Simon Says: Chapter II: Jiangyi

Thank you for all the constructive feedback. Some people (correctly) point out that the last chapter seemed too much like an episode script. That was actually done on purpose. I wanted to setup the same scenarios but with a slightly different POV to show how the situation might conceivably be completely different from what is expected. To me that is actually more frightening to take something you thought you knew for granted and twist it around. Anyway I'll try to be a little more "original" in the next installments. Thanks again for all the feedback! -Karl

We continue to explore an alternative POV where River might not be the crazy one in the family.

* * * * *

Mal walked down the walkway into the storage area of the ship. He almost gasped at the stench of the cows in the cargo bay. The sooner he made made this shipment off Jiangyi the better. As Mal walked in he saw some of his crew milling around. Jayne was cleaning his favorite rifle, Kaylee was fiddling with some machinery in the wall and Shepherd Book seemed to be chatting with them. It was a little suprising how well his crew got along with the new passengers, almost as if they all somehow belonged gother. The Shepherd noticed Mal approaching.

"Captain! How's the girl?"

"Just a little whimsical in the brainpan. Seems calm enough though."

As if on cue they could hear River letting out another blood startling scream that they've all been too accustomed in hearing.

"That young man's very brave." Book looked thoughtful before continuing. "Gave up everything to free his sister from that place. Go from being a doctor on the Central Planets to hiding on the fringes of the system. There's not many would do that."

"You going somewhere with this Shepherd?", Mal asked impatiently.

"What's the young doctor up to now?"

"I think he mentioned he was spending the morning cleaning up his sister. Rearing a 'lil girl all by yourself is a lot of work."

"Ya mean he's giving her a private sponge bath or something?" Jayne asked leering with a huge smile. Mal was suprised to hear Jayne join in the conversation. He usually didn't like talking about the doctor, unless it was to say something bad about him.

Book frowned, "Don't you find that a bit... disturbing?"

"Well, as much as I love kids, I don't especially like sweaty dirty ones running around my ship." Below in the bay one of the cows started deficating quite profusely.

"Yes, it would be a shame to soil this pristine vessel."

"Not me, never cared for bathing. Never saw the need." Jayne spit into his rifle and continued rubbing it down.

Mal only paused momentarily before continuing. "So you see Shepherd, unless we all want to smell like Jayne, I don't think it's such a bad idea. Now I don't know about you but I don't know who else will do the deed. High-class lady like Inara isn't into babysitting, Kaylee already has too much to do, and with her dripping in engine oil most of the time."

"Glad you noticed all my hard working, Cap'n!" Apparently Kaylee was listening in to the conversation as well.

"And Zoe isn't much for the mothering type. So unless you want to volunteer for the job of cleaning up after the girl, I lest leave it to her brother."

"Oh Mal, I can do it!" Jayne volunteered. "As long as she don't bite, I don't likes it when they bite. Or scratch for that matter." Mal felt a headache coming on but Jayne kept on going.

"I agree with the Shepherd. Something's not right 'bout those two. Bad enough girl's moon brain crazy. Besides, it's not normal. You never see me running after my sisters like that prissy doc. Let 'em fend for themselves is what I say. A man has enough to worrry about for himself."

"That's because you're a brute!" Kaylee always jumped to the young doctor's defense. Mal wondered if he had to have a talk with the girl about her impending crush on the good doctor. "I think it's sweet, the way Simon tends to her all the time, he's only looking out for her."

"I don't know Captain, there just seems something obsessive about his behavior." Book looked thoughtful again. Mal was already getting tired of the way the conversation was turning, he was about to make an excuse to leave when suddenly River started screaming again. Mal frowned as some of the cows started perking up at the shrill sounds.

"Excuse me, but I think perhaps it's time to pay the doctor a little visit regarding his sister."

The others just went back to what they were doing. Jayne continued to clean his rifle and was muttering to himself, "Oh yeah, Vera, you've been a dirty girl haven't you? Don't you worry I'm going to make you nice and clean, spic and shine!" Spitting a couple of more times he continued to vigoursly wipe down his rifle.

* * * *

"There you are River, nice and clean." Simon finished drying her off with a towel.

River felt sick. She was still trying to fight off the effects of the last dose of drugs Simon gave her.

"Please Simon, you're really scaring me. You're very sick, you need help, professional help. I know you can't help yourself."

"Now what should you wear today?" Simon acted as if he didn't even hear her.

"Y'know I think that pretty girl, Kaylee, was it? I think she really likes you. You should try talking to her some more."

"Ah, I think the white dress with the red sweater would look adorable on you." River dispaired, she was not getting through to him at all. She could feel herself losing control. She really was no more than a pretty figurine for him to play with.

"Stupid son of a bitch, dress me up like a gorramn doll!"

Simon actually seemed to pause from her sudden outburst. "I'm, uh, I'm just gonna give you a smoother that'll...", Simon started going to his medkit to administer yet another shot. Fear seized her, she didn't want to be doped up again. Screaming she quickly ran and grabbed his case and tossed it against the wall, just as Mal started coming in.

"So, she's added cussing and hurling about of things to her repertoire. She really is a prodigy."

"It's just a bad day." Simon took Mal aside and started talking to him in hushed tones.

River muttered a curse under her breath. She knew she couldn't convince any of the crew of her situation. With all the medication he had her on she would just start babbling like the crazy girl Simon claimed she was. She had to calm down, she had to save her strength and work on a plan. She forced herself to quiet down and try to listen to their conversation. The captain mentioned that they were going to be planetside soon to deliver their cargo. She would wait, wait till she saw the sky. She had to hold on and remember, she almost forgotten who she was. That would be her chance, her chance to just run away and escape. To get away from Simon.

* * * * *

River's head started swimming again. She was tied to a pole and they were building a pyre around her. How in the name of all that was holy did she get in this situation?! When they got planetside she ran off leaving Simon in the general store. But somehow he still found her. And then they both got snatched by some hillfolk. And now they were saying she was some sort of witch and should be burned at the stake. She just knew Simon was somehow responsible for all this. Suddenly Simon was standing in front of her. He quietly climbed up the platform to stand next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Light it.", he said. Then he leaned very close to her and started whispering to her.

"River, look at what happens when you run away from me. The black is a very dangerous place. But don't worry, I'll always find you. I'm willing to die with you, this way we can always be together, forever. If I can't have you..."

She turned and saw the resolve in his eyes. He meant every word, but what really frightened and broke her heart was the deep misguided love she saw in his eyes. In desperation she started praying her daddy would come for her.

* * * * *

Jayne was a pragmatic man. Once the doc and his sister were snatched by the hillfolk, their belongings were up for grabs. It wasn't likely that they would ever see them again. He was just doing what anyone would else would do in the same exact situation. He had to get the good stuff before anyone else claimed it. After rumaging around in Simon's room he happened to find what looked like the doctor's diary. Never one for respecting somone's privacy he decided to take a quick look.

"Dear Diary, Today I was pompous and my sister was crazy."

Huh? That was a weird thing to read. After flicking through a few more pages he was suprised to find several more similiar entries.

"Dear Diary, I am the greatest surgeon in the'verse! But my sister is still crazy." "Dear Diary, drugs are good, they help you work harder! And my sister's crazy." "Dear Diary, All work and no play make Simon a very dull boy..."

Jayne tossed the journal on the bed. It didn't make a lick of sense. Besides for someone of Jayne's rudimentary reading skills if it didn't get interesting right away he didn't want to spend the effort trying to read any more. Guess the sister wasn't the only crazy coot in the family.

* * * * *

Jayne still couldn't believe they went back for them. What was Mal thinking?! Without those two fugitives back on board their lives would have been a lot simpler. And then as soon as they were back on the ship the girl started screaming like a loon again. The doc said he just needed to give her something to calm her down. Thankfully her cries subdued before his ears started to bleed. Shaking his head, Jayne headed to the kitchen for a drink.

He walked slowly into the kitchen because the lights were low, most of the crew were sleeping so they usually followed the custom of dimming the lights at that time. Suddenly he felt someone behind him. He quickly drew out his gun and spun around. But what was before him was not what he was expecting.

It was the girl. She was accross the room, but he could have sworn he had just felt her breath on the back of his neck. She gracefully tiptoed silently up to him not making a sound. She was wearing a white nightgown and her face was as pale as death. She almost looked like some sort of ethereal spirit floating across the floor. For a moment Jayne thought the girl had died and this was her ghost haunting him. As she came closer he then realized she was barefoot, no wonder she could move so silently.

"Goramm, girl, what are you thinking sneaking up on me like that? I almost shot you!" Not as if that'll really be a big loss but he sure wasn't going to clean that mess up.

River just slowly raised her head to face him, there was nothing but a vacant look in her eyes. Her long tangled wet hair clung to her face and she just gave him an eerie smile. Gulping, Jayne suddenly felt very nervous.

"She's not allowed to run any more. She's trapped, like a dog on a leash."

"What the heck are you saying, girl? And why aren't you wearing any shoes?"

Jayne stifled a shudder as she moved even closer to him now standing on the tips of her toes. "Slash! Slash! It's all in pieces, gone, poof!"

"I'm in no mood for riddles, why don't you just get back to your room?!"

With a sudden flash of speed she grabbed his arm. Jayne actually winced at her unexpected strength. She looked straight into his eyes and whispered, "Help me." Jayne hated to admit it but sometimes the girl scared the freaking daylights out of him. And this was definately one of those times.

"River? River, come here. I told you, no more running away."

Jayne never thought he would feel so relieved to hear the doc's voice. Obediently she released her grip on him and moved backwards towards the voice of her brother, still on her tippy toes. She didn't break eye contact him him until she disappeared in the hallway. Jayne was suprised to find a mark where the girl grabbed him.

* * * * *

Simon was troubled. River's behavior was becoming more and more erratic every day. Increasing her drug dosage didn't seem to help, she was only becoming more unstable. Her recent violent outbursts were just the start of worse things to come. He couldn't risk the chance of the Captain tossing them off the ship. What he needed was a more permanent solution. Luckily there were planning to stop in Ariel, a core world. He knew of an excellent hospital in the area. With the resources in the hospital he could think of several ways to handle the situation more delicately. All he needed were a few unsavory individuals to help him carry out his plan. Luckily there was no short supply of that on this vessel.

* * * * *

Book hoped the crew of Serenity would stay out of trouble while stationed on Ariel. He was dropped off Bathgate Abbey for a brief visit at his request. Once there he quickly made his rounds but his true objective was a private terminal station near the Abbey outskirts. Entering his special authorization code he placed a communique and impatiently waited for a response. After a few minutes a middle aged man in uniform appeared on his screen. "Sir?! This is an unexpected suprise." "You know it's just Shepherd Book now, major." "Of course, sir. But I always said you retired too early..." Book impatiently cut him off. "I'm sorry to bother you but I really need you to check some information for me." "Anything for you, sir." "I need to know of any information you might have on secret Alliance Academies..."

* * * * *

River was in tears. She had a foreboding sense that something very bad was going to happen ever since her visit to the hospital. She was currently strapped to a table in Serenity's infirmiry. She saw Simon looking over some charts. With a shudder she recognized the charts. They were brain scans. *Her* brain scans. Panic started to rise as the pieces fell into place.

"What are you doing?!"

Simon answered still focusing on his charts, "You remember why we went to the hospital? To fix you?"

"But I'm not broken. Please Simon, I just want to go home."

"You are home. Here, with me. Now it's time to go to sleep."

As Simon administered the anesthetic the last thing River saw before passing out was Simon putting on his sterile blue latex surgical gloves.

To be continued.