Chapter 3

"I'm sorry Gabriel couldn't join us," Samantha Gambeson said as she removed her white lab coat and hung it in her office.

"Oh, he's been busy with work and – I – simply couldn't decline your invitation." Regan smiled kindly.

"Ran out of excuses, hmm?" Samantha grinned at her friend.

Regan chuckled sadly. "It's been too long since I've been off world and – well –Gabriel insisted."

Samantha rested her hand on Regan's shoulder. "You have an attentive husband who loves and cares for you. It's good to see." She could feel Regan tense and wondered if she'd said the wrong thing.

"Oh, that's not it at all," Regan shook her head and walked to a large window overlooking the picturesque city. "I think my brooding finally got to him."

Samantha could see the lines of stress and exhaustion surrounding her old friend's eyes but was reluctant to bring up a subject that might cause her pain.

"I've missed you, Sam," Regan said after a few moments of silence. She turned around, her eyes wet with unshed tears. "When you left Osiris, I thought I'd lost my best friend."

Samantha moved beside her friend and regarded her with a kind smile. "Osiris has the best medical facilities in the Core. I wasn't needed there. I am needed here."

Regan nodded, and Samantha could see that her mention of Osiris' medical capabilities had brought back an unpleasant memory. "Besides, Paquin isn't that far away. And – we have something the great Osiris doesn't have." She winked at her friend.

"Oh?" Regan asked, trying to appear interested.

"The best theater in the Core."

Regan forced a smile to her lips and nodded. "Very true. Gabriel and I used to take trips here for long weekends just to see the shows."

"We're going to fit in as many as you can stand while you're here."

Regan nodded and an uncomfortable silence fell around them. Samantha returned to her desk to finish marking a patient's chart and Regan turned to stare out the window once again, her eyes staring at nothing.

"It's all right," Regan said, after a few minutes of silence. "I know you want to ask about them."

"It's not my place," Samantha said as finished her work and slipped into a well-tailored jacket.

"As my friend, you have the right to ask - to know what - happened."

Samantha closed the door to her office and they walked down the hallway. They had plenty of time to reach the theater and she did truly want to know what had happened to her friend's children. Their disappearance had been very quiet and she had not asked out of respect. But she had seen the warrants issued for their arrest – she was certain every Tam family friend or acquaintance knew. "I'll listen if you want to tell me."

As they passed two emergency personnel who looked rather agitated, Samantha and Regan nodded respectfully. They looked as if they were about to speak to her until a younger man, clearly a resident, came hurrying out of the hospital calling Samantha's name. The men continued walking as the two women turned to address the harried man.

"Doctor Gambeson?"

"Yes?"

Regan glanced up at the evening sky as Samantha provided instructions on how to properly care for one of her terminally ill patients. Only Samantha's hand on her friend's arm drew her out of a very unpleasant reverie filled with images of her son and daughter playing on the estate grounds as children.

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking." Regan offered a half-hearted smile that, once again, didn't reach her eyes.

"It's allowed." They began to walk toward the transportation lanes and Samantha cast a hesitant look at her friend. "So - you wanted to talk about Simon and River?"

"Yes, I - I think I need to -"

The two women were suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled behind a large, covered transport. A brief glimpse of the men revealed that they were the same that had passed them further up the walkway. Large, calloused hands covered their mouths as they were pulled into the vehicle, preventing their screams for help from being noticed.

"We need your help, doctor," Mal Reynolds knelt in front of Samantha, his eyes full of concern and determination.

"Kidnapping a medical officer is a federal offense that will be -" Regan began but was cut off by Jayne's waving a very large gun in front of her eyes.

"He weren't talkin' ta you. Be quiet."

"What do you want with us?" Samantha asked, glancing at her captors. She tried to look behind her, but was prevented from doing so by the big man with the gun.

"We need your help."

"If you think kidnapping -"

Jayne raised his gun and cocked it. "Didn't I say -"

"Please -" Samantha extended her hand toward him, her eyes pleading with him not to harm anyone. "I will help you. Just - let Regan go."

"Sure, sos she can turn 'round and have the Feds chase us down. Don't think so, doc." Jayne growled, lowering his gun.

"Do you have someone who needs medical attention?" Samantha asked, looking around the dark vehicle for someone who might be injured.

"You could say that." Mal said, being deliberately cryptic.

"Where?"

"You'll see right shortly. Just sit back and wait til we get there." Jayne said, clearly annoyed.

The women found nearby seats and strapped themselves in as the shuttle lifted off wondering where they were going and what they would find when they got there.

"Oh Simon, please, please. You're safe now. You're home." Kaylee held his hand, rubbing it desperately. He was so very pale and his few moments of consciousness were punctuated by screams and inaudible mumblings.

She could recognize River's name and even hers, but otherwise, his behavior terrifyingly reminded her of how River used to be before he'd begun to treat her. What had they done to him? How could they help him? He was the genious doctor. What happened when the doctor needed doctoring?

Simon muttered in his sleep but she didn't understand. Mal had insisted on sedating him, insisting he'd not been himself, could be violent if he woke up. River had not yet returned with Inara –having been sent away for her safety when they'd put the rescue plan into action – but they had communicated with the shuttle, which was still at least twelve hours out, that Simon had been found.

Kaylee pressed her lips to his cheek. His skin was cool, but with just the right amount of warmth. He didn't have a fever. He wasn't sick - with any visible illness. But she remembered when he'd opened his eyes, when he'd first returned. The hollowness and the genuine fear she'd seen there frightened her.

She heard shuttle 2 return and fervently prayed the Captain had found a doctor who could treat whatever injuries Simon had sustained at the hands of the feds. She kissed him gently and resisted the urge to go meet the shuttle. They would be there as quickly as they could. She didn't want to leave his side for a minute.

"Where are you taking us?" Samantha asked as she exited the transport in front of Regan.

"To your patient."

Jayne and Mal escorted the women to the passenger bunks while Zoe headed toward the bridge.

"If all's gone well, we should be ready to meet the shuttle at 0900 tomorrow." Zoe said as she hurried up the metal staircase.

"Well, nothing's gone right on this little trip so far, what makes you think today'll be any different?" Mal called up to Zoe.

"He's a bit - crazy," Jayne said as they reached the passenger bunks. More to himself, he muttered. "Shoulda tied him to the infirmary chair but we jus' knocked him out instead."

"My patient?" Samantha asked, concern lighting her eyes. If this was a mental patient, she wasn't sure if she was the best person to handle his case. She wasn't a psychologist.

"Thankfully, not as crazy as his sister - yet. Who knows what the Feds did to him," Jayne continued. To Samantha he said, "Feds gave him somethin'. Made him all crazy."

"You're wanted by the Feds?" Regan said, her eyes widening.

"Nope. Just the patient and his crazy sister." Mal said as he slid open the door to Simon's bunk.

The two women stepped inside and stopped short, recognizing the young man who lay before them.

Kaylee glanced expectantly toward them, her eyes full of hope.

"Wuh de tyen, ah." Regan said as she stared at the unconscious form of her son. Regan's world spun out of control as Samantha, recognizing Simon for who he was, hurried to the young man's side.

Kaylee moved out of Samantha's way, as the woman quickly used what medical equipment was at her disposal to diagnose her patient. Kaylee's eyes darted from Samantha to Regan, confusion spreading across her pretty face.

Mal pushed himself into the room, followed by Jayne, his eyes narrowed, suspicious. "What?" he asked Regan. His head snapped toward Samantha when she whispered Simon's name, trying to get him to wake.

"I don't remember tellin' ya his name." Mal said, hand moving to the gun strapped to his leg.

"Simon? Can you hear me?" Samantha gently slapped his face. He groaned in response.

"We doped him," Kaylee said, her eyes sad. "They did somethin' awful to him. He's not the same."

"Who?" Samantha asked, checking quickly for her patient's vitals.

"Who did something to him?" Regan echoed, moving to Simon's side.

"The Feds." Jayne snapped then turned to Mal, "Didn' we just go over this?"

Mal watched Regan carefully, "You look like you've just seen a ghost. How do you know -"

"Simon is my son." Regan said, her voice barely a whisper but every person crammed into the small room heard the startling revelation.

"Oh, juh jen sh guh kwai luh duh jean-jan," Mal said, clearly shocked by Regan's response. He didn't like to be surprised. And he had found himself surprised on far too many occasions since picking up Simon and his crazy sister.

"Jen dao mei!" Jayne hissed, remembering the stories Simon had told them about his parents not believing that River was in danger.

"You -" Kaylee's eyes widened as she turned toward Regan. But the Samantha turned to her and asked if there were medical facilities on board.

"Ye-yes," Kaylee stammered, her eyes still wide as saucers. "I'll take you."

Samantha nodded and followed the young girl out of the room, instructing Regan to sit beside her son and speak to him.

"You don' live anywhere near this planet." Jayne's eyes narrowed. "'Les the doc lied to us."

"I'm here visiting a friend - who you so wisely decided to kidnap tonight." Regan hurried to her son's side and sat along the edge of the bed. Her eyes were sad as she took his hand, squeezing gently. "Has he been here this whole time?" She flattened her hand against his cheek, taking in her beloved son's uncharacteristically disheveled appearance. "Where is River?"

Mal found himself answering, even though he felt he should keep his mouth shut. The pain in this woman's eyes was evident and he felt sorry for her. "We sent her away with - a, ah, friend - when we broke Simon out of that gorram facility."

"What did they do to him?" Regan didn't look up at Mal, simply leaned forward and touched her forehead to her son's.

"We don't know." Mal decided to ask a pointed question of his own. "Why did you abandon your children?"

Mal's question clearly took Regan off guard but her eyes flashed defensively. "I did no such thing! Simon was talking crazy. Associating with inappropriate people. Getting caught in blackout areas. He talked about a prestigious Academy doing terrible things to his sister. He was destroying our family. Gabriel couldn't let him do that."

"They did."

"What?"

"They did do terrible things to River."

Regan shook her head in denial. "We all toured the facility. It's the best in the Core. They could help River with her gifts. Give her the kind of education she deserved. Challenge and stretch her mind –"

"Yah, they did all sorta lovely things to crazy's brain," Jayne muttered.

"When Simon wakes up, I'm sure he will tell you all about the help those tyen-sah duh uh-muo gave her."

Samantha returned with some supplies, which she carefully arranged on the floor beside her. "Kaylee here has told me about his bits of lucidity." She took a vial and administered a shot to wake her patient.

"If you're wakin' him, I don't think that's wise." Mal warned.

"Maybe she should read Simon's journal?" Kaylee suggested, a hopeful look returning to her eyes. "He kept one when treatin' River." She looked down at the man she loved with sad eyes. "Was always writin' in it. Never understood how he found so much to write 'bout."

"His notes on how he treated River's condition might help me figure out if similar things were done to him," Samantha said, encouraged. She turned back to her patient as he began to stir.

"Simon?" Kaylee moved closer but hesitated as Samantha and Regan both leaned over him.

Mal reached out and pulled her into his arms, "Stay back mei-mei. He was violent last time he was awake."

"No! River!" Simon cried and sat upright, his eyes wild as they darted around the room. Glancing down, he noticed his arms were not bound at his sides and he launched himself off the bed - and straight into Jayne's chest. "I don't want – No! Don't –"

Jayne dropped his gun and held Simon tightly as he struggled to get out of the room. Simon continued to scream, continued to try and get away from the ape-man holding him so tightly his pale skin began to bruise.

"Hold him," Samantha said as she prepared a sedative.

"Dope him already," Jayne swore beneath his breath. "As much as I'd love to hit him -"

Mal shot the other man a warning glare. "Jayne -"

"I'm not gonna take advantage of his weakened - ow! Liou coe shway duh biao-tze huh hoe-tze duh bun ur-tze!" Jayne backhanded Simon across the face when the much smaller man's teeth bit down -hard - on his exposed arm.

Simon was hurled across the small room by the force of the impact but he gained his feet immediately, his eyes darting too and from the occupants of the small room. Spying the vials sitting beside the bed, Simon's intelligent mind worked quickly, trying to find a way out of his incarceration. As he launched himself toward them, Mal reacted faster and pinned him against the nearest wall while Samantha shoved a needle into his arm. Almost immediately, his movements ceased and he slid to the floor.

"Violent," Samantha panted, her eyes wide as she nodded in Mal's direction. "Check."

"Tol' ya," Jayne snarled, clutching his bleeding arm.

TBC

Notes: Regan and Gabriel Tam were seen in the Firefly episode 'Safe'.

Chinese translations for Chapter 3

"Wuh de tyen, ah" - dear god in heaven

Tzao-gao! - Damn it!

Oh, juh jen sh guh kwai luh duh jean-jan - Oh, this is a happy development...

Jen dao mei!- Just our luck!

Liou coe shway duh biao-tze huh hoe-tze duh bun ur-tze - Stupid son of a drooling whore and a monkey.

Response to readers comments

Jessclifton – Well, nothing will be pleasant for a while, I'm afraid…

Ann – yes, I've come to love whuppin' Simon.

Thedummie2 – is this fast enough? Threw in another twist. Hope ya like. There are a few more to come.

Scott – glad you liked it. Hope you like this next one. Had to introduce an original character (which I hate to do) to further along the plot but she'll be the only one.

Pokey – yes, poor little Simon will become a chant soon….heh

The Cardboard Moon – Well, he's not quiteeee ok. He's out of federal custody.

Aurelia30 – You think it will be that easy? Muahaha. Nope.