NOTE: This chapter starts with just a little bit of violent imagery.

River is trudging through snow piled up to her waist as far as her eyes can see. She's not wearing clothes designed to protect her from the cold, but she feels no discomfort. She's tracking her brother - and his captor.

The trail ends at the opening to a cave - massive, dark, but not pitch black. Light enough for her to see. As River enters the cave, she can hear her brother's screams. She can hear a struggle, presumably between Simon and Neriah. After a brief moment of hearing this struggle, the sounds abruptly stop, filling River with a sense of fear - fear for her brother's condition. She runs toward a clearing several hundred feet in front of her, and as she reaches the clearing, she sees Simon's face peeking from around the corner. She stops, managing to produce a smile of stunned, euphoric amazement.

River: "Simon. You're …"

River's face is then filled with horror as Neriah rounds the corner and tosses Simon's severed head in River's direction. She catches it and looks deeply into his eyes.

Simon's head: "*Mei mei …*"

As River drops her brother's head, she violently leaps from her bed and begins bouncing around her room frantically, knocking items from dressers and shelves to the floor, her actions accompanied by horrified, inconsistent shrieks. After a moment, she melts against the back corner and begins sobbing uncontrollably.

Kaylee rushes toward the room, opens the door and immediately approaches River and kneels beside her, wrapping her arms around her. River collapses into Kaylee's body, barely noticing who had come running at the sound of her cries. River can't stop crying long enough to speak, and Kaylee knows better than to ask what's wrong - or is too afraid to find out the answer.

***

Kaylee and Mal are sitting at the dinner table. Book is standing behind Kaylee, hands on her shoulders. Jayne is filling a plate with food.

Mal: "She's sleepin' now?" Kaylee (nodding, speaking almost solemnly): "Five minutes. I leave the room long enough to get me an' River somethin' to eat and …" Her voice trails off as she non-playfully plays with the dinner she had prepared for the two of them. Book: "Don't blame yourself, child. There's nothing you could have done." Mal (sitting at the head of the table): "It's probably better you weren't in there, anyway. Simon always talked about how she talks in her sleep. Likely you don't want to know what she was dreamin'." Kaylee: "It was Simon." Beat. "Had to be. He's all she's got, an' now she don’t even have that. Nothin' else would make her …" Beat, her head falling to the side, her face resting on Book's left hand. "It was Simon." Mal: "How could she even go to sleep at a time like that? I'm almost surprised she didn't try to commandeer Serenity to go after Mrs. Early right away." Kaylee: "Simon gave her some medicine right before they showed up. All that medicine makes her sleepy." Silence fills the room. Mal sits, eyeing his food but not eating. Book lightly strokes Kaylee's face with his free hand. Jayne continues filling his plate, but at a decidedly slower pace, almost like he's showing respect for the situation. He then breaks the silence.

Jayne: "So we gonna plan a rescue or sit here whimperin' all night?" Book (sternly): "Jayne!" Kaylee interrupts Book before he can scold Jayne any further. Kaylee (sitting up straight, wiping a tear from her face): "He's right. Cryin' ain't gonna bring Simon back." She turns to Mal. "What are we …" Mal (still looking at his food, almost forlornly): "Ain't worked out the details just yet." Kaylee (as mad as she's ever been): "To *diyu* with the ruttin' details, Cap'n! We don't know what that woman is gonna do to him. We can't just …" Book (soothing): "Let's not be rash, Kaylee. That may just get the boy killed." Kaylee shoots a pissed-off look at the Shepherd and quickly stands and exits the room, spouting a string of Chinese expletives on her way out. Book: "She's not wrong, Captain. We may not have much time." No response. After a short moment of silence, Book sits in the chair Kaylee almost broke on him when she stormed out. Book (to Mal): "Have you even spoken to …" Mal: "Barely. And it's still none of your gorram concern." Silence, eventually broken again by … Jayne: "I miss somethin'?" Mal: "Ain't you s'posed to be guardin' somebody? Better be glad I'm lettin' you eat on the job." Jayne (trying to joke): "YOU better be glad. I'm a growin' boy, Mal. Gotta eat all my meat and veggies so I'll get big and strong like you!" Mal: "Shut up and get back to work."

***

By the time Kaylee got to the infirmary, she was in tears. She slid down the doorway to the floor, not noticing that Inara was still there. The companion gets off the exam table and kneels down beside Kaylee.

Inara (concerned): "Sweetie, what is it?" Kaylee (between sobs): "Simon's got took and Cap'n don't care!" Inara: "Kaylee, you know that's not true. Mal will do everything in his power to get Simon back." Kaylee: "He's sittin' up there eatin' an' barely talkin' to anybody." Beat. "He's not all that normal to begin with, but he's actin' strange." Inara doesn't respond, only looks down at the floor. Kaylee: "It's you. It's because you're back." Inara (startled): "What would make you say that?" Kaylee (starting to stand up): "He's been actin' stranger since you left. Tries to hide it, but he ain't no good at that." Inara (standing as well, smiling): "You're more observant that some companions I know." Kaylee: "I'm no fool, 'Nara. I know how he feels about you. I just never figured how you felt about him." Beat. "Is that why you left?" Inara: "It just seemed everything would be simpler for everyone if I left Serenity." Kaylee: "Breakin' up a family is never simple." Inara: "My feelings for Mal were starting to evolve past family." Kaylee (almost excited at this revelation, but still visibly upset): "It wouldn't hurt nothin' if you two … I mean, look at Zoe and Wash." Inara: "You can't compare Mal and I to Zoe and Wash. I have feelings for Mal, but we could never fit as perfectly togeter as Zoe and Wash do."

***

Wash (angry, yelling): "You're wrong, dear! He's a bounty hunter - an evil, calculating, morals-down-the-tubes bounty hunter. He'll lead us into a trap!" Zoe (just as angry, louder): "Captain says we're to use Early for information on how to find his mother and Simon, so we're going to do it! End of discussion!" Wash: "Oh, great! Let's open up that old chestnut again, Zoe and her Captain! (mocking) Captain says, Captain says. (end mocking) Is he the only one on this ship that could possibly have the answer to any problem ever? Zoe: "I trust him!" Wash: "And you don't trust me?" Zoe: "On tactical plans, no! You're the pilot, Wash. We tell you where to go, then you take us there. It's fairly simple, husband." Silence. Wash is hurt, but his face is radiating like a hornet's nest. He's fairly pissed. Zoe notices, and she tries to back down a bit, but it's too late. Wash: "So I'm a one-trick pony, is that it? Good ole' Wash sure knows how to fly a ship. Couldn't strategize his way out of a gorram paper sack, but …" Zoe (softer): "Wash, you know I didn't …" Wash: "I think you did. I think you always have, and I’m tired of it." Beat. Wash gets out of the pilot's chair. "I think it's about time I did something about it." Wash begins to walk off the bridge. Zoe: "Where are you going?" Wash (stops in the doorway, stares at Zoe): "I'm flying the ship, right? Early's telling us where we're going to find Simon, right? If that's the way it's going to be, I'm going to make sure Early isn't lying to us, and I'm going to do it my way." Beat. "Unless, of course, you managed to sneak by Jayne and get in some torture on Early before you came up here to tell me how useless I am." A beat of silence, and Wash leaves the bridge.

***

Neriah's ship is reaching its destination and beginning to descend. Deep, heavy cloud cover prevents Simon from getting an idea of what the area looks like, and Neriah is taking her time weaving the ship through it.

Simon: "I've done everything I can think of. I've run tests. I managed to get her into a neural imaging suite at an Alliance hospital on Ariel. I've exhausted almost every medical avenue I am aware of, and I hit a dead end on each one." Neriah: "You see the man Jubal has become. How does that make you feel about your sister's future? Simon: "Honestly, it makes me feel a little better. You said your son wasn't the nicest boy to begin with - before the Alliance got their hands on him. His family line pretty much made him destined to be a bounty hunter." Beat. "My sister … it doesn't seem like the experimentation has altered either of their paths in life, just their perception." Neriah: "So, you're saying your sister is naturally a good person and what the government did to her won't change that?" Simon: "Yes." Neriah: "And you don't think there's any way to fix Jubal, make him a better person?" Simon: "It's in his nature to be the way he is. There are medicines that might ease any suffering the experiments have caused, but if as much time as you say has passed since they did this to him, those feelings have probably become an integral part of him. If we tried to change that, it could be very hazardous to him." Beat. Neriah: "But it might not be?" Simon (bothered by the question): "Might not, but I'd say the chances would be slim." Neriah reaches under seat and pulls out a mid-sized, wide briefcase and hands it to Simon. Neriah: "Scans of his brain and all the medical information I've been able to get on him. He moves around so much, it was hard to get this. I hope it's enough." Simon: "You have to understand, I'm not terribly motivated to help you with this. You are aware your son shot me and tried to kidnap my sister, correct?" Neriah: "I don't want to get violent, but the fact that I'm willing to should be all the motivation you need."

Silence fills Neriah's ship as its breaks through the clouds. Simon looks out the window and sees low mountains and snow as far as the eye can see. The ship approaches the opening to a cave.

XXX