Chapter 7

On Paradiso, Mal, Zoë, and Jayne took the mule to talk with a man about a job, Sheriff Bourne. Kaylee, Inara, and Wash went shopping for supplies that were in need, leaving Velia, Ethan, River and Simon alone on the ship. Velia enjoyed the silence and relaxed when the stress of controlling a monster was gone for a while. Velia was sleeping in the shuttle when the men with blue hands came onto the ship. They moved silently into the shuttle when everyone was off somewhere else and took Velia away. River saw them leave with Velia in their hands and ran to where Simon and Ethan were playing Chinese Chess.

"Simon, she's gone, they took her, Simon!" she screamed.

"Who's they?" asked Simon.

"Simon, this not funny, I'm serious."

"So am I," he said, looking up from the board, "Who took her?"

"Two by two, hands of blue."

"Who?" asked Ethan, confused and getting slightly worried.

"It's the men who hurt her," Simon explained, "She thinks they're back for her."

River couldn't stand it anymore; she grabbed the chess board and hurled it at a far wall. "Simon, they took her! They Took Velia!" she screamed as tears ran down her cheeks.

They two men got up from their chairs, Ethan ran towards the shuttle where Velia was sleeping in, and Simon took River into his arms and held onto her tight not willing to lose her to them again. A few moments later, when River's tears stopped, Ethan came back to where the couple stood, worry and anger on his face, and picked up his gun that he had placed on a chair a few hours ago. He cocked the gun and was about to leave again when Simon grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Ethan, you have to think this through, just wait for the Captain to return and we'll have an advantage."

"Meanwhile, she might be off the planet and they're hurting her again!" Ethan raged. "I'm sorry, but I can't lose her, not again."

Simon understood his anger, his pain, and frankly hated himself for stopping him, for not grabbing a gun and accompanying him. He had to stay for River, and their unborn child, but knew that he would do exactly as Ethan was trying to do if it was River who had been taken. "You know I'm right."

Ethan slumped on the chair and softly nodded, his shoulders thrashing and water droplets falling on the floor where he sat.

River, who was still in Simon's arms, uncoiled herself from her husband and waked to the Bridge, where the communicator was in. She picked up the communicator and said, "Crew of Serenity, please report back to the ship. I repeat, the crew of Serenity, please report back on the ship."

Simon was five steps behind; he grabbed the communicator from her hands and positioned it back where it belongs. "River," he scolded, just then the radio crackled to life and the rough voice of the Captain was heard. "River, what in the gorram 'verse got you to call the crew back?" he commanded.

River grabbed the communicator again and spoke, "Velia was taken by Alliance, we need to bust her out before they go back to where they came from and we never see her again."

After she spoke those words, both sides of the separated team spoke at the same time, but they both seemed to say, "We're on our way."

Simon watched as she placed the communicator back and she turned and hugged him. He uncrossed his hands and wrapped himself around her, as well. Ethan backed away from the doorframe to give them some privacy, when Simon broke the hug, lifted her face with his hands, and leaned in to kiss her.

XXXXXX

Velia awoke in a small white room, her hands and feet bound by chains, and wearing a white patient gown. The brightness of the white around her burned her eyes and she shut her them for fear of losing her eyesight, she used her other senses instead. The other senses were too weak for her liking, so she let her hunger control them and let the monster inside her break free. She heard conversations held in a whisper, three rooms down, as if they were in the room with her. She heard a doctor coming to check on her, and pretended to be innocent and weak. That's what they want, she thought, they always want to be in control so that's what I'm going to give them.

"How are we feeling, Mrs. Hallows?" Asked a man in white scrubs, scribbling on a clipboard.

"I don't know about you, but the white is burning my eyes."

"Hmm." he said as he wrote on his clipboard. He placed the clipboard down on the ground, and put his hand on her shoulder, testing her restraint. She had to fight the urge of throwing up from revulsion; she waited until he had come a little bit closer to bite him in the jugular. She sank her teeth in and locked them, feeling him struggle for air, for words to say, till he finally stopped. She opened her eyes and felt that the blood dimmed the brightness of the white down to a tolerable level, and broke the wall where the chains were connected to.

Outside of that room was completely white as well, but she forced herself to keep her eyes open. She walked through the halls, the chains on her hands and feet clinking behind her as she listened to the conversations and the noise of the outside world. She started to hear footsteps and prepared herself for a fight. When a man turned the corner, she swung but was glad she missed. Standing before her was her husband and behind him was the crew, all but Kaylee and Inara.

Ethan pulled her close and kissed her; he could taste the blood in her mouth and knew how she escaped.

"We got to get a move on." Whispered the Captain to the two, and turned back to where the ship and the exit were located. Ethan picked up his wife and carried her to try to limit the noise the chains made. When they were safe, back on the ship, Kaylee grabbed her pliers and cut the chains off. Velia proceeded to thank the crew before turning and walking away with Ethan towards their shuttle.

Wash flew the ship towards the location that Sheriff Bourne gave the Captain. They were going to pick up some medicine needed on Paradiso, and bring it to them, simple job. Mal walked towards the Engine Room where Kaylee was tinkering with Serenity and humming to her and Inara, who was asleep on the hammock. Mal softly knocked on the side of the engine and when Kaylee popped out, signaled to his wife to open the doors as he carried their daughter to bed. When they tucked her in her room, they sat outside the door, Kaylee in Mal's arms as their eyes slowly drifted, and they were asleep.