River walked arm in arm with Badger through the marketplace on the main street, enjoying the sights and sounds of the vendors selling their wares. She listened as Badger regaled her with the history of this bustling town and how he came to be situated here. Smiling at his enthusiasm, she brought the yellow flowers she was still carrying up to her face and breathed in deeply.

"Where did you get fresh flowers," she asked suddenly, interrupting his story. Badger looked over at her and gave her a cocky grin.

"Man's gotta have some secrets, now don' 'e luv," he replied with a wink as he took her hand. They continued walking in comfortable silence, taking in the bustle of activity around them. Badger pulled River over to a stall selling various pieces of jewelry and picked up a necklace for her inspection. She fingered the chain lightly.

"It's lovely," she said, looking over at Badger. He smiled at her and placed a few credits on the table for the vendor.

"It's yours then," he said with a grin. River turned around and allowed Badger to fasten the pretty piece around her neck. She closed her eyes as his fingers lingered a second too long on her skin. She braced herself for a shiver or a flutter, but nothing came. Instead, she was left wishing it were Mal who had bought her the shiny chain.

"Thank you," she said quietly as she turned around to face him. She reached up and touched the tear drop pendant hanging on her chest.

"But why did you get it?" she asked after a moment. Badger smiled down at her, not a cheeky grin or a cocky smirk, but a genuine caring smile.

"A gentleman does stuff like that for the girl 'e's courtin'," he replied as he softly stroked the side of her face. River sighed and pulled away.

"What's wrong, luv," Badger asked with a touch of concern. River just sighed again and began walking back in the direction of the ship. Badger quickly reached out a hand and grabbed her arm, stopping her progress.

"'Ere now luv," he said, pulling her close. "Why don't you tell 'ole Bager what's gone and got you bothered? Was it something I said?"

River looked down at the hand holding her arm and was struck by the similarity of this scene to the one that had occurred on the bridge earlier that day. She wrenched her arm free and began walking away again.

"Talk, talk, talk," she huffed loudly, earning a few stares from people passing by on the streets. "Everyone talks about courtship, asks my brother for permission, devises schemes and plans. But no one asks me what I want! No one asks if I want to be courted. Maybe I don't want to be courted. Maybe I think courtship is an archaic and outdated custom used to subvert women. Or maybe I don't know what I want."

Badger had to run to keep up with River.

"Now hold on there, luv," he said as he reached out and grabbed her arm again. River stopped and looked at him, folding her arms across her chest.

"From the sounds of it, I'm not the first person to use the term 'courtship', now am I?" Badger asked. River shook her head and looked away.

"Well then, I'm not gonna go guessing who else may have said it," Badger said after a moment, releasing her arm. "You're a pretty l'il thing, you know that, right? You catch people's eye. Draw 'em in. Make 'em take an interest. And I've definitely taken an interest. Can't hide that from you so I won't even botha' tryin'." Badger paused and took her hand, looking deep into her eyes.

"So, River, luv, will you step out wi' me? Let me court you, at least until you figure things out?" he asked. River gave a little nod as she looked up at him.

"I'm sorry," she said with a smile. "I should have warned you I was crazy." Badger chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Naw," he said, leading her in the direction away from the ship. "You're a woman. You're allowed to be crazy." River laughed and gave him a playful punch as they walked.

"You know, you didn't have to carry those flowers all through town with you, luv," he said as walked toward his building. River just smiled and brought the bouquet up to her nose for a smell.

"First time someone's ever gotten me flowers," she replied. "In fact, this particular species traditionally represents…" River stopped talking and stood still. She cocked her head to the side as though she was listening to something.

"Luv," Badger looked at her in concern. "What is it luv?" River just shook her head, unsure of what she was picking up on, if indeed it was anything.

"I just thought I heard something," she replied after a moment. "It's nothing." River continued to look around warily. They had left the bustling street and were headed down a more secluded section of the city on the way to Badger's 'office'. Suddenly, three men stepped out from the shadows of the buildings and pointed their guns at the couple. River dropped her flowers and turned to Badger.

"Get Mal," she said with an air of urgency. Badger opened his mouth to argue, but something told him he better do just as he was told. He turned quickly and high tailed it down the street toward the ship. Surprisingly, none of the men fired at him or tried to pursue. He looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the three men overtake River.

"Aw bollocks," he said, turning around and running back to where River was being attacked.

"No, run," River yelled when she saw him turn around. Badger threw a punch at one of the men holding her down.

"Not letting you fight alone, luv," he said, blocking another punch. Unfortunately for Badger, the men were too quick. One, two, three blows, and his head hit the hard ground below. He saw the men drag River away, and then he blacked out.

Back on the ship, Zoe sat at the dining table, sipping from a cup of bitter black coffee. She was thinking hard about everything that had been happening on the ship and decided she needed more information. Standing up, she took one last sip from her cup, then headed out of the dining hall in the direction of Inara's shuttle.

Inara sat in her shuttle, sipping a cup of herbal tea, contemplating the mess that River and Mal were getting themselves into. She doubted they even realized what was happening between them. They were so oblivious and yet so focused. In truth, they were very much alike and Inara thought they were well-suited to each other. She was troubled, however, by River's behavior. It didn't surprise her that Mal was being so boorish and pig-headed, charging ahead with his foolish plan without much thought to the consequences. River, however, was supposed to be a genius. Inara would have thought she would have seen where her plan was headed, since it was apparently clear enough to everyone else. Yet, she had a misguided notion that making the Captain see her as woman would make him stop pursuing her, when in fact, it would do the opposite.

Inara was interrupted from her thoughts by a sharp rap. She stood and opened her door, allowing the first mate to come in.

"I'm not surprised to see you," Inara said with a smile. "Please, sit down, Zoe. Can I offer you some tea?" Zoe shook her head as she sat and regarded the Companion.

"I suppose you know why I'm here then, 'Nara," she said after a moment. Inara nodded her head and sat down next to the formidable woman.

"I can guess that it has something to do with the way River and Mal are acting," she replied.

"Care to shed some light on what exactly is happening on this ship?" Zoe asked. "I mean, I know Mal was all het up about River going on the town with Badger. I weren't exactly pleased about it neither, but she's a grown woman. Way I see it, she can pilot the ship, she can go out on a date. But now I'm hearing talk of courtship, and all of a sudden Mal's acting all jealous-like. Not to mention the way River's been dressing. Now I know you had something to do with that." Zoe paused to allow Inara to answer.

"Well," Inara began slowly. "It's a long story. A few weeks ago, Mal came to me asking me advice about River. I suggested River's interest in Badger might be derived from the fact that she's a young woman exploring her sexuality and there aren't many options open to her. Badger showed interest, she responded. It's natural." Zoe nodded in understanding.

"I can see how that would be," she replied.

"Well, then Mal took that to mean that if River had another available option, she might not be so quick to step out with Badger," Inara continued. "So he got it into his mind that he should court her. Express an interest in her to draw her away from, what he feels, is a man unworthy of her."

"That's not the way Mal works, 'Nara," Zoe interrupted. "Sounds to me like he was trying to find an excuse and this fit perfectly."

"I agree," Inara replied. "Although, I don't think he would be so quick as to admit it. He might not have even known that's what he was doing at the time. Then River came to me a short while later. She was frustrated, upset, and confused. We talked for a while, then she came to the conclusion that if Mal saw her as a woman, he would see her as capable of making her own choices. And the one way she could accomplish that would be to dress like a lady." Zoe suppressed a chuckle.

"Doesn't she see that it's going to backfire?" she asked with a smile. "I mean, if Mal has this attraction, prettying herself up is just gonna make him want her more."

"Well, this is the first time River's made decisions based on her emotions," Inara replied with a smile. "She might be psychic, but she's still a woman, and an emotional one at that. She's bound to make a mistake." Zoe stood to leave.

"Well, this clears up a few things," she said as she headed to the door. "I better go make sure Mal doesn't shoot anyone when he find out River went off with Badger again. Just one more thing, Inara. Doesn't it bother you? I mean, considering your history with Mal…" Inara held up her hand to interrupt

"We have a past, not a present," she stated. "I made peace with that a while ago." Zoe nodded and opened the door, nearly bumping into Mal, who was about to barge in.

"Oh hey Zoe, good you're here," he said hurriedly as he stood by the doorway. "Have either of you two seen River? I need to talk to her."

"She went off with Badger near an hour ago, sir," Zoe replied looking him in the eyes, daring him to get angry with her. Mal tried to keep his frustration contained, but was unsuccessful and punched the bulkhead beside him. Inara jumped back startled, but Zoe stood firm, stoic and resolved as usual.

"You just let her go off with that rat?" he said to Zoe. Zoe nodded in affirmative.

"Yes sir, I did," she replied.

"Well, do you know which way they went?" he asked.

"In the direction of his building, sir," Zoe answered. "But I'm sure she'll be back soon enough." Mal shook his head and headed down the catwalk, into the main cargo bay.

"This can't wait," he stated as he walked. Zoe walked closely behind him, anxious to see what he was about to do. Mal punched in the code to lower the ramp in the cargo bay and stalked out into the busy docks, followed by Zoe.

"You don't have to babysit me, Zoe," he said, taking long strides in the direction of Badger's building.

"With all due respect, sir, someone has to make sure you don't get shot," she replied.