Simon stared at the image on the screen, a look of horror on his face. "Penelope."

"You know her, Doc?" Jayne asked.

Holding Kaylee's hand, Simon nodded. "I knew her on Osiris."

"Knew her?" Jayne pressed. "Or...y'know, knew her?"

"What could that possibly have to do with the situation at hand?" Simon asked, glaring at the mercenary.

"Yep. Humped her." Jayne said under his breath, earning a sharp look from Mal.

"I don't understand." Simon said to Mal. "What happened to her? Who contacted us?"

"She was attacked. Alliance goons. Our...'old friend' seemed to think we might be in a position to help." Mal explained. "He didn't say how they managed to track her down."

"Because of me." Simon's voice had an edge of bitterness. "She tried to help me find River, and was arrested as a result. The Alliance could have easily looked up her record."

Kaylee squeezed his hand gently. "Ain't your fault, honey."

"How far out are we?" Simon asked.

"Hold on now, we can't just go charging off to the rescue. For all we know, this is a trap." Mal said.

"When has that ever stopped you?" Inara asked.

Mal considered that for a moment. "What's her last name?"

Simon looked surprised by the question. "Antoine."

"Lil' Albatross, can you plot a course?" Mal asked River. She nodded, and he patted her shoulder lightly. "Good, do it."

"Wait a second, Cap'n." Kaylee frowned as a disturbing thought occured to her. "He said people we know are in danger, right?"

Mal cursed under his breath, immediately understanding what Kaylee was getting at. "Wave your folks, tell them to lay low."

Simon wrapped his arm around Kaylee's shoulders, comforting her. "I'm sure they're fine, baobei ."

"I know, I think so too." Kaylee sighed. "But if they gotta hide, and we're going to Bayou..."

"The wedding." Simon realized. "I'm so sorry, Kaylee."

"Can't be helped." Kaylee squeezed his hand again and managed a sad smile as she sat down in front of the screen.

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