DISCLAIMER: I do not own Firefly...unfortunately.
The crew of Serenity was sitting on one side of the table in the galley while the Tams were sitting on the other. River had her head down and was muttering nonsense. None of it made any sense, but then again that was the way she usually talked.
"So why don't you start off with why you wanted my crew to look for Simon and River. But first how about your names." Mal asked.
"I am Megan Tam and this is Gabriel." She laid a hand on her husband. "We want our children back. Simon left a prominent career in medicine. River was enjoying herself at the Academy."
"Enjoying herself? She's like this because of the Academy. The Alliance did this, mother." Simon was angry with his parents for being so naïve.
"Inara." Mal said from where he was seated. He could tell that they were going onto the subject or River and the Academy. Even though he knew the Companion for a short period of time, she knew what he was talking about.
Inara walked over to River and gently took her shoulders, "River, why don't you come with me." The girl allowed herself to be taken away but stopped talking to herself.
Waiting until after the pair left, Mal spoke up, "You can't take them." As much as Simon was a pain, River would never stay on the boat without him. Everyone seemed surprised at Mal's response. Simon looked at him in admiration.
"Excuse me. You're not their parents. Also, we know what is right for Simon's career and River's sake." Gabriel wasn't so happy anymore. He stood up and was ready to pounce on the crew. "Now where is my daughter? Where did that Companion take her?"
"How'd you know 'Nara was a Companion?" Kaylee asked.
"We wouldn't ask a crew to search for our children without looking into their past." Megan said matter-of-factly.
"Then you should leave." Jayne leaned forward with his hands on the table. Before anyone could make a comment on his reaction, Inara ran into the galley.
"River's gone. She snuck out somehow." She looked around at the crew with bewilderment on her face. The crew ran out of the galley, followed by the Tams. Wash lowered the ramp onto the planet as everyone rushed out calling the young girl's name.
"Maybe we should go check home. I mean where we used to live." Simon suggested.
"She probably doesn't remember where that is." Wash reputed.
"The girl's pretty smart. She may find her way back." Zoë said.
"At least she knows where she belongs." Gabriel exerted.
"Let's just go and find her." Simon said.
"It would probably be best to split up. Cover more ground. We'll meet back in thirty." Mal told his crew, including Gabriel and Megan.
River roamed the streets of the city that she no longer knew the name of. It seemed so big but so crowded. All the sorrows of the people were invading her mind. A whore passed by with a young Alliance officer on her arm. She was very sick but unfortunately she needed the money. The Alliance officer didn't notice her; this suited her perfectly fine. He was too engrossed with his whore that there could be a gunfight and he wouldn't notice.
River decided to take a short cut to the place she used to call home. She could have probably run there but her energy was placed elsewhere, as if it were being stored for an emergency. This, she thought, was not an emergency. Two men were following her very closely. She smiled at the pair's stupidity.
"Hey little girl. How would you like to take a row with me?" The first one asked.
"No she would want with me. She looks like a weak girl." The second one said.
"You don't know the power I possess. It's so great. I could kill you both with my mind." River said sweetly.
"Is that power to make us feel pleasure?" The first one asked. This particular person liked to ask a lot of questions.
Finally bored with all the talking that was going on, River decided to take action. She kicked the first one in the groin and punched him in the jaw. He was quickly knocked out cold. The second one decided to stick around.
"You should probably leave now." A voice said from behind him. The man turned to see Mal there with his pistol drawn from its holster. "Either you're going to leave or I'm taking the girl right now."
"Well what's wrong with having a little fun." The man took River by the waist and tried to touch her inapporiately. He turned to Mal, "Would you like to join me." He in turn pulled out a firearm, shot the Captain, and, in a flash let go of a very shocked River and left the alley.
The girl crawled to where Mal was lying, bleeding from his abdomen. He pulled out a miniature transmitter that was in contact with Serenity. Without being told, she relayed the coordinates of where she was and several minutes later, they were back on board. As River walked through the hangar following Simon and Jayne who were carrying the wounded Mal, she noticed her parents were still there. She didn't care if they were there or not. All she wanted was for Simon to heal Mal. She stopped halfway to the infirmary and made her way back to the hangar and spread herself out on several boxes.
Her mother came up to her with a false maternal feel. "River, why'd you run away?"
"To see what would happen." The girl responded and turned to face the other direction and sleep. She felt she had been asleep for only several moments when Book came to wake her up.
"River, Simon is done with the surgery. The Captain's going to be alright." Book told her with a reassuring smile. Returning the smile, she ran to the infirmary but stopped short when she reached the doors. Looking through the windows, it was a foreboding place but it didn't seem to really matter. She quietly walked in and sat down next to him.
Mal had woken up and gently took the girl's hand. She was startled since she didn't expect him to be awake for several more hours."How are you feeling?" River asked gently.
"Well I just got shot and not feeling too good." Mal responded with a sleepy smile. River's eyes started to water and she began to cry silently. "What's wrong?" Mal asked as he sat up on his left elbow.
"I'm sorry." The girl quietly said as she left the room. Mal just stared at her retreating back.
A/N: Please R&R. I'll try to remember to respond.