Freya held her breath as Simon pressed the hypo against her neck, then sighed as the painkiller began to work.

“You okay now?” Mal asked, his hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently.

“Getting there.” It was like migraine, she decided, with half of her head in agony right behind her eyes, jagged edges digging into her brain.

“I gather it wasn’t exactly cotton candy in there.” His concern was palpable.

“No. More like wading through quicksand.” She closed her eyes briefly, just concentrating on him, his body close to hers, until she had regained that control she’d fought so long and hard for. She looked up at him. “But River honestly believes it.”

“Did you recognise it?” Mal asked. “The place this is supposed to go down?”

Freya shook her head gingerly. “Just an alley. Could be any of several dozen planets. It might not even be an alley. This was still a dream – it doesn’t mean the setting was real. I've dreamed enough times that Serenity has a ballroom, but I'm pretty sure she hasn’t.”

“I wouldn’t be too gorram sure about that,” Mal advised. “Considering it seems she has some hidey-holes I ain’t heard about,” he added.

Her lips lifted. “Only a couple.” She sighed. “I didn’t even see their faces. Sorry.”

He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “Hey, ain't your fault. You did more’n you should, anyway.”

“I wanted to help River.”

“If she leaves …” Simon shook his head. “I can’t let her go alone.”

“You planning on taking a Sabbatical as well?” Mal fixed the young doctor with his blue eyes.

“Not by choice.” He leaned back on the counter. “But River’s not … I couldn’t leave her to –“

“She can take care of herself, Simon,” Freya said, sharper than she had intended. She saw his eyes widen a little, and felt a rush of shame. “I’m sorry. I … didn’t mean that to come out the way it did.”

“That’s okay.” He took a step closer. “Was it really so bad?”

Her brows drew together as she tried to think how to describe it. “It’s like … watching something on