“Well, well, Malcolm Reynolds.”

Ah, Badger, still a slime ball after all these years. “Badger. Good to know me and mine can still get an audience with a respectable businessman like yourself.” Mal smiled at him tightly and he was pretty sure Badger hadn’t noticed the insult.

Jayne and Zoe flanked him on either side, both of them more than uncomfortable at being back here. The trip in had been uneventful and despite River’s growing protestations, Mal had insisted they take the job. Of course, the kid had insisted just as strongly that she come along and Mal relented, in spite of Simon’s twisted lip. Truth was, it tickled him to annoy the doc and River could be useful. Now, she was out with the mule; Mal didn’t fancy someone like Badger getting any ideas.

“Ahh, now, Captain, what would this ‘verse come to, if two men like ourselves couldn’t still meet for a friendly chat?” Badger’s voice was full of a warmth that Mal knew was fake. Gesturing that they should sit, Mal took the offered chair as did Jayne, while Zoe maintained her standing position, between her crew and the door. Good old Zoe, always the soldier.

“Can I interest you all in a drink,” Badger asked, pouring a foul-smelling and no doubt fermented beverage into a shot glass. Jayne took the offered liquor greedily, his own private stash having run out on Serenity a little over three weeks ago. Of course the wood whiskey was bitter and dry and it burned going down, but Jayne didn’t mind.

“What you can interest me in is a job,” Mal told him, letting his voice adopt an edge. He really wasn’t going to sit and break bread with this weasel. “Me and my crew need the coin.”

“Manners, Malcolm,” Badger tsked, taking a seat behind his obscenely large desk. “But you’re right, you do need the coin and so do I. I think I might have something to interest you.”

Mal leaned forward eager for business to be over so they could get off this rock and back into space where he felt safe. “I’m listenin’.”

***

River sat stock still in the mule’s pilot seat, watching with her ears and her mind. She didn’t need her eyes to sense the danger that would befall them. She already had a pretty good idea what it was and the thought made her shiver, despite the strong Persephone sun shining down.

Making a final decision, River reached out towards her brother’s faint presence, having to concentrate hard around all the other minds surrounding her. The Eavesdown Docks were crawling with people and that meant River was getting more and more tired as she tried to keep her mind pinpointed on the people she needed to be aware of. She would need a lot of rest when this day was over and it had barely begun.

Finding Simon’s presence and Kaylee’s on top of him, River grimaced as she keyed open a channel to the ship. Simon would be annoyed that she had disrupted them, but she hoped in the long run, he’d see the benefit.

“Kaylee.”

The static droned on for longer than normal and River waited impatiently. Finally, a breathless voice answered, “River, that you?”

“Get the ship prepped,” she told the other woman, her eyes scanning the crowd for the two men she knew were there. “We’re leaving in five.”

***

“Sounds simple enough,” Mal told Badger as he finished outlining the job. It was a basic task and one that Mal and his crew had done a dozen times. Move stolen goods, already procured, off planet and halfway across the ‘verse to a planet that really needed them. The only catch was said stolen goods were tagged and a nice solid Alliance convoy stood between them and their destination. Good times.

“It is,” Badger confirmed, handing over the data card with the details and a sack of credits. “But if this don’t work out, I got peoples who would just as soon kill me as look at me again, so don’t mess it up.”

“I know the feeling,” Mal murmured under his breath, feeling the heft of the credit bag in his hand. It was a solid prepayment, enough to get them fully fueled and a few of the necessities. Man, it felt good to be working again.

“Well, Badger, as always it’s –“

“Captain, we gotta go.” The small voice that erupted from the comm on his belt startled everyone in the room, most of all Mal. Gorramit, he was sure he’d turned that thing off …

“We’re almost done here,” he told her tightly, trying to hide his annoyance.

“No. Now.” She said it forcefully, her voice leaving no room for argument and that realization struck Mal like a dead weight in the gut. Smirking at Badger, Mal turned on his heel and ran out of the room, Zoe and Jayne following close, guns at the ready.

“This had better be good, lil’ albatross,” he told her.

“Hands of blue,” was the only answer he got as the comm went dead. Swearing under his breath, Mal quickened his pace, his hand tightening around the holster of his gun. Why couldn’t things ever go smooth?

***

“You sure,” he asked, as he, Zoe and Jayne dived into the mule a second before River jammed the engine and sent them hurtling down a crowded thoroughfare.

“Sure,” she told him tensely. Mal risked a glance at her and what he saw made his heart stop. She was rigid with fear and anxiety and Mal could see the death mask on her face that indicated she was close to either passing out or throwing up.

“You gonna make it, lil’ one?” He asked the question quietly, worried that if he disturbed her concentration too much, they might end up careening into one of the many buildings flying past.

“Too loud,” she said tightly, and pushed the mule’s throttle forward.

“Mal, we got company.” Jayne’s loud voice broke the moment between them and Mal craned his neck to see a skiff following in their exhaust trail. “You want I should shoot ‘em?”

“No,” Mal told him sharply. If those were blue-handed agents back there, the less pissed off they got the better. “Just sit down and hold on tight. Zoe, radio the boat and –"

“Already done,” River told them as she again swung them about, the motion causing them all to lean heavily away from the turn or risk being splattered on the ground. “They’re ready for us.”

***

They crashed more than landed in the cargo bay and Mal immediately jumped out of the mule, slamming the cargo bay doors shut. River had leapt out as well and all Mal could make of her was a blur of dark hair and her red dress as she sprinted toward the cockpit, Zoe tight on her heels. Simon and Kaylee stood near the entryway to the room, taking in the entire scene with utter confusion.

“Cap’n,” Kaylee questioned, a tremor in her voice.

“It’ll be fine lil’ Kaylee,” Mal reassured her, squeezing her arm as he made his way past her toward the bridge. “We just need to get off this ruttin’ planet, right quick.”

Kaylee nodded once and said, “I’ll be in the engine room, ‘case River needs an extra boost.”

Mal nodded to her once and tried to ignore the moment that passed between the doc and his mechanic, before they separated. Turning to face Mal, Simon’s face held a look as familiar to him as his own mug. “Is River all right?”

“I think that’s a question you should be asking her your own self,” Mal told him, moving again toward the bridge. Because I sure as hell don’t know the answer.

***

“Almost there. Almost there.”

River kept saying the words to herself, a constant reminder that she only needed to fight off the collapse she was feeling for a few more moments. As soon as they were back in the black and Kaylee had coaxed Serenity into a full burn, then she could let go, but not until then. Not until she knew they would be safe.

“We gonna make it,” Zoe asked tensely from behind River’s seat. River had tried to ignore the anxiety coming off the woman, but it was difficult, her mind was being stretched in too many directions. She had to focus almost all her strength on evading the movements of the agents’ Alliance cruiser that had picked up their signature. Of course, reading the minds of Alliance officers was a pretty easy task, they weren’t that complicated, but it was draining all the same.

She felt Mal and Simon join Zoe on the bridge and she grimaced against the added emotion … the strain of it. Taking a deep breath, River willed herself to make it through. “Almost there,” she whispered again.

The minute they broke atmo and the black enveloped them, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. River signaled to Kaylee to flip the engine into overdrive and they shot away from Persephone at a break neck speed no Alliance cruiser could follow. And River had known they wouldn’t. That wasn’t their objective.

Slumping against her chair, River felt all the adrenaline rush out her body, picturing in her mind’s eye, the stress and anxiety flushing out of her system. Over the crew’s whooping and hollering, River heard the captain say, “You all right?”

Smiling weakly River stood shakily, having to steady herself on the console. No one noticed, they were too happy to be away. She moved to leave the room and distance herself from all the emotion, but she had overestimated the amount of energy she had left. The next thing she felt was the cold metal of the grate floor grinding into her cheek as she collapsed, unconscious and blissfully at peace.

***

“Simon?”

He turned at the sound of her small voice and took in the sight of her standing in the doorway to the infirmary. She had the hint of reassuring smile on her face and it warmed his heart. Reaching out a hand to her, Kaylee moved to take it as she asked, “She gonna be all right?”

Simon wrapped an arm around Kaylee’s waist as he let his gaze drift back towards his sister. Her face was showing the first hints of bruise from where she had hit the deck. It had happened so fast, Simon had barely had to time to think, let alone react. “I don’t know,” he told her truthfully, holding her tighter to his side. Kaylee wrapped her arm around his shoulders and leaned her cheek on the top of his head. “I don’t know.”

“She’s probably just tired is all,” Kaylee told him, shifting to kneel next to his side. She held his hands as she said, “She just needed some rest.”

Simon nodded, but didn’t voice his own theory. Kaylee’s eyes held such compassion Simon was immediately reminded of why he loved her. She cared for him and for River like family and that meant more to him than he could ever express. Reaching out a hand, he caressed her cheek and said, “Why don’t you go get some rest? I’m going to stay here until she wakes up.”

Kaylee looked like she was about to argue and then reconsidered. Standing, she leaned in to kiss him and then trailed out of the room, wondering if and when things would get worse before they got better.

***

Mal found Kaylee in the engine room, despite the late hour. He had known she would be unable to sleep as well. “Hey, lil’ Kaylee. How’re you doin?”

If he startled her, it didn’t show. “Hey cap’n,” she answered her own voice toneless. “What’re you doin’ up?”

“Same thing as you I ‘spect,” he told her, entering the room and leaning against one of the warm walls. Kaylee placed the tools she’d been cleaning back in her kit and came to stand in front of him, arms crossed over her chest. “How’s River?”

Kaylee’s eyes immediately drifted to a far off place and Mal instantly regretted the question. Kaylee’s concern, like every other emotion she felt, played across her features in exquisite detail, telling Mal just how much she wished she could answer that question. “I don’t rightly now, cap’. I told Simon that maybe she was just tired, but I don’t faint when I’m tired. I think something might really be wrong.”

“Yeah, me too,” he commented, letting his own gaze drift away. Away to another time and another place from just a few months ago. “Kaylee, I’m worried that those men today won’t stop until they find us.”

Kaylee’s fearful gaze came back to look at him. Mal hated to scare her, but if she was going to tell him what he needed to know, he knew it was necessary. “I’m worried they’ll think of other ways to get to us.”

Kaylee’s eyes widened just a bit more and then realization dawned. “You’re worried about Inara.” It was a statement, not a question.

“I need you to tell me where she is,” Mal confirmed, reaching out to take Kaylee by the shoulders. “Even at the training house she may not …”

The color that drained out of Kaylee’s already pale face gave Mal the answer he needed. “Where is she, Kaylee?”

Kaylee sighed heavily and thought for only a second. Finally, she looked back to the captain with a resigned expression. “She is gonna kill me.”

***

Inara answered the wave coming through to her portable comm, silencing the persistent beeping that had roused her from her first dreamless sleep in over a month. Sighing heavily and trying to salvage some of her former decorum, she flipped on the screen. “Hello.”

The face that stared back at her was a welcome one. Her features deepening into a wide grin, Inara let some of her initial tension fade as she said, “Desirae, it’s so wonderful to see a friendly face. Is everything all right?”

Her friend, a woman about Inara’s age with gold hair that rested in careful coifs around her head, gave her a warm smile as well. “Yes, dear, we’re fine. How are you?”

Inara shrugged simply, keeping her façade of nonchalance in place; she was more than accustomed to showing people exactly what they wanted to see. “Aside from the abysmally chilly nights, I’m doing wonderfully. The desert air is really very soothing and …”

“Inara,” her friend interrupted her, an edge to her lilting voice that Inara had not expected. Gazing into the blue eyes that stared back at her, Inara sighed heavily and decided enough was enough. Her smile faded as Desirae continued. “We’ve had a wave from that captain of yours.”

“He isn’t mine, Desi,” she scowled. Desirae knew feel well of her contentious relationship with Mal and the fact that she still thought it was all right to tease Inara about it made her just a bit touchy. Plus, Inara didn’t the feeling in her gut at the mention of Mal’s name. It made her cheeks flush and her stomach flip, and she did not like feeling that out of control, especially over a man.

“Be that as it may, he cares for you, dear,” Desi told her, her eyes softening.

Inara tried to ignore the empathetic gaze as she said, “The problem has never been whether or not he cares.”

Silence fell between them as Desi considered her next statement carefully; she knew Inara would not be pleased. “He told me you could be in danger.”

Inara’s heart started to beat a bit quicker. If Mal had just been calling to harass her, he wouldn’t have tried to scare her. Something was going on. And Inara, stuck out in the middle of the desert, with no one for company, suddenly felt very alone.

“You told him, didn’t you,” Inara asked the question although she already knew the answer.

“Yes, Inara, I did. It’s time you stopped running from something that could be so good for you.” Desi smiled at her friend, but the expression was not returned.

“When,” Inara asked, resigning herself to the coming confrontation and the emotions it would bring.

“I would guess about eight hours.”

Looking up in alarm, Inara said, “Thanks for the warning.” “I couldn’t risk that you’d have time to run away again,” the other woman said softly, trying to ease the tension between them.

When Inara’s eyes deepened into a warm smile, Desirae felt a million times better. “Take care dear.”

“You too,” Inara said, as she flipped off the comm.

Sitting back heavily in her chair, Inara choked back the tears she felt rising to the surface. Eight hours from now, Mal would be here. They had not parted company well, which was nothing new for them, but it had hurt more for reasons Inara could barely identify let alone comprehend. She studied the state of her makeshift accommodations, an old miner’s cabin out in the desert. It was truly the middle of nowhere, which is exactly why Inara had come.

Well, not nowhere … they were here. Her friends, Wash and Book. She was only steps from their gravesites. She had come here under the false pretense of looking for salvation. What she was really looking for was escape.

After Miranda and the Reaver attack Inara had tried very hard to resume her old life. She had gone back to Serenity, re-rented her shuttle from Mal and even made a few appointments, just two months after it all been said and done. But on her way to the first appointment, she’d had to cancel. She couldn’t go through with it, not anymore. The knowledge of her fallen comrades’ deaths and the knowledge of what the Alliance was more than capable of had left her with a numbness that made any type of human contact nearly impossible, even with the crew, whom she loved dearly. And especially with Mal. Secretly, she had wanted him to help her; she knew he could. He had seen more death and destruction during the war than Inara would ever dream of seeing in a lifetime and she had wished that he could have made sense of what had happened.

But whether it was her own inability to trust or Mal’s own pigheadedness, she would never determine. It had been awkward and impossible for her to confide in him and abruptly one day she had announced she would be leaving Serenity again. When Mal pressed her to give him a timeframe she had simply stated it was indefinite. He had never pushed beyond that and she had never volunteered.

She had ambled around one the Guild’s training houses for a few weeks until she had come back here. So consumed with thoughts of Wash and Book, Inara had felt being near them both everyday was the only thing that could bring her any clarity. She had thought that maybe all she needed was time to grieve. It had been almost five weeks now and the theory was wearing thin.

She still felt hollow inside as if something was missing that she desperately needed. She had a sinking suspicion that something was a certain rugged captain with an overabundance of ego and not much else, but she pushed those thoughts away. It didn’t matter if Mal was what she needed; they could never be more to each other than friends. Their past relationship proved it. At least, she thought it did …

Well, he would be here soon enough. Maybe it was finally time for them to lay all their cards on the table and make a decision once and for all. Or maybe it was just time for another round of their never-ending bout. Either way, it was time for something; Inara just hoped she would be ready for it.