The airlock door hadn’t been closed five seconds when Jayne began blubbering. “Can’t lose my little drinkin’ buddy,” he moaned. “Please, don’t die, Kid.”

After a moment’s pause, River smiled. “I told him what you said,” she informed. “His response was that he can’t die, or he can’t get you back to your daughter.” The response didn’t help Jayne much.

River watched through the window as Serenity floated by. She tallied everything in her head from the distance between vessels and speed of each to the appropriate angle of attack in order to hit the opposite hatch and the amount of thrust necessary from the med ship airlock at that particular angle.

“Are you with me, Gabriel?” River called, both speaking aloud and projecting her thought so that the others in the room with her could hear her directions.

*Barely,* the slow response finally came. *Blackin’ out...*

“No, Gabriel, don’t black out. The airlock is nearly depressurized. Listen to me very carefully.” River took a breath and tried to relax, although the intensity of the situation and her deep fear and worry for Gabriel had her shaking like a leaf. “Gabriel, I want you to plant your hands on the door in front of you and your feet on the door back toward us. Can you do that?”

*Workin’ on,* came the clipped answer.

“I’ll try to send you visual images as well,” River called, “so that you’ll know where to put your feet. You need to push hard, but not as hard as you can, or you’ll just bounce right off of Serenity.”

“Unto thee, O Lord,” Jayne began suddenly, “do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee; let me not be ashamed, but let not mine enemies triumph over me.”

River tried to push Jayne’s solemn words back into her mind with everything else in the room. Her one focus was getting Gabriel back into the nearest atmosphere. “Almost there. Just hold on.”

*Hold on to what?*

“Remember not the sins of my youth,” River heard Jayne continuing as she chuckled inwardly at Gabriel’s smart-alecky reply, “nor my transgressions; according to thy merc