Part 3

His gaze still on... himself, Nathan added: "Summer!"

Summer stepped back toward Kaylee and Simon and pointed to Nathan. "Oh no! This is not my fault! You pushed the damn button!" Wash turned to his wife and mouthed, 'Button?' Zoe could only shrug in response.

Nathan barreled down the remaining stairs and was about to grab Summer's arm when Mal was suddenly between them. Nathan reared back and looked over his- Mal's shoulder to Summer, "You have any idea what's goin' on here? I mean, really?!"

Simon watched everything intently as his worry for his sister's whereabouts grew exponentially. Kaylee stood beside him, clutching his arm as she stared wide-eyed at the clones of her captain and friend, too stunned to speak.

"Wo de ma he ta de feng kuang de wai sheng dou (Holy mother of god and all her wacky nephews)!" Wash's voice drew both Mal and Nathan's gazes in his direction. "There's two of you," the pilot pointed out needlessly from the bottom step as he leaned against the staircase railing, arms crossed over his chest, an amused grin spread across his face. "How does that work, exactly?"

Summer took the opportunity to step around Mal and grabbed Nathan's arm. Dragging him to the center of the lounge area, the pair shared a concerned and understanding look, then faced the collection of people who were, in fact, not their friends. As they moved, Zoë stepped off the staircase and stopped next to Mal. Book stepped out from the hole he had been hiding in in order to get a better view of the scene as it played out and was now standing near the shower. The momentary silence was broken by the sound of yet another voice joining the assembly.

"Where is every-" Jayne stopped short as he took in the collected group. "What? Suddenly I ain't crew 'nuff to join in the crew meetin"?" Jayne threw a look to Simon, but pointed to Nathan and Summer. "You still on about that, doc?"

"Ah-" Simon opened his mouth to protest, but Jayne's hearty laugh cut him short.

"Don't think intervention'll keep 'em from getting' nekkid, Doc." he continued, totally missing Simon's incredulous look when the merc looked to the floor, shaking his head in amusement.

Jayne moved toward the couch and took a seat. Book raised a finger and opened his mouth to point out that Jayne was mistaken, but the oblivious merc continued before the preacher could get his words out. "Just keep it in your bunk, Mal. Don't need to be seein' you and that one-" he pointed at Summer for emphasis, "-buffin' it up in public." He concluded the remark with a full-body shiver. When silence met his remark, Jayne glanced up, finding himself confronted with eight pairs of raised eyebrows. "What?" he grunted defensively.

Nathan leaned forward slightly and asked, "Did he just say..." Summer was staring at Jayne as she nodded. Turning slightly to face Nathan, Summer couldn't help but remember the feeling that had passed through her when he-, when Mal, had kissed her, and quickly turned away.

Nathan straightened and raised his hands as he turned, facing the group. "All right, Time out! What the hell?" He threw a glance at Summer and pinched her arm.

"Ow!" she responded, slapping him as hard as she could across his bicep. He gave her a light shove, and she pushed harder back. They were two seconds away from a slap fight when Mal cleared his throat. Nathan and Summer froze, hands and arms mid-air, and looked at him.

"Now, I may be mistaken here," Mal began and stepped forward. "...and, by all means, tell me if I'm wrong. But, I strongly suspect that somethin' mighty strange is going on 'round here. And you two," he pointed to Nathan and Summer, "had better have some answers."

"LAO TYEN YEH!"

The sudden yell startled everyone and the group turned to face Jayne, who'd jumped to his feet when he realized that Mal was not the person he'd just been talking to.

Nathan gave him a look. "Yeah, welcome to party," he said sarcastically, shaking his head. Turning back to Mal, Nathan motioned between himself and Summer. "So, we," he began, then pointed to Mal "You," A heavy sigh emerged as the actor's face took on a funny look. "You and River?" he finally asked, unable to hide his amazement, as if just the thought of the two of them together was just plain... well, crazy. This seemed to infuriate Mal all the more, the crew noted. If steam could have physically come out of Mal's ears, the room would have instantly turned into a sauna. Nathan's face had taken on a far away look as he tried to comprehend this revelation before shaking it off and looked back at... well, himself. "Really?"

"You sound like you 'spected me ta be with someone else," Mal grumbled, riled by the idea.

"No," Nathan said, shaking his head defensively. "Just. I. Really?" He threw a glance to Summer and noticed she was avoiding eye contact with either of them.

Mal's eyes narrowed menacingly as he pointed a finger in Nathan's chest. "You say that word one more time and it may very well be your last. Dong ma?"

Nathan reared back, afraid of what this man might do. Actually, he knew exactly what this man would do.

At this point, Simon's concern for his sister's absence prompted the doctor to take a step forward in an attempt to get things under control, and possibly, get some answers. "Okay, obviously we're not going to get anywhere snipping at one another. We all need to be civilized here."

"Really?" Nathan replied, sarcastically, to Simon. Realizing what he'd just done, Nathan hastily pointed to Simon. "That was directed to him," He said hastily, stepping back from Mal, who's hand had strayed dangerously close to his holster. He was startled when he turned and suddenly found himself face to face with Jayne, who had moved in between the non-Captain and non-River to take a closer look.

"Whoa, there! Personal bubble. Look into it." Nathan glared at Jayne who looked between them again, then to Mal before shaking his head.

"That just ain't right. Two Mals and two Moonbrains..." the merc grumbled before backing away.

Mal huffed and felt five pairs of eyes on his back. Turning just enough to see them in his peripheral, Mal almost snorted. "Nowy'all got nothin' to say?!" The group shifted and mumbled incoherently. Mal threw a distinct look to Simon and snipped, "Shiny. You want civilized?" Turning back to Nathan, he plastered on a smile, then demanded, "Who the Hell are you and how did you get on my ship?"

"That's not what I meant..." Simon's voice grumbling could be heard from amid the group.

Nathan turned to Summer and made a face. Forcing a smile, she shifted her gaze to Nathan's shoes, but knew full well that Malcolm Reynolds' eyes were searing right through her. She made a few, quick glances in Mal's direction, then looked up just enough to catch Nathan's eye.

"Is this for real?" Summer asked, trying to keep the fear from her voice.

Nathan crossed his arms and leaned in, dropping his voice. "No way they could hold those faces this long." He threw a quick glace to his right, noticing Jayne staring at them, and made a face. Both jumped when Mal's face suddenly appeared between them.

"Hi," he said with a smile. "Remember me?"

'Okay, this has gone on long enough,' Summer thought, forcing a friendly smile in Mal's direction. "Summer," she said, offering her hand to Mal as she gestured with a nod of her head in Nathan's direction. "Nathan." Mal took her hand, tentatively, and shook it, but didn't let go. Nathan noticed, and really wasn't sure what to make of the feeling in his gut. Summer also noticed, but was going to focus on anything else, trying to avoid the tingly feeling she was getting.

Pointing to each of them, Summer impressed – or scared – everyone present. "You're Mal. That's Kaylee, Simon, Wash, Zoë, Shepherd Book. And that," Summer nodded toward Jayne, "is the Hero of Canton."

Wash, Kaylee and Simon couldn't hold back a laugh, but straightened their smiles when Mal glared at them. As entertaining as the memory was, Mal was not too keen on the current situation. As he processed what she'd just said, he blinked and turned back to Summer.

"You're a Reader? Like River?"

Summer blinked at the absurdity of his question, then realized that it was, in fact, not that absurd. She'd just named half the crew without hearing their names. And, if that wasn't enough, she'd brought up one of Jayne's least favorite memories.

Shaking her head, Summer answered, "No, I... No." Glancing over her shoulder, she threw a "Sorry," in Jayne's direction. Jayne grumbled and leaned back into the sofa.

Mal still hadn't let go of Summer's hand, a fact that, for some reason, irritated Nathan to no end. He looked around at everyone, noticing that one other person was missing, aside from Summer's doppelganger. "Where's Inara?" he asked, looking at Mal, gauging his reaction to the Companion's name.

Kaylee spoke up before she realized what she was doing. "Oh, she's out with a client. Due back-" Her eyes grew wide as Mal glared at her. She gave him an apologetic nod and looked quickly to Simon.

Mal turned back to Nathan and Summer and realized he was still holding Summer's hand. Finally letting go, he placed both hands on his hips and demanded, "Where's River?"

"Oh for cryin' out loud! We don't even know how WE got here. How're we supposed to know where she is?" Nathan groaned. Turning toward Summer, he hoped she'd acknowledge his words. She wasn't looking directly at him, but he heard her mumble something. "What was that?" he asked, leaning in to hear. Mal also leaned in.

"The button."

Nathan rolled his eyes. Mal, however, asked again. "What?"

"It was the damn button!" Summer shouted, making everyone jump. Nathan shook his head, trying to quiet her.

"What button?" Simon asked. Summer turned to face the group.

"Out of Gas." Summer shook her head, realizing that episode titles would mean nothing here. "The button that Wash hotwired-"

"You mean when the compression coil blew?" Kaylee asked.

"That was, like… two years ago," Wash added.

Summer nodded. "Right. We found the button in... this room. Nathan pushed it. There was a bright light and then we found ourselves here." When it looked like Mal would scoff, she continued, "I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth." She shot a pleading look in Mal's direction, hoping that would somehow make him more apt to believe what she was saying.

Zoe finally spoke. "How did you know that Wash-"

Summer shook her head. "I just do. I can't explain it."

The first mate turned to Nathan then. "You called me Gina before... who is that?"

Nathan sighed heavily. "She's a friend. Looks like you the way I look like him." He waved to Mal. "And she looks like River."

Wash perked up at this news. "Oh, do I have a twin?" Then his face fell as he remembered something Nathan had mentioned earlier. "Wait... you said before... that you thought you'd killed me off..."

"Well, not you," Nathan flustered. "Hmm," he began, looking at Summer for help. "I mean, Alan's still- But, you... well..."

Wash threw his hands up and look at his wife. "I'm dead."

"Yes," Summer stated, matter-of-factly. Nathan threw her a look, she made a face, and Simon couldn't help but smile. "Where we come from, Wash was a character on a TV show." Nathan scoffed and threw his hands in the air. "You all were, actually."

Everyone looked at her as if she was River and just having an episode. Summer noticed and couldn't help herself.

She started laughing.

TBC...