PART 3:

They got a later start than Mal would’ve liked, but by that time, their stomachs were full, Zoë and Simon were as rested as they were going to be, and they’d managed to thaw out all their frozen limbs by the fire. River had been shaking so bad that within the first ten minutes, Simon picked her up and carried her. At mid-day, they took a break to rehydrate, after which Mal took a turn carrying River. Her body alternated between flashes of heat and shivering chills. She rested her face against Mal’s breast, her eyes glazed and defeated, utterly fed up with her deteriorating condition. She murmured softly to Mal, verbally reflecting his own thoughts like a sounding board. It almost helped hearing her give voice to his plans once they reached town, but it irked him severely that River knew how often he thought of Inara.

As the sun set, they settled briefly by the stream, which had become a full fledged creek at this point, and Jayne set out trying to repeat his morning miracle of producing fish. He managed only two small ones, which they split and ate quickly. They were getting closer to town, and the small snack would have to be sufficient until then.

Without anyone asking, Jayne scooped River up and carried her along the way. He’d been doing helpful stuff like that a lot since Miranda. Mal mused that Jayne must not be thinking on anything, because River quickly fell asleep in his arms. Mal matched his pace with Inara; her arms were wrapped tightly across her chest as she stepped gingerly along the path. She hadn’t spoken a word since the night before and Mal worried that she was mad at him. As was his way, he deflected any emotional conversation by addressing the business at hand.

“I figure you and me should walk into town ahead of the others.”

Inara nodded, but kept her eyes firmly fixed on the path her feet were walking. Mal continued talking, wanting to explain her part in the plan fully, even though she hadn’t asked.

“We’ll say your ship went down just outside of town. I’m just –”

“I