Inspired by Serenity written by Joss Whedon and Ariel by Jose Molina.

Warning: This is not a graphic tale or anything – but readers looking for laughs (and why the hell not?) should try my blog fics A Day at the Races and The Christmas Run instead maybe.

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The Darkest Hour .

Safe , such a small word – four letters - a four-letter word. That made it a curse word - and sometimes it felt that way.

Simon Tam had wondered about it before… the word –SAFE.

Doctors rarely used it… they might describe a patient as ‘out of danger’… no/one ever said a patient was SAFE.

“It’s not safe”, his sister had said again today. It was becoming a private ritual between them. An incantation – a spell, a game – one among the many they had played over the years.

He heard his voice, toneless almost – as flat as the concrete grey around him – giving the response. “No, I fear it’s not safe anymore.”

“For them.” His sister knew the closure, and it was correct.

River was not just his sister – River was his patient – River was – they were – never out of danger - never Safe.

Any patient feels guilt – they have let the healthy down – they are wrecking balls to the norm. Any Doctor feels guilt when they can offer no cure only palliative care – the magician feels like a charlatan, simply a conjuror – sleight of hand and the art of distraction.

And of course there is anger – sickness brings ostracism, fear of contagion with even the most non-infectious of conditions, the fear that comes with the vertiginous realisation that the norm has been wrecked – lives will never be the same, responsibilities shift, the balance tilts, nothing is… safe.

For the Tams this was the reality of everyday. No safety. And yet – and yet – there was a beautiful simplicity for which Simon was sometimes grateful. River was sick, Simon was her Carer – and they were both criminals – clearly labelled, designated and despised accordingly by the society