7 Accusations

Thaïs dropped into the proffered chair facing the small group assembled in the small room where passengers could gather outside the bunks. They were all arguing, Inara and Mal being the most vocal while the girl from before sat in the corner quietly. Zoë had called for Kaylee to help Jayne clean up the cargo bay and for 'Simon' and his kit. She entered the room noting the arguing pair and locking eyes on the young woman who was the cause of all this. Suddenly sending her out of the airlock seemed like the best idea but the Capt. wasn't doing that, yet.

"I'll be wantin' some answers now." Mal ground out. Thaïs could see he was extremely upset and Inara was pale but quiet standing to the side.

"So would I." Thaïs replied wincing inwardly at the ugly sound of her voice. She normally had a low throaty sound which helped when she wanted to get something but right then she hated the sound it made.

"You-?" Mal's eyes bugged out as he scoffed. He looked at her again noting the serious expression through her bloody, bruised face. She really did want some answers. "Hah!" he couldn't help the short bark of laughter as he looked over his shoulder.

Simon entered the room with his little red bag of healthy tricks which he set on the low table.

Thaïs barely took note of his as the Capt. and Zoë kept their eyes on her. Inara shifted behind them moving closer to the girl as Simon started to clean her face. The cool cloths were a great relief to the stinging in her cheek and the cut on her lip, of course that one stung.

"Sorry." Simon muttered barely audible as he concentrated on what he was doing.

"You're Alliance." Mal stated roughly as he glared down at her. Simon froze where he was, the antiseptic wipe in his hand. His eyes flicked to the young woman's face absently noticing her violet eyes. He frowned at that but didn't have time to wonder why it felt as if he new them, certainly it wasn't a common shade of eye color…

"No." Thaïs replied in her raspy voice, violet eyes hardening on Mal. Simon looked to him then back at the woman he was patching up. He'd stayed in his bunk the last few days with Kaylee's nightly visits the only information he'd had about the goings on of the ship but she hadn't told them there was an Alliance passenger on board. Why hadn't Mal sent down word or told him himself?

"We checked your papers." Zoë stated flatly. "We saw your fil-."

"Then you know I'm not Alliance." Thaïs interrupted coldly. Her eyes flicked over to Zoë who clenched her jaw, fingers tensing on the pistol she held.

Simon gently began to wipe the cuts on her face breaking the staring contest between the two women.

"You attacked one of my crew." Mal accused remembering how Jayne had been sat down by one kick. He had to admit the girl had good aim and she didn't like being on the other end of a gun. He would've found it amusing; he would've laughed, had it been under different circumstances and someone else doing the Jayne hurtin'.

"I saved one of your crew." Thaïs reminded him sitting up in her chair. She winced as the medicine burned the cut on her lip but ignored it.

"You abducted one of my passengers!" Mal's voice rose. He couldn't believe the girl was actually arguing with him over semantics. Every one always argued with him. Why was everyone always arguing with him?

"He opened your back door for those pirates!" Thaïs exclaimed. How could he be defending the very man who let the pirates on board?

"He was a paying customer!" Mal roared stepping closer.

"Who was about to put a bullet in the little girl playing pilot!" Thaïs yelled getting to her feet and pushing Simon's hand out of her way.

"Not likely," Mal retorted standing to his full height. "And she's a dam good pilot."

"Wha- I'm a payin-." Thaïs let out an unbelieving huff, eyes narrowing in anger. "You have some brass ones." she ground out. "I just helped keep your boat yours and all you can do is focus on where I've been!"

"We don't hold with Alliance-." Zoë began when the girl cut in.

"Brown coats never do." The silence in the small room was broken only by the sounds of metal banging on metal in the cargo bay.

"War's long done." Mal said quietly. He moved towards Thaïs, menace flowing off him in waves. Ever so gently he placed a big hand on her shoulder and sat her down again. She wasn't comforted by the gentleness but she wasn't afraid of him either. She'd been through worse and somehow, what little she'd been able to see of the Capt., made her think he wouldn't hurt her without due cause and even then he might not.

"Then you haven't paid attention." She replied in a tired voice. Zoë took a step in her direction taking her words as some sort of threat. Her fingers played with the trigger and Jayne picked that moment to come in followed closely by Kaylee.

"All done Capt." she reported with a nervous smile. Her eyes went to Simon where he knelt in front of Thaïs putting the finishing touches on her scrapes and cuts. Even with her face all puffy and bruised Kaylee couldn't help thinking the other woman still looked pretty. Tilting her head a bit she realized pretty wasn't a word you'd use to describe Thaïs, it wasn't enough to describe... something about her made people want to have another look.

Jayne kept glaring at Thaïs and with a smile she patted Simon's shoulder. "Docs almost done with me." and there was no way to miss what she implied especially when her eyes roamed down to his pants and the slight bulge between his legs. "I'm sure I didn't break any thing but…"

Kaylee let a snicker escape her quickly covering her mouth and turning it into a cough. Jayne noticed, his face going red and let a rough growl rasp out of his throat.

"What do you mean?" Zoë grouched. "What is the Alliance about?"

"Alliance?" Jayne echoed completely forgetting about the antagonizing little brunette in the chair.

"There's resistance." Thaïs said more quietly. She sank into her chair as much as she could, seeming to fold into herself. "A year ago, there was a wave." Her voice took on a dead tone as she spoke. "Miranda."

Everyone went still at the name taking furtive glances at each other. They stood stiff and uncomfortable as Thaïs stared ahead, not seeing them any more. Simon glanced at Mal and Zoë who looked at each other. They had the same thought, airlock. River sat quietly watching the other woman with Inara stroking her dark hair in a comforting manner.

"People were angry, though at first they didn't believe it. They didn't want to… that the Alliance would…" Thaïs looked up and found Mal staring at her. "They created all these planets, gave us homes, jobs, our lives. They provided us with a feeling of safety and protected us but now-." She shook her head turning to Zoë. "It was their fault, Alliance made them… Reavers." Thaïs looked to Mal again ignoring Simon as he finished binding the cut on her lip. "It was all a lie. Everything they've ever done, every thing they've said, what they've taught-. Its all meaningless." She sighed and ran a steady hand through her hair dragging the long locks into her fingers were she absently toyed with it. "There were riots, people attacked Alliance personnel-. I couldn't stay, not like that and then I-… I refused a direct order." Thaïs glance up confused, her eyes falling on Mal. He understood her confusion, empathized a bit with her feelings about making such a choice. "I-. It- it wasn't right." she murmured looking away, lost in her memory.

"The dying were screaming." River murmured. Her brown eyes didn't stray from Thaïs's bent head. "She flew away. Didn't stay, didn't obey." River shook her head gently a pained smile on her face. "They're never right." she murmured.

Mal turned to her tilting his head in Thaïs's direction. The silent question was obvious to the reader. She paused looking again at Thaïs as her brother finished with the cut on her temple. River considered the young woman for a long moment knowing what Mal was asking. With one word River could end the woman's life or maybe they'd let her go but it was doubtful. She and her brother were family now; part of Mal's crew, there was no way he'd allow an Alliance personnel to report back on the Tam's not after everything the crew had been through.

Mal waited, hand tensing on his own pistol. After a long tense moment River looked up her brown eyes usually vacant or unfocused shone with awareness as she nodded, the hint of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

Mal frowned in confusion but she nodded reassuringly. He expelled the breath he hadn't been aware of holding in, turning back to Thaïs.

"Mal…" Inara made to stand but stopped at his look. She sank back into her seat watching as he moved towards the young woman.

"You've been wearing Alliance colors." Mal said looking over her ash gray cargo pants and the midnight blue sweater. Through the unbuttoned 'v' of her neckline he could see the black standard issue tank. The past week all he could remember seeing her in were dark blues, blacks and grays.

Thaïs let out a mirthless laugh turning her eyes on both him and Zoë. "Never seen either of you out of brown."

Zoë scowled at the woman in the chair and addressed Mal. "Capt. we can't trust she's not Alliance."

"She's Alliance?" Jayne asked glancing from one face to another clearly angry. "You gorram fool! You done brought Alliance on this boat!"

"Me?" Mal exclaimed.

"Its not-." Inara stood up moving forward to try and diffuse the situation.

"-checked her pa-." Zoë was drowned out and the arguing continued.

Thaïs let her eyes drift over the crew stopping on Simon. He noticed her violet gaze on him and became more uncomfortable. His hands fumbled with his supplies as he put them into his case again. He was reluctant to look at her so with a sigh she took the initiative. After all, if she was wrong then she wouldn't look any stupider than she already felt for telling them her reasons for leaving the Alliance.

"Simon Tam."

His hands froze halfway to his kit, brown eyes immediately focused on the woman who'd so softly spoken his name.

"Simon." She repeated in a surer voice and a tilt of her head in his direction. He looked at River who was quietly staring at Thaïs. Suddenly the silence in the small room registered and all eyes were locked on her. She noticed Simon swallowing nervously, glancing to the others.

"You don't remember…" she gave him a half smile as if the whole situation made sense. Of course he wouldn't remember her not after so many years and they'd barely had time to get to know each other.

"Begorram chi sin diu!" Jayne exclaimed cocking his gun. "She Alliance! She's bringin' 'em on us, Mal!"

"Thaïs?" Simon murmured with a thoughtful tilt to his head. He repeated it under his breath much to her amusement as he tried to connect the name with a face but he couldn't think of any one.

"It's been a long time, Simon. Of course we were only children then…" she let the clue hang smiling. It wasn't long before he returned it with a slightly confused air.

"Thaïs Fillion?" he asked tentatively wondering if she was the same girl he was thinking of. "You're not-."

"The same little girl you used to tease?" she finished with a slight chuckle.

"Thaïs…" Simon murmured. "The bond… yes." He remembered now, the dark haired little girl, fearless of heights with the violet eyes. "You've grown up."

"Reunions all nice and everything," Jayne cut in. "but you wanna get back to where she's Alliance and-."

"I'm not Alliance!" Thaïs stood abruptly making the others reach for their weapons.

"You know her, Doc?" Mal asked in a quiet tone.

Simon took his time in answering knowing what was at stake. He hadn't seen Thaïs since they were children when she'd been sent off to school long before River had ever been accepted at the academy. He didn't recognize the woman she was with the little girl he'd know. The smiling, carefree little girl with the bright smile and contagious giggle who seemed to thrive on what ever adventure they conjured for the day.

He realized that he wasn't the same boy, nor was he the son his parents had wanted or raised him to be. He'd done things he'd never thought he'd do, things he frowned upon, that his parents wouldn't have condoned or forgiven of him. How could he expect Thaïs to be any different, just because she was a woman didn't seem to be enough of a reason to hold her accountable for making those same choices.

"You always were up in the clouds." He murmured with a smile.

"Only place I was ever me." she replied with a relived smile.