Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in the story – they all belong to Joss and Mutant Enemy.

Author notes: This is the third story in what has become the arc following Advice in Space. The second was Screams in the night. You probably don’t need to read those to understand this one, but would probably help and they are both short vignettes. Set after Objects In Space, but will probably be rendered completely AU by the BDM in a year or so. This story just keeps pestering me even though I've been telling Mal that I'm too busy with RL to play, but he can't seem to keep River under control. Not beta-ed mostly because all the characters insist they are acting just fine and don't need to be altered any at all. If there are any typos, I apologize.

Those Left Behind

Chapter 1: Possibilities

Chinese glossary

Yuchun – stupid/idiot

Diyu – hell

We de ma – mother of god

Kaylee yawned as she entered the engine room. Wash had woken her with the information that it was okay to shut the engines down. The mechanic had been harassing the pilot and Captain to find a time to cruise without the engines so she could do some much needed maintenance work. After threatening to keep them on planet for an entire week, Mal had finally relented and decided that the money he would save in down time and fuel would equal any bonus the ship would get for delivering their goods early. As a result, Kaylee was now awake well before the ship's normal morning in order to get a head start on the maintenance before the first meal.

Kaylee jumped and let out a squeak when she saw someone in the dark corner beside the now quiet engine. Once her heart left her stomach, she could clearly see River's pale skin under the girl's long hair. "River, you scared me. What are you doing awake so early?"

"Sometimes the engine is louder," River told her.

Kaylee raised an eyebrow. The other girl made the statement as if her meaning