Book picked up the small bag containing his Bible and purse and headed down to the cargo bay, where most of the crew was already waiting to disembark on Fusang. The captain clattered down the staircase just after Book himself. Dull vibrations rang across the deck as the ship settled into its berth.

"I'm off to let our client know we’re here early. The arrangement's to have the cargo delivered tomorrow," the captain informed them as he waited be the bay doors. "That means you have until the morning to be back on ship. Kaylee will be here until I get back. Keep your noses clean, people."

Wash appeared briefly at the top landing before bounding down the steps to Zoe. They shared a quick kiss before Wash turned to the captain.

"We're good to go, Mal. All set for some quality time with the wifey." The two smiled at each other as they brushed noses.

Malcolm cleared his throat. "Good to know. I’ll see you all later, then."

He hit the door controls, heading down the ramp as it lowered. Wash and Zoe weren't far behind. Kaylee wandered over to where the doctor was staring pensively out at the planet.

"Hey there, Simon. What're you planning on doing here, while we got down time?"

The sharply-dressed man turned to her with a smile, but it soon faded to a troubled look. "I'm not entirely sure. The captain said it should be safe here, but I don't know if I feel comfortable wandering around on our own. After all, the Alliance will be looking for a brother and sister alone."

Kaylee's bright smile faded, and she started plucking at the cuff of her pink-flowered shirt. Book cleared his throat.

"If you're that concerned Doctor, I could take River with me. We get along well enough, and the authorities surely won't take us for siblings. You can stay here and keep our engineer company in her vigil until the captain gets back."

Kaylee brightened immediately. Simon didn't reply for a moment, obviously thinking the offer through.

"That sounds sensible. If you're sure it won't be a burden?"

"Nonsense, it won't be any trouble at all. After all, we've kept each other company before." Book decided to ignore how disastrous that last time had been. He thought that they had both grown since then. He hoped so anyway; his Bible might not survive another of River's edits.

"All right, then. River, mei-mei, do you want to go see the planet with the shepherd?"

The girl in question looked up from where she was kneeling near some cargo crates, apparently inspecting the spaces between them. She rose with a dancer's grace, smoothing her long broomstick skirt and tossing her long black hair over one shoulder. Then she extended a pale hand.

"It would be an honor," she said, voice low and slightly imperialistic.

Book smiled as he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and turned them toward the front of the ship. The child had her moments.

They had landed in one of the minor ports of Fusang. Clairestown Docks was little different than most of the other such settlements he had visited with Serenity's crew. The central landing zone was overrun with the bustle of commerce, and the smell of engine grease and ethnic foods sizzling from the vendors' carts filled the air. A sign proclaiming home-baked sweets caught his eye, and he steered River over to the merchant. He bought a couple of sticky buns. He supposed he was being indulgent, but the girl needed all of the indulging she could get. Besides, it had been a long time since he had such a treat.

River ate by pulling apart the layers of the roll and then dangling them above her head to take small nibbles. Book cradled his own in the brown waxed paper, trying to keep the sticky sugar in his mouth instead of on his hands and mustache. A fruitless endeavor, perhaps, but he made the attempt anyway. They ate as they wandered toward the settlement proper, pausing on occasion to let others pass by. By the time they set foot on a dusty street, they were both finished, River busily licking her fingers. When she caught him looking, she waved a hand.

"The lady wishes for a serving maid," she demanded.

Book smiled and pointed toward a vacant horse trough nearby.

"Will that do, my lady?"

She paused, and then nodded. "She will deign to sweeten the beasts' drink with the touch of her flesh." River quickly dipped her fingers into the murky water and wiped them dry on her skirt.

"What does my lady wish to do now?" Book asked.

She smiled up at him. "I'm a River, not a lady. Are there good shops?"

"I guess we'll just have to find out."

They moved on past the raucous bars and the brothel that dotted the edge of town. Jayne was surely divesting himself of his pay in one of the buildings. One more street over found them on merchant's row. They entered a general store, its shelves lined with all manner of things: foodstuffs, farm equipment, work shirts, and many odd knickknacks. There were even a few old-fashioned books locked in a case. River picked up a doll and began talking to it. Book left her to it as he peered at the bindings beneath the glass. He spotted the collected works of Shakespeare, the Tao Te Ching, a stained cookbook, the poems of the Brownings. He spied several volumes that were probably novels, but he didn't recognize the authors. Perhaps he could find them on the Cortex. The captain guarded their transmissions carefully, though. It wouldn't do to get picked up by the law because he had downloaded pleasure reading.

Book was distracted from his browsing by the sound of River's voice raised in agitation. He turned to see her holding the doll in one hand, poking its face with a roofing nail. He rushed over and reached around her back to grasp her hands.

"River, River honey. Don’t do that, child."

River struggled a little in his arms before she went lax, her arms drooping and her head falling against his chest. She burst into tears. Book gathered her close, murmuring soft nonsense. After a few minutes, she calmed down. Her tears slowed, though she still snuffled against him.

"Are you going to be all right, now?"

River nodded and wiped her face on her sleeve. Book looked up to see the shopkeeper staring at them.

"You going to pay for that, or do I gotta call the sheriff?"

Book snorted in disgust. Some people really needed to get in touch with the merciful hand of God. He held up his own, less-powerful hand, hoping to pacify the angry clerk.

"Calm down, son. I have coin here."

He fished some small change out of his purse and tossed it onto the counter. The man was staring at River in a way Book couldn't feel kindly about.

"Come on dear, let's get going," he said as he ushered the girl out into the wafting dust. "Do you want to go back to the ship now?"

River shook her head. Dust was mired in the traces of her tears. She looked all of twelve years old.

"All right then. I have an idea. I see a house of the Lord at the end of the street. It will be quiet, a good place to rest our feet for a while."

River pulled out a sad little smile.

"It is possible to conceive a child without intercourse if the ejaculate is proximal to the vagina. Virgin birth."

He closed his eyes, telling himself they were only words from a troubled child. "Thank you, River. Please don't say anything like that in the church."

"Right. Don't speak the truth in front of God."

The girl definitely had her other moments, as well. She smiled brightly at him and started skipping along the street.

Sighing, he hurried after her. He kept reminding himself that in some ways she had less than a child's grasp of the universe. Besides, he heard worse from Malcolm Reynolds on a weekly basis. The Lord often saw fit to test his children in manifold and strange ways.

Mal shifted the last box just a little more, grunting as it settled into place against the back wall. His back wished that he had told Jayne to stay with him, but he had to admit that he was pleased the buyer had taken control of the shipment a day early. It had given him time to get the shopping done without the rest of the crew wheedling at him for this and that. Now they could leave as soon as Inara got back from her business. His stomach turned a little sour at the thought so he pushed all thoughts of her to the back of his brain. No sense ruining the fine meal to come.

He heard voices before he heard the shuffle of footsteps up the landing ramp. Kaylee and the doctor were talking animatedly as they returned to the ship. Her face was aglow, which meant Simon hadn't managed to screw up too badly on this outing. Mal shook his head. He didn't know whether to warn Simon off or give him advice. The one thing he did know was that if Simon broke his mechanic's heart, Mal would have something stronger than words with him, doctor or no. And that would be a crying shame, because he rather liked the man.

Mal cleared his throat as they got closer. They both jumped a little. Kaylee turned to him with that big smile he just never could resist, no matter how he hardened his heart.

"How's it going, little Kaylee?"

She leaned up on her tiptoes and brushed his cheek with a kiss. He smiled at her. Kaylee was the only person brave enough to brush past his ornery exterior on a regular basis. Well, excepting Zoe, but Zoe was an exception to everything.

"Just shiny, Captain. You have a good day?"

"As they go," he said, and then nodded at the doctor. "Can you close up in here while I lug this stuff up to the mess?"

"What about River?" Simon asked.

"She and the shepherd are already on," Mal answered as he hefted two stacked boxes with a crate of fresh stuffs balanced on top. "I thought we already established that I don't leave crew behind."

"Yes," Simon drawled. "But you must admit there was a time delay before you picked us back up the last time."

Mal just chuckled as he made his way up the back steps. He never claimed to be a nice man.

He could hear people moving around in the galley as he approached. River was humming Onward Christian Soldiers. Not his most favorite tune ever, but as long as she didn't start preachifying he'd let it pass.

"I guess it's to be protein mash once again, River," he heard Book say.

Mal stepped inside just as she stuck out her tongue in protest.

"Don’t look so glum, girl," he said as he dropped the boxes on the counter with a heavy thunk. A tomato tried to escape, but he snatched it out of the air before it could hit the ground.

Book stepped around the counter to assist him. "Dare I hope that these all contain consumables?"

Even the shepherd's fancy talk couldn't throw off his good mood. "Don’t know what you dare, preacher, but I got a whole passel of foodstuffs here."

He set the crate aside so that Book could open the boxes of packaged goods. Mal himself began stowing the perishables; no sense taking a chance of letting good coin spoil. Book picked up the first few items--cereal bars--and put them in the proper storage unit. Mal noticed River pawing through the second box, but she didn't look to be harming anything so he let her be.

"What are you looking for, dear?" Book asked.

"Girls for the shepherd," she said.

Mal laughed at the expression on Book's face, then laughed again as he saw that she had pulled out the package of rosemary.

"Bless you, Malcolm. You do listen to this old man from time to time."

Mal pursed his lips. Book had a decided preference for that particular herb. While Mal wasn't that finicky an eater, a man did enjoy variety now and then. "There are some more flavors in there; you don’t have to go using just that one."

Book chuckled. "All right Captain, I shall endeavor to vary our cuisine a little."

"You wouldn't mind wrestling up some grub while I finish with this, would you? Kaylee and the doc will be joining us soon."

Book smiled. "It would be my pleasure."

Mal moved on to put away the silver foil packages. River watched him as if monitoring a child's progress. As long as she just watched, he had no problems with her.

Footsteps ringing on the metal of the stairs made him look up. Kaylee and Simon ducked into the galley; to his surprise, Jayne followed behind. Simon went straight to his sister.

"How are you doing, mei-mei?"

She looked up with an innocent smile. "I killed a doll."

Mal's own eyebrow rose at that. Simon looked consternated. He looked at Book as if hoping for a better translation of her words.

"I'm afraid she did, Doctor," Book said. "She had a bit of an upset in the general store and a ragdoll bore the brunt of it. I got her settled down and it turned out all right in the end."

"Didn't," River said, a little sullenly.

Mal shook his head and went on putting foil packages in the cabinets.

"Are you feeling okay, now?" he heard Simon say. He didn't hear River's response, but no screaming was always a positive thing.

"So I see we got food now. What's everyone want for dinner?" That was Kaylee, always trying to turn a sunny side to things.

"I don't care, but make sure it has some of these mushrooms in it." Mal turned and handed her a small crate. "Looks like we got a nice little dinner party. I didn't rightly expect to see you back tonight," he said to Jayne.

Jayne shrugged a shoulder as he shifted around in his seat at the table. "Got bored."

"You mean you ran out of money," Kaylee tossed over her shoulder.

Jayne just nodded. "That too. We have fresh fixin's?"

"You're just in time for my famous pan-fry, son," Book answered. "It's good to have you all here to share in the bounty."

Mal squeezed between Kaylee chopping greens and the shepherd slicing the mushrooms to fill his mug from one of the drink packs. He then settled in at the table beside River and Simon, who had taken up the go board.

"You sure you'll have enough for all of us?" Simon asked. "Wash and Zoe might show up."

Mal leaned forward to look over Simon's shoulder at their board. He could see that indeed River was the brighter Tam sibling; Simon's pieces were already a shambles.

"You might just want to admit defeat now," he said quietly. Simon rolled his eyes and moved another piece.

"The more the merrier, I always say," Book said. The smell of hot oil was starting to fill the room along with the sound of it spattering and popping.

"Oh, they won't be back tonight," Kaylee said. "They're off having sex."

Mal closed his eyes. As much as he didn't like to admit it, Kaylee was by no means an innocent. Hell, he'd known that from the first moment he met her, but it still managed to surprise him when she dragged the fact in front of his eyes.

"Saw them checking into a place this afternoon. Bet they've been going at it all day."

Of course, Jayne would always take it to the next level. If Mal was to think about people having sex, he sure didn't want it to be about his first mate and pilot.

"Can we not talk about other people's sex lives?" he asked in the vain hope of instilling some manners in his people. "Especially when I'm not getting any," he couldn't help adding under his breath.

Unfortunately, Jayne heard him. "Hell Mal, you could fix that easy enough."

Mal sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why, you volunteering?" The instant he said it he knew it was the wrong thing.

Jayne smiled, the wide slow one that was all kinds of disturbing. "Thought you had some rule about sleeping with the crew," he shot back.

Simon tensed against his shoulders. Mal wondered what that meant. He lifted his hand to his eyes, wishing he'd been smart enough to keep his mouth shut. "Please. No more sex talk. It ain't appropriate in this company."

"I don't mind," River piped up.

Sometimes he thought that his crew conspired against him on a regular basis. Days like these he realized they just saved it up for special occasions. "That may be true, but the shepherd does mind. So pick a different gorram topic," he ordered.

The room fell silent except for the sizzle of dinner cooking. Mal reminded himself that guilt was not an emotion he indulged in. Simon stood and made his way to the kitchen to begin a whispered conversation with Kaylee. River shot Mal a look that he couldn't hope to interpret, even with a dictionary. He shrugged and slid on over to take up the game Simon had abandoned.

"You're awful tetchy tonight, ain't you," Jayne said.

Mal didn't even bother to look at him. The board had his attention, and it wasn't looking good. "I was just fine until you got here," he said as he perused his options.

Jayne sat forward, his boots thumping against the floor as he set them down. "Aw Mal, why you gotta be like that? I ain't done nothing."

Mal picked up a white stone, turned it between his fingers as he thought. "Not today, you ain't."

"When are you going to let up on that," Jayne whispered into his ear. "I done wrong, I figured that out."

River looked up then. She stared straight at Jayne and smiled. Mal could feel the breath hiss out of Jayne's lungs.

"I'll just help with setting the table," Jayne said quickly and lurched to his feet.

Mal looked up at River. She smiled at him. "Still your turn."

He set the stone down, finally satisfied with the stalemate he had forced. "Now why do I get the feeling you know more than you let on?"

She cocked her head at the board, then bobbed it the other way. It was one of her oddest mannerisms, one that made him feel like a butterfly under a pin when she used it on him. But apparently it helped her somehow, because she picked up a black stone and proceeded to decimate his men.

"Huh," he said.

River looked up, her dark eyes serious as they met his own. "You think you know all the plays, but you don't even see all of the pieces."

The hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up. He opened his mouth, but for the life of him he couldn't think of a thing to say.