She felt herself wake before her eyes actually opened. Her head rested on the side of his chest and she could feel it rise and fall gently with each breath he took. One leg was thrown haphazardly over his own, pressing her center against the few course hairs of his thigh, and Mal's arm lay tightly across her back, holding her to him. They were so close it seemed as though she had been trying to go through him, even in her sleep. The light weight of a blanket fell over their waists and as she opened her eyes Josephine thought he must have put it their after she had fallen asleep.

She tilted her head back to see his face. His eyes were still closed, lashes resting gently against his cheek, and his other arm was above his head at an awkward angle. Wondering how he could sleep like that, Jo thoughtfully traced her hand over his bare chest as she let her eyes roam over the rest of him. It dawned on her suddenly, how very naked they both were, and she pulled the blanket up to her chin quietly.

"It's too late to get embarrassed."

She froze for a moment as she heard him speak and buried her face into his side, trying to hide the blush that was creeping along her cheeks.

Chuckling softly, voice groggy from sleep, Mal turned onto his side to face her, letting her leg drop softly to the thin mattress. He placed a hand under her chin, turning her face up to him lightly. The look in her eyes made him frown slightly. They had become guarded again, unsure and wary, and he hated it.

"Thinking about running away?"

She paused a moment, taken aback somewhat by his bitter tone. "Part of me wants to," Jo answered honestly.

"And the other part?"

"Is happy right here."

His expression softened and he closed the distance between them, capturing her mouth with his own. It began as a chaste kiss but then she felt Mal's arm around her again, pressing lightly on the small of her back and removing any gaps there may have been between them. The sensation of his flesh rubbing against her own made her flash back suddenly on the previous night and she opened her mouth to him hungrily, seeking more contact.

His tongue darted in almost immediately, as though he'd been waiting for her, and tangled with her own. They stayed this way a moment, pausing only to breathe in deep lung fulls of air, and then going back for more. She felt him begin to harden against her stomach and, groaning low in her throat, the new sensations making her bolder than she ever thought possible, she pressed into him roughly while throwing an arm over his back.

The familiar pressure made Mal moan into her mouth. He moved his attentions to her neck, nuzzling softly, as he slid a hand under the blanket and between them.

She gasped as his hand moved slowly over her breasts, teasing her nipples, before continuing down her stomach. He traced a finger along the jagged scar that stretched across her abdomen briefly before locking her eyes with his own. As he stared into her eyes, pupils dilated in the way only this sort of pleasure could bring, he moved his hand down a few more delicate inches to lay just above her curls.

Jo cried out at his touch, arching her hips firmly into his hand and he could feel the heat radiating from her center, her curls already damp against his palm. She rolled helplessly to her back, parting her thighs instinctively as Mal began to stroke her folds leisurely before finally pressing his thumb roughly into her swollen nub.

He brought his mouth back to hers, forcing her whimpers and moans into his own and swallowing them down greedily as his thumb circled her clit slowly, his other fingers still teasing her folds.

Josephine felt the pressure mounting between her legs and it was almost unbearably sweet, like nothing she had ever felt. It was so different from the previous night, so much more intimate and deliberate. Compared to this, last night felt almost rushed and she found her mind wandering slightly at how Mal was making her rethink the definition of torture.

She gasped in surprise as he inserted a finger inside her gently, still continuing his ministrations to her clit, and rolled her head back, away from his own, when he slid a second finger in to join the first.

Biting her bottom lip to stop herself from screaming in pleasure, she rocked her hips upward, forcing his fingers farther inside of her. Mal brought his mouth back to her neck, biting and sucking softly, as he followed her lead and began pumping his digits smoothly into her wetness. He sped up the rubbing of her nub as he felt her begin to tremor slightly, and he knew she was close.

Her eyes fluttered shut and he began to feel her inner walls start to tighten around his fingers, the sensations shooting straight to his hardness, and he knew he wouldn't be able to hold back much longer.

"Josephine?" His voice was hungry, needy, and she opened her eyes wide, surprised to find his own face not far from her own. He looked at her through lidded eyes, silently asking permission.

"Please," she spoke softly, barely a whisper, and it was the answer he'd been looking for. He moved over her, still thrusting his fingers into her as the beginnings of her orgasm started. He removed his hand quickly, giving her only a moment to cry out in frustration at the break in contact, before he buried himself inside her. This time, Malcolm Reynolds was the only thing on her mind.

He thrust once, twice, and then a third time before he began to feel her shake violently beneath him as her orgasm took control. He remained still, watching her writhe below him and covering her mouth with his own again when she tried to cry out. This is what he'd wanted. To feel her tighten and contract around his hard member, her own orgasm milking his own, until he opened his mouth and moaned hoarsely between her lips.

He wrapped his arms around her back and rolled them onto their sides again while he was still inside her, running a hand up and down her back as they both continued to shake and tremor slightly. Her mouth was laid close to his ear and when he heard her heavy breathing slow to a few small sighs he began to pull his hips back, to break the joining.

She cried out as she felt him pulling out of her and raked her hands down his back to end on his backside. Jo pressed her hands firmly into the soft flesh, stopping his movements.

"Stay there... please."

Mal's eyes widened but he stopped moving and Jo relaxed her hands but left them there. They lay there silently, each staring at the other in awe before another blush began to form along Jo's cheeks. He smiled slightly in amusement at her change.

"I... That..." She tried to speak to him softly but kept getting caught on her own words, unable to communicate what she wanted to say.

He chuckled softly and brought his mouth to hers, taking away the need to speak. When he pulled back the blush had spread farther and he traced a finger over her pink tinged cheek.

"We're gonna have to do something about that."

"About what?"

"'Bout you gettin' all fidgety and embarrassed. There ain't no need," he smiled at her softly as he brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.

She turned her face into the sheets and her voice came out muffled when she spoke. "I know, I'm sorry. I can't help it sometimes. This is all so new to me."

"No need to be sorry, it's actually kinda cute." He paused a moment before continuing. "And refreshing actually, not being the one all discomfitted afterwards."

Her eyes widened in surprise as she turned back to him. "I can't see you blushing."

"Believe me," he said as he leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on the corner of her mouth. "I've had my moments." He continued brushing tiny kisses against her mouth until she responded, arching into him and shifting slightly. His eyes rolled back as he felt himself begin to harden yet again while still inside her and brought his mouth to hers more forcefully.

"Sir, we're all ready to go up here, just waitin' on you." Zoe's voice filled the small bunk through the comm, causing Mal and Jo to freeze suddenly. He groaned and buried his face into her neck before sliding out of her gently and slipping off the bed. He walked quickly to the other side of the room and pressed the comm button.

"Give me a minute Zoe, I'll be right there." He turned back to Jo, who still lay on his bed, a question plain on her face. "I've gotta go."

"Where?"

He picked his clothes up off the floor and started to get dressed before answering her. "Gotta see a contact about a job."

"But I thought...?"

"Yeah well, never lasts as long as we think it will." He continued getting dressed, speaking to her as he did. "We must have landed not to long ago. Guess we were a little too distracted to notice," he smiled at her.

She watched him carefully as he resumed dressing. He pulled his holster around his waist before checking the his gun to make sure it was loaded. He lifted his right leg onto the bed and pulled his pants leg up to his knee. Jo watched in confusion as he set some sturdy looking tape onto the bed next to another small gun.

"What are you doing?"

He began to tape the gun securely to his calf but looked up at her question. "Never know when you might need another weapon your enemy doesn't know about."

"Are you going some where dangerous?"

Mal smiled softly at the concern in her voice as he finished taping the gun and pulled his pants leg back down to cover it. You couldn't even tell it was there. "Not overly," he said, turning to her again. "Can't be too careful sometimes."

Mal pulled his brown coat from off the back of his chair and put it on quickly.

"Can I stay here?" Josephine spoke quietly from the bed and Mal turned back to her. She was propped up on her elbows and the movement had made the blanket pool around her waist, exposing her bare upper body. Her hair hung softly over her shoulders, sticking in the sweat of their previous excursions and Mal felt something low in his stomach tighten. Swiftly, he closed the distance between them and pressed his mouth to hers firmly, snaking a hand behind her neck to hold her up. He pulled back reluctantly before speaking, his face only an inch from her own.

"You can stay here as long as you want," he said quietly. They stared at each other a moment, Mal running a finger down her cheek. He pulled away abruptly and made for the ladder of his bunk, knowing that if he didn't leave now he might not be able to anytime soon.

Zoe cast a sideways glance at the Captain curiously from her seat driving the mule. "You woke up kinda late today. Usually you're the first one up."

"Yep," Mal said, ignoring her questioning glance and scanning the area around him. "Is it me or do all these back water moons seem the same?"

She let him change the subject easily. It was true, Greenstone greatly resembled their last stop and the town they were fast approaching seemed just as small. There were, however, many more people walking the streets and that comforted the Captain somewhat. They'd been contacted a few days before by an old contact in the area who said he had some cargo that needed transporting and Mal agreed to check it out quickly, eager for work of any kind.

The first mate maneuvered the mule skillfully in front of the bar, and even that looked the same, if not a bit more crowded.

"Why are we meetin' Lee here? Why not just go to his place?"

Zoe climbed out of the mule before answering him. "Dunno. Said he wanted to meet here."

Mal frowned up at the establishment before following her out of the mule. The fact that Lee hadn't just asked them to come to his house bothered the Captain for some reason and he stopped just short of the door, forcing Zoe to turn back to him.

"Did he ever say what he wanted us to ship for him?"

"Don't think so," she said, patiently holding the door open.

Mal's frown deepened and he felt the familiar nagging sensation in his stomach that told him something just wasn't right. They walked into the bar silently and took a seat at a table near the back. A young woman came over to see what they wanted to drink, but Mal just shook his head, leaving Zoe to tell the woman that they were fine. His eyes roamed over the crowded room, searching for Lee.

"What time were we supposed to meet?"

"Right about now Sir," Zoe answered him, glancing at the old grandfather clock in the corner.

"Hmmm." Mal let his eyes wander over the bar again, knowing full well that Lee wasn't one to make people wait. They sat there for about a half hour, in which time the young waitress had come back three times to see if they wanted anything yet. Mal snapped at her the last time, telling her in no uncertain terms that they wouldn't be ordering anything and she ran off startled.

Zoe gave him another curious look after she watched the woman run off. "Everything alright Sir?"

"No Zoe it ain't," he said to her angrily. "Something ain't right. Don't you feel it?"

"Don't know 'bout that Sir. But it's not like Lee to keep us waitin' this long. What do you wanna do?"

Mal sighed deeply, eyes still searching for any sign of their old contact. "Lets go over to his place, see if he's there. If not, lets just get back to Serenity, I'm feelin' a mite twitchy."

Zoe couldn't help but smile at his choice of words and ignored his glare as they got up and left the bar, much to the relief of the young waitress who watched them.

They fired up the mule and drove the opposite way out of town towards Lee's small farm house quickly. The old contact used to be based off of Persephone and was not dissimilar to a less pompous Badger, setting up small time crime and arranging ships for hire. But eventually he had gotten married and his wife didn't want to raise their children near a life of crime, so Lee moved them to Greenstone and bought a small farm with what little he had saved up. He still embarked on a few of his previous adventures however, the evidence to that fact pulling up in front of his house.

"It's quiet," Zoe remarked as she climbed out of the mule again.

"Yeah," Mal said frowning. He vaguely remembered a few small children running around and yelling like the little hellions that they were the last time they'd come to call on Lee. But now that front porch was eerily quite as they stepped across it and made their way to the front door.

Mal knocked loudly and stood back waiting for an answer. When none came, he turned to Zoe still frowning and knocked again.

"Guess they're not home," Mal said sarcastically. He banged his fist on the door this time yelling out as he did. "LEE! You in there!" He turned back to Zoe questioningly and she stepped up next to him, turning the door knob as she did.

The door swung open, the hinges creaking slightly, but it stopped suddenly as though it had hit something. Mal tried to push the door farther but it just wanted go. Drawing his gun, he entered the home cautiously and peered around the door.

"Tamade," the Captain breathed, stepping away from the door and allowing Zoe her first glimpse of what was behind it. One of Lee's sons, and for the life of him Mal couldn't remember his name, was leaning against the wall behind the door. His eyes were open and he seemed to be sitting in a pool of his own blood. Zoe leaned down next to him and placed a finger to his neck.

"He's dead." She ran her hand up the wall and stopped just below a small crack a few feet above the boys head. There was blood on the wall here too and Zoe turned back to Mal. "He was thrown into the wall, hit his head here."

The Captain nodded his head at Zoe and she ran her hand over the young boys eyes, closing them. Mal walked further into the house, gun held in front of him, and he could hear Zoe's steps close behind. It didn't look like anything had happened here, there were no overturned tables, no broken glass. He would have thought everything was fine, if it weren't for the fact that he kept stepping over members of Lee's family as they lay dead on the floor.

They found Lee in the kitchen, slumped over the table, his coffee still sitting in front of him. His eyes were open too and Mal closed them, careful not to touch the side of his head where the bullet had gone in.

"We should call some body," Zoe began. "The local authorities maybe."

Mal nodded his head. "Don't want anyone knowing we're here though, lets wait till we're back on Serenity." He looked around him at the house, rubbing his forehead as he thought.

"You think Lee was involved in something?"

His eyes shot back to Zoe suddenly, as comprehension came over him. "He was involved with us," Mal said as hurried back to the front door and the mule. Zoe followed him quickly and jumped into the mule just as he was firing it up.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking they had us waiting at the bar to keep us away longer. If we'd gone to his house we would've seen it to soon. I'm thinking we gotta get back to Serenity."

Zoe's eyes widened as they tore across the open land. "You think someone wants Serenity?"

"Or someone on her," Mal spoke grimly.

His suspicions were confirmed as the large ship came into view. The ramp was laying on the ground ominously, and he knew he'd seen Kaylee close it after they drove the mule out about at hour earlier. He slowed the mule down as they approached and watched as Zoe readied her weapon. Instead of driving up the ramp, they stopped just short, and walked the rest of the way cautiously.

"Oh Captain, thank god," Kaylee said as they came into view at the entrance to the cargo bay. He hurried over to her, taking in how her bottom lip had been split open, and turned to survey the others.

Jayne lay on the floor, clutching his gut, and Simon knelt next to him. Simon had a black eye and a few cuts and bruises and his sister stood a few feet away from him. River was the only one that looked untouched. There were also three bodies on the floor that Mal didn't recognize. Two of them lay at River's feet and the other was closer to Simon and Jayne.

The Captain turned back to Kaylee, who still stood at his side, her eyes wide. "What happened?"

"They came out a nowhere, about ten or fifteen of them. It all happened so quickly..." the young mechanic trailed off and Mal put his hands on her upper arms, shaking gently.

"What happened quickly Kaylee?"

"They must of overrode the door controls... they just came in and started shootin' and hittin'. River took care of a couple of them, one of 'em shot Jayne, but they were just keepin' us occupied..." She trailed off again and Mal looked around the room. Someone was missing.

"Where's Josephine?" Surely she couldn't still be in his bunk, the noise would have brought her out. So where was she?

Kaylee just looked up at him, her expression one of fear, and Mal squeezed her arms lightly to get her attention.

"We tried... she's... she's..."

"She's what Kaylee, spit it out!"

"Gone. Taken," she whispered and Mal let his hands drop from her arms. He turned around to face the others, his expression guarded, and his eyes landed on River.

"Who?" he asked her, voice low.

She stared at him calmlyfor a moment before speaking. "Bryce Rawley."