Chapter 3

"I'm so sorry, Cap'n." Kaylee said after Simon had summarized the occurrence in less than twenty words. She had gone into her shock mode, like she normally would when any of the crew members got hurt. Kaylee wasn't even in her right mind to admire the cute sense of worry in the doctor's voice, "I shoulda known not to get distracted like that, especially after I let Serenity down..."

As much as Simon worried about River, he knew he couldn't let Kaylee blame herself, "It's not your fault, Kaylee." He said softly.

"You do realize you and your sister are known fugitives with more money than I could ever hope to make in my life as a reward for your capture?" Malcom started in a low tone of voice, his anger barely audible through the sounds of the miners outside the city, "You do know how suspicious it must have appeared to those Alliance guards back there when a known fugitive ran right in front of them? And you do know what will happen if they find your sister alone, just waitin' to be captured?"

"Well, whinin' about it ain't gonna solve nothin'." Jayne cut in, being the insensitive one, "Here's our chance, Mal. Have them Alliance folk go search for their bounty, while we get away with the goods."

"And what about River?" Simon wasn't normally the one to challenge the crew, especially Jayne; unless it involved his sister, "We can't just let the Alliance capture her in exchange for your pay."

Malcom cut in before Jayne could answer the doctor's last remark, "Jayne, if the Alliance figures out River's on this rock, we'll have a few more obstacles than just two guards."

"Well, we don't hafta tell them it's River." Kaylee put in, "She can take care of herself until we find her, and the Alliance will be on a wild goose chase."

"It's a good plan, sir." Zoe agreed plainly.

"Could be because it's the only one we got." Malcom said none to brightly, "Jayne, get our supplies ready to overtake any guards that may be near the vault. Kaylee, after you explain to those Alliance low-lives that a girl's gone missin', take the doctor and go find her before they do."

"Now hold on a second." Simon stopped the Captain before he could put his plan into action, "This is still River we're talking about, her condition is unstable."

Malcom didn't bother facing Simon as he and Zoe walked away, "You come up with a better plan, feel free to let me know."


Inara didn't know what she had expected; after all, how many trained companions could have stopped on Cheyenne in the past few years? But she knew she hadn't expected David to pass out in the first few minutes they had been in the shuttle.

He had seemed a little sensitive to the sudden change in temperature, or maybe the incense had been too strong. But here was certainly one thing Inara found herself wishing she had been taught at the academy.

She had given the standard companion medical packs to Simon when he first came aboard Serenity, but that was only because Inara hadn't thought she'd actually need them. Then again, it would be pretty hard to treat David when Inara had no idea what was wrong.

After a few minutes of contemplating her options; staying calm and analyzing these things was one thing Inara had been taught on Serenity, Inara opened the door of her shuttle and stepped outside into the cooler air. She could find Simon, or ask around in the town for a doctor, or at least someone who knew David to see if he had any medical conditions that he had failed to mention on the legal papers.

While the companion made her way past David's rather lavish home, she stopped almost subconsciously at the sight of the door. David had apparently failed to close it as Inara had led him out of the house; besides, Cheyenne was probably one of those small towns where everyone knew everyone else. Who would suspect...

Before she knew it, Inara was walking toward the open door, her hand reaching towards the polished gold knob.


"She- she disappeared... um, over here!" Kaylee had led the two Alliance guards well past the cave where she had lost River, and in the opposite direction of the town where the vault was.

"Don't worry miss, we'll find her." One of the Alliance guards nodded professionally to Kaylee. Once both guards had faded into the mouth of the cave, Kaylee turned and ran back to the tunnels where she had left Simon.

"They've gone, let's go find River."

The couple was silent as they entered the cave, save for the occasional soft calls of River's name.

"She probably thinks it's a game." Simon said finally; it was becoming so dark he could barely see Kaylee's face, "Even from the statistics I could gather on Ariel, she's so unpredictable..."

In the darkness, Kaylee found Simon's hand, "You worry to much about her, doc." She couldn't help but smile, despite their predicament, "Besides, she has you to take care of her." Kaylee added with a softer tone. She couldn't help but get her hopes up; no one was there to interrupt her now, anyway.

Simon, however, being as clueless as he was, didn't notice the change in Kaylee's tone, "I know, but sometimes..." He started to protest, before stopping in his tracks at a corner, "Didn't we pass this stalagmite already?"

"Did we? I hadn't noticed..." It took Kaylee a while to pull herself out of her fantasy. "Wait, I think you're right."

"We must have taken the wrong turn at that last fork..." Simon tried to recall the last path they had taken. How long had they been in the tunnels again?

Kaylee's eyes widened as the reality of her confusion hit her. "Simon, I... I think we're lost."