A/N: I am so sorry it's been so long. You know what happens when you lose inspiration. I'm not liking this chapter a ton, but at least it helps move things forward.

10 days earlier:

The night Mal and Jayne had made plans to go to Liann Jiun, Simon trudged through the empty hallways of Serenity.

"Hey Simon," Kaylee said brightly. She was coming out of the engine room covered in grease. "Wha'cha up to?"

Simon looked around guiltily. "Can you keep a secret for me bao bei?"

"Yeah," Kaylee shrugged. "'Course I can." She even lifted her fingers to her forehead as a salute. "Won't even tell the Cap'n."

He lifted a small device out of his pocket. Kaylee gasped: it was a Core-grade camera, tiny, efficient, and perfect for catching people doing things they shouldn't be doing. "I need you to fix this for me so it will take pictures whenever someone walks by it. River keeps coming and going out of our room at night and I want to know what she's up to."

Kaylee covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh Simon, I dunno. I don' know if I'm comfortable doin' that. Plus it's such a shiny camera, wouldn't be right to take her apart!"

Simon took her hands in his. "Please Kaylee. This is for River. What if she's sleepwalking and getting hurt?"

Kaylee couldn't tell him what she knew. She only nodded mutely, and obeyed.

The day before the meet on Persephone:

Simon ran into the kitchen, completely apoplectic. Mal and Zoe were drinking coffee calmly when the raging doctor ran in and slammed the camera and several poorly developed pictures on the table.

"He is raping her, Mal! That - that brute, that vile, disgusting animal is hurting my sister!"

Mal cleared his throat and picked up one of the black and white photos. It was grainy, but it clearly showed Jayne pinning River to the wall. However, it didn't particularly portray rape. Wash and Kaylee walked in then, drawn by Simon's voice. Kaylee looked from Simon to the Captain and back again.

"What's goin' on her, Cap'n?" She was uncertain, hesitant; quite unusual for her.

"Seems like the li'l albatross is in some trouble with her brother," Mal replied. He handed the photo casually back to his crew. For a solid thirty seconds, everyone stared, too stunned to speak. It was difficult to digest, the idea that someone as refined as River might want a, well, an animal like Jayne. Though, she was crazy.

Simon still raged on. "Are you going to do something about this?"

Mal sighed. He was surprised at how calmly he was dealing with this situation. Wash and Zoe were one thing, but his prized mercenary and a loony girl? That was different. Jayne was a crack shot and could be trusted not to let his emotions get in the way. Frankly, Mal didn't know if he had much of any empathy. If he and River were carrying on, could he trust him with a job?

"Isn't River an adult?" Wash voiced. "I mean, if she's over eighteen, is there really anything we can do about it?"

Mal shot his pilot a dirty look. "Still my ship Wash. Still my rules. Now, I admit you've got a point 'bout her bein' legal and all, but I gotta think of the crew. Now Doc," he turned to Simon, "your sister is an adult and I'm thinkin' she can make her own decisions. I don' like it, but I think..." He rubbed his forehead. Honestly he didn't know what to think.

"I think Jayne's been a right side happier since this all started," Kaylee said softly.

The others turned suspiciously towards her. "And how long have you known about this?" Simon's tone was pure ice.

Kaylee crossed her arms over her chest. "'Bout a month or so. 'Nara knows too!" She added defensively. "And I mean it, he's been a lot better since they've been gettin' together. He smiles and he laughs - and she laughs too!"

A stony silence fell over the kitchen, each one of them with their own opinion.

Persephone:

Simon bounced on the balls of his feet waiting for Jayne and River. As Mal showed them the picture, he could no longer contain himself. With all his strength, he swung his fist backward and let it collide with Jayne's mouth.

bao bei - sweetheart