Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot and characters that I wrote. Joss Whedon takes all the credit for his characters, setting, etc.

Time Setting: Three months after the events of Serenity

A/N: I hope everyone who reads this fiction enjoys it, as it is my first one. I want to explore some things left unmentioned in the TV show, so please feel free to review and comment. If my story or grammar could use any improvement, please let me know.


Prologue

"Alls I know is that he's givin' us an askin' price that's too good t'be passin' up," said Mal to Zoë as we walked through the Eavesdown docks on Persephone. "We're gonna do this, and we're gonna be careful about it."

"I do recall bein' careful on our last job. Now Jayne's trussed up on Serenity with a broken leg instead'a backin' us up," Zoë shot back at Mal. River and I could not help but stare at them with an odd sense of amusement.

"Like I said before, River will be back-up enough for this job," Mal responded impatiently.

"I still don't see why I'm being dragged along," I said.

"As I said, Doctor," Mal said bluntly, "We need a proper and respectable face if we want this job t'go down proper." I understood, but that didn't mean I liked the plan any better.

We arrived at the building where we would exchange our goods for their money. We climbed up to the second floor, and knocked on the door. To our surprise, it swung open, showing an empty room.

"Maybe…they're late?" I guessed as we looked around for a message or anything else. All of a sudden, River got tense.

"We're…we're…burning, roasting…alive, d-dying slowly…" she whimpered in panic, with Zoë and me exchanged worried expressions. It had been three months since we'd been to Miranda, and River hadn't shown any symptoms since then.

"Shhh…shhh…River, calm down, we're fine," I said, trying to placate her.

"Hold it!" shouted Mal, silencing everyone. Slowly, he walked to one wall, and then to another as he pressed his ear against it. Suddenly, he shouted, "EVERYONE OUT, NOW!" We ran toward the exit and Mal got out just as the explosion blew the door off its hinges. The building started to collapse, and we tore like madmen for the exit. To our good luck, we made it out before the building collapsed. Unfortunately, many bystanders were staring at us.

We stopped to catch our breath, and Mal saw a hooded figure start to run away from us. He shouted, "HEY!" before running after them, with the rest of in tow wondering what was happening.

"Captain, why are we losin' our gorram minds over one person?" Zoë asked, clearly irritated.

"Because," responded Mal, "our rabbit's prob'ly the tah mah duh hwoon dahn tried to blow us to smithereens. That's what we're losin' our minds over."

Zoë shouted back, "Okay, but just so you know, I ain't puttin' this baby in harm's way! Ain't no way this stress is safe for a still-growing child!" Of course, I approved of this, seeing as I had made that suggestion many times since Zoë was aware of her pregnancy.

Mal could only say, "Can't argue with that logic. Still, gonna be awful lonely with only me, River, and the good doctor doin' the jobs." Mal continued in pursuit of the mystery person.

We saw our mystery person run through a bazaar, and as we tried to keep up, Zoë and River started to drop back, getting caught in the crowd. I started to slow down, but Mal told me, "Don't worry about 'em, Doctor. I need all the help I can get, so you're stayin' with me."

The two of us chased the figure to a small passenger shuttle right as the door closed on us. I had the mind to get back as the craft's engines started powering up, but Mal had a different mind. He was foolishly shouting and yelling all manner of curses at the pilot sitting in there. Even he realized this was futile, so he ran back as the craft lifted off the landing pad. Unfortunately, he was still close enough to be thrown on the ground from the force of the engines.

As soon as I saw him fall down, I rushed to his side to make sure he was okay. "You out of your ruttin' mind, Captain? Did you really want to add your name to the list of patients I have?"

Even though he was a little confused, Mal still managed to say, "Nonsense, Doctor. I wasn't plannin' on getting' hurt much."

It took a while for Zoë and River to find us after getting lost in the crowd. Zoë looked ready to have a fit after I told her what happened.

Upon hearing this story, Zoë asked him angrily, "Mal, who was so gorram important that you nearly got yourself killed over them?"

Mal, having regained some of his strength, sat up straight. He stared Zoë down, or should I say up, straight in the eye. Calmly, he said to her, "This much I know: we nearly got killed, and this person hightailed it after seein' us alive. When I was chasin' 'em, I mightta bin seein' things, but I swear Inara's face turned and looked back at me."

To be Continued...