Kaylee’s smile could easily have lit a sun it was so big and bright. Even besotted with packages, and beginning to melt a bit in the afternoon heat, she was more than excited. She and Inara had had a wonderful day at the market, finding quite a few delectable things that they could afford, even with their limited coin, and tonight they would feast. Plus, she’d found a particularly special treat for her and Simon and she couldn’t wait to share it with him.

Having sped ahead of Inara, Kaylee hit the ramp and bounced into the cargo bay. Jayne greeted her first, his requisite scowl settled onto his features. Giving him her famous smile, she easily handed over some of her goods as she chided him, “C’mon, Jayne. It’s a beautiful day. What’re you so grumpy ‘bout?”

Grunting in her direction, he did not answer her, but simply moved towards the galley to stow the food, bellowing, “Mal! Kaylee an’ ‘Nara’s back!” on his way out.

Frowning at him for only a second, Kaylee hugged her special package to her chest and headed for the infirmary, guessing that’s where Simon would be. Seeing the room empty and dark, she smiled even more wickedly, thinking that he had indeed kept his promise and was waiting for her in their bunk. Giddy, she headed to the room, and opened the screen, her face falling as hard as a weight when she realized it too was empty.

Turning, she called out, “Simon?” There was no answer. She knew he wasn’t in the cargo bay nor the infirmary or his bunk. Heading up the stairs towards the galley, she called again, “Simon? Where’re you hidin’? I got a treat for us.”

As soon as she ascended the stairs and entered the dining room she felt her heart fall to the floor. Jayne was doing his best to look busy, having been joined by Zoe as they put away the supplies. Mal was standing at the head of the table, a severe look on his face and his arms over his chest.

Doing her best to stymie her growing fear, Kaylee headed for him with a hesitant grin and asked, “What’d ya do with Simon, Cap? Put ‘im on septic duty?”

Mal shook his head once, reaching for Kaylee’s arm, but she shrugged off his touch immediately. Her face no longer holding any vestiges of her megawatt smile, she asked seriously, “I mean it, Cap. Where is he?” Glancing about the room, she asked, “An’ where’s River?”

“Mei mei,” Mal breathed, and in that moment Kaylee knew her suspicions were true. Backing up, she felt her knees buckle and she gladly sank into a chair at the table. Tears were pooling in her eyes as she looked back to Mal, the regret and pain evident on his features. “I’m sorry, Kaylee. But when we got back from the job, he an’ River were gone.”

Inhaling sharply, Kaylee felt the room spin and she shut her eyes hard against the sensation. Trying to breathe, she took a shaky breath and asked, “Feds?”

“No,” Mal told her, looking to Zoe for confirmation. The first mate had paused in her work, watching Kaylee closely and nodded to him once. “No, mei mei, it looked like local authorities. Some folk who were nearby thought they might o’ heard one o’ the police say somethin’ ‘bout kidnappin’.”

“Kidnappin’?” Kaylee asked, her mind searching for the truth in the accusation. Clinging to this newfound hope, she rose and said, “Well, that’s just downright silly. Simon ain’t never ‘napped no one.”

“No, Kaylee, he did.” She turned to regard Zoe as the woman walked out of the galley and faced the young girl. “He kidnapped River. She weren’t of age when he took her from the Academy, she still ain’t. That’s kidnappin’.”

“But, he saved her,” Kaylee reminded them needlessly, her eyes searching each of theirs in turn for some glimmer of hope. “They was hurtin’ her.”

“You know, I could really use some help here.”

All eyes turned to regard Inara as she slowly made her way into the room, barely able to see over the mountain of packages she carried. Zoe and Jayne moved to aid her, Mal and Kaylee locked in a heated stare. He could see the plea in her eyes, the silent request to get Simon back, but Mal wasn’t rightly sure he could, no matter how much Kaylee wanted him to.

“That’s better,” Inara breathed, placing a few small parcels onto the table. They would go to her shuttle. Immediately sensing the tension in the room and noting the distraught look in Kaylee’s eyes, she turned to Mal. “What’s going on?”

Mal was unable to answer her, his eyes still locked on Kaylee’s. He’d give anything to take away the pain she was feeling right now, the pain he could see as plain as day radiating from her eyes, her face, her heart.

Taking another step towards the captain, Inara intoned in a low voice, “Mal?”

When it became obvious Mal would not speak, Jayne piped up. “The doc and moonbrain got picked up by the police. Somethin’ ‘bout Simon bein’ a kidnapper.”

Instant tears filming her eyes as she felt Kaylee’s pain Inara moved to the mechanic’s side. “Oh, Kaylee,” she breathed, but with a swiftness she hadn’t been expecting Kaylee backed away, taking in all of their wide-eyed looks before turning and sprinting from the room, her surprise for Simon forgotten as the package fell to the floor.

All four sets of eyes could only stare after her, each of them feeling their own shock at this random turn of events. Slowly, Inara moved to follow her friend, guessing she would seek solace in the engine room. Stooping to pick up the small package Kaylee had dropped, she pulled back the brown paper gently and swallowed a sob at what she uncovered. With sad eyes, she turned to regard Mal for an endless minute before placing the open treat on the table and heading off after Kaylee.

Mal’s eyes alighted to the table and he felt a violent curse burst from his mouth as he saw the two perfect strawberries resting there.

---- ----

“It’ll be all right.”

Turning a scathing look to his sister, Simon told her sharply, “No, River it won’t.”

Frowning at him, River knelt beside him. He had insisted that they stay together and so Captain Myers had relented, allowing River to wait in the holding cell with Simon. His hands were still bound behind his back and his arms were starting to burn a bit from the uncomfortable position, but he was glad that they had left River alone. Of course they would. They considered her the victim in this scenario and while Simon was apt to agree, he wasn’t the one they should have arrested for the wrongs done to her.

Resting a hand to his face, River said assuredly, “Father wants to see us. He needs to know that I’m all right, that you’re okay. Once they understand, we’ll be free.”

“Mei mei,” Simon breathed, wishing he could get her to understand. “It’s not going to be that easy. Mother and father think I’m insane. That I lost my mind and dreamed up all of what happened to you at the Academy.” River’s gaze never wavered from his and so Simon continued. “Explaining to them what happened will not fix this. They don’t want to listen.”

“Easier to believe a lie than the truth,” River reminded him, offering him a small smile. She knew he didn’t believe her, and while River had an uncanny feeling that the road to reconciliation with their parents would be a long one, she still believed it was a journey they all needed to take. “Easier to believe their son went crazy than believe their daughter was suffering.”

Simon bit back his automatic retort. He had always resented the fact that his parents had so readily dismissed his concerns. What had given them the impression that he was so mentally unstable in the first place as to jump to such a dire conclusion? He had never exhibited any sign of mental illness before and as far Simon knew, there wasn’t even a tendency for it in the Tam family. But no, his parents, with their blinders firmly in place and their tunnel-vision narrowed had simply managed to convince themselves that it was Simon, their son, who was in the wrong. Not the government they had pledged their allegiance too.

The clang of metal on metal drew both of their gazes to the door and they tensed a bit as Myers entered the room. “Your transport’s dockin’ now,” he told them both, still a bit unnerved by their closeness. “We’ll be transferrin’ you in a minute.”

“Don’t I get a wave?” Simon asked suddenly, his mind consumed with thoughts of Kaylee and the devastation of leaving her. He wanted to reach out to her one more time, concerned that he may never see her again.

“You will,” River told him, regarding him with her wide eyes and a small smile. “You will.”

Frowning at her, Simon ignored her assurances and addressed the captain again. “A wave. Isn’t that one of my rights?”

Wondering who exactly the young man thought he would call on this backwater planet, Myers shrugged easily and said, “I guess it can’t hurt.” Motioning, two officers entered, hauling Simon to his feet. Pulling out of their grasp, he walked resolutely forward, River following silently behind him.

Sitting before the screen, Myers refused to unbind his hands. “The code?” he asked, his fingers hovering over the keypad.

Annoyed that he couldn’t type it himself, Simon gave it to the other man and then waited for someone to answer. He prayed they were already back on the ship. It was selfish he knew, but he had to see her. Even if she was upset over his disappearance, even if she was crying or angry, he didn’t care, he just had to see her.

The officers backed up a bit, giving the younger man some privacy, while River sat at his side out of range of the small screen. As Mal’s face came into view, Simon greeted him stiffly, “Captain.”

“Simon? Wo de ma, what the hell?”

“Captain, I’m sorry, but this is my only wave and I don’t have a lot of time. Can I speak with Kaylee please?” Mal’s eyes roved over Simon’s form, looking for any injury and also looking for some clue. But Simon refused to give him one. He had no idea what his fate might be, and he would not endanger anyone else, including Kaylee, by allowing the captain the false impression that he should mount some foolish rescue.

Soundlessly, Mal nodded and then called for Kaylee, depressing the intership comm. The two men sat in silence, neither of them at all certain what to say. Finally, Mal asked, “River all right?”

Glancing to his side, he met her smiling face and nodded. “Yes, she’s fine. They’re not after her, not anymore.”

“Look-“ Mal began, but he paused as Kaylee’s voice could be heard off screen. “Cap? What is it?”

Turning a sad smile to her, he rose from the chair and gently pushed her towards the seat. “You got a wave, mei mei,” he said quietly, pressing a kiss into her hair as he wandered off the bridge, meeting Inara’s quizzical gaze at the bottom of the steps.

Wrapping an arm around the woman’s shoulders, Mal told her, “I think we should give ‘er a minute.”

The moment Kaylee sat before the screen, Simon’s entire world became about her. He could see the tracks of tear stains on her cheeks, her eyes red and puffy from crying. He hated it, just the sight made his stomach churn. Her green eyes, normally dancing and full of light were dulled now and he hated that even more.

Gasping sharply as she recognized him, Kaylee sat forward and said, “Simon, where are you? Are you okay?”

Smiling softly to her, Simon said, “Yes, bao bei, I’m fine. But I’ve been arrested and River and I we’re …” He found it difficult to continue speaking as he watched her eyes well with more tears. His heart was thudding so loudly against his rib cage he was honestly amazed it hadn’t beat fully out of his chest. “We’re being taken back to Osiris. My parents have pressed kidnapping charges.”

Uttering a string of curses that would have made Jayne proud, Kaylee’s melancholy was replaced with anger in an instant. “That’s the ruttin’ dumbest thing I ever heard,” she told him. “They’re your folks. Don’t they understand why you did what you did?”

Simon knew that question would take more than a five minute wave and at least a good bottle of sake to answer. Shaking his head once, he told her, “No, Kaylee they don’t understand, they never have.”

Swallowing hard as Kaylee felt more heartache assaulting her, she asked, “But once you ‘splain it, they’ll let ya go, right? They won’t make you go to jail or nothin’.”

Shaking his head once, Simon told her quietly, “I don’t know that, Kaylee. I’m not sure what’s going to happen.”

Instinctively, Kaylee’s hand had drifted to her neck, curling around the necklace Simon had given her only a week or so before. Clutching it tightly, she raised big eyes to him again and breathed, “Simon, this can’t be goodbye.”

Fighting down his own rising helplessness, he told her firmly, “It’s not, Kaylee. If there is any way for me to get back to you, I will. I promise.” Holding her gaze steadily in his own, Simon wished he could take her in his arms and kiss away her tears as they fell down her smooth skin. “Please believe that,” he added quietly.

Nodding once, she told him brokenly, “I do, I believe you.” Staring at him for a second more, she whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Kaylee,” he answered, no longer caring who heard him. He was normally not prone to public displays of any emotion, but in light of all that had happened in the past few hours, he found those reservations flying out the window.

Staring at him for a second more, Kaylee rested her fingertips to the wave screen wishing she had the power to reach through the screen and keep Simon from disappearing. But too quickly an unseen hand closed off the connection and Kaylee’s fingers rested on the blank screen. Slumping back in the pilot’s seat, she pulled her legs up and into her chest, one hand still around the pendant at her neck and buried her face against the top of her knees.

Crying, she had no idea how long she sat there, praying that Simon could keep his promise and come back to her.

---- ----

“We are going after him.”

It wasn’t really a question, more of a statement and Mal decided that was what irked him the most. Looking to Inara with a look of utter amazement, he asked hotly, “An’ exactly whose boat is this?”

Frowning at him, Inara shot him a look that could have melted steel and said, “Mal, you know that you can’t just leave Simon in the hands of the authorities, any authorities. Him or River; they’ll be back with the Alliance in no time.”

Glancing about furtively, Mal moved towards her with a warning. “Keep your voice down,” he ordered. They were in the galley, neither of them willing to stray too far from the bridge in case Kaylee should need them after her talk with Simon. “I don’t wan’ Kaylee hearin’ none o’ that kind o’ talk. She’s already a mess as it is.”

“Precisely,” Inara countered, not backing down as he continued to scowl. “And the only thing that’s going to make her feel better is getting Simon back.”

They held each other’s gazes for a moment. This was a common stand-off for them, the stare in the middle, or at the end of, a heated debate. Many things had changed since Miranda, but unfortunately, her adversarial relationship with the captain was not one of them. Watching him closely, she caught sight of something, recognizing his regret and his reluctance for what it was. Mal had no intention of losing any more crew, but he also knew they were at a serious disadvantage if they hoped to go anywhere near a Central planet and get the siblings back.

As he backed down first, giving Inara absolutely no satisfaction that she had won the fight, she said, “I know you can’t stand the thought of River being back with those men.” His fiery gaze and pursed mouth told her she’d hit a nerve. “We haven’t survived all of this to turn our back on family now.”

“Since when is it ‘our’ back?” he asked hotly. He had no idea why he was so intent on picking a fight. Oh wait, yes he did, he wanted to be mad at someone and seeing as how the Feds and local police were not exactly groups he should be arguing with, he was falling back on his go-to person – Inara. She didn’t deserve it of course. She was only trying to remind him of what he knew to be true. But that didn’t change the fact that he was all twisted up inside over the thought of losing River, even Simon, and watching his family dwindle down to only a handful.

“I seem to recall you walkin’ off my boat once ‘fore. That ain’t normally what a body does if’n they’re surrounded by family.”

He’d immediately gone for the jugular and Inara smarted from his comment as if she’d been slapped. If he was so intent on taking her down, she would gladly return the favor.

“And I seem to recall you not asking me to stay. Is that how a man like you keeps his family together?” Inara’s eyes blazed with rage. She was still hurt from his refusal to ask her not to go, still hurt by his inaction over the past months as the furor over Miranda had died down. Although she realized that opening that can of worms could lead to some very uncomfortable questions surrounding her own behavior, she normally avoiding mentioning it – until now. “I also seem to recall you being unable to express your feelings unless you’re using a gun! Why exactly is that, Mal?”

His blue eyes were hot with anger. She was finally calling him on it; he’d always known she would. Secretly, he was a might glad, but at the moment, he was also hopping angry and she wasn’t making it any better.

But she pressed ahead realizing she’d opened this door and she had better step through it before he slammed it in her face. “Admit it, Mal. You’re glad River’s gone because now you don’t have to worry about her, don’t have to live up to her expectations, her vision of the man she wants you to be.”

He would have struck her, by God he felt his hand rising to hit her cheek, but with a firm hold around his arm, Zoe stilled his movements, pulling him back and inserting herself between the two of them. “Ain’t no cause for all this yellin’,” she said evenly, addressing Mal.

With a wave of his hand and scowl, he grumbled, “She started it.”

“Qu ni de,” Inara spit out and then turned on her heel marching from the room as fast as she could.

Zoe and Mal watched her go, the captain’s anger still not fully dissipated. Once Inara was gone, his first mate turned back to regard him, a sculpted eyebrow raised curiously in his direction, her arms across her chest.

Scowling at her, Mal asked, “What?”

“Is she right?” Zoe had suspected the look she’d receive at the question and she’d guessed correctly; it was a cross between indignation and ‘you-just-kicked-my-puppy.’ In other words, typical Mal.

“She ain’t right,” he retorted, too fast for it to be true. “I wanna get River an’ Simon back, but we ain’t exactly the most welcome folk right now. An’ I ain’t never been able to get near the Central planets without facin’ a lot of unwelcome attention.”

He moved away from her then, heading to the galley and pouring himself a cup of stale, burned coffee. Taking a drink and gagging on it, he threw it down the sink as she challenged, “Well, it ain’t like we never faced bad odds before.”

Annoyed that they were still having this discussion, Mal told her, “No, it ain’t. But we also ain’t been down a pilot ‘fore neither or in such desperate need o’ coin.” If Zoe was bothered by his mention of Wash, she didn’t show it. Instead she simply continued to stare at him with these big eyes that always made him feel as if he wasn’t fully dressed.

“Zoe,” he said quietly, moving back to stand before her. “We ain’t even got all the facts yet. I ain’t-“

“Simon’s pa thinks he kidnapped his sis an’ they’re bein’ taken back to Osiris.” Both Mal and Zoe turned disbelieving looks to Kaylee as she stood in the doorway, the evidence of dried tears on her cheeks, her face set into a grim expression. Glancing between them both, she allowed her eyes to settle on Mal as she asked, “That enough facts for ya?”

---- ----

It had taken the transport ten days to travel from Persephone to Osiris and Simon had found the trip interminable. He was left to his own devices, shut into a room with a cot and a small sink and toilet and not much else. River visited with him every day, often taking meals with him and Simon was grateful for her company, but he was still miserable. He was petrified that she would again end up in the hands of the Alliance and that he would again need to save her. He was terrified he would never again see Kaylee and while he knew that River’s fate should have been his primary concern, he found the young mechanic’s face and voice and touch were what haunted his dreams.

Arriving on Osiris, Simon’s hands were once again bound, this time in front of him as he and River were escorted to the local police station. River walked arm in arm with her big brother as though they were out for a Sunday stroll, and Simon could only marvel at her. She had told him, over and over again on their trip that things would be all right. But Simon was not convinced. It had been nearly four years since River had seen their parents; she did not understand how they had changed, what they had become. She hadn’t been there when Simon had demanded that they read her letters and see what he saw. River had not witnessed the look of utter disgust on his father’s face as he’d dressed him down after bailing him out of jail.

All River remembered where the smiling, benevolent mother and father who had waved her off to boarding school, oblivious to the fact that they were consigning her to a fate worse than death for three torturous years.

Escorted into a holding room, Simon and River sat side by side at the table in the middle of the space. Leaning towards him, River whispered, “It’ll be okay, Simon. Trust me.”

Smiling sadly to her, he turned his blue eyes to meet her gaze and answered, “It’s not you I don’t trust, mei mei.”

She would have responded with more words of encouragement, but the door swung open then and the family Tam was again reunited. As both children rose to face their parents, Regan and Gabriel Tam stood frozen just within the doorway.

Father and son locked eyes while mother and daughter did the same. It was unbelievable. Regan gripped Gabriel’s hand tightly, breathing in a quick breath at the sight of her beautiful children, so mature, so grown up. For his part, Gabriel could only stare at his son, looking for the glint of madness that would explain and excuse Simon’s behavior for the past few years. He didn’t see it.

River knew she would have to be the one to break this stalemate. Her parents were too uncertain of her reaction and Simon was still too upset with them to make the first move. Stepping away from him with a quick squeeze to his arm, River twirled to stand before her mother and said softly, “Hello mother.”

“Oh my God, River.” Regan’s voice was a breathless whisper and in an instant she was clutching River tightly to her, hugging her daughter so fiercely, she was certain she’d never let go. River returned the embrace, although not with quite as much zeal. She felt her mother’s mind rejoicing at having her baby girl home, felt the older woman’s emotions as they whirled around her and through her. Even though she was now holding River in her arms, she was still having a tough time believing it wasn’t all a dream.

Pulling back from her slightly, River told her quietly, “I’m real. Not a dream.”

Furrowing her brow slightly, Regan wondered at River’s words – she’d just reiterated exactly what she’d been thinking. Shrugging it off, she wiped at her eyes as River turned her attention to her father. “Hello father,” she said quietly.

Gabriel Tam was a stern man, not unloving or unkind, just highly reserved, and while he had always shown his daughter acceptable amounts of affection, she had no idea how he would react to her now when she was nearly fully grown and no longer a little girl.

With a sigh of relief, he allowed his heart to guide his action. Wrapping her into a tight embrace, he whispered, “Oh River, it’s so wonderful to see you.”

River felt a brief moment of relief as her father’s love and concern washed over her. He was still guarded, still unsure of how to treat her and even more uncertain of what to do with Simon, but he was truly glad to have her back and that was what she was focusing on now.

Daughter and father breaking their embrace, River stood between her parents, allowing her mother to run a hand through her long hair, allowing her father to place a warm hand to her shoulder. The three of them stood locked in the stare for a long moment, none of them wanting to break the spell of this reunion. But it was unfair for her parents to continue to blame Simon for something he hadn’t even done.

Stepping back from them, River circled back to Simon’s side and drew him around the table so they were only standing a few feet from their parents. Her arm once again in his, River looked to him expectantly. Begrudgingly, Simon looked first to his father, his eyes and voice betraying nothing. “Father, mother,” he greeted them stiffly, ignoring River’s subsequent eye roll.

“We’re a family again, Simon,” she reminded him. Glancing back to her mother, she smiled sweetly and added, “All of us.”

“Mei mei somehow I don’t think families issue arrest warrants for one another,” Simon retorted, his eyes glaring daggers at his father. “Of course, that could just be my insanity talking.”

“Simon,” his mother hissed, looking to River. “We don’t need to talk about that now, not in front of your sister.”

“He’s not the crazy one, mother,” River explained helpfully. With a beaming grin, she told them all, “I am.”

“River, do not speak such nonsense.” Gabriel’s voice was hard and while he was addressing his daughter, his gray eyes never left Simon’s face. “I hope you realize now that you were wrong,” the older man told him, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting for an apology he would never get.

Snorting with derision, Simon told him, “Funny, I was going to say the same thing to you.”

“Simon, what happened?” It was his mother’s request for answers that forced Simon to look at her.

As he turned his attention to the older woman, River tightened her grip on Simon’s arm and told him, “You should tell them. They need to understand.”

Sighing heavily, Simon knew from experience he could talk until he was blue in the face and his parents would not understand. But the silent plea in his sister’s eyes and the memory of Kaylee’s pained expression forced the words past his lips.

“After I told you about the letters and River’s message,” Simon began slowly, leaning back against the table. “I did everything I could think of to find her. That was why I was caught in that black-out zone,” he explained, his eyes lifting to his father’s face. He had to physically force himself not to shiver at the man’s frigid glare. “I was looking for the Academy. But I didn’t find it, not that night.”

“Why didn’t you just ask us?” Regan questioned, looking between her children and husband and back again.

“I did.”

Clenching his jaw tightly, Gabriel clarified, “You asked me if you could see your sister and I told you no. The Academy had very strict rules about visitors.”

“I wonder why,” Simon responded sarcastically. “It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. All the information you’d been given was falsified. Meant to be used as a decoy to hide the true facility and its true intent from parents like you.”

“And what intent was that, Simon?” Gabriel challenged. He was in no mood to hear more of his son’s deluded assumptions. “River is fine,” he said, motioning to the young woman, whose earlier look of happiness had now been replaced by one of grave concern. Ignoring the change, Gabriel simply barreled ahead. “The only thing River’s suffered from is your insanity, dragging her across the ‘verse, endangering her life-“

“Simon saved me, father.” River’s voice was strong and clear. Standing up to her full height, she stepped between her brother and father and held the older man’s gaze. “I was being hurt, experimented on and Simon saved me. They cut into my brain,” River exclaimed, pointing to her scalp where she knew there were still a few residual scars. “If it hadn’t been for Simon I’d probably be dead by now, or worse.”

“River, sweetheart, you don’t know what you’re saying.” Regan reached for her daughter, trying to embrace the girl as she noticed her shivering slightly. “You’re just confused, just as Simon is.”

As River only grew more agitated at her parents’ refusal to accept the truth, Gabriel moved towards her, resting a gentle hand to her shoulder. “Yes, darling, everything will make much more sense once we’ve taken you home.”

Rising swiftly, Simon’s eyes, wide with fear darted between them. “She can’t go back to the Academy.”

Puzzled Regan assured, “No, Simon of course not. Besides, we couldn’t if we wanted to. They closed Academy about eight months ago.” Smiling kindly to her daughter, she added, “No, we’re going to take River home, where she can be surrounded by familiar things.”

Shaking her head firmly, River backed up to the table moving close to Simon’s side. Linking her arm with his, she looked to her brother, big tears pooling in her eyes. “I don’t want to go,” she told him quietly, resting her head against his shoulder, sighing heavily. It wasn’t going as she had hoped and River’s heart was breaking as she considered that they may never be a family again.

Unable to suppress the smug grin that spread across his features, Simon looked to his father and simply shrugged. “You heard her.”

Stepping forward, Gabriel lowered his voice, moving his mouth to Simon’s ear as he whispered, “This is not a joke, Simon. We brought you both back here so you could be home again. So that your mother and I could provide for you. Isn’t that what you want for your sister?”

Pulling back, Simon turned an incredulous look to him. “Of course it is,” he hissed, allowing a bit of his venom to show, even as River’s grip on his arm tightened imperceptibly. “But you can’t assume that because you’ve finally decided to take some parental responsibility River or I will go running back into your arms.” His eyes searching his father’s face for some kind of comprehension, Simon added, “You have to earn our trust back, father and our love. We won’t be so foolish as to give you both blindly again.”

Jerking away as if stung, Gabriel eyed Simon with a look of utter hurt. His eyes darting to his daughter’s trembling form as she cried silent tears, her head still resting to Simon’s shoulder, Gabriel could not understand. He had assumed that once River and Simon saw him and Regan again things would be fine. Yes, Simon obviously needed some help, but he and his mother were more than willing to provide him with any counseling or rehabilitation he might need. He had not expected so much bile to be directed at them from both of his children and he found it as disconcerting as he did disheartening.

Simon turned from his father and rested his cheek against River’s hair, pressing a light kiss to her forehead. “Mei mei,” he whispered, hoping to get her attention. Raising her head slowly, the look on her face and tears in her eyes made Simon’s heart hurt. Lifting his bound hands, he wiped a few of her tears away and told her quietly, “You should go home with mother and father. Sleep in your old bed, eat some real food.”

Shaking her head firmly, River grabbed his hands and said, “No. Not without you.”

Simon looked to his father questioningly and Gabriel shrugged. “It’s not up to me, Simon. You’re considered a flight risk and the judge will not set bail. I’m afraid you’ll have to stay here.”

Releasing a sigh, it was as he had feared, but that didn’t make it any easier to accept. Glancing back to River, he smiled wanly and said, “I want you to go with them, River.”

Throwing her arms around him, River held him tightly to her, burying her face in the crook of his neck. “No,” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to will them back to Serenity. “No, I won’t leave you here.”

Simon wished he could hold her back and let her know that everything would be all right. But all he had were words and so that was what he used. “River, I’m going to be fine. They won’t mistreat me here. And I’m sure mother and father will let you come back and visit tomorrow.” Regan nodded quickly, her own heart thudding painfully against her ribcage as she watched her daughter unraveling before her.

Pressing another kiss to her cheek, Simon said softly, “Please, River. Go with them.”

Pulling back from him, River held his gaze, her light hands resting against his cheeks. As her brown eyes studied his blue, Simon shivered slightly, guessing she was trying to read something off of him. Doing his best to stay open to her, he waited out the seconds in silence, ignoring their parents as they shifted nervously, ignoring the pain in his wrists from where the bindings rubbed, ignoring the twinge of longing in his heart as he more acutely felt Kaylee’s absence. Once River left, he was really going to be alone.

“Never,” his sister whispered, drawing his attention back to her. “Never alone, Simon. I’m going to fix it.” Leaning forward she pressed a kiss to his cheek and whispered only loudly enough for him to hear, “You saved me once. Now it’s my turn.”

Smiling faintly at her words, Simon kissed her cheek again before she pulled back and reluctantly rose, moving to her mother’s side. Wrapping River’s hand in her own, the relief on Regan’s face was evident as she realized she would be able to take her baby home.

Doing his best to hide his growing fear, Simon watched his mother and sister leave, River’s eyes staying locked on him until the wall finally separated him from her view. Once they’d gone and it was just Simon and his father, he stood before the older man and waited. Gabriel Tam obviously had something more to say.

“Are you sorry?” he asked quietly, searching Simon’s face for the remorse he needed to see.

“Sorry for what?” Simon asked callously, knowing he was only annoying his father more and not caring. “Sorry for getting caught? Because yes, that I am sorry for.”

“You can’t accept that fact that your actions were wrong, Simon,” Gabriel said, his voice tinted with incredulity. “Not only wrong, but against the law. You dragged your innocent sister into your insane world and all you can offer is sarcasm and guile.”

Holding his son’s cold gaze, Gabriel stepped back and said softly, “I’m sorry I failed you so completely, son. I really hope we can get you the help you need.”

And before Simon could offer a retort Gabriel was gone. Simon sank slowly into a nearby chair, his heart welling with sadness, his mind raging with anger. But both emotions, while strong were just masks to hide his true feelings – despair.

With a weary sigh, Simon stared at nothing, waiting for the officers to come and take him to his cell.

---- ----

TBC