A/N: One pun was stolen from Terry Pratchett, kudos to anyone who spots it.

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River was embraced by REM sleep, her eyelids fluttering. Neurons fired in her brain relentlessly like short bursts of electricity which tasted violet.

Softly she began her way along the steep incline out of scentless sleep. Picking her way along a bottomless chasm, which beckoned her ears with pretty sights. River placed her hands atop her head keeping her thoughts from flying away.

Twinkle, twinkle little star, prey tell me where you are.

And River twinkled. But she was lost inside the closet and the lion couldn’t find her and she couldn’t find him. And everyone was getting lost together but her.

The chasm yawned but never tired. Never tired of waiting for her to fall.

She franticly drummed ‘Simon’against her leg with her fingers, but her voice smelled tinny and feeble. Yet here he came, marching along on columns of fog, clothing her in multicoloured XTC. Was he not?

She shivered in her shroud, tasting bland and without salt. Sticking out the tongue to hear, she strained.

*****

Kaylee was flying like a dream. Her hands were on Simon’s chest and she could feel him gulping in great breaths of air. His eyes were focused on one thing and one thing only: her lips. Just as hers were fixed on his.

In a few seconds it would all be over: the waiting, the yearning, the pining and the bumbling and it would all begin: the burning, the fluttering and the wonderful queasy feeling of newness with each other.

Or it would just be so so.

Not knowing was part of the fun. She smiled into Simon’s lips and smiled even more when the excitement spiked in her belly, releasing hundreds of thousands of tiny sparks which started zooming around in her blood. Slipping her arms around his neck naturally brought her flush with Simon’s body and she could feel him shaking.

With desire? With nerves?

She didn’t know and couldn’t wait to find out.

*****

Mal and Inara were