Someone was tapping their foot. Loudly. Jayne struggled to consciousness, ungumming eyes that would much prefer to remain closed. The sight of Mal standing there, his arms crossed and glaring down at him, made him wish he'd stayed asleep.

"Okay – you wanna explain to me how come you've been sleeping in the common area the last two nights?" Mal asked. "It's a small ship, and people've noticed."

"Not sure," Jayne said, scratching his beard, then his chest, his hand heading southwards until Mal's glare got colder. "Seems maybe I did somethin', only I ain't got no idea what it was."

"To River?"

"I guess."

"What did you do, Jayne? And I'm asking you to remember what I said before about what'd happen to you if you hurt that girl."

The big man stood up. "I don't know!" he blustered. "You figure I wouldn't be saying sorry if I knew?"

"Have you asked?"

"Yeah. She just locks the door on me and won't talk."

"So you've been sleeping down here?"

"Seemed … kinda comfortable."

"Why didn't you go back to your old bunk?" Mal wanted to know.

"Ain't mine no more, Mal. Mine is in that shuttle, but she's thrown me out."

"Then you'd better get it sorted. 'Cause the atmosphere is so thick I'm surprised any of us can take a breath."

"I've tried!"

"Try harder." He strode away, flinging back as he walked into the cargo bay, "And sleep in your old bunk. You're making the place look untidy."

---

River plaited her hair, undoing them again, then tighter, over and over, until the pain almost drowned out the calling inside. Finally she looked at herself in the small mirror on the shuttle wall. Better. Not perfect, but better. Two plaits of dark hair, coming from either side of her delicate skull, so tight that it was pulling her skin taut across the planes of her face.

Turning to her somewhat meagre selection of clothes she pulled out a dress she'd bought on Boros (meant as part of a game of dressing-up for Jayne) that was really too short for her, slipping it on, its little puffed sleeves sitting proud on her arms, the high bodice disguising her small breasts. She didn't have the ankle socks and barred shoes, but had to make do with a pair of pumps Inara had given her. Twirling, just about managing to see most of her reflection, she nodded and headed out to breakfast.

She was first in the dining area, so she sat down, her back straight, and waited for someone to come and get her some food. It was only a few minutes before she heard footsteps, ones she recognised easily. Her brother stepped down into the galley, then paused.

"Mei-mei?" Simon asked tentatively, seeing his sister sitting at the table, her hands tucked into her lap.

"Simon."

"What's going on?"

"Waiting for breakfast." She smiled at him, but it gave an odd, unreal effect to her face.

"Why are you dressed like … like that?" He motioned towards the dress, the plaits.

"This is how I always dress, silly."

Mal came down the steps at the other end of the room. "Hey now," he said, smiling warmly. "There a game going on here that I don't know about?"

"Of course not, captain," River said, turning her smile on him.

Something unpleasant crawled up his spine, settling into the short hairs on the back of his skull that raised to make room for it. He glanced at Simon who looked as confused as he felt. "River, sweetheart, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, captain. Just waiting for breakfast."

"Well, I thought it was your turn to cook."

"I'm not allowed to."

"Not …"

"Besides, young ladies don't need to cook. We have people to do it for us."

"River, what are you talking about?" Simon asked.

"Mother wouldn't approve."

Mal took a deep breath. "Is there something you want to tell us, albatross?"

"No, captain." She giggled. "Why are you calling me that?"

He sat down carefully in the chair next to her, her brother taking up a place behind her, both of them well aware she was capable of doing them some serious harm if she took it into her head. "River, you know who I am, don't you?" he asked, lowering his voice as if he was talking to a wild animal in need of calming.

"Of course. You're Captain Reynolds." She looked around at the paintings on the conduits. "I like the flowers."

"Well … that's good. So you know where you are."

She gave him the 'boob' look. "Of course. On board Serenity." He felt encouraged, but that encouragement turned to dismay as she went on, "You're taking Simon and me home. I don't know why Daddy didn't come for us himself, but Mother probably said this was the best way."

"Home?" Simon asked. "Mei-mei, we are home." He put his hand on her shoulder. "This is home."

"Don't be silly. How can this be home?" She swung her legs on her seat. "Anyway, it'll only be a few months, then I'm going to the Academy."

Mal paused a moment, taking a leap beyond logic. "River, how old are you?"

"Thirteen, of course. Daddy said I had to wait until I was fourteen, but I don't really know why." She put her head on one side. "It should be fun."

Simon stared at her, his jaw dropping.

"Well, that's … that's nice. So you just sit there and wait for … you just sit, okay?" Mal said, getting up slowly. He looked at Simon, flicking his eyes towards the corridor to the bridge.

"Okay, captain." She went back to staring at the table, her legs swinging.

The two men walked out, stopping just through the door.

"Well?" Mal asked.

"I don't … this seems to be such a … I can't believe …" Simon couldn't finish even a single sentence.

"Best guess, doc."

The young man took a deep breath. "Honestly, I don't know. If she hadn't made such amazing progress, I'd say she was hiding from something."

"From Jayne." Mal put his hands on his hips and shook his head angrily. "I knew that hwoon dahn had done something."

"Not necessarily." Simon glanced back at her. "If she was hiding from him she could just lock the door to the shuttle."

"Which she's done the past couple of nights."

"Oh. I didn't know. But anyway this is much more as if she's hiding from herself."

"Herself?"

"It's … maybe I should have seen this coming. Jayne asked me yesterday to talk to her, but I forgot. I was so busy worrying about Hope, and now Bethie's gone down with the cold too, that I … perhaps I could have prevented this."

"Looks as though prevention's like to be bit late now, doctor. What we're looking for is a cure."

"Mal, I don't know. I can … I can try to talk to her, get her into the infirmary, see if there's anything physically wrong … but this is new. This regression."

"You thinking you might be having to dose her up again?"

"It's possible, but the side-effects … she hasn't had to have anything like that since …" The concern on the man's face was palpable.

"You don't reckon she's seen something in our future that might be worth avoiding?"

"I … actually, Mal, I doubt it. If it was she'd tell you, even if it came out as complete nonsense. But she's lucid, articulate …"

"Just not all there." Mal looked at the young psychic. "Though she seems happy enough. Even with that hair done so tight I conjure she might snap."

"Me too." Simon shook his head. "It's how she used to have her hair. When she was thirteen."

"And the clothes?"

"Probably the closest she can get." He stared at her.

She glanced across at them and smiled.

"Think she's reading us?" Mal asked softly.

Simon's brow furrowed for a moment. "I don't think so."

Mal couldn't help the twitch to his lips. "Thinking something derogatory about your sis, were you?"

The young man blushed a little. "Just … seeing." He exhaled. "If she thinks she's thirteen, then it's before the Academy, before what they did to her, stripping her amygdala …"

"But she can't undo that. Can she?"

"No. But she might be ignoring it. Maybe she's built up walls inside her mind and is keeping all other thoughts at bay." He shrugged. "I don't know."

Mal heard Kaylee clatter into the galley from the other end. "Well, best you try and talk to her after we eat. Maybe she'll let you do some tests."

"I'll try."

"Hey, what're you dolled up like that for?" Jayne's voice came just a moment before his footsteps.

"Shit," Mal breathed, hurrying back into the kitchen, but it was too late.

River looked at him, her face guileless. "I don't like you."

"What?" The big man looked confused. "River, honey, I know I did something, even if I don't know what, but you don't have to say –" He'd moved towards her.

She was on her feet in a moment, backing away from him. "Don't touch me!" she screamed, squirming past him and running away. "Don't you dare touch me!"

Jayne just stood, staring after her.

"What's going on?" Kaylee asked.

"She was scared," the mercenary said. "I could see it in her eyes. She was scared … of me." He turned to look at the other men. "What's happened?"

"We don't know, Jayne," Mal said, feeling oddly sorry for him.

"I'll go and talk to her," Simon said, hurrying after her.

"Cap'n, what's going on?" Kaylee asked.

"Not sure. Not sure at all." Mal stared into the empty corridor for a moment. "Could you get breakfast?" he asked. "And call the others. I think we need to have a council."

---

"Mei-mei?"

"Go away."

"It's only me."

"Simon?" She came out from the shuttle bridge.

"Are you all right?"

"I …" For a moment it was the old River, or rather, the River from now who looked back at him, and there was fear and confusion in her eyes. Then she smiled that same odd, disconcerting smile at him. "Of course."

"Why did you run away?"

She made a moue of distaste. "Not hungry."

"Is that all?"

"Of course. What else would it be?"

"Nothing else, I suppose. How about … do you want me to brush your hair?" he asked quietly.

She considered the offer, then smiled again. "That would be nice." She sat down on the chair by the table.

Simon stood behind her, undoing the ends of the plaits, teasing her hair out. He could almost see her skin relax as the tension was released. Finally free, it fell in waves around her shoulders.

"Here," she said, passing him the brush. "You can be Mother."

Hesitantly at first, then with more confidence, he began to brush through her tresses, and she hummed with satisfaction.

"River, what did you mean by going home?"

"Home. Back to Osiris."

"Where do you … where have we been?"

She didn't answer for a moment. "Where do you think?"

"I asked first."

"Boob."

"Brat."

She twisted and looked up at him, a smile on her lips. "I'll tell on you."

"You never have yet."

"No." She sat back round. "No, I haven't."

"Why not?"

"Because you're my brother."

"What about Jayne?" He immediately knew he'd said the wrong thing as she tensed up.

"That … that creature." She almost spat the words. "Talking to me as if he knew me."

"Doesn't he?" Simon continued the brushing.

"Of course not! Mother would never let him in the house!"

"But we've been on board Serenity a while, haven't we?"

"Ye-es."

"Then you know he's a member of the crew."

"I … I suppose so." She turned again. "But he called me honey."

"Yes, yes he did."

"I mean, that's …" Her face became the image of Bethany's when she had thought of something disgusting.

"I see."

"I mean, I know I'll want to meet boys eventually. There might even be someone nice at the Academy, but he's so old … it's gross."

As much as Simon would once have agreed with her, knowing how happy Jayne made her, he couldn't honestly do it now. "Don't you like him at all?"

"Jayne?"

If it hadn't been so strange he might have laughed at the look in her eyes. "Yes, Jayne."

"No." She turned away.

"Why did you come here?" he asked, starting the brushing again, knowing the rhythm was soothing to her.

"This is where I sleep."

"Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why don't you sleep in the guest quarters? If you're a guest."

"I …" She stopped again, and he could almost see her marshalling her thoughts. "Perhaps there was no room."

"I sleep down there."

"I know."

"With Kaylee."

She sat still, even more so than she had before. "With Kaylee?"

"My wife."

Suddenly she was on her feet. "No, no," she said, staring at him. "You're Simon. You're my brother. We're going home, and I … there's no … Kaylee isn't …"

"And Bethany."

Her mouth opened but no sound came out. She licked her lips. "Who?" she finally managed to squeeze beyond the constriction in her throat.

"Bethany. My daughter. Your niece." He took a step towards her but she backed away. "She's in her room at the moment. I hope she's in bed, but knowing Bethany she isn't. She has a cold. She caught it off Hope, and I made her go back to bed this morning. Probably that's why she didn't know you were feeling … that things didn't seem right."

"Didn't seem …" She waved her hands. "Why are you lying to me?"

"I'm not lying. River, look into my thoughts. See if I'm lying."

"I can't."

"Yes you can."

"No, I … I can't." She caught her foot on something and sat down heavily on the floor. Immediately he was at her side.

"Mei-mei­, look at this." He lifted up what she'd fallen over. It was a boot. "This is Jayne's."

"Jayne's." She looked scared.

"He sleeps here too. With you."

"No."

"Those are his guns." He pointed to the hardware on one wall. "And those are yours." His hand moved further along.

"No touching guns …"

"You're not thirteen, River. You're twenty-three years old, a grown woman. And you have a man who loves you, who'll do anything for you." He reached out and touched the bullet still hanging on the chain around her neck. "Why do you think you're wearing this?"

She lifted a hand, almost as if it was against her will, her fingers playing lightly across the metal. "I …"

"River, remember."

"I don't want to," she whined, her face screwing up. Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"Oh, mei-mei …" He gathered her into his arms, holding her tight.

"Don't leave me, Simon," she said, sobbing into his chest. "Don't leave me."

"I won't." He stroked her hair. "But I think I'd better take some blood, just make sure there's nothing physically wrong."

River swallowed hard. If he did that, he'd find out, and that would mean questions, and answers she didn't have … "Later?" she asked, using the old wheedling-River voice from when she was a child.

"All right. Later."

She snuggled against him, resting her thumb between her lips.

---

It was a subdued meal, all of them waiting for Simon to come back. At Mal's suggestion Ben and Hope had been put in with Ethan and Jesse in the nursery, mainly so they didn't pick up so easily on the bad vibrations running through the galley, and only the adults sat at the table.

"You really figure she thinks she's thirteen?" Kaylee asked.

"She knows she isn't," Freya said softly. "But it doesn't help."

"Can you pick up on anything?" Mal looked at his wife. "Anything that might help?"

"No." She frowned. "And what I can doesn't make sense."

"What do you mean?"

She was about to speak when Jayne pushed his chair back with a squeal. "Gonna work out some," he announced.

"Prob'ly a good idea," Mal said. "But take it easy. Don't want you pulling something and ending up in the infirmary. Ain't what I pay you for."

"I'll take it how I want it," the big man growled, heading out of the galley.

"It's not his fault," Freya put in, her hand on Mal's. "Whatever's going on, he hasn't done anything."

"How can you tell?"

"He's involved, but not …" She closed her eyes, her brows drawn together. "It's hurting him. A lot."

"Yeah. Figured that," Mal said quietly.

"Well, this ain't helping anyone," Kaylee said, getting up and starting to clear the plates, just as Simon came back into the room. "How is River?" she asked quickly, before her captain could speak.

"Not … not good."

Mal nodded towards one of the chairs. "Better sit down, son, before you fall down."

He collapsed into the seat, rubbing his hands over his face.

"Is she safe to leave alone?" Zoe asked.

"I think so. I don't think she'll hurt herself. Besides, she's asleep at the moment."

"Did you dope her?" Mal wanted to know.

"No. She refused to go to the infirmary either. She just cried herself out."

"She still thinking she's thirteen?"

"No. I don't think so." Simon felt Kaylee slip her hand into his. "But she's worried about something."

Mal looked at his wife. "Frey? You got any idea at all what the good gorram that might be?"

She didn't answer for a good long while, and he almost asked again, but she finally said, "I don't know."

"That ain't an answer."

"I don't know the reason behind it, but I know what she's doing."

"Then –"

"She's running away. There's a decision she has to make, and it's got something to do with unicorns."

"Unicorns?"

Freya almost smiled at the look on his face. "Don't ask me what they have to do with the price of beagles, but … unicorns. They're on her mind. But that's about all I can get. If I get any closer she bites me. And there's a sort of … echo …" She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Hurts."

"Can you keep trying?"

"Mal …"

"Don't want you hurting. But something's not exactly good here." He turned his hand so their fingers interlaced on top of the old wooden table. "Just keep an eye on her."

"I know." She nodded. "I'll try."

---

River woke up. For a long moment she couldn't quite remember where she was, then the scent of Jayne reminded her. In the shuttle. Their shuttle. And no matter than Simon had promised not to leave her, she was alone. She hadn't dreamed, hadn't seen the unicorn trying to find her, but in a way that just made it worse. And the little voice was still calling …

She got to her feet, feeling a little light headed, and looked down at herself. She looked … stupid. With a yelp of disgust she dragged the dress over her head, dropping it to the floor, and kicked the pumps into the corner of the room. Staring about her she saw her red dress on the chair. Better. Much better. Sliding into it she hurried to the small bridge. Had to go. Had to run. Run away before they asked the question she didn't want to answer.

---

A judder ran through the ship.

"What the hell was that?" Hank asked.

"Felt like –" Kaylee began.

"My rutting shuttle," Mal finished, out of his seat and running to the bridge. Freya ran for the cargo bay, just in case, while the others followed the captain.

Hank slid past him into the pilot's seat, activating external sensors. "There she goes," he said, finger tracking a tiny dot on the screen, fading even as they watched.

"River?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Are you sure?" Zoe asked.

"Pretty much. She's locked me out so we can't follow." He muttered to himself as he tried to wrestle control back, flipping switches and typing new commands with no success.

"How long to fix it?" Mal wanted to know.

"No idea until I get in and see."

"Fine. Then we take the other shuttle." He looked behind him. "Zoe, get Jayne. He ain't gonna want to get left behind. Simon, you'd better bring your bag of tricks. No telling what she's likely to do off the leash like this."

The doctor looked as if he was about to argue, not least about talking of his sister like she was a dog, but instead he nodded. "Yes, Mal," he said, and ran for his quarters.

"Kaylee, stay here and help Hank. Don't want to run into anything bigger'n a pinhead, do we?"

"No, sir."

Mal put his hand on her shoulder then hurried off the bridge, dropping down into his bunk and grabbing his and Freya's guns.

"Daddy?" Ethan stood in the doorway to the nursery.

"Need you to look after things, okay, big feller?" he said, buckling the belt around his hips.

"'Kay."

Mal smiled for him. "That's my good boy." He went back up the ladder, two rungs at a time, and ran for the cargo bay.