, River sat on the edge of the bed. She hated waiting, but she knew it was a necessary evil when relying on others. Sitting beside her, Jayne wrapped an arm around her shoulders and told her, “Don’t worry, she’ll come through.”

Nodding once, River prayed he was right.

***

“Doctor Yang, what a lovely home.” Regan entered the man’s parlor, playing her role of high class heiress with an ease that could only come from years of practice. The doctor, an older gentleman with graying hair at his temples and a salt and pepper beard, ushered her to a chair and kissing her hand lightly, told her, “It’s Leonard, please.”

Smiling sweetly at him, Regan repeated, “Leonard,” before the man dropped her hand and moved away. Fighting the very real urge to wipe his kiss onto her skirts, she kept her bemused expression as he asked, “Can I get you something to drink, Mrs. Tam?”

“A gin and tonic would be wonderful, Leonard, thank you. And it’s Regan, please.” He smiled back at, inclining his head a bit to acknowledge her request and then set about making drinks. Glancing to the chrono on the far wall, Regan noted the time and knew that River and Jayne would be infiltrating the grounds in just under five minutes. I’ve got to keep him talking.

As he returned to her with her drink, she took it gratefully and said, “So, Leonard, I understand you were one of the leading OB/GYNs in Capitol City at one time.” He nodded once, taking a seat across from her. Continuing she asked, “So tell me, would you be willing then to help us with our new Mother and Baby wing at the hospital?”

“Well, I think that depends,” the doctor answered demurely, hiding a slight smile behind his glass.

Puzzled, Regan asked, “On what?”

“Will it mean I get to see you again?”

Doing her best to suppress the eye roll she felt coming, Regan could only think, Hurry River.

***

Circling Yang’s estate, River and Jayne were to the back of the farthest wall, where River knew the invisible shielding would be weakest. It was a design flaw and a costly one at that, as River knew Blue Sun had had to settle many an expensive lawsuit when the rich and famous discovered their homes had not been as safe from predators as they’d thought.

Uncovering a control panel, River studied the controls for a minute, before finding the two wires she’d need. Looking back to Jayne, she whispered, “Move fast, I can only interrupt the system for a few seconds before it’ll reset.”

He nodded once and moved into position, ready to reach and climb over the wall the minute she gave him the signal. Licking her lips in anticipation, River reached out and grabbed the two wires, exposing the copper beneath their casings and touching them to each other for a second. The grid shorted once and River nodded to Jayne, even as she launched herself up the wall, grabbing at the vines that had overgrown the stone and using them to propel herself up and over.

Making it to the top, she fell to the ground below just as she felt a bit of a jolt from the electric fence recycling on. Jayne let out a little yelp as he had been a tad slower, getting heavier shock, and fell with a loud thud next to her. Checking him quickly, he pushed her away and said, “Okay, next time, we figure out how to go through the front door.”

Smiling slightly at him, they both clung to the shadows. Yang was a retired Alliance member and that afforded him some of the same security protocols as other dignitaries, however, not the use of Alliance soldiers and so River knew that, aside from the fairly sophisticated shielding and a few of his own personal security guards, there shouldn’t be too many more obstacles in their way.

Sliding inside through a veranda door, River and Jayne split up. He was to circle the bottom floor looking out for and possibly detaining any servants or security he came across, while River would find the doctor’s study where she hoped and prayed his files would be. Making it to the room they had already identified from blueprints, River pushed open the heavy wooden door, glad to find the room dark and empty.

Hurrying towards the desk, her hands shook as she reached to rifle through papers and data cards, looking for anything that might give her a clue as to where the antidote might be. Flipping on his computer screen, she waited impatiently for it to power on, continuing to pull open his desk drawers and search. As her hand closed over the handle of a bottom drawer, she tugged and was surprised to find it locked. Pulling harder, it again made a sharp noise against her efforts and with a slight smile, River looked for something to pry it open with.

Locating an old-fashioned letter opener, more an antique really, River slid the tip into the top of the drawer, wheedling it around and looking for the lock’s release. So lost in thought, she missed the sound of approaching voices and had just broken the drawer open, when the doors to the room flung open and Doctor Yang stood there, with a shocked expression on his face, her mother just behind him.

Rising slowly, River circled the desk and held the man’s shocked gaze, wondering if he might recognize her. It had been a long time ago, and she had been just one of many, but she still thought there was a chance he might remember. “What is this>” he breathed quickly, reaching towards the doorway to sound a hidden alarm.

With her gun now in her hand, River leveled it at his head and said coldly, “Don’t. I will shoot you, if need be, but that’s not why I’m here. Give me what I want and I’ll go.”

Swallowing down his fear, Yang felt it replaced by anger. “How dare you order me about in my own home?” His eyes burned with rage, even as she continued to hold the upper hand. “I will not be threatened by a –“

“By a former student of the Academy,” River supplied, looking intently for his reaction.

And then, he got it. Eyes widening, mouth hanging open, a soundless curse escaping his lips, Yang could only stare at the girl before him. “That’s not possible,” he finally managed to breathe, his face still slack with any kind of emotion.

“Oh, it’s possible,” River told him, glancing over his shoulder to take in her mother’s frightened gaze. River knew Jayne was about and she could only hope he could get here and get her mother clear soon. “It’s more than possible, and I’ve come here precisely because you used to help them do their dirty work.”

Thinking he understood the man started to stammer, sweat forming on his brow and quickly pouring down his face. “I never had any real idea of what they were doing. We worked in secret, isolated.” Yang’s voice was pathetically strained and as River took in his trembling form, she had to wonder how she could have ever been intimidated by these men, these cowardly scientists and doctors who had acted like gods and lourded their positions of authority over helpless teenagers.

With a new anger boiling her blood, she snapped, “Bi zui.” As the man fell silent, she took a step forward and said, “I really don’t care to listen to your spineless excuses. I need the antidote.”

His brow instantly furrowing, Yang asked cautiously, “The antidote? Antidote to what?”

“To the virus you gave me to control when and how I have children,” River bit out, taking another few steps towards him, her patience quickly running out. The more she saw him, the closer she was to him and the longer he made her wait, the angrier she became.

His mouth again gaping open like a fish, his eyes searched her face for something, River couldn’t quite tell what, but when he again allowed them to settle on her features, she thought she saw the briefest glimpse of pity there. Stretching out to read him, River felt his confusion and his desperation – he really didn’t have it.

“It was never made,” he finally told her. “They determined that breeding the subjects would pose too great a risk to everyone. Countermeasures were never taken beyond the preliminary stages.”

Grasping for something, River asked, “But you have the composition, you know what an antidote should contain?”

Shrugging slightly, he told her, “I may have some notes from that time, but that would be all. I honestly don’t remember how far I got.” For the first time, Yang really could see her sadness and he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” River spat the word at him and advanced on him, the barrel of her gun poking hard into his chest. “Sorry? Do you think that even begins to make up for what you did?” Seething, she told him, “You took away my chance to have a child? Do you get that? Do you?”

Not having any idea what to say, Yang simply looked to her and then caught sight of Regan still standing just off his shoulder. “Listen, why don’t you let my guest go and then we can discuss options. If there’s something I can do to help, I will. I promise.”

Surprised at his chivalry, Regan suspected that Leonard hoped she would go and sound the alarm, bringing the authorities down on them; so naive.

Nodding once, River bit out, “Yes, that’s fine. We could be a while.”

At a nod from Yang, Regan hurried away, crossing back down the big hallway and out into the foyer, running into Jayne, two guards knocked unconscious at his feet. As her eyes widened at the sight, Jayne shrugged lightly and told her, “They annoyed me. Where’s River?”

Pointing, Regan took his hand and said urgently, “Help her. It doesn’t look as if Yang has the answers she was hoping for.”

With a grimace now firmly set into his features, Jayne rushed towards where he knew River would be, his heart plummeting to his gut as he considered the fact that they might have taken this risk, they might have come this far only to come up emptyhanded. About to enter the study, he heard the gunshot before he felt it and was quickly prone on the cold marble floor.

***

River watched as Yang leafed through the same papers she had just searched with shaky hands. Her gun still trained on him, he had stopped trying to reason with her after her mother had gone and River was glad. She couldn’t take the sound of his whiny voice for another minute.

“It was never supposed to be like this,” he muttered now, still looking through his things, his eyes never leaving the top of his desk. “They never told me what they’d do to you. I didn’t know.”

“You weren’t at all suspicious when they ordered you to create a virus that would kill any baby in its fifth month,” she asked hotly, her voice sharp.

Wincing a bit at her tone, he murmured, “They said they would never use it, only for those subjects considered criminally insane, the ones who shouldn’t reproduce. Not everyone.”

“Yes, well, the Alliance has always thought they’ve known what’s best for everyone,” River retorted. Growing impatient, she asked, “Where are those notes, you’ve got to-“

Her voice died on her lips as a gunshot rang down the hallway, dangerously close to the room they were in now. Rushing towards the door, she darted her head out, looking for the threat and then her world stopped as she saw Jayne, lying unconscious on the floor, blood beginning to soak his shirt around the shot in his right shoulder.

“Jayne!” River’s voice was barely coherent, and not caring for her own safety, she rushed to his side, reaching out to place a light hand to his face. “Jayne, wake up, sweetie, please,” River pleaded with him, even as tears fell down her face and over the edge of her nose dripping to the floor.

“Stay right where you are.” The voice was a low growl and when River slowly raised her head, she caught the sight of a muzzle fixed squarely between her eyes, the suited form of a security guard at the other end. Glancing to his boss who was now standing in the doorway to his study, surveying the scene with wide eyes, he asked quickly, “You want me to kill her, sir?”

“Jayne! River!”

Regan’s cry disrupted the tense scene before them all. She had heard the gunshot right as she’d placed her hand to the knob and fearing the worst had turned back. Now, she strode forward and made her way to River’s side, placing a hand to her shoulder. Leaning down, she pressed a kiss into the top of her hair, and murmured, “He’ll be all right, sweetheart.” Looking back to Yang with a cold look in her eyes, she said firmly, “Doctor Yang wouldn’t want to do anything that could implicate him in a murder.”

His eyes widening even further, Yang looked between River, Regan, the injured man and his security officer, fearing the very real possibility that he may faint. Finally he managed to breathe, “Regan?”

“Yes, Leonard, this is my daughter and her husband. Are you going to help him or not?” Regan’s tone was harsh, and Yang found that while he wanted to get all of these strange people out of his home, his guilt over coming face to face with a former student of that wretched academy and the fact that her husband had just been shot in his home, stayed his tongue. Glancing to the guard who still had a gun trained on her daughter, he spoke quietly, “Lower your weapon.”

The guard visibly tensed at the command, not at all liking it, but trained to obey, his gun arm slackened and he took a step back. Regan looked back to the man and said, “Now, I will ask you to help my son-in-law and fast.”

“I’m not a surgeon, gunshot wounds are not my area of expertise.” Yang’s voice still trembled with fear and uncertainty, but one look to Regan and then to River’s shaking form and he felt his guilt swell again. Nodding, he said, “But, of course, I can try.”

“Help me get him up, and to my office.” The guard nodded once, and allowed his arms to sneak under Jayne’s shoulders as Yang went for his feet.

River stepped back as they hauled him up, no easy task as Jayne was quite heavy, and followed them into the doctor’s office a few doors down the hall. This office, unlike his study, was outfitted with an exam table and medical supplies; he obviously still saw patients here. As they laid Jayne’s unconscious form face down on the table, Yang cut his shirt open, pulling it back form the wound gingerly. Hissing sharply at what he saw, he looked to Regan and asked, “Can you assist me?”

Nodding once, she moved forward to help, even as River knelt at the front of the table, her hand running through Jayne’s hair. With tears still falling down her face, she whispered, “You’re gonna be okay, baby, I promise.” With a heavy sigh, she cried some more as the doctor set to work.

***

Jayne was still out, the anesthesia the doctor had given him keeping him under. River had not and would not leave his side, so it was up to Regan to ask the man all the pertinent questions. “Will he be all right?”

Nodding once, Yang told her wearily, “I’m a bit worried that he’ll never regain his full range of motion in that shoulder. Some of muscle was damaged and I cannot repair it. A better doctor maybe, but not me.” Pausing as he took in River’s pained face, he finally turned back to Regan and asked softly, “You never wanted my help with the hospital?”

Sadly, Regan shook her head and then he asked, “And they really did all of this, just to get the antidote?”

Sighing heavily, Regan’s eyes followed his gaze, looking to River as well. “The antidote that doesn’t exist, yes.”

Silence again fell between them and it took Yang a long while to break it. “You can stay here, all of you, for the night. I wouldn’t move him anytime soon.”

Smiling to him kindly, Regan placed a light hand against his arm and said, “That’s very generous of you, but if I know my daughter, she’ll want to leave as soon as possible. It isn’t safe here for them anymore.”

Turning to face her fully, Leonard, placed a gentle hand to her shoulder and got Regan’s attention. “I am sorry, for my part in her pain, in what happened to her. It was a very confusing and frightening time for many of us.”

Her gaze hardening once again, Regan backed out of his touch and told him, “That may be true, Doctor Yang, but cowardice will never be a sufficient excuse for all my daughter suffered.” Looking to River again, she added, “Is still suffering through.”

Knowing that he couldn’t have hoped for forgiveness, Yang could only nod. “I won’t betray them or you. No one will ever know they were here.”

“And your guard?” Regan asked, her eyes never leaving her daughter’s trembling form.

“He’s been trained to obey orders, he will not betray you either.”

Nodding once, Regan said, “Then I thank you for that. Can you help us get him to my hovercar? It really is time for us to be going.”

Returning the nod, Yang moved forward and with a heavy heart, helped the woman get Jayne out of his estate, his guilt at all he had done so many years ago welling anew in his chest.

***