Disclaimer: All I own is Mei-Lin and the plots that revolve around her.

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Chapter Four

Not long after Mei-Lin made her way to the bridge of Serenity, the other members of the crew began to stir in their bunks, with the single exception of Jayne, but no one really cared whether or not he was awake. The first person awake after Mal was Kaylee, though the good doctor did his best to prevent this from being the case. Still, Kaylee had an engine to tend to, no matter how distracting Simon could be. Serenity wouldn't fix herself if something went wrong.

After managing to get free of Simon's hold on her—even asleep it was like the young doctor was scared Kaylee would turn out to be a dream—Kaylee slowly made her way down the hall towards the engine room, pausing only for a moment when she heard Wash talking to someone. Turning to look up onto the bridge, Kaylee smiled to herself when she spotted Mei-Lin sitting across from the pilot, apparently listening attentively to one of his wild stories. Humming to herself as she made her way towards the engine room, Kaylee silently hoped that the little mute would start opening up to someone, so Simon could know what to do for her.

Zoë and Simon were the next members of the crew to start going about their daily jobs; Zoë because she had been sitting in bed for the last half hour trying to think up new ways to pry her husband away from the controls and Simon because he got too cold to stay asleep after Kaylee slipped out of bed. The doctor climbed out of the bunk that he and Kaylee now shared and glanced around him thoughtfully, adjusting his shirt as he went. The sound of Wash's voice drew him towards the bridge, and Simon was surprised to find their silent guest sitting cross-legged on the ground beside Wash's seat. For a moment, she looked remarkably child-like as she sat listening to the pilot, causing Simon to shake his head in confusion.

Wash noticed Simon standing behind them before Mei-Lin did and nodded a greeting. "Mornin', Doc. Sleep well?"

Simon couldn't help but notice the suggestive tone in Wash's voice and rolled his eyes. "I slept very well, thank you," he said a little stiffly before turning his attention to Mei-Lin, who was eyeing him warily. "I was actually hoping that I could borrow Miss Chao for a short time?"

Mei-Lin's eyes widened in fear as she glanced from Wash to Simon and back again, as though silently pleading that she not be sent off with the doctor. Simon's jaw clenched a little at this, though not out of a feeling of anger that was directed at the former singer. Whoever had destroyed Mei-Lin's vocal chords had instilled a great deal of fear in her, almost as much as River had been dealing with for over a year. Could it have been the same people behind both cases? If so, then Simon was more determined than ever to find out what was wrong with Mei-Lin, even if Mal didn't want to keep the girl on board longer than was absolutely necessary.

"It's all right, Linnie," Wash said reassuringly, the way one would soothe a crying child. "Doc just wants ta figure out what happened to your voice, then y'can just go right back ta cookin' up a storm."

The thought of being allowed back into the kitchen did seem to calm Mei-Lin somewhat, as she gave Wash a shaky smile before standing up and slowly following Simon down to the infirmary. At first, Simon had hoped that, unlike with River, Mei-Lin would be willing to actually enter the infirmary, but once she caught sight of the sterilized walls, Mei-Lin began to panic. It wasn't the loud sort of panic that Simon was used to, but a silent shaking and refusal to move forward. Completely at a loss for what to do, Simon debated offering to examine her in the kitchen, but he knew that wouldn't work. All of the equipment he would need was in the infirmary and not the sort that you could just carry to any other part of the ship. Frowning a little, he finally moved to place a hand on Mei-Lin's arm and guide her into the infirmary himself. She flinched away from his touch at first, but as Simon continued to try and pull her forward, Mei-Lin seemed to relax. At least, it grew easier to pull her forward.

After he managed to get Mei-Lin into the infirmary, Simon led her to the operating table, which caused an even bigger scuffle as the young woman tried to back away. Sighing as he tried to calm down the former opera singer, Simon finally managed to get her to sit down. The poor girl was shaking life a leaf as she sat there, looking for all the world like she wanted to bolt and run at the first opportunity. Pulling on a pair of protective gloves, Simon frowned thoughtfully before he moved to stand in front of Mei-Lin.

"I promise…I won't hurt you, Miss Chao," he said in what he hoped was a reassuring voice. All his months of taking care of River since he rescued her from the Academy had made him more approachable to the girl, it seemed. "I just want to examine your throat, and see if there are any other wounds that need tending to."

She nodded a little at this, Mei-Lin tilted her head back so that he could better examine the scars that marred her otherwise flawless throat. Frowning at the horrible scars, Simon gently prodded at her throat and frowned even more as he continued to do so. He had been right earlier when he told the crew that the scars on Mei-Lin's throat were not subtle. Someone had purposefully butchered this girl's throat for some reason. Why was beyond Simon's comprehension, but that wasn't important at the moment. From what little he could tell from his examination, there was no way to heal her vocal chords. If how deep these scars looked was any indication, then the surgical blade that had inflicted the wounds had cut straight through the chords, rendering her permanently mute. Pulling back with a sigh, Simon shook his head.

"I'm afraid there is nothing I can do for your throat," he said quietly. "I'm very sorry."

The look on Mei-Lin's face was heartbreaking. It was as though Simon had just torn away her reason to live, and it made Simon feel absolutely horrible. Sighing heavily, the young doctor shook his head apologetically.

"I am so very sorry, Miss Chao," he murmured. "As for the rest of you…I really can't say. Do you remember anything of what events led to your being made a slave?"

Mei-Lin shook her head sadly before pulling out her writing utensils to further explain. Her large, elegant letters soon covered the page.

THERE'S NO MEMORY. I WOKE UP IN THE SLAVE SHIP AND THAT'S IT. She paused thoughtfully and then continued writing. AND I REMEMBER THEM.

"Them?" Simon repeated. "Who are…who are they?"

She shook her head again, but in fear rather than sadness. Her brown eyes were wide with fear as she began shaking again, as though trying to warm herself from some internal chill. Hastily, Simon tried to reassure her as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's all right, Miss Chao," he said quietly. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

A grateful look crossed Mei-Lin's face as she smiled weakly at the doctor, still shaking slightly. She flipped over the paper to write another message.

THANK YOU. IT'S…SCARY.

Simon nodded a little and frowned thoughtfully before he motioned for her to exit the infirmary if she wanted to. Glancing at the door as though she was suspicious that he wouldn't really let her out, Mei-Lin nodded before hastily leaving, not pausing to look back at Simon. Still frowning to himself, Simon leaned back against the operating table and crossed his arms thoughtfully. Who could have possibly done that sort of damage to Mei-Lin?

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Mei-Lin found herself standing in the cargo hold, looking around in confusion. She hadn't been looking around when she left the infirmary, and now she didn't know the way back to the kitchen. Frowning to herself, Mei-Lin wrapped her arms around herself and turned around in an attempt to find some way out of the cargo hold. It didn't work right away, and she sighed heavily.

She didn't hear the approaching footsteps of the captain, which only made her jump even more in fright when Mal cleared his throat to alert her to his presence. With eyes wide, she turned to face the captain, looking very much like she had just been told that she only had a few months left in her life. Arching his eyebrow slightly at this, Mal coughed again and moved slowly towards Mei-Lin, as though she was a wild animal to be approached with caution.

"S'all right, darlin'," he assured her. "Didn't mean to startle you none. You lost?"

The girl nodded miserably. Poor kid looked worse than a lost puppy, Mal thought to himself. Not that he was goin' soft or anything. It was just an observation. What had the Doc said to her that would make her look so forlorn?

"Kitchen's up this way," Mal said, pointing up the steps.

Mei-Lin glanced at the steps before nodding sadly at Mal and walking towards them, one hand moving to cover the scars on her throat, as though they were something to be ashamed of. Frowning a little more, Mal watched as Mei-Lin walked away before turning to find Simon standing in the doorway of the infirmary.

"Well?" Mal asked, a little impatiently.

Simon sighed heavily and shrugged. "I examined the scars on her throat," he said slowly. "And it looks like someone deliberately took a knife to it, surgically severing her vocal chords and destroying her voice. I have no idea why, of course, and I don't think she knows either. She mentioned…'Them,' but when I tried to get her to explain what she meant, she almost bolted in terror." Calmly meeting Mal's gaze, Simon shrugged again. "Someone purposefully silenced Mei-Lin Chao. I can't begin to imagine the reasoning behind it, but that is what I believe happened."

Mal's frown deepened further as he took all this in. The Doc brought up a valid point; why would someone go out of their way to silence a famous opera singer? What had she known that required her to be silenced, and who had done it? Shaking his head as though to clear it, Mal nodded politely to Simon before making his way up to the dining area. It wouldn't do to try and solve a mystery on an empty stomach, after all. There he found Mei-Lin, cooking up a storm in an attempt to distract herself from whatever it was that Simon had told her. Sitting down calmly, Mal watched the mute girl with a new interest.

She was a pretty enough girl, with her finely formed features and dark eyes, but the underlying fear in her expression detracted somewhat from her appearance. Still…there was a sort of quiet beauty that lingered around her, even with all the fear and suspicion that filled her expression. She was also built very like a dancer, compact and lithe with arms and legs that appeared very strong, even when covered by layers of clothing. And there was something else about her…Mal couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was definitely something more to this girl than the fearful face and the seemingly-delicate body.

Mei-Lin must have noticed Mal by this time, as she had frequently turned in his direction while cooking, but she didn't acknowledge his presence in any way. Mal didn't mind this too much, of course. The last thing he wanted was to try and talk to her and see that beaten puppy look on her face again. It wasn't that Mal had any particular reason for caring 'bout this girl's feelings, he just didn't know how to handle a silent girl who looked close to crying because of somethin' the Doc had told her.

What exactly had Simon told the girl, Mal wondered to himself. It had to be something very bad, because even while she was looking pointedly at the countertop, Mei-Lin had an expression of complete heartbreak on her face. Poor kid, Mal found himself thinking, much to his surprise. Blinking a little, Mal shook his head and looked away from Mei-Lin. Something about the girl was worming into his sympathies, and that was the last thing that Mal needed right now. Girl like Mei-Lin on the ship would only cause distractions, and with her being mute and such, she wouldn't be of much use to the crew. Course, her cooking was the best the crew had enjoyed since Shepherd Book left, which might be reason enough to keep her onboard, but Mal wasn't about to keep her just for her cooking.

Sighing in exasperation with himself, Mal shook his head slightly as the rest of the crew filed in for breakfast, Kaylee sporting about five different grease smudges on her face alone.

"Mm…Somethin' smells good," Kaylee commented as she sat down next to Simon, wiping at the largest grease smudge under her right eye and only making it larger.

Mal looked around at the crew and noticed that River wasn't with them. The little Albatross must be at the bridge, he thought to himself as Wash wrapped an arm around his wife. Mal would have a talk with River later, asking her about her impression of the former singer. If the young reader thought that they ought to keep Mei-Lin around…then he would at least consider it. Until then, he would just enjoy the girl's good cooking and wait for some sign about what to do with Mei-Lin.

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Author's Note: Wow…just, wow. It's been so long since I updated for this story, that I was starting to wonder if I even had any muse left for it. Appears I do…how 'bout that? Watching Castle with Nathan Fillion will do that, I guess. So…While I am still working on my Tangled fics, I will probably be able to start writing more regularly for this fic, if not all my other in-progress ones. We'll see! Enjoy this new chapter and remember, reviews are love!