Chapter Five:

No one moved. River stared at Adam, humming.

"River," Wash said slowly. "This is Adam."

"Adam," River said solemnly, not taking her eyes off of him. "First man, created from dust, expelled from Garden of Eden."

"River," Adam said, smiling gently at her. "A moving body of water, fresh and sparkling."

River giggled. Adam leaned over and whispered something in her ear. Her entire face lit up and she began to spin around the room.

"What did you say to her?" Mal asked. He'd never seen River react to a stranger like this. True, she rarely met new people but when she did, she usually said very little or reacted badly to them.

"Shhhh," River said, returning to Adam's side and putting her finger to her lips. "It's a secret."

"River!" came a voice from the doorway. Simon hurried into the dining area. He looked around the room, "She slipped away from me." He noticed River at Adam's side. "I'm sorry she bothered you."

"No bother," Adam said. "She's delightful."

"Come on River," Simon said. "Let's go back downstairs."

"No," River said. "Company's here, be rude to hide."

"Adam Allen," Adam said, holding his hand out to Simon.

"Simon," Simon said, cautiously shaking Adam's hand. "You're Wash's brother."

"No he's not," River said, looking back and forth between Wash and Adam.

"What do you mean.." Mal started to say.

River studied both Wash and Adam, "Blood, genetics don't match, all wrong." She touched both their heads and frowned, "Memories, scars, all the same."

Adam looked at Wash, startled by for the first time by River's words, "Does she…"

"No," Wash said quickly. "Little River just has a way of knowing things."

"Insightful and enchanting," Adam said. He looked over at Mal., "You've assembled quite a crew. Hard to find ones this agreeable."

"Oh, they have their moments," Mal said, glancing at Wash. He was going have a little chat with his pilot later.

Adam ignored Mal's glare at Wash and continued, "I've flown with a few different ships and it's unusual to find a crew that works well together."

"What sort of ships?" Mal asked.

Adam shrugged, "All kinds, derelict, luxury liners, whoever hired me."

"Never stayed with a ship for very long then," Mal asked.

"Depends on how you'd define very long," Adam pointed out. "I stayed with one ship for about a year."

"Why'd you leave?" Mal asked.

"Mal," Wash broke in.

"It's alright," Adam said. "It's his ship, he has a right to know who's on it." He looked straight at Mal, "I left that ship because they decided to move from transporting passengers to transporting slaves. I transport cargo or passengers, not men, woman and children being sold as slaves."

Mal nodded. He couldn't find fault with that answer, he'd do the same thing and the bitterness in Adam's voice made it clear that he was telling the truth.

"You're working with Badger now?" Mal asked.

Adam shook his head, "We're….acquaintances. I met him a few years ago. He's got a low opinion of me and I've got an even lower one of him but he knows that I can pilot just about any ship. So once and awhile I fly for him and if he knows of any available jobs, he sends it my way."

"Why'd he send you to us?" Mal asked. "We sure don't need a pilot."

"I wasn't looking to fly," Adam pointed out. "I let Badger know that I needed a decent ship to transport me and my cargo to Beaumonde."

Mal nodded. Adam's story sounded reasonable and he wasn't faking his dislike of slavers but something still didn't sit right with him. But before he could question Adam further, Simon spoke up.

"River, why don't we go back downstairs," Simon urged.

River frowned and surprised everyone by plopping herself down on Adam's lap and sticking her tongue out at Simon.

"I'm sorry," Simon stammered. "She's just very…"

"It's alright," Adam said quietly.

"I don't understand," Simon said, shaking his head. "She never responds to strangers this way."

River glared at Simon, "Don't talk about her like she's not here."

"I'm sorry mei-mei," Simon said. "It's just.."

He was interrupted by River's screams. She screamed and began to scramble off of Adam's lap, "No, no, two of them, Jekyll and Hyde, black and white, day and night," She cried as she landed on the floor, holding her head in her hands.

"River," Simon said, kneeling down next to her. "What's wrong?"

River looked up, past Simon and at Adam, tears in her eyes, "He tries to fight it but they always win, one part them, one part him."

"Come on River," Simon said, helping River to her feet. "Let's go." He led River out of the dining area and down towards the passenger dorm.

"What set her off?" Jayne asked, shoveling the last of his dinner into his mouth.

"I'm wondering that too," Mal said, looking at Adam.

Adam pushed his empty plate back and stood up, "I'm going to turn in for the night. It's been a long day," His voice had become formal again.

"Adam," Wash started to say.

Adam smiled, "It's alright. We've got a few days to get caught up. Good night all," He nodded to the rest of the crew and walked out of the dining area. The rest of the crew, except for Mal, Wash and Zoë, also quickly left the dining area.

Wash waited until everyone had left and then said, "What the hell was that about, Mal? Why didn't you just get a bright light and shine it in his eyes."

"This is my boat," Mal said. "And I need to know who it is we've got on it."

"Why'd you let him on in the first place, then?" Wash asked.

"We needed the job," Mal pointed out. "Besides if this brother of yours is so trust-worthy, you've got nothing to worry about."

"You don't," Wash said. "Adam's not the enemy here so quit looking for something that doesn't exist." Then he stood up and walked out of the dining area to the bridge.

Mal glanced towards where Adam had left and then turned back to Zoë, "Something's not right about him."

"You've said that before, sir," Zoë said.

"And I meant it," Mal said. "There something just about him. Did you see River, the way she reacted to him?"

"She seemed to take to him right away."

"Then she went all…"

"Doesn't mean anything," Zoë said. "We all know she has her spells, says things that don't make any sense."

"But she knows things, maybe she knows something the rest of us need to."

Zoë didn't answer. She just stood up and walked out of the dining room, towards the bridge.