Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot and characters that I wrote. Joss Whedon takes all the credit for his characters, setting, etc.

A/N: Since I did the Prologue in first person, I thought I'd do the rest of it in the same way from Mal's and Inara's perspectives, since they are the focus of the story. Comments are welcome and appreciated.

Chapter 1

Twelve hours earlier…

"Mal, we goin' t'Athens? Bin awhile since I got me new weapon," Jayne said to me as I briefed the crew on our next job.

"Of course, get this ape another stick to swing around," Simon said with a mix of apprehension and contempt on his face. Jayne looked ready to punch him.

"We're goin' t'Athens on accounta a tip I got. Apparently a load'a cargo's bin unloaded for the takin', an' I 'spect we ain't the only ones that know about it. We're preparin' for a fight, an' we need every man we've got. More so since Zoë can't be in no firefights if'n she's carryin' a child aroun'," I said my crew. "River, get us there quick like. We need pay, an' I sure as hell ain't lookin' to die fer it." I knew I was forgettin' somethin' but then I remembered. "Oh, an' we gotta make this job quick so's we c'n pick Inara up on Persephone." Just like that woman, always havin' a plan that goes'n complicates thin's.

I was sittin' at the table thinkin' 'bout stuff, an' then I hear Kaylee behind me. "Hey there," she said with a smile. "How's Inara bin doin' for herself?"

"I'm sure she's fine. We're gonna pick 'er up after this job."

"Shiny," she said, walkin' away, cheerful as always.

Next I know, I hear Zoë's voice behind me. "Sir? Not t'be pryin', but it's bin near a week since you've even given Inara so much as a backwards glance. Come to think of it, you've bin kinda distant in general."

She was right, an' I couldn't deny it. Inara an' I had bin tryin' t'cool off since we'd had yet another fight. I knew this one was different despite forgettin' most of it. But just as I left her shuttle, I heard her shout, "Well I don't know how much longer I'll be on this ship!" I'm thinkin' that scared both of us good, but we didn't want to press it with each other. Plus, we didn' wanna be upsettin' the crew, 'specially little Kaylee, so we just left it.

I coulda kept thinkin' but Zoë snapped me outta my trance. "Sir, with all due respect, you could try treatin' that woman better. She's done just as much for this boat as any one of us."

"Why? Dignified member of high society like her looks down on use folks who try t'earn a simple livin'."

Walkin' out to go land the ship, Zoë left me sayin', "She could be anywhere in the 'verse right now. An' for reasons I sometimes don't understand, she chose this boat." That only got me thinkin' more as I left to get ready for the job.

Enterin' the cargo bay, I could see Jayne loadin' up Vera. River was standin' there getting' her pistols ready, that machete a'hers at her hip. "Keep it simple," I told them. "We grab whatever we can 'fore trouble shows."

We'd be landin' somewhere in a forest, which was supposedly where the goods had been stashed.

Sure enough, I saw 'em, and there was an area close by with just enough space to land Serenity. We couldn't land as close as I'd liked, but the goods were near enough that we could carry 'em by hand. I noticed the boxes stacked up against a cliff, an' I didn' want no rocks fallin' on our heads. "River, Jayne, get'a move on! Sooner we're gone, th' better."

After a while, we had six boxes loaded up with plenty more to go. I was strugglin' t' remove one that looked particularly valuable from th' bottom, and all of a sudden I hear Jayne yell, "Mal!" In the next few seconds, I felt myself gettin' thrown forward, and I look up an' see Jayne's leg crushed under some rocks that fell off the cliff. "How the…?" I said, looking at the cliff.

Standin' there just lookin' at us, River said, "He had no time to save himself from the cobra. She was just too quick."

"Girl, stop yer yammerin' an' help me get Jayne onboard." Over the com link, I said to Zoë, "Some hun dan's done attacked us, an' Jayne's down. We're leavin', now."

Simon got to the cargo bay just as we entered. "I heard someone got hurt," he said after rushing to see what was wrong. River had just finished dragging Jayne inside as the door closed. Under his breath, Simon said, "So he finally found a tree that was too big," as he started to treat Jayne's leg.

Walkin' to the bridge, I saw Zoë lookin' at me all angry-like. I shrugged and said, "We got somethin', didn't we?" before turned around and left me to my pilotin'.

A little while after we were off-world, a voice came over the radio. "Mr. Reynolds, I presume? Let me be brief. I understand that you have some…valuable cargo onboard."

Right then, I told him, "That cargo cost me too much to obtain, so I'll be havin' it for m'self, thank you. There's plenty more left on Athens if'n your willing to search. Y'want a share for y'self, you c'n go lookin' down there insteada' up here. I'm not givin' up this here cut'a mine."

"You misunderstand, Mr. Reynolds. I am willing to pay a more than fair price for whatever you have, so long as you've got the time to travel to Persephone to negotiate. We can meet in the abandoned building at the south end of the Eavesdown docks."

And as I set course for Persephone, I said to him, "I'm listenin'…"

To be Continued…