A/N: So River's a tricky character to convey...I *really* hope I did her justice for this chapter. Difficult though it was (as I expected), it was also exceedingly fun. Building off of her metaphors that I created suddenly opened a myriad of other roads and directions that I could take this story...I can't wait to see where it takes me as I continue writing. I'm buzzed with the excitement of having written this chapter, and I hope you all enjoy! An R&R would not go amiss. :D I love and thrive off of praise and critiques. Please tell me what you think so far! Much obliged.

Disclaimer: Not mine. If it were, Jayne would be part teddy bear, and ten times more cuddly.

Deliberation

Mal clenched his jaw irritably. Being captain was challenging. Of course, that was something he knew right from the get go; long before the fancy of manning his own vessel even became a glimmer in his eye. But Badger had been making his job infinitely harder. The weasel had just about cut Mal to his final thread of patience. He'd love it if he could find a way to give Badger a taste of his own medicine for a change. Get a feel for what it was like to live on the dodge; constantly on the run from the Alliance.

Ai ya, couldn't Simon have waited 'till after Mal recovered from his bastard-mode? Neither of them were in a proper position to deliberate money and safeguarding the crew when they were struggling on a slippery slope in the first place.

Mal glanced over at his pilot, hunched over at the wheel, his shoulders rolled up to his ears. Zoe stood silently behind him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. The gesture seemed to provide a quiet sense of comfort and stability for him, because Wash loosened slightly at the contact of her touch. Mal huffed quietly. He hated spreading his attitude like a contagion. Every time he had a foul attitude, it made the entirety of each trip absolutely miserable . But what was he to do? He had so much hanging over his head, and all the responsibility of ensuring his crew's well being was left on his shoulders. He didn't have the kind of support Wash and Zoe had built off of each other. Frankly, how could he afford to? Relationships tended to complicate things. And not just the romantic kinds. Just the dynamics between he and his crew were evidence enough of how hard it was to keep bonds strong between folks. But, it was the price he had to pay to keep himself alive and flying. Same went for all of them.

He could at least count himself lucky that the trip to Harvest wouldn't take much longer than a day or so. And the possibility of landing a job with full pay was all the more likely. Harvest was a place of honest folk; farmers who would likely just ask for a healthy supply of Genseed to allow their trade to continue being profitable. And once the job pulled through, Mal surely wouldn't mind parking there for awhile. It was a good society living there. Civilized, but not yet touched by the influence of the Alliance. The rich quality of their soil was the only true desire the Alliance had. And they were more keen about urban society than farming; though they understood the importance of the latter. Greenleaf, the planet Harvest orbited, was similar in having an abundance of rich soil. But since it was a bigger setting in the Border setting near the Core, it held more value to them. Keeping it's value, however, depended entirely on how long farmland would actually remain on Greenleaf before the Alliance completely citified it. Then all eyes would be pointed hungrily in Harvest's direction. Just like that, there'd be one less world occupied by free-living Independents.

The thought made Mal sick to his stomach. His decision was made: They were going to pay a long term visit to Harvest after they pulled this job. They had to. Not many other places would continue being safe to stay. Then once all was recuperated, he was bent on ensuring that Badger would regret ever trying to pigeonhole Mal just for the sake of wiping his ass clean of any illegal ambiguities.

River sat in a contemplative silence, leaning languorously against the soft cushions piled behind her. She tilted her head back and inhaled slowly, drinking in every scent; both familiar and foreign alike. The all-consuming darkness of her surroundings left her feeling as though she were suspended in mid-flight, adrift in a moment hidden between the threads of the clockwork of time. Location was irrelevant; knowledge and power were equally irrelevant. Trapped inside the folds of her mind, cataloged for a later opportunity. The silence left an exotic flavor in the back of her mouth, draining slowly like syrup down her throat. Not even a buzz of unwanted commotion plagued her mind. For once, the darkness no longer held any blinding hostility. She felt...safe. Prepared. Not licked by flames skirting a rooted post. No blinking sirens and ghosts of secrets balancing the tips of fate. Just silence.

Buddha, it felt nice. Strange, but not unwelcome. Stilled and contained; a moment of domestication. Her eyes fluttered open, adapting subtly to the claustrophobic embrace of complete darkness. The room was lush with furniture and decoration; but held an atmosphere of rigid professionalism accompanied with the scent of whiskey residue and wood stain.

He's hiding underground; blind and industrious...stretching his feelers for a safe path to tread. The girl is obligated to provide a gentle current the right direction. Mustn't fail; The lightning bug is trapped within the glass...Light snuffed out. Weakening with every attempt of escape. Limited probability of success without the aid one familiar with the loud darkness and the sleeping wasps.

Her head cocked slightly to the side, listening for the one sound she'd been waiting for. It wouldn't be long now. She gave a sideways smile, whimsical and secretive.

"'For he comes, the human child...to the waters and the wild.'...Time to set the lightning bug free."

Simon frowned, thoroughly confused, and his panic starting to rise. He was at a complete loss. He stood in the center of the cargo bay, void of cargo, void of...anything. River would have a hard time hiding in here, even within the crevices of the walls and between the grated catwalks. "River?" He called out anyway. Since first trying to find her, her name had been about the only words that had uttered from his mouth.

He checked through the entire ship again. Then again. Nowhere in the galley; not even under the table, which had been a recent favorite niche for her. He checked all of the passenger dorms, twice more in her own room. He searched in the spare shuttle, in the small lounge outside the galley. He referred back to Kaylee in the engine room, and even checked the infirmary. He wouldn't expect her there anyway. She avoided that room like the plague. His pace quickened with every search. What started as an anxious fast walk at some point transitioned into an all out run. He was looking in the most unconventional of hiding places. Where could she be? He stopped dead cold after he found himself back in the cargo hold. A dreaded pallor dawned on his face and his eyes widened. She couldn't...didn't...wouldn't. Would she?

Simon swerved and ran back towards the cockpit. "Mal!" he shouted.

He was there faster than he could blink twice, skidding to a stop once he breached the entrance of Wash's territory. "River's gone." He hadn't even bothered to acknowledge that he'd interrupted another heated conversation between the captain, pilot, and first mate. Well, they could add a new record for how many ill-met discussions had taken place in one day.

Mal snapped his head Simon's direction, surprised at the added intensity that burst into the room. "She's likely just hidin' somewhere. She'll come 'round when she's willing. At least I haven't had a reason to shoot her yet today." He was about to turn back at Wash and keep bashing heads.

Simon shook his head. Whatever he was cussing about to Wash, it was far less pertinent than the fact that River was missing. "I've checked every possible place. At least twice. She's gone."

Mal rolled his head back in aggravation and faced Simon head on. "Maybe she decided to take a moonwalk out in the black. It ain't my job to keep track of her every whim and action. That's your responsibility. Stop whinin' to me about what I can't fix."

Simon shook his head, "I checked the space suits, too. They are all present and accounted for. I'm telling you, Mal. She's not here."

Wash continued seething silently, clearly agitated for being interrupted from whatever verbal joust he and Mal and he were in the midst of having. But a flash of concern traced his brows at Simon's announcement. That brought Simon a small amount of relief. At least someone was willing to take River's absence seriously.

Mal's face twitched, realizing that Simon wasn't being as petty as previously conjectured. He blinked a few times to collect himself. He finally said, "Wo kàn dào de..." Then he turned and activated the intercom. "This is your captain speaking; if anyone sets sights on a crazy little fugitive, escorting her back to her paranoid brother would not go amiss." He clicked off and gave Simon a look, daring to challenge him.

Simon frowned, affronted. If Mal's intentions were to mock and belittle him, he was succeeding all too well. He balled his fists angrily. "Did you not just hear me? I searched high and low, and I haven't found a trace of her!"

Mal turned his attention out to the large window of the bridge, by way of ignoring Simon's childish outcries. "And chances are still good that you still may have just overlooked someplace. She's got a knack for knowing how not to be found. Now, if she's truly gone AWOL, then I wager that she's equally capable of remaining unseen as she pleases. We'll nab her on the way back from this job."

"We can't just leave her on Persephone! We don't even know if that's where she ended up! We were parked on a public docking bay; she could have made her way into virtually any vessel! Lord knows what could be happening to her right now! What if the Alliance has found her?"

"If I was worried of the Alliance finding her, then I'd be more inclined to halt everything and hunt her back down. She can handle on her own well enough. It'll only be a few days we'll be gone. Badger's cronies are all over the place down there. Chances are stronger that she'd be found by them before Alliance. And as you all've reassured me, she managed to hide her identity just fine without help last time she had a run-in with Badger and his gang." He gave a shrug, and glanced over at Simon who was still fuming. "Now, if we were to go back to Eavesdown Docks, not two hours from having docked there previously, as records had shown...that sparks suspicion to the Feds. Then we'd be in a tighter position than we would have been if we just let River stick around 'till we swooped back for her."

Simon had drawn his arm back, preparing to swing for a punch. But his motion was leashed with the strong, overpowering hand of Jayne, who had appeared from behind him. Apparently the raised voices also raised some of his attention. "Idjit. I wouldn't do that if'n I was you." Jayne sneered, he grip unrelenting. "'Much as I wanna club Mal myself sometimes, now ain't the time to be doin' so."

Simon, unable to writhe free of his clutch, resorted to thrashing angry words back at Mal. "SHE'S. MY. SISTER! She's a severely traumatized, unstable young girl! You can't expect me to condone with leaving her exposed to the Alliance! She's not some covert agent of espionage! She won't be able to handle herself alone; not with a price attached to her head! "

"How can you be so sure she ain't able?" Mal challenged.

"Alone? River flew the coop?" Kaylee had rushed in to the scene. Her eyes widened in alarm at the scene before her. Simon's thrashing had instantly froze, and all eyes turned on her.

"That's the theory." Jayne said drily. Apparently he shipped with Mal in the sentiment that River was just hiding again.

"It seems to be leaning more towards a serious possibility," Zoe considered, her calm voice intercepting the swell of all the tension. "She's been missing all day since the early part of this morning. Far as I know, she's never stayed out of sight—or trouble—for this long before. Screams abnormality to me; especially given her circumstances."

"Well, aren't we gonna go find her? " Kaylee asked, her voice raising in pitch. She clasped her hands anxiously together, and swept her eyes around to everyone on the crew, desperate for someone to respond with the affirmative. "We can't just leave her there all forgotlike."

"We can't afford to go back right away, Kaylee." Mal said, almost apologetically. His tone and repose was instantly calmer at her presence. No one liked it when Kaylee was upset, and she done been upset with foul moods all day. "If we docked at Eavesdown again after having just docked there, then Feds will be eyeballing us lots closer than any of us would appreciate. They'd call us out immediately, and we'd have no luck finding her, because we'd be blocked by bars instead. Persephone has a huge population, and she's well hidden in the heart of the slums. Fewer people are likely to recognize her while she's there than she would be otherwise."

Simon, accepting that fighting against the brute strength of Jayne was futile, went slack, and gently tried to shove him off instead, silently by way of telling the Mercenary that he was calm enough to handle his temper. Jayne complied, giving a grunt of distaste.

"I have a hunch," Shepherd had piped up, finally making his appearance known. He had been leaning along the door frame in the entrance of the bridge. "Inara has stationed herself at Persephone for the time being; She hasn't given a time frame for how long she plans to stay there, but she may have more luck in finding River while she's already there."

This notion hadn't appeared to have crossed anyone's mind.

"It wouldn't be too outrageous to assume that River sneaked on board Inara's shuttle before she left," Wash added. "Why she would do such a thing is beyond me, but it's a probable assumption that that's as far as she's gone."

"And the most likely," Shepherd agreed. "I'd been standing the Cargo hold all day, trying to be available for potential passengers. River never once made an appearance, and the hold is the only way off this boat aside from the shuttles."

"So, she's a lot closer than we originally thought," Kaylee deduced, nodding. There was a spark of optimism in that. Already she was feeling reassured. "See, Simon? Nothin' to worry about." Skepticism and apprehension still laced her tone, though.

"Shiny." Mal exclaimed. "Glad we sussed that out. Wash? If you would, drop a line to Inara and ask her to keep a lookout for River before she heads back our direction. Kaylee, finish up your tweaking in the engine room, 'cuz we're still goin' for smooth sailing towards Harvest."

"Since when has 'smooth' ever been a term that applies to you, sir?" Zoe asked lightly.

"Well, sweet-talking fate does tend to be my undoing, I'll agree." Mal allowed.

Jayne leered at the statement. Weren't that the truth. He gave a gruff dismissal, not caring to stick around for any further banters. "I'll be in my bunk. Lemme know we're there." He didn't hesitate to shove Simon to the side as he lumbered out of the room. "Feng le doctor done havin' ta bie woo lohng...Hwo gai, chwen." he grumbled as he made his exit.

Simon was still supremely dissatisfied with the crew's decision, but he was entirely outvoted. Best he could do, was hope their plan worked.

Mal gave him a pointed look. "Why don't you do another search, see if it makes you feel better." A clear way of saying, Your presence is not welcome. Go away before I find an excuse to hurt you. Simon heeded to message, and departed. As he bitterly stalked down the neck of Serenity, he couldn't help wonder if he'd be at all capable of flying a shuttle on his own, with no previous flight experience...

*TRANSLATIONS*

Ai ya - Damn/damn it

Wo kàn dào de - I see.

feng le - crazy

bie woo lohng - commit a blunder of great magnitude

Hwo gai, chwen. - You asked for it/You got what you deserved, dumbass.