TITLE: "DREAMS OF HOME"

AUTHOR: Alison M. DOBELL

FANDOM: "FIREFLY"

PAIRING: No specific pairing.

RATING: R.

STATUS: New. SEQUEL to "A SINGLE STEP"

ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where.

FEEDBACK: Welcomed.

EMAIL: AlisonMDobell@aol.com

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

SUMMARY: "The crew of Serenity decide to trust River in their

efforts to find the Captain. With the children rescued the *laoban*

will be out for revenge. Yen Mah faces up to the fact that there

will be one child who will never go home."

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.

"DREAMS OF HOME"

A "Firefly" story

Written by Alison M. DOBELL

* * * * *

So weary now. Heart labouring. Breath coming in slow sighing sussurations that barely stirred his cheek in passing. Memories faint auras of things forgotten. Darkness an abiding shadow beckoning onwards. To rest beyond pain. Sleep beyond knowing. Only his obstinate mind clung to fragments almost lost in a sea of agony now dulled in its' constancy, no longer lapping at his shores with the ebb and flow of tides and swells. Calming into a bland stagnant pool of dying senses. It was hard to grasp consciousness. Almost impossible to recall why he must not let go. The murmur of stumbling heartbeats was like a siren song. Images flickered in his mind like fading ghosts. Words without sound carried no meaning to ears that could no longer fathom their purpose to his brain.

He should struggle. Fight on. Only he no longer knew why. His fingers twitched slightly in numb hands. Cool impersonal touches quickly determined that he was no longer capable of reaction. They undid his shirt and offered up the bright point of the needle, injecting directly into the muscle of his heart. Thunder roared through deadened veins. Pain flared like a dragon's breath setting him on fi