River dreamed. She dreamed she was walking along badly lit corridor. To each side of her were rooms with small windows. There were people in the rooms. They were sitting or lying down but they all had a look of hopelessness in there faces. She couldn't stop, for some reason she had to know were the corridor led. She walked faster now, because she thought she heard footsteps behind her. Each room had a sign saying what the name of the occupant was but they were all to blurry to read. She started to run. There were bulb lights on the celling, and they swung as she ran under them. She made it to the end of the corridor to find that there was one last room. Only one. The name on it was visible. She stopped at the door. It was her name. She had a driving need to go threw the door. She did and everything around River started to swirl and became solid once more. She was back in the rain slicked alley.

« oh, god. » River moaned. « Not again, please not again. »

But it was the dream, the young doctor on the wet cement with the bullet from Vira in his chest, Jayne standing over him and driving the knife threw is heart and then consciousness. River awoke in her room and found that she had been crying in her sleep.

« Oh god, why is it me? »

*****

Wash and Zoe sat in the kitchen. They were trying to think of a way to tell Mal that they wanted to take a few days off.

« look, » said Wash « All I'm saying is hes not your dad, I don't need his permission to take you out for a nice time! »

« oh you'd be surprised. » Said Zoe grinning at Wash.

« Look I think this is what we should say {Hi Mal, sir, nice day isn't it? We need to take a few days off but we promise will bring you a nice present back. } »

« some how I don't think it would cut it, dear. »

« hey I think it'd work »

« course you do dear, you also thought a human finger was a appropriate gift for my mother. »

« Hey, it was a fake finger and I apolog