“I understand you take passengers on your Firefly Captain Reynolds?” The man enquired. Mal looked him up and down, he was tall, well dressed and had a look about him that reminded Mal of an alliance general, but still beggars couldn’t be choosers and now Serenity was in the air again they had to find work. “I do sir”. Malcolm responded. “Do you have a ships medic?” The man questioned him. This question made Mal suspicious, Mal had thought that the Alliance had given up looking for River and Simon but maybe this man was a spy, or bounty hunter and Mal wasn’t prepared to put his crew in danger, he wasn’t prepared to risk loosing anyone else. “Why do you ask?” Mal responded warily. “I ask because the passenger I wish you to transport needs medical care”. The man responded, without waiting for Malcolm to reply he carried on. “My daughter was badly injured a couple of months back, this town is too volatile for someone like her, my brother and his wife have agreed to take her in”. “Your daughter, what does she want?” Mal asked, the only type of passenger Mal was going to agree to was the willing kind, the not so willing kind tended to be a whole load of trouble. “She will not cause you any trouble if that is what you are suggesting Captain Reynolds, she is far from dangerous, she has no memory of anything before the accident, of this planet, her home, of me. She has no ties here; this is her chance to build a new life, far away from here”. The man replied sadly. “I am prepared to offer you four times the going rate if you agree to transport my daughter safely to Olaris, providing she gets the medical care she requires”. The money was too good to refuse, the ship needed repairs and fuel, the crew needed food and work, something to take their minds off of all that had happened over the past couple of months. “Our medic is highly qualified and very dedicated, sir”. Malcolm replied. “Then I’m sure my daughters needs will not present a problem”. The man commented. “When will you be ready to leave?” He asked. “First thing tomorrow morning”. Malcolm replied. “I will pay you half the money once my daughter is on board your ship, my brother will have the other half waiting for you upon her safe arrival on Olaris”. The man informed him as he turned to leave.

Mal headed back inside. He found his crew sitting, playing poker around the table. “We have a job; we leave for Olaris tomorrow morning”. Mal told them. “But cap, Serenity, she ain’t ready for such a long flight”. Kaylee responded. “Then you must make sure she is ready”. Mal replied, Kaylee pushed back her chair and hurried to the engine room. “What’s the cargo Mal?” Simon asked. “It’s just as well you asked”. Mal replied. “A child, she needs medical care, the father says, we are to take her to some relatives in Olaris”. “Gorram kids, I ain’t being no babysitter to no kid”. Jayne muttered. “I don’t remember asking you to”. Mal responded as he turned his back on Jayne. “But you’re asking me?” Simon asked. “Yes, yes I am”. Mal replied. “Ok”. Simon shrugged his shoulders. “So what does she have wrong with her then, this child?” He asked. “I didn’t ask, she had some kind of accident, that’s all the father told me”. Mal told him, Simon raised his eyebrows in amazement at the Captains stupidity before he stalked out of the room. River giggled. “What did I do?” Mal asked her. She didn’t respond she just sat smiling quietly to herself.

*************************************************

“Mal”. Kaylee yelled up from the cargo hold. “They’re here, I can see them coming, you should come down”. Mal made his way down, his boots clanking against the dark iron of the steps of the stairway.

The man he had met yesterday, still wearing the grey suit that made him look so like an Alliance general was standing in the hold, in his arms was his daughter bundled up in a blanket, with them a dark coloured man, clearly a slave or servant of some kind, carrying a couple of cases and large rucksack type bags.

Mal sauntered towards them, eager not to appear too desperate for the money they needed so badly.

“Captain Reynolds”. The man greeted him with a curt nod of his head. “Sir”. Malcolm responded. “I take it my daughters quarters are ready?” The man demanded. “They are sir, please follow me”. Malcolm replied. He led the way back up the iron stairway and into the section of Serenity that housed the passengers quarters.

He opened the sliding door to the largest of the ensuite passenger rooms and stood back to let the man, his daughter and the servant enter, before stepping inside himself. The man gently placed his daughter on the bed and bent down next to her softly muttering his farewells, Malcolm looked away uneasy at witnessing the mans last moments with his daughter. Finally the man stood up and turned to face Malcolm. “I trust you will take good care of my daughter, Captain Reynolds”. The man asked. “That we will sir”. Malcolm replied as the man brushed past him, his servant following silently, pausing only to thrust an envelope stuffed with notes into Malcolm’s palm as they hastily made his way out of Serenity entrusting his daughter in the care of Malcolm and his crew.

************************************************* Malcolm sighed heavily and stuffing the envelope in the back pocket of his breeches he made his way over to the bed to greet Serenity’s newest occupant. He crouched down next to the bed expecting to find a teenage girl staring up at him, the girl wasn’t a child, wasn’t a teenager, but was a young woman older than River and probably close to Kaylee in age. Her silvery grey eyes were enormous in her small elfin face; her hair fell in long, pale golden waves around her shoulders, her frame petit and delicate. Mal caught his breathe, she was unusual looking, very attractive in an other-worldly kind of way.

Mal resisted the urge to reach out and touch her, instead choosing to introduce himself. “I am Malcolm Reynolds; I am the captain of Serenity”. “My name is Mist”. The girl replied softly. “Mal”. Simon interrupted their brief exchange. Mal stood up stepping away for the bedside as he introduced the ships medic. “This is Simon, Dr Tam”. Simon placed his bag upon the bed and brought a chair over so that he could sit next to the bed. “I’ll leave you to it”. Malcolm commented in his best captain’s voice.

“Can you tell me about your accident?” Simon questioned her. Mist shook her head “I don’t remember, I…” “It’s ok”. Simon said soothingly. “Just tell me what you do remember”.

“I remember a white room, bright lights that hurt my eyes, tall, white, shiny people whispering, red and pain in my head, in my back, my chest, tingling and heaviness, lying on a hard bed, people moving me, hurting me, a man my father”. She paused clearly distressed at her confusion.

Simon reached out tentively and stroked her cheek, the action having the same calming affected it did on his sister, River when she became incoherent and distressed.

“Will you let me examine you?” Simon requested. “I’ll try my best not to hurt you”.

Mist nodded in response her uncertainty evident as she caught her bottom lip between her teeth.

He took the hand closest to him in his own and asked her to grip his hand, getting the response he expected. He asked her to move her arms, to hold them off of the bed for as long as she could, to reach above her head, to flex her muscles, to push her hand against his own. He worked his way over her body, testing her muscle control, her strength and muscle tone, sensation and involuntary reflexes.

Almost as soon as Simon had finished examining her, her eyes closed and she was fast asleep.