The following morning came too quick for Mal and before he knew it he was downstairs with a hot mug of tea, contemplating the events of the previous day. It was obvious that the two were incredibly close and had, no doubt, suffered much; he might not be good with people, but it didn't take a genius to figure it out. It worried him, however, about how that would affect their time with him. It would be incredibly difficult to care for them if they panicked and fought anytime he spoke or moved.

Letting out a harsh breath of air, he stood from the chair and moved quickly to the door, slipping through it and yawning as the cold morning air hit him. It couldn't be more than half five, but the village was already active. Various farmers were moving their tools through the square before the rest of the village came alive and Mal waved at a couple of them as they passed them. Spying Jayne coming towards him, he leant against the fence and put the mug on the wooden table beside him.

"Mornin' Jayne. How's things over yonder?"

Jayne scratched his beard as he reached Mal's fence. In his arms he was toting a large wheelbarrow filled with various objects and tools; no doubt he was heading up to Canton farm.

"It's fine Mal. Stitch is bein' a miser again. Anyhow, enough o' me-"

"Oh please, not you-"

"What's this I hear about a couple of young'uns at your place?"

Sighing, Mal dropped his head onto his arms and cursed the god he didn't believe in. Lifting his head back up, he scowled at Jayne's smirking face.

"Yeah, I got 'um. what about it?"

"Nothin'. Bit funny is all."

"Aye, I'm sure it is. Big laugh; ol' Mal with the little kiddie-widdies."

Jayne stepped back as if slapped.

"No need to be sore, Mal. I was just sayin' that you ain't exactly, y'know, father material."

Mal had to admit he had a point there. Mal had been alone far longer than he had been in the company of people and, if anybody had suggested that he would have been looking after children a week ago, he would have laughed- then probably hit them in the mouth. He sighed, again, loudly, and finished off the remains of his drink.

"Well, you've got a point there. Though I have to say-"

"Is that one of them there?"

Mal breath froze in his chest as he spun on his heel to face the house. Peaking out of the window was the barely concealed eyes of River Tam. As he spotted her, he could almost hear the gasp and she dropped below his sight. Gulping loudly, he turned back to Jayne, who was stood with an amused look on his face.

"Little mite, ain't she? I doubt you'd have any trouble with that one. I'm sure one firm smack would sort any trouble out."

Mal paled and tensed, hands balling into fists as what Jayne had just said reached his ears. For a second, he was tempted to throw the mug at him. Forcing himself to calm down, he told himself that Jayne didn't know and wouldn't know until he was told. Still, he had to remove himself before he did anything he would regret. Turning to the larger man with a big smile, he spoke in a jovial voice:

"Well, better be getting on with it. Kids to sort an all."

"Sure Mal, I got stuff to be getting' on with. See you later."

And with that, the two men parted.

Stepping into the house, Mal could practically see the fear and tension in the air. Moving gingerly, he moved from the little corridor into the kitchen. They were not there. Frowning, he continued through the room until he reached the side door leading to the living room. Putting one foot in the room, the sound of small whimpers reached his ears and he paused, aware of two pairs of eyes watching him from somewhere in the room. Stepping in, he let his eyes rove around without moving his head for fear it would scare the children. It didn't take him long before he spied to frail forms behind the sitting chair. Still overly conscious of his steps, he moved towards them slowly. Reaching the chair, he bent down on one knee and opened his mouth to speak. Before he could, he was interrupted by a small voice.

"Please sir, she did not mean to look. We were just, just, umm…"

"Wondering," came an even quieter voice. His heart broke at the sound

"We were just wondering where you were. Please, don't punish her sir."

Mal noticed the subtle change from 'she' to 'we' and made a quiet noise of despair as he realised the implications. Moving back slightly, he held his hands, palm up, towards them and spoke in his quietest voice.

"It's all right. All right," God, how was he supposed to do this? "I'm not going to harm you, you didn't do nothin' so you don't have to worry, ah..oh"

Seeing their confused faces, he realised he had been talking too fast; his accent and 'improper' speech probably hadn't helped either. Lifting one finger (and ignoring the obvious flinch) he moved back to the kitchen and picked up the translation book he had flicked through the previous night. Going back to the children, he knelt back down – marginally closer this time round- and flicked through the pages until he found the words he needed. Writing them in the back in lead pencil, he cleared his throat, mouthed the words, then faced the nervous faces watching him with barely concealed fear.

"Ich verletze nicht."

The words were stunted and tumbled out of his mouth, sounding hideous. River seemed to agree because she giggled. Although hushed instantly, it brought a warm smile to his face. Nodding at her, he stepped back and held out a hand for her to take. He could see the two of them whispering furiously too her. After a moment, a skeletal hand reached out and closed around his. He smiled again and lead her towards the kitchen. Simon, still nervous and fearful, clutched her other hand and trailed behind her.

Sitting at the table, he put the grill on and cut four slices of bread. On the hob he placed a pan of baked beans; It wasn't long before the two had a hot breakfast in front of it, eyeing it wearily. Spotting their hesitation (despite River's trust earlier on), he brewed three mugs of tea and set them down at the table, sitting on the remaining chair. He smiled at them both and gestured for them to eat up. When they still didn't move, he swallowed his dignity and pulled a funny face, miming eating the food. River giggled again and began to eat. Simon followed a moment later. The meal was tense, silence dominating, but it didn't take too long before they were finished. Moving the plates away, Mal had his back to them as he began to speak.

"So, how was your first night?"

A small pause; he could hear them whispering to one another.

"It was good, thank you sir." Came the timid voice of Simon.

Good, baby steps. Come on Mal, you've fought in a war before. He began washing the plates and cups.

"Are you liking the cottage?"

"…. yes?" The hesitation was clear, and it made Mal frown. Drying his hands on the nearby towel, he went back to the table and sat back down, noticing that some of the fear had slipped from Simon's gaze. It surprised him that there was some confusion present. Why would he-

Oh.

Grabbing the translation book, he flipped to the living section and found the word for 'cottage'. Repeating it, both children nodded vigorously; River with a hint of a smile. He chuckled at their enthusiasm. A sudden knock at the door made them both tense up again and he cursed silently. Gesturing for them to stay down, he went to the door and opened it with obvious frustration.

"What?"

"Well I am sorry, Mal. Forgive me for daring to knock on the door without paying tribute first."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, feeling as if the world had just settled on his shoulders.

"Sorry Zoe, I'm a little frustrated at all. Not much used to having kids."

She smiled reassuringly at him. "I understand. However, if you could drag yourself away, I got a cart wheel that needs fixing. Bent in two."

"In two? How in the world…"

"Seems Wash had a bet last night. Can't remember what happened but he sure sobered up quick when I told him."

Mal chuckled at the image of Wash cowering under his wife's glare.

"I'll come have a look. Just give me a sec to grab my tools and…sort the kids out."

He pretended he didn't see the smirk as he let the door and went to the utility cupboard, pulling out his carpenter's tools. He left them on the side table as he returned to the kitchen, finding the Tam's precisely where he left them.

"I'm just going out to do some work. I will be back soon….why not go into the garden and look around?"

He accompanied his actions with gestures and smiled reassuringly as they nodded in understanding. He was slightly apprehensive about leaving them alone, but so far they hadn't been much trouble and had done what he had asked off them. Leaving the room, he was stopped by a small tugging on his sleeve. He turned, firstly seeing the horrified face of Simon, then his eyes trailed down to the wide-eyed gaze of River. Leaning down, he leant his ear closer to her mouth as she opened her mouth to talk.

"It is Ich werde nicht weh tun, sir."

Smiling at her (though not really understanding), he turned and left the room, letting out a breath as the he left the tense house. In doing so, he missed the quiet 'thank you' that followed him as he left.

Now alone, Simon all but leapt from his chair to get to River. The younger girl was fiddling with her fingers and bouncing from one foot to the other. Her comment had taken a lot of courage and she was beginning to tremble as the possible retaliations ran through her mind. Mal had been kind that morning but Simon was still terrified that it was all a lie, a malicious concoction designed to crush them when everything seemed to be going well.

"River, that was foolish! What would have happened if he hadn't like you correcting him? What if-"

Simon trailed off as memories of last time sprang to mind; horrific memories of a time where he had been too late to save his sister and had arrived in time to watch a soldier swing the rifle butt down with a resounding-

"Simon!" His eyes snapped to her. "It's okay. Nothing happened." The this time went unsaid.

Shaking his head, he grabbed his sister into a hug and felt her tighten her arms around him. He kissed the top of her head and pulled back, smiling at her in attempt to reassure her.

"You're right-"

"As usual."

"nothing happened. But please, River, just be a little bit more cautious. Please?"

She looked at his pale, bruised face and raised a small smile. Hugging him again, she mumbled a consent into his chest. Suddenly she pushed away and, taking his hand, began pulling him through the house.

"River what are you doing?"

"He said we were to go to the garden, so come on!"

Reaching the back door, they both stopped, as though horses pulled back by the reins. On the other side of the door was the outside world, a place strange and unfamiliar, filled with strangers. Breathing deeply, Simon moved onto his toes and unlashed the door, pulling it open slowly. Both started at what (or rather who) they saw on the other side.

"Well, isn't this a surprise?"