TITLE: "WEAKNESS"

AUTHOR: Alison M. DOBELL

FANDOM: "FIREFLY"

PAIRING: No specific pairing.

RATING: PG-13.

STATUS: SEQUEL to "REALISATION"

ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where.

FEEDBACK: Welcomed.

EMAIL: AlisonMDobell@aol.com

WEBSITE: http://carlajane.50megs.com/Ali00.html

SUMMARY: "Inara makes a decision she has been trying to

avoid. River wants to help but Simon isn't listening. Kaylee

feels her world coming apart as everything begins to unravel."

The usual disclaimers apply. The characters and 'Firefly'

are the property and gift of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

No infringement of copyright is intended.

"WEAKNESS"

A "Firefly" story

Written by Alison M. DOBELL

* * * * *

Inara couldn't help it. Their brief sojourn on Baltimore a week ago had shaken her badly. The nightmares brought ever more vivid re-enactments and since turning to the Captain for comfort the one thing she had been trying to avoid above all else was upon her. She closed her eyes and blocked out the sounds of the crew settling their valuable but noisy cargo in the hold. It helped to have her shuttle, a place where she could retreat and lock out the well meaning but mostly bumbling interruptions of Serenity's Captain. How naive she had been to think she could remain apart yet share this reckless life they led. Forming ties that would become harder to break the longer she left it yet it was agonising and so very hard. Knowing that once she had done so there would be nothing to embrace but her own self-imposed exile.

Yes, she was still a Companion. What the others did not know was that she could not resume her career while she remained aboard Serenity. Not while the memories that held sway were like a vivid scar that bled and would not heal. Not while the only one that could banish them and give her ease was this ship's Captain. He made her weak, dependent, and she hated him for it. Hated the loss of control, the desir