Genevieve barely winced.

"She is very quiet, No?" Niska commented fondly to Virgil as his first mate hung from the chains of the rafters, being flogged with a cat-o'-nines.

Virgil couldn't help but flinch. For although he had lost his heart, he still remembered a time before when he had carried a torch for her.

Genevieve lifted her head, face caked with sweat and blood as the lashes scourged across her back, and stared at Virgil. She bared her teeth, clenching her fists. "Sir."

"Yes Vieve?"

"Permission to rip his cao gaowan out when we get outta this, Sir." Her body cringed, reflex to a particularly devastating blow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He saw the scars on her back.

He was lying in his bed, half asleep, gluey eyed from the holistic medicine that had dulled his senses to take away the pain. She was finally going to sleep, and that meant disrobing. He watched through his eyelids, not with sexual curiosity, but that of a many that wanted to see the damage he had brought upon another soul. As she took off the tunic that had been given to her, he saw the bullet holes his men had put in her. There were also, however, electrical burns from a stun gun during multiple off the books interrogations, the cuts of an Academy scalpel including a pair incisions running parallel to her spine. Tasya rolled her shoulders, not self conscious yet embracing her flawed skin as she turned and shucked off her pants to stand in a pair of briefs. Along with scars, there were sparse tattoos, yet his mind was blurry as a tear of guilt rolled down his cheek and she climbed onto her own mattress to rest.

Rolling onto his back, he hoped that the crew his was searching for was still alive and well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"SIMON!"

Simon gazed up from his spot amongst his lovely supplies (He was the metaphorical kid in a candy store) and to the hatch of his cellar. Setting a box aside, he straightened his spine as the captain's boots stopped above the door. "Yes?"

Inara gazed up as well