Title: The Way it Is Rating: R Synopsis: River tampers and Simon saves some lives. Timeline: Takes place 11 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, Manipulation, Baby Talk, A First Time for Everything, The Way It Is 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.

----------------- Additional Note:

I have made it more ambiguous as to what language was used as in the original posting of this story it was pointed out to me that everyone should know both English and Chinese in the Firefly 'verse.

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Jayne followed Mal into the cargo bay, arranging his weapons on his belt. “We still got ‘nuff coin for months thanks to the doc’s folks. Why we gotta work?”

Mal turned and glared at Jayne as Zoe, followed by Simon, Kaylee and River walked into the cargo bay. “’Cause I don’t take charity. That money belongs to Simon and River.”

“And I recall giving it to you to split with the crew,” Simon said, folding his arms and staring at Mal. He had kept very little of the money for himself, insisting that the entire crew deserved to split it. He had the heirlooms his mother had given to him in those last few frantic minutes. Those were worth more to him than the money.

“See!” Jayne waved his arm toward Simon.

“That money won’t last forever. Good to take jobs when they come up.” Kaylee laced her arm through Simon’s and smiled at Jayne. It hadn’t taken too long after their little spat for her to return to her normal cheery self. Of course, good, frequent Simon sexin’ served to temper her anger at the mercenary faster than anything else.

River turned to Simon. “You have to go, too.”

Jayne opened his mouth to protest but Mal raised his hand. “Simon doesn’t go on jobs.”

“You’ll need him,” River insisted.

“And when the job goes south, like so many of them tend to do,” Mal muttered with an air of disgust. “I gotta protect my medic as well as my own self. An I’d rather my medic not be the one injured.”

“Simon will protect you.”

Everyone stared at River as if she had suddenly grown two heads.

“Badger ain’t to be trusted, Sir.” Zoe snapped her sidearm to her leg.

“Which is why I don’t want Simon –“

River turned to her brother. “Need to be fancy.” She poked at his sweater. “Go dress up.” She turned to Mal. “He has to go.”

Mal narrowed his eyes at the girl but something in her eyes convinced him. She was rarely wrong when she was so insistent. “Fine,” he grumbled as he shoved his gun into its holster.

Jayne wanted to protest but one look from Mal silenced the words on his lips. He wasn’t a fan of the doc. Didn’t take a genius to figure that out. But he also didn’t want to have the only one capable of patching up their wounds harmed either.

“No fun while they’re gone today.” Kaylee pouted prettily at Simon as she followed him back to their bunk while he changed.

“You can go without some sexin’ for a few hours,” Jayne yelled as the two disappeared around the corner.

~*~

The planet was not one that could be called close to the Core. So when Jayne, Zoe, Mal and Simon were escorted into the large warehouse, they certainly didn’t expect to find such a luxurious interior. Part of the building, was just that, a warehouse. But as they walked through it and into another section, even Simon was astonished at the colorful tapestries and paintings hanging from the walls.

They were escorted down a long corridor the entrance to another room guarded by two ornately carved wooden doors. An older, elegantly attired woman stood before it, large, hulking bodyguards standing beside her.

Mal stepped ahead of the rest and greeted her. “Hello, Madame Ming, I’m Malcom Reynolds. Our contact –“

The old woman turned to her guard and started speaking in a very quick, fluent unknown language.

Mal glanced at Zoe and politely waited for the woman to stop but she continued, occasionally pointing toward Mal with a disgusted wave of her hand.

“She’s upset,” Simon said quietly from behind Mal.

Mal barely registered Simon’s words as the woman directed in his direction a heated string of words he didn’t understand.

Mal turned to Zoe for help just as the guards raised their weapons at them.

Simon quickly raised his hands and stepped forward, bowing formally to the woman, and easily slipped into a role that left Jayne and Mal gaping at him. Even Zoe tilted her head and regarded the doctor’s back with a raised eyebrow.

Simon spoke to her as fluently as she had spoken to them, indicating the crew with a dismissive wave of his hand. After a few moments, it appeared Simon had calmed the agitated woman.

Mal understood none of the conversation, distracted as he was with the guns pointed at his crew. When the guards finally lowered their weapons, he relaxed enough to pay closer attention to what Simon was saying. It was much easier to understand when one’s mind was not otherwise occupied. Even though all he could understand was body language.

The old woman smiled at Simon, who, at River’s insistence, had dressed up for this meeting, wearing what fancy clothing was left of his old life; a mandarin style silk shirt, vest and precisely fitted jacket. When she turned to address an aid, Simon leaned toward Mal. “She doesn’t do business with anyone who doesn’t speak her tongue. When you didn’t answer her questions, she was prepared to kill all of us.”

“Well that’s idiotic, why would Badger send us –“ Jayne trailed off as he looked at Mal.

Simon motioned for them to lower their voices. “She considers any language other than her mother tongue unwelcome and spoken by – lesser men. Men not worthy to be in her presence.”

Jayne made a face, clearly insulted. “Is that so?”

“A trap.” Mal wrinkled his nose both at Simon’s words and Jayne’s. “Badger knew about this.”

“It’s a good bet, Sir.” Zoe kept her voice down.

“Wanted to get us killed on a job.” The disgust rolled off Mal in waves as he stared at Simon. “You can tell me later just what language that was.”

Madame Ming turned back to Simon and gave him what Mal could be considered an appraising once over. She spoke again, the lines in her weathered face softening a bit.

Simon, for his part, smiled and nodded at the old woman, answering her questions before turning to Mal. “She will have the cargo delivered to Serenity after dinner.”

“Dinner?” Mal raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, she –“

Madame Ming approached Simon and spoke softly, this time her expression changing to one that could only be described as suggestive.

Apparently, it was easy to tell when Simon stuttered in any language and Mal found himself grinning when the younger man glanced at the floor and then back up at the older woman, a hint of a blush tinting his cheeks.

The older woman frowned, swept her eyes down Simon’s immaculately clothed body and sighed.

Simon bowed politely as the woman turned and disappeared through the ornately carved doors in front of them, not even bothering to glance at the uneducated infidel’s standing behind him.

“What was that all about?” Mal asked when they were safely out of the warehouse.

“She wanted to set me up with her granddaughter.” Simon said flatly.

Jayne laughed. “I’m sure Kaylee’d have somethin’ ta say about that.”

“And that’s exactly what I told Madame Ming.” Simon turned to Mal. “Kaylee needs to come to dinner tonight.”

Mal raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so.”

“Captain –”

“Ain’t puttin’ any more of my crew in harms way.”

Simon rolled his eyes. “Madame Ming will not harm any of us. One who speaks her language earns considerable respect.”

“Yeah, about that –“

“Oh, I also told her you were my – employees.” Simon added with a smug smile toward Jayne.

Zoe raised an eyebrow.

“Ain’t ruttin’ likely,” Jayne frowned at Simon.

“Inclined to go with Jayne’s assessment there.” The annoyance was evident in Mal’s voice.

“She would never have given us the job and we would likely be dead if I hadn’t.”

As the mule pulled up to Serenity, Jayne muttered, “See, I told ya we didn’t need ta take this job. Shoulda just kept livin’ off the money Simon’s folks gave us.”

Zoe jumped off the mule and cast a look over her shoulder. “You just don’t like being indebted to Simon for your life, Jayne.”

Jayne scowled at her and then at Simon as he exited the mule in a much more graceful manner than any real man should ever move. He’d never understand what Kaylee saw in the pretty boy, besides his obvious prowess in the bedroom.

~*~

“So we get to dress all proper for dinner tonight?” Kaylee bounced into the bunk she shared with Simon and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Yes.” He bent and gave her a chaste kiss before turning to select something out of his very limited wardrobe to wear.

Kaylee frowned and leaned back on the bed. “What is it?” She knew him well enough by now to know that there was something he was not telling her.

Simon sighed. He supposed he should tell her now rather than later, when he briefed everyone in the galley. It would be much easier to deal with her reaction in private. He turned around and joined her on the bed. “Madame Ming has a very – old world view on some things.”

Kaylee’s eyes narrowed. “What – old things?”

“Dating back to Earth-that-Was, things.”

Kaylee could tell that he was stalling and reached out to push her hand through his hair. She knew he loved that. She could get him to do just about anything by playing with those dark, silky strands.

Simon’s eyes fluttered closed for a moment. “She wanted to set me up with her granddaughter at dinner tonight.”

Kaylee’s hand stopped in mid stroke and Simon opened his eyes.

“Oh.”

Simon couldn’t resist the smile that tugged at his lips. He leaned forward and brushed his mouth against hers. “I told her I was already taken.”

Kaylee’s eyes brightened instantly and her fingers immediately started pulling at his hair again. “Every damn night, sweetie.”

Simon grinned and momentarily leaned into her touch. “Kaylee –“ He could feel his body respond but he had a few more things to say. Then they needed to get dressed. They didn’t have time for this, not right now. Tardiness tonight could, at best, cost them the job, at worst, their lives.

She scooted closer to him and draped her leg over his.

“She is still going to try and set me up with her granddaughter.” He didn’t resist as she pulled his head down and pressed her mouth to his, punctuating each of his words with a deeper kiss. “She thinks – a man benefits – from having more – than one – ” His words trailed off as he groaned. He wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled her against him.

He leaned back and she rolled on top of him, urgently rubbing against his growing erection. “Kay – we can’t – we have to go –“

Kaylee rolled her tongue across his lower lip and reached down to cup him through his pants, delighted to feel him swell against her hand. But she knew the importance of this meeting tonight and rolled off him after a few long minutes. She pouted prettily at him before turning to gather a few things into her arms.

“I have ta go get ready in Inara’s shuttle anyway.” She smiled down at Simon’s incredulous look and blew him a kiss as she walked out the door.

~*~

“I don’t get to go?” Inara teased as Mal stood before her, letting her fasten the silk cravat around his neck. “I should be insulted.”

“Rather Kaylee not be there but the doc is all skittish ‘bout the lady’s granddaughter.”

“There are some, even out on the Rim, that follow very old and ancient ways.” Inara pursed her lips and scowled at him as he stretched his neck. “If you don’t stop fidgeting, I’m going to choke the life out of you with this cravat.”

Mal grinned at her and she felt her knees go weak. “Then you’d have to provide mouth to mouth in order to resessitate me”

“Resuscitate, yes, I’m aware.”

The smile spread into his eyes and he lifted his hands to cover hers. “Choke away.”

~*~

River and Inara were left on Serenity while the rest of the crew dined in elegant splendor with Madame Ming. After letting Inara play with her hair, and play a game of chess – one sided when playing with a gorram Reader – River sashayed her way down the hallways, brushing a delicate hand against the metal hull as she walked.

She stopped in her bunk and spent some time designing a pretty little sign. She’d meant to do it long ago but just never got around to it. When she’d deemed her work complete, she climbed out of her bunk and skipped through the passenger dorms stopping to look at the plain-looking door to her brother’s room. She smiled happily and lifted her sign, whose brightly colored letters now clearly indicated to whom the bunk belonged.

Finding the appropriate tools, she carefully affixed the sign at a slight tilt just above the door and then stepped back to survey her handiwork. It would be difficult for anyone to miss the very loudly colored, haphazardly shaped letters that said, ‘Simon and Kaylee’s Room,’ whenever they walked by. She knew Kaylee would love it and it would take Simon a few days to get used to it. But he would come to love it too. And maybe, just maybe, looking at the brightness of the colors and the twining of the names would make a difference during the hard times. “Now you won’t ever forget.”

She walked away, her mood changing, and she wandered around the common area until she found herself standing in the doorway to the infirmary.

She hadn’t been here in a while. This was her brother’s haven. His comfort zone. As much, and in some ways, more so, than the bunk he shared with Kaylee. She felt a pang of regret as she violated that sanctuary.

She glanced around the white walls and the immaculately clean surfaces, scowling at the fact that her brother was so neat. She trailed a slim hand across the countertops and rummaged through drawers until she found what she was looking for. She stared at some of the vials before taking them from the shelves, humming as she amused herself at the medication’s expense. She would take care of the ones Simon had hidden in his room after she was done here.

When she was finished, she glided toward the entrance and glanced sadly around the room. “I’m sorry, Simon.”

The lights flickered out and the room was plunged into darkness, leaving no indication that anyone had even been there.

END