Written 7/3/2004

Approximately 600 words, not all of them mine. Italicized dialogue borrowed from broadcast and deleted scenes.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. No infringement is intended on the rights of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, or 20th Century Fox TV.

No archiving, please. Feedback welcome.

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"Criminal Tendencies"

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Like the man on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, Simon Tam fell among thieves. It was no one's fault but his own. He hadn't been beaten and left for dead, just knocked off his feet--physically and metaphorically--a few times, and put through a bit of hell by a man whose sanity was in question.

If I can ask, what made you pick this ship?

It looked disreputable.

It was simply a choice he'd made, just as he had chosen between being a good, obedient son and a loyal, loving brother. Not so hard, not really. If his life had been turned upside down, never to be the same again, it was in a good cause.

Won't ever stop. They'll just keep coming until they get back what you took.

His sister had been stolen from him. Taking her back was not wrong, was not a crime--except to those who had taken her in the first place. Plundered her mind, ransacked her spirit. Government-sactioned criminals. Thieves. And according to their laws, Simon was the thief, fleeing from "justice."

I selflessly turned us both into wanted fugitives.

No place to call home but this ship. No allies except for this crew. Only one goal to shine in the blackness of space--to keep his sister safe. He could still be a doctor, heal people, perform near-miracles. Be a good person.

Be a contradiction, able to lie, cheat and steal when it was necessary. Do wrong things for right reasons. Once upon a time, he would have scoffed at the notion of honorable thieves. It had been a bit of a shock that it was surprisingly easy to become one.

So, what are we doing?

Oh! Crime.

Crime? Good. Okay, crime.

It was something you did, to keep flying, to stay alive and ahead of the law. It was a lifestyle you didn't so much learn, as absorb. But Simon had always been good at assimilating knowledge.

As long as you're here, you may as well lend a hand. You can run with Kaylee.

The hard part was trying to stay yourself while you were becoming someone else. He'd accept a life on the run, always on the move, if it kept River safe. He'd do his best to be part of the crew, letting go of just enough of his past to fit in.

What's so damn important about being proper? It don't mean nothing out here in the black.

It means more out here. It's all I have.

There were scientific terms for what he was doing. River would comprehend and explain them in a heartbeat. Physiological adaptation. Protective coloration. Mimicry. Blending in.

It was all about survival.

You can stop looking. There's a client. Me. I have a job for you.

Smart as he was, he would always have trouble in certain situations. When you're very smart, the simple things could be the hardest. Complicated things could be so easy. You just had to think them out and use the right language.

We're on the same crew. Got the same troubles, same enemies and more than enough of both.

He was well aware that someday this life could turn him into a gun-toting, foul-mouthed, heartless renegade. Chances were he'd be dead before he got that far. In the meantime, he could cope with what his choices had made him.

I'd forgotten you're moonlighting as a criminal mastermind now. Got your next heist planned?

Once upon a time, his whole life, his entire future, had been planned out. But plans can change in the blink of an eye.

So can a person.

Rich man.

Poor man.

Beggar man.

Thief.

Doctor...

Simon Tam had fallen among thieves.

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