A/N: See? I get those nice shiny comments and you get chapters posted every day! I call that a win-win!

Thanks to Leiasky for the beta on this one. Just as an update, I finished the sequel to this story, "Unforeseen Consequences" over the weekend. It's 240+ pages of angsty goodness! And a little fluff ...

Keep leaving those comments, pretty please??!?!?

“She’s not really speaking to me so I’m not exactly sure how she’s feeling.” With a heavy heart, Simon let out a sigh, his eyes gazing to Kaylee’s motionless form as she sat, hands in her lap across the room. Looking back to Eli and Evelyn with the most forlorn of expressions, the young doctor added, “I’m still concerned that she might-“

Resting a comforting hand to his shoulder, Evelyn smiled warmly. “Don’t worry, Simon. We’ll take good care of her.”

Nodding stiffly, Simon bent his head closer to Eli’s to give a few instructions, while across the way, Inara and Mal were saying goodbye. The captain’s weight was fully supported on a crutch, the muscles of his forearm bulging under the stress of leaning on it so heavily. But due to his stubbornness, he’d refused a wheelchair. So, Inara had simply decided to ignore his machismo and stay as close to him as possible.

The fingers of his free hand rested softly against Inara’s cheek and she turned into the touch, brushing her lips over his palm, before turning those huge, brown eyes to meet his gaze. “We’ll be fine, Mal,” she assured him, forcing a smile to her face she did not feel.

Swallowing uncomfortably, Mal shifted his weight and murmured, “Yeah, I know.”

Smiling softly at his failed attempt to mask his true feelings, Inara squeezed his hand in hers and said, “Zoe and Jayne won’t let anything happen to me. You know that.”

“Damn right, ‘cause I’ll kill ‘em both if somethin’ does,” he muttered fiercely. Swaying a bit on his feet, Mal begrudgingly allowed Inara to guide him to a chair. Once he was comfortably seated, Inara kneeling before him, his curiosity overwhelmed him. He wanted to know where she’d been disappearing to and why she’d been so quiet. Sure, he’d been injured, but even Mal knew, she’d seen worse.

“’Nara, where were ya?” he asked quietly, not surprised by the look of mild confusion she favored him with.

“Shen me?”

“Look, I ain’t sayin’ I ‘spect you by my side every time some fool shoots me.” He tried to joke, but the paleness that assaulted her features told him it’d been the wrong move. Sobering, he continued, “But I know you weren’t there when I first got back. An’ no one could find ya.” As she quickly averted his gaze, red flushing her cheeks, Mal’s anxiety increased tenfold. “Where were ya?”

Biting her lower lip between her teeth, Inara let out a heavy sigh. She should have guessed that even drugged Mal would notice her absence. She didn’t want to tell him where she’d been or what she’d discovered. Inara could barely admit it to herself. Every time she thought on it, she prayed it was just another part of an increasingly bad dream. And she knew, beyond a doubt that now was not the time to confront those particular nightmares.

“I’m sorry, ai ren,” she told him, meeting his intense gaze. Sitting up on her knees, she rested a hand to his cheek and said, “I didn’t mean to not be there. Something … there was something I had to do and-“

“’Nara, tell me.” Mal was no fool, he could see her struggling to hide something from him and while it normally would have made him angry, the look of pure desolation in her eyes only inspired sadness.

“After,” she said quietly, brown eyes searching his for understanding, for a reprieve, no matter how slight. “Please, Mal, it’s not the time and … Well, there’s nothing to be done.”

Pessimism was not part of Inara’s makeup – pragmatism maybe, but not hopelessness and Mal despaired to hear it in her now. Knowing she was right and that they did not have time to fully examine whatever it was that had so deeply affected her, Mal tugged on the hand she held to his face until he could cup her cheeks in his hands. Outlining her lips with his thumbs, he brought her face within a hairs-breath of his own and whispered, “You ain’t off the hook, but I’ll let it slide – for now. Dong ma?”

Smiling softly, she nodded once as his lips covered hers in a soft, sweet kiss that stole her breath.

River watched Inara and Mal from her perch at Rafe’s side and smiled softly. They would be all right, she knew that now. Inara’s mind swirled with pain and confusion, but River could see their future and the three fat babies that would fill the former Companion’s and the captain’s lives with joy.

Smiling that enigmatic grin that Rafe had long ago learned to cherish, she glanced to him and said, “It’s time to go.”

“You sure I can’t come?” he asked softly, gripping her hand firmly in his own.

Sliding off the arm of the couch and into his lap, River wrapped her arms around his neck and told him, “I’m sure. Everything will be all right.” Glancing back to her brother as he nervously tried to say goodbye to Kaylee, River looked back to Rafe with sadness tightening her eyes. “Besides, there’s something I need you to do for me.”

“Kaylee, bao bei, we’re not sure exactly how long we’ll be gone, but hopefully only a few weeks.” Simon fought every muscle in his body – they were screaming at him to reach out and hold her tight, tell her he wouldn’t go and beg her for forgiveness. But swallowing hard, Simon knew he couldn’t – he had to do this. He had to get Kaylee’s family back, whether she understood his motivations or not.

Squeezing her hand tightly, Simon inched a bit closer to her. She still wouldn’t look at him, had barely spoken a word to him in the two days since he’d explained the plan to her. He remembered with heartbreaking clarity her reaction – screaming and crying and then silence. It was the silence that weighed most heavily on him; Kaylee’s smile and laughter and voice were like the greatest balm to his soul and their absence was physically painful. It hurt his heart.

“I love you, bao bei,” he told her softly, gripping her hand with both of his, willing her to meet his gaze. “I love you so much. If I could think of another way-“

“Don’t go.” Her voice was quiet, but Simon heard it above the pounding of his own heart and felt his stomach plummet to his feet. Slowly turning those lifeless green eyes to him, she repeated plaintively, “Don’t go. Please.”

Realizing that Zoe and Jayne might have to pry his arms from her, Simon embraced her tightly, burying his face in her hair and breathing deep. Her arms slowly came around his back and then she was holding on to him just as fiercely.

“Kaylee, everything’s going to be all right,” Simon told her unconvincingly. He knew she didn’t believe him, but he had to try. “We’ll find your parents and the rest of your family and then you can all be together again.” Unable to speak past the lump in her throat, Kaylee could only nod, squeezing Simon so tightly he was worried he wouldn’t be able to breathe.

She loved him so much; there weren’t words in English, Chinese or any other language to explain the depth of her feelings. And Kaylee knew Simon felt the same. Every time his eyes locked with hers, every time he held her or made love to her, every time he opened a door for her, Simon was conveying the extent of his love for her and the idea that she might lose that made her colder than she had ever been before.

Pulling back from him reluctantly, Kaylee took his face in her hands and held his blue-eyed gaze. Her eyes reflected an intensity he had not seen for weeks and he swallowed hard, wondering what exactly she was getting ready to say or do.

“You come back to me, Simon Tam.” Her voice was stronger than even she had anticipated, and she forged ahead quickly. “I mean it. M’your wife now, so you gotta do what I say.”

Smiling slightly at her command, Simon rested his forehead against hers and whispered, “Oh. Is that how it works?”

“Darn straight,” she told him firmly, smiling softly in return. Swallowing hard several times, she managed to choke out, “I love you, Simon. You know that, right?”

His only answer was to press a passionate kiss to her mouth, one that drove every other thought from her head as Simon’s tongue battled with her own, as his hands pressed her against him firmly, as his love for her enveloped them both.

Parting and panting for breath, Simon stroked her cheek and told her, “I love you, Kaylee. More than I could ever tell you.”

“We’ll bring him back, mei mei,” Inara said quietly.

Turning abruptly at the sound of her voice, Simon and Kaylee smiled weakly to Mal and Inara who had made it across the room to stand beside them. Kneeling at Kaylee’s side, Inara brushed some her friend’s hair back from her shoulder and smiled warmly. “I promise, Kaylee, I’ll bring him back in one piece.”

As Kaylee hugged Inara tightly, Simon rose slowly and moved to stand before Mal. “I need you to-“

“I’ll take care of your girl, son,” Mal told him firmly, a strong hand on Simon’s shoulder. “So long as you take care o’ mine.”

Nodding once in confirmation, Simon was actually grateful that Mal wouldn’t be going; he trusted Eli and Evelyn more than just about anyone, but Mal had known Kaylee the longest and he was thankful that the Captain would be able to watch over her while they were gone. Of course, the fact that the Butlers had offered for everyone to stay under one roof was also a blessing.

As everyone gathered to say final goodbyes, Mal finally drew Zoe aside. Meeting his best friend’s steely gaze, Mal affected his stern “captain-y” voice. “Zoe, I don’t think I gotta-“

“No holes in your ship,” she interrupted, letting the slightest twinkle light her deep brown eyes. “Got it, sir.”

“No holes in my ship or any o’ you,” Mal amended. Looking once to Inara, he glanced back to Zoe and added, “I’m countin’ on you, Zo.”

Her face again a stoic mask of soldiery calm, the Amazon woman nodded once. “I won’t let you down, sir.”

Mal watched his crew – his family – file from the room, his heart heavy with guilt at his inability to help. Hearing a stifled sob from behind him, Mal limped over to Kaylee and sat gingerly beside her, not at all surprised when the young woman curled into his side. “It’ll be okay, mei mei,” he told her softly, wishing he really believed that. “Everythin’s gonna be okay.”

Jayne had been in some fancy places in his life. Despite his chosen profession and his demeanor, he’d occasionally found the coin and the desire to frequent a nice restaurant, with tablecloths and the like, maybe find a bit more refined type of whore who could more accurately address his manly needs. He didn’t necessarily prefer one to the other, rich or seedy, but he could appreciate the difference.

But this gorram place was just outta control. Jayne tried not to sneer, although he figured it would only increase his intimidation factor if he did. This restaurant, with its high-class cuisine – there weren’t even prices on the menus – and snooty clientele was more pretentious than the doc, and that was sayin’ something.

The gentle sound of Inara clearing her throat drew Jayne’s attention from his inspection of the place and back to the matter at hand. Shifting his weight to his other foot, he adjusted the feel of his gun under his jacket. He wasn’t used to being confined in such fancy fits and it was starting to annoy him. He had already questioned his ability to really fight in this monkey suit, but he supposed if push came to shove, he could always take the jacket off or rip it. After all, if they got involved in a tussle their cover was probably blown anyway.

Focusing on Inara and Simon, Jayne met the former Companion’s raised eyebrow, knowing that she had guessed his attention was more than wandering. Frowning at her, he took a minute step forward, tuning back into the guarded conversation they were currently conducting with their contact, Chen.

“Well, the ranch is actually quite beautiful,” Inara was saying, a wide and gorgeous smile on her face that Chen had already taken notice of.

“But huge,” Simon chimed in, taking a sip of his expensive drink. Jayne was surprised by the ease with which the doc could feign casualness. In all the time the merc had known the uptight priss, he could probably count on one hand the number of moments he’d seemed this at ease. Wondering why he’d never before realized what a good actor he was, Jayne listened as Simon continued. “Which is, of course, why we were referred to you and your employer.”

Nodding once, Chen’s sharp gaze darted between Inara and Simon, a hand on his chin rubbing thoughtfully. He’d asked very few questions and made very few comments; Simon and Inara both were trying to determine if that was a good thing or not. “We did recently receive a new shipment,” he finally said, his voice gravelly from years of smoking. “I’m sure we have something to fit your needs.”

Simon’s stomach turned as he realized the man was talking about people as if they were those annoying wobbly-headed geisha dolls Mal was so fond of smuggling. Keeping his face a placid mask of nonchalance, he glanced to Inara as she spoke. “We’re really hoping for a family.”

Frowning mightily, Chen sat forward, not at all enamored with the idea of compassionate buyers. “Yeah, why is that again?”

Squeezing Inara’s hand as a sign of solidarity, Simon explained, “Well, I’ve heard that children are good, cheap labor.” The statement made him violently ill, but he resisted the urge to vomit. “The main crop is cotton and it’s much easier for little fingers to pick. We can’t move out there for at least a year. We’ve already hired a foreman – well, forewoman, to oversee things. You’ve spoken with her, Zelda,” Simon prompted, waiting for a nod from the other man before continuing. “But, if we’re buying children, well, it’d probably be best if we brought their parents along as well.”

“Huh.” Chen leaned back in his chair, his slightly Asian features brought into stark relief in the dim light. Narrowing his eyes to slits, he studied Inara, Simon and Jayne with intense scrutiny. Jayne had no problem returning the look – he was fairly used to people trying to intimidate him. Inara didn’t really mind it either, in her line of work, hiding emotions was a given. Simon, on the other hand, felt decidedly uncomfortable and the only thing that kept him from flinching was the thought of Kaylee’s distressed face; failure was not an option.

“Well now, look,” Chen drawled slowly, again sitting forward and cradling his drink. “We might have somethin’ for you, but well, my boss, he’s gonna have to meet ya. ‘Specially if we’re gonna be sellin’ that much merchandise to one buyer.”

Trying to determine if this development was good or bad, Simon said, “Of course. It’s understandable. We’d like Zelda to come along as well, if you don’t mind. She has a better eye for this sort of thing,” he added, silently relieved when Chen nodded his assent.

“Uh, sir,” Jayne growled, leaning forward to put his lips by Simon’s ear. “You and the missus are gonna be late for the theater.”

Smiling his apology, Simon nodded as he turned back to Chen. “Are we done here or did you need more from us?” Glancing to Inara, he smiled and added, “Elena has been dying to see this show.”

Throwing back the rest of his drink, Chen slapped the glass down on the table and rose, Simon and Inara following suit. Sticking out a hand, Simon shook it as Chen told him, “Nah, I think we’re good. I’ll be contacting Zelda in the next day or two so we can set up the meet.” Tipping his head to Inara deferentially, he intoned, “Ma’am.” Looking again to Simon, he added, “Sir. Pleasure to meet ya.”

Simon and Inara smiled politely, while Jayne continued to glower, the three of them waiting to move until Chen had exited the establishment. Heading for the door, Simon went to get their coats, helping Inara shrug hers on, before donning his own. As Jayne opened the door for them, alert to any possible danger, Inara took Simon’s arm.

“Well, I think it went well,” she said softly, looking to the nervous doctor from the corner of her eye.

Nodding once, Simon told her, “I hope so. Something tells me Harris might be a harder sell.”

Turning to head back towards the ship, Jayne stepped into their path, arms over his broad chest. “Where ya think you’re goin’?”

Exchanging puzzled glances, Simon and Inara looked back to the big man and it was Simon who answered. “Back to the ship.”

“No, ya ain’t,” Jayne said in a huff. How was it possible for someone so gorram smart to be so ruttin’ stupid? “You tol’ Chen you was goin’ to the theater. So you’re gonna have to go.”

Sighing heavily, Simon realized the merc had a point. But he hated the idea of attending a show and having fun, even pretend fun, when he knew how high the stakes were. “I don’t think-“

“No, he’s right,” Inara said softly, squeezing Simon’s arm gently. “If Chen and Harris do as much homework as we’ve been led to believe, we don’t have any room for error.” As Simon sighed again, Inara smiled softly. “It’s only a play. We’ll be in and out in two hours, tops.”

Nodding once, he turned them around, Jayne falling into step behind them. “Well, then, let’s go to the theater.”

“Miss Kaylee! Miss Kaylee!”

It was almost impossible not to smile at the sound of a child who was so happy to see her. Kaylee felt the corners of her mouth turning up just slightly as she knelt down and opened her arms, feeling the warmth and love of Asher as he flew into them.

Holding him tightly, she whispered, “Hey there, lil’ man. How are you?”

“I’m shiny,” he told her, pulling back and grinning madly. He had quickly adopted Kaylee’s favorite saying after only her first month of volunteering and it always made her giggle. “You okay? Miss Inara said you wasn’t feelin’ good.”

Exchanging a puzzled glance with Mal who had insisted on accompanying her, Kaylee looked back to Asher and asked, “Miss Inara? Who’s that?”

“Ain’t she your friend?” Asher questioned, small fists on his hips as his eyes narrowed in confusion. “She said she was. She has really long, curly black hair. She’s real pretty.”

Glancing again to Mal who could only shrug, Kaylee tried to process this news as Asher finally noticed the intimacy between the two and decided to question it. “Who’s he?” he asked, none too gently, getting a startled smile from Kaylee.

As she turned her green eyes back to him, Asher leaned forward and dropped his voice to a loud whisper, “An’ where’s Doctor Simon?”

Suppressing a shudder of concern at the exact whereabouts of her new husband, Kaylee took Asher’s hands in her own and then quickly hoisted him into her arms. Straightening so he was now at relatively the same height as Mal, Kaylee introduced the two. “Asher, this is Captain Reynolds. Cap’n, this is Asher.”

“How ya doin’ young man?” Mal asked, smiling wide and sticking out a hand for the boy to shake.

Suddenly becoming very shy, he pulled away and asked again, “Where’s Doctor Simon?”

“Doctor Simon had to take a little trip,” Mal said, saving Kaylee the uncomfortableness of thinking up an excuse. “But he’ll be back soon.”

Screwing his face up, it was obvious to the adults that Asher was trying to determine if this was an acceptable explanation. Finally, he nodded once and said, “Okay.” Throwing his small arms around Kaylee’s neck, he hugged her tight and repeated, “I did miss you, Miss Kaylee.”

“I missed you too, sweetie.” Guiding the three of them over to a couch, Kaylee set Asher down first, helping Mal into a chair. Asher watched wide-eyed as Mal eased his large form into a sitting position. Crawling along the couch until he was as close to Mal as possible, he asked breathlessly, “What happened?”

Smiling wide at the boy’s curiosity, Mal told him proudly, “I got shot.”

His eyes widened even further, going as big as saucers. Sharing a disbelieving look with Kaylee who nodded in confirmation, Asher looked back to Mal and breathed, “Wow.”

This elicited two small chuckles from the adults and soon Asher was laughing with them as well. As the young boy started playing an “I Spy” game with Kaylee, Mal felt his curiosity take over. “Hey, Ash?” he asked quietly, waiting for the kid to turn and look at him. “Did you like Miss ‘Nara?”

Smiling wide again, he nodded eagerly. “Oh yeah. She was real nice, she read us stories and she did all the voices.”

Grinning, Mal caught Kaylee’s bemused expression out of the corner of his eye as he asked, “She did, huh?”

“Yup. She ain’t been here for a couple o’ days though. She okay?”

Wishing Mal had an answer to that very question, he said, “You bet, buddy. I care ‘bout Miss Inara like Doctor Simon cares about Miss Kaylee. I’ll take good care of her.”

Nodding once, this seemed to appease the young boy and he looked back to Kaylee. Still full of wide-eyed innocence, he blurted, “So, are you gonna take me home today?”

Kaylee’s hand froze from where it had been running gently through Asher’s hair. Feeling her heart beat sharply against her rib cage, she swallowed hard and asked, “What, sweetie?”

Turning to fully face her, Asher crawled into her lap and explained, “The other day, when you was here. I said I wished you were my ma an’ you said you did too. So, you’re gonna be, right?”

The room was spinning and Kaylee found herself fighting to take deep breaths to keep things in focus. Glancing hurriedly to Mal, she bolted to her feet and sprinted out of the room, finding the nearest bathroom. Shutting and locking the door, she sank to her knees before the toilet and threw up. Panting and sweaty, she thought of Asher’s words and the hope on his sweet face and felt a heavy knot of guilt settle in her stomach.

Rising slowly, she fought the urge to vomit again, instead choosing to splash cold water on her face. It wasn’t fair to scare the boy like that and she knew he deserved an explanation – of course, what he really deserved was a good home with loving parents. How she could have been so foolish to even hint that those parents might be her and Simon? It was just ridiculously unfair and hurtful. No matter what she was going through, there was no excuse.

Taking a few deep breaths, she dried her face and washed her hands, before slowly returning back to the room. Asher was in Mal’s lap now, obviously distraught, his small face stained with tears.

“You all right, mei mei?” Mal asked softly as Kaylee moved back to sit on the couch.

Giving him a weak smile, Kaylee addressed Asher. “Sweetie, will you come here?”

“You lied, din’t ya?” the boy hiccupped, burying his face in Mal’s shoulder. “You don’t wanna be my ma.”

Blinking back unexpected tears, Kaylee reached out and ran her fingers through his hair as Mal continued to rub the little guy’s back. “No, sweetie, it weren’t a lie, but Doctor Simon an’ I … we ain’t … well, we talked a lot about it an’ we’re just not gonna have any kids right now.”

This was news to Mal if the shocked look on his face was any indication. Ignoring it, Kaylee continued. “An’ I’m sorry I hurt ya so bad. But I know you’re gonna find a real shiny ma an’ pa real soon. An’ you’re gonna live in a nice house an’ maybe even have brothers an’ sisters.”

“Like you an’ the Cap’n?” Asher asked, turning his gaze back to Kaylee, and wiping at his watery eyes with small fists. As the adults shared a puzzled look, Asher explained, “He called you mei mei.”

Realizing again in the span of just five minutes how literal kids were, Kaylee smiled and explained. “No, sweetie, me an’ the cap’n – well, he ain’t really my brother.”

“Yeah, lil’ one, she’s just kinda like a lil’ sister to me. That’s why I call her that.” Mal tried to explain, wondering how anyone had ever resisted the little tyke’s face before – he was decidedly cute.

Looking between the two adults, Asher seemed to make a decision. “So, maybe until I get a ma-ma for real, I can call you that?” he asked hopefully, looking back to Kaylee.

Hesitating, she hated to dash his hopes again, but she knew it was better to do it now rather than later when they were both already in too deep. “I don’t know, sweetie, I think maybe it’d be best if you just called me Miss Kaylee. All right?”

Sighing heavily, Asher slumped back against Mal’s chest. “All right.”

“I got an idea,” Mal told him, nudging his side with his hand and getting the boy to turn and face him. “Why don’t you go get me one o’ them stories Miss Inara was readin’ an’ I’ll read it to ya?”

His eyes brightening instantly, Asher climbed off his lap and asked, “Will you do the voices too?”

Hiding the grimace that immediately sprang to mind, Mal smiled instead. “You bet.”

Pratically sprinting out of the room, Kaylee waited until the boy was out of earshot before turning back to Mal. “Thank you,” she told him sincerely.

Reaching out a hand to her, he clasped hers tightly and said, “I’m sorry, mei mei.”

“Ain’t nothin’ to be sorry for, Cap. Wasn’t your big mouth that crushed a lil’ boy’s hopes.”

Her voice was so dejected, Mal cringed at the sound. He had hoped that having Kaylee get out of the house and visit the children would do her some good. Now, he was regretting the suggestion. “He understands, Kaylee. Don’ you fret. Lil’ boys are highly resilient.”

Smiling slightly at his proud tone, Kaylee asked, “Speakin’ from experience, are ya?”

“Maybehaps,” Mal responded, grinning from ear to ear. Another thought striking him, he asked, “By the way, did you know ‘Nara was volunteerin’ here?”

Shaking her head once, Kaylee told him, “Nope. She never said a peep to me. But I ain’t seen her much in the past few weeks.”

“You ain’t, huh?” That was it – Mal was officially worried. It wasn’t like Inara to keep things from Kaylee, and to not even make an effort to see her, especially when she had to have known how upset her best friend was … well, it did not bode well for whatever had been occupying Inara’s time while he’d been off getting shot.

The sound of Asher returning with a gaggle of children in tow interrupted Mal’s musings. With a smile, he took the book from the little boy and waited until his excited audience was seated before beginning to read.