The ride from Serenity to Eden Station was quick. No one spoke they entire way and the streets were completely empty. Once there the five of them were put into a holding cell and left.

“Anyone else think it strange that the entire town was empty?” Kaylee asked after a few minutes silence.

“Probably to scared to come out,” Zoë added.

“Not like it was very full to begin with,” Jayne said in a huff, but he had thought it odd.

Mal had been pacing the cell since the moment they’d been placed inside. No one lacked the sense to bother him except Inara.

“You really should let Zoë look at that gash Mal,” she said for the third or forth time. They’d all lost track. Mal, as usual, glared back at her but said nothing and kept moving.

“Why do you suppose they were wearing those suits?” Kaylee asked.

“Don’t know,” Zoë said staring at the door they’d entered through, “it’s not airborne. We’d all be sick by now if it was.”

“You mean dead,” Jayne corrected.

“Mal,” Inara began again, “really. You’re bleeding.”

Mal finally stopped and turned to her.

“I know that. You don’t think that I don’t know that? It’s my head, I know when my head is bleeding.”

If the remark had stung her at all she didn’t let on. She just glared right back at him until he finally caved and continued pacing.

“Sir,” Zoë said drawing Mal’s attention to the door as it opened.

Dr. Kellerman and a man they weren’t familiar with stepped inside. Kellerman looked nervous, even more so then he had aboard Serenity just hours ago. There was no trace left of the arrogant know-it-all asshole they’d encountered over the feed several days back. Here was a man who was terrified. His companion on the other hand was the polar opposite. Calm and collected with an air of command. Clearly he ran this show.

“Captain Reynolds,” Kellerman began somewhat hesitantly, “we’re nearly ready to release you and your crew.”

The other man hung back with a smug half smile on his face.

“Where’s my pilot?”

The others tried not to look to surprised at Mal’s question, but it had caught them a bit off guard. After all Mal had just been threatening to throw Wash off the ship, likely while it was moving.

“Um,” Kellerman continued but he no longer met Mal’s eyes, “of course you’ll be compensated for your time. We realize that you’ve been greatly put out by all of this.”

Mal’s eyes briefly darted to the other man and then back to Kellerman.

“I asked you a question and I expect an answer. Where did you take my pilot?”

“Um… well…”

Before he could react Mal had snatched him by the shirt and pulled him into the cell’s bars. The other man actually laughed while the rest of Serenities crew said nothing.

“Talk,” Mal said, his voice low and harsh, “Talk or so help me I will pull you through these bars and make you talk.”

Jayne stepped up to help

“I think we could manage it,” Jayne said with a smile.

It faded quickly. Two armed guards came in.

Jayne took a step back again, but Mal didn’t let go.

“I … can’t ….” Kellerman whimpered.

“Enough.”

The man in the back had finally spoken. His voice was loud, raspy and surprisingly deep.

Mal released Kellerman, who fled to the far wall, and stared down the man who now stood wisely just out of reach.

“You’ll be taken back to your ship now. After that you’ll have half an hour to depart. The entire planet will soon be under quarantine by order of the Alliance and its probably best if your not here when they arrive.”

“And you are?” Zoë asked unable to keep the anger from creeping into her voice.

“Section Master Dennly,” the man said to her with a smile she was accustomed to seeing more often in bars then in situations like these. “I run this outfit.”

Zoë made no attempt to mask her disgust, which made Dennly smile bigger.

Dennly motioned Kellerman out of the room as two more armed men arrived to open the cell and release them.

Before Dennly made it out the door Mal hollered at him that they hadn’t answered his question.

“Forget him,” Dennly shot back over his shoulder with a laugh as he exited, “He’s dead.”

****

Wash’s first thought on waking was that Serenity must have landed because the engines were no longer humming.

He opened his eyes and let them adjust to the light. He felt okay. Actually, better then that. He felt nearly good and almost rested.

Just as he’d come to welcome back this feeling of well-being it was gone. As Wash attempted to sit up a wave of nausea swept over him. Worse still, his back seized. Gritting his teeth in frustration he tried to at least turn to his side when he felt a pair of hands gently guide him back to the prone position.

“Zoë?” he asked trying hard to get a look at her. He couldn’t remember but he was pretty certain they’d argued about something.

“No,” a familiar voice nearly purred, “not quite.”

Adrienne came round the bed so he could see her.

“What…” he began in confusion.

“You should be resting.”

Wash continued to stare at her stunned.

“How…”

“You’re at Eden Station and you’re going to be fine.”

Wash looked around as best he could. He couldn’t believe it. How’d he get off the ship? And when?

“Here,” she said adjusting the bed to a more upright position, “that should be better. Would you like something to drink? You can’t eat anything yet, but maybe tomorrow.”

“Hold on,” Wash said waving her off, “just hold on a sec. I was just on Serenity. I was arguing with Zoë or Mal, hell probably both of them. It’s all fuzzy.”

Adrienne sat at his side with a look of concern. It was then she noticed how pale she’d gotten and that she had a bandage wrapped tightly around her forearm.

”I was hoping I didn’t have to tell you this now,” she said looking a bit down.

“Has something happened?” he asked feeling sick and panicked all at once, “Is she… they… are they okay?”

“No,” she continued her voice growing harder, “they’re fine. But…”

“What?”

“They left you here.”

Wash sat still not fully comprehending what he’d just been told.

“Left?”

Adrienne nodded and it finally sunk in. He had fought with Mal and he vaguely recalled packing his trunk.

“I tried to reason with him,” Adrienne said not taking her eyes off of him, “but that Reynolds guy is stubborn. I told him you didn’t know what you’d been carrying, and Wash you have to believe me that I didn’t either, but he wouldn’t listen.”

Wash just kind of bobbed his head suddenly feeling much worse for the wear.

“Anyway, you should rest,” she said getting up and lowering the head of the bed for him, “We got your things for you, stored over there.”

He didn’t even bother looking.

”Get some rest okay? You’ll feel better in the morning and hey, this might work out for you. My boss has been looking for a pilot for ages. I’ll talk with him and you can meet tomorrow.”

Still nothing from him.

“Okay then,” she as she headed towards the door and lowered the lights, “goodnight.”

Wash had been too shocked to answer her. To shocked to even acknowledge her at that point. So much so that he never noticed the wicked smile on her face as she left.

****

It was the quietest Serenity had ever been. For a solid two hours no one had so much as mumbled a syllable as they headed toward Persephone.

Mal sat in the co-pilot’s seat.

Serenity had only ever had one pilot and it felt strange now that that pilot was gone. Sure, Mal had wanted to throw him out that very morning, but he’d known it hadn’t been for the right reasons. He could admit to himself now that he’d wanted Wash gone for other more personal and selfish reasons that he was almost glad that he didn’t have to delve into now.

Still.

He had wanted to hear him out. He had wanted to know Wash’s side of the story in all of this and now, well, now he wouldn’t.

But there was more to it then that. Mal had been stuck with a feeling he couldn’t quite place and one that didn’t sit well with him at all. Sure, Wash had certainly been sick enough to die. Mal had half expected him to before they reached Medea. But all of it just wasn’t adding up. They claimed to have rushed them off because of the outbreak, but no one else seemed sick.

Then there was the body.

Mal had offered to transport Wash’s body back to Demeter where Zoë had mentioned he’d still had some family. It wasn’t somewhere Mal wanted to go but it was the right thing to do. Wash had died as a part of his crew, and even though there was nothing more he could have done, he felt responsible for that. But his offer had been turned down flat. They’d said that the body had to be cremated and there would be no need for transfer. And again, it didn’t add up. Wash hadn’t been contagious. If he had they’d all of been buried by now. Kellerman had told them it wasn’t contagious days back, so why burn the body?

But seeing as none of this made any sense, the biggest mystery of it all had to be why. What possible reason could there be behind all of this? The lot on Eden Station hadn’t gained anything. In fact, they’d even tried paying Mal. A lot. A whole lot considering they were in the middle of nowhere with barely a town to sustain them.

That thought struck him hard.

It had to be hard living on Medea. The nearest port town where they could stock up was Cronos where Serenity had delivered goods before arriving. And Mal had to believe that a pilot, especially a good one, was hard to come by way out here in the middle of nothing.

Mal got up out of his seat and headed down through the common area. He ignored Inara’s inquisitive glance and kept heading straight back towards the crew’s bunks. Hurrying down the ladder into what had been Wash’s room he tore open the wall lockers.

Empty.

The room had been cleaned out entirely. Every one of Wash’s possessions was gone.

Mal stood there for a minute to mad to move. He’d finally placed that feeling he’d been having since leaving Medea. The feeling that had been gnawing at his insides. It was that unique mixture of anger and helplessness a person only gets when they realize that they’ve been robbed.