Again, sorry for the big delays in getting chapters up. I've finished my coursework, but I just got my exam timetable and my big, scary exam in in about 3.5 weeks, and I've got a compulsory week long trip starting tomorrow for University. Don't think I'll have internet access until next week from now. I wasn't intending on doing this chapter, but after chatting to my boyfriend, I thought it would be ok to include it. Again, a bit of a filler, I won't really have any time to do stuff until after May 14th when my exams end and I've finished moving place. Please enjoy and review if you have time =3

Forgive my horrible writing of River, she is so difficult to write, especially in this context.

Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly. I wish I did, so I could have rejected Fox, but alas.

Chapter Seven – River and Simon

Zoe was getting close, she had no option now but to take a firm back seat in any operations on the ship. The crew were understanding, but Zoe was frustrated. She wasn't going to risk this baby though, it was near enough her whole world now. Her only remaining spark of Wash.

As the crew were offloading their cargo, a familiar face approached.
"Ahh, Badger," said Mal, putting down the barrel he was holding and wiping his hands on his trouser legs.
"'Ello. Now, there's a coupla people who wanna be talkin' to your doc and the crazy girl, do I tell em you lot are 'ere?"
Simon stood and looked at Mal with worry evident on his face, Mal sharing the look of concern.
"They give any indication as to who they may be?" Mal asked.
"They say," Badger replied, cocking one eyebrow, "They're their parents."


Simon ran round the corner and stopped dead. River huddled behind him. A man and a woman, older looking than he remembered, were standing, looking out of a window. As they heard him, they turned.
"Finally," his mother quietly gasped. "We've found you at last."
She walked towards them, as their father stood still, his hands clasped behind his back. No emotion was evident in his face. Their mother reached Simon and embraced him tightly.
"Where have you been?" she asked, as she held him close, "We thought you were dead!"
"No mother, I am not dead. I told you what I was leaving to do, and I did it."
His mother pulled away and spotted River behind him. She fell quiet as she moved around to look at her.
"My daughter. My beautiful River," she whispered.
"I sent them my pain, they wouldn't listen, Simon, they wouldn't listen! They've been running, running for us, but he didn't want to. He doesn't know us, Simon. They don't know. They don't understand us, they want to take us away, Simon, don't let them take us away," she muttered as she backed away from her mother, looking scared.
Mrs Tam looked back at Simon, visibly hurt from River's comments.
Simon looked back into her eyes, "I was right mother, they were hurting her. They were hurting everyone. It wasn't a school, it was a laboratory."
Tears welled up in their mother's eyes. "We didn't know. We honestly didn't know," she whispered.
Mal and Jayne crept away, they'd been hiding around the corner, ready to defend River and Simon in case it was another Alliance trick.


The four Tams sat in a dusty bar on a small moon circling a rim world. Mr Tam looked thoroughly uncomfortable, acting as if everyone in the bar was eyeing him up to mug him later. Mrs Tam only had eyes for her children.
"I told you mother, I knew something was wrong," Simon said to her.
Slow tears had silently been rolling down Mrs Tam's cheeks since River's distressed reaction to her. She hadn't seen her daughters in years, and in those years she'd grown from a bright eyed young girl to a woman, a woman she barely recognised past the fog that clouded River's mind.
"How will you ever forgive me for letting you go through that? Both of you?" she asked.
"They made me different. They made me someone else. Simon, tell them, it was my decision. So much pain, all in my head, it felt like it was going to burst, Simon. Then I got saved, he made them stop. He made them…" River rambled, clearly disorientated by meeting her parents whom she hadn't known for years.
Mrs Tam reached across the table and took River's hand. River looked down, slightly confused, before slightly squeezing on her mother's hand.
"He did not want to come running, he did not want to run after us. He did not want to know who we are," said River, looking in the direction of her father who had wandered off to the bar.
"No. No, your father didn't want to come. He wanted to disown you both when he found out you were fugitives. He said you brought dishonour on our family and we were going to be ridiculed and scorned for the rest of our lives." Mrs Tam looked over to Simon, "I knew you were in trouble when the news came out. You were so confident that River was being hurt, and then you both disappear. I lost everything that night. I knew I had to find you, I knew you were in trouble. We followed the reports, word of mouth. We knew you were travelling aboard a Firefly. It's taken us years, I can't believe I finally have you back. We can all fly back and get this whole thing sorted out." She smiled.
Simon sighed, "Mother, we can't come back. We found somewhere we belong. I'm married now."
"Married?" his mother gasped, before exclaiming her joy and examining his ring. She'd been so excited to see her children that she hadn't even noticed. A twinge of sadness then entered her voice, "So you are settled then? Well, at least I know you two are happy now. You can always write to us, and maybe we'll be able to see you every once in a while now you know we are still here for you."


Mrs Tam came to see her children off back at the Serenity, while Mr Tam sorted their things for leaving, and passage back to the central planets. She was ecstatic about meeting Kaylee, exclaiming that she was beautiful, and so smart. She got along well with the crew, even though she wasn't there for longer than an hour. When it came time to leave she turned to Simon.
"I can see why you have fallen in love with this ship. I'm happy for you." She hugged him and then turned to her daughter. River looked at Simon, unsure as to what to do. He gave a slight nod and she opened her arms, and welcomed the first hug from her mother since she'd been sent to 'school' aged 14.
As their mother walked away, a single tear ran down River's cheek.