Hey Everyone, I hit a huge wall called writer's block. I'm sorry this isn't the greatest. Would love some help from some of you seasoned writers.

Not sure if I want to know but feedback is always appreciated.

Hopefully I will get on a roll this coming weekend. Cold and rainy makes a great cure for writers block.

Thanks!!

******************* Part 4

Simon leaned against the free wall in his bunk. He would periodically focus on River, who was drawing on her sketch pad to Mandy, who lay sleeping on his bed. His mind whirled with outcome possibilities…both good and bad. Each one had a different ending.

“I like the one where we stay here”, River said not looking up from her paper.

Although Simon was getting use to her reading his mind, he was still struck as to how crazy it sounded and made him rethink everything that had just gone through his head. He hoped it wasn’t too graphic for his younger sister.

“You dream about grosser stuff when you are sleeping.”

“River! You can such a brat sometimes.” Simon couldn’t hold the smile back. He liked these times. When things were normal…well, as normal as the Tam’s could get.

“She hasn’t changed much, has she.”

Simon looked up. Mandy was laying on her side, her head lifted up by her hand, elbow jutted into the pillow. Her hair flowed along her head and down to the pillow. In this light, it had a golden undertone to it. Something only the sun could cause.

“Well, actually, the Alliance has changed her. Put something dark into her. I’m trying to remove the darkness.”

“You know, Simon, I’m right here. I can hear you”, and with that River picked up her drawing and left.

Simon watched River leave. An uneasiness settling in the air. This was officially the first time they had been alone together in a very long time. Well, excluding the fact that she had been unconscious when they were “alone”.

Mandy smiled at him. Not much had changed. Even as a boy, he was stiff as a board.

“Remember when I kissed you and you fainted?”

Simon was taken aback by this. The last thing he had thought about was his old life and how he was the girls.

“I did not faint”, Simon protested, “I merely got up too fast. All the blood rushed to my head.”

“No. I don’t think it did. I think you fainted. I remember it. I kissed you and you jumped, then you fainted. I thought I had killed you and ran away.”

“You thought you had killed me?” Simon’s smile was so sweet and innocent. Even years of Alliance torture and hardship couldn’t make that sweetness go away.

“Well, I was twelve. You were the first boy I kissed. My Mother always said that if I kissed boys, there would be punishment.”

Simon’s smile widened into a grin and then laughter erupted.

“I always knew you were a dunce,” Simon gasped between snorts and tears. Because of the crippling laughter, Simon had made his way to sit on the side of the bed.

The laughter died down and silence settled in the room.

“Simon? I’m scared.”

Mandy had never said those words out loud. They hung in the air like poison to her. Saying them for other people, made them all the more real. It stung her in places she was not ready to admit.

“What are you scared of? You are safe now.” Simon’s smile abruptly turned to concern.

“After you left to get River, everything changed for everyone. You were gone and the Alliance wanted you. They didn’t care what they did or who they did it to. They just wanted you dead and River back.”

“I know, Mandy. I know how much you have been through. Words cannot express my apology. I don’t know what I can do to make it up to you now besides keeping you safe.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about. After the Alliance killed my family, I made a promise to myself. Something that I will never forget and never go back on.”

Simon moved closer to Mandy. She hadn’t looked him in the eye through the entire conversation. Although he had not spent as much time in space as the other people on Serenity, he knew when there was a possible problem.

“What is the promise, Mandy? Is it something I should be worried about?”

Mandy looked up and was about to answer when she was interrupted by yelling in the cargo bay.

**** Gun fire surrounded Mal and in avoidance, he had dove behind a crate. Same with Zoe and Jayne.

20 men fired into the belly of Serenity. Sparks and shrapnel bounced of the haul and landings. The hale storm lasted and lasted. Mal couldn’t even look up to get his bearings.

Glancing over, he could see Zoe crouched like a tiger waiting to pounce, but unfortunately for all involved she wouldn’t get a chance.

A scuffle of feet distracted Mal away from Zoe and that’s when everything went dark.

**** Simon looked at Mandy, worry in his eyes. He stood to get up to see what was going on and that’s when the gun fire erupted. Almost instinctively, Simon grabbed Mandy’s arm and pulled her off the bed. He lifted up the mattress and underneath was an empty space that could only be known if you slept on the mattress and felt the support beams in your back. He and Mandy jump in and cover them back up with the mattress.

**** Everyone on the ship heard the gunfire. Wash ran to the top of the steps and was grazed by a bullet on the temple. He immediately lost consciousness.

****

Inara and River were playing a game in her shuttle when the battle broke out. Inara ran to lock the door while River hid behind pillows and curtains.

****

Book made it to the entry way of the cargo bay but couldn’t make it out due to the gun fire. As he turned to go a different way, a man stood in his path.

“Hello Sheppard.”

With that, he poked Book in the side with some sort of prod that immediately made him unconscious. His body slid down a couple stairs and rested at the feet of the man.

He then turned and left.

****

Kaylee stayed under the engine where she had been working all day. She knew they couldn’t see her in the tight spot she had wedged herself in and prayed that everyone was ok.

Sounds of running footsteps kept her underneath. They were looking for something. She didn’t know what but they kept referring to “her”. Her first thoughts went to River.

Oh, God. Not again.

**** Mal awoke in the infirmary, Simon hovering over him with a flashlight trying to see his pupils.

“Gorram it! What happened to my ship?”

“You should probably not sit up so fast, you may be a little woozy and…”

Before Simon could finish his sentence, Mal collapsed back on the bed. His head was spinning and so was the room. The two working against each other made him sick to his stomach.

Mal looked around to take stock in the crew that he could see.

Wash sat on the other bed and a blood stained bandage across him temple. His hand was testing the size of the bandage with his fingertips.

He could see what looked like Inara, River, and maybe Mandy looking over Book on the couch. The more Mal tried to focus on things the more blurry they got.

“Doc? Do you know what happened? Where’s Zoe?”

“Well, you were knocked out with a very simple sedative made from herbs. It was injected into your neck. That’s probably why things are little blurry. Zoe and Jayne are looking over the ship and checking on Kaylee.”

“How long did it last? Was anyone else hurt?” Mal’s concern was obvious for his crew but he was also thinking of prisoners. Who would talk from the other side? Who was responsible?

“It stopped suddenly, sir. Everyone just stopped firing and left,” Zoe had entered the infirmary and was now looking at her husband’s wound.

Mal sat further back. His head began to ache. “They didn’t take the cargo?”

“No, Sir. They left everything,” Zoe was now facing Mal even though he wasn’t looking at her.

“MAL!”

Jayne ran into the infirmary and tripped a little of the threshold.

“Mal, Kaylee’s missing.”

Mal raised his head in question and everyone looked at Jayne like he was a crazy person.

“You checked everywhere for her?” Simon asked, hysteria entering his voice.

“Yes. Everywhere. She’s no where. No one has seen her.”

“Everyone spread out. Check everything, even places you wouldn’t think she would fit.” Mal’s orders were definite. Simon helped him off the table and then left to look around.

Yells of Kaylee’s name reverberated throughout the ship with no answer. The longer they keep yelling, the more frantic they got.

Simon found River on the couch, hugging her knees up to her chest. An hour of looking had turned up nothing. Mal, Zoe, and Jayne had left to look around the area for her.

“They have her.”