Out here in the dark we wait in shadows….

Broken souls dance like leaves on the wind,

Waiting for sun to break out again,

Out here in the dark we wait in shadows,

Broken dreams, wrapped in our hands,

Like streamers for the things that leave,

And all we do is hold on tighter and tighter,

Until the hopes we long for fly away,

We search for answers we know we won’t find,

And we dream the dreams that we know are too big,

Because if we scale ourselves down to size,

We lose ourselves in the chaos,

We are the broken souls,

Dancing to our funeral march….

Mal tapped his foot impatiently as River and Jayne unwound themselves from each other’s arms. He had expected them to spring apart immediately, but River had slipped her hand in Jayne’s even after they were standing, shamefaced, side by side.

“What were you doing with my sister?” Simon howled.

“Simon, one would have to conclude that you knew exactly what we were doing, seeing as you saw us clearly and given your experience with a certain mechanic, you would know immediately what were doing. So what is the point of asking a question you already know the answer for?” River asked, tilting her head to the side and observing her brother through partially closed eyes.

“River, why were you kissing him? Has he hurt you? Did he drug you?” Simon interrogated his younger sister, but Mal put a hand up.

“Now, hold on there, Doctor, Jayne wouldn’t take a woman less’n she was willing,” warned Mal.

“I wanted to kiss Jayne,” River said. “And I will kiss Jayne in the future. I will probably do more with Jayne in the future, and you have no call to stop me.”

Simon stepped forward and raised his fist to hit Jayne, which in itself was a foolhardy move, but his sister moved in a blur to grab his wrist in midair. She tightened her grip to the point of pain on Simon’s part, and her eyes narrowed angrily.

“You are not going to attempt to hurt him. You are not going to keep me from him. Do you understand?” she asked, her voice cold and her eye