Story: Opal Shire Landing (all chapters)

Log 1: "No Power In The 'Verse..."

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"You do know how to fly this thing. Right?" Kaylee asked nervously, her eyes fixed on the cockpit portal and the atmo rushing by at much too high velocities for her liking.

"Not flying, falling. Mass plus velocity. What goes up must come down. Timing is everything. I have hopes." River replied, her hands on the steering controls, them and the whole shuttle shaking and jittering like it was about to come apart at the fastenings any second.

"Yeah, hopes... Those are good. Good to have hopes..." Kaylee's gaze went from River's hands, almost blurry now from the vibrations, to the window as they broke cloud-side and the ground came clear and ominous in view.

"If we die, I should think you'll be very cross with me." River spoke, and Kaylee was now even more terrified to see a mad kind of smile light River's lips and eyes with a certain kind of peace that she really wished she could feel at that moment.

"*River!*" Kaylee screamed in abject panic as Serenity barreled at them up from the ground at escape velocity plus.

A jerk of the wheel and a turn and they felt the rumbling shutter of Serenity's velocity wake slam into them, the other much larger ship having passed within talking distance of them (you know, were they on the ground and not going by one another fast enough not to have had time to blink). The shuttle rumbled and rolled, set to spinning and twirling uncontrolled. Kaylee got to the floor and held onto the back of River's pilot chair for dear life itself as she felt gravity pull them around like an angry tide. Weightless one second, lurching in any which direction the next. The unmistakable sound of another ship, if anything, larger even than Serenity, crossing their wake shook the air and them in it with renewed force. Up was down, down was up and nothing in between made itself sensible. She screamed and held on. A scraping sound and something hard and heavy slammed into her backside.

The world went hazy and her vision seemed to blur. Her eyes watering, her whole body hurting, she felt herself kind of whimpering and wishing for anything she'd never seen the inside of a space ship and that she was back home nice and safe on the ground. People weren't meant to live in space, the thoughts came. You'd think the coldness deep enough to kill would have given us the hint.

Hard to focus, time seemed to stretch unnaturally long and bendy in ways it shouldn't, and still she held on. Images of running through her beautiful ship, laughing and having fun. Real fun with a really friend her own age like she hadn't had is a long time. River'd stolen her apple, and she'd chase her to the ends of the 'verse to get it back. It's just the way things had to be. She caught River and men tired to kill them for the apple. An apple is a rare and delicious treasure. People have killed for less. She was scared and she hid. "Mustn't look, mustn't look" River said, taking her gun from her and going to her feet to face them. Three shots rang out and River smiled at her. "No power in the 'verse..." They both started to say.

A hard shudder, a growling sound. The shuttle shook, but different. What did that mean? Things seemed to blur and slow. [Have to hold on...] She told herself stubbornly. But things were muddy and she couldn't focus. A hard jerk and things seemed to slip from her without her leave.

Time passed.

It was dark and vaguely warm and comforting where she was. No worries. It was familiar... But something was happening, someone wanted her to do something. A hand on her shoulder, shaking her. [Don't want to wake up now. Can't I sleep longer Captain? Engine won't give you a bit a' trouble, Serenity's shiny. I fixed her good and...] Hand on her cheek, warm and soft. [The Captain's a girl? How'd that happen?] Her foggy mind wondered.

"It's all right. We're safe now." The girl from her dreams, that was her. [No power in the 'verse can stop her.] Her mind supplied as she felt a soft touch along her back. More words spoken, though no one seemed to know what. She was being lifted up. Strong arms, slender and warm, holing her to a body, strong and soft. Where were they going? She tried to move or open her eyes, but the light was too bright and it seemed to scare the world from her again and chase her back into the warmth of the black.

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Kaylee woke to a sea of all things soft and warm. A familiar perfume, like wildflowers on a clear spring day, settled into her mind. "'Nara?" She questioned, blinking her eyes opened. "What in'tha..." Her mind came back to her as her eyes cleared and she remembered, yes, she did already know what in the 'verse she was doing waking up on Inara Serra's shuttle. She made to sit up, but the shooting pain through her torso immediately told her what a very bad idea that was. "All ideas bright and shiny, that ain't one of them, is it?" She breathlessly questioned herself as she lay back on Inara's couch and stared up at the ceiling. Well, she was in pain, so odds are she t'weren't dead and gone to heaven, so that was a cheerful thought. "River?" She called, looking around the shuttle that she could see from her resting spot. "River. You around anywheres?" She called a little louder, her voice a bit uncertain.

No answer.

She sighed and looked up at the fabric laced ceiling that, along with the rest of the shuttle it seemed, had seen'd more orderly days. "We crashed." She spoke to herself. "[Chinese phrase] What a day." She breathed and remembered. Opal Shire was a world about as far out as you'd likely to go. It had some very well-off patrons though, the kind with their own ideas about how a society should be kept. 'Passive aggressive neigh-sayin'' as the Captain'd called it. 'Land of the irritatin' people' She'd thought was a more like title for it than it had. Everyone givin' you grief when you didn't act proper is what. But they'd been contracted to do a job, sheep had been needed and sheep they'd brought. Sheep were a good deal more botherless than cows, and they'd all be much happy about that.

Irritatin' people aside though, it was one of the nicer colony worlds you'd ever like to find out here. Not near as shiny as one of those Alliance worlds mind, but well kept and growing with a fair shopping district. The logistics of it was that the other shuttle had been contracted out to a local land barren for his own use while they'd been there. The rest were busy with the sheep and all, and Inara had taken a client in the governor of the colony, 'a rich former industrialist with his head in the clouds' as she'd been told. And knowing Serenity was in need of some parts and such, and seeing an opportunity to sneak in a little shopping for frivolous things in the process, Kaylee had asked Inara (whom she knew would not be using her shuttle for her activities with the governor) if she could give her a ride over and then use the shuttle to go into town and pick up supplies. River had, strangely enough, asked to go along with her. And though she was still kind of nervous and unsure around the girl since what had happened on Adelei Niska's space station a while back, Kaylee hadn't seen the harm in it. Scary girl or not, she had saved her life an' all. Kind of makes a'body indebted, don't it?

They'd been in the market more than an hour before they'd come back to the shuttle, just a little behind schedule and smiling, having actually had a great time together. River had been normal as she'd ever been and things had seemed like for once, a job would go smoothly for them. The commotion they'd heard from the streets behind them as they loaded up their purchases, however, put a damper on that. She remembered, she'd turned to River who's face had turned a mask of foreboding. "The hollow ones have come for us." She'd spoke. Kaylee had rushed to the hatch to look out at the sky and seen it, a Reaver ship breaking through cloud-side. Some Chinese cures later, she was turning and running back in, the sound of the shuttle's engine's starting up greeting her as she entered. River had been at the controls and prepping for take-off. Kaylee'd seen the necessity of closing the hatch and securing the rest of the cargo right quick. Somehow the fact that River might not know what she was doing in a pilot's chair'd never seriously crossed her mind back then. And she'd hated to leave without trying to take on a few from the colony, but there weren't any near and if they'd stayed, they'd've died too. Sure as gravity.

"The shimmers don't see us in here." She heard spoke and turned to see River standing in the doorway and looking somewhere in the room she couldn't tell where. All the sudden though, the other girl's eyes found hers and River walked over to her and quickly knelt by her side. "How's your back?" She asked, her face full of concern and her eyes seeming to be searching for any visible problems.

"Hurts." Kaylee replied simply. "I tried to sit up, but didn't like that. What happened?"

"We went down." River spoke, looking interestedly at Kaylee's arm and tracing one of her veins as though trying to figure out a puzzle. "Simon's not here." She again met Kaylee's eyes.

"Figured that." Kaylee said. "How bad do you think it is?"

"I know how to play doctor. It shouldn't present a problem." River spoke seriously, lifting up Kaylee's shirt a little to reveal bandages holding her ribs in place. "Two cracked ribs - fourth and eighth. One broken - second. You need to eat." This last said urgently, getting up and going to scrounge around though their supplies.

"River..." Kaylee spoke, looking after her apparent physician.

"Calcium would be best, potassium and protean. Vegetable and potato soup is needed as well." She turned to Kaylee. "I made it bright." She smiled, grabbing a few things and scurrying out the door back outside.

"River, wait..." Kaylee called out, wincing as she shifted a bit in the effort.

"Yes?" The girl's questioning face showed around the corner of the door.

"I... Oh, never mind." Kaylee said. "Thank you."

River smiled. "Don't worry. I won't leave you." She assured, and then she was gone again.

Kaylee sighed and laid back, glancing down at the bandages on her ribs again before laying her head completely back and looking at the ceiling again. "I am in so much trouble." She told the ceiling.

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Some minutes later, Kaylee had almost nodded off to sleep again, but River had reappeared with a fresh cooked meal she'd apparently prepared outside on a fire she'd started. Kaylee had been a little dubious about eating something the other girl had prepared, wondering if it'd cause her hair to turn funny colors or something. But it had smelled so good, and she had been really hungry. Starving hungry actually, now that the smell of food was there to remind her of it. She'd taken her first spoon full with an expectant looking River looking on, apparently intent on judging her reaction to the food with complete precision. And oh had the soup tasted good. The smile and look of delight on her face must have met with River's approval for she'd declared herself a success and the smile on her face had shown just how much it meant that to her that she had been.

"It feels nice to be useful." River spoke happily as they continued to eat, a silly look on her face as she alternated between looking at Kaylee and looking at the soup in her hands.

"Yeah... I guess it does, doesn't it?" Kaylee mused, laying back a bit and looking over at River.

"Mm-Hmm." River nodded. "We're not astronauts anymore." She spoke.

Kaylee paused. "What's an 'astronaut'?" She asked.

River just pointed up and looked up at the ceiling. 'Astronaut', apparently, being an old world term that didn't get much use outside of a classroom or such anymore.

Seeming to understand, Kaylee nodded. "Do you think they're alright up there?" She asked. "I mean, they'll come back for us soon, don't you think?"

River met Kaylee's eyes. "It's not for us to say..." She said. "The clouds don't seem to think they'll be disturbed again for a while though." She seemed to ponder her own words. "I think we'll be all right though." She smiled. "Sometimes, you just got'a believe."

River seemed so serene saying that, Kaylee couldn't help but feel a little less worry. "You might be right about that."

"Of course I'm right." River said. "I'm very clever, you know. Wise even." She said that last part a little like she were sharing a secret. "You don't have to worry."

Kaylee laughed a little. "You know? Strangely enough? I think I believe you."

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See you next time...

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It was a day later and Kaylee was glad to note she seemed to be feeling in better sorts. Not a lot better, ribs still bothered, but she was more awake and alert for longer, and the food that'd been made for her seemed to be of a help to her heath also.

"What're you doing over there?" Kaylee finally asked of River out of curiosity's sake.

River stopped and looked over at her. "It's all a mess." She said simply. "I have to work the vectors."

Kaylee laughed a little nervously. It seemed like a harmless enough activity. Things had gotten well and truly tossed about in their planet fall after all, and they might be staying on here a while. It would be nice if the place was looking fully right ways up for a change. Make her feel a little more right with the world again, she'd imagine.

"River?" She spoke.

"Hm?" The girl turned from sorting through a box of machine parts that was one of Kaylee's purchases from Opal Shire's market meant for Serenity and looked at her.

"Do you think... Do you think Inara... I mean... There's no way she could'a made it back to Serenity. Not without..." Inara Serra was the Companion to which this shuttle properly belonged you see. She'd been right up in the middle of the capital when the Reavers had come.

"Not even hollow men know to look everywhere." River spoke thoughtfully, getting up and coming over to sit by Kaylee's side. "I knew how to hide from them, and we were crashing at the time." She tried to comfort her friend.

Kaylee regarded River a moment. "You got a way a'... know'n things. You really think she's alive?" She asked hopefully.

"Who can say?" River looked off in the distance somewhere.

"Was afraid you'd say that." Kaylee spoke, rolling the words from her lips in that way that she could.

River looked back at Kaylee and brought a hand to brush through her bangs. "She's tied to the world by strings we've woven. They aren't as easy to break as others." She said.

The look in her eyes Kaylee saw seemed somehow ageless and wise in a way it was hard to define, but somehow Kaylee found herself believing in those eyes again. "You work miracles." Kaylee whispered, in almost reverent fashion.

A bright sort of teasing and playful smile came to River's face at that. "Now, see? You weren't supposed to figure that out yet." River laughed and kissed her on the forehead before getting up to continue her cleaning efforts.

Kaylee just looked after her, not realizing the sigh she'd sighed until she sighed it.

Rest was a good thing, and so she closed her eyes and listened to River hum some song. [Pretty.]

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In her mind, she dreamed of falling, of flying, and of her family left behind on Isis Colony. Her sister was telling her something about how to fix a plow, which seemed passing odd to her sense she knew for certain it had gone the other way 'round. She blinked her eyes open though, her mind losing the dream and telling her she was being poked at. "Mm?"

"Stay still." River told her distractedly.

Kaylee looked down her body to see her current 'roommate' checking over her injured ribs with a look of determined concentration on her face. [Cute expression.] Kaylee smiled inwardly. "River?" She asked. "Am I alright, you think?" She asked, laying her head back as straining her neck did not feel like a thing to continue doing right at that moment.

"Checking it." River replied, looking up to meet her eyes. "You have soft skin."

Kaylee laughed, though it caused her ribs to ache a little. "Well, I am a girl after all. We're all supposed to. Probably all the engine grease." She mused.

River smiled. "I made food." She offered. "Are you hungry?"

Kaylee considered this. "Yeah." She agreed.

"Be right back." River got to her feet and moved silently to the other side of the shuttle.

Kaylee watched her as she fussed over her cookings. Sun was shining in through the windows and it made Inara's shuttle look like a magical place, laced with gold. River looked like a character out of a novel like she was, the light making her glow in a way that was nice to look at. Why did she feel kind of hazy about things though? And shouldn't it be hurting more? [Pain killers.] She reasoned. [Must be.]

River was soon back at her side, offering her a plate of meat flavored tofu from a can, biscuits, a packet of orange juice, and what looked like fresh berries. "Here." River set the plate down and made to help her sit up at an angle a little (the better to eat from of course).

"You gave me a shot of somethin', didn't you?" Kaylee questioned.

"For the pain." River said absently. "Made you sleepy." She further explained.

"You could have told me, you know?" Kaylee was slightly put out by this. When had she done it anyway? She tried to remember but couldn't catch a memory of it.

"Why?" River asked, silent for a moment. "...What you don't see, can't bother you." Her voice was more softly introspective in saying this.

Kaylee pondered that, then shook her head. "You're right. I should be saying thank yous, I should. You... you're really lookin' after me, aren't you? It means a lot." She took hold of River's hand lightly.

River just smiled and kissed her quickly on her knuckles. She then moved to retrieve the food for her. "Sustenance." Was all she said.

Kaylee just looked at her and then down at her food. "Where'd the berries come from?" She asked, taking a nibble of the bred and deciding it was too dry. She sipped at her orange juice and decided to eat the bread with the much moister tofu meat stuff next time, it had sauce on it.

"I went walking." River replied, she'd sat cross-legged on the floor, leaning against the side of the bed were Kaylee lay and was selecting bites off her own plate in what seemed to be a very systematical way. "The lake spoke to me, said to choose the orange colored ones." River looked back up at her in all seriousness. "The other colors aren't safe here." She informed her.

Kaylee looked assessingly down at the orange colored berries on her plate, then back at River who popped two of the berries from her own plate into her mouth and smiled. Kaylee couldn't help but smiling back, bravely imitating her and eating two of her own berries, pleased to find they were sweet and good. Kind of like a mix between a plum and a strawberry, she mused. "They're good." She informed River.

"The lake doesn't lie." She replied, spearing a small orderly stack of tofu, bread, and one berry with her fork and popping it into her mouth.

Kaylee shook her head in wonder at this latest of River's odd mix of quirks and went back about the task of eating.

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The shuttle looked very neat and ordered now, after a fashion; most everything in it's place. River had opened the hatch and fresh air was wafting in, warmed by the bright morning sun. River was gone, exploring outside again, Kaylee figured. She soon came back though, looking about the outside a bit then looking over to the shuttle's inside, her eyes finding Kaylee's without having to look for them.

"Hello to you too." Kaylee spoke softly to herself.

Amazingly enough, River broke into a smile at that and seemed to say something back to her, though Kaylee couldn't make it out from that distance away. A confused look came on the other girl's eyes then, like she couldn't figure something out.

"Hmm, you don't suppose she can hear me?" She said to herself, looking back at River. "It you cn'hear me, get over here. I can't hear you back, ya know."

River didn't react, she just started walking in her direction and soon was up close and sitting down cross-legged on the bed right next to her, hardly disturbing the mattress with her motions. "Better?" River asked.

"[Chinese phrase] You could really hear what I was saying all the way out there?" She asked incredulously. [Lip reading, got a'be.] She reassured herself.

River just smiled at her. "I found more berries." She told her with satisfaction, her mood then turning towards serious consideration. "The woods still hold many mysteries though. I think there are shadows falling somewhere in the distance."

"Shadows?" Kaylee asked, not following.

"You can't see past them." River looked wistful, then over to Kaylee's eyes. "It's better here in the light." She explained as if what she said made all the sense in the worlds.

Kaylee opened her mouth, a question forming on her lips only to die away. "I guess it is at that, isn'it?"

"You worry about Serenity." River said in question. "It's your heart's family."

Kaylee looked over at her questioningly. "Of course I worry for'm. You worry'n about your brother?" She turned the question back to it's owner.

"Worry is illogical." She told her. River seemed to contemplate this though. "He's worried about me now." She said. "And you."

"You really think so?" Kaylee questioned, her voice still a little tired sounding.

"He thinks so." River replied. "You don't want to know what I think sometimes." She informed in an off hand sort of way. Very enigmatic like.

Kaylee just looked at her. "You bother me sometimes, know that?" She said with a little of a smile.

"Sometimes on purpose." She told her back with a straight face but eyes that smiled.

"Wha-" Kaylee ended up laughing, though she knew she should be put out by it if it was true. "Crazy girl." She said it more as a term of endearment..

River looked at her, seemingly concentrating on her face. "Wa!" Kaylee started as River reached out and seemed to snatch something right from in front of her face before she could tell what's what. "What in all the stars was that about?"

River just smiled. "Stole your nose." She said.

Ridiculously, Kaylee found herself checking her face with her hand to make sure it was still there. River started laughing uproariously at this. Kaylee just looked at her a moment then started laughing too.

"Where'd you learn that from?" Kaylee asked.

"Mal. It's all smoke and mirrors." River explained. "It's actually my thumb." She pointed to her thumb and opened the hand attached to that thumb and there was a pink flower without a stem there. Looked almost like a lily, except a little smaller. "It's for you." She said, holding it out to Kaylee. "A present."

Kaylee looked down at the flower, so completely unexpected. "Take it." River instructed.

Kaylee smiled up at her and took the flower delectably in her hands. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

"And also orange colored berries." River replied gravely. "They are hard to resist."

"Zoe would say 'Only foolish people resist a good thing when it comes their way'." Kaylee offered.

"The trick is telling good things from the bad." River replied.

"Captain did say that back to her, didn't he?" Kaylee questioned, looking from the flower to River.

"A lot of people have said that. It's not special." River debated, shifting positions so she was laying down on the bed next to Kaylee and looking up at the ceiling with her.

"You learn that in school? What people said what an' all?" Kaylee asked with faint curiosity, the conversation having made her feel a lot better by now. She knew from her brother that River had been a real live genius in school, before what happened to her happened. Was why it happened in fact.

"The quality of language is ever to be measured by the veracity of those who have spoken it. In no other area can this be felt more strongly than in the memories they leave behind them." River said it almost lyrically, very much like she was a lecturer and Kaylee was her class to teach.

"...Sounds pretty anyway." Kaylee assessed. "Not that I know what it means exactly... Who said it, anyway?"

"River Tam said it." River told her lightly. "Do you know her?"

Kaylee tilted her head to the side and regarded the other girl who was still looking up at the ceiling, a serene, careless look on her face. [Does she have to look so darn cute an' innocent all the time sayin' these things?] Kaylee questioned internally with a little mostly affectionate exacerbation. [Two can play that though.] "I know everything about River Tam." She said, looking up at the ceiling herself again.

This time River looked over at her. "Do you really?" She seemed surprised.

"Her mind is an open book to me." Kaylee said boldly. "What? You didn't know?"

Before she knew it, River was on top of her, held up by knees and hands and looking down into her face intently. Kaylee couldn't help it, a shock of fear went though her at the look River's her eyes.

"Liar." River said, getting up off the bed and walking away. "She scares you."

Kaylee was speechless a moment, then. "...River no, wait. I..." She said to the now empty room. [[Chinese phrase] she moves ghostly, don't she?] "What was that about?" She said aloud to the empty shuttle, not really able to deny that what River had said had some truth in it.

River was back before too long though, seemingly holding no grudge and acting like nothing much had happened. Kaylee decided to just let it be for now.

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The sky was getting dark half the daylight later. Kaylee had watched River industriously making something for hours now from stuff she'd gotten from the woods and a bit of cloth from the shuttle. She'd asked what it was at one point, but all River had said was 'vacation'. She'd soon gotten the idea though that it was a litter.

"So that's what you meant." Kaylee said when she'd figured it out.

"Huh?" River looked up, having been absorbed in what she was doing.

"About the vacation." Kaylee clarified.

River looked from Kaylee out the open hatch. "Sun's sleeping soon." She explained. "You have to see it with me." She said it matter-of-factly, going back to her task. "It's important."

Kaylee was quiet then and just watched her work, not really knowing what to say to that but not being able to stop from feeling sort of warm and fluttery about it. [And here I was actin' scared of her, and her doing things like this... should be shamed of myself.] She lamented a little guiltily... but a part of her still was scared of the other girl even despite things like this. She just couldn't seem to help it.

"You don't have to worry." River spoke.

Kaylee jumped in startlement. "[Chinese phrase] Don't do that to me. Bout scared a year off my life sneaking up on me like that."

River looked blankly at her a moment then got up and dropped the litter she'd made and started pacing, nervous like, and holding her head with her hands. "Not doing things right." She said distractedly. "Not right at all. The shadows are getting closer. Can't see. Neehuh." River held her head and shook a little, then ran over to the far side of the room and sat crouched against the wall, knees held up to her chest, she started to rock. "Damaged, I'm not right. Not right at all anymore." She sounded scared.

Kaylee started to feel scared for her too, think it was her fault somehow. Because she'd said she was scared of her and River obviously didn't want her to be. She made up her mind. [Doesn't hurt that bad.] She told herself and determinedly pulled back the covers and slowly made to get up so she could get over to River and make it right.

She wasn't sure how it happened exactly, just a jagged bolt of pain that wouldn't stop bolting. It tore a scream from deep inside her and made the world go white and take a tumble.

"No!" She heard form somewhere. "All gone wrong, all wrong." She heard up closer.

She groaned and felt herself being lifted up in familiar arms. Held carefully and set back to rest in a soft place. She blinked open her eyes, seeing River looking down at her, scanning her body in all but a panic over it all. "River, I'm sorry, o'kay? ...You're not scary. Not at all." She said blearily, thinking this would help.

And River did still, to look to her eyes for a moment. "I am scary, I am, look at what happened. All from out of me." And Kaylee saw tears in River's eyes.

"You're not." Kaylee said. "And I'm a [Chinese phrase] idjit for thinking otherwise. Just like I'm a [Chinese phrase] idjit for getting up out of bed like I did. S'not your fault, y'hear me?" She put a hand to River's cheek. "Y'undertsnad?"

River smiled and wiped away her tears with the side of her hand. "You were pretty stupid." She said with a weak smile. "Me also. Stupid me." And she hugged Kaylee, very gently off course, careful of her ribs, and just stayed like that a moment.

Kaylee held her back as best she could. "Stupid us alright. I'm sorry River, really I am... It'll be alright." She said the last bit more softly than the other. It was kind of scary. How strong River could be, how bright and all of brave one moment, but like now, she could also be scared too, and shaken up, to the core of her.

"Have to check the fastenings." River muttered, getting herself up. "See that every place's still correct and all." She wiped more tears away and set about examining and rewrapping Kaylee's injury.

Kaylee lay there and silently watched River go about her work, the girl muttering some things to herself every now and then. She felt tired again though, the pain must have done a number on her.

"I'm going to take away the hurt now." River locked eyes with Kaylee, and told her. "Fly away for a while... I'll keep the hollows away. Just you rest now." Kaylee heard River's soft voice say, barely feeling the needle at all. [How did she know I dream of flying?] Kaylee's imagination wondered as she drifted off into sleep.

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When Kaylee woke, it was mid morning the next day and River was sitting in bed next to her, her back to the headboard and her legs crossed and pulled up to her and held with crossed arms. She seemed to be staring off into nowhere in particular, and Kaylee couldn't help watching her for a while before groaning and shifting to a slightly different position to shake off the sleeps. "Good morning."

"That's debatable, but the sentiments are appreciated." River said, looking over to her. "It's raining."

Kaylee laughed, even though it hurt to laugh.

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Two days later, and things were going well, Kaylee thought. River and her seemed to grow more of an understanding. A bond made deeper by circumstance, she supposed. But whether it was her imagination or something more real, she could swear she was understanding River Tam better lately. She was able to sit upright now, and she'd seen two sunsets, dragged out as she had been by River on that letter of hers, not that she minded it terribly a'course.

Right now she was sitting on Inara's couch and reading one of her books. Her library pad had some interesting selections on in to say the least, this one she'd chosen no less than the rest.

She heard a small crash noise from outside followed by some impressive Chinese curse words on River's part. River'd been endeavoring to make a proper bathtub for them on and off for a day and a half now. It was sweet, really. The shower system on the shuttle still worked partly, but Kaylee couldn't well use it, injured as she was. That and Kaylee seemed to recall a talk she'd had about the subject with River at some prior date where in River had lamented about the lack of having real baths in space. [The price of growing up privileged.] Kaylee surmised, nevertheless finding herself agreeing with her on the subject.

Trouble was, while River swore up and down she knew how to make a simple bath tub, had the engineering of it all worked out, apparently the slowly emerging tub shaped object out yonder had an idea in it's head to make it difficult on her. It was all actually kind of funny, to see River have to try so hard at something like that when most things seemed to come so easy to her, it made her seem a bit more human and relatable somehow.

"This wood is full of demons." River said carrying a component of her tub with her into the cabin and setting it down in what Kaylee had dubbed 'River's work shop'. "I must smite them." She said decidedly, choosing a tool one would rightly use on a piece of metal plaiting and using it creatively an'going at the hapless log with it.

Kaylee chuckled just a bit and put the library pad aside to watch River work. It didn't take long and she was done, getting up and turning to see Kaylee regarding her. "I anticipate no further problems with this component." She informed Kaylee.

Kaylee titled her head a bit, reflective like. "I wish I could be more help with this. You're making it mostly for me after all."

River just smiled, delighted apparently. "My honor to serve." She made a little bow and went back out to face the demons.

Kaylee watched after her a bit, shook her head, and went back to her book. She was just getting to the good part, after all.

============================

Some time early the next day Kaylee was positively blissful luxuriating in a hot bath just inside the hatch of the shuttle. River had somehow managed to rig a heating element for the water and connect it into the shuttle's damaged systems. Ingenious, really, she mused happily.

She opened her eyes and glanced over River's way, the other girl was sitting on a small crate, legs pulled up, arms crossed on her knees, chin resting titled to the side a little on her crossed arms. The girl was just looking at her with a lazy sort of peaceful and satisfied look on her face. [The proud maker admiring her handiworks.] Kaylee guessed, understanding the feeling well and kind of liking seeing that look on her friend's face for some reason. Prob'ly the relatable reason again.

Kaylee closed her eyes again and lay back, a small hum of contentment leaving her lips.

River had insisted Kaylee be the first to get a bath, even though Kaylee could tell River was secretly longing for one too. River's standing order was for her to just soak in the tub for a while after getting in. To loosen up her sore mussels before washing and to help in the healing as well, she'd told her in so many words. And Kaylee had to admit, it was really doing the trick. She felt yards better for the relaxing soak, the water's soothing heat seeming to penetrate her skin down to her bones and relax her. She felt downright lackadaisical in fact.

It was some moments later, she heard a soft shuffling motion and felt River's lithe fingers touch her forehead and move aside a bit of her hair. Kaylee opened her eyes and saw River's dark brown eyes looking to hers from the side of the tub she'd made. "No falling asleep." River said.

Kaylee laughed. "Aye, aye, Captain River."

"A captain without a ship is no captain at all, according to conventional maritime wisdom." River said is a soft and contemplative voice, gently smoothing her hand through Kaylee's hair again.

"Says the girl sitting in a ship." Kaylee joked.

"Not mine." River denied. "Ours now. Until Inara gets back."

Kaylee was silent, the reminder of their absent friend, likely lost to Reavers, putting a damper on her mood some.

"Don't be sad." River said softly.

Kaylee made an effort to smile for her. "I'll try not to be."

"Tired and true, that's the crew of The Serenity.'' River smiled a small smile back.

Kaylee laughed in spite of herself. "You say the darnedest things you do... but you always seem to know how to make me smile, don't you?" Kaylee said back with a growing affection and appreciation.

"It's not hard." River pointed out. "The wind told me the first time we met, there's a treasure of smiles inside you Kaywinnit Le Frye. You give them away too easy, that's why there are so many." River traced her fingers down the one of Kaylee's cheeks lightly, before withdrawing her hand and blinking.

Kaylee felt a shiver of something go though her at the touch. "Got a way with words too, I see." Kaylee said a little uncomfortably, feeling self conscious for some reason.

River smiled at her. "I made you nervous." She said it, like she'd uncovered a secret and was happy about it.

"I'll make you something, you don't cut it out." Kaylee said back jokingly.

"Promises, promises." River brushed it off and raised herself up on her knees. "I need to wash your skin now, hair too. You were smelly." She informed her, retrieving one of Inara's specialty soaps to start the task.

And suddenly, Kaylee was nervous again, but she quickly shook herself out of it and told herself she was being sideways. River's hands were running shampoo into her hair and massaging her scalp with a care that was almost sensual. Kaylee couldn't help herself, it felt just so good. Even better than when Inara had helped her with it one time before this big to do that one time. "Your hands are magic." She said dreamily.

River didn't reply, apparently too absorbed in her task.

The back washing went real nice too, but it got a little awkward again when River had to wash her legs and such. Kaylee had just decided to close her eyes and try not to shiver so much at River's sure and gentle touch. She was, at current, trying to think of other things, like ways to maybe repair the shuttle once she was up and able again, not that River had said there was much chance of that. She'd described the problems to her in fact, and she'd admitted it sounded very grim without the necessary replacement parts and such, but it wouldn't hurt to crawl inside it and have a second look, now would it? Not that they'd be able to leave Opal Shire with only a shuttle of course, they weren't meant for extended space travel after all. But if they had to go anywheres, like back to the city for supplies or such, or if (all heavens forefend) the Reavers came back fro some reason, it could come in real handy to be more moldable than only a pair of legs would allow.

It was in the midst of these thoughts that Kaylee realized she smelled something, and it was a something her mind instantly put a label to too. "Ohmygosh." She spoke in a little of a hushed voice, her eyes flying open. "River, the ship's burning!" She exclaimed, sitting up straighter.

River looked up from washing Kaylee's feet and looked around, sniffing the air. "You're right." She said, letting go of Kaylee's foot and getting up to look around, apparently trying to sniff out sign of where the burning smell was coming from.

Kaylee made to try to get out of the tub, making sounds of straining when it hurt and ached to try moving like that without her ribs being bound up tight like they usually were. "River, help me up." She asked.

"Stay there." River said distractedly, having found a fire suppressor canister.. "The demons have nested in our house." She narrowed her eyes and got to all fours in the corner of the room where a hatch was located. She sat back on her knees and opened the hatch, sliding her body down into it, despite the small amounts of smoke coming up from it.

"River!" Kaylee cried, watching the hatch with increasing worry. She was swearing at herself inside for being so useless as she was and praying to whoever would listen that River would be alright. A fire, any fire, aboard ship was nothing to laugh away after all. They had a way of getting out of hand when you least expected it some times. Flames hit the wrong system? Burned the wrong active component? Fwoosh. The air could catch fire down there, ship could even blow up if it caught the engines or the fuel wrong.

She heard coughs and saw River emerge from down below before long though. Face and arms dirty lookin', she hoisted herself out and lay over on her back. "Kaylee?" She asked blankly.

"Yeah?" Kaylee replied.

"I think I need a bath." She lamented.

Kaylee laughed, the relief rushing through her making it even more funny to her than it really was.

============================

See you next time...

Log 3: "Quiet Moments"

============================

- FALLING WATER -

It was a couple weeks and some later. Kaylee was feeling in much better sorts. River's doctoring and the meds from the shuttle's emergency kit had worked their ways on her to where she was just sore and not quite rosy yet.

Today, like yesterday, she was in the bowls of the shuttle again, looking over things and feeling worse and worse about the chances of the shuttle flying again... 'least not without the right tools and spare parts, of which she had not anywheres near what she'd need for it. Maybe she'd be able to get it done with what she'd had on Serenity, not here though. She lay back, defeated, and thought about River and how they were getting along and everything. River still made her a bit nervous now an' then, no denyin', and there was still something that made her feel not completely secure around her, but River was much more familiar to her now, felt like River had become much more a part of her life. Like she understood her more now, so much so that she thought it would feel a little strange if they were separated. It was kind of like how she'd felt about her sister back on Isis, a sense of camaraderie and them being the only two, except it was different than that. And maybe just all in her head.

River poked her head in just then. "Has the expedition met with any luck?" She asked her.

"Only if you mean the kind that's backwards and ornery." Kaylee told her. "Lost cause for sure, I'm thinking. What are you up to? You got a look." She asked.

"I always look, except when my eyelids interfere." River told her. "That doesn't matter now though. Come play in the falling water with me?" She asked hopefully.

She meant the waterfall at the lake nearby. "Sounds shiny to me." Kaylee decided. She felt grimy and smelled of grease and smoke residue from the fire that'd happened a while ago, so a wash sounded heavenly. "No sense dwelling on this mess at least. Might was well be enjoyin' myself." The thought of being out of where she was an in the fresh air under open sky again being a happy one to her about then too.

"There's wisdom in that." River agreed, then she disappeared back out of the maintenance tunnel hatch.

Kaylee just shook her head a little and smiled, River's playful innocence lifting her spirits as it usually did. So she got herself tuned about in the small space and crawled her way out. When she poked her head out, she saw River packing up a picnic sack. "You're all full of useful things about you, aren't you?" She asked.

"Better than a Swiss army, that's me." River said distractedly, packing things in some precise order it seemed.

"Who're these Swiss people?" Kaylee asked.

"Pacifists." River replied.

"Why they need an army then?" Kaylee asked.

"It's a mystery." River told, tying up the picnic sack neatly and getting to her feet. "And mysteries are for fools and lonely philosophers who can't be bothered to learn how to swim right."

"Well that makes sense at least." Kaylee smiled.

River walked over to her and touched her side. "It didn't bother you, crawling in the demons' nest all morning?" She asked, running a finger down her ribs experimentally.

"Only a' little. Water'll help." She met River's eyes. "Thanks for asking." 'Demon's nest', it was a name for it River'd come up with around the time the fire happened. Kaylee was discovering that was one of the tricks to understanding River, that she seemed to like to come up with her own names for things that were all her own for some reason. They always had a kind of odd logic to them though. She'd kind of made a game out of trying to keep track of all of'em.

"Asking's easy." River replied, holding her eyes without blinking. "Your eyes have stars in them. And sky."

Kaylee smiled a small, soft smile. "Yours have fallin' water an sunshine." [An words all a shimmer.]

"Then we have an understanding." River kissed her lightly on the cheek, turned, and walked away towards the ship's hatch with the things she'd packed for them.

Kaylee touched her cheek and felt her skin heat just a little. "Wait up, you." Kaylee said, going and grabbing some of her things quick and heading out after River.

River was standing out in the clearing around their ship waiting for her. Kaylee shook her head a bit and came up beside her.

"The lake calls us, we should be more punctual." River told her as they started walking.

"I'll remember for next time." Kaylee replied.

"It's okay if you don't." River said back, walking beside her.

A few steps on, River took her hand in hers and Kaylee let her. River seemed to be doing that a bunch lately, and Kaylee had to admit, it was a comfort.

They walked through the woods to the river and followed it's path to the small lake with the waterfall. It really was such a beautiful day out. It had just rained heavy yesterday and everything was all fresh smelling and pretty today. The sun was out and it was warm. A nice, soft breeze kickin' up every now and then. Idyllic even.

Kaylee watched as River found a spot to put the picnic sack and her other things down in. Next, River started taking off her clothes to swim, no modesty about it, which was typical for River and didn't bother Kaylee any. It was kind'a nice the other girl felt that comfortable around her, actually.

Kaylee herself was a bit more shy about it than that for some reason, though she couldn't say why exactly, and had found one of Inara's swimsuits to wear. Them being about the same size, it fit her fine. She was just taking off her shirt when she heard a soft splash behind her. She turned around and saw River's head and shoulders appear from under the water, she was smiling. "I win." She said.

"There wasn't a race, you know." Kaylee said, going over and sitting on the edge of the lake, dangling her legs in the water.

"That's why I won." River smiled, coming over a little closer. At this part of the shore, it was a sheer drop into the water mostly.

"Besides, I'm still injured." Kaylee pointed out.

"It's okay to lose you know." River comforted her playfully. "It's playing the game that's important. Or so the wisdom says."

"And what game would we be playing then, if that's the case?" Kaylee bantered back.

"That's a good question. You should try to answer it, it could be of vital importance one day." River informed her. "Probably not today though." She allowed.

Kaylee giggled a little at that. "If you say so."

"I don't think your ears have been lying to you, if that's what you're worried about." River said, then dunked her head back under water promptly.

Kaylee giggled a little more. "River, come on."

River appeared again a few inches away and tugged on her ankle a little. "Come swim with me." She prompted.

Kaylee sighed and pushed off, slipping herself into the water with her shipmate, hardly making a sound. "There, happy?" Kaylee asked when she kicked up so her head was above water again.

"Yes." River replied. "Come on, follow." She further prompted, starting to swim out into the lake.

Kaylee smiled and followed along. "Alright, just don't go too fast!" She called after her.

Kaylee caught up with her at the other side of the lake, just a little ways from the waterfall. "Come on!" River encouraged, swimming under the waterfall and getting up on the stone ledge under it so the water was falling down over her body. Kaylee watched and saw how much River was smiling. Their eyes met and she was a little dazzled by the feeling it gave her. Like they were the only two anywheres almost. In any case, not to be out-done, Kaylee swam after River, under the waterfall, and got herself, with a hand up from River, onto the ledge next to her. The water was pretty loud, so they couldn't talk. The fall wasn't too high though, so the water wasn't hitting them all that hard. It felt really nice actually.

She felt River take her hand in hers again, and Kaylee squeezed her friend's hand back, turning so their eyes met. River's smile was infectious. She really seemed to have come alive out here in a way Kaylee wouldn't have quite expected. She was still the same old River Tam of course, just more... relaxed, more care free somehow, like she'd got a glimpse of on the ship with the apple that day a while ago. More even. It was a pretty sight.

River reached over and touched her cheek. Just a small touch, and then pulled her hand away and slipped off the rock-ledge, pulling Kaylee by the hand down with her into the water. It was a jumble of rushing water pushing them down to the lake floor, but she kept her hold on River's hand and kicked along after her as River led her back up. They both broke out laughing upon breaking the surface.

"That was fun. But don't think I won't get you back for that." Kaylee warned.

"I wasn't thinking that at all." River told her. "But I look forward to it none the less." She said simply.

"Lets go back to the shore. I'm... I'm feeling kind'a worn out, tell'ya the truth." Kaylee admitted.

"Of course!" River took her hand again. "Come on, we should go eat anyway. The day is escaping us, even though I wish it wouldn't." She tugged her along again a little before letting her go so she could use the hand to swim with.

Kaylee followed her back to shore and watched as River got up on shore first and helped her up. "Sorry about this." Kaylee offered.

"About what?" River asked.

"Gettin' tired, you know." She offered.

"That's nonsense. The lake likes you too much, and I agree with her." River told her.

Kaylee sat down on the lake's edge and started drying her hair with the towel River rushed to bring her.

"I'll go get the food ready, don't go anywhere." River admonished her.

"Wasn't plannin' on it." She said to herself, looking after her shipmate as she went off, drying herself with a second towel as she went. [She really does have a nice body...] She thought to herself as she watched River's graceful movements.

After sitting there a few moments more and feeling her energy come back some, Kaylee got herself back on her feet and walked over to where River was setting up their little informal picnic, having put on her clothes again.

She sat the towel down against the tree that was there and sat down with a happy sigh. "It really is beautiful today, ain't it?" She said wistfully.

"It is." River replied Kaylee looked to her and their eyes met. Had River been watching her just then? [Huh. Wonder what that's about.] She idlely mused.

"You like being in the water, don't you?" Kaylee asked, laying her head back and closing her eyes.

River seemed to consider that a moment. "I am jealous of fish gills sometimes, but I don't want to be a mermaid in a small lake, I don't think..." She told her.

Kaylee laughed at that, smiling to River. "You sure have got a way thinkin' about things." Kaylee told her.

"We all do." River told her. "That's what's amazing... and what's sad."

"Hm. Well, luckily, today, we've got the amazing, and not the sad then, huh?" Kaylee offered.

"Maybe. But I think we could have done it on purpose." River said off hand. "That's why I like quantum physics so much."

"...if you say so." Kaylee said, getting up and investigating the food River was laying out. Her stomach was telling her it was time to eat.

As usual, the food River made was very good, likewise the company.

They spent hours there just relaxing, talking sometimes. Kaylee was sure she'd caught River watching her that same way as before a few more times, but she really didn't think too much of it.

Though, in the back of her mind, she had to admit, she was kind'a curious about it.

============================

- DREAM FAIRIE -

It was in the morning the day after next that Kaylee woke up in bed. River was with her, curled up on her side next to her. It took her a while to really feel awake though, so she just lay there a bit, letting her mind wonder.

Sleeping arrangements was just like this now.

There was just the one big, really nice and fancy bed after all. At first, River had insisted on camping out with some blankets and pillows on the floor, to avoid the chance that she'd hurt Kaylee if she got to kinkin' in her sleep or somethin'. But as the days went by and Kaylee got to feelin' better, she'd come to notice River wasn't feeling in too great a shape in the mornings. Obviously, she hadn't been sleeping too well. So she'd insisted River share the bed with her the next night and it had been fine, no problems.

River slept soundly next to her, always just curling up a little on her side facing her. She looked... really adorable, if Kaylee was bein' honest. Downright cute. Grown up womanly cute though, not little kid cute, she noted to herself, unsure why she was making a distinction like that in her head exactly, other than maybe she knew River didn't like being treated, well, not like a kid exactly, more not like as she was... damaged. Like she needed to have things done for her, needed for her brother and other people t'be lookin' after her all the time.

River had let Simon treat her that way more than a little though.

The last while, shipwrecked planet side like they were, no one but River for Kaylee to count on, it was obvious that people, her included maybe, hadn't given River Tam enough credit. Or reckoned on just how strong she was. Not strong in a mussels way, though she obviously was in really good shape, athletic lookin' and everything, but strong in a... soul kind'a way. Like, all those horrors she must'a seen, that they couldn't really touch her, not in the ways that mattered.

She turned on her side so she was looking into River's sleeping face and a little of a smile came to her lips. "I seen you, River. You just shine inside, don't you?" She said softly, brushing a little hair from the woman's face. River made a soft little sleeping sound and moved her cheek into the touch a little in sleep.

Kaylee felt a little flutter of something inside her and yanked her hand away, looking at the hand she'd touched River's face with and wondering at why she'd snatched her hand away like that. She lay on her back again and looked up at the ceiling. "Right then." She said to herself, sitting up and softly crawling out of bed.

Twenty or so minutes later, she'd pretty much got breakfast put together, when she started to hear sounds coming from the bed.

"Mmnnn, uuuh!" She looked over at the sound and saw River sitting up in bed, looking off into the room blankly. Kaylee put down the pan of tofu stakes she'd been taking off the cooker and went over to the bed.

River was wiping the sleep from her eyes. "You alright there?" She asked, concerned for some reason having to do with the quality of River's startled moan.

"Bad dreams." She said softly.

"Have those a lot?" Kaylee asked.

River just nodded 'yes'.

"Huh, I must be more of a sound sleeper than I thought, not to have noticed 'fore now. What do you dream about?" She asked.

"...the bad times. And I don't..." River trailed off, looking up and meeting Kaylee's eyes.

"Don't what?" Kaylee asked.

River looked at her forehead and pointed there, touching the center with her finger. "You have a dream fairie living in you, Kaylee Frye. One that likes me very much I think." She said, falling back on her back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling, much like Kaylee had done not long before.

Kaylee was a little stunned to hear that, but it made her smile. "You sayin'..." She lay down beside River. "You sayin', you don't have bad dreams, long as your sleepin' next to me?" She asked, playing her fingers through River's hair a little.

"I don't." River said. "It was most unexpected." She assessed.

"Huh. What'a ya'know about that." She said. "Think it means anything?" She asked.

"I think that everything means something, even if I don't always know what that is. Why should that be any different?" River asked, rolling on her side to meet Kaylee's eyes. "You made us breakfast?" She asked, a spark playing behind her eyes somewhere.

"Prob'ly won't be as good as when you make it, but yeah." Kaylee smiled, a bit proud of herself. "I thought it was about time I started doing more a'my fair share." She told her friend.

"It makes you feel good, right?" River asked.

"What?"

"Doing things for yourself, or for... another person. It makes you feel good." River told her.

"Oh. I mean, yeah. Yeah, River, it does at that." She smiled, kissing River on the forehead and getting up. "Care to take your life into your hands? Try my cooking?"

"I trust you." River said simply, getting up and crawling on the bed towards the food Kaylee'd cooked.

Kaylee smiled and ran a hand through her hair to straighten it out a bit more. "I trust you too." She said unexpectedly. Unexpectedly because she hadn't expected to be saying it.

River turned to her from sitting on the edge of the bed and smiled. "Do you really, you think?" She asked.

"Huh? Um, well, yeah. I just said it, didn't I?" She replied.

River just seemed to consider that a moment. "Okay." She said finally, turning away and getting up from the bed, going to investigate the food. "There's going to be a test later though, I'm almost certain." She said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kaylee asked, a little offended actually, as she got out of bed again too.

"I don't know. It hasn't happened yet." River explained, putting food on her plate.

"You going to test me then? See if I'm lying?" Kaylee asked, a little annoyed now.

"No, why? should I?" River asked, apparently confused.

Kaylee just looked at her a little skeptical for a few moments, then shook her head a little and smiled. "Sorry." She said.

"What for?" River asked curiously.

"Bein' stupid I guess." She replied.

"Oh... I guess I didn't notice that." River said, scratching at her hair a little, and fidgeting a bit. "The food's good." She offered, looking at Kaylee a little uncertainly.

Kaylee met her eyes and saw River was looking for reassurance. Whenever River got fidgety like that, Kaylee had learned, it meant she was feeling unsure of herself. Unsure of her ability to relate or communicate well. "Thanks." Kaylee smiled. "Um, I do mean it though, River. That, um, that I trust you? I mean... I was, you were right." She said, looking down at her plate. "Part of me was scared of you before." She looked up and met River's questioning eyes. "I'm not now." And she was pretty sure she wasn't, either.

River looked into her eyes for what seemed like a long while, though it probably wasn't really all that very long. Kaylee made sure to keep eye contact. Like, she wanted to prove to River, and herself really, that it was true what she'd said.

River started to smile, a little shyly, and look away. "Um..." She looked up a little uncertainly and met Kaylee's eyes again. "That's good then." She said, looking down then up again. "Should we hug?" She asked. Asked in that way like she was just wondering if they should, not like she had any particular stake in the answer, one way or the other. River asked questions that way a lot, Kaylee was noticing. Kaylee'd never known anybody else who asked things that way before. Took some getting used to.

"Um, if you want?" Kaylee offered.

River considered that. "Can I have a voucher?" She asked.

"For a hug?" Kaylee asked.

River nodded 'yes'.

"If ya'want. Sure." Kaylee said easily.

"...We should eat, or the food will slow down again." River said.

By which she meant get cold. Heat being a function of how fast the bits of matter that the food was made up of moved. River had explained it to her a few days ago when she'd used the same phrase and Kaylee had asked about it. River thought a lot in terms of sciency things, Kaylee had come to realize. She half thought River talked like she did as much to keep herself from getting bored as anything. Kaylee had noticed that too, how much energy, nervous sort of searching energy, River always had about her. Always thinking about this or that. "Sounds like a plan." Kaylee said.

They ate for a while in silence, until Kaylee caught River watching her in that certain way again. So, she just decided to watch right back at her this time, see what happened.

River seemed a little surprised by this, but kept looking back into her eyes, for a while at least, before she blushed a little and looked away again, getting up and saying she needed to go relieve herself.

Kaylee just nodded okay and sat there, eating the last bits of her food and trying to work something out in her head, she wasn't quite sure what.

============================

- DREAM FAIRIE (EPILOGUE) -

That night, Kaylee was still thinking as she got into bed beside an already sleepy River.

"River..." She started to ask something, she wasn't sure what.

"Hmm?" River replied.

"You think we're... you think, if it's just us here, we'll be okay. Long term I mean?" She asked.

"Mmm?" River opened her eyes and Kaylee turned her head so their eyes met. "I'll protect you." River told her simply. "I'm scary girl, remember?" She said.

Kaylee swallowed and smiled, kissing River on the forehead. "Okay then." She said. "Time to sleep I guess..." She said.

"...Kaylee?" River asked.

"Yeah?"

"Don't make breakfast again, okay?" River asked.

"What? Food I made was really that bad?" She asked. "Well, guess a' can't fault you your honesty, now can I?" She smiled a little to herself, having mixed feelings about the whole thing.

"Not that." River corrected.

"What then?" Kaylee asked.

"...you keep bad dreams away. It's more valuable than tofu." River explained.

"Oh..." Kaylee said.

"Tired... sleep..." River said.

Kaylee looked over and River was already asleep apparently.

"...Pleasant dreams then..." She touched her friend's hair a little and smiled to herself, snuggling in under the covers and closing her eyes. Somehow proud of herself now. Despite knowin' she prob'ly had no real cause to be.

============================

- CAVE PAINTINGS -

The day after next River and Kaylee were in the woods, just exploring around, basically because they were bored and there wasn't much else to do. And River seemed to like exploring. Kaylee didn't really care for the woods as much as River seemed to, but she did kind of like to go along because River made it fun anyway. Always investigating this or that, explaining what she thought about birds or wondering why squirrels acted the way they did.

Right now, they were sitting by a group of trees by a rock wall. Kaylee had watched while River had made some paints from inedible berries and such and had painted a picture on the rocks of the two of them sitting together and looking up at the sky with Serenity flying by and the waterfall in the background. Kaylee had mostly watched silently, fascinated. 'Cave paintings' River had told her, 'To mark us when we're gone'.

The painting was remarkably lifelike for using such simple, seemingly casual lines. It reminded Kaylee of this old woman she'd met in a marketplace once who did calligraphy on cloth banners and sold them as decorations. She'd bought this miniature one, only fourteen by fourteen centimeters. Just one character on it that meant 'luck'. Kaylee had figured she could hardly go wrong with more luck, after all.

Kaylee had told River how great she thought her 'cave painting' was and gotten a kind of shy but very pleased smile for saying it. River had told her a little about how scientists on Earth-that-was had found paintings on caves and learned things about their ancestors that way. Kaylee had gotten to like it when River told stories like that, not that she always knew what River was talking about, but River had a way of telling stories that was just fun to listen to. But, after she'd finished telling about the cave paintings, one of those quiet places that happened sometimes when they talked happened, and Kaylee was just going to ask if they should get up and start walking again when River had an idea.

"We should play a game." River offered.

"Um, 'kay, what sort'a game?" Kaylee asked, seein' nothing better to do and willing to go along.

"I don't know, you can pick." River said, getting up and taking Kaylee's hand and pulling her up to her feet from sitting.

"Um, okay... hide and seek? ...Tag?" Kaylee tried to think of the games she and her sister played back on Isis.

"Tag." River said, tapping her on the shoulder and dancing away from her a ways. "You're it." She smiled, and ran off.

"River!" Kaylee ran off after her into the woods, thankful she'd thought to bring along a homing beacon set to lead them back to the shuttle, because no way was she going to remember the way back after this probably.

Kaylee chased River into the forest and only barely kept her in sight. She'd round a tree and see River leaning against one. "Can't catch me." She'd smile, ducking behind the tree and Kaylee would get there and she'd be gone. Maybe up ahead, or even once or twice back where she'd just come from.

After a while of this, Kaylee got the idea there was just no way she was going to be able to tag River back. "I give up, you win!"

River walked out from the tree right next to her. "You're not very good at this game, why'd you chose it?" She asked curiously.

Kaylee giggled a little. "I underestimated your ability to dart around like that."

"Oh... that's understandable then." River smiled.

Kaylee narrowed her eyes at her. She wanted to do something to her for that, mess up her hair or wrestle with her a little like she and her sister did sometimes, but... she was still a little hesitant to surprise River with things that might be looked at as aggressive. Just... just in case she might react bad to it. She sighed. "We should be getting back." She said.

River looked at her a little quizzically, like she was trying to figure her out again. She stepped in closer to her and Kaylee didn't quite know what to expect. "I'm sorry... because I wasn't fun to play tag with." River said softly. "I get carried away and..." She kissed Kaylee on the cheek. "You still like me?" She asked.

Kaylee felt all the sudden a little uncomfortable, butterflies in her belly or something. She smiled, a little unsteady. "'course I do, don't be silly." She said quietly. "Um, we could play guess who on the way back?" She offered, stepping away and taking River's hand in hers to show her friend that there really where no hard feelings or anything. It made her feel better too.

"Okay." River said easily, apparently set at ease from Kaylee taking her hand and all.

"Only, has to be someone I'd have a chance at guessin', okay? No fancy stuff from school I wouldn't know. Right?" She asked.

"That's fair." River agreed.

"Who guesses first?" Kaylee asked.

"I do." River answered as they walked.

"Alright. Okay, I got someone. Have at it." Kaylee said, looking off into the trees and smiling.

"Are they living or dead?" River asked.

"Living. Last I heard at least." Kaylee supplied, looking over at River a little curiously and then looking ahead where they where going.

"Male or female identified?" River asked, being politically correct apparently.

"Male." Kaylee supplied.

"Johnny Nolen?" River asked.

"How'd you know?" Kaylee stopped and turned to her in surprise.

"He's your favorite male identified singer, and you looked like music when you started the game." River told her. "Your turn to guess?" She asked expectantly.

"Um, sure." Kaylee shook her head a little. River really was somethin' sometimes. To have picked up on something like that about her. She really... really must have paid a lot of attention to her. Or maybe River just naturally did that for everyone? For some reason she kind of liked to think maybe she was special though. "Got someone?"

"Uh-huh." River said as they started walking again.

"Living or dead?" Kaylee asked.

============================

-DANCING IN THE DARK-

In bed the next day, after sundown. There had been a rainstorm, starting yesterday in the evening, lasting all night and through the day. It was still comin' down outside, could hear it, a muffled rata-tat-taping on the shuttle in the background. The sound had soon just sort of faded into the background for Kaylee though so she didn't much notice it no more.

"If we're stuck here, for good I mean, what d'you think we'd do?" Kaylee asked, laying next to River in bed. They'd gotten ready for bed an all, but they still had a light on next to the bed and had been talking about this and that for a while.

The more she and River talked, the more they got comfortable just talking, it seemed like. Once you got her to open up, once she felt like someone really heard her and was willing to let her be who she was, broken bits and all, Kaylee figured, River really seemed to open up. Kaylee felt special that she was the person who could give that to her. An... the way River would look at her when Kaylee was the one talkin', like what she was sayin' mattered more than anything else in the worlds. It made her feel... it was a really nice, warm sort of feeling. She couldn't remember anyone paying that much attention to her before, at least not to the things she said, her opinions and feelings about things and everything.

"We'd grave rob and start a farm, I think. It's logical, isn't it?" River asked, looking over to meet Kaylee's eyes.

"Grave rob?" Kaylee asked, a little confused. "Oh, you mean, go'an... take things from the settlers an all, don't ya?" She realized.

"You have farming expertise from past experience... I don't foresee any difficulties... unless there's a drought." She qualified.

Kaylee smiled to herself. "You an me, on a farm. Wouldn't that be something?" She mused. "Certainly be me comin' round full circle, now wouldn'it?"

"Circle?" River asked.

"Me, startin' out on a farm, with a sister my only friend, then goin' up into space, havin' an adventure... then here I'd be, on a farm, with you bein' sister number two."

River sat up. "I'm not sister number two, don't say that." She said, sounding a little hurt.

"...why not?" Kaylee asked. "I mean, I know we ain't really sisters or anything, but... feels like we could be, in another life or somethin', doesn't it?"

River was silent and Kaylee couldn't tell much of anything just looking at her back like she was. "River...." She got up and put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "What's the matter?" She asked softly.

River shied away from her and came around in front of her to face her. Her eyes were all stormy and troubled. "You don't know anything important, do you?" She said, pushing Kaylee down onto her back, looking down at her from on top of her on her hands and knees, her eyes were all.. intense somehow, Kaylee couldn't look away, she just kept quiet and couldn't think of anything to say.

River just kept looking into her eyes for a few more moments and then she started to lower herself down closer. Kaylee's mind just sort of... went blank. She didn't know what was happening, or what would happen next, then... River closed her eyes and kissed her.

Just a soft, simple kiss, followed by a second just the same.

River stopped and got back up on her hands, looking down into a speechless Kaylee's eyes. "That's important." River said softly, getting off of her and going to sit against the headboard, a pillow's distance between them. Kaylee looked over and saw River had brought her legs up and was resting her chin on them, just looking off into the darkness of the room.

"...Why'd you do that?" Kaylee asked, getting up on her knees and looking over at River.

River didn't answer.

"You... you like me... don't you." She said. It wasn't a question. She wondered in that moment how she hadn't seen it before. Of course River liked her like that. All those times she'd caught her watching her. She'd caught a boy lookin' at her like that, what else would she have thought? She felt kind'a dense for not seeing before now...

River turned her head and looked at her, resting the side of her head on her knees. "I used to know how to do this better... I had a girlfriend, her name was Ella Dannan. She took me dancing..." River said softly. "I wonder what become of her sometimes... I hope she found someone else to dance with..." She closed her eyes.

Kaylee just sat there watching River a moment, then she looked down at her hands. Her thoughts were still a little dazed, and she wasn't sure if what she was thinking was a good idea or not, but she figured she was gong to do it anyway.

She looked back up at River. River was looking off into the darkness again, a sort of... wistful look on her face.

Kaylee got up and crawled out of bed, going to the far side of the room. River watched her curiously. Soon, there was music. A soft, instrumental song. Piano, electric guitar, some other instruments.

Kaylee walked over by the side of the bed where River was. "I like to go dancin' too." She said softly, offering River her hand.

River smiled softly to her, took her hand and let Kaylee lead her out to the middle of the floor. They stepped closer together, put their arms around one another, and danced to the music.

============================

See you next time...

Log 4: "Fighting The Hollows"

===================================================

It was two days and some later now. The sky had patchy white clouds in it that were right now covering the sun above them. The air smelled sweet in one of the many ways it only ever did on an honest to goodness planet with trees and lakes and waterfalls and such. And at this particular moment, Kaylee found herself backed up against one of those trees thinking about none of those things at all as she and River kissed.

River's hands were gently but firmly holding her forearms to the tree, their bodies were so close that the heat between them felt almost like a fire, and Kaylee was in no mood at all to call a halt to it. In fact, she wasn't sure if she'd ever enjoyed kissing someone quite this much her entire life. It was making her feel a little dizzy, to be honest.

When River finally stopped, her lips still just a breath away, Kaylee was kind of struck trance-like for a moment, until her brain kicked itself into workin' again. "Why'd you stop?" She asked softly, shivering just a little at the sound of her own voice.

Their eyes met and River smiled a little in that knowingly confident way she sometimes had about her. "No reason." She said back simply, moving in to kiss her again, letting go of Kaylee's arms, her hands sliding, one up, the other down to Kaylee's waist, then up to her ribs.

Kaylee kissed her back, almost on auto-pilot. They'd been doing this off and on since that night when they'd danced. Afterward, they'd talked a little and... ended up kissing; she still wasn't sure who'd started it. It had been kind of a surprise to her (this was the first time she'd done this sort of thing with another woman, after all), but one she was actually starting to really get used to.

Her sister back on Isis had only ever liked girls. Last she knew; she was married to one in fact. Chelsea Isaacs was her name - Pretty, with dark hair and intense dark brown eyes. Not long on words and not anything like a social butterfly, but, her sister had assured her once, fantastic in bed. For Kaylee's part though, she'd never found herself having eyes for another girl like that, only boys. It hadn't been that she'd thought one was better than the other, just, she was attracted to who she was attracted to, just like her sister was. Now, she was definitely feeling attracted to River, and, in fact, was wondering if River'd be as fantastic in bed as Chelsea Isaacs was. Though... she wasn't quite sure she was ready to find out just yet somehow - Which was baffling to her, honestly. She'd never exactly been hesitant in that area before, when it came to the love interests in her life. Why now? Was it just because River was a woman? She didn't know why that should matter, but, well, maybe it did sometimes.

In any case, River didn't seem to be in a hurry to move things to the next level yet, so she had time to consider things, she supposed - As pleasantly difficult as River was making that at the moment.

A little frustrated, Kaylee pushed River back off of her some and shook her head a little. When her and River's eyes met again, River was just looking back at her curiously, as if simply wondering why Kaylee had done that. Kaylee found herself considering whether to back River up against a tree herself next or not, them looking into each other's eyes like they were, but she decided not to. She sighed in frustration though and sat down on the ground in front of the tree, running a hand through her hair and trying to get her head to working again.

"Something's wrong?" River asked, getting down and sitting on the ground with her.

Kaylee looked up through strands of her hair that were falling over her eyes and met River's interested gaze. "Only that it's hard to think when we get to doin' that." It was getting kind of hard to think period, where being around River was concerned, if she were being honest.

"That's only a biological reaction, though some would say a spiritual truth exists behind it." River offered.

"Yeah? And what truth would that be?" Kaylee asked, her hand moving her hair around on her head a little more.

"In summary... that love tends towards making everything else seem boring by comparison." River explained softly.

"And..." She met River's eyes again. "You'd say that... we're in love?" She asked.

"All signs are pointing strongly in that direction, yes." River smiled. And again, like every time before, Kaylee marveled at just how very much River Tam could say with only a smile.

"...yeah. I'm guessin' they are, aren't they?" She replied softly, looking off somewhere into the forest. They were just a little ways from the shuttle they now called home, just come back from getting fresh water (which was sat down in containers a few feet away).

"Aren't you... pleased about that?" River asked.

"Huh? Oh, no, River, 'course I am." She laughed a little. "Could hardly be kissin' you like that if'n I weren't pleased, now could I?" She remarked, leaning her head back against the tree and looking up into the canopy of branches above. By chance, she saw a bird flit past, orange colored mostly.

"Nonsense happens sometimes." River shrugged. "It's best to check, when it's important, I think."

Kaylee looked over to her again. "River... how long have you felt... you know, attracted? To me, I mean?"

River looked a little bothered by that. "Who can say?" Their eyes met again, kind of wondered back to one another. "I knew this would happen though, the first time we met." She told her. "I saw it. Saw it even in the before, I think..."

Kaylee was a little stunned. "How?" She asked softly. "How does... whatever it is you do, how does it work?" She asked.

River shrugged again. "It's hard to say. There are theories..." She offered.

Kaylee considered that a moment. "...prob'ly not important." She said softly. "Mysteries are for fools and lonely philosophers who can't be bothered to learn how to swim, right?" She quoted River back to her.

River smiled a delighted smile like as if Kaylee had just told a clever joke. "We could go swimming again if you want?" She offered.

"You really like being in the water, don't you?" Kaylee asked.

"Mm-hmm." River replied. "Some people think our ancestors were fish, or... maybe dolphins."

"Isn't a dolphin a kind fish?" Kaylee asked.

River shook her head 'no'. "They have holes in their heads." She tapped the top of Kaylee's head playfully.

"You sayin' I have one too?" Kaylee asked back with a smile.

"Just the normal ones like most people." River replied lightly.

"Oh, is that all." Kaylee replied, smiling playfully.

"I like mine to kiss yours... not most peoples'?" River offered hopefully.

Kaylee smiled at that and reached out a hand to take one of River's in hers. "Let's go home, alright?" She asked, moving to get up.

River got up right along with her. "Alright..." She replied, looking down at their joined hands a moment when they got to standing, then letting it go to go retrieve one of the water containers. Kaylee went to get the other one.

They walked together in silence for just a bit, but when the shuttle came into view, River broke the silence. "I think a storm is coming soon..."

Kaylee stopped and looked over to her. "Why do I not like the sound of that?" She asked.

"Echoes of the void. There will be a war." River replied, continuing on towards the shuttle without looking back.

Kaylee watched after her for a moment. Why was it, that every time she thought she had River figured, the woman'd say something so sideways like that? Somehow though, whether it was because she'd come to understand River Tam so much more these last weeks, or because of some other reason, she knew, just knew, than it would be smart to take what River had just said very seriously.

She hurried up to catch up with her shipmate.

Or, she supposed, River might actually be her girlfriend now.

===================================================

The next day, Kaylee watched from the bed, not just a little anxiously, as River set up barricades and traps in a very exacting manner. She'd offered to help of course, but River had firmly said no, that it was better if she did it herself, because things had to be just so ('course, she hadn't used those words exactly, but Kaylee had caught her meaning just fine).

"Tell me again: If Reavers are coming here, why aren't we just gettin' elsewhere?" Kaylee asked, her eyes tracking River's movements almost on automatic now, as though just watching her move and do things like she was doing would make her feel better. And it was; over the last weeks she'd gotten to very much like just watching River do things in fact (there really hadn't been all that much else to do), because she'd discovered there were always so many layers to whatever it was she was doing. Since they'd become... closer, she found she liked it even more, in a way that was entirely unexpected to her, but, after what River had said, that comforting effect only went so far.

"This location is defensible, also our home. I have to protect you, skew the vectors closer to certainty. It's essential." River explained distractedly as she was bending down, the side of her head almost touching the floor as she looked at something she'd just set up from an odd angle.

"But, wouldn't it make more sense not to have to... defend me, and everything? If we just left...?" She offered, unsure of what else to say.

"They have a hole in them... they try to fill it, but they can't. They don't know that, they don't care, but they always know where to look." River said, getting up and moving something she'd set up slightly to the left.

"What are you sayin'?" Kaylee asked, having a feeling she already knew, but hoping she was wrong.

River turned and looked to her then, her eyes finding Kaylee's effortlessly, as if River had known just where to look, down to the millimeter. "They always know, Kaylee. Always." She said, looking at her for a few almost timeless moments, then quietly turning back to what she was doing.

"You sayin'... they'll find us, right? Even... even if we run?" She asked.

"Can run, but we can't hide. 'Better to stand and fight and die with nobility, than to cast our fates upon the rocks...'" She looked over to Kaylee again. "So Elina Kensington said once... She died, those that followed her too, but we won't... promise." She said, turning back to her work.

Kaylee watched her work a few more minutes, then got up and found her gun belt, retrieved it from the place she'd been keeping it beside the bed, and put it on, keeping the gun out and on her lap as she went back to sit down and watch River do what she was doing.

===================================================

About an hour or so later, Kaylee found herself pacing back and forth, nervousness, irritability, and fear her only company. River had left, went out into the woods. The light was just starting to die on the far off horizon. Through the widows, you could see the beginnings of what was prob'ly gonna be a very beautiful sunset. Not that, things bein' what they were, Kaylee was in any sort of mood to appreciate it properly.

River had told her to stay put, but, crazy as she knew it was, Kaylee wanted to be out there, with her. It was all very unfamiliar, feeling this way about someone. She didn't have a name for it, or know how to explain it, even to herself, but with River, it was just... different. Complicated.

With the men she'd been with, it was never like that, never complicated, just fun and easy (at least when things were good between her and the man in question). There wasn't a lot to think about, 'least not this much. With River though, she felt nervous, and afraid for no good reason sometimes (though there was definitely a good reason for that now, which only made it worse). Her mind just wouldn't stop racing sometimes, thoughts she wasn't at all sure she wanted to have, but... River. Something about her, just... did the trick, fit. Kaylee felt so wrapped up in her already, and, while she didn't know quite what to do with it yet, with all these feelings, she knew she didn't want it to stop. Didn't want for this not to have happened... well, if it ended up them getting tortured for days then killed by Reavers, then she'd probably wish it (the crash) hadn't, but that was pretty much a given.

She looked down at the gun in her hand. They said that, if it looked like you were done for anyways, was far better puttin' an end to yourself than lettin' the Reavers have you. The stories she'd heard, things she'd seen, she believed it. Still, she wasn't sure she'd be able to actually do it, if it came to that.

She looked out the window and thought of River out there. Somehow, as wildly improbable as it seemed to think about in any rational way, Kaylee just had this feeling... that they'd be okay. That, some how, some way, River actually would protect them both. One woman though, even River with everything Kaylee had seen her do before, against a horde of Reavers she didn't know how many strong... Any way she looked at it, no one in their right mind'd give River more than a snowball's chance in the hot place a'gettin' out of it in one piece. Anyone'd ever seen a Reaver in person'd be like to think so. Savage didn' even cover it. There was somethin' just so... far, from anything human, about'm. 'Hollows' River'd called them, and, you'd have t'admit, the name fit. Still though, Kaylee had the crazy thought that River would win somehow, and she was trying to just... hold onto that.

"I had any sense in my head, I would'a dragged'er out'a here anyway I could. Take our chances runnin'." She muttered to herself a little ruefully, sitting down on the bed, head in her hands, her frustration getting the better of her.

"They're here now." Kaylee heard River's voice through the comm.

Kaylee was on her feet and over to the comm station in a flash. "River? River, you still there?" She sent back urgently. But there was no reply, just silence. She let loose a string of Chinese obscenities and kicked the wall, hurting her toes a little. Luckily, she'd been wearing boots.

She was almost regrettin' that she'd got the comms workin' again. Any message they sent wouldn' carry into space much past a low stationary orbit, the state their transmitter was in, but it meant that one of them could call back to the ship when they were out if they had a comm until with'm. Right now, that wasn't exactly a comfort... wasn't 'xactly not either, it was just...

She went back to the bed and sat on the edge and started to look intently at the shuttle's hatch, her gun in her hands. 'course the traps were there still, but River'd told her where to walk to avoid them, in case Kaylee needed to get out. She could go outside. Of course, she wouldn't know where River was to look for her, but still...

Time seemed to pass slow and quick at the same time. So she wasn't really sure how long it was until a sudden, soft noise caused her to startle a little and get to her feet. The shuttle was supposed to be sound-proofed, but, since the crash, it wasn't no more - Wouldn't be again unless repairs were made to the hull.

There were more sounds then, sounds that definitely didn't belong to the forest outside. Not that there had been many forest sounds coming in that evenin', just a soft wind in the trees sound. It was like all the animals knew something truely dangerous was coming, and they'd all been sensible and went t'hole up somewheres 'til it was over.

She bit her lip a little, clenched her fists, said somethin' her mother wouldn'na approved of in Chinese, marched across the cabin, and pressed the button to open the hatch.

The light from the sunset came in on the breeze right along with the sounds of fighting.

Kaylee's nerves were more on edge than she could ever remember them being. She knew this was stupid, knew she was prob'ly more'n likely gonna get herself killed, but it didn't matter, because for the life of her, she couldn' think of anything else to do but go out there. River might need her help.

It was strange, like her actions weren't even really her own. She knew that as soon as the hatch was down, she'd run out there. She knew it, she couldn't even remember havin' decided she was going to do it, but she was going to. Was just a fact.

The hatch hadn't hit dirt yet when she saw River out there, surrounded by Reavers, men an' women all a horror, and her feet were moving, gaining speed. The hatch hit dirt, and suddenly River turned and their eyes met and River was moving right at her, so fast, and she could swear there wasn't even the sound of her feet on the deck plating. Then River's arm caught her around the middle, twirled her around somehow and, faster than she could really understand how it happened, she found herself bein' carried, gentle feeling as a feather, in River's arms just like that, the other girl hardly having seemed to even break stride in the doin' of it. Kaylee only had time for the brief thought of 'how in the heck did she do that?'.

Behind them there was the sound of screaming and, what sounded to be bloody mayhem, plain and simple. River was settin' her down gently on the bed. "Stay. I won't die." She told her simply. "Believe in me."

Kaylee watched a little dumbly as River turned around to face what was coming, reloading her gun. Kaylee couldn't help herself, she moved to look around River at what was happening. The Reavers had followed River through and were being cut down mercilessly by the, as it turned out, deadly efficient traps that River had set. There... there were a lot of'm though, and the ones behind just seemed to climb over the bodies of the fallen. Some started to make their way through that way and Kaylee watched as River calmly and efficiently killed them, one shot each to the forehead, right dead center every time.

Before long though, River's gun ran out of ammunition and she had no time to reload again. River already had a short sword in one hand and now she tossed aside her gun and drew a machete from behind her. What was next were a series of swift, brutal strikes. River just seemed to, it was almost like a dance for her, one she had every move down pat to an' then some. Watching her like that, Kaylee couldn't help but think that maybe... maybe she'd had it backwards, and it was the Reavers who'd never had a chance, stead of them.

One of the Reavers came at her, a woman with three small human skulls on a macabre necklace around her neck, cheeks slashed with scarred over cuts, eyes that sent a chill through her unlike anything Kaylee'd ever felt before. Almost without conscious thought, she found herself raising her gun to meet the threat. Time seemed to slow unnaturally and somehow she had the time to think 'There's not enough time'. She wouldn't get her gun raised and aimed before the Reaver would be on top of her. But, the next thing she knew, the Reaver woman was falling to the floor before her, her head sliced clean off. A few bits of blood sprayed Kaylee's face, and, absently, she thought 'there's not e'nuff blood...'. She'd seen heads lopped off before, and there was always more blood sprayed about than that. Had River really moved so fast?

She looked up and met River's eyes. River, standing there, dirty and bloodied, the only one 'sides her left alive apparently. She'd won. They were safe. And she'd kept her word, she hadn't died.

River turned and threw her machete, killing one last Reaver who'd been hurt but not killed by one of her traps, then turned back to her. Their eyes met again as River walked over to her then, dropping her last weapon carelessly on the floor before kneeling down in front of her. The look in her eyes was haunted... but also sure and hopeful. "Everything will be all right." River told her softly, simply. "It's over now."

Kaylee moved forward and was hugging River to her then mightily, a few tears falling down her cheeks and no words immediately coming to her lips.

"Kaylee..." River started to say.

But Kaylee backed away just enough to move in and kiss her girlfriend fiercely. River acted surprised and tensed up a little at first, but then relaxed into the kiss and returned it. When the kiss finally ended by seeming mutual consent, Kaylee found herself feeling a little light-headed, her heart beating fast in her chest. She closed her eyes a moment and tried to steady herself. "I'm not sure I believe all that stuff that jus' happened really did, just so you know."

"That happens to me sometimes too. It can be kind frustrating when it happens unexpectedly." River replied, seemingly in all sincerity. "...so I can relate." She told her.

Kaylee smiled a little of a charmed smile and kissed her just lightly on the lips for but a second. "You're kind of really amazing, you know that... If I haven't said it before." She told her. "Thank you."

"What for?" River asked curiously.

"Saving our lives again, dummy." Kaylee said. "It's gettin' to be a habit for you."

River simply looked at her curiously. "You're welcome, then." She said with just the beginning of a smile before she sat down on the floor and sighed, getting up and crawling up onto the bed. "I need to sleep now though, I think." She said, yawning in an oddly cute way as she lay down on her side and closed her eyes.

Kaylee smiled a little to watch this and thought again just how amazing River was sometimes. All the inexplicable things she could do... but watching her falling off to sleep like that, she looked just like any normal girl. Well, she was also very pretty to look at, even with the blood and dirt and such, but still...

Kaylee sighed and forced herself to look over at the carnage that was piled up on the hatch and strewn about the cabin of the shuttle they called home now. "This is going to take forever to get clean..." She said. And it was already starting to smell.

She didn't feel like it at all, but she knew she had to start cleaning this up... and hope she'd be able to hold her stomach while she did, because, as she got up to start doing that, she really was starting to feel like she might throw up.

And it wasn't as though they had so much in the way of food supplies that they could well afford her doin' that, now did they?

===================================================

After laying down for around a half hour in a light nap while Kaylee had started the cleanup process, River startled awake and sat up, bolt straight, blinking her eyes in confusion a little.

Kaylee, who'd sat down by the window to take a break and steady her mind, noticed right away and got up to go over to her. "You alright?" She asked in an almost shy sort of voice.

River looked over to her, blinking a few times, then fell back onto the bed and sighed. "My head makes too much noise sometimes."

Kaylee considered that for a moment, and, though she did feel kind of nervous around River again all of the sudden for some reason, she none the less went over on the bed and got down lying next to her, tilted River's head to the side, and kissed her - Once, then more often. Not really seriously, but very intently none the less. Soon, River seemed to get completely absorbed in the activity, which is what Kaylee had been aiming for. "Better?" She asked softly after a while.

River blinked in confusion. "Better than what?" She asked absently, moving to start kissing her again.

Kaylee started to giggle a little at that. "Better than too much noise, I mean." She explained, finding it endearing that them kissing had made River lose her train of thought so completely.

River seemed to understand then, but none the less pushed her over onto her back and started kissing her again. "Better than anything..." River spoke just softly between kisses.

Kaylee let the makeout session continue for a while, because, honestly, she felt like she needed it right then too, but before long, better sense and the realization that they were in fact making out in a room full of dead bodies, made her make a sort of whining noise and reluctantly push River away.

"Why are we stopping?" River asked, clearly disappointed.

"We're in a room full of dead bodies, and you need a bath. Me also, but you first." She told her with a sort of fond smile.

"Oh..." River replied. "That makes sense then, I guess." She said, reluctantly sitting up and looking out at the room.

Kaylee got up to sitting too and moved over beside her girlfriend. "Are you all right...? You know, after... all of that?"

"...my right elbow hurts." She said softly. "I used it to hit one of the hollow men in the head. It was... necessary."

"...that's not what I meant, and I think you know that." Kaylee replied, taking River's hand in hers.

River was silent a moment. "It was necessary..." She finally said. "And I helped them, to escape."

"Escape?" Kaylee asked softly.

"From life." River replied, looking over, a little unsure, to Kaylee. "To some people, it's a prison... even if they never meant it to be."

Kaylee was silent and River got up, walking towards the mass of bodies at the hatch. "I'll take this part. Some of the traps might still be dangerous..." She said softly, Kaylee very deliberately watching as River stepped over and around the corpses her traps had killed, making her way down to where the hatch met the ground and picking one of the corpses up in her arms. "I think we should bury them, in proper graves, don't you?" She asked, not turning to meet Kaylee's eyes.

Kaylee had gotten up off the bed too, so as to keep River in sight still. "It'll take us a long time..." Kaylee offered, even though she agreed and was in fact glad that River would think of that. It was another comforting thing, after having seen River do... what she'd done, to save them.

"I know. I still want to, though." River replied, carrying the body she'd picked up down off of the hatch and setting it away from the ship, then coming back to retrieve another.

Kaylee turned and went to start dragging bodies over closer to the hatch. "See if you can make a path through, then I can help more, okay?"

"Okay." River agreed, meeting Kaylee's eyes again.

"And... don't worry, we'll give'm proper burials River, I promise." Kaylee offered.

River smiled a little falteringly before she knelt down and picked another body up in her arms. "His name was... Jeffery Thomas Eagan. He had two sons, but his wife left him, because she didn't want to be a mother anymore..." River said as she picked him up and carried him off.

Kaylee swallowed and felt like she might cry. This was all just so wrong. Someone like River, she had no business doin' things like this. 'course, Kaylee considered, neither of them did, really. Nor most anyone else, she imagined. Even the Reavers maybe, whatever had happened to make them like they were.

The universe, she reckoned, if it were alive somehow like some people thought, named God or whatever else, really must not believe much in fairness. Unless you counted it as fair to let people pay for sins what they had no part in whatsoever.

===================================================

The clean-up effort lasted well on past sunset. They were working along now by the lights from inside the shuttle, carrying the bodies out, then cleaning up inside enough so that at least the place wouldn't stink unbearably come morning.

By the end of it, they were both, fair to say, just running on fumes. It just had to be done though, no two ways about it.

River had fallen silent at some point, and Kaylee hadn't felt the need to break the silence. They just sort of worked at what they were doing together without either of them having to tell the other anything besides maybe a look or a gesture here or there. It was plain and obvious what had to be done after all, not lot'a guess work involved.

At least Kaylee's stomach had calmed down to just a dull aching by then and she wasn't so worried about throwing up anymore; that was something, right?

When at last it looked like they were done enough, Kaylee sat back against a wall and looked over at River who was sitting on the floor looking around the room as if in search of something to do next. Her eyes met Kaylee's. "Done now?" She asked, with a little tired hopefulness in her voice.

Kaylee wiped some sweat from her forehead and lay her head back against the wall. "Better be." Was all she said.

She heard River do something and brought her head back up to see that River had just laid herself out on her back spread-eagle on the still blood-stained floor. She couldn't help it, she laughed a little. It was comical was what it was. It was also kind of amazing, how what River did seemed to speak so much more clearly than what her words usually said.

Her body already starting to ache too much for her tastes from all the heavy lifting she'd done, she hauled herself up to her feet and went over to River. Knelt down beside her and took her hand in hers. "Can't sleep on the floor like this, ya know." She told her reasonably.

River rolled her head to the side so their eyes met. "Are you sure about that?" She asked skeptically. "I think it might be a good idea to do tests..."

Kaylee smiled fondly. "Nothin' doin' - Gotta get you up and out of those clothes, in to bed." She said, tugging on River's arm a little.

River groaned cutely a little. "No sex until after a bath, girl's gotta have standards." She said tiredly, yawning and closing her eyes.

Kaylee felt her cheeks burn a little hot at that. "I'm not gettin' fresh, you. Now come on, up! Otherwise I'm liable to pass out here on top a'you, then we're both in trouble." She complained stubbornly.

"Fine..." River said, opening her eyes and letting Kaylee help her up to her feet. "But I'm only doing this because I'm in love with you, it's important you should know that." She said tiredly and Kaylee guided them over to the bed and River sort of fell down onto it, face first.

Kaylee was too tired to laugh, and simply climbed up on to the bed too and started to tug River's clothes off. River protested a little, but tried to help not hinder a little at least - Even helped her when Kaylee was trying to get her own clothes off. She tossed all of the garments in a corner and got under the covers with River at last. It wasn't a shower, but at least with their clothes off it wouldn't be too gross or uncomfortable for them to get to sleep.

Kaylee thought to maybe say something nice or girlfriend like to River before fallin' off, but as soon as River's head hit the pillow, she was out like a light, snuggled into Kaylee's arms happy as you please, apparently, from the look of peace that seemed to wash over her face. She looked... really beautiful... sleepin' like this - Not that she always didn't, but... Kaylee sighed and yawned, holding her girlfriend to her and finding it very easy to fall off to sleep (pass out really) right after her.

Her last thought, was that River had said... she was in love with her.

Despite that this, what she'd seen and all the bodies she'd carried, probably made this one of the most horrible days of her life thus far, that fact seemed to somehow make up for it... well, at least as far as anything rightly could make up for something like that, which, she had to admit, maybe wasn't really all that far when you got down to it.

Still, it made her feel a good deal better, more hopeful, which was something she was dearly grateful for right about then.

===================================================

In the morning, well past dawn, Kaylee woke to find herself pretty much in the same position as when she'd gone to sleep, holding River in her arms. She touched River's hair a little and that one small action seemed to cause River to stir, blink her eyes open, and kiss her. Just a peck really, but it make Kaylee smile a little, and feel just a bit shy also.

"Hey, you." She said softly.

"Hay is for horses, not people..." River spoke sleepily.

"...Then why'd my mom and dad feed it to me in the mornin's back home so of'en?" She asked back in jest.

"That's nonsensical." River replied. "Your assertion has no veracity, does it?"

"Only if it makes you smile?" Kaylee asked.

River opened her eyes again and smiled a little, a small but bright seemin' smile that charmed Kaylee instantly, then River moved to kiss her. Kaylee found herself on her back next thing, and thoroughly enjoyed the feeling.

It was a minute or two later when River was kissing her neck right below her chin that she suddenly stopped and lay her head down on Kaylee's shoulder and sighed. "We both smell bad; baths are needed." She said as though the idea both appealed to her, for obvious reasons, and disagreed with her because she didn't like the idea of getting up, which Kaylee could relate to. Still, if they weren't going to be foolin' around anymore, a bath was just what Kaylee wanted.

"Sold." Kaylee replied, getting up while River just sort of flopped back on the bed on her back and made an almost whining sort of sound in protest. Kaylee laughed just a little and somehow found that very endearing. 'I must be in love.' She thought ruefully. "Um, how about I go get the bath ready, you just lounge in bed awhile longer? I'd say you earned it, after all."

River moaned just a little and curled up, closing her eyes. "You're the best girlfriend ever." She said sleepily.

Kaylee just smiled at that. "I love you too, River." She said softly, turning to get up out of bed. Before she could though, River encircled her in a hug from behind and kissed her cheek.

"You're words are magic." River said softly, kissing her again, seeming to have come more awake all a'sudden with Kaylee's declaration.

"Says the original magician, brought back from long ago, bag a'tricks no one knows how deep." Kaylee replied fondly.

"They're only tricks if you don't know the math, and can't sing the music." River replied.

"...I could sing for you. If you wanted..." Kaylee found herself saying somehow, emotion rough in her throat.

"...songs should only be sung when they call to you, Kaylee Frye... is one calling you now?" River asked.

Kaylee smiled. "Only if you're a song, and not a person like I thought you were."

"Is it hard to tell the difference?" River asked softly, kissing her neck lightly again.

"No... but, I gotta admit, sometimes you do remind me of a song, River." Kaylee admitted softly, somehow feeling she was lost in a world she'd never been to before, maybe the one River lived in so often.

"How?" River asked.

"...the way I feel when you're with me? I don't know how to explain it, really. But, it's not that unlike how I'd feel... when I was listening to a really beautiful song, and it feels like it's movin' my soul, because there's just... such amazing beauty there, plain to see." She said softly, some amount of shyness weaving its way in between her words. It scared her a little, sayin' these things out loud. Things she hadn't really completely realized before she'd said them out into the open like this.

"Then... we're a good match, because that's how I feel now too." River said simply, laying her head on Kaylee's shoulder.

Kaylee felt her heart swell up with emotions, and she knew then, even more than she had before, that she was surely, truly falling in love again. With someone who loved her right back.

That'd only really happened to her once before.

She just hoped... this time, it'd turn out better.

===================================================

Sometime later, after having taken baths and eating breakfast together, they both set about moving the bodies of the dead Reavers out away from the ship and into the woods, into a nearby clearing, where she and River planned to dig graves for them all. It was hard, sweaty, generally ugly work, but they'd got it down to a rhythm. She was using the litter that River had made for her back before, when she'd had her ribs hurt after the crash, to carry bodies, while River was just simply picking them up in her arms and carrying them like it was no bother at all.

Kaylee had suggested that they make a second litter, but River had said that it felt like they were her weight to carry... as she'd been the one to kill'm and everything, Kaylee guessed. She'd counted; there were forty-two Reavers in all. She'd been a little stunned to find out there'd been so many, and that River had fought and killed them all, an' her comin' out of it with but a little of'a hurt elbow? It was hard to get her mind around it, actually - But then, that was River all over, wasn't it?

By lunch time, they'd managed to get all of the Reavers into the clearing, lined up in rows next to where they planned to dig the graves for each. "That's the last of'm, I'd say." Kaylee said, wiping some sweat from her forehead and going over to River who was bringing one body over to lay it next to another. "Why you doin' that?" Kaylee asked curiously.

"They loved each other once; before they lost themselves somewhere out in the dark. Philippe Yang Se and Marcus Cole Wright - They had a son together, named Jeffery Cole Yang Se, and they had a nice... a nice life. They lost their knowing, lost their song, lost each other, all gone... but its right they should be together now, at the last... don't you think so?" River asked her softly, and when her and Kaylee's eyes met, Kaylee could see River's eyes were a little misty, like she might cry if she thought about these things much longer.

Kaylee went to her and hugged her and felt River start to cry like she thought might happen. "Its okay, River. It'll be okay, I promise." By this point, the question of how River might possibly know what the names of the two dead Reavers were was barely a concern for her. Sure, a sensible person would say that River was prob'bly just making things up, maybe to cope or make herself feel better or whatever else, but by this point, Kaylee surely didn't think that was it at all. She'd seen too much. She had no good explanations and had since given up trying to get them from River herself whom, she thought, might well not even know herself. She did believe that River was connected to something, some greater knowledge or whatever it was, but, whatever the truth might be, she now believed in it - In River. That the things she said, they all had a meaning, even if Kaylee couldn't always quite manage to guess at what those meanings might be.

"You have faith then?" River asked faintly.

Kaylee broke the hug and still held River in her arms as she gently wiped her girlfriend's tears away with her thumb. "I don't know, maybe I do. I do today, at least." Kaylee told her. "And I love you, and you love me, and that makes a big difference too."

"A blessing then, for the those that's left and gone to live other lives. Do you believe in such things?" River asked.

"Do you?" Kaylee asked back gently, touching River's face.

River smiled a sad sort of smile. "I do today, at least." She said, nuzzling her cheek into Kaylee's hand a little and closing her eyes a moment. "We should go home now. We have berries we can eat." She said, opening her eyes and meeting Kaylee's curious gaze.

Kaylee felt like her heart skipped a beat almost, that look in her girlfriend's eyes. River had a way of doin' that sometimes. Sometimes Kaylee'd look into her eyes, and... she didn't know how to say it exactly, but it was like... that everything that ever was or ever could be, might just be lookin' right back at her in those eyes somehow. She swallowed a little and moved in to gently kiss River - Only a short kiss, but one that made her smile.

She took River's hand in hers then and they walked together back through the woods, leaving the bodies of the dead to be tended to later.

They were half way back when River spoke. "I think I should build a bigger bathtub." She said thoughtfully.

"You do, huh?" Kaylee replied, a little of a curious smile coming to her lips. "Not that I'm complainin', but why's that exactly?" She asked.

"Proximity." River replied simply.

Kaylee thought about that a few moments and promptly blushed a little. "Proximity, huh?" She said a little shyly.

"I'd need your permission though. Do you think it's a good idea?" River asked.

Kaylee considered that. "Yeah... don't see what it could hurt." She said softly. "I'll help." She offered.

River didn't say anything back at first, but then, a few moments later. "Kaylee... why do you suppose we fell in love?" She asked.

Kaylee was caught off guard by that, but thought about her answer seriously.

"Why does anybody?" She asked back softly some moments later.

===================================================

It was on into evening now.

They'd buried some of the bodies... River had spoken at each of the graves after they'd been laid to rest, so it took longer than it would've otherwise, not that Kaylee was about to object. Everyone disserved words said, when it was their time, if it could be managed... she believed that too.

They'd taken turns at baths again, after the work had been done, and washed the bed sheets best they could also. Eaten a meal together. (Their supplies were gettin' low, they'd need to be out lookin' for food more often now, maybe start a garden too, Kaylee considered. First steps on the path to a farm, could even be, she supposed.)

But that was for later. Now, they had clean sheets and were washed clean of the sweat and grime of a long day's work in the sun, and somehow... Kaylee found, she wasn't really all that tired.

In fact, as River came over and got on the bed with her, the both of them lacking any clothes, Kaylee felt positively energized. (All their clothes were dirty and they were both too tired to clean'm. There were some of Inara's things. Really nice things, still left un-appropriated and clean, but somehow Kaylee didn't think that seein' River all done up in silk like that was really going to be much better. And... she'd liked sleeping without last night, so she hadn't suggested raiding any more of Inara's possessions, and neither had River. So here they were, and Kaylee couldn't quite make her eyes move away.) She swallowed a little nervousness, but then, nervousness wasn't exactly what was drivin' her most right then. How she'd come to that place for herself just now, she wasn't quite sure, but she wasn't complainin', not at all. She wanted... proximity, with River, and she was very, very sure of that at this point. When her eyes, having traveled up River's body without much hurry, finally met River's eyes, she knew that River knew what was going to happen just as sure as she did.

She felt a confidence in herself about this that she'd been missing at realizing that, and she got up out from under the covers and went over to River, touched her hair, her face, her arms. They moved closer to one another, their lips met, and they kissed.

"Tell me you want this too? I know you do, I just, I want the words." Kaylee asked when the kisses stopped and they were in each other's arms.

Before she really knew any different, Kaylee found herself on her back, River's eyes, clear and intense, looking down into hers. Kaylee couldn't help but feel like those eyes really... really saw her - All of her, every bit, in a way that shouldn't even be possible, but was anyway.

"Down deep, in parts of me that are timeless and have no names... I think... that I have always wanted this." She said with gentle, heart-felt honesty.

"...oh..." Was all Kaylee could say. Her heart was beating fast, her skin was hot underneath, and when River's lips came down to claim hers again, Kaylee moved up to meet them.

River's words were like music in her blood, and as they made love, Kaylee imagined, maybe their blood, their hearts, or whatever else, maybe they started singing together. In songs, they had a word for that.

They called it harmony.

But it was more than that, it was life. And, especially after the last two days, that was something Kaylee was beyond grateful to be able to feel. Something, she imagined, that they had both needed to feel. Even and beyond the darkness that had come over their lives the last two days.

===================================================

Sometime in the night, Kaylee stirred in her sleep. The feeling of weightlessness seemed to just fade away from her. She and River were space mermaids, right? Her mostly still asleep brain told her. But then, no she wasn't. They weren't. Someone was talking - Someone familiar. She'd been dreaming, she realized, dreaming her and River had found a magic golden wishing dolphin that had turned them into space mermaids so they could leave and go home to Serenity, because the dolphin was afraid River would burn down the forest when she made the bigger bathtub.

"Well, that obviously didn't happen." She said a little blurrily under her breath as she opened her eyes.

She heard the familiar crackle of static, then something very much not static. "Repeat, is anyone there?" She heard that, now vividly recognizable, voice say.

"Inara?" She asked out loud, sitting up quick and getting up quicker, scrambling over to the comm station and clicking the reply button just as Inara started to say something else.

"Inara? Is that really you?" She asked.

===================================================

See you next time...

===================================================

"Kaylee! Oh, Kaylee, yes, it's me, I'm here. Thank the all the Buddhas that ever were. Are you all right? Is Serenity...?"

"No, we ain't on Serenity, sorry to have to say... We're in your shuttle as a matter of fact, River and me. We got caught out on our shopping trip when the Reavers came." She told her. "Wasn't time to get back. Last we saw Serenity, she was breaking through the clouds in our rearview, us heading in for a crash."

"A crash? You're both alright I hope?" Inara asked.

Kaylee looked over to the bed and saw River sitting up, blinking the sleep from her eyes.

Their eyes met.

"We're fine." Kaylee replied, her voice unconsciously softening a little. "River got us down safe. I had some cracked ribs to begin with, but I'm fine now." I had a good doctor, she thought.

"I'm relieved... but... what... what about Mal, and the others? They didn't come back for you, you haven't had news?" Inara questioned. It was clear she was worried about everyone, but, Kaylee thought, probably the captain in particular, if she was to guess. What it was between Mal and Inara was fair on hard to guess at exactly, but it weren't hard to guess there definitely was somethin'.

"No... no news, haven't heard a peep." Kaylee replied as River came over to her and wrapped them in a bed sheet to keep them warm, sitting down next to her on the couch.

"Oh, I see..." Inara replied.

"'Nara, where are you anyways?" Kaylee asked.

"She's under the mountain." River answered for her. "Keeps her safe."

"She's... right." Inara replied back. "River? How could you...?" Her voice trailed off though, the question left incomplete.

"...The wind whispers it's secrets to her." Kaylee replied when River simply laid her head on her shoulder and closed her eyes sleepily. "That's all I can figure. What does that mean 'xactly though, under a mountain?"

"...Poor James, the governor, as it turns out he had a bunker built inside the mountain under his home, for emergencies. Though he wasn't so considerate as to have them built for the other residences in his colony, I'm afraid." Inara explained, only somewhat bitterly. "I'm down here with him, his family, and a couple of his staff. The bunker has kept us safe enough, but, you see... when the Reavers couldn't get in, I believe they blockaded the door somehow so that we couldn't get out either."

"...Oh, well, I mean that's terrible and all, but at least you're alive, right?" Kaylee replied, trying to look on the positive side. Despite River's statements on the subject, facts bein' what they were, she hadn't really held out much hope that Inara could somehow still be alive out there. So, obviously, she though the fact that she'd been proven wrong was a cause to be very cheerful. "How long do you think you can hold out? And you have any way a'knowing if the Reavers are still lingerin' about? We're a fair ways off out a'town, but I imagine we could hike back if we had to, try'n dig ya out."

"I'm sure we'd all be very grateful for that, Kaylee, thank you." Inara said with soft, sincere gratitude. "And as it turns out, yes. The bunker is connected to a number of outside vid-feeds, covering the town from above and closer in, in some of the public areas. We've been keeping watch and we haven't seen any Reavers for almost a week."

Probably because all of'm left dirtside came t'visit us, Kaylee thought ruefully, though didn't say so. It wasn't as though even Inara, shipmate and friend that she was, would likely believe that adorable but kinda mad seeming River Tam all by herself killed that many of those... things, people, whatever Reavers were. That, and she really wasn't sure it was such'a good idea to let that fact get out, regardless. She could prob'ly trust Inara to keep it to herself, but it sounded like Inara might not be the only one listening. And, if it did get out (especially considering what happened on Ariel that time**), it might end up being dangerous to River someday, if they ever got back up to space again that was (which wasn't necessarily a sure thing, she acknowledged; sure, the captain and the others'd come back for'm if they could, but who's to say they still, you know, could?). "Sounds almost like that right honorable mayor a'yours thought Reavers might pay this place a'visit ahead a'time, don't it?" Kaylee observed instead.

"That thought had occurred to me as well. I asked him about it once, but he told me he'd thought Reavers were a myth, like a lot of people from the inner colonies do, and that this bunker of his was merely an insurance measure against natural disasters or 'possible civil unrest'. Which, I admit, might make sense I suppose. If you're paranoid." Inara supplied. "In any case, he seemed... quite beside himself. And it wasn't as though pursuing the matter would do much good to anyone. So I thought I'd let it lie. Stephen, James's man servant, wasn't so forgiving however, didn't believe his excuse, and... his family had been out there, so, well... you can imagine..."

"What happened?" Kaylee asked as River moved to lay her head down in her lap, wrap herself up in a kind of ball to fit on the couch, and close her eyes.

"At first Stephen wanted to kill him, or beat him until he confessed. I talked him out of it, but only because I reminded him that the man's children would be watching... Still, it was an... uneasy peace. The tension only seemed to build between them. And James, poor James, well, he wasn't doing well besides that. He started to became anxious, and rather more paranoid. It all came to a head a couple days ago, in fact. James said something... distasteful, and completely tactless, and Stephen charged at him. Stephen's a fairly big man, bigger than James, surely, but James was, well, he must have been nearly insane by that point, I'm afraid. He managed to hit Stephen over the head with the base of the nearby bust of his late wife. Stephen was dazed and James rolled him away and got on top of him, meaning to strike him again, kill him I think. I grabbed his arm and stopped him before he could, but he pushed me away and turned on me, as though he meant to do me in as well. I had my gun, so... I shot him." Inara told her story.

"Well it hardly sounds like the man gave you much choice." Kaylee put in.

"No, he really didn't. I did try to shoot to wound though." Inara explained.

"That was kind." Kaylee assessed, thinking she herself wouldn't'a been inclined to take chances in a situation like that. But then, unlike Inara, she wasn't exactly that great with a gun nether; she would'a considered herself lucky if she'd managed to hit him at all. She stroked River's hair then and thought again how grateful she was to have River with her, how grateful she was to her for saving their lives the other night.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. He's in a bad state, Kaylee, I don't think he'll survive past the next day or two." Inara told them. "Perhaps if Simon or another doctor were here, but of course, there's little chance of that, I suppose..."

"Yeah, suppose not... um, so, and the others down there with you? They doin' all right? You all have enough supplies to last a while?" She asked. "How long do you think?"

"Oh, the bunker's well enough supplied, have no fear on that account. There's enough food to last all of us years, and fresh water from an underground well." Inara told them.

"And the others with you? Who all is that by the way?" Kaylee questioned.

"Well, Stephen I already mentioned. He had a bad headache from the blow he received, but he's doing fine. Then there's James's children, May and Daniel. Ten and Twelve. And the household cook, Frita, who's not doing that well with being trapped underground. She's got a fear of enclosed spaces, not a bad case, but still, I think she's only managed to keep herself together for the children's sake. She's... a brave woman." Inara explained.

"Braver than her employer, that's for sure." Kaylee said.

"True, but, then, in this case, his fear seems to have kept us alive, so I don't suppose I really have fair cause to complain, do I?" Inara told her with her usual equanimity.

"Well, when you put it like that..." Kaylee saw her point.

"Kaylee..." Inara spoke softly.

"Yeah?"

"It's... just really good to hear your voice, you know?" Inara said.

"Yeah... yours too." Kaylee told her back. "Listen, the shuttle's a lost cause unless I can get replacement parts, but don't you worry, me'an River, we'll pack up our things and get ourselves over to you, soon as we can. Dig ya out, whatever it takes, okay? I promise."

"...thanks Kaylee, that means a lot." Inara told her.

"Hey, what're shipmates for?" Kaylee replied, fighting back a yawn. She really did need to get back to sleep, she considered - River had thoroughly worn her out earlier in bed before they'd got around finally to sleepin' after all, and that was after a day a'diggin' graves. But darned if she was gonna let on to Inara about that. "You know, River said you'd be alive. Said you were tied to this life, by strings we'd made. That those strings were stronger than most, an' harder to break. You think there's anything to that?"

"...It would be nice to think so, wouldn't it? It's a beautiful thought, in any case..." Inara said softly.

"I know, isn't it?" Kaylee said back just as softly. "Inara... can I tell you something?"

"Of course, Kaylee. You can tell me anything, you know that. What is it? Nothing bad, I hope?" Inara asked carefully.

"No, it's happy news in fact." She said looking down at River's peacefully sleeping face resting on her lap, and thinking how beautiful she looked like this, how beautiful they'd been together when they'd... made love. How beautiful it was, just being with her like this now even. Or just walking together in the forest. She knew now for dead sure, uncertain though the future might be, that she didn't ever want it to be any other way. "Me an' River, we're sort of a couple now." If they got out of this, she was even sort of thinking she'd ask River to marry her, honestly. After all, when it came to the choice of havin' someone to love or not havin' them, it was a pretty easy choice, 'specially where River was concerned.

"Well, that's certainly a surprise... I thought, well, you know, it seemed you had eyes for her brother." Inara observed, her spirits seeming to be lifted by the news. "That must be quite a story." She said, clearly curious.

"Yeah, you could say that. And I guess I did sort of have a crush on Simon, but... you know, things change." Kaylee explained helplessly.

"So true. But you're right, that is very happy news, isn't it?" Inara laughed happily a little. "So? How'd it happen? You have to tell me all about it."

"I will, but later, okay? Right now, I need my sleep." Kaylee said with a yawn she couldn't hold back any longer.

"Oh, of course." Inara conceded.

"Call back in the morning sometime, we'll talk more then."

"I will. Good night, Kaylee."

"Night Inara." Kaylee replied, hanging up the comm. "River? Hey, come on, sweetie, gotta get up and back to bed."

River yawned and sat up, blinking sleep from her eyes again. "What'd I miss?" She asked tiredly.

"We gotta go dig Inara an some other people out'a a'hole later." Kaylee supplied.

"Oh... that makes sense then." River replied, yawning again and moving in to kiss her, which surprised Kaylee of course, but in a good way. She laughed though when the kiss ended. "Enough of that now, I'm too tired for that sort of thing."

"You're way too pretty, it's not fair." River said a little discontentedly, yawning again and getting up, walking back to bed and sort of falling back in.

Kaylee laughed again, very charmed by River's very cute antics. She got up and, yawning again too, wrapped the sheet around herself and followed River back to bed, getting in and sort of wrestling River back under the covers with her.

They snuggled up together and both promptly fell back to sleep.

===================================================

They'd slept in that morning, and River had woken her up with kisses, and so it was that an hour and a half later, Kaylee found herself staring down into River's eyes. River who was smiling up at her with such serenity and bliss Kaylee felt like she could hardly breathe. She whined a little piteously and lay down beside her new lover and buried her face in her shoulder. River turned over and somehow unerringly found her lips and kissed her. Soon, Kaylee was on her back again being kissed. She moaned and broke away with only half-hearted resolve. "You tryin'a do me in or somethin'?" She asked with a only slightly shy, but mostly just happy smile.

"No... but you're hard to resist kissing, Kaylee. Is it too much?" River asked with a confused sort of innocent worry on her face.

Kaylee touched River's cheek and looked into her eyes. "Of course it's not, it's just... we've got things we have to do, ya know? We keep going like this, I won't have near enough energy to do anything but sleep some more." She explained. The truth was, she wasn't really as close to getting tired as she might'a been givin' the impression she was. Honestly, it was just gettin' a little too intense for her and she wanted to take a breath as much as anything else of a more practical importance.

River looked annoyed at that, but resignedly got off from on top of her and lay back beside her on her back in bed. "I hate logic." She said, or more like muttered disgruntledly.

Kaylee smiled and got up on top of her, kissing her neck a little and then snuggling in close. "I know what you mean."

"Can we just lay here a while then? I really want to, and it might be needed for... some reason." River asked, wrapping her arms around Kaylee's back.

"Yeah... we can do that." Kaylee agreed, contentedly closing her eyes and settling into cuddle with her girlfriend for a while. Somehow it felt like just what she needed in fact.

They were just silent like that for Kaylee wasn't sure how long, but it was amazing how just nice it felt. How... how just all of perfect. Even with everything else their situation had them needing to do and all, it really did just seem completely ideal in the right here and now.

Finally though, Kaylee got up on one elbow and brushed some strands of hair away from River's face, their eyes meeting and neither of them seeming to want to look away. "We have to make plans you know..." She told her.

"A friend to rescue, and enemies to burry. I'm not very fond of irony either." River explained with a little of a smile.

"At least neither of us will be doing any of it alone." Kaylee reassured with a little frank adoration in her voice. Because really, it was a bit incredulous how deeply she felt like she was falling in love with this woman under her. She felt like maybe she should sing a song or write a poem or do something equally as silly and hopelessly romantic. But in this case they really did have miles to go before they slept again (or at least would have tomorrow), so she figured she'd have to put a lot of that sort of thing on hold for a while. Which was probably for the best, since she wasn't that great a singer and had never written much poetry before either.

River smiled. "You are poetry and song, Kaylee, the best kind of all... didn't you know that?"

Kaylee was a little speechless. "How'd you know to say that?" She asked as soft as a breath.

River shrugged a little. "Just knew." Was all she said.

"Can you... read my mind or something?" She asked.

"Don't think so." River replied.

"I'm thinking of a number between one and ten..." She started.

"Nine." River replied.

Kaylee's eye widened. "If that's not mind readin', what is?" Kaylee asked.

"I don't think it's mind reading if I just know you very well." River told her, a little confusion in her voice. "Well, maybe not as much as I want to know you, but still, the principle holds."

"And you can see the future sometimes." Kaylee provided.

"That too, kind of." River conceded with a little a smile, the emotions behind which Kaylee couldn't quite put her finger on, so she moved down and kissed her. Just briefly.

"I guess it doesn't really matter. Whatever the truth of you is, it wouldn't make much difference. I'd still be hopeless in love with you, wouldn't I?" She told her.

"Even if I'd put you under a magic spell like a witch from mythology?" River asked playfully.

"Well, you didn't, did you?" Kaylee dared.

River laughed. "I deny all knowledge of witchcraft; the broom in my closet is only meant for sweeping."

Kaylee laughed too and kissed her and lay down at her shoulder with a sigh. "So, I guess what we have to do is bury the rest of the Reavers, get our stuff together, plan out the trip, and then head out... what, tomorrow morning, I'm thinking?" She put forward, thinking through it logically in her mind. She wasn't exactly expert at long hikes through unfamiliar territory, but she knew enough from her time growing up on Isis to know that you just didn't up and go on one, spur of the moment like. Not if you were fond of livin'. They'd want to see if they could chart their course at all (the shuttle should have nav records that might be able to help, if the records survived the crash and if she could coax them from the shuttle's databanks), get their bearings, plan what they'd take with them and all, then get a good night's rest and set off.

"That sounds agreeable." River said agreeably. "...I'm going to miss the bed most though."

"It doesn't bother you what Inara must'a got up to in here before us?" Kaylee teased.

"Why would it?" River asked, seemingly honestly not knowing.

"No real reason I guess." Kaylee told her. It didn't bother her either, she just wondered if maybe River could, um, see into the past or something, like she did into the future.

"You have funny ideas sometimes." River told her, pushing her over onto her back and kissing her intently for a while before sighing and stopping, sitting up and back on her knees.

Kaylee blinked, feeling a little dazed and wishing River had kept going, despite how impractical it would have been. "Girl could get addicted to you." She said with a happy go lucky sort of smile as she got up to sitting and met River's eyes again, that same intensity that seemed to only get better between them coming through plain and clear, telling Kaylee again just how right she'd been to fall in love with this woman.

River smiled. "Likewise." She replied simply.

Kaylee closed her eyes and sighed. "Time to go be undertakers?" She put forward a little reluctantly.

"Are you sure we should? Inara needing us as she does?" River asked a little doubtfully.

"You don't think we should?" Kaylee asked. "It's just, it sounded like Inara and the people with her had plenty of supplies, and we already started. Seems a shame not to finish. And anyway, I thought you wanted us to bury them? Or, you have one of those feelings a'yours? That we need to get going soon as possible?"

River shook her head. "No feeling. Just thought maybe it was too sad, that's all."

"...We don't have to, you know. It's not like we really owe them anything. They did try to kill us, you may recall." Kaylee put in, wanting to assuage River's uneasy feelings if she could.

"There are no debts anywhere but in the stories we tell." River said. She smiled a little then. "It doesn't matter. It just seemed so stark, the difference, and I feel too much... sometimes."

"Yeah... I'm guessing maybe you do, don't you?" Kaylee replied softly. "Anyway, it's up to you."

River moved forward and kissed her briefly. "Sadness and sorrow don't stand a chance against you, do they... my love?"

Kaylee felt a shiver go right through her looking into River's eyes when she'd said 'my love'; she honestly felt like she might swoon or something. Her heart sure felt like it was beating a bit faster anyways, and she definitely felt a desire to be close to her again; as close as could be. She swallowed and shook her head a little. "Don't say things to me like that when we're meant to be gettin' out a'bed." She told her. "It's mean."

River laughed at that, but didn't respond verbally and instead sort of tackled her playfully. They wrestled around a while until Kaylee finally managed to pin River to the bed by her wrists. Of course she knew that River had let her win, but still, looking down into River's eyes and seeing the complete look of trust, of surrender there, it nearly took her breath away.

And of course River chose that moment to turn the tables on her then promptly escape, moving so she was on the edge of the bed and then grabbing Kaylee by the arm and pulling her up and with her a little as she got out of bed. "Come on, we're going to be late." She told her, letting go of her hand and going to retrieve both of their clothes. Kaylee sat on the edge of the bed, bemused, as she watched River do that and bring her clothes back for her then start to put on her own clothing.

Kaylee watched River with undisguised interest while she started to get dressed, but then shook her head out of it and started to get dressed herself.

She had to wonder at it all though. When she'd first met River, she'd known right off what a beauty she was, said as much out loud in fact (even though maybe you could blame that a little on her being gunshot at the time), but this was something altogether else. Like looking up into the sky at night and calling what you saw 'space', and then finding your way up there, flyin' though it, looking out at it with nothing but a helmet between you and it, and realizin' what you thought space was wasn't anywhere near the whole story - not even close... and then maybe still feeling like there was something else even beyond that to know about it. Something you could feel out there, something you wanted to know, but couldn't ever because you were born but human and just weren't built for it. With River though, there wasn't any helmet between them, they were built the same, and she felt like she could know somehow, like she would know, if she'd just spend the time and let herself. And she was going to spend the time.

Because, not all that unlike when she'd really seen space for the first time, looking at River lately, she felt like she had then.

Just plain happy, and pretty much amazed. Like she'd just been given the best gift ever.

And nothing would ever be the same again.

===================================================

It was later on in the day now, a while after noon. They'd talked to Inara for a while and then went out and buried the rest of the bodies. Afterward, River had wanted to go for a last swim in the lake before they went. Kaylee had swam with her for a while, but then got up on shore to lay out their picnic lunch for them. Now she was just sitting on shore, arms resting on her knees, chin on her arms, watching River jump off the top of the waterfall and dive into the lake with nary a splash. Kaylee smiled a little wistfully and lay her head on its side, waiting for River to surface, which she did a few moments later closer to her, her startin' to swim over to her then. Kaylee watched as her lover made her way back over to her, feeling like she was maybe losing something precious. Her and River alone out here, just them. They'd have the trip to the colony town, but after that, she'd have to share her new girlfriend with other people. Even if one of those others was one of her best friends. Oh, she knew she and River were steady and all, but still, there was just something magic about being the only two in the world like it'd felt like they'd been these last weeks. Something she was somehow sure she'd miss once it was gone. She smiled though as River got up closer to her and sat up on her knees, offering her hand to the woman. River took it and smiled to her, and Kaylee could see it in her eyes that she was thinking about pulling her in.

River apparently kept strong against the temptation though and let Kaylee pull her up to shore with her.

River knelt down next to her next and touched her cheek gently, kissing her. Kaylee felt spellbound and easily felt herself get lost in the simple kiss. She sighed a little blissfully when the kiss was over, looking at River with what must surely look like a lovesick gaze.

"How cn'you be this pretty?" Kaylee asked, running a hand through River's dripping wet hair.

"I'm in love." River replied simply. "It makes me glow, makes us both glow... brighter than anything."

Kaylee smiled a little dreamily. "That's so not fair." She told her, River's words just melting her inside.

River smiled, getting up to her feet and taking one of Kaylee's hands in hers and helping her up in the process also. River turned to her and their eyes met again. "I sometimes think that maybe stars are the places where lovers go after they die, you know. So they can always be together. And so they can keep the worlds that spin around them warm, to give other people a lighted path, a way to join them. A choice, between warmth and love, or darkness and wondering alone. It doesn't make sense really, to choose the other option, but I guess some people would..."

Kaylee didn't really know what to say or do just then but to move in closer and kiss her, almost reverently. "It's a pretty thought." Kaylee said after she'd finished thoroughly kissing her girlfriend and found herself wrapped in her arms (which she didn't mind, even if it meant she got wet some). "I kinda hope you're right, too. It sounds kinda nice, living in a star, warm and at home, in love with someone... in love with you forever."

"Some people think that forever can be found in a single moment in time." River replied. "Now, for instance..." She said, kissing Kaylee again and moving even closer to her.

Kaylee's eyes fluttered shut, and somehow she felt River's words start to live a little in her skin in some way. Almost like time just stopped... almost. She couldn't hold on to the feeling of course, but she felt like she'd remember it forever. And maybe that was something of forever after all?

When the kiss ended, she rested her forehead against River's and closed her eyes again, trying to steady her heart from beating so fast, her blood from singing so much in her body. She had no real thoughts in her, but she felt things very intensely right then.

"I'm going to miss this." Kaylee finally spoke. "Just having you to myself like this." She spoke honestly as her thoughts began to come back to her.

"I'll miss it too... but... I'll always be yours. Everything I am is yours... I promise." River told her with simple honesty and vulnerability.

Kaylee smiled and hugged her. "I love you so much..." Kaylee said, feeling a little overwhelmed with emotion right then. Like she might cry from being so happy, from all the feelings this woman gave her that she didn't even rightly have a name for.

"I love you too." River said in a soft heartfelt voice. "You saved me." He voice faint when she said that last thing.

Kaylee thought about that a second then backed up out of the hug, holding both River's hands with both of hers and meeting River's eyes, asking. "I saved you? ...How'd I do that? I thought it was you who was saving me all the time." She said with a little of a smile, a little embarrassed about that actually. She'd wished before that she could do more in fact, pull her wait more.

River just smiled, a little enigmatically. "You just did, that's all." Was all she said, letting go of Kaylee's hands and turning to walk away over to where Kaylee had set up the picnic.

Kaylee watched after her curiously a moment, then hurried to catch up with her. She'd just have to ask her some other time about it. She figured River probably didn't want to say what she meant now somehow.

Kaylee went over to her and they held hands going over to the picnic blanket. Kaylee let go of River's hand and sat down, watching with fascination as she dried off her hair a little and got dressed again. They'd put together a little of a feast today, with all of the berries and such they could gather from the woods, figuring it wouldn't matter because they were leaving the next day anyway. "It might be a big problem, you know. Finding food along the way." Kaylee spoke as River sat down. "I'm not sure, but I think we're at least a week's walk away from the colony town where Inara's at, maybe more." She said, eating a few berries. "We might have to try hunting for birds or rabbits or the like..." She concluded. She didn't like to think about maybe having to do that. She'd never liked eating animals if she could avoid it; ever since she was small she never had, but, well, sometimes a body just didn't have that many options, you know?

River shook her head. "I'm sure we won't have to murder anyone. I think it'll be fun." She told her positively, a cute, happy smile on her lips that made Kaylee smile too, like she just couldn't help it.

"I think so to." Kaylee said, choosing to believe in what River said. After all, River hadn't been wrong so far, so why would she be now? Not that she wasn't going to make sure they were as prepared as she could make them anyway of course, that was just sensible.

She started to eat her portion of the berries and the leftover stew River had made for them that morning (which still tasted really good, even cold).

===================================================

Later in the afternoon, Kaylee was diligently at work trying to coax the shuttle's computer into giving her the information she needed. This had involved first some creative repairs to the hardware and now she was wading through programming code trying to get the shuttle's operating system to recognize the altered configuration she'd been forced to impose upon it's hardware and resolve the needed data to into something recognizable by humans. She had to admit, program language wasn't really her strong suit (although she weren't bad at it or anything, especially considering she'd had to figure it all out on her own, no one teachin' her anything).

River had been sitting on the bed half-heartedly playing some kind of, from the looks of it, completely original game with herself with Inara's deck of playing cards. Kaylee'd caught her gazing her way more than once though, and they'd talked off and on while she'd worked, River seeming to sense when she needed the quiet to concentrate.

As things stood though, she was starting to get a mite frustrated with this moody and obstinate computer system she was trying to work with. "You're just bound and determined not to make this easy for me, aren't you?" She spoke ruefully to the shuttle. Admittedly, she wasn't getting along with Inara's shuttle as well as she might have liked. Not like she had with her 'momma' anyway (meaning Serenity).

River came padding over to her then and sat down. "Can I help?" She asked curiously.

"Um, well, maybe. You wouldn't happen to know anything about programming languages by any chance, all that schoolin' you had?" Kaylee asked hopefully. River was supposed to be a genius and then some, after all. She hadn't thought to ask her, but now she was hoping River actually could help, because at this rate she was afraid she'd be at it all night. Wasn't even sure she'd be able to swing it at all, really. Nothing seemed to be clicking like it usually would for her. A fact she was actually feelin' kinda embarrassed about, t'be honest. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that her mind kept seeming to drift back to thoughts of River whenever it got the chance? Lately it seemed like that was all she really thought about. Only trouble was, right now, that wasn't very helpful at all.

"I dabbled a little, back in school. I could give it a try if you want?" She questioned.

"Be my guest." Kaylee told her. "About time I took a break anyway, I'm thinkin'. Way things were goin', I'm afraid I might have been like to say something unkind before long. And that never helps anything, now does it."

"If you told someone they were being stupid when they were going to kill them self and they decided not to, that would be helpful... probably anyway." River observed distractedly as she sat down and started scrolling through lines of code.

Kaylee laughed. "Thought you said you hated logic." She replied playfully as she went to get a glass of water.

"Only when it's convenient to. I can be very fickle sometimes." River replied. "That might be a character flaw, I suppose." She said, still going through the code while she spoke, making the occasional change here or there.

Kaylee laughed. "If it is, I've probably got the same one." She admitted as she poured the water into a glass for herself.

"It is fairly common place, I agree." River replied.

Kaylee took a few drinks of water and then came back over by River, sat down behind her, wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's waist, and rested her chin on River's shoulder, leaning her head against River's a little. "Having any luck?" She asked.

"Luck and I are old friends by now, I think. She appears to like me, even if a lot of other people don't seem to much." River observed.

"What other people? The government? The Alliance?" Kaylee ventured.

"They didn't like who I was, so they tried to make me into someone else. You have to really dislike a person a very lot to go to those kind of lengths, don't you think?" River observed, her concentration still mostly focused on her work.

"...Yeah, I guess there would be some kinda truth to that, wouldn't there..." She replied softly. She'd thought a lot about what had been done to River, as little as she really knew on the subject. What little she did know made her shiver just thinkin' about it sometimes. Still, she wished she could somehow take all that hurt away for her, do something that really helped this woman she'd come to fall so in love with. River'd said before that she'd saved her, but the truth was, she'd done precious little as far as she could see. She couldn't even manage to properly fix the shuttle, could she? No, her girlfriend was doing that too. It didn't seem fair on River, her being so useless sometimes like she seemed to be. She'd never thought of herself like that before, because she'd always been the one to keep her crew in the sky. She tried to push those thoughts away though. "You're definitely my favorite person in all creation though, if it helps." She told her sincerely.

"...It's impossible to calculate how much that helps." River said very softly. "...I think I solved it. But you need to move a wire somewhere... I'm not sure which one."

Kaylee moved out from behind River, who moved back a little so she could get in and see what she'd done. Kaylee scanned the code for a few long minutes; River hugging her silently from behind like Kaylee had been doing just before, which did seem to help her focus better, actually. "Oh! I see it!" Kaylee twisted around and kissed River briefly. "You're brilliant, you know that?" She said happily, getting up to go retrieve the tool she'd need then hurrying back to open the cover plate again and make the modification River's code-rewrites needed. It only took but a minute, and, sure enough, once she had, she reinitialized the system and the operating system resolved itself like it was supposed to.

A few commands, and there it was: Rough flight path information, and the topography photos Serenity had taken before breaking atmo and transferred automatically to the shuttle's memory core. A few more quick commands and they had a course plotted. "Shiny." Kaylee said happily as she gazed at the results (the res wasn't as good as some fancier spaceships might give you, but it was more than good enough in Kaylee's opinion). "We're on our way." She turned and hugged River happily. "You're so awesome." She told her.

River was quiet though, and when Kaylee sat back, River just had a shy sort of confused smile on her face. But she looked doubtful too.

"What is it, what's wrong?" Kaylee asked, touching River's cheek with concern.

River shook her head just a little and closed her eyes a moment, then opened them and looked back up into Kaylee's eyes. "It's too fast sometimes, I feel like I might float away." She told her, moving forward and kissing Kaylee with something almost like reverence.

Kaylee felt sort of light-headed then too, but in a really nice way. She felt herself relax automatically and kiss River back. She loved this so much, kissing River.

The kissing ended after a while and River pulled away just a little with a soft, sweet smile. "You're so awesome." She said, still a little shyly, but her eyes were clear and really here now, Kaylee could tell she was feeling a lot better.

"That's what I said." Kaylee replied.

"Echo." River replied. "Can we take off our clothes, go to bed, and have more orgasms now?" She asked hopefully.

Kaylee grinned. "You're such a randy girlfriend sometimes. Lucky me." She said, taking River's hand in hers and getting up, River getting up with her.

She led River back over to the bed and sat down with her, the both of them starting to remove the other's clothing without saying a word. Pretty soon, River had just taken off Kaylee's underwear and she was laying under her looking up into River's eyes. They kissed and she rolled River over to look down at her, her heart beating fast. "It's our last day with a bed for a while, you know." She told her.

"We should make the most of it." River replied, her eyes eager and wanting.

Kaylee kissed her and that was pretty much it, they were lost in each other all over again.

===================================================

It was morning now, and River and Kaylee were just finishing up getting packed for the long journey ahead. They had no way of taking the map they'd gotten from the shuttle with them, so they both tried to commit it to memory. Kaylee was sure River probably had it down better than she did, but that was to be expected, she supposed, and was in fact a very good thing.

They'd talked to Inara a little in the morning, but now Kaylee thought she should call in one last time before they left. She said as much to River and her girlfriend agreeably joined her over on the couch by the window to make the call.

"Inara, you there? It's us." Kaylee commed out.

"Kaylee! Hi, yes, I'm here." Inara's voice came back just a few moments later.

"Well, just thought I'd let you know, we're all packed up and ready to head out. Like I said, should be out your way in eight or ten days probably, twelve at the most." Kaylee replied. "Depending on the terrain."

"That's great, Kaylee. Again, thank you both so much. Before I heard your voice two nights ago, I was starting to think... well, I'm just... I'm really grateful." Inara told them.

"We're grateful too." River said. "That you're alive. It's like... family..."

"Oh, River... no, I'm sure Simon's alright. You just, you have to believe that River. That's all. Sometimes you just have to believe." Inara told her.

"He's very far away." River replied. "There are a lot of people. I think he's gotten himself lost. I just worry sometimes, that's all."

"We're all lost sometimes." Inara said back.

Kaylee, for her part, wasn't sure she was quite so hopeful, but she didn't want to say so. Putting negative ideas out into the universe had never seemed a helpful notion to her. "Well, we better be heading out. Sooner we leave, sooner we get there." She spoke.

"I'll be here. Just, be careful you two. Take care of each other." Inara said.

"We will, don't you worry." Kaylee replied, and disconnected the comm channel, turning to meet River's eyes.

River smiled, and kissed her briefly, got up and offered Kaylee her hand. "Time to go?" She asked.

"Time to go." Kaylee replied, caressing River's cheek and hair a little, then taking her hand and walking with her back to where they had their gear piled up outside the shuttle.

They'd lock up the shuttle and walk off into the woods.

"Go forward; never looking back, for the devils of your past may chase you if you meet their eyes." River said softly, looking at the shuttle.

"Who said that?" Kaylee asked.

River thought. "I'm not sure." She admitted, fastening her pack around her waist and reaching out to take Kaylee's hand so they could begin their walk. "In any case, it might not even be true." She told her.

Kaylee thought about that a moment, and decided it was probably good advice, anyway.

===================================================

See you next time...