“Aaaah!” Wash jumped in his chair. “Could you be a little bit louder with the approaching next time? What’s serene?”

“All is well, she is safe.” River stood in the doorway, brown eyes surveying him steadily; “the constant companion, warrior woman, lambie-toes.”

Whenever the others went out on jobs, she could hear the pilot’s anxiety all over the ship. The anxiety increased exponentially the longer they were away. It disturbed Serenity, it disturbed her.

Wash shifted through the girl’s words. “Zoe’s alright?”

“No need for concern.”

“Well that’s good then.” Wash leaned back in his chair and watched her as she drifted around the bridge.

He never could quite fathom River. He knew she was damaged and all that and maybe a possible reader – but the girl was seriously spooky. It didn’t help that she made no noise while she moved around.

“Auditory indicators are required?” River tilted her head. “Jayne hears me.”

“Jayne’s paranoid.” She wasn’t a possible reader; she was a real one, “the rest of us, not so much. Sometimes it’s a good thing to let people know you’re in the room. They wouldn’t get so tetchy with you maybe.”

“They wouldn’t jump and be nervous around me?”

“Well they might be nervous, you can’t change that.” The pilot peered at her, “you being a bit different and all. But they’d be less jumpy and that’s always a plus for people with guns.”

River nodded solemnly and continued to drift round the bridge, fingers brushing over the instruments till they rested on one of the many dinosaurs littering the console.

“Dinosauria OrnithischiaMarginocephalia Ceratopsidae – Triceratops horridus – late cretaceous period.” She lifted it up to examine it.

“You sure know your dinosaurs.” Wash said appreciatively.

“But some are not correct. They aren’t from the same period.”

“Period, smeriod. That doesn’t matter when you’re playing a game.”

“A game?” River’s attention was caught. “May I join in?”

******************

“Wash have you seen River?” Simon had been searchin