Title: Reunion Rating: NC-17 Synopsis: Simon gets a wave from his father asking him to come home. River wants to go, Simon doesn’t. Arguments ensue. Timeline: Takes place 7 months after Serenity, the movie. Notes: Next part of a series beginning with : And So It Begins, Kiss Me, Coming Together, Tell Me, What’s Proper?, Tears ,Peekaboo, Impatient, Waking Up is Hard to Do, The Talk, I See You, Exhaustion,Moving Day, Celebration, Surprise , Vacation, Reunion Disclaimer: This story is not meant to infringe on the copyright of any person or company related to the trademarked characters and situations depicted in the Serenity movie or Firefly series. I make no money from this. Only done for fun – and a desperate craving to have more stories told about this wonderful ‘verse Joss Whedon created.

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River replayed the message until she had every twitch of his lips, every blink of his eyes, every word, memorized. She played it back one more time, saying the words with him, her eyes bright and her entire being tense with excitement.

River turned to Mal as he stepped onto the bridge. “Daddy wants us to come home!”

“What?” Mal’s eyes narrowed as he leaned over and played the message. His eyes scanned the text and then he listened to what Gabriel Tam had to say.

“This is a broadwave, no specific destination listed.”

River nodded, the smile never leaving her face. “Didn’t know where we were. So he sent it out in hopes it would reach us.”

Mal exhaled a long, deep breath. “Better get your brother up here.”

River smiled knowingly. “He’s busy.”

Mal rolled his eyes and groaned. “You know, as a courtesy, do you think you could stop telling me things like this?”

River giggled. “No.”

~*~

Kaylee wrapped her arms around Simon’s shoulders and slid her hands into his hair as he moved against her. She scrunched her eyes shut and breathed his name in short breathless pants as he pushed deep, reaching her very core with each hard thrust. Her body still trembled with the remnants of her release and she concentrated hard on giving Simon one equally as pleasant.

She tightened her legs around him, matching each and every sharp snap of his hips. It never got old, stale, the way he filled her, the way he made her feel when they made love. They lived in their own blissful little world now that River had moved into her old bunk. She could scream and cry out Simon’s name every time without fear that someone would overhear them.

“God Kaylee,” Simon breathed against her neck. “I love you.” The muscles in his back tensed and a sharp hiss between clenched teeth echoed in her ears as she raked her nails down his skin.

“Love you, Simon.” Kaylee pressed her mouth to his and clenched him hard when she felt the familiar throbbing within her.

His back stiffened and he thrust one more time before filling her, his groan muffled by their joined mouths.

~*~

River looked up from where she’d been occupying herself tuning instruments and smiled at Mal, who tried terribly to ignore her. “Done now. Call him!”

Mal groaned. “Give him no time to rest, do ya?”

River waved her hand dismissively. “He can rest later.”

Mal shook his head and flipped on the com unit to Simon’s bunk. “Sorry to disturb ya, doc, but there’s a wave come in that I think you need ta get up here an see.”

It took a few moments but a very breathless, while trying not to sound breathless, Simon answered. “Be right there, Captain.”

~*~

Simon stared at the screen, his face an expressionless mask. Long moments of silence passed and he simply stood there before turning to look at River. “We’re not going.”

River’s eyes widened. “I want to go!”

Kaylee held back a gasp of despair by closing a hand over her mouth. They couldn’t leave! He wouldn’t leave her. Would he?

“They don’t want their children back,” Simon said sternly.

“Yes they do!” River insisted. She pointed to the screen where her father’s face stared back at them. “He said so!”

“No, they don’t.” Simon insisted, sounding angrier than Mal had ever seen him. “They want the social standing they will be given when society learns their fugitive children have returned home.”

River didn’t back down as she met her brother’s eyes. “I want to see mom and dad.”

“Then send them a wave. We’re not going.” Simon turned and walked off the bridge, brushing past Zoe without an apologetic look.

Kaylee stood rooted in place, tears filling her eyes, as Zoe climbed into the cockpit. “What was that all about?”

River turned to Kaylee. “Don’t worry. He’ll never leave you.” To Mal, she said. “I’m answering them.”

Mal covered her hand with his much larger one. “Not until we all sit down and discuss this. It could be some kind of trap, and I ain’t willin’ to send my crew into another one.” He turned to Kaylee. “I don’t care what you have to do but chase down that man of yours and get him to the dining room.”

~*~

“There hasn’t been a fresh warrant issued for your arrests in months,” Zoe confirmed as they all sat around the table discussing what to do about Gabriel Tam’s wave.

“That doesn’t mean they aren’t still looking for us,” Simon countered. He was clearly not happy to be discussing this and Mal didn’t even want to know what Kaylee had said or promised to get him to sit down and discuss this so soon after his argument with his sister.

“I want to see them.” River repeated, for what seemed like the hundredth time in an hour.

“And if we walk into a trap?” Simon’s eyes blazed as he looked at his sister. He couldn’t understand why she could so quickly decide what she wanted to do. There were consequences to every action and this was a big one that could alter their current lives tremendously. “We can’t put everyone in that kind of danger.”

“We can send an untraceable wave back to him,” Inara offered.

“And tell him what?” Simon asked with a sigh. “Your children are fine but we think we’ll be walking into a trap if we come home? Yes, I can see how well that would go over especially if that wave is intercepted by the Feds.”

“I see your point, Simon. It was just a suggestion.” Inara could feel the anger coming off him in waves. No wonder Kaylee was near tears.

“I want to go.”

“No!” Simon slammed his fist into the table and stood.

River stood with him, meeting his eyes, not backing down.

Zoe, Jayne, Inara, Mal and Kaylee simply sat in silence, gaping at the battle of wills going on in front of them. The siblings had argued before, more so since River seemed to be much better after Miranda, but it had never been like this.

“Just because you don’t want to go, doesn’t mean I can’t. You’re not my keeper!” River screeched, exhibiting the rebellious behavior one would have expected to see what she was fourteen. Before she had lost her childhood to the Academy.

“I am until you reach the age of consent.”

“Just because you stole me doesn’t make you my guardian!” She regretted the words the instant they fell from her lips and tears welled in her eyes when she saw her brother recoil as if she’d just thrust a knife into his heart and twisted it.

Simon’s voice dropped, filled now with hurt that was not a easily masked as he hoped. “Not legally. No. You’re right. But I am still your brother and right now, I know what’s best for you.”

“I’m not a child,” River insisted. She didn’t want to hurt him anymore. But she wanted to make him understand. She wasn’t the same troubled girl who had jumped out of that cryo chamber over a year ago.

“No you’re not.” Simon sank into his seat feeling berated and bruised from this latest spat with his sister. Her words had hurt him more than he would ever admit, but he didn’t need to, because he knew she could read him like an open book.

Kaylee reached over to squeeze his hand but even that gentle gesture offered no comfort.

A tear slipped out of River’s eye and slid down her cheek.

“Well how fun was that? Doc gettin’ slapped down by his little sister,” Jayne slapped the table with the palm of his hand and laughed. He turned to Kaylee without missing a beat. “I don’t know how you can stand to be –“

“Jayne,” Mal’s voice was low, calculating as he stared at the mercenary. “Don’t finish that sentence.”

River glared at Jayne. “You do and they will be the last words you ever speak.”

Jayne scowled as Zoe tensed, ready to intercept flying fists.

The grin slid off his face as River hurried to Simon’s side.

“I’m sorry, Simon. I just want to go home. I want to see them. I want to see the people that – that sent me off to that place.” Tears fell from her eyes now as her brother turned sad eyes on her.

“I sent you off as well,” he said quietly.

River launched herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. “But you came back for me. You’re the only one who did.”

Simon’s arms gently encircled the tiny girl he had given everything up to save. “I love you, River. I will always come for you.”

~*~

“I won’t let her go alone.” Simon tightened his arms around Kaylee’s shoulders as they lay in bed.

He’d been in a bad mood for most of the day, and Kaylee hadn’t even managed to get him to give her more than a chaste kiss all day.

“You know you want to go with ‘er.” Kaylee snuggled against him, rubbing her cheek against his chest.

Simon answered a little too quickly for her to believe him. “No, I truly don’t.”

“Then why ya so tense?” She rubbed his chest gently to illustrate her point.

“Because I’m in a bad mood.”

Kaylee lifted her head and pressed her lips to his cheek. “Yes you are and yes you do want to go.”

Simon sighed and turned his head to scowl at her.

Her eyes were bright. How she stayed so bubbly while he was in such a dreadful mood would always confound him. “You men are all the same. Stubborn.”

That brought a small smile to his lips. “You wouldn’t have us any other way.”

“Well,” Kaylee cocked her head, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. Her hand slid lower, beneath the sheet that covered their lower bodies. “I can think of other ways I would rather have you.”

Against his will, his body responded. He was supposed to be mad. But Kaylee had this way of bringing out a smile in him no matter how bad his day had been.

She traced a finger down the length of him and gasped when his hands slid around her cheeks to pull her mouth to his. They kissed for a long while, until she had worked him so thoroughly with her hands that he felt he would burst all over them if he allowed her to continue.

He rolled her onto her back and pebbled her face and neck with gentle kisses. His hands feathered across her breasts, rubbing and kneading them until their rosy peeks stood erect.

Kaylee pushed her fingers into his dark hair and tugged gently as he made his way down her body, stopping to pay special attention to her breasts. He tugged one nipple into his mouth and sucked deeply while pinching the other with his fingers. He alternated his attentions from one to the other until Kaylee was writhing beneath him, begging for more.

His wet mouth trailed down her stomach, pressing slow, languid kisses to the soft skin. When he reached her scar, he brushed his cheek against it, remembering how he had almost lost her. As always happened, Kaylee tugged on his hair to top his brooding and he smiled against her abdomen. After one last reverent kiss he moved lower, teasing her sensitive flesh with his tongue as it swirled closer and closer to her wet heat.

He deliberately circled her swollen little nub without putting direct pressure on it and she grunted in frustration when he simply blew against it. His fingers traced her delicate lips, slicking themselves with her wetness, before finally slipping into her, one agonizing slow inch at a time.

“Simon – God, please,” Kaylee finally begged, hips arching off the bed.

When his mouth finally closed over her and tugged the aching nub into his mouth, she cried out, her body tensing, pulsing.

It didn’t take long before she flooded his mouth with a release that left her lying boneless and weak beneath him.

His fingers still worked over her damp folds, thrusting gently as his tongue cleaned her, slowly bringing her up to a second peak. But he stopped then and lifted his head to find her looking down at him, her eyes glazed with unfathomable desire.

She reached down to him and he took her hand, allowing her to pull him above her. Her legs still weak and trembling, she parted them invitingly, waiting for him to sink himself into her.

He rubbed himself against her wetness, over her aching nub, before positioning himself at her entrance. Slowly, as he had done with his fingers, he pushed into her, savoring the tightness of her body as it stretched to accommodate him. Inch by agonizingly slow inch, he pushed forward, until he was buried as deeply as he could go.

“Oh, Simon, that’s good,” Kaylee whispered as her fingers slipped into his hair and tugged his mouth to hers. She could taste herself on his lips as he began to move. She never wanted this to end; this perfect union of body and soul that she had found with him. She would break if he left her; one half of a soul un-repairable.

“It is good. You feel so good, Kaylee.” Words spilled out of his mouth as he began to move, his body’s needs driving the urgency of his thrusts.

In and out, slick and wet, his hips moved against hers urgently. For a while, all the troubles of the day fell away and there were only Simon and Kaylee, finding pleasure in one another’s arms. But like all good things, it came to an end, splintering stars behind tightly closed eyes as his body shook with the force of his release, hips arching sharply forward one last time to spill searing heat into her.

He collapsed into her arms panting heavily, whispering words of love against her heaving breasts. Strong, loving arms wrapped around his back and shoulders holding him tight against her chest. She murmured into his hair, soothing words, loving words, and felt his body relax, lulling him into a deep, dreamless sleep.

~*~

“Well, it’s done,” Simon leaned back in the chair and stared at the cortex screen.

River hugged him tightly. “Thank you, Simon.”

“I still think this is a mistake.” He returned his sister’s hug and held Mal’s eyes over her shoulder, as if directing the comment at him.

River returned to the co-pilot’s seat and started pressing buttons. “It’ll take us several weeks to reach Osiris from our current position, but I can re-configure the nav computer to get us there quicker if we can get Kaylee to boost the power to –“

“We’ll get there when we get there, lil Albatross,” Mal said, resting his hand on the back of her chair. “No sense in rushin’. I’m sure they’ll be shocked to even receive a reply so soon.”

“They may even refuse to pay Serenity’s docking fees.” Simon shrugged, trying not to get his hopes up.

“They’ll pay for all of it. They want to see us,” River said confidently, smiling as she worked.

“Can’t believe you asked them to pay the Cap’n for transportin’ you back home,” Kaylee leaned into Simon’s arms as he stood, relinquishing Mal’s chair.

“My father paid two thousand credits to get me out of jail when I was caught in a blackout zone speaking to men who could help me break River out of the Academy.” He pressed a kiss to Kaylee’s forehead. “He is wealthy enough to pay the transport bringing his children home.”

“Still don’t seem right.”

Simon tilted Kaylee’s chin and pressed a brief kiss to her mouth. “I owe Mal more than I can ever repay for sheltering us for the last year.” He glanced at the Captain as he spoke. “It hasn’t been easy on any of the crew. They deserve to be richly compensated for their troubles.”

“You’re part of this crew, doc. We take care of our own.”

“Yes, but we weren’t when you decided to take us in and there is no amount of money in the ‘verse that can compensate you for that.”

“Don’t go gettin’ mushy on me.” Mal dismissed the couple and sank into his chair. “Don’t you two got things t’ do?”

River opened her mouth but Mal held up a finger. “Those kinda things I don’t want to know anything about, dong ma?”

Kaylee giggled and pulled Simon toward the stairs. “We’re goin’”

~*~

“We won’t be gone more than a few days. You sure you won’t come?” Simon stood with Kaylee in the cargo bay, waiting for Serenity to land on Osiris.

“Don’t wanna get in the way.” She was clearly agitated, despite the multiple times they had talked about this visit.

“You’ll not be in the way.” Simon cupped her cheeks in his hands and pressed his mouth to hers. “I want you to come.”

“Naw. Maybe in a few days.” She closed her eyes and relished the feel of his lips on hers. “We’re gonna be here for a week after all.”

“I’ll miss you.” He enveloped her in his arms and she melted against him, holding back tears.

“Now ya won’t.” Her voice was muffled by his shirt. “Ya have all kinda catchin’ up to do with your folks.”

He lifted her chin with his finger and kissed her long and deep. “I love you. We’ll be back.”

She sniffled though no tears had yet escaped her eyes. “I know.”

“Then why are you crying?”

She rubbed her nose. “Not crying.”

Simon turned to notice the rest of the crew entering the cargo bay. The landing had been smooth with River at Serenity’s controls.

He motioned for Inara to join them. “Take care of her?”

“I don’t intend to make such a task my life’s goal.” Inara wrapped an arm around Kaylee’s shoulders. “That’s your job now.”

“And you’d best be back here to do it right quick, dong ma?” Mal stepped up to them and brushed a finger across Kaylee’s cheek.

“No more than a week.” He turned to River, making sure she heard him. She simply laughed and pushed the control to lower the ramp. She knew they were already here, waiting.

Simon took Kaylee’s hand. “Let me introduce you –“

“Later.” Kaylee pulled her hand out of his just as River launched herself off the ramp and into Gabriel Tam’s open arms.

TBC