Disclaimer: Firefly and all related elements, characters and indicia © Mutant Enemy Productions and 20th Century Fox Television, 2003. All Rights Reserved. All characters and situations—save those created by the authors for use solely on this website—are copyright Mutant Enemy Productions and 20th Century Fox Television.

Please do not archive or distribute without author's permission.

Author's Note: This story contains mature themes, including sexual violence. Proceed with caution.

Acknowledgements: Huge huge thank yous to all my betas, especially amilynh, Amy the browncoat, Dangermom, LiquidEyes, BK, annieM, maystone, Harri Vane, Yahtzee, and the entire Lj crowd who provided encouragement during the almost four month gestation period. Extra special thanks to amilynh for excellent help with research, scrunchy for letting me 'watch' her read the various drafts over IM. Could not have done it without you all.

Lex Talionis
by Tara O'Shea

And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

—Exodus 21:23-25

Part I

There was darkness, and pain, and voices.

Simon!

No. No, no, no, no...

Wôde tìan, Kaylee!

Jayne!

It's going to be okay, mèimei. Kaylee? Can she hear me?

There's so much blood.

Kaylee, can you hear me? C'mon, open your eyes. Stay with me, xin gan. Kaylee? Can you—

"—hear me? Kaylee!" Margaret Frye's voice cut through the summer birdsong as she stood out on the front porch, hands cupped around her mouth so her voice would carry. "Dammit, where is that girl..."

She smoothed her cotton dress down over her hips for the eighth time and resisted the urge to check her chrono yet again. By now, three generations of Fryes, Carters, Neelans and Mitchells