Disclaimer: All still apply. Joss is Boss, I'm merely borrowing, so no money in it for me. Send reviews so I know you love/hate it.

Author's Notes: Seeing all the weird pairings popping up in this fandom motivated me to finish this story. Rayne should be Canon, not Jaylee, not MalRiver, not RiverKaylee, and especially not MalSimon! Okay, just a little militant there, but on to other things. Final chapter to this story, I hope it answer all questions, and is enjoyable. I do have other stories in mind, and I hope to bring them to you soon.

End of Day

Jayne and River were lying on their sides facing each other on the bed in what was formerly known simply as Jayne's bunk. A single sheet stretched across both their waists, leaving their upper bodies bare. The room was lowly lit, but it could be seen that both of their bodies were slightly flushed and they were covered by a light sheen of sweat. As they faced each other, Jayne lightly stroked River's side from her shoulder to the curve of her hip and back. River, on the other hand, absent-mindedly twirled a lock of Jayne's chest hair with her finger. Their eyes were locked together and their faces contained expressions of wonder. They carried on in this way for several minutes in complete silence.

"It was a brave and foolish thing you did," River said finally.

"Needed ta be done," Jayne said in response as he continued to stroke her skin.

"It will encourage further reckless behavior by the rest of the crew," River said more emphatically.

"Hell, they knows why I done it," Jayne defended. "Done made your brother all kindsa happy, too."

Rolling her eyes, River replied, "He especially does not need that kind of encouragement. His cooking is horrid."

"S'much worse a day later," said Jayne. "Done had ta have seconds. T'weren't gonna be no leftovers."

The corners of River's mouth turned up as a small giggle escaped her lips. "Captain nearly cried trying to keep up," she said.

"Really?" Jayne asked. "Thought he was tearin' up 'cause of the smell."

"Poor Captain," River said with another giggle.

"It's his own gorram fault," Jayne said brusquely. "Said he'd match me helpin' fer helpin'. Done agreed."

"He'll know not to do that again. No one on the ship can eat as much as my Jayne," River said softly as she tickled his chest.

Jayne let out a surprised grunt as he caught River's wrist. Then they stared at each other in silence. "My girl," Jayne finally said as he ran his hand up River's arm, around her back and pulled her into a deep kiss.

They kissed each other longingly for several moments before separating and locking their eyes on each other once again. Jayne resumed caressing River's side as she continued to twirl her fingers in his chest hair. After some more silence, River stated, "You still have questions."

Jayne nodded. "Yeah."

"How did I know the Hands-of-Blue were on Ariel?" River said reading Jayne's question.

"Ya said at supper they can hide their thoughts, make like they ain't even there. 'S'how they tranked ya," Jayne said and River nodded to this. "So how come ya felt them on Ariel?"

"They weren't trying to hide then, didn't think it was necessary," River answered. "Thought I was contained."

Jayne nodded slightly. Silence crept in as he thought for a moment. "So what happened to that engineer-kid, the one I sent to drop off the Mule?"

River looked away and stared curiously in the direction of Inara's shuttle. When she looked back, she said, "The Captain sent him on his way, told him to start walking to the nearest town."

"He jus' left 'im?" Jayne asked incredulously.

"Had Kaylee give him some water," River explained. "Said he wasn't taking in any strays."

"Guess he was hurryin' to find us," Jayne commented off-handedly.

River cast her eyes down and her mouth frowned slightly. Seeing this, Jayne urgently asked, "What?"

Looking back at Jayne, River slowly shook her head and said heavily, "No, he wasn't."

Jayne's eyes grew wide, but as he tried to ask the next question, River began to answer it.

"He was upset, angry," she said. "Zoe was hurt, I was kidnapped, and you had hit him. He didn't feel in control anymore, and he needed to feel in control. 'Keep flying,' he thought, 'We have to keep flying.'"

"So he was fixin' to leave us, too?" Jayne asked.

"Didn't think he had a choice," River said. "He didn't think you could rescue me by yourself. Thought you may be dead already. All he had left was Kaylee and Simon, and they would have slowed him down more."

"Well, they must've stopped him, yer brother and Kaylee," Jayne stated somewhat as a question.

"They tried," replied River. "When the Captain sent the engineer away, Kaylee asked if they were coming to find us.

"No, we're leavin'," Mal said.

"But we're comin' right back, soon as Zoe's all right?" Kaylee asked, but Mal didn't answer or even look at her as he raised the loading ramp and shut the airlock.

"Ain't we?" Kaylee almost pleaded.

Mal finally turned to her and said, "Kaylee, this ain't Jianying, and those weren't hillfolk who took River. Most likely Alliance or somesuch, and what they did to Zoe was a message to anyone who comes after. Now Jayne's gone after them, so they're gonna send folk after us. I ain't capable of fightin' em all off by my lonesome, and I'll do worse lookin' after you and the Doc. We need to steer clear of this mess."

"But Jayne's there on the train!" Kaylee now pleaded, "He's dependin' on us to come an' get 'em!"

"It's likely he's already dead," Mal said impassively. "An' even if he's alive, the man's cut loose. He made his call takin' the Mule, dong ma?"

"But River,..." Kaylee said with a hitch in her voice.

"River's gone. They got her," Mal said before placing a hand on Kaylee's shoulder. "Best get used to it."

"What do you mean River's gone?"

Both Mal and Kaylee looked to find that Simon had walked up without them noticing. Kaylee immediately clung to him and began sobbing into his shoulder. Simon held her, but glared at Mal saying, "I believe I asked you a question, Captain. What do you mean she's gone?"

"Just that, Doctor," Mal replied growing impatient. "She's gone, an' there's no way we're gettin' her back."

"I can't believe you're ready to give up so soon," Simon said. "What about the Miranda Wave? Didn't that mean anything to you?..."

Mal interrupted Simon, shouting, "Bi zui! Look around Doctor! We're all that's left! Surely as I know this, if we start after whoever did this, we'll all end up like Zoe in there or worse. You've seen her condition. Tell me, how is she?"

"Lucky to be alive," Simon answered.

"Just like the rest of us if we high-tail it after your sister right now," Mal said. Then he added, "Strap yourselves in."

Jayne opened his mouth to ask a question, but River pressed her fingers to his lips as she continued her story.

"Inara had been standing on the catwalk outside her shuttle," River began again. "She had heard everything, and when the Captain started up the stairs below her, she went up the stairs to the bridge. She was trying to get there before he did, but in the passageway, the Captain saw her."

Mal asked, "Where do you think you're goin', Inara?"

Inara was at the steps leading up, when she turned back to the Captain and said, "To the bridge, Mal. Someone has to do something to save River and Jayne since you obviously refuse to."

"Inara, I've had enough of crew disobeyin' me and sneakin' around behind my back," Mal said as he walked to her. "You ain't takin' my ship and that's an order!"

Inara looked at the Captain and said, "Well, how convenient that I'm not a member of your crew. You can't order me to pick up a scrap of paper, let alone stop me from flying the ship."

Mal countered, "While you're on my ship, you'll follow my orders!"

"Or what, Mal?" Inara asked. "Are you going to try to stop me like you tried to stop Jayne? We all know how well that went."

Inara then turned to walk up the steps to the bridge, but Mal grabbed her arm, saying, "Inara, I ain't gonna let you do this."

Inara looked back at Mal and said loudly, "How dare you. Unhand me."

"No!" the Captain yelled. "You ain't draggin' us into this craziness!"

Inara struggled to get free of the Captain, shouting, "Let me go!"

"No!" Mal shouted back.

"Let! Me! GO!" Inara screamed as she spun around and slapped Mal across the face with her free hand.

Jayne winced as River had paused her story telling for some dramatic effect. With a low smile, River continued, "The Captain then let go of Inara's arm as he took a step back and held the side of his face."

Turning away from Inara, Mal said, "Tamade! Just like Jayne! You all are crazy just like him."

"He's not crazy, Mal!" Inara shouted hotly. "He's in love with River!"

"And what about you?" Mal shouted back. "Why are you so feng le to follow after them?"

"I love them, too! We all do, Mal!" Inara railed. "It's what binds this crew together, the fact that we all love being together on this ship."

"That supposed to make it right?" Mal protested. "I lose my ship, my crew, because no one wants lose each other? Folks gotta stand on their own, Inara."

"I should have known you wouldn't understand," Inara said spitefully. "You can't see the love around you even when it slaps you in the face!"

A confused look washed over Mal's face, and he said, "Slaps? Jayne hit me."

Inara's eyes widened as she gasped and her hand flew to cover her mouth. She looked down as she tried to think of a reason to cover her slip, but finding none, she looked back hoping that Mal would stay confused. Mal, however, had been replaying the last moment over in his head, carefully considering Inara's choice of words. When the pieces fell together in his mind, Mal's eyes widened and his jaw became slack. He looked back at Inara and was only able to utter, "Huh."

Mal and Inara stood on the steps to the bridge staring at one another amidst an uncomfortable silence. Finding nothing else left to do, Inara quickly turned around and ran into the bridge. Mal paused for a bewildered moment before he ran after her. When Mal entered the bridge, Inara was already sitting in the pilot's chair preparing Serenity for lift-off. He walked to her and asked, "So you're set on doin' this?"

"I am," Inara replied determinedly.

"Suppose there's no reason in tryin' to talk you out of it?" Mal asked.

"No, there isn't," Inara said irritatedly as she flipped the ignition switches.

"Fine, then let's see you get this ship in the air," Mal dared as he leaned against the console next to her and crossed his arms. Inara just looked at him disdainfully in response. The upthrust nearly knocked Mal off his feet.

"Wha...How'd you?...," Mal stammered.

Inara rolled her eyes, "Honestly, Mal! When Zoe went to free you and Wash from Niska, did you ever think about who would have flown the ship if she didn't come back?"

Mal opened his mouth to make a retort, but he decided not to say it. Taking a moment for thought, Mal straightened up and said sternly, "Alright, we'll play your little game for awhile, but the minute we find trouble, you're gonna steer us clear and break atmo and never look back. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Inara said looking Mal squarely in the eyes.

Mal nodded to her, then turned to the front and said, "Well then, let's get on with this craziness."

Jayne looked dumbly at River as she finished telling the story. Slowly, Jayne began to ask, "So it's 'cause of ' Nara that were back on the ship?"

River nodded.

"An' that's how she come to be flyin' it when we got back?"

River nodded again.

Jayne looked around hesitantly and commented, "Never thought she'd be one to try rescuin' me!"

"She thinks you're crude," River stated, "but she doesn't hate you. Thinks that you are useful, especially for getting the Captain out of trouble."

"Seein' as he's the one who always get's us in trouble," Jayne laughed. River giggled as well. Thinking for a moment, Jayne then asked, "So what are they doin' now, seein' as Mal knows ' Nara 's got feelin's for him?"

River gave Jayne a sly grin. She inched closer to Jayne on the bed, saying, "It took them two hours and fifty-two minutes, but they have performed copulation."

"C'mon, River!" Jayne said in frustration. "Ya know I don't understand them fancy words."

Leaning towards Jayne, River teasingly kissed his lips. Then she said, "Copulation, understand?"

A broad toothy smile spread across Jayne's face as he understood. "So they was gettin' trim, huh?"

River looked back to Inara's shuttle and stated, "Are, again."

Jayne rolled on to his back, saying, "Don' know if I'm gonna like Mal bein' so happy. Kinda got used to him bein' a grump all the time."

"There will be many changes, but we will adjust to them," River assured.

Turning his head to River, Jayne asked, "Like ya bein' my wife?"

River blushed as she let loose a giddy smile. "And children," she said.

As River's words hit him, a shocked expression flew across Jayne's face. Reading Jayne's mind as it raced to form a question, River answered, "No, we haven't. I'm talking about Zoe."

"But ya said children, an' not child," Jayne stated.

"The probability of a pregnancy developing between Simon and Kaylee is very high," River said dryly. "They are not preventing."

"Oh," Jayne said relieved. "So are we...preventin'?"

"We are," River affirmed smiling a little more broadly. "We could use some practice before we become parents."

"Well," Jayne said as he reached out and pulled River on top of him causing her to squeal with delight, "Since we're preventin', maybe we could prevent s'more."

"First," River said as she straightened an arm against Jayne's chest, "tell me again how you found me."

"Ah, River!" Jayne said in exasperation. "I done told you that three times!"

"How many times have we had sex this evening?" River asked with a leer.

"Uh, three?" Jayne said confusedly.

"Suspect any correlation?" River asked as she straddled Jayne and lightly thrust her hips against him.

"Well, uh," Jayne started speaking quickly, "after I left Mal and Zoe at them stand 'a trees, I followed them wagon tracks. They went down the same road me an' Mal jus' come in on. I'm guessin' them blue-hand fellas didn' want no one seein' them so they stayed outta town. So's I knows the road forks down a ways, an' seein as me an' Mal come in on one of them, they musta taken the other one. Well, t'weren't more an' twenty minutes that I come up to a horse and wagon in the middle 'a the road facin' the other way. There was this old farmer holdin an old double barrel on some kid who was drivin' the wagon.

"It wasn't me, I swear!" the driver shouted holding his hands up.

"It was you! Don' lie ta me, boy!" the farmer shouted back.

"What's the trouble here?" Jayne asked as he stepped down from the Mule.

"Got none with you," the old farmer said after quickly appraising the newcomer, "but this boy owes me coin for runnin' over five of my hens."

"The man's old and crazy," the young man said dismissively.

"Not too old to know what I seen!" the farmer said menacingly.

"What did ya see?" Jayne asked the farmer as he studied the horse and cart, and the tracks on the road.

"Well," the farmer said as he kept a stern watch on the young man in the cart, "not more'n hour ago, I was walkin' my hens to the market, plannin' to trade them for supplies, when this boy comes tearin' around the bend an' nearly runs me over. My hens weren't so lucky."

"See any folk with 'im?" Jayne asked as he inspected one of the horse's hoofs.

"Weren't no folk," the farmer said. "'Least none from around here."

"Was there two 'a them?" Jayne asked turning to the farmer.

"Yeah," the farmer said glancing towards Jayne.

"The old-timer's seein' things," the young driver said. "Wasn't no one with me!"

"But you was here!" Jayne shouted silencing the young man. Looking back at the farmer, Jayne asked, "What'd they look like?"

"One was kinda big, an' the other looked skinny," the farmer said. "They was all dressed up an' fancy like."

"Didja see a girl?" Jayne questioned.

"Can't say I did, stranger," the farmer answered. "Couldn't see much else lyin' on the side of the road."

The young driver spoke up, "You gonna believe this old geezer?"

"Sure am," Jayne barked.

"It's his word 'gainst mine," the young man said haughtily.

"No it ain't," Jayne replied. "Them wheel tracks in the dust, here, couldn't be more'n hour old, and they's just wide as your wheels. The horse that was pullin' the wagon is missin' a shoe, jus' like your horse there. Boy, you was here, not more'n hour ago an' with two men!"

Jayne drew his sidearm and pointed it at the young driver. The young man shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the sight of the new weapon trained on him. The old farmer gleefully grinned. Jayne then ordered, "Now ya tell me where ya left 'em."

"What business is it of yours?" the young man asked frightfully.

"Boy," Jayne growled, "them hundans jus' bushwhacked a friend 'a mine an' done snatched my girl! Supposin' I got plenty 'a business with 'em."

"I can't tell ya," the young man pleaded. "They said they'd kill me if'n I did."

"I'll kill ya if ya don't," Jayne said cocking the hammer back with his thumb.

"Tell him, boy!" the farmer added. "Ya ain't got no other choice."

Reluctantly, the young man said, "I left 'em next to an old cattle ramp on some free range land a few miles back. Looked like they was 'xpectin' a train to come."

"See anythin' else?" Jayne asked.

"Nothin'."

"Nothin'?"

"They told me not to look around," the young man explained. "Told me they'd kill me outright if'n I got curious, so I looked ahead the whole time."

"Musta paid ya pretty good to do that," Jayne probed.

"Five hundred platinum," the young man admitted.

Jayne stretched out his other hand. "Let's have it."

The young man hesitated for a moment before he produced a sack of coins from under his feet. He tossed the sack to Jayne who caught it with his free hand. Jayne then wagged his revolver at the young man and said, "Now, git!"

Picking up the reins, the young man snapped them and started the horse and wagon down the road. The old farmer stepped aside as the wagon passed, and then approached Jayne.

"Obliged to what you've done, stranger," the old farmer said.

"Think nothin' of it, old-timer," Jayne replied as he holstered his gun.

Looking at the sack of coins in Jayne's other hand, the farmer said, "Reckon half that is mine."

Jayne looked at the sack and paused. He looked back at the farmer and said, "Reckon so."

The two men quickly divided the contents of the sack into their respective coin purses. When they finished, the old farmer asked Jayne, "What ya plannin' on doin' now?"

"Plannin' to get them fellas that snatched my girl," Jayne answered as he started walking to the Mule.

"I know of that cattle ramp the boy spoke of," the farmer said as he followed Jayne. "Used to run cattle there in my younger days. I can tell ya it's a bunch of open space out there and no means to sneak about if ya plannin' on sneakin'."

Jayne mounted the Mule and said, "Means there ain't no place for them to hide neither."

"Just sayin', stranger, that they mighta picked the spot 'cause they thought you might be comin'. Ya might want to think a way around it," the old farmer suggested.

Jayne regarded the farmer curiously, "How's a farmer get to thinkin' like that?"

The farmer grinned, "Didn't get to be an old-timer by playin' it straight."

Silence fell over the two men as the peered at one another. Jayne gave the old farmer a respectful nod and the farmer returned it. Without a word, the farmer stepped away from the Mule as Jayne powered it up. They left in opposite directions and didn't look back.

"Well, the old-timer was right," Jayne said. "When I got ta a mile of the ramp, I stopped ta look around. Sure 'nough, there was some folks waitin', and not for no train. Knew they had ta know which way y'all went, but I couldn'ta walk up'n ask. And thinnin' 'em out woulda taken time. That's when I saw 'em cows settin' not more'n a mile off the other way, an' it jus' come to me that I should run 'em at those guys."

River smirked, "Thought it was like going to Mr. Universe's moon."

"Yeah," Jayne said, "'cept them 'Reavers' was in front 'a me."

"Why did you pick up the calf?" River asked curiously.

"Well, I knows that them cattle weren't gonna get all of 'em," Jayne answered. "Figured I needed a decoy, 'case the ones what lived an' all come out shootin'."

"Almost killed the calf," River commented.

"Nah, I didn't," Jayne said. "Them fellas was too stunned ta pull the trigger."

"You knew they wouldn't shoot it?" River asked quizzically.

"Sure," Jayne responded confidently. "When a man goes out ta shoot a man, he don't shoot no cow."

River giggled at Jayne's simple logic. Jayne then reached up and ran a hand through her hair. As Jayne continued to stroke her hair, River locked eyes with him and said, "Tell me again what you said to the last man before you left the cattle ramp."

Jayne smiled back at her. He sensed her anticipation as she slightly rubbed her hips against him and kneaded his chest. As River lowered her face so close to his that Jayne could feel her hot, bated breath, Jayne drawled, "Well..."

"What did you say?" River asked throatily.

"I told him," Jayne said slowly as he wrapped his arms around her, "I told him I was goin' to get my girl back."

After that Jayne could not speak. River's mouth was firmly against his as she tasted him and he tasted her. All he could feel was her body eagerly pressing against his. He could only smell her scent and hear her insistent moans. There was no doubt in his mind. He got his girl back.

Epilogue

It was night time at the main headquarters of the Blue Sun Corporation. Most of the employees had left for the day leaving the building almost entirely dark. Through the darkened hallways of the Science and Development division, however, a lone female walked. Her footsteps echoed as she approached the Office of Special Projects. She hesitantly knocked and the heavy oak doors quickly slid open.

"Enter," a voice said from within the dimly lit room. Recovering from her shock, she did.

Inside the large room, a single black mahogany desk stood near the back wall. A high-backed black leather chair stood behind it and was turned so that the young woman could not see its occupant. On the back wall, several holographic captures of a teen-aged girl were being projected. The sallow-eyed, haunted look of the girl in the center capture always bothered the young woman whenever she came in there. She did notice a couple of new captures of the girl where she was noticeably smiling.

As she carefully walked across the tiled floor to the desk, the young woman said timorously, "The memo you requested, sir."

Fully intending to leave the computer sheet on the desk, the young woman was startled when the voice came from over the chair saying, "Read it."

Slowly, the young woman brought the sheet back to her and held it with both hands. In a loud but tremulous voice, she said, "To Emerson Wang, Office of Special Projects, Science and Development Division, from Andrew Kyle, Director of Operations, Blue Sky Transit Authority, New Canaan , regarding ongoing special project 54293-RT. Mr. Wang, it is with sincere regret that I must inform you that the biological specimen that your office was transporting on industrial transport 238 has been stolen. I must also inform you that the two employees who were accompanying the cargo have been found dead. Resuscitation of your employees was not possible due to the extreme damage of the corpses. An investigation into this theft is being conducted by the local battery of Federal Marshals, but, as yet, has not developed any leads. Although we do feel regret for this incident, we believe that we are not responsible due to the fact..."

"That will be all," the voice said sharply over the chair cutting the young woman off. She quickly slipped the sheet onto the desk and walked as quickly as she could back out the still open doors. Down the hallway, as she was running, the young woman heard the voice yell angrily, "River Tam! I will have you back!"