Author's Note: This chapter is meant to bridge two parts of the story. It may not be as detailed, but it sets the scene for what comes next. Thank you to everyone for reading and special thanks to those of you who have taken the time to comment. I've noticed a few typos and will try to get them fixed this weekend.

Chapter 4

Jayne put the last of the crates on the floor in the cargo bay and walked back down the ramp to where Mal and Zoe were standing with the woman from the meet, Matilda somthin' or other. He stepped closer to Mal and said under his breath, "You happen to notice the audience we been gatherin?"

Mal nodded slightly, "Yeah, all them folks are enough to make a man nervous. I was jut about to ask our new friend here about all this unwelcome attention." He raised one eyebrow and looked at Matilda, "You famous?"

The woman through her head back and laughed loudly, "Nah, them's just Thrashers. They come down to the docks everyday, just standing around, staring at the ships. Never cause any harm." She slapped Mal on the back, "Now, we all right and tight?"

"We'll have your goods to Helios inside of a week, be back with your take in about two, just like we promised."

Matilda grinned again, "Good, good...gotta say, it's mighty nice doing business with folk you can trust."

Jayne snorted and turned to go back into Serenity. He stopped short when he saw River standing at the top of the ramp. She was staring at the group of kids who had gathered, swaying slightly like she could hear music from somewhere. He walked slowly up the ramp toward her, stopping by her side.

Her hair, usually shiny and well kept, was hanging loose and limp around her face. Her skin was paler than usual and when he looked in her eyes they were vacant, like she wasn't quite there. "Ah, hell, that brother of yours has ya' doped to the gills again, don't he?" he asked, laying one large hand on her shoulder, "Come on, we best get you back inside 'fore the captain sees ya."

River didn't respond, she simply let him turn her around and began following him back into the ship. A few feet in though and she stopped abruptly. She turned back toward the open ramp, swaying once again, "There was so much light," was all she said before turning around again.

"Well, shit, she's gone back to talkin' crazy. To bad, too. Was just getting' used to havin' her around." Jayne thought, making a mental note to go and talk to the doc. He'd wanna know his sister was back to spoutin' nonsense.

He steered through the common area to the infirmary. Simon stood inside, putting away the supplies they had picked up on Morpheus.

Jayne cleared his throat, "Hey Doc, found your sister wanderin' around the cargo bay. Thought maybe she ought to be here."

Simon turned, a strange look on his face, "Thank you," he managed to say as he wrapped an arm around River's shoulder, "That was very," he paused, "ummm...thoughtful of you."

Jayne shrugged, but didn't comment. He knew what the doctor thought of him. Most times he didn't go to far out of his way to correct him, just simpler that way. People think you care, they can be no end of trouble, "Well, don't get your panties in a twist about it," he said as he left the small, white room, "If I'd a let her get hurt, Mal'd have my ass."

oOo

Jeremiah stood on the balcony overlooking the now empty club. When he heard Ophelia behind him, he turned, "Anything?"

"The ship is scheduled to leave this afternoon, headed for Helios. Apparently they're smugglers. My sources say they have dealings with Matilda and her lot."

"If they're leaving that soon, we need to move.."

Ophelia held up one hand, "Stop Jeremiah. I know you want to go in and rescue the girl, but I think we should make sure she needs rescuing first."

" You weren't there last night Ophelia. You didn't see the vapor trail she left behind."

"You also said you felt someone with a connection to her. She may have suffered a temporary break because of contact with the barrier last night, but we don't even know who this girl is or if she's one of you, she may simply be a novice, testing her abilities."

Jeremiah ran one hand through his hair, his eyes hardening, "You don't believe that anymore than I do. Why won't you let me take the others and pull her out of there?"

Ophelia sighed, she had hoped he would simply accept her decision to wait. She should have known better, "My sources tell me they will be returning to Morpheus in two weeks time. When they return, we'll deal with the situation. Just let it go for now Jeremiah, please."

As he watched her walk away, Jeremiah fought with himself. He wanted to take Tara and the others and pull the girl from that ship, make sure they weren't hurting her, or worse, using her. But he owed Ophelia to much to go against her wishes now.

oOo

River sat with her back pressed into the corner, knees drawn close to her chest. There were drawings on the wall, small items lined shelves. A hairbrush, a barrette, a small glass kitten...they belonged to her. She knew they belonged to her, but she couldn't remember why they were important.

She could hear someone talking outside of the door, but she found it hard to connect the sound with a face or a name. When she tried to move, her body felt heavy and sluggish. I've been drugged. Why had they drugged her? Fear made it hard to breathe as she tried desperately to remember how she got here. The more she tried to focus, the more her head hurt.

She looked up when the door to the room she was in swung open. A man stood in the doorway, a syringe in one hand, a concerned look on his face, "River?" he said.

She slid up the wall slowly as he entered the room, walking slowly toward her. As he got closer, she tried to move around him in an effort to keep space between them.

"Why did you take away my mind?" she said.

"River, mei mei, it's me, Simon."

She shook her head, "Simon." she said as she continued to move. Her eyes dropped to the syringe and then went back to his face, "What are you going to do with that?"

Simon looked down at the syringe, "It's medicine River. You had an episode last night, I need to make sure you stay calm for a while."

She shook her head, "Bu,buyao darao wo,"

The man stopped moving and held one hand up, "River, you need to calm down, dong ma? It's going to be.."

She never heard the rest of his sentence as she bolted past him to the open door. She heard him holler, but she didn't stop. Once outside she scanned her surroundings as she ran, her mind calculating possible escape routes.

"Ta me da," Simon said as he took off after River. He had hoped that he would be able to give her the shot before she woke up. He wanted to keep her sedated while he tried to figure out what caused her break with reality last night. She'd been doing so well, he'd allowed himself to hope that the worst was behind them. Last night had brought the ugly truth rushing back to him. His sister would never be normal again.

River ducked into the cargo bay and crouched behind a stack of crates. Her heart was hammering in her chest and her head was throbbing. As she hid, she tried to gather her thoughts. Things came to her in flashes, like watching vid on the cortex.

She was jolted from her thoughts by the sounds of footsteps on the metal floor.

"River? It's okay hun, come on out, Simon ain't gonna hurt ya none."

A woman's voice, River concentrated, Kaylee...that was Kaylee.

She peered around the edge of the crates. Standing a few feet away from her were Simon, Kaylee...she closed her eyes and focused...the captain and Zoe. No one was moving, they all stood perfectly still, scanning the area.

"Doc, she ain't gonna come poppin' out and try to kill us is she?"

River watched Simon roll his eyes, "No. She's disoriented and confused. After what she's been through it's to be expected. We just need to find her so I can get her sedated again."

The fear rushed back to River. She wasn't sure why, but she knew she couldn't let him drug her again. Making her decision quickly, she bolted from behind the crates and dashed through the door, heading toward the cockpit. She knew if she could get in there, she could lock them out. Keep them away from her until she'd had a chance to clear her mind.

She rushed through the doorway of the galley and slammed headlong into a solid wall. She fell backwards onto the floor, the breath knocked out of her lungs.

Jayne looked down at the girl lying in a heap on the galley floor, "What the gorram hell are you doing? Runnin' through the ship like some feng le wild child." He reached out to grasp her hand and pull her up, but she scrambled back across the floor, her face clouded by fear.

"Whoa, what's goin' on? What happened?"

River shook her head, "Jui ming. Wo meiyou zoucuo shi."

Jayne sank down to crouch in front of her, "No one said nothin' about you bein' in trouble. Sure you went a little off yer rocker last night, but hell, that ain't nothin' new." He held out his hand again, "Now come on and get off that floor before you catch a gorram cold. We'll take you back to ..."

River shrieked and skidded backwards again, "No. No more needles, no drugs, they steal the light, make everything dead," she said, rubbing furiously at her brow.

Jayne held up his hands, "Okay, damn girl, calm down." Ruttin' stupid fool. Been prickin' her with all those needles again, he thought. He looked more closely at River then, noticing her shivering. Her face was still pale and drawn, Ah hell, she's scared out of her gorram mind.

Before she had a chance to slide any further away from him, he reached out and grabbed her. She started struggling immediately, but he wrapped his thickly muscled arms around her chest and held her tight. Her skin was cold and she was shaking hard. He turned her in his arms without letting go of her and stood up. He moved to the couch and sank down with her still struggling against his hold.

"Stop it. I ain't gonna hurt you and I sure as hell ain't takin' ya back to that pansy ass brother of yers. So, just calm down."

River stopped battling against him, whispering into his chest, "No needles?"

Jayne dropped his head onto the back of the couch, "Now how the hell did you wind up here Cobb. Holdin' this moon brained girl on your lap, comfortin' her like a scared dog." Out loud he said, "No needles."

At that moment Simon and the others burst into the galley and began moving across the room toward them. River began to shake in his arms again and Jayne suddenly felt himself getting powerful pissed.

"Well look here Zoe, looks like Jayne caught our runaway pilot."

"Sure does, sir. I guess keeping him around wasn't such a bad idea after all."

Jayne sneered at them both, "Didn't catch anyone, she just sort of landed on me is all."

Simon moved closer, "Just hold her still and I'll..."

Jayne stood up quickly, unfolding to his full height, towering over the shorter man. He set River on her feet and pushed her behind him, "Now Doc, I'm gonna say this to ya' just one time, so you need to pay real careful attention. You come near her with that thing and I'm liable to rip your scrawny little arms off and beat ya' to death with them.