The funeral was mostly silent. Respects were paid as well as they could manage since their Shepherd rested in the dirt under them. After Zoë stepped forward, in a dress so beautiful it was that much more heartbreaking that her husband couldn’t see her in it, no one saw need for any more words.

Head held high and stoic calm firmly in place on her features, Zoë led the mourning party back onto the ship, never looking back at the gravestones. River lagged behind, staring intently from Wash’s holograph memorial to his wife’s retreating back. She walked up and poked a finger through Wash’s image, examining it intently. Simon, slightly scandalized, came back out and pulled her onto Serenity so they could begin to leave Miranda behind them.

~*~

Serenity departed from the cliff where they’d forever left two of their crew as quickly as possible, but the heavy silence followed them into the black. Five days and the only words spoken out loud were Mal’s landing orders as they approached New Melbourne. It was a re-stocking stop, so everyone was allowed off-ship to purchase any needed personal supplies. It was winter on New Melbourne, so River’s hooded pullover wasn’t a bit out of place.

Simon usually liked to keep her close when they were away from the relative safety of Serenity, but the lure of Kaylee drew him astray and she was able to slip off on her own. River wasn’t allotted any share of payment from crew jobs; Simon purchased anything she needed and sometimes things she wanted. On this particular trip, however, she needed something special. Something that couldn’t be bought.

After an hour of searching in the brush behind the main street of shops, River emerged with a hand tucked under her pullover and a victorious smile on her face. Mal looked at her a bit oddly as she walked back onto the ship – her tangled hair and smudged face looked a mite suspicious – but he said nothing. River went directly to her bunk and shut herself away, but quietly…because that was the rule now.

~*~

The silence was a