The next few days blurred together for Mal. It was simple routine on the ship. Inara was worried about him. He could tell the rest of the crew was of the same feeling. The dream had been recurring every night since and it was draining him completely. He was shorter than usual with everyone. Kaylee had taken to completely avoiding his gaze, and more often than not locked herself in the engine room when the captain was making his rounds. Simon was unable to tell him when he'd be able to get back into a regular schedule. This only angered him more.

The truth wasn't that he was tired. There had been times that he had gone weeks on only a few hours of sleep. What River had said had really hit home. What if it was his fault Cheek was dead? Why hadn't he grabbed the boy? The kid was new to the military, only six months in and Mal had posted him at the focal point of the fighting. He let his head fall in his hands. He could have grabbed him, saved him. The door to his room hissed open. Inara climbed down the ladder, her sandals sliding a little on each rung. Mal looked up, and saw the concerned look on her face. He wiped the tears from his eyes and shook his head as he stood up.

"Yeah? What is it?" he asked shortly.

Inara moved forward cautiously. She looked him over and Mal could feel her reading almost like River did.

"Mal, this is ridiculous." she whispered. "You're stronger than this. These dreams, they're nothing more than memories. You can't change them. All you can do is move on."

"You think I haven't tried? I push it all from my mind and try to do my job, so the crew don't think I'm goin 'round the bend. I have to keep my boat in the air, all the while makin sure that we don't hear Alliance boots outside the doors."

Inara let her gaze fall to the floor. Mal moved around her to the ladder, and looked up into the light above.

"We should hit atmo soon. Should be a routine trip this run. Sierra Lezine is a drop point between the Core planets and the resort planet of Leighsin. Companions aren't an uncomm