Disclaimer: Animal, vegetable, or mineral? Doesn't matter because in no form whatsoever do I have anything to do with Firefly.

Authors Notes: Yeah, this is a short chapter, but I wanted to leave you in suspense!

Right and Wrong By KaySky Part Ten

Simon and Kaylee stepped outside the infirmary to see what Book had wanted. Before any words were spoken Mal came barreling down the hall with Anya in arms and Wash behind them. “Cargo bay, now. Book, get the others.”

Book nodded and made his way to Inara’s shuttle, first swinging by the holding room.

Slowly, Kaylee began moving in the direction of the cargo bay. She really needed rest, it hurt to walk. Simon, saw her discomfort and reached for her hand. “Kaylee, can you wait a second?”

“But Cap’n…”

He placed his index finger over her lips. “Mal can wait a minute. Besides, it’s going to take Book awhile to gather the crew.”

Kaylee kissed the tip of his finger as he pulled it away. “Guess if a few minutes is all…”

He now took both her hands in his, gazing deeply into her eyes. “There is something I wanted to say before Shepard interrupted us.” The moment they had in the infirmary had been lost. His brain was fighting its way back to the surface, but his heart hadn’t surrendered yet. He prayed he didn’t screw this up. “I…I don’t want there to ever not be an ‘us’.”

Kaylee blushed. He’d never referred to them as an ‘us’ before. She never even referred to them as an ‘us’ before. Hearing it come from Simon sent tingles running all along her body. It was sweet. “I’m not makin’ any plans to break ‘us’ up, Simon. I think we fit well together. It was just a matter of figuring out where ‘us’ plugged in. Serenity's easy, she has stuff labeled. Red first into red, yellow into yellow, but Kaylee into Simon..." She blushed as the mental picture formed in her mind. ”It just wasn't as easy to find the right outlet."

He loved when she made analogies. She could put a poetic twist onto anything. “I’d like to stay plugged in forever.” He was in the process of kneeling down when a screaming voice of annoyance killed yet another moment. Reluctantly, he stood back up. “Yes, Jayne.”

Jayne had Vincent in one hand and Vera in the other. “Book said Mal wants us in the cargo bay. Best get movin’.” Jayne continued to his destination, prisoner in hand.

“I’m really beginning to believe I have been cursed with bad timing.” Simon sighed and released Kaylee’s hands. “Guess we should head on down ourselves.”

As he started his way to the cargo bay, a smile returned to his face when Kaylee snatched his hand. He stopped, turned around, and saw a bright, sunny smile. No matter how many bad things happened to her, she never lost her shine. He smiled, pulling her next to him, wrapping his arm around her. He planted a kiss on her soft auburn hair as they made their way together as one to the cargo bay.

* * * *

“Good. Now that we are all here, we can get started.” Mal put his gun back in his holster.

Anya and Vincent were sitting on the floor of the cargo bay. Zoe and Jayne kept guard, never lowering their guns. Kaylee was sitting on the floor leaning against the mule. She didn’t have enough energy to remain standing. Simon sat next to her, arm around her shoulders, keeping her safe. Inara and River stood behind Book. Inara was a little scared, but River was calm, very calm.

*Bang* Wash had hit the floor of Serenity with a hammer. “This court is now in session.”

“Thanks for the introduction, Wash.” Mal turned to his crew like a lawyer preaching before a jury. “It seems we have a bit of a situation on this ship. A situation I would like to resolve quickly. Since the prisoners put the whole crew in jeopardy, I think it’s only fair the crew gets a say in how we resolve this situation.” He walked over to Kaylee and bent down. “Anything you want to say meimei?”

She nodded her head. “I just want the truth.”

“The truth?”

“I just wanna know how two good people could do not so good things.” She looked to Anya and Vincent. “I lost two friends today. Ain’t no chance of fixing our friendship, not after… What happened that changed you?”

Anya spoke up. “Kaylee, you really were too good to be my friend. That’s why I knew I could use you.” She paused, contemplating her next sentence. Maybe truth would actually be spoken. “I used you, just like I used Vincent. He was rich. I was broke. He had everything I thought could make me happy.”

“Money doesn’t make people happy.” Kaylee’s eyes were filled with compassion. She no longer considered herself part of The Three Musketeers, but that couldn’t change the past. She still believed the Anya she knew back home was inside the Anya sitting before her. Maybe now that Anya has lost everything, the old Anya could surface shinning truth onto the dark situation.

“I know that now. I told Vincent I needed to do my own thing and he came with me. I didn’t want him to come, but…”

Vincent started his story. “I never felt anything for Anya. She was a nice roll in the hay, but… I didn’t leave my life because of her. I left because I was tired of it. The most fun I ever had was that summer I spent with you girls. The backwater planets weren’t what I expected from the way my parents spoke of them. It was hard to leave. It was the first time I ever remember having fun. So when Anya said she had to leave to be her, I thought it’d be like that summer.”

“It was nothing like that summer.” Anya interrupted. “We ended up on Calentuk. I found work waiting tables at a bar and Vincent…”

“I didn’t find work, so I decided to start my own business. I made myself a middleman in the transportation industry. My arrogance got the best of me…”

“And that’s pretty much it.” A tear fell to Anya’s cheek. “Captain Reynolds, if you could just drop kick us out the airlock, I would appreciate it.”

“That’s it? That’s the truth?” It was one of the few times anyone ever remembered hearing Kaylee so angry. “I thought you’d it least be decent enough to tell me everything.” She didn’t cry. The Two Musketeers weren’t worth crying over. “Guess decency isn’t a quality found in most.” Simon cuddled Kaylee in his arms, offering what little comfort he could.

Anya didn’t care what Mal was planning on doing with her. She was more afraid of what he might not do with her. She had to take matters into her own hands. As if she lost all sanity, she jumped up lunging at Mal. In seconds she fell to the ground. Zoe never did trust her.

To be continued...