A/N: And the hits just keep on comin' ... as promised, chapter 15.

Thanks to Leiasky for the beta.

Inara was through waiting. Clenching her hands into fists, she strode up to the attendant guarding her and demanded, “Where is the Priestess? I must see her now.”

The young man, easily half Inara’s age, stared her down with an air of disdain she had only seen a handful of times before. And it riled her. “The Priestess is detained. She will be here as soon as her schedule permits.”

Anger blazing in her brown eyes, Inara ground out, “Tell her that Inara Serra wishes to see her-“

“Even though you can no longer make such demands of this Guild.”

Laylin’s cool, steady voice cut through Inara’s angry statement and she whirled swiftly. Inara knew Linny was right; her expulsion from the Guild and the circumstances surrounding it meant Inara had forfeited any and all claims to her once vaunted Companion status. Under normal circumstances, she would never have dreamed of coming here, making demands and yelling at innocent stewards. But this was anything but normal.

Stalking across the ornate rug to stand before Laylin, Inara dropped her voice to a growl and ordered, “I need to speak with you in private.”

Matching her tone, Laylin’s normally warm violet eyes bored into Inara. “Mind your manners, Inara. You have no rights here, not anymore.”

Swallowing thickly at the admonition, Inara conceded slightly, bowing her head and taking a step back. Laylin stared her down for a moment more before ordering the young man from the room. Once the heavy oak door had closed behind him, she again addressed her old friend. “You’d better have a good reason. You know word is going to spread regarding your presence here and your behavior.”

“How much did you know?” Inara did not bother to drape the question in thinly veiled implications or vague hints. She simply wanted answers; answers surrounding her child, the one who had died; the one she had never known.

Pursing her lips into a thin line, Linny passed Inara, heading for the sideboard and pouring herself a glass of water. She did not ask Inara if she wanted a drink, merely sipping on the liquid, taking her time as if she didn’t know how agitated Inara was; how desperate she must be to show up here. Draining the glass, Laylin turned to pour another as she said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Anger radiating out of every pore, Inara felt her hands and legs trembling from the weight of her rage. Oh, Linny had known all right – they all had. There was no one else, no other organization with the power, resources or motive to keep such a deadly secret from her. Inara had managed to figure that out all on her own. And she would not leave this den of lies until she had confirmation.

“How long have you known, Priestess?” she asked bitterly, biting out the title as if it could cut her tongue. “How long have you known that my child was dead?”

Slamming the glass down with force, Laylin whirled on her friend, doing her best to control her own anger at being so blatantly accused. “You are unbelievable,” she spat, striding forward to stand before Inara, pulling herself up to her full height so she could loom above her. “After everything this Guild has done for you, after we took you back and forgave your indiscretion – one most other women would have been shunned for – this is your thanks?”

“How can you even think I would be grateful?” Inara had already worked up a full head of steam regarding this and she would not be deterred. “My son is dead! And you and the Guild let me believe that my child was alive and well.”

“You know perfectly well that our jobs are based on appearances, Inara. How things look, how we look, that’s all most of our clientele and the Guild care about.” There was no accusation in Laylin’s tone, simply resignation. Inara fought the urge to attack the woman and held her tongue. “How do you think it looked to some of our most distinguished clients when they discovered your dirty, little secret?”

Eyes widening, Inara took an involuntary step back, catching herself before she lost her footing. She had never thought anyone knew of her child or her momentary fall from grace. “It was a secret,” she whispered, questioning eyes searching Laylin’s face. “No one knew.”

“If someone is motivated enough, nothing is sacred, Inara. You know that.”

A bit of the tension ebbed from the room as Inara studied Laylin’s scowl. Her beautiful features, wide lips, violet eyes, golden hair, were all colored by her anger and annoyance and Inara felt a pang of guilt for causing her old friend’s minute wrinkles to deepen. But it was a feeling she quickly pushed aside as the full extent of Laylin’s admission sunk in.

“Who?” Inara cleared her throat once, hoping to hide her confusion. “Why? I don’t understand.”

Sighing, Linny held her gaze for a moment longer and then turned. Bending a bit, she opened a cabinet under the sideboard and pulled out a bottle of some brownish colored liquid. Pouring two glasses, she turned back to Inara and handed her one of the drinks, before admitting, “I’m not sure I do either.”

River held up her hand, fist closed and paused. Her senses were so finely attuned to her surroundings that she felt more than heard Rafe come to a stop behind her. They had managed to board the slavers’ ship without alerting Badger or his goons, four men who were bragging and boasting on the bridge as they watched the Alliance cruiser draw closer.

Peering around the corner, she glanced first to the right and then to the left. Clutching the butt of her gun more securely in her hand, she again started for the cargo bay where their captured crew was waiting, Rafe on her heels.

Considering his lack of experience with any kind of fighting or subterfuge, he was holding his own, something River had tried not to let distract her as they managed to work their way off the bridge and onto the other ship. The look he’d given her when she’d thrust the pistol in his hand, snapping the safety off and checking the ammunition first with such precision his eyes had bugged out of his head, had brought the smallest smile to her lips. He had seen her prepare for jobs before, but this was different. Rafe had known with certainty that there would be shooting, probably even killing this time out and he was more than aware of the kind of destruction River could cause if provoked.

But then, he’d done something completely unexpected – he’d leaned forward and kissed her. Not a small peck on the cheek or a light brush of the lips, but a deep kiss that had stolen her breath. “We’re gonna get through this,” he’d whispered, his forehead resting against hers once they’d parted. “An’ then we’re gonna figure this all out. Dong ma?”

Nodding once, River had kissed him back, before laying out the plan and leading him into battle.

Pausing again, she rested her free hand over the nearest blast door, closing her eyes and swaying to the side. The noise they would no doubt make in getting to the Captain and the others would arouse Badger to their presence; she had to be sure.

Recognizing the painful consciousnesses of Zoe, Jayne and Mal, River’s eyes snapped open. Holstering her gun, she flew to the door’s edge and whipped open the control panel, exposing a mess of wires. As she reached to grab a few, hoping to short circuit the door’s controls, Rafe’s hand reached out and covered her already bruised and bloodied ones.

“Hang on there, babe. Let me do it.”

Nodding once, River stepped to the side, trying to mask her impatience as Rafe fiddled with the wiring. With a sigh and a whir, the heavy door finally rolled back, revealing their injured comrades.

“’Bout damn time,” Jayne muttered, his head rolling back against the wall as the momentary rush of adrenaline he’d felt ebbed away.

Ignoring him, River moved immediately to Mal, knowing his injuries were the worst, while Rafe attended to Zoe and the mercenary. Kneeling down beside him, River rested a cool hand to Mal’s forehead, feeling the burning heat of a fever, no doubt from the infection in his leg. “Daddy?” she whispered softly. She knew he was still in there, he was still alive, but River had a hard time believing it until she could once again look into those blue eyes.

Mal heard her soft voice and knew that his angel had arrived. Forcing his heavy lids to flutter open, Mal cracked a grin. “Hey there, lil’ one,” he rasped, fighting off the pain he felt. “What were ya doin’? Takin’ a vacation?”

Smiling softly, River told him, “Well, you never give me time off.”

A small chuckle escaped his lips, quickly turning into a cough as the movement in his chest and his body caused more pain to shoot through his limbs. As River helped to steady him, Zoe, rubbing at her now free wrists, asked, “What’s our status?”

Glancing to the first mate, River answered, “Badger wants to turn us over to the Alliance. The ship is on its way.”

Her lips compressing into a thin line, Zoe glanced to Mal’s beleaguered form, before turning slightly to regard Jayne and Rafe. Looking back to River, the two women formed a silent plan.

“All right, Rafe, you take the Captain, get him back on board.” As Mal attempted to protest, Zoe’s strong, authoritative voice drowned him out. “Don’t make me shoot out the other knee, sir,” she threatened, ignoring the caustic look he favored her with.

“River, you, me an’ Jayne are gonna pay Badger an’ his boys a little visit.”

With a look of barely concealed boredom, Commander Anderson waited for the safety lock to cycle to green before motioning his men to open the newly sealed portal. He really was tired of these patrols, answering random calls from the marginal dregs of society. He had not spent over five years training on Osiris for this kind of work.

The normal complement of four heavily armed guards went before him, canvassing the deserted ship for any booby traps or unexpected threats. Walking at a measured pace, he finally rejoined them on the bridge, his nose wrinkled in disgust at the number of corpses he’d passed on the way there. Stepping into the room, he surveyed the ragtag collection of possible criminals with an Alliance eye.

“I am Commander Elon Anderson of the Alliance cruiser Hudson. We received a call from this vessel regarding the capture of known criminals.”

A small man wearing a bowler hat and an annoyed expression appeared as though he might speak, but a large, dark-skinned woman beat him to it. “We did, Commander.” Gesturing with one of her upraised hands, her weapon already confiscated by his men, she motioned to the hat man and four others standing uncertainly behind him. “These are the criminals you want.”

Pursing his lips, Anderson thought about hauling them all in. The Amazon woman, while beautiful, was also deadly – he’d have to be a fool not to recognize the power in her stance. The other two, a petite young woman with wild hair and a hulking man, apparently injured, were also a mystery. But one more look at the collection of miscreants they’d been called to collect and the Commander decided the five of them were plenty for one day.

Nodding towards his officer, he ordered, “Arrest them.”

Kaylee sighed contentedly, not at all certain she could ever remember a time before when she had been this warm. Snuggling more securely into Simon’s side, her body sated and spent from their continued celebration of marital bliss, she was relieved to find sleep coming easier. Despite the fact that her family was still missing, just the knowledge that she was Simon’s wife, that the captain and the others were doing everything they could to bring her folks back to her, made it that much easier to drift off.

She wasn’t surprised when she dreamed she was back on board Serenity. Was even less surprised when she dreamed she was in their old bunk, sleeping just as she was now, with Simon’s strong arms wrapped around her. It was as if she was floating in a cocoon of warmth and security and she prayed that it would last.

The cry of a baby interrupted her sleep and Kaylee picked her head up, wiping at blurry eyes. With a small smile, she climbed over Simon’s dozing form, pausing for a moment to press a kiss to his cheek, before pulling on a robe. Opening the door to their room, she padded across the hall to where she knew the baby’s nursery to be and opened the screen, a bright smile on her face as she greeted her little one.

When instead confronted with an empty crib, Kaylee felt her heartbeat speed up. She could still hear the baby crying, the small wail growing more urgent, causing her maternal instincts to kick into overdrive. Spinning around, she paused to listen, hoping to get some clue as to where her baby could be. Frantic, she started searching, groping at walls, as everything suddenly grew dark, Serenity’s once familiar surroundings becoming nothing more than blobs of shadow.

“I’m comin’, baby” she panted, wildly thrashing about beside Simon as the dream refused to let her go.

Her husband woke at the panicked sounds, his sleep-addled mind clearing in a second as he watched Kaylee struggle in her sleep. Her head was rolling back and forth on the pillow, small tears leaking out from behind tightly closed lids as she flailed about. Worried, Simon reached for her, leaning over her and placing his hands on her cheeks.

“Kaylee, bao bei, wake up.” His voice was low, his lips right near her ear and the sound woke her in an instant.

Inhaling sharply, Kaylee sat up quickly, forcing Simon to back away from her. Sitting up beside her, he reached out a hand to her shoulder, watching as she trembled violently, doing her best to process what she’d just dreamt. “Kaylee?” he asked softly, edging closer and placing his hands on her shoulders. “You were dreaming. Are you all right?”

“Dreamin’,” she breathed, taking a few deep, shaky breaths in an attempt to still her heartbeat. Closing her eyes again, she whispered, “Jus’ dreamin’.”

As Simon watched her try and control her emotions, Kaylee felt the tension from the dream, the happiness and the hope it had inspired, even if only for a second, drain away, leaving emptiness behind. With another heavy sigh, she pulled her knees into her chest and dropped her head onto them as she started to cry.

Simon wished he knew what more to do. It seemed there was nothing he was capable of that could take away Kaylee’s pain or anxiety and it was killing him. Pulling her towards him, Simon easily enveloped her shaking form with his own, resting her head against his chest, his arms wrapped around her. Pressing a kiss into her hair, he whispered, “You’re all right. I’m here.”

Uncoiling her arms from around her legs, Kaylee gripped him instead, pressing her face into his chest, hot tears wetting his bare skin. “M’sorry,” she hiccupped, her guilt at ruining their first night as a married couple making the entire situation worse.

“Shh, you have nothing to be sorry for,” Simon told her, pulling her more firmly into his lap. “I love you.”

A strangled sob escaped her lips and Kaylee clutched his arms tighter. “I dreamed we had the baby,” she told him shakily, even as more tears fell; tears that Simon’s eyes mirrored, but she could not see. “I dreamed the baby was cryin’ an’ I couldn’t find him. He just kept cryin’ …” Her words dissolved into more sobs and Simon felt a flash of guilt as he realized how grateful he was that she couldn’t tell him anymore. He couldn’t hear it – not now – couldn’t continue to watch her suffer like this.

Holding her tight, Simon didn’t know what else to do, but rock her gently and pray they would soon see their way through this. The Captain and his sister, along with the others had already been gone for almost a week and the lack of news was maddening.

As if on command, the cortex link in their living room started buzzing, startling them both. Raising tear-filled eyes to him, Kaylee whispered, “You think it’s them?”

Simon’s only answer was a look halfway between a grimace and a smile. Rising quickly, he pulled on a pair of pajama pants while Kaylee reached for her robe. Arriving at the screen, Simon made sure Kaylee was sitting in front of it before he flipped it on.

His sister’s tight, pale face greeted him and Simon felt the remaining breath in his lungs rush out of him. “River?” he asked quietly, his eyes doing a hasty assessment to determine if she was injured. “Are you all right?”

Nodding once, her voice was firm, but her eyes, those huge brown eyes, betrayed her worry. “Yes, I’m fine. But the Captain isn’t and neither is Jayne.”

“My family?” Kaylee whispered, her hands clenched in her lap so tightly her knuckles were turning white. “Didya find ‘em? My folks an’ the others?”

River’s eyes flicked to Simon’s face, and in that instantaneous look, Simon knew the answer was no. Squeezing Kaylee’s shoulder, he knelt beside her as River answered, “No, Kaylee. I’m sorry. They were already gone by the time we got here.”

Numb, Kaylee felt everything shut down as River’s words reached her. Instead of the rush of tears and uncontrollable sobbing she had expected, Kaylee felt nothing – even worse than before when she had cut herself and watched with disinterest as the blood had run down her arm.

“We’ll find them, bao bei,” Simon whispered, taking her hands in his and kissing them softly. “We will, I promise you.”

“First, we need help. Mal’s leg …” Trailing off, River recalled the sight of his smashed knee, bloody and broken and shivered. “He needs help. And Jayne’s lost a lot of blood. We’re about six hours out.”

Nodding, Simon stayed at Kaylee’s side, but turned his attention to his sister. “I’ll have an emergency team meet you at the docks. And Eli and I will meet you at the hospital.”

River smiled softly, showing her gratitude. “And can you let Inara know? I’ve tried to reach her, but I’m not getting an answer.”

Frowning, Simon assured, “Of course, she must be out.” Glancing back to Kaylee and her absolutely bereft expression, Simon added, “We’ll see you when you get here, mei mei.”

“Okay,” River whispered, her heart breaking for her brother and her best friend. “Love you,” she said softly and then she was gone.

Simon’s blue eyes had not left Kaylee’s face for untold minutes and he wished that just this once he had River’s ability to read minds. Kaylee’s expression was blank, her eyes dead, her body limp. It was such a contrast to her normal state – the one where Simon could always, without fail, tell exactly what she was thinking and feeling. But now, nothing.

Tugging gently on her hands, Simon whispered, “Kaylee, please. Talk to me.”

Blinking rapidly at the sound of his voice, Kaylee slowly turned her gaze to him. “Ain’t nothin’ to say. They’re gone.”

“That’s not true,” Simon warned. “We can still find them and you know it.” Studying her still expressionless features, he added quietly, “You just can’t lose hope.”

“Hope?” The word sounded foul on her lips and Kaylee spit it out with the bitterness it evoked. “You’re gonna talk to me ‘bout hope?” Rising slowly, Kaylee stared at Simon, feeling her anger on the rise. “What hope, Simon? If the Cap’n an’ them didn’t find ‘em, then that means they been-“ Inhaling sharply, the word died on her lips. She couldn’t say it, she couldn’t speak about her family like so much cattle. Dropping her eyes to the floor, she added in a whisper, “They might as well be dead.”

Charging towards her, Simon grabbed her forcefully by the shoulders, shaking her just a bit so her eyes locked onto his. “No, Kaylee, don’t say that.” He didn’t know why he was so upset, angry even that she was so ready to dismiss any chance that her family might still be alive. Was it guilt? The knowledge that if her family was gone for good, it would be his fault? Or was it simply that Simon knew, better than most that if Kaylee lost her ability to hope, if she let go of her optimism, that they were all lost? “Just … don’t,” he added in a whisper, pulling her to him and holding her tight.

Kaylee’s arms slowly snaked around his back and she felt Simon let out a deep, shuddering breath. “S’okay, Simon,” she whispered, rubbing his back in slow circles. “Maybe this is jus’ how things were meant to be.”

The emptiness in her voice almost broke Simon to pieces, but refusing to give into it, he simply held her tighter.

“Doctor Butler?”

Glancing up from his desk, Eli’s eyes narrowed immediately as he recognized the man who had called his name. Straightening up a few charts, he folded his hands together and greeted his visitor. “Mister Tam. What can I do for you?”

Taking the reply as an invitation to enter, Gabriel shut the door behind him, sitting gingerly in a chair across from the older man. Meeting his gaze for a moment, Gabriel finally said, “I hope this isn’t a bad time.”

Shaking his head stiffly, Eli waited for the other man to continue. The elder Tam had come to see him for a reason; he could wait.

Clearing his throat, Gabriel got to the heart of the matter. “Regan and I haven’t seen Simon for days. And any attempts we’ve made to contact him …” Letting the statement remain unfinished, the desperate father finally said, “I was wondering if you might speak to Simon on our behalf.”

Eli truly felt for the man in that moment. He could only imagine to what lengths he would go if one or both of his daughters ever decided to shut him out of her life. However, Eli’s allegiance was to Simon, had been for a while now, and no matter the other man’s parental rights, in Eli’s opinion he’d forfeited them the moment he’d turned his back on his son.

Sitting forward, Eli said quietly, “Gabriel, I am sorry for the situation between you and Simon. It is regrettable, there’s no doubt about it.” The small glint of hope that lit the other man’s eyes was gone in a moment as Eli continued. “However, Simon is a grown man, a good man and a fine doctor. If he’s made a choice regarding his interactions with you and Regan, than that is something I have to, and will, respect.”

Gabriel glared at the other man, trying to best determine what if anything he could say that might sway his opinion. He’d known coming here was probably a fool’s errand and yet he’d done it anyway, for Regan if nothing else. Simon’s silence was eating at his wife more than she’d ever admit and so, in turn, it was eating at Gabriel.

“Well, I-“

The beep of Eli’s console interrupted them. Smiling softly in apology, the doctor swiveled slightly in his chair to answer the call. “Yes?” The look of surprise and then long pause signaled to Gabriel this was not a friendly wave. “Of course,” Eli said swiftly, sitting forward a bit. “I’ll prep a team and have them meet at the docks. I can-“

“Yes, yes, of course,” Eli answered, after another pause. Gabriel could barely hear the soft murmur of another voice. “What about Kaylee? Do you want me to send Evelyn over?”

At the sound of the familiar name, Gabriel’s interest was piqued. Sitting forward, he strained to hear more and was only annoyed when Eli hurriedly ended the transmission. “I understand, Simon, of course. Whatever we can do, all right?” A pause, and then, “All right, I’ll see you both in a just a few hours.”

Turning back to his guest, Eli’s face was no longer genial, but tight and full of tension. “I’m sorry, Gabriel, but an emergency has come up and I must attend to it.”

“That was Simon,” Gabriel stated needlessly. “What’s wrong? Is he all right?”

As the older man’s fingers flew across the keyboards in front of him, Eli answered distractedly, “No, actually he’s not. And the crew of Serenity is even worse.”

“River?” Gabriel breathed, concern for his little girl warring with the knowledge that she was a killer.

“Apparently, she’s all right, but …” Trailing off, Eli inputted one more command and then faced the concerned parent. “Things are not good, Gabriel. River and the others went to find Kaylee’s kidnapped family and came back with bullet wounds and concussions to show for it.”

Gabriel had a very difficult time processing this information. It was hard enough to believe that people he would know had actually been kidnapped by slavers in the first place. Add to that already impossible situation the knowledge that his daughter had been shot at and Gabriel was finding it even harder to comprehend.

“What can I do?” he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. He wasn’t even aware he’d voiced the question, until Eli answered him.

“That’s a question for Simon,” the older doctor said quickly, rising to take Gabriel by the elbow and show him the door. “As for right now, I need to prepare a team and get the OR ready. I’m sorry we’ll have to cut our meeting short.”

Nodding absently, Gabriel allowed Eli to manhandle him from the room. He stood staring at the now closed office door for a handful of minutes trying to determine what he should do next. Forming a plan, albeit a hasty one, he hurried back toward the waiting lifts, murmuring a prayer for perhaps the first time in his life.

Chapter 16