Rating: Chapter: PG-13/Story:R

Pairing: Chapter J/R/Story: J/R; M/I; S/K; Zoë/Wash memories

Disclaimer: It all belongs to Joss, except for the quote from F.W.W. Hipwell and the one by Lao Tzu

Timeline: Chapter 1 takes place during The Message, all of the rest of the story, after the Movie.

Voices and Visions

By

Lattelady

Ch 1. Through The Keyhole of Time

River Tam moved through the ship, trying to find the odd voice that had started as a tickle at the back of her neck when they took-off from the SkyPlex. It had crept up on her slowly. Becoming louder and louder in her mind, until it drowned out the calming hum that was Serenity at her happiest: flying free in the Black.

She knew she had her moments of crazy and might have them all her life, but this was not one of them. The new drugs Simon had been giving her, hushed the multitude of anguished cries that had been throbbing in her head for so long that she’d forgotten when they had begun. The medications, also, allowed her to slowly build walls to protect the fragile areas of her brain that had been cut away leaving jagged emptiness instead of protection against others’ thoughts in a world where emotion and pain ran rampant.

Over the last five months she had come to recognize the inner voices and feelings of the crew who shared her life on the ship. Most of the time she was able to successfully block them out, unless they caught her unawares with a flare of temper or passion that was strong enough to breach her newly formed defenses. So it was no surprise when she walked slowly into the cargo bay and found Jayne and the Shepherd at the bench press, quietly talking, instead of the empty room she’d expected.

The girl ignored the men and followed the voice, which only she could hear, the one that didn’t belong on Serenity. It spoke of danger, death and deception. She tried to focus on the coffin that was the only unusual thing in the bay, instead of the Preacher and the