Credit must be given due to KaySky, who really helped me out with the dialogue. Thanks, babe.

As much as the three of them wanted to get back to Osiris as soon as possible, various things kept them from going home immediately. For starters, the new engine wasn’t completely installed yet. And even with Kaylee working from morning till night, it would still take about three days to have it fully operational with all the bugs worked out of it. And there was still the matter of getting there. Demand for the ship was still high out in the furthest reaches of space, and it was only after dropping off more cargo that they were able to land a job that took them back to Osiris. It was only two weeks later that Simon, Kaylee and River were able to touch down outside the old Tam estate.

As Serenity fueled up and packed with more cargo with the help of Shooter who decided to work for Mal on a temporary basis, Inara took them out in her shuttle to Evergreen Gardens, the high society section of Capital City, and the Tam’s estate. During the flight, she gave the young couple some encouraging words, although they did little to relieve the tension that hovered around them. Simon’s mind kept racing over what to do and what to say. The estate that was his home for the longest time felt like an Alliance facility. He kept trying to think of ways to get out as fast as possible. But as he said those six words to his father and the iron gate creaked open, he realized that there was no turning back. River slew her demons. It was time to slay his.

As the gates clicked onto the side latch, the three of them began walking up the concrete driveway. Simon remembered how during special occasions and holidays, the servants would line the trees and hedges with Chinese lanterns and pipe classical music (usually Mozart) through the speakers in between. The driveway stretched out for another hundred yards before reaching a main parking area with a large Victorian fountain. Normally, water would be cascading from it, but now it was empty, with dried leaves nestled in the blue marble basin. River remembered how on nice days she would take her books and read near the fountain. On occasion, she’d even get Simon to re-enact legendary sea battles with their toy ships. Kaylee was a little intimidated with the environment around her. It was a strange experience for her not to hear the crunching of gravel as she walked up the driveway. While the grounds were in disarray, there was still that sense of sterility that permeated from the estate.

The three of them stepped up the wooden steps of the porch that lead to the large oak door. As Kaylee took her last step onto the porch, the door opened slowly. It swung wide open, and an aged Gabriel Tam stood there, his presence taking up most of the door frame. In Simon’s mind, he remembered a scene from one of Shooter’s movies he showed them last week about Wolfgang Mozart. Every time his father’s presence would show up, the opening notes for “Don Giovanni” would play over the soundtrack, instilling the fear of God into Mozart. In Simon’s mind, those same notes were playing.

“DAD!”, River squealed as she ran forward to Gabriel. She had set her guitar case down and gave her father a huge hug. He was surprised at the sudden affection he received, and very sternly patted her on the back.

“Hello, bao-bei. How’s my little girl?”

“Exceptionally wonderful. How is my daddy?”

Gabriel looked at her with his usual fatherly look. “Tired. Weary. Happy to see you.” If it came from Mal, it somehow seemed genuine. But seeing it come from the man who betrayed them, it just seemed hypocritical in Simon’s mind. Gabriel rested his hands on her shoulders. “Did they treat you all right?”

River simply shrugged. “Simon’s been a good big brother. A boob, but still good.” There was an awkward silence between the two. That’s not what he meant by that, but they both didn’t want to talk about it. It was in the past, and reflecting on the past never does anyone any real good.

“I mean on that ship. Out in the uncivilized regions.” That remark shot through Simon like a bullet.

“They treated me like family. They took good care of me, and I took good care of them.” She said it with the same cheeriness that she picked up from Kaylee. A flicker of sadness and regret came over Gabriel and he took his hands off her shoulders and looked at his daughter.

“I imagine you want to see your mother. She’s upstairs in her room.”

She walked back, picked up her guitar case and began to walk away, but then noticed that no one was following. She looked back with a puzzled look. “Aren’t you coming?”

“In a minute. I need to speak to Simon and his…bride.”

River looked at him one last time and then walked away, going up the old staircase towards her parent’s room. It had been so long since she was home, but it felt like it was only yesterday when she was stepping up the stairs.

Gabriel then turned around and faced his son. He walked up to them and paused. “Simon. Aren’t you going to introduce me?”

“Oh, yes. Yes, of course. Kaylee, this is my father, Gabriel Leopold Tam. Dad, this is Kaywinnith Lee Frye. We call her Kaylee for short.”

“It’s a real pleasure to meet you, Mr. Tam.” Kaylee put down her tool box and shot her hand out to Gabriel. He very reluctantly took her hand, still keeping his stern look. “That fountain of yours outside is really something. If you want, I can take a look at your plumbing and can fix it for ya.”

Gabriel shook his head and waved his hand. “No, that’s not necessary. We’ve been cutting down on some of the more lavish things on the estate to save money. So remind me again what you do?”

Kaylee grinned from ear to ear and pronounced proudly, “I’m the mechanic on our ship, Serenity. I’m in charge of making sure she’s still flyin. Just installed a brand new engine on the ship. A Herc 12 thousand prototype, no less. It's an experimental engine that only deep space explorers use. Put that on our ship and she’ll outrun anything. Not that we couldn’t outrun anything with the old one. I made sure of that.”

“That’s…interesting.” Simon could tell that his father was more interested in the sleeve of his robe than what Kaylee did. “What schools did you attend?”

“Well, I never really went to one. There weren’t any schools on Newhope, actually. Just kinda stuck around the farm and learnt from wherever.”

There was another long silence between the two. “Are you…” he looked down to her stomach “expecting?”

Kaylee giggled as she cradled her womb in her hands. “Yes..Yes I am.”

Simon reached over and put his arms around her. “We’re delighted.” He gave her a small kiss on the cheek. “Five months along. It’s a girl. We’re naming her Brooke.”

“After River. Interesting simile. Cute.” Gabriel smirked at this. To him it was funny in an ironic, hick-like patronage kind of way, which Simon could see in his smile. “I imagine you must be tired. The guest room is upstairs, third door to the left. Huge room, king sized bed. You don’t need to worry about clothes. We have far more than we need now.”

Kaylee smiled and thanked him. She then picked up her toolbox and headed inside and up the stairs. Now it was only Simon and Gabriel. They waited until Kaylee’s footsteps had faded away before they began talking. It was Gabriel who broke the silence by saying something that Simon would’ve expected to hear from Jayne, but not his father.

“I imagine she must be great in bed.”

Simon looked at his father, shocked at the sudden, strangely eloquent vulgarity that had come out of his mouth. Gabriel merely looked at him with a smirk.

“She must be the virtuoso in that department. Can’t imagine why else you’d be interested in her.”

“I’m interested in her because she was my saving grace. Or were you not paying any attention to the video.”

“How could I? It was the most blasphemous thing I’ve ever seen. My two children, whom I’ve dedicated everything this family has to offer, associating themselves with unruly criminals and disenfranchised Browncoats.”

“We may have had some illegal jobs, but we also did the right thing. Havn’t you heard? Were Big Damn Heroes. I even took out a drug baron and a pedophile a while back myself. Even Jayne, the man-ape gone wrong is the Hero of Canton. They’ve done more for River and me in the last four years than you have ever done for us in your life.”

“How dare you lay that fahng-tzong fung-kwong duh jeh on me. Who put you through school? Who pressured you when push came to shove during your finals? Who got you the job at General? This family has made you who you are, and this is how you re-pay us? By abandoning us to live out in the Black and turn your sister into some degenerate!”

Simon was beyond furious. “You make it sound as if I had a choice. I didn’t. Desperate acts call for desperate measures.”

“Well you were desperate, all right. Desperate to fulfill some half realized delusions of Campbell-esque mythology you instigated unto yourself with your sister being your ticket to fulfilling those delusions.”

Simon took a deep breath and began to laugh at the incredulousness of his father. “You still think this is all about me. You think that all of this has happened because of whatever excuse you dumped on me. Well let me tell you something. Four years ago when you essentially told me and River to gunkai, you pretty much sealed our fates as to what’s happened to us. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a sick mother to attend to.”

Simon turned around and headed up the stairs. He knew he wasn’t being proper. He knew that he had just said something to his father that years ago would’ve been way out of character for him. But he didn’t care. Already he felt like coming here was a waste of time.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

It was common amongst the wealthy families of the Core planets that the husband and wife share separate rooms. In its own strange logic, the separation of the wedding bed between husband and wife insured the sanctity of it. But then again, maybe it was because spouses commonly took other people to bed with them, and they didn’t want evidence of their significant others surrounding them.

These thoughts were as of late typical of Regan Tam. Ever since she was a young girl, she had been trained and prepared by her bourgeoisie parents and peers to become a member of the elite society. For most of her life, she had never doubted or even questioned her various social roles and what accompanied each of them. But the last four years have made her reconsider everything she had been taught.

After Simon and River had vanished without a trace, she started having small pains in her stomach. At first she thought these were mere stomachaches or ulcers. Something that could be cleared up soon. But they still persisted the next day. And then the next week, then month and then year. It had taken her that long to realize that it was her conscience acting up. That something was indeed wrong with her daughter and that she was doing nothing.

Despite Gabriel’s insistence that Simon’s concerns were unfounded, she began looking into his accusations that something was horribly wrong at the Academy. She would contact other women who had sent their sons or daughters there as well to see if her concerns were shared. She began counseling with the best lawyers their wealth could buy. She even decided to spearhead a civil case against the Academy. But as she was close to getting the right amount of signatures and funds in place, the pains in the stomach returned. Only this time, the pain spread into her bones. Guilt had never felt this bad before. And after visiting the hospital where Simon used to work, she and Gabriel found out that it wasn’t guilt. It was leukemia. It was so far along that there was nothing left to do but wait. In a vain attempt at doing something productive, she had undergone rounds of kemotherapy. But all that accomplished was the loss of her long, beautiful red hair.

Regan had never felt so crushed. It was as if there was a giant cosmic joke going on, and their family was the punch line. And with the events of Blue Tuesday confirming their deepest fears, euthanasia wasn’t sounding too bad. The only sliver of hope that came their way was the staggering coincidence of a wedding videographer being at the right place and time twice. It had been weeks since the young man had left to find her children, leaving behind a copy of the two year old wedding video.

Reagan had spent all her time since then in bed, propped up with huge pillows and a remote in her bony hands. She had tiredly watched the movie every day for the past few weeks, her breathing beginning to short with ever passing day. In watching the video over and over again, the screen became her window into the past. At times, she felt that she could touch them.

The door creaked open. Reagan paused the video.

“Yes, Gabriel. I know I shouldn’t be-“ She paused. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. Her mind was going. It had to be. Only a combination of stress and a deteriorating body could explain why her daughter was now standing in her doorway, holding a guitar case.

“Mom?”

Reagan gasped in shock. She was real. She was really there. “River.” She grabbed the edge of the sheets and tried to pull them off. It was too much and she gasped in pain. She wanted to hold and hug her little girl so much, but the pain was too much to bear. River then rushed over, placed her guitar case on the bed and hugged her. Tears were flowing out of both of their eyes.

“Oh River. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I ever doubted you and your brother. I should’ve known something was wrong. It was only after you’ve gone that I tried to do something about it, but then it was too late.”

River was hugging her mother, trying to instill some warmth into her cold, frail body. “No need for dwelling on the past. Forgiveness fills the room, it embraces the present.” River saw into her body and soul, and saw that both were breaking down and deteriorating from the inside. “In acute myeloid leukemia, the stem cells develop into a type of immature white blood cell called myeloblasts. The myeloblasts in AML are abnormal and do not mature into healthy white blood cells. Sometimes, too many stem cells develop into abnormal red blood cells or platelets. These abnormal white blood cells, red blood cells, or platelets are also called leukemia cells or blasts. Leukemia cells are unable to do their usual work and can build up in the bone marrow and blood so there is less room for healthy white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. When this happens, infection, anemia, or easy bleeding may occur. The leukemia cells can spread outside the blood to other parts of the body, including the central nervous system, skin, and gums.” River leaned back and looked at her mother. “We can’t make you better. We’re too late. We could’ve noticed earlier. I could’ve noticed earlier. I’m so sorry.”

“Hush, bao-bei.” Regan slowly wrapped her arms around her grown daughter again. Now it was her turn to give forgiveness. “There was nothing you could’ve done for me anyways.” River started talking breathlessly as she speculated. “We'll never know. If I had been around, Simon would have been around. Maybe instead of spending the last few years focused on me he could have spent them focused on you. He's smart, not a genius like me, but he could have come up with something. He always does.”

Regan smiled lightly at her daughter’s errant wish to make her better. It was nice to hear that at least one of her children wasn’t resentful towards her. She patted her on the back and assured her. “Even if he did, I'm refusing treatment. I am very old and very sick. Who knows? Maybe this is my punishment. For robbing you of your teen years, I won't be around to see you blossom into a young woman.” She pushed River back up and looked into her large watery eyes. “This is why I want to know everything that’s happened to you in the last four years. Tell me of your adventures. Tell me more about the crew.” She looked over at the leather guitar case. “Tell me how you got this.” She leaned over and tapped her hand on the case.

River sniffled and brought the case closer to her. She unfastened the latches on the side and opened the lid. As she assembled the instrument together, she spoke of the origins. “Simon ran out of other treatment options. I thought it was stupid, but Wash, he had the most incredible music collection. It's nothing like what I played as a child. It’s all these old songs from 20th Century Earth-That-Was. You’ve probably never heard any of it, but it's so incredible...it’s so….inspirational. I find that a song from that era can say what cannot be put into words so easily. It's a channel. It's my way of releasing what's inside me.”

She set the guitar to a viola mode and began to play it with her bow. She played the opening notes of some random piece of classical music. She hadn’t played this kind of music since she was 7, but she figured that it would be something that she would’ve wanted to hear. The only thing she did listen to was CBC.

And so it was to River surprise and delight when her mother said, “You wouldn’t happen to know "Hey, Jude" would you?”

River looked at her mother in shock. She paused for a second to make sure she heard it right. Regan looked at her. “I’ll hum it for you.” Regan began humming the opening notes to refresh her daughter’s memory. Very weakly, she croaked “Remember, to let her into your heart. Then you can start to make it better.” By that time, River had reset the guitar to an acoustic and began strumming along to the familiar tune. “Hey Jude, don’t be afraid. You were made to go out and get her. The minute you let her under your skin, then you begin to make it better.” River joined in with a soft heavenly background vocal as she smiled, enjoying her mom's soothing yet weak singing voice. They only paused midway to allow for a coughing fit for Regan. After it subsided, River looked at her mother with admiration. “That's real pretty, mom. I had no idea you liked that sort of music....have you always?”

Regan sank back into her pillows and looked at her, as if recalling a better time. “Not always. Mostly classical music and operas. Not that I didn't enjoy them, I did. But when I was about your age and going to college, a friend of mine once played me that song. After that, whenever I got the chance I'd listen to them. God, I hadn't thought about that in years.”

Regan looked away wistfully, recalling old memories of times before everything went to Hell. River merely resumed strumming along to the old tune and quietly singing the lyrics. It was around the fourth “Hey Jude” repeat when the door opened. Kaylee began to step into the room and then began to back out.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I was looking for... I thought this was the guest room. I don't want to interrupt or anything. If this is a bad time-“

River looked back at her sister-in-law and smiled. “Not interrupting.” She nodded towards the bed. “Kaylee, this is my mom, Regan. Mom, this is Kaylee”

Regan sat up again to get a good view of Kaylee, who was very nervously approaching the bed. “Hi... That was a real pretty song you were signing there.”

Regan looked at Kaylee with the maternal warmth she thought she had lost so long ago. ”Yes, it is. Come closer, child. Don't be shy. I want to see my daughter-in-law up close.”

Kaylee laughed at the remark as she looked down to her extended womb. “Well, there’s kind of a lot of me to see these days.” As she came in closer, Regan smile grew wider as she saw what Kaylee meant by that. “How far along?”

Any apprehension Kaylee might’ve had about meeting her husband’s mother vanished with that remark. “Five months. I felt her kick for the first time last month. She's got quite a set of legs on her for being so small. I can't wait till it's finally time for her to come out and meet the 'verse. As if on cue, Brooke gave Kaylee a mighty kick from within. Kaylee brought her hands down to her denim covered womb and giggled. “I think she's getting restless.”

Regan blinked and asked softly. “May I touch it? Might be the only change I get.” Kaylee shrugged. “Sure.” Kaylee took a few steps closer and brought her belly towards Regan. She weakly raised her hand and placed it on her denim covered womb. As she felt the fluttering of movement from her granddaughter within, a strange wave of emotions came over her. This coming home of her children and the revelation that the bloodline will continue gave her a sense of elation. Of a future. And then she realized that she wouldn’t be a part of that future. This drove the elation and hope out of her and replaced it with a crippling sadness. Regan withdrew her hand and starts crying again. It was at that point that Simon came into the room and rushed to his mother’s side. “What's wrong?” he asked breathlessly as he reached the bedside. “What happened?”

Kaylee merely looked at him in a panicked tone. “I don't know. She was just... I was just... “

“It's nothing anyone's done.” River stated this blankly as Simon and Kaylee looked at her. River turned her head so as to address them directly. “She's just saddened by the "what ifs" and "what could have beens". “

Simon just looked at Regan and for the first time in a long while, was unsure as to what to do. He waited for his mother to calm down, and when the tears finally dried up, she looks at him for the first time and smiled weakly.

“It's good to see you Simon. It's been so long. Too long, son.” She weakly brought up her arms to touch her son’s face. It was coarser and more rugged than she remembered it as. His hair had grown out a bit, and there was a slight weariness to his face, not to mention the tiny scar on his cheek. Simon brought her thin, bony hand to his face for her to feel. It was then that he noticed how frail her body had become. Her skin had a waxy look to it, enunciated with black sores and blemishes all over her arms, shallow breathing and a wig that matched her old hair color that was slightly out of alignment. “I'm sorry...for everything. For not believing you, for not being a mother to both of you when you needed one, for not doing anything until it was too late....I'm truly sorry.”

Simon leaned in and gave her a hug. The remorse he was feeling now was tempered by the assurance he was giving to her. “I don't blame you. I blame Dad for abandoning us. I blame them for what they did. I blame the entire gorram system that rightfully collapsed. But I never once blamed you.”

Regan broke the embrace and looked into her son’s sad eyes. Part of her maternal strength was back, so now was as good as any time to say it. “Simon, you shouldn't be so hard on your father. While I am in no way justifying his actions, I feel the both of you should reconcile your differences. Forgive each other and start fresh. Family is something terribly important and unfortunately many of us never realize that until it’s too late. I don’t want that to happen between you and your father.”

What she was asking him to do in his mind was in his opinion, an impossible task. There was nothing he could do to repair the damage he had done to them. And even if he did try, would Gabriel see beyond his petty delusions to realize the ramifications of his actions. The thought of it all made him sigh in stress. He looked back at his dying mother and shrugged. “I'll try. Can't say that it'll happen. But I'll try for your sake.” Regan patted her son on his cheek and smiled. “Good. Now, you take Kaylee to the guest room and get all set up, and River, you can play whatever you want for me.”

All of them smiled at this proclamation. Simon got up from the bed and went to the door with Kaylee following. River began strumming along to an acoustic song that she had made up. River’s twangy singing voice sang aloud as she sang about flying. Kaylee looked back and saw how the setting sun was flooding the room in a heavenly way. She loved the image of that light illuminating a reunited mother and daughter. “Not even Shooter could’ve made it more perfect.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

What Shooter, or anyone else for that matter, could’ve made better was the general mood and feeling of the dinner they were having. A fire was roaring in the dining room of the large mansion. The room itself was roughly about the size of the cargo bay. When Simon and River were children, they’d shout in the room just to see if it would echo. The mahogany table itself could seat twelve and was about twenty five feet long and 8 feet wide. It sat on a red carpet that was wall-to-wall. Painting of ancestors adorned the walls of the room, the people in them looking down on the diners as they ate.

What they were eating were warmed over leftovers from long ago. Like everything else on the estate, the Tams had to severely cut down on groceries. Of course, whenever Gabriel went to the bulk superstores (an alien experience for him), he only shopped for one. Despite his insistence towards his wife, her appetite had severely decreased. The only thing she did consume were sips of water. What would’ve normally been an elaborate meal that would’ve taken the whole day for the cooking staff to prepare with the utter most precision was now warmed over stir fry from last week put in the microwave for five minutes.

But the food was not the main cause of tension. There was a general sense of malaise and unease as the four of them sat at the table, idly poking away at the food. At Gabriel’s insistence, Regan was not moved from her bed out of concern for her health and was still in her room. Gabriel sat on the right side of the table, the fire place framing him against the flames. He just stared at Simon and Kaylee, who were sitting opposite him side by side. Simon stared back at his father, their gaze unbroken in a high stakes staring contest. The tension was so thick between them that not even Kaylee’s arc welder could’ve cut through it. River merely sat at the foot of the table, idly plucking away at strings, playing random notes.

It wasn’t always like this. The dining room was once the heart of the building. Every night, the Tam family would sit down and talk about their days. Gabriel would discuss business, Regan her various social groups she was a part of, and Simon and River with the new things they had learned that day at school. For an hour, the room came alive with intellectual debate, funny stories, imitations and general family bonding. After dinner, the plates and silverware were cleared and the table became the hub for their activities. Gabriel and Simon would work on their paperwork across from each other and play metal games with each other to keep them alert. Regan and River would play cards or do a number of mother/daughter bonding activities. And if the mood struck, they would often do board games of an elaborate nature. And if the daily evening dinners weren’t enough, the parties they held made them pale in comparison. Christmas dinners, weekly dinner parties with Dad’s executives and Mom’s socialite friends, and the most lavish birthday parties any child of the Core could ever hope for. But over the course of the last four years, the dinners became quieter and less elaborate, the games began to collect dust in a closet, the dinner parties became less frequent, and the Christmas and birthday parties stopped. Their dates only served as painful memories of what was once but now no longer. The four of them merely sat in silence, picking away at rancid food and nursing seething resentment. This silence during dinner was driving Kaylee nuts in particular. Dinners shouldn’t be silent.

“So... “Kaylee said aloud nervously, trying to break the ice. “Y’all got a nice home here.”

Gabriel merely glared at her for a few seconds, repelled at the idea of yokel terminology being spoken within these hollowed walls. He then replied with a simple courteous acknowledgement. “Yes. Yes it is. This house and the grounds have been in our family name for the last two hundred years. Forgive us for not having it totally clean. Due to Blue Tuesday, we've had to cut down our house and grounds keeping staff.” He paused before he made his next comment. “Of course, I'm sure you're used to things being a bit dirty.”

This last bit was pointed directly at Kaylee, but shot through Simon, nonetheless. Kaylee merely bit her tongue and never broke her smile. “Being a mechanic and all does involve somewhat of a mess.” “I can imagine. Tell me, how did you become one? A mechanic, that is. A female mechanic seems rather anachronistic.”

Kaylee merely shrugged. “Ain’t so where I’m from. My daddy was a mechanic. Since I was in diapers he had me by his side while he was workin'. Engines have always been part of me. They talk to me. I can't imagine not being around 'em.”

Gabriel poked at his stir-fry with his pair of chopsticks and replied in an amused tone. “And I imagine..Creek...will be at your side while you tinker away at a grav thrust and engage in lively conversation with an oil filter?”

Any consideration and politeness Kaylee was broadcasting was cut short with that remark. Through her teeth, she replied “Her name is Brooke.” There's a slight tone of anger in Kaylee's voice as she corrected him.

"Tomato, tom-ah-to. It's all the same."

Simon finally had enough. "No, it's not. We're calling her Brooke in honor of River. And if you were any grandfather, you'd show some respect."

Gabriel set down his chopsticks to the side and said coldly, "It's hard for me to show any respect towards a child of a backwater slut who dares to associate herself with criminals."

Kaylee had never heard anything so insulting directed towards herself and her unborn child. “I'd rather be a backwater slut than a heartless old man.” Kaylee threw her napkin onto the table. “I may not have a fancy upbringing, but one thing I did learn while growing up was the meaning of family. Guess that's just something all the money in the verse can't teach a person.”

Simon looked at her. “Kaylee you don't need to defend yourself against this jackass. It wouldn't make a difference anyways.” He stared directly into his father’s eyes. “Nothing gets through his thick head.”

Gabriel pushed away his plate. He was good and angry as he stood up. “The only thing that gets through my thick head is something you two will never understand, and that's legacy. This family was on the path to greatness. We may have had money, but we were on the verge of sublimity. Of producing integral people in human history. But you just had to screw it up. We could've taken her out of the Academy years ago. We could've exposed what they did and have everything back to normal. Instead, you break her out, make her and yourself fugitives, ally yourselves with disgruntled Browncoats and criminals and shack up with some random speck of dust in the grand scheme of things and turn River into some punk slacker. And to add insult to injury, I only find this out two years after the fact because of some amateur videographer.” He stared at his son, with an anger and fury unseen by anyone in the room. “You have destroyed everything that this family has stood for. Dong ma?”

“I've destroyed everything this family's stood for?” Simon inhaled and screamed. “I'VE DESTROYED EVERYTHING THIS FAMILY'S STOOD FOR?” In a furious outrage, Simon stood up violently, his chair skidding back and toppling over due to the force. “The day you knowingly subjected River to that place is the day any legacy of this family died. Children aren't some science experiment. It's disappointing as hell to know my father thinks otherwise.”

Kaylee looked up at her husband and saw the flaming rage that was finally being let out after all these years. And if the sudden burst in kicks from within here were any indication, this wasn’t going to end well. She reached up to grasp his arm. “Simon, you should calm down.”

Simon pulled away his arm, not breaking the intense eye contact he had with his father. “No, I'm not going to let him talk to you or me like this.”

Gabriel waved his right hand. “No, go right ahead. If it's been boiling up in you the last four years, why not get it all out.” Gabriel began to move away from his seat and began walking the perimeter of the table. “And for the record, it's just as disappointing to see your once logical son fly off the handles and disregard doing things the proper way, like you should have done all those years ago.”

Simon began doing to same, on an intercept course with the elder Tam. “And since when is submitting your daughter to torture the proper thing to do?”

Gabriel exploded in volume and rage. “THAT IS NOT THE POINT. We were misguided. We were lied to, like so many other families. But if you weren’t so arrogant and self-righteous, we could've brought them down a long time ago. We could've saved her and repaired her with the proper medical treatment, while still keeping her and you on track for being integral beings in the history of mankind. Instead, you decided to abruptly take out a trauma patient, pump her full of random drugs and put her in a hostile environment while you were off "playing Doctor" with Barbarella here.” Both Kaylee and River were now holding onto each word the two men were saying.

Simon’s veins were popping in his forehead. The indignation of what his father was saying was blinded him in fury. “First off, I went to you with my concerns and you thought nothing of them. Had you known your daughter you would have believed me and I wouldn't have been left with the only choice I had. Secondly, I was not off "playing doctor" like you were playing "father". I actually know a thing or two about being a doctor. I can proudly say I graduated in the top 3% of medical school. You don't even fit in the bottom 3% of fatherhood. That would be giving you too much credit. And if you ever insult my wife again, I assure you, we will leave. The only family you ever had will walk right out that door and never come back.”

“Fine then. Go. Leave. Take your foul baggage with you and never come back. Leave your mother behind like you did four years ago and let her wither away. The shock of her son abandoning her should kill her. The final turn of the knife you’ve been twisting around for the last four years. Be no different then the Alliance officials who carved into Ri-“

Simon finally let it loose. The ball that was his clenched fist shot out and collided with his father’s face. In one go, Gabriel crumpled to the floor, just like when Mal hit Simon the first night he boarded Serenity. Simon stared at him as he flexed his fingers to ease the pain. He looked up at Kaylee, and then at River. Simon looked back at his father, and then stormed out of the room. His loud footsteps up the staircase echoed through the cavernous mansion and faded away. Kaylee then got up and followed.

Gabriel sat up and brought himself to his feet. He dusted himself off, smoothing out the wrinkles of his bathrobe and poking at the tender spot of skin from where Simon hit him. He looked over at River. She was already clasping her guitar case shut. She took the case by the handle and began heading towards the front door.

“River? Where are you going?”

River stopped and turned around. She looked at her father and said in her regular voice.

“Saw that coming.”

She turned around, opened the door, stepped through and closed it, leaving her father standing in the main entrance of the mansion all alone.