Sorry for the delay ... life and all that other "reality" junk got in the way of my writing time. Enjoy and don't forget to leave feedback ...

***

Inara’s shuttle wasn’t particularly well hidden, but it was registered legally and that immediately spared it from any unwanted attention. The three of them getting back to it wasn’t the problem; deciding what to do next was.

Simon had fallen, more than sat on Inara’s bed once they were inside, the exertion from walking such a far distance with shaky balance and a bruised head taking more out of him then he wanted to admit. Kaylee helped him lay back, removing his shoes and trying to situate him comfortably. Noticing the cut on his head had again started to bleed she left him for a moment and then returned to his side with a basin of water and a rag.

Simon was groggy and nearly passed out again. Kaylee gently pushed him into a semi-sitting position and wedged herself between the head of the bed and his back, placing the wet rag against the injured skin. Slowly, she pulled him back against her, her arm resting lightly on his chest and her cheek pressed to the top of his head. She whispered to him, things he couldn’t understand, but it was soothing nonetheless. And the feel of the damp cloth against his skin felt wonderful.

Simon closed his eyes and rested there for a moment, delighting in the soft touch of Kaylee’s hand resting over his heart; the feel of her breath in his hair as she tried to comfort him. Barely realizing what he was doing, Simon reached his own hand up to cover hers and he squeezed her fingers gently as a form of thanks. Liking the way it felt, Simon kept his hand over hers and she didn’t protest.

Inara came from the shuttle’s cockpit sure that they hadn’t been followed or spotted. The sight in front of her brought tears to her eyes. Kaylee sat with her back to the shuttle’s wall one leg curled under her and the other stretched out beside Simon’s sleeping form. Rocking him gently, Kaylee had wrapped an arm around his shoulder and had her hand just over his heart, where Simon had reached up to hold it gently. Kaylee’s cheek against his dark hair completed the picture and Inara wondered what these two were waiting for. The ‘verse wouldn’t get any easier the longer they waited to share their feelings for one another.

Realizing that time was of the essence, but knowing that both Simon and Kaylee needed their rest, Inara draped them with a blanket and situated herself on the shuttle’s couch. A few hours sleep wouldn’t do them any harm.

***

Mal was quickly growing tired of being held at gunpoint on his own boat. While Sterns had insisted that they were mere minutes from imminent capture, hours had passed since he’d last made the threat and Mal was growing skeptical.

As the time dragged on, Sterns and his men became more and more lax in their duties and Mal knew, now was the time to act.

He had been sending signals to Zoe for several moments, the minutest of hand gestures and flicks of the eye to indicate his plan. The woman didn’t just know Mal, she thought like him after having fought beside him for so long. With barely a change in her demeanor he knew she had followed the whole litany of steps from start to finish and would act the moment she was called upon. God, he liked having her around.

Wash and Jayne were a variable they could not control, but Mal wasn’t worried. As soon as Jayne sensed a fight, he hoped the merc would unsheathe some of those guns he supposedly had hidden and let loose with a nice rain of fire. Mal smirked at the thought. Wash would – well, Wash would decide in the moment whether he would stay and fight or run to the bridge and prep the ship for take-off. He was more of an “on his feet” type of fighter.

Mal nodded once to Zoe and simultaneously the two stood, Mal slipping his now bound hands over the throat of the nearest guard, while Zoe landed a hard roundhouse kick to the side of her assailant’s head. Twisting the man’s neck with a sickening crack, Mal let him fall to the floor as he dodged blaster fire coming from the other guard and Sterns’ gun. Jayne and Wash had both hit the deck already, trying to figure a way out of their bindings. They heard rather than saw Zoe fall down beside them, her mouth close to Mal’s ear as she rasped, “Okay, now what?”

Mal gave her one of his trademark winks and she suppressed a groan. If he thought now was the time to be cute, he’d sorely misjudged the situation. “Here,” Jayne said, pulling out one of his guns with a now free hand. He and Wash had landed back to back and worked their hands out of the bindings that held them. It was an incident they would never discuss as Wash had felt the larger man’s hands grace his backside a bit too fervently.

“Baby,” Wash said, crawling toward Zoe and untying her. Fixing him with a grimace, she said, “Get the ship ready, we need to go as soon as we clean up this mess.”

Turning his big eyes on Mal, he got a nod from the captain and worked himself into a crouching position to get better movement. Zoe and Mal, now fully armed exchanged another familiar look and immediately steadied themselves on their knees and started firing. Under the cover of their maelstrom, Wash sprinted across the bay and up the stairs, yelling madly the whole way.

The third guard was now on the ground, roiling in pain at the bullet Mal had pumped into his leg. Sterns was the only one left and he quickly dropped his gun to the floor as the three semi-criminals stood and rounded on him.

“Now, Mal,” Sterns said feebly, doing his best attempt at a back pedal. “You wouldn’t just shoot me, would ya? Outright? No fight or nothin’?”

Mal had approached the man carefully, getting close enough to kick his gun away. He now pressed the barrel of his own weapon to the man’s temple and cocked the firearm, eliciting a flinch and a whimper from the now cowering man.

“What I will and will not do to you is up for debate,” Mal told him coldly, sighing inwardly as he heard Wash rev up his girl’s engines. “But what you will and will not do to us is non-negotiable.”

Risking a look into the captain’s face, Sterns half-asked, half-pleaded, “What do you want?”

“I want River and Simon Tam back on my boat,” Mal told him, pressing the metal point just a little harder into his head. “And you’re going to help me get them back.”

***

When Simon awoke he wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t still sleeping. He was in unfamiliar surroundings, lying against something soft and warm and his head wasn’t pounding nearly as bad as he remembered. Something was definitely up.

Blinking slowly to clear the sleep, Simon brought the room into focus and recognized it almost immediately. The sight of the colorful tapestry and candles brought the events of the previous night rushing forward and Simon shifted to figure out what was going on. Looking down, he saw his hand gently intertwined with someone else’s and his breath caught in his throat. Of course, she had been there. She’d been the one to come and get him.

Rising slowly so as not to wake her, Simon turned slightly to see Kaylee’s angelic face. Her head was leaned against the shuttle’s bulkhead, her eyes closed in sleep. Simon kept a hold of her hand as he eyed her form and again his breath caught in his throat.

She looked – amazing; it was the only word that Simon could bring to mind. Dressed in a dark green and gold silk dress, probably one of Inara’s, Kaylee’s hair and makeup were flawless, giving her a glow even after hours of sleep. He eyed her for a moment longer, noticing how the soft fabric clung to every part of her and had to quickly refocus his mind. There were more pressing matters at hand than how beautiful the young mechanic was; although Simon would have been hard pressed to pass a test asking what they were.

Tugging on her hand slightly, Simon rubbed her wrist with his thumb as he leaned forward and planted a light kiss on her cheek. She stirred at the touch, yawning and blinking lazily. Turning her gaze to focus on him, she smiled sleepily and it was possibly the most radiant expression Simon had ever seen. Allowing her eyelids to droop closed, she murmured huskily, “Mornin’, Simon.”

At the sound of his name on her lips, Simon’s heart jumped into his throat, his desire and tenderness for the girl threatening to overwhelm him. Unable to help himself, Simon leaned towards her again, and brought his mouth to within inches of hers. “Good morning, bao bei,” he whispered and closing the small distance between them, brought their lips together.

Kaylee had been dozing back to sleep, but the feeling of Simon’s mouth immediately brought her fully awake. She snapped her eyes open at the contact, almost unable to believe she wasn’t dreaming. When she saw him there, his eyes closed and his hands starting to move up her neck towards her face, she again let her eyes close and leaned into the kiss and his embrace. It seemed like minutes before they parted and Kaylee leaned her forehead against his, his hands still gently caressing her cheeks.

“Well, good mornin’ to you too,” she whispered, a little out of breath at the hormones and emotions the contact had brought rushing to the surface.

Simon smiled at her and she traced the outline of the expression with her finger tips. “Thanks for coming to get me,” he told her, his breath tickling her cheek. “I honestly didn’t know if anybody would.”

“You never have to doubt me, Simon Tam,” she told him, resting her head on his shoulder and interlacing their hands. “Although it was really ‘Nara’s idea, her plan. I just said I’d help.”

“And you looked beautiful doing it,” he told her, his cheek resting against the top of her head.

She blushed at the compliment. “Nah, ‘Nara did all the work. Just painted my face and pinned up my hair. Twasn’t nothin’.”

“Yes, it was,” Simon told her urgently, forcing her to look at him. “It’s a very big something. You and Inara both risked your lives to come and get me and that –“ He broke off unable to continue as his emotions came boiling to the surface. Swallowing hard, he said, “It means more to me than you will ever know. But unless I can get to River, I’m afraid it will all have been for nothing.”

The crestfallen look that befell Kaylee’s face almost broke his heart. Reaching out he stroked her cheek gently and he hoped she could see the gratitude in his eyes. Talking to her had never been one of his strong suits and he hoped that she could forgive him yet again.

“Well, then, we better rescue your sister, too.”

The voice startled them both and they looked up to see Inara standing at the foot of the bed. She wore a somewhat stern, but soft expression on her features and Simon and Kaylee both knew she wasn’t upset to find them so close. Kaylee shifted to pull away from Simon realizing he would probably be uncomfortable being so close to her in someone else’s presence, but he kept a firm hold on her hand and she settled contentedly back at his side.

“Inara,” Simon said, clearing his throat and trying to get the large lump there to dissipate. “Inara, I don’t know how to thank you.”

Waving the words away, she sat on the edge of her bed and said, “Don’t thank me, thank the captain.” When Simon fixed her with a confused gaze, she said, “If he hadn’t insisted Kaylee and I run away, I don’t know if I would have been ticked off enough to try a rescue attempt.”

“Well, then,” Simon said, a little unsure how to take the statement. The companion and the captain had a complicated relationship to say the least. But regardless, he was grateful. “I’ll be sure to thank Mal when I see him again for his foolishness and chauvinism.”

Nodding heartily, both women broke into strong laughs and Simon had to admit it was one of the most beautiful sounds he’d heard in days.

***

“You been able to reach ‘Nara yet,” Mal asked his pilot for about the hundredth time as he paced a path behind his chair.

“No, Mal, I haven’t,” Wash said tiredly, swiveling to face the agitated man. “But I’m sure if you pace a little more, I’ll be able to get her lickety-split.”

Fixing him with a glare that completely conveyed his annoyance, Wash quickly went back to his controls. “All right, all right. There’s no reason to get touchy.”

Mal snorted derisively at the thought. No reason? Mal had a ton of reasons, least of which was being held at gun point for six hours. Most of which was the fact he couldn’t raise Inara’s shuttle, which meant she and Kaylee had not gone to the rendezvous as he’d asked, which meant they were probably in grave, death-defying danger. And that made Mal all sorts of tetchy.

“Call me when you get ‘er,” Mal said angrily over his shoulder as he stormed off the bridge.

He could barely hear Wash mutter, “If I get ‘em,” as he exited the hall.

***

River’s eyes had cried all their tears. She knew that for a fact. They were dry, all used up and the sting of the salt on her cheeks and the dryness in her retinas burned. Of course no worse than the scalpel they had dug into her right hemisphere a little over an hour ago. They had gone probing again – the scientists loved that word. It spoke of exploration and discovery. To River it spoke of dull, thudding pain that would last long after they had closed her back up again.

She had sensed some time ago that Simon was better, out of the woods and she was grateful. He deserved to be happy – with Kaylee. The thought brought a small smile to River’s lips and the doctors hurried around her, noting her chemical levels and brain activity as the expression graced her visage. They were convinced it was a result of their doing. They had no idea she was just picturing her brother in love.

His happy feelings, however brief, had been the only bright spot in the past twelve hours. She had lost all feeling along her left side a few hours ago as their latest drug cocktail had caused adverse side effects they had not prepared for. Plus, she was bleeding, heavily from a few cuts on her abdomen and legs and the one in her skull. They kept her strong through IVs pushed in her veins, pouring medicine in that burned with the heat of a thousand suns. She wanted to rip her arms off, it hurt so bad. Made her sick and she took a little comfort in knowing she had thrown up on at least three different men. They deserved it and so much more.

What they wanted from her now she couldn’t quite tell. Before, it had been a desperate need to test her, her limits and her boundaries, as well as her mind’s capability to expand. They had injected her with mood enhancers and steroids, deprived her of solid foods and light to see if she could adjust. They had even thrown her in a room with vicious criminals to gauge her danger response. She had left without a mark on her and it had been the last time she’d been subjected to that test.

Before it had been about what she could be told or pushed to do. Now, it seemed to be about what she could be told or pushed to forget. They were trying to take something away, that’s why they kept poking at the folds of her brain. They were looking for the right trail, the right channel that had something in it they desperately wanted back.

Whatever it was, she hadn’t taken it on purpose and she didn’t want it. She knew that much. But she got the distinct impression from their anxious glances and hurried movements that not even they knew how, when or if they would find it. And that thought had them terrified.

Deciding to add to the paranoia, River found the strength within herself to let lose another long, primal scream that set them on edge. It hurt River’s already raw throat to make the noise, but the sight and feel of their uneasiness made it all worthwhile.

***

“We don’t have any options,” Simon said dejectedly. He had taken a quick shower and changed into clothes that thankfully Kaylee had thought to bring along. The mechanic was back in her own clothes too, looking decidedly more at ease.

They sat near each other on the couch, hands joined while the fingers of Kaylee’s other hand absentmindedly ran up and down Simon’s forearm. It was a gesture that was almost an afterthought, especially when shared between two people who had been together for some time. But for Kaylee to show that kind of affection and ease with Simon, who was only now starting to really see the young girl for who she was and what she meant to him, it spoke of something much more intimate. It shouldn’t have felt so natural, not when everything else between them had been a struggle, but to Simon it felt like the most right thing in the ‘verse – the two of them never breaking contact.

“I can’t accept that, Simon,” Inara told him, pacing a path in front of them. Simon’s head still hurt too much to actually follow her movements, so he instead turned to Kaylee and gave her a small smile. She returned the look with the widest grin he had ever seen and his own smile grew as well. God, she was beautiful.

“There’s no one you know who could help us?” Inara’s question brought his mind back to the immediate problem.

Frowning he said, “Help us, yes. Risk being arrested? Decidedly not.” Grimacing at the thought, Simon told her, “Without my bank accounts, I’m not of very much use to the people who helped me before. And the price on my head definitely isn’t worth the risk for them.”

Inara nodded grimly, realizing he was right. Even with the money she had managed to save, they would be sorely lacking in the funds department and economics was really the only language these types of men would talk.

“What about your folks?”

The question startled them both. Glancing to his side, he saw Kaylee’s far off expression and squeezed her hand to draw back her attention. Quickly looking between them, Kaylee let her gaze rest on Simon. “What about your ma and pa? They got a ton of money.”

“That’s true, Kaylee, but they don’t think there’s anything wrong with that gorram school,” Simon said angrily trying to bury the rage that welled inside him.

“Well, no, they don’t, but isn’t there a way to convince ‘em?” Kaylee was so hopeful, so willing to believe that all parents were like hers: ready, willing and able to die for their children’s happiness. Simon wished he’d know love like that in his childhood.

“I tried, Kaylee,” he told her quietly, shifting to face her. “But it didn’t-"

He broke off abruptly a thought and possible plan immediately springing to mind. Turning to Inara he asked, “You brought my bag didn’t you?”

Inara nodded quickly, “Of course. I thought there might be medications in there you'd need for River.”

Simon rose quickly as she answered, searching the shuttle for the red medical bag he’d had since graduation. Locating it, he opened it and pawed through the contents until his hand was running along the bottom seam of the bag. Feeling the small hole he’d made in it months ago, Simon wiggled his finger there until he felt the object he was seeking. Tilting and shaking the bag slightly, the memory stick slid right out into his hand.

Turning to face the two surprised women, he held the slim rod up for them to see. “It’s not medicine, but it might be just what we need to help River.” Heading for the shuttle’s cockpit he said, “Now, I just have to convince my mother to trust me.”