Family Ties (May 2528)

Mal sat in the copilot's chair, cursing under his breath as he fiddled with the ship's computer. He considered calling Kaylee, but he needed her working to figure out just what the elder Tam had sent in his wave. She also claimed that she was no good with computers, that machines were more her thing. Of course, if she was not good, that made Mal downright horrible with them.

Soft sounds alerted him to the presence of someone else, and he made an educated guess. "Know anything 'bout computers, 'Nara?" he asked without turning.

"Not particularly. What are you doing, Mal?"

He sighed and turned to face his wife. "Tryin' to scramble our signal as best as I can. Already pulled out the pulse beacon so they can't find us that way. Now I'm just tryin' to figure out the best way to get our EM signal scrambled so they can't track it."

"You know that means that if something happens, we won't be able to direct anyone to help us."

"Well, I don't plan on having anything happenin' that would necessitate rescue." He turned his attention back to the computer, releasing another string of swear words as it simply blinked unhelpfully. "Gorram thing should come with a manual." Inara stepped up behind him, resting a hand on his shoulder. Her fingers slowly began to squeeze, kneading his tense muscles, and he let his eyes slide shut in pleasure. He loved how well his wife knew him, how easily she could discern his mood and find the perfect way to cheer him. In addition, the massage felt heavenly as her fingers sought out muscles he had not even realized were tensed. "God, that feels amazin', bao bei," he muttered.

"You need to relax, tianxin." He simply mumbled slightly in reply. His hands slid off the computer controls and his head fell forward. Her hands moved downward further, massaging the muscles of his shoulders. His whole body began to relax under her touch, and he focused on the sensations. After a few minutes, he had scooted to the edge of the chair, allowing her to reach to his lower back. Her questing fingers continued to dip lower, and he felt himself beginning to grow hard as they pressed on some sensitive portions of his anatomy.

"Qin ai de, I'm very much enjoyin' myself, but I should probably be gettin' back to this computer before I decide to scrap the whole plan."

"What makes you think that wasn't my goal?" she said, whispering directly in his ear. Her words sent shivers down his spine, and he was seriously considering carrying her back to the shuttle or, better yet, bending her over the dash when a small voice interrupted.

"What's goin' on, Baba?" Cay questioned. Mal turned with a groan and saw all three of his sons standing in the doorway of the flight deck, watching them curiously.

"What are you all doing out of bed?" Inara questioned, letting her hands slide off Mal's body. He missed the contact instantly.

"I heard Aunt River scream. We all did. We tried to get back to sleep, but we couldn't, so I wanted to see if she was okay. What's going on?" Ben questioned.

"Nothing," Mal told them. "You boys should be in bed."

"Dad, we're not stupid. We know something's going on," Rick said. "Uncle Simon and Aunt River's father did something, didn't he? I saw Uncle Jayne dragging him back to the bunk, and he was bleeding. Looks like he got beat up." Mal did his best to keep his expression neutral, half-wishing he had not been blessed with such intelligent, observant children. He had roughed Gabriel up more than he had initially intended, but he did not regret his actions. The man would live which was far more than Mal felt he deserved after what he had done. He found it hard to believe that a man could be so self-centered that he would willingly put everyone on the ship in danger, including his own children and grandchildren. Looking at the three boys in front of him, Mal felt his heart expand in ways he had not believed possible until he had become a father. He would willingly die for any of his children. Gabriel Tam had likely consigned his to death.

"You three need to stop spying on people," Inara admonished.

"We're not children anymore," Ben protested. "We can handle whatever happened."

"What are you doing with the computer?" Rick asked, stepping closer, his head cocked to the side. Before Mal could answer, he continued, "If you want to scramble the signal, you don't want to do this step." He pointed to a line on the screen. Mal stared at him, incredulous, and he shrugged. "I like computers. They make sense. Aunt Kaylee lets me play with them sometimes."

"How did you know what I was tryin' to do?"

Rick pointed at the pulse beacon sitting on the dash. "Not many reasons for you to take out the pulse beacon. Figured you didn't want anyone followin' us."

"So you know how these things work?" Mal tapped the computer. Rick rolled his eyes.

"Scoot over, Dad." Mal did as he asked, watching in amazement as Rick's small fingers began to fly over the keys, quickly erasing some mistaken commands and adding others. In less than twenty minutes, he looked back up at the other four people in the flight deck. "It's done."

"You sure?"

"Positive." Mal nodded, frowning at the screen. He was not quite sure how to tell that it was working, but Rick seemed very confident in his work. He would watch for the night just in case.

"You three should be getting back to bed," Mal instructed, standing to shoo his sons from the room.

"I don't think we'll be able to sleep," Ben objected. "Too much is happening."

"Can we stay here with you?" Cayson turned to his parents, his lower lip jutting out in a pout and his blue eyes wide. Of their four children, he was the only one to inherit his father's lighter-colored hair as well as many of his father's other features. They may have called Ben "Little Mal," but Inara often told Mal that Cayson looked the most like him, and Mal certainly agreed.

Ben, however, shared his father's stubborn personality. "It will be safer here with you," he said.

"How do you know I'm not going to bed?"

Ben scoffed. "Please, Dad." Mal glanced at Inara who simply shrugged. Mal relented.

"Okay, you can stay. But I'm going to go get some blankets, and you're going to at least lie down and try to sleep." The kids cheered, perfectly content with that compromise. They had spent a number of nights sleeping on the flight deck, mostly when Mal was feeling particularly accommodating though he had to admit that he enjoyed having them close as well. It seemed much less lonely sitting in the captain's chair when he could hear their steady breathing behind him.

An hour later, all three boys were fast asleep, lying together on some old blankets that Mal had placed in the corner of the room. Inara had decided to stay as well, curling up on Mal's lap as she dozed. Mal, however, could not find the same peace. It had always been difficult for him to sleep when he was worried, and as much as he tried not to show it, he was very worried about the message Gabriel Tam might have sent. Kaylee had stopped by the flight deck a few minutes before to let him know that she and Simon had been unable to determine what he had sent. Mal thought he would have Rick take a look at the device the following day, but for the time being, he wanted to let his son sleep. He looked so young sandwiched between his brothers, his dark curls sticking slightly to his forehead. He was still so young. At only seven, he would have been in primary school had they lived planetside. As it was, he had already seen more than most did in a lifetime. It made Mal wonder sometimes if he was doing the right thing for his children. Perhaps they would be better off if he settled down, bought a piece of land, did some honest work. Perhaps they would be better off if they could live some semblance of normal lives, lives which were not fraught with worry about whether they would be arrested or see their father killed. It would be easier for them surely.

The sound of footsteps behind him interrupted his thoughts, and he spun around, careful not to wake his sleeping wife. "Mrs. Tam? What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to speak with you for a few minutes." He nodded shortly.

She stared at him for a few seconds until he grumbled irritably, "Speak then."

"I know I don't have any right to be asking you anything, but I hope that you will consider showing some mercy to my husband. He's not from your world; he didn't know what he was doing."

"Feihua, he knew exactly what he was doing. But I don't plan on killin' nobody."

"Thank you. I greatly appreciate it."

"I didn't do it for you. No child deserves to have his or her father taken before his time, no matter the circumstances." Mal started to turn back, thinking the conversation had finished, but she spoke again.

"Speaking of children, what are your plans for Simon and River?"

"Way I see it, they're both adults. They can make their own plans."

"They respect you. They will do what you ask them to do."

"And what exactly are you askin' me to ask them?"

"Have them come back with us! We'll protect them, keep them safe. This isn't the kind of life I wanted for them. Simon should be in a hospital on a Core planet, and River. . . well, River can do anything she sets her mind to."

"It ain't my decision. It's theirs. But I do wish you and your husband would get it in your heads that there ain't no way either of those two can go back to livin' life in the spotlight ever again, even if you knew the President of the Alliance hisself. They have bounties on their heads—large ones."

"But they're my children! I love them! Surely you see that." Her voice had grown slightly louder, and Mal shot her a look of admonishment, glancing first at Inara and then at the sleeping boys. She quieted sheepishly.

"I s'pose there is another option that would let you do that."

"What?"

"Stay with us. Accommodations won't be as nice as you're used to, but we're mobile."

"And Gabe?"

Mal's eyes darkened. "I can't have a man who betrayed me on my ship. We'll drop him off at the nearest planet with transport back to the core."

"I can't do that. I can't leave him behind."

"Don't see why not. He betrayed you, too."

"Captain Reynolds, do you love your wife?" Mal felt his ears grow a bit hotter, and he didn't answer. Though Inara had managed to convince him that public displays of affection were acceptable, he was still not a man to express his feelings in public. Even in private, he tended to be a bit more tight-lipped. He did love Inara, loved her more than he had ever loved anyone else, but it was not something he often admitted. "Never mind, I can see you do," Regan continued. "I've seen it the whole time we've been here in the way you look at her. I can tell you love your children, too. So you'll understand when I say that I can't make a choice between them."

"Your husband made that choice for you when he flagged the gorram Alliance."

"He loves his children, too."

"Sure has a funny way of showin' it."

"When River was growing up, she used to have terrible nightmares. The doctors thought it might be a consequence of her overactive brain. But she'd come into our room three or four nights a week crying about her latest dream. When she woke up, she was inconsolable except by her father. She would look up at him, and he would take her in his arms, and she would fall asleep in minutes."

"There a point to this?"

"She had the same look today when she looked at you. It just took me some time to recognize it for what it was." Regan sighed, her fingers playing with one of clipboards hanging by the door. "That's why I'm asking you. I just want to see my children."

Mal sighed, giving in. "I'll find some way to notify you whenever we're on Core planets nearby. And in return, I simply ask that you don't let your husband know. And it's still Simon and River's choice if they wanna see you."

"Do I have your word?"

"Sure. For whatever it's worth."

"Oh, I think it's worth a great deal." She turned but paused midstep. "Drop us at the next planet."

"That would be Corona. Should have you there in two, three days tops. Ain't a Core planet but has plenty of tourist ships to Core Planets." She seemed slightly more lighthearted as she left the room, a new spring her steps. Mal watched her go before glancing over at his boys and then down at his wife. He could not even fathom how a man could betray his own family. Mal would die for any person on the ship. He would not even have to think twice about it. Gabriel Tam may have had more money and prestige than Mal, but Mal thought that at the end of the day, he was truly the richer of the two.