[12] White Collar
[20] Firefly
[01] Dark Shadows

Taking on a job commissioned by an orangutan may seem to veer from Mal's (admittedly abysmal) usual standards, but when it comes down to it, gold is gold, right?

The tags shimmered and blurred and she raised her head, tilted it back, let her eyes drink her tears back up before they spilled. It was a trick hard in the learning but one you never forgot.

Simon's the first to notice.

Him and Inara, teaching Simon rutting Tam how to handle weapons. There's gotta be joke in there somewhere, and if Jayne cared enough, he'd think on it. Thing is, he don't.

On the ninth jump, something else goes wrong. They jump into empty space, and the rest of the SAR team is gone.

It should have been River.