"Besides, Mr. Jenkins is in need of immediate medical attention. I'll do as much for him as I'm able on the ship, but he needs to get to a proper facility for surgery." He paused, a shadow crossing his face. "As does my son's husband."

Scar-Face and Blondie nodded. Scar-Face rummaged through the pockets of his vest, looking for his comm unit as Blondie bent down and relieved Mal of his weapon. Caterpillar-Brows hauled Simon to his feet. The young doctor's eyes sought out Mal, and he froze when he saw his lover's bruised, bleeding form crumpled in an unconscious heap on the ground. "Mal..." he whispered, his voice strained. Simon looked up at his father, eyes blazing with angry tears. "You son of a bitch. You gorram son of a bitch!" He struggled wildly, trying to free himself from Caterpillar-Brows' secure grasp to attack his father, but to no avail. "First you wouldn't help River and I when we needed you, and now, when we'd finally gotten our lives on track, when we were happy and free and as safe as we were ever likely to get, you come in and destroy everything!" He was yelling for everyone to hear, but he didn't care. "Will you finally be satisfied? When I'm rotting away in prison, when River's locked away getting her brain sliced and diced until there's nothing left of her, when you can forget all about your troublesome children and drink your damnbrandy in peace and attend your damn parties? Will that fucking make you happy?"

"Simon, I..." Gabriel's voice faltered. He barely recognized this man in front of him as his son, this young man with scalding tears streaming down his cheeks in fury and sorrow. It looked like his son, and the hazel eyes were the same he saw in the mirror every morning, but Gabriel was sure his had never held a fraction of the passion now raging in those reflected depths. How had he failed to notice it before? Failed to notice it in his own son?

"Dr. Tam!" came Scar-Face's urgent voice. Gabriel snapped out of his contemplations and turned to face the mercenary. Scar-Face was holding his comm unit and looked deeply concerned. "Sir, I can't raise the bravo team."

"What?" Gabriel's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean, you can't raise them? Was your comm damaged in the fight?"

"No, I mean they're not responding. Gromer and Rakes on the ship haven't had any luck contacting them either."

Caterpillar-Brows' eyes narrowed. "They should have made it back to the ship with the girl long before now. Something must have gone wrong." He turned to Scar-Face. "Call Gromer back and tell him to land the ship on the main street out there. There should be enough space. We're going to need help getting Jenkins and the captain here on the boat."

Scar-Face nodded and raised his comm unit to his lips again. However, before he could speak, a shadow fell over the alley, accompanied by the steady hum of twin engines. Simon knew what he would see before he even looked up, but he looked up just the same. Relief flooded through him at the sight.

There was Serenity, hovering over their heads like a celestial guardian, steely grey and patched together and absolutely beautiful. Wash's magnified voice came over the loudspeakers, calm and authoritative. "Everyone on the main street, go back to your homes now. We're going to land in the exact spot you're all standing in, and if you don't move you'll be squished like misjuggled baby geese." The murmering crowd immediately began to disperse, and after the last of them had disappeared into shops and sidestreets, Serenity floated down to nestle herself in the wide space between the lines of shops on the street. Gabriel and the mercenaries raised their hands to shield their eyes from the dust and debris the ship kicked up as she landed. Simon had to turn his head, as his hands were still cuffed behind his back. The force of the wind against his face was enough to coax Mal back into consciousness, and he raised his aching head with a groan. "Wha..." His eyes adjusted and he took in the form of his ship in front of him, the ramp slowly lowering itself into the alleyway.

Simon offered up a silent prayer of thanks as Zoe and Jayne stalked down the ramp, armed to the teeth and steering two very battered and unhappy looking mercenaries in front of them. Shepherd Book followed to the edge of the ramp, and stood there at the ready with a rifle. He didn't aim it, but looked ready to if the need should arise. When Zoe and Jayne reached the small group, they both shoved their captives roughly to their knees in the dirt. One of them growled slightly, but neither said anything.

Zoe assessed the situation with critical dark eyes. She took in her injured captain, struggling into a sitting position on the ground, Simon with a bruised, swollen face and cuffed hands, the three mercenaries staring at her in shock and confusion and the one curled up on the alley floor, moaning pitifully. She took in the other stranger with his expensive dark blue suit and familiar features. Finally fixing her gaze on the mercenary closest to Simon, she said, "You. With the eyebrows. Uncuff him and then stand back. The rest of you, too." Caterpillar-Brows hesitated. Zoe pumped her shotgun once and aimed it in his direction. "Don't make me repeat myself."

The mercenary complied, fishing the key from his vest under the watchful eyes of Zoe and Jayne with his behemoth gun. Once free, Simon rubbed his wrists and went directly to kneel beside Mal. Gaze softening slightly as she watched the young doctor fuss over the captain's injuries, Zoe looked back up at Gabriel. She appraised him for a moment, and he looked back with tired eyes. "There's someone here who wants to talk to you" Zoe said quietly, though no one missed the sharp edge to her voice. "River, honey, you can come out now."

Simon felt his pulse quicken as River appeared and glided down the ramp, her footsteps silent and graceful despite her clunky combat boots. She was unharmed, he could see that much, but how would seeing their father again affect her? She'd been so strong, so lucid lately...would this one day undo all that they'd worked so hard for these past few years?

Simon didn't even realize how tight his grip on Mal's arm had grown until the other man hissed in pain. "Jeez, Doc, helluva healing touch you've got there."

Simon winced. "Sorry." He stroked the area soothingly in apology. Mal absently leaned into the touch, his focus turning to River and Gabriel.

Gabriel's eyes were wide as he took in his youngest child. "River..." he said as she came to stand in front of him, clearly searching in vain for something to say to a daughter he hadn't seen in five years. A daughter he had willingly abandoned to an institution he knew to have no moral limits.

A daughter he knew to be less than completely sane.

River looked up at her father with her deep hazel eyes. She studied his face, taking in each feature as though examining a confusingly abstract work of art. "Daddy", she said at last. She cocked her head to the side, seemingly listening to something. "We were pretty furniture. We made the room bright and full and you loved the room." Her voice was tinged with sadness. "But then they wanted us for firewood, and you were afraid to reach into the fire. You didn't want to burn. But the room was empty, and dark, and you needed something to fill it up again." She looked away, eyes lost in a mournful faraway gaze. "What you didn't realize was that it was too late. The pretty furniture was all gone, only ashes left. Ashes scattered in the wind, floating free and...serene."

Gabriel's mouth opened and shut a few times. His voice was heavy with guilt, with sorrow, and with the ghost of fear. "River, I...I..." The words continued to elude him.

River reached up a delicate hand and brushed her father's trembling cheek. "I know, Daddy", she said softly. Gabriel closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw that River's gaze had hardened. "But it's too late."

With that, she drew her hand back into a fist and punched her father square in the draw. Gabriel staggered back several steps before crumpling to the ground, unconscious.

Simon's jaw hung open as he tried to process the scene before him. Mal chuckled and weakly slung an arm around Simon's shoulders, grinning proudly at his sister-in-law. "That there was one fine punch, little River."

River smiled gently. "It's a healthy alternative to guns."

Mal nodded, still chuckling. "That it is."

Zoe pushed her two captive mercenaries in the direction of their comrades as she made her way towards her captain. They were far too stunned at the fragile-looking girl's violent display to offer any resistance.

Kaylee appeared at the top of the ramp, and smiled brightly when she saw that everyone was alive and relatively safe. She started down towards her crewmates.

Jayne swaggered over to Gabriel's fallen form and poked him lightly a few times with his foot. "God-damn! That was worth gettin' pulled outta my pool game to see." He guffawed loudly.

"Yes, I'm a little confused on that point...How did you know where we were and that we were in trouble?" asked Simon. "You were all scattered around the town."

River rolled her eyes. "Check in once in a while, alright? Every half hour would be good." She poked her brother's forehead lightly. "I listen, you know." She glanced at Mal. "So does he."

Simon looked quizically at Mal, but it was Kaylee who explained as she approached them. "We did like you said and tried to comm you after a half hour. But you only had the one between you, and the Cap'n wasn't answering."

Mal nodded. "Switched it off."

" Well, we figured somethin' had to be wrong, an' River was gettin' all...spacey..." she looked apologetically at River, who smiled serenely. She didn't mind. Kaylee smiled back and continued. "So we called Zoe, an' she got everybody to meet back at Serenity. That's when we got attacked."

"Only four of 'em! Weren't even a decent workout", exclaimed Jayne disgustedly.

Zoe added, "Brought two of 'em back with us in case you were in a firefight. Figured we could have used 'em as shields." Mal nodded, then blinked a few times. He'd grown pale.

"Sir?" asked Zoe, concerned.

Mal spoke slowly. "Think...I'm gonna pass out." He blinked a few more times. "Oh yeah. Definitely gonna pass out." Simon hastily caught his head and shoulders as he slumped backwards.

"Mal!" he cried, taking in Mal's ashen face with alarm. "God, how could I have been so stupid?" He looked up frantically. "Jayne, help me get him to the infirmary! He probably has internal injuries, and we've been sitting around talking..."

Book disappeared from the top of the ramp, presumably to set up the infirmary for the transfusions he knew Simon would have to do.

Jayne bent down and Simon carefully transferred Mal's upper body to his stronger arms. Then he switched position to take up Mal's legs. Together they hoisted their captain up and began moving him onto the ship. Kaylee and River followed, both looking frightened. Zoe alone lingered behind. Shotgun still in hand, she eyed the mercenaries warily. "You boys got any plans to come after us again?"

The two mercenaries that Zoe had captured before shook their heads vehemently, obviously eager to get away from Zoe and never come near her again. Caterpillar-Brows glanced down at Jenkins with his ruined kneecap before sighing and saying, "None of you will ever hear from us again. The money was good, but not worth all of this."

Zoe nodded, still looking apprehensive. Her gaze shifted to Gabriel Tam. The mercenaries would most likely keep their word, but what about the good doctor? Would this unpleasant episode be enough to dissuade him from coming after Simon and River again? Now he knew what ship they were on, who they were with...Zoe considered her options. She could haul him onto the boat and let the captain make that decision later, when he was out of danger, or she could just shoot him now and save them all the trouble later. She hesitated.

Suddenly, Wash's voice crackled over her comm unit. "Zoe, we've got to get going. The local authorities are here." Zoe cursed under her breath. Time had run out. With one final hard glance at the mercenaries and Gabriel, she turned and ran back to Serenity, the ramp beginning to close the moment her feet hit metal. The ship rose high above the wooden buildings, kicking up a small hurricane of wind and earth. Flames shot from her twin engines as she escaped into the blue of the late afternoon sky, leaving the baffled local authorities, the mercenaries, and the Tam siblings' father in the dust of her wake.